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Review: The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley book cover on blue background

I know I have a divergent opinion from the vast majority of readers, so I'm only sharing these thoughts on my blog and nowhere else. I'm pretty bummed that this clean fiction book did not land for me, and was probably the most surprised that The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh was such an opposite experience from what I expected.

Book Synopsis

She’s out to prove that there’s no such thing as choosing happiness.

Isadora Bentley follows the rules. Isadora Bentley likes things just so. Isadora Bentley believes that happiness is something that flat-out doesn’t exist in her life—and never will.

As a university researcher, Isadora keeps to herself as much as possible. She avoids the students she’s supposed to befriend and mentor. She stays away from her neighbors and lives her own quiet, organized life in her own quiet, organized apartment. And she will never get involved in a romantic relationship again—especially with another academic. It will be just Isadora and her research. Forever.

But on her thirtieth birthday, Isadora does something completely out of character. The young woman who never does anything “on a whim” makes an impulse purchase of a magazine featuring a silly article detailing “Thirty-One Ways to Be Happy”—which includes everything from smiling at strangers to exercising for endorphins to giving in to your chocolate cravings. Isadora decides to create her own secret research project—proving the writer of the ridiculous piece wrong.

As Isadora gets deeper into her research—and meets a handsome professor along the way—she’s stunned to discover that maybe, just maybe, she’s proving herself wrong. Perhaps there’s actually something to this happiness concept, and possibly there’s something to be said for loosening up and letting life take you somewhere . . . happy.

Source: Amazon

Book Thoughts

It's unfortunate that this book ended up being so tedious for me to get through, especially after seeing glowing reviews from other Christian book reviewers and because I've read the author's previous Christian fiction books and greatly enjoyed them. I don't know if my tastes have changed so much that clean fiction isn't as palatable for me, but this book left me feeling empty, frustrated, and disappointed that I had waited so long for this library hold to arrive, only for the book to be less than a happy experience. Though Isadora has the potential to be a quirky character, her insecurities are overwhelming and I disliked her point of view because she was in her head so much. In fact, the whole book felt like being in the middle of a self-help book from the perspective of someone who is utterly self-focused. I wanted to DNF the title much earlier, but held out in case the character could change. Though the changes are incremental, Isadora continued to hurt people in the name of self-preservation well near the end of the book, though I did appreciate that there was some repentance.

Spiritually speaking, I was even more disappointed as the Christian worldview was not represented. Mentions of yoga, psychics, seances, and taking control of one's life riddled the book, and did not come across as any different from a secular clean book other than a few scant references to prayer. I did enjoy some of the characters outside of Isadora, such as Marty, an older man who imparts wisdom; however, the story wasn't enough to keep my attention. I had hoped that the information about research work would be an intriguing premise as an alternative to some of the female STEM fiction out there, but it felt like Isadora's path to happiness was painful and unfulfilling. I wish she could have encountered the life-changing joy found in Jesus Christ, but seeing as how this was a clean fiction book from a Christian publisher and not Christian fiction, I can see why this was not emphasized. Saying all that, though, I fully recognize that I'm in the extreme minority on this book and just because it didn't land right for me in terms of clean fiction doesn't mean that others won't enjoy Isadora's happiness experiment.

Book Summary

  • Format of book: 📱
  • Rating: ⭐ (an extra ⭐ if you don't mind this book premise and being in Isadora's head)
  • Recommendation: 👎
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