I feel incredibly protective of And They Lived Happily Ever After. It’s a lovely and vulnerable book and it’s been hard for me to articulate why I like it so much with out getting all “not like the other girls” about it. I am seeing it being advertised as a rom com, and it really isn’t. It is most definitely a romance, and it is funny in parts, but it’s angsty. It will make your heart ache, beautifully. Additionally, Therese Beharrie infuses some magical realism with the romance.
Gaia is a romance writer living outside of Cape Town, SA. She keeps herself fairly isolated, relying mainly on her long time best friend, Seth, for human contact. When Seth insists she come to a party that he and his girlfriend are throwing, she brings a book so that she can take a break from peopleing. While hiding away from social interaction, she is reintroduced to Seth’s younger brother, Jacob. Jacob had a crush on Gaia years ago, but has been working non-stop the last few years to keep his family business afloat. Their banter quickly turns into a serious make out session until they are interrupted by Seth. Jacob wants to pursue the relationship, Gaia wants to retreat. That night, Jacob finds himself an active participant in Gaia’s dream. Gaia’s secret is that she dreams what she has written that day, and can change the words on paper in her dreams.
There is a lot going on in And They Lived Happily Ever After. Jacob and Gaia have to figure out their relationship. Jacob has to decide if he wants to keep sacrificing his life for the family business. Seth and Gaia’s friendship is put to the test. Gaia has a self-described stalker who doesn’t seem threatening, just odd, and Gaia has to acknowledge the seriousness of her anxiety disorder. On top of that are the dreams Gaia and Jacob share. It’s a lot, and Beharrie weaves it all together well.
Periodically, someone will announce that they are doing something new and different in the romance genre, and usually all they are doing is showing their ignorance and disdain. Therese Beharrie makes her love of the genre very clear in And They Lived Happily Ever After. Still, she has written a romance that feels different. The difference comes from Beharrie telling the story she wants to tell, the way she wants to tell it, and that’s the best kind of different.