Deftly mixing humor and pathos, Sarah Dunn's Secrets to Happiness delivers an entertaining story of professional women living the city life. It has been likened to a hybrid of Candace Bushnell, Edith Wharton, and Jane Austen, and Kirkus Reviews calls it a "smart chick-lit tale with dark undertones." Recently divorced Holly is intelligent and spunky-and her priceless ruminations on love, life, and happiness are not to be missed.
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"I enjoyed this book as I really related to a lot of what was written about. It almost felt like Dunn followed my life and decided to write all about it! Thankfully my dog is not sick though. Some parts were hard to read as my breakup is still raw, but a great read nonetheless. "
— Kourtney (4 out of 5 stars)
" not a great book but it kept me interested and entertained. Holly Frick is a New Yorker dumped by her husband and trying to make it back to a happy life. Funny. Some raunchy bits. "
— Janell, 2/15/2014" Is it fair for me to give this a 3 when I don't really like this genre--the aren't we clever citydwellers novel...but it wasn't horrible &the main character at least addresses some ideas about morality & life & seems to have learned a little. The book did make me think about marriage today & present-day expectations of happiness w/ a partner. "
— Kris, 2/3/2014" I actually ended up liking this book a lot, although it meanders and there are a lot of characters and sometimes I wasn't sure whose story I was supposed to be paying the most attention to...BUT! It came together nicely. No pat endings, but still - a sense of satisfaction. The writer got funnier as the book progressed. "
— Yag, 2/2/2014" Good book, although I wasn't quite sure what the point of it was... "
— Angeld01, 1/28/2014" a good light read on vacation. I read 2 somewhat serious books - and then hit this one up. Did the job, and read it in a day poolside! "
— Heidi, 1/24/2014" Light, entertaining, an easy read but still enjoyable. "
— Billiesue, 1/22/2014" Absolute DUD! Do not waste your time reading. "
— Eileen, 1/4/2014" Definately chick lit, light. I thought is was funny in parts and very easy to read. Interesting characters. "
— Sharon, 1/2/2014" An entertaining gloss on the single-people-in-NY theme. Reminiscent of (but not as satisfying) Laurie Colwin and Cathleen Schine, and also James Collins' Beginner's Greek. Why do novels about single people in NY so often feature a heroine named Holly? "
— Lynne, 12/31/2013" I just reviewed this novel. I didn't realize until after I read the whole thing that I had read her earlier novel, Big Love. This one has a similarly confused ex-evangelical main character. A love story, sort of. Chick lit, sort of. Drama, sort of. Comedy, sort of. Nice. "
— Anika, 12/19/2013" Not as great as I thought it would be! "
— Maria, 12/16/2013" Good read but no umph for me "
— Mayra, 12/11/2013" Writing was good enough but the story was too formulaic and contrived. "
— Samuel, 12/10/2013" Two and a half. Mostly good brain candy reading, but she tried to get some philosophical contemplations in from time to time, and those passages just tended to feel like they rambled. "
— Leanne, 12/8/2013" A potato chip book. Perfect for a cold fall weekend day. Very New Yorky...which can wear thin on the rest of the 49. "
— Em, 11/19/2013" it was ok - don't have much more to say. "
— Monica, 10/30/2013" Everyone has different things that make them happy. I really enjoyed Holly. Most of the other characters got on my nerves. "
— Tonya, 10/29/2013" Eh. This book was easy to read and quick, which was a nice change of pace after reading a 500 page book about drug dealing and how America has failed Baltimore. It's funny once in a while, but the book doesn't have much to offer other than an adorable cover of a puppy sleeping. "
— Shannon, 10/28/2013" loved this book. one secret "the secret to a happy marriage is to marry a happy person"...so true... "
— Sheri, 7/26/2013" I felt like this book was missing 100 pages in the middle - the characters were well-defined and the dialogue was amusing, but the story was so sketchy. "
— Adele, 7/1/2013" I really related to the main character of this book. She was a total self-righteous priss and I loved her. The dialogue here is priceless, too. :-) "
— Lucy, 4/4/2013" I didn't know what to make of this book - it was funny at certain points but then I didn't really get what the point was at times or what direction this author was going.. "
— Lea, 4/3/2013" I enjoyed the book, but I don't think the connection between Holly and Chester (the dog) was strong enough. The writing was very light and entertaining. I will definitely be picking up her other book! "
— Megan, 2/17/2013" I had highly anticipated reading this book, but it really didn't do anything for me. I didn't like most of the characters. They had these grand conversations that didn't interest me. There were too many narrators. This book really disappointed me. "
— Courtney, 12/5/2012" Probably 3.5-4 stars. Good dialogue: realistic and easy to "hear" characters. Some interesting observations. A twist I didn't see coming. "
— Kerry, 7/16/2012" Yay for chick-lit beach reads! "
— Kristy, 6/9/2012" This was a solid 3. A fun, lighthearted story. I liked the main character and I liked how the dog fit into the story. However, there were a few characters that I could not get into, skimmed those parts and didn't feel like I was lost. "
— Stacey, 3/24/2012" great quirky characters but lacking much of a story. Needed more plot development for my personal taste. "
— Janet, 7/23/2011" Like a box of chocolates-easy to devour, with no bad aftertaste, but not much redeeming value either. "
— Jackie, 4/21/2011" A really interesting weaving of different characters. Quick read, lots of fun, and not as "happy" as I thought it would be. "
— Jessica, 4/17/2011" I liked it - even though jumping from character to character made it feel very disjointed. 3-dimensional characters. Great dialogue. True to the back tag "Smart, heartwarmingly funny." "
— Peggy, 4/15/2011" Not as good as Sarah Dunn's Big Love but it was okay. There were parts that I laughed out loud but not enough that I would put this on a list of recommendations.<br/> "
— Irene, 4/4/2011" Not as great as I thought it would be! "
— Maria, 2/25/2011" Absolute DUD! Do not waste your time reading. "
— Eileen, 2/3/2011" Just what I needed. Another book reminding me how little I am missing by not being a single woman in Manhattan. <br/>However, did make me laugh out loud several times. "
— Leslie, 11/24/2010" There's not much that's interesting about this book, and the characters struck me as a little lifeless. (Plus there's a dog on the cover, and the dog doesn't have as much to do with the plot as one might assume.) But it's perfect for an airplane ride or a day at the beach. "
— Liz, 11/8/2010" Sometimes funny, but otherwise just kind of a sad and strange collection of stories. I admire the author's attempt to "keep it real" but there just weren't enough likeable characters or engaging plot-lines to make me recommend this. "
— Heather, 11/5/2010" I felt like this book was missing 100 pages in the middle - the characters were well-defined and the dialogue was amusing, but the story was so sketchy. "
— Adele, 11/2/2010" Wasnt a "I cant put this book down" kind of book.. but it was ok "
— Crystal, 10/29/2010Sarah Dunn has worked as a senior writer for Murphy Brown and as the executive story editor for Spin City. She was a co-producer for Veronica’s Closet before leaving TV to write her first novel, The Big Love, which has been translated into twenty-three languages.
Julie Dretzin, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is an actress who has appeared in Breaking Bad and several motion pictures, including the film adaptation of Alex Flinn’s Beastly.