Excellent Debut Novel

I felt drawn into Tatum’s story, often forgetting it was only fiction. Once, I had to remind myself that M. Domínguez was a fictional character – that he isn’t a best-selling author with decades of dirty secrets. I worked myself up thinking, “How can this author still be so powerful? After all this?” Villarreal-Moura’s writing feels personal and raw. Like Happiness often reads like a memoir, albeit the best-written memoir I’ve ever seen.

Like Happiness is a fiery rebuke of fame and a thorough examination of what it’s like to be under the thumb of a cult of personality. While it’s not comfortable to think about, patriarchal men in power sometimes create disposable young women, using and abusing the women in their path. The final twist of the Like Happiness is shocking and couldn’t have been better.

Ursula Villarreal-Moura has much to say about power, influence, gender, sexuality, and cultural identity. There’s also great bisexual representation! The narrative structure in Like Happiness also works extremely well, particularly the almost-epistolary sections from Tatum to Mateo. I thoroughly enjoyed Like Happiness and can’t recommend it enough.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Thanks to Celadon and Macmillan Audio for providing me with arcs of the book! All the above thoughts are my own.