I've been reading YA books for years now, and I've read enough to know my tastes usually don't fall into the Romance/Contemporary niche. Sure, there have been a couple I enjoyed (see "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" and basically anything Morgan Matson) but it's truly not an area in which I find books I love. 

So needless to say, I was pretty shocked when I found myself adding a new contemporary romance to my "Favorites" shelf on Goodreads. 

This book is "The Truth About Happily Ever After" by Karole Cozzo, author of two other YA books, "How to Say I Love You Out Loud" and "How to Keep Rolling After a Fall".

Here's a quick synopsis: Alyssa is a 20 year-old college student who works as Cinderella at Enchanted Dominion during the summer. She lives, breathes, and loves all things Enchanted, especially her job that lets her dress up and bring magic into the lives of the kids and families who visit the theme park. 

It's the summer before her junior year of college and Alyssa is primed and ready to have the most wonderful summer of her life. A big part of this excitement stems from the fact that her boyfriend, Jake, will be working at Enchanted Dominion alongside Alyssa (they meet there last summer- how cute!) But things don't go as princess-perfect as Alyssa hoped, and plans begin to crumble, and Alyssa begins to rethink what "happily ever after" might really mean for her.

So first of all, this book is basically Disney World YA. If you like Walt Disney World and all the parks and excitement and magic that comes with it, then this book will charm you! I don't always like when authors try and take something so major that exists IRL (like Disney) and turn it into their own version (Enchanted Dominion), but Cozzo does this masterfully! Nothing feels cheapened or un-Disney; Cozzo creates a wonderfully vivid park that feels real and original instead of ripped off. #BrowniePoints

Here are some of the best things about "The Truth about Happily Ever After"!

*Really great female friendships & defying stereotypes

Alyssa is surrounded by some really lovely girls in her life: there are her fellow park princesses (aka the Princess Posse) who look out for one another and are super sweet. Can I get an "amen!" for women writing women who actually build each other up instead of compete constantly?! All the love to Cozzo for that. Then there are Alyssa's sorority sisters who come to visit- their chapters were hilarious to read! I adore Cozzo's narrative on Greek life and how she wrote the ZTA sisters in a slightly cliche but realistic way- it was very Elle Woods and very well done! Cozzo wrote some very silly, fun-loving college girls who care deeply for their sisters and have found a little family in each other. At one point, Alyssa reflects on why she loves ZTA so much and says she works hard for her place there because she loves having a life that feels solid and where she feels like she belongs. She doesn't mind working insanely hard to deserve her place in the sorority, especially after having an unstable family living condition.
Speaking of hard work...

*Girls working hard at careers & taking care of themselves!

Alyssa is uber passionate about her job at the park. She takes care to maintain her Cinderella appearance and takes pride in what she does. Working at Enchanted Dominion isn't just a clock-in-clock-out job for her; no, she believes in the magic of the parks and is willing to do anything to add to that magic for others. She knows little girls look up to her so she commits herself to certain standards.

"Playing princess isn't nearly as easy as I'm sure some people like to believe. It's a dream job, but it's still a job. There's work involved." -Alyssa, page 4

There is also a wonderful narrative in this book about being proud of yourself and your body, and it's very positive. Alyssa takes care of her body with healthy food and exercise to keep herself in shape for her job. And when things in her life start to go wrong and she stops eating from stress, she's got a friend there who outright asks her if she needs help with an eating disorder.
There's a very good balance of self-care and "treat yo self" attitudes in this book. Alyssa has a good mind for how her body works and she is happy with who she is.

"It's not superficial, wanting to look my best and be a part of a group and feel good about myself. It doesn't feel that way to me, not after having so much fall apart around me when I couldn't do anything to control it." -Alyssa, page 141

*Accurate portrayal of relationships

Relationships don't always work out like they do in an Enchanted Enterprise film; the original OTP prince and princess may realize they don't work out as a couple. Alyssa and Jake's relationship isn't quite what it was the summer before, and when Alyssa begins to realize this, it breaks her a bit. She really tries to piece things back together. But your first love isn't always going to be your Prince Charming.
I think the relationships in this book were very realistic. There were problems, arguments, misunderstandings, and heart-to-heart convos that I think many YA readers will be able to learn from. And not just the romantic ones either, but the friend-to-friend talks Alyssa has are very honest. 

*Things that weren't Happily Every After

*A handful of fragmented sentences/awkward phrasing
I feel like this is an editing issue more than anything. There were a handful of spots where sentences could have been restructured to avoid fragments.

*Lack of closure with Alyssa hiding her money situation from the sorority
I thought this was going to be a slightly bigger issue since Alyssa brought it up several times. The last we heard from the sorority end of things was that Alyssa was still going to share a room with two other girls to save money (#relatable) but she was hiding the money aspect of that from everyone. I think a little more closure on that end would have been nice, whether it was from Alyssa telling her sisters about it or something else.


All in all, this was a marvelous YA read full of magical moments and characters with tons of heart! I was so enchanted while reading this I thought a fairy godmother had put a spell on me!  I would absolutely recommend this book, especially as a fun spring/summer read.
5/5 exceptional stars!

Here's a link to buy: "The Truth about Happily Ever After"