About Sierra
Reviewer.
Mom-to-be.
Reader.
Pharmacist.
I try things in real life so you don't have to guess.
I'm still a pharmacist, and one that is board certified in pediatrics...just call me Sierra Richard, PharmD, BCPPS (Actually, please don't. I prefer to go by Sierra even if I did work hard for all those letters behind my name.)
After spending over 15 years working in a pharmacy, that part of my brain never really clocks out. I read ingredient lists for fun and just to see what is actually in the lotion I love. I compare materials and sizing down to the last detail. I research the reason why a good deal might just be too good to be true. The "pharm" in Happy Pharm Life isn't about pharmacy content anymore. It's about putting my pharmacist investigative skills to the test in life outside of the pharmacy walls.
Why "Happy Pharm Life" Still Fits
Honest beats hyped. You deserve the real review, not a sales pitch pretending to be one.
Real life is the test. If it can't survive a workday, a road trip, and eventually a baby, it's not a win.
Your money matters. I'd rather save you from a bad purchase than earn a commission on it.
Every family shops differently. Big budget, tiny budget, registry, or last-minute panic order. No judgment here.
What I Believe
Every review comes from real use in my real life, not a product description.
I actually Use it
You'll know how i got it
Gifted or purchased, I tell you up front. Always.
The good, the meh, and the nope.
If something falls short, you'll hear about it. A review that only says nice things isn't helping anyone.
How I Review
I love to read & share book reviews.
Here's why.
Growing Up
Small Town Missouri
I grew up in the town with the only log library in the state of Missouri. My parents read to me from day one and our house always had a full bookshelf. Scholastic Book Fair days felt like holidays. The Boxcar Children, Goosebumps, The Magic Treehouse. Reading wasn't a hobby. It was just part of who I was.
Non-Fiction Only
College & Pharmacy School
Studying took over. The only reading happening was clinical research papers, slideshow presentations and textbook chapters. The reader in me didn't disappear. If I did get a spare moment to read, it was a book to become a better leader or learn how to start a business. The fiction reader inside me though, she just went quiet and waited.
November 2023
Black Friday Scribes
I needed someone to talk to about these books, so I handed Fourth Wing to my best friend and said "you have to read this right now." She did. We started talking about books constantly anyway, so we launched Scribes Quadrant on Bookstagram and BookTok together. A whole little corner of the internet for romance and fantasy readers.
October 2023
The Beach
Burned out and running
on empty, I packed a
beach bag and threw in a copy of Fourth Wing on a whim. I did not put it down. I came home completely reignited, after also immediately picking up A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and officially fell back into reading with my whole chest. The fiction lover in me was back.
February 2024
My Reader ARC
Through an Instagram ad I almost scrolled past, I learned that publishers were actively looking for reviewers just like me. I applied. I got my first physical ARC. Then another. Then eARCs and ALCs started coming in. I became an Entangled Publishing Influencer and started reviewing on NetGalley. My ARC reviewer era had officially begun.
I fully, unapologetically obsessed with The Twilight Saga. I devoured The Hunger Games. I screamed when I heard the ending of the Divergent series. I couldn't get enough of the fictional (and mostly dystopian) worlds inside the pages of the books being released in the early 2000s. And don't even get me started on the movies...
The Teen Years
Wishing I was in Forks
Today
My Reviewer Era
I realized the process I had figured out on my own did not need to be that hard for other readers. So I built the roadmap I wished I'd had, the ARC Reviewer Bootcamp, and Happy Pharm Life grew into a real home base for romance and fantasy readers ready to step into the reviewer space.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Contemporary Romance
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
Cozy Fantasy
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
Romantasy
My Favorite Books
Home upgrades, travel and road trip gear, holiday decor, and the random gadgets that give me Scholastic book fair energy all over again. If it makes busy life easier (or a lot more fun), I'm testing it.
Amazon Finds
I'm a lifelong reader and I still review books because you don't have time to read a book you won't love. I keep things spoiler-free, honest, and have something for nearly every kind of reader, audiobook lovers included!
Book Reviews
The maternity clothes that actually stretch with you, the baby gear worth the space it takes up, and the little things I wish someone had told me sooner. Tested by a working mom-to-be who reads every label.
How I ended up reviewing nearly everything I own
For years, pharmacy was my whole identity. I worked overnight shifts at a women's and children's hospital, then moved into a research role where I was 50 studies behind and barely breathing. (Would not recommend.)
On a beach vacation in 2023, I picked up Fourth Wing just to escape for a minute. One book turned into over 150, and I started writing reviews. That's when it clicked for me: reviews are for the people reading them. A good review saves someone time, money, and a whole lot of disappointment.
So I started reviewing more than books. Home finds, gadgets, seasonal decor, and yes, even a few dragon eggs that ended up next to my Fourth Wing collection. It turns out I love testing things and telling people the truth about them.
Now I'm a working mom-to-be, and my review list looks a little different. Maternity clothes, baby essentials, home upgrades, and the gear that gets us out the door on a trip are all getting tested in my own life, on my own schedule, by someone who does not have time for products that don't work. Every single thing has to earn its place in a house that's about to get a lot louder (and filled will a lot more love).