I’ve said before that Harper Bliss is hit and miss, and this is definitely much more of a hit. While not quite reaching the heights of A Family Affair or the Two Hearts trilogy, and while it had an odd word choice or two, it was wonderful. The character development was great, and it didn’t fall into any of the pitfalls of a lesser Bliss offering.

Raffo is an artist who, after getting dumped by her girlfriend of ten years, needs to get her artistic mojo back and paint again. Har best friend packs her off to his mother’s lake house to find inspiration in the beautiful scenery, while his mother is on a trip around Europe.

Dylan has made a very unwise investment in cryptocurrency, and is hiding out at her lake house, pretending to still be on her planned trip around Europe that she can no longer afford. She is embarrassed by her poor investment and needs a few months to build up the courage to admit the truth to her son.

When Raffo arrives and sees Dylan, she is the only beautiful scenery she needs to get her artistic mojo back and start painting again.

Bliss does a great job of making each character unique and have their own story. The obstacles the characters face to finding happiness feel real, and are given time and space to be overcome realistically and satisfactorily.

There are some great shout-outs to other Blissverse characters, as well as a wonderful and surprising cameo by two non-Blissverse characters!

I finished this book within a day, which suggests how much I liked it!