Tori Whitaker

Two women, two different eras, but basically the same.

Both Violet and Melanie want to be independent women.

Violet is Melanie's great, great, great aunt.

Upon her death, Violet leaves Melanie a car with a hidden journal inside.

Melanie learns a lot about her aunt from the journal and also about herself. Were they actually similar in their thoughts and desires?

A MATTER OF HAPPINESS is a lovely, lovely read that takes us from the 1920's to 2018 as we see the similarities both women faced in their personal and professional lives in each time period.

You will fall in love with both Violet and Melanie, love their strengths, and cheer for the success in their endeavors.

Historical fiction fans, women's fiction fans, and fans of vintage cars will adore this book.

Marvelous research - do not miss!! 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.… (mehr)

Imagine inheriting a car from a beloved relative and finding out that she left you much more than a vehicle.

Melanie mourns the loss of her beloved aunt but as she goes through the Jordan MX she has been bequeathed she finds her Aunt’s journal which turns out to be a far greater gift than the car. In it she reads the ups and downs of Violet’s life and the struggles that she had when women were considered useful for two things – housewifery and producing children.

But Violet chose to fight convention much as Melanie does and the parallels between their lives offers some clues to Melanie as to what may lie ahead should she choose to continue her path.

This was a won

derful read about two strong women in male dominated worlds. As many of us can attest the times changed but only so far and they still need to change more. It was a book I had a hard time putting down and I really loved both these characters. I did find Violet’s story slightly more compelling but only slightly.

I received a free copy for my honest review… (mehr)

This beautifully written novel looks at women and how they are viewed by the world and how they view themselves. It's told in two timelines in the 1920s and modern day. A lot of the time I enjoy one time period more than the other in dual time line stories. In A Matter of Happiness, I enjoyed both time lines and really enjoyed reading about the growth of the woman who was telling her story.

1920s - Violet decides to leave her home in Kentucky and move to Detroit to work and learn more about life. She gets a job, moves into a boarding house and begins to make friends. Her best friend Lela is very rich and soon Violet and Lela are spending their off hours at speakeasies and having lots of fun. Violet starts dating Robert and that relationship leads her to a major decision in her life -- is she willing to marry if it means giving up her new found freedom as woman?
2018- Melanie is part of the public relations department at a bourbon distillery in Louisville Ky. She has just broken her engagement because her boyfriend wanted her to give up her job and move so that he could get a better job. She loves her job and is putting in lots of extra hours on a new brand of bourbon and trying very head to get a much sought after promotion. Violet was her great aunt and as she was investigating the car that Violet left for her ( a scarlet-red Jordan MX Playboy) she finds Violet's journal hidden in the trunk. As she reads more about Violet's quest to be an independent woman, she realizes that Violet is also sharing what she learned in her life and during her adventure in Detroit. In many ways. Violet and Melanie had some of the same challenges in their lives in their quest to learn what it really means to be a woman.
This intriguing dual time line novel is about family and love, adventure and fulfillment but most of all it's about learning to be an independent woman while making sure you remember what's the most important part of life -- happiness.… (mehr)