Book Review: ‘A Happy Catastrophe: A Novel’ By Maddie Dawson

A heart-warming story of letting go of the past and moving forward. It shows the power of a child and the love that can come from that. You will root for the main characters to be able to overcome their past and be a family. Just a really well-written book from author Maddie Dawson.

Marnie McGraw is a match-maker. She has a knack for knowing when two people are meant to be together. She also owns a flower shop in New York. She never planned to stay here until she inherited a building and met Patrick. He has been the love of her live now for 4 years. But he has baggage. He was in a bad fire years ago and his then girlfriend died in the fire. He feels guilty about that still. He also has burns on his face and hands. He doesn’t like to go out much or be around people. He’s an artist and has had some success in the past.

Now Marnie tells him she wants to have a baby. He is not into this. He doesn’t feel he would be a good dad. Marnie is determined and even thinks she might be pregnant but she’s not. He agrees that maybe they can try. And then out of the blue a woman from his past shows up and says hi here is your daughter Fritzie. And guess what she’s yours to keep for now. Her mother is taking off to Italy to be with her boyfriend.

Now Patrick must learn how to be a dad. Marnie is happy to play step-mom for the moment. And then Patrick gets an offer to do a showing and has only a few months to get his collection together. And he works like crazy. And he keeps hearing his late girlfriend’s voices in his head. And he withdraws. He can’t handle all this and soon makes a rash decision and makes a shocking medical statement to Marnie.

When Marnie has to go to Florida after her father has a heart attack, Patrick must be a full-time dad. And this changes him and he finally deals with his past. But is it too late for him to fix everything he has ruined?

You can pick up A Happy Catastrophe in stores on Tuesday, May 26th.