Katherine Center will always be an automatic read for me. It's so nice to see protagonists in their 30s, and it's nice that this author often writes about teachers.

Happiness for Beginners follows Hellen on a journey that is supposed to reset her life and help her find happiness. Now one year after her divorce from her alcoholic ex-husband, Hellen is ready to find happiness for herself. She's tired of living alone, working and coming home, with only her crotchety rescued Dachshund for company. She's tired of being on edge all the time and feeling stuck. So, she signs up for a month-long, once in a lifetime wilderness hike. Has she ever hiked before? Nope. Is that going to stop her? Nope. She's always been a great student and a quick study, and why should this be any different?

When Hellen goes to drop her neurotic dog off to stay at her brother's house, she realizes her brother's best friend, Jake, is going on the same hiking trip and he needs a ride all the way out west, over a thousand miles. Jake is 10 years younger than Hellen and she has no patience for him. This is not the start to her life altering journey that she envisioned. But they can pretend to be strangers once the hike starts, so she agrees to take him along.

I loved going on this hike with Hellen and Jake and all the college students and wilderness-wannabes. I felt like I was going on the same journey with them, only about 40 pounds lighter since I didn't have to carry a pack of food and supplies and I could take a shower and sleep in a bed any time I wanted.

Center's books are always soft romances. They rarely go beyond kissing, so if you're looking for something clean, these are as squeaky as it gets. They're just cute, fun reads.