Wow! This was a great debut novel. This is a story set in upstate New York and takes place in a bar called The Final Final in the span of one evening. Emma is the main character and through her memories we see how she came to be at the bar that night and why she is alone.

I really enjoyed this book. There were some absolutely fabulous lines in it including “My anger is like rancid food that’s been sitting out too long. No one dares touch it” and “Our town is like a woman who looks good from fifty yards”. You could feel Emma’s anger and sadness throughout the book and it took past the middle of the book to find out why. I liked that it was written like this and made me want to read more. I don’t want to give too much away as each chapter gave more insight to Emma and the pinnacle moment that it changed it forever.


This was a fast paced, well written novel and I would definitely recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Anna Bruno for the opportunity to read this wonderfully haunting debut novel - 5 stars!

"You can worry all you want, but you'll never predict the thing that will destroy you." It's the ordinary hazards of life that change us, each small decision that leads us to where we are. This story takes place over a single day, as Emma is in a bar, The Final Final, drinking to escape her pain and past. As the night passes, Emma reminisces and we learn how she finds herself divorced from her husband, Lucas, alone in the bar while ignoring frantic calls from her friends and coworkers. We learn about all those tiny decisions she made and how she now has to learn to make peace with them or give up. We also learn about the secrets and backstories of the regulars at the bar, those she and Lucas considered friends in her before life.

This is just a fabulously-written character study. You will feel deeply for Emma as she tries to live with her losses and grief. I loved the relationship she had with Lucas, Lion and Addie. This is a story of trying to deal with all that grief and come out on the other side, changed but alive and hopeful. There are so many themes in this book to discuss that it would be such a wonderful book club selection. It's a very quietly powerful novel.

On a personal note, I loved that this took place in Upstate NY, although a different part from where I live. I related to Emma's musings on Lucas' job as a drywaller and the 5 levels. And since my own husband is building our home without any subcontractors, I definitely related to their personal joke, "Everything left to do is just cosmetic."

After just having finished it, I find myself wanting to read it again to pick up more of the stories and feelings. Highly recommended!

Gorgeous, gritty writing, with so much emotion behind it.
The setting is one eventful night in a seedy local bar in upstate New York, as Emma examines her life and motivations for staying in a place she hardly belongs.
She is not a "local"- really, she just loved and lost one, which is why she can't leave.
Great character development, I fell in love with Lucas, didn't really care for Emma, but found her and rest of the bar denizens interesting.
I thought the flashbacks were the best part of the story, but the switch from past to present seemed a little too abrupt.
The narrative has been compared to "Ask Again, Yes" - it has the same raw emotion and unapologetic directness to the characters.
I struggled at the begining to stay focused because it seemed to be all about her and her problems, which I didn't think sounded so bad - she was from a privleged background, had a great education, was financially successful, had a wonderful, caring husband, a dog, a child, a house, everything - but the writing was so good.
The horrible loss and guilt everyone involved felt at the pivotal moment of the book and the climax of events at the bar really made it for me.

The experience of reading of this felt extremely surreal. Written over one evening, we meet Emma at 5PM at the local bar. During the hours she is there the debut author Anna Bruno paints a very real and painful picture of this woman’s life.

Written entirely from Emma’s point of view, this book goes between past and present seamlessly in each chapter. At times it felt like we were getting a stream of consciousness from her.

It does not take long to realize something happened to Emma, she appears to be an alcoholic at least in the present. While the townies support and accept her, we know she is struggling. That is where she starts thinking of her past, her successful business, a book, her husband, child and dog.

Everything appears to be great, until about two-thirds of the book, where Bruno drops the bombshell. While is not so surprising what has happened to Emma, it still does not hurt nonetheless when it finally comes out.

Anna Bruno took time and care to tell this story. This was not an easy story to write, but she gave it the tenderness it deserves. She wrote a beautiful story with a great ending, that will leave you thinking about this for a long time.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One of the markings of a good novel is the reader’s ability to create a mental picture of the setting, one as complete as possible down to the tendril of smoke from a dying cigarette to the emotional circle that engulfs the characters.
Anna Bruno provides readers with that, and much more, in her debut novel, “Ordinary Hazards,” named a Best Debut Novel for 2020 by Library Journal. The setting is a neighborly hole-in-the-wall bar with a regular clientele of multi-layered misfits that use each other as emotional crutches for their own dysfunctions.
The novel opens with a 5 p.m. time stamp at the Final Final, a dive bar near the edge of town frequented by townies and the occasional college kid. As Emma settles in for her first drink of the night, she begins to reflect on her existence, referring to it as the “before and after,” the “then and now,” the “if only, … if only.”
As the hours tick by, the more Emma drinks, and the more she reveals about her life and those drawn to The Final Final. The small group of fellow barflies – Jimmy, Amelia, Yag, Cal, Summer and the two Petes - circle the bar’s dim lights in a desperate attempt to make sense of their lives, hopes and need to belong somewhere, even if it’s a small dive with a tin ceiling and chipped vinyl floor.
Emma first came to the bar years ago with then-boyfriend Lucas. She’s still there after their divorce has been finalized, hoping to see him, hear about him and revive his presence through bar friends who knew him “before” and now her “after.” The regulars have let her into their circle because of Lucas, and they now they allow her to stay because of him.
Bruno keeps her readers mostly in the dark about what has transpired between Emma and Lucas. As the clock ticks towards last call, a dog named Abby is all they seem to share now.
The “before” story spills out as Emma sinks into deep reflection about her own family, her business failures and success, and her marriage highs. Flashbacks and sidebars weave in and out as booze flows and tempers flare. The “after” is slower to show itself, but when it does, it’s an emotional punch in the gut with a quick one-two combo of regret and loss.
The plot line is fascinating, but it’s the circumstances – raw and relatable - that stand out in this novel. Emma’s thoughts and memories, the writer’s turn phrasing, draw readers in and hugs them tight. Yes, the story is slow to build, but it has to move slowly forward to show the impact of looking backward.
Some reviews have compared Bruno’s writing to that of Celeste Ng (Everything I Never Told You; Little Fires Everywhere)) and Claire Messud (The Emperor’s Children, The Woman Upstairs), which is unfair. Bruno deserves to stand out in the crowd and on her own

Emma finds herself in her safe place for the night, small time bar called The Final Final, a symbolic name as this night is going to help her determine how she is going to spend the rest of her life after this tragedy that led to her divorce from Lucas.

Not only was the story interesting, deep, meaningful, smart, intellectual, and realistic, but it was also violent, raw, ponderous, and relatable, so fast-paced and full of symbolism. Several times, I referred to my own decisions made since I became a mom and questions so them. You would think that a story about a woman spending the night in a bar would bore you out of your mind, but that was not the case; Emma had legitimate thoughts and memories that kept coming to mind that helped us unravel the how’s and why’s of what we were about to discover. The supporting cast was also enjoyable to getting to know: Jimmy and the bunch of the Final Final.

This book was so good and so smart, please pick it up if you enjoy contemporary novels, drama or a story set in closed place.

This was a unique well-written story that unfortunately will not be everyone’s cup of tea. Why? Because it is a slow burn, character driven, set in one evening story of love, loss, regrets, hopes, and forgiveness, that will either grab the reader’s heartstrings, and pull hard or it will bring confusion and lack of understanding to what the ultimate goal of the story was. Luckily, I belong to the first group of readers, and I enjoyed this book wholeheartedly.

If you enjoy unique contemporary fiction, and you don’t mind slow reveals and less than perfect characters, this one is for you. This being the author’s debut novel, I am more than willing and excited to read her next book.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books, and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Anna Bruno’s debut novel is a contemplative, earnest narrative on regrets, loss, and grief. It takes place in The Final Final, a dive bar, the last stop on the way out of town. Emma sits among the friends of her ex-husband as she ruminates over memories, trying to make sense of life; ‘𝘪𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺.’ As the hours tick by, alcohol is consumed, emotions flare, truths are revealed, and soon Emma’s night is a volatile mess.

This story is unique in that it takes place over one evening in the bar. We get more of the story through flashbacks and sidebars when Emma reflects upon what brought her to this point in life. Immediately you get a sense of regret and loss, but we are not privy to the details. Emma is a very successful businesswoman and author; that part of her life hasn’t always fit in seamlessly with the rest of her life, regretfully. We come to learn that she had a legacy to live up to - her father. Emma never felt she was quite good enough for the man she adored but learned to despise.

As the hours pass away at The Final Final we learn more about Emma’s marriage to Lucas. They met at this very bar. Maybe that’s why she’s come, hoping he'll walk in, or to hear news from one of the guys as to what Lucas has been up to. There is this cold shoulder Emma receives from some in the bar, and yet, is that pity we sense too? Bruno keeps you in the dark for most of the book: making you wonder, what happened between this couple, and why the others are affected too. That echoing ‘𝘐𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺’ becomes a chilling theme.

Although a very somber book, the format is unique. Besides delving deep into grief, it subtly examines issues such as motherhood and feminism too. Emma is a complex character, but I couldn't help but love Addie, Lucas, and Emma’s dog.

Thank you to @netgalley @Atriabooks and @annabrunowriter for this advanced copy for review. All opinions are my own.

This book will be available on August 18, 2020!

What an odd book. It’s not a story that really goes anywhere. Taking place over a single evening, it’s really more the musings of a mid-30ish divorced woman, sitting with friends in a rundown bar called The Final Final. Mostly character portrayals of those she knows now and in the past.
Beautifully written, with unique phrasing. I found myself highlighting phrase after phrase. “My anger is like rancid food that’s been sitting out too long.”
I felt an affinity for Emma, a lover of numbers, her dog and alcohol. “Whiskey is like a down comforter on a cold night. Climb in and adjust, let it warm your body as your body warms it. But know: the longer you stay in, the harder it is to get out. It just feels good.” We slowly learn of her losses and the grief that encompasses her. As the hours go on, we learn about the secrets that everyone has been keeping. All her bar friends came across as so realistic, I could see myself sitting at the bar with them. Each of them has their own regrets and pain. As the alcohol continues to be consumed, poor decisions start snowballing, leading to an irreversible crescendo.
Yet, in the end, it’s a book about forgiveness and hope. It’s about learning to live again. This book really moved me.
My thanks to netgalley and Atria Books for an advance copy of this book.

Ordinary Hazards is a novel about life with all of its hopes, regrets, dreams, ambitions, love, friendship, risks taken, and chances passed by.

Emma sits down in the Final Final local bar at 5 PM and stays there until past closing, trying to drink away her regrets and make some sense of her life. How did all the happiness she had slip away when she wasn't looking? Why did her decisions seem so right and invigorating at the time and so meaningless now? Is it possible to get her life back on track after what's happened? Should she even try?

The Final Final is a bar where everyone is a regular; but it is not her bar, she is accepted only because she was once married to Lucas, one of the regulars. Set in a small town where everyone has known everyone for years and everyone knows everyone else's business, the reader uncovers through Emma's musings and the chatter of the other customers an event that changed everything for them all. But the night is young, and there is far more to come. Little do they realize that their lives will all be changed again.

This story is character based and takes place over the course of one night. I was surprised to learn this is a debut novel for the author; she is definitely one to watch! A bit depressing in these already dark times (thanks pandemic!), but a solid read.

My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions stated here are my own.

Emma finds herself in her safe place for the night, small time bar called The Final Final, à symbolic name as this night is going to help her determine how she is going to read the rest of her life after this tragedy that led to her divorce from Lucas.

Not only was the story interesting, deep, meaningful, smart, intellectual, and realistic, but it was also violent, raw, ponderous, and relatable, so fast-paced and full of symbolism. Several times, I referred to my own decisions made since I became a mom and questions so them. You would think that a story about a woman spending the night in a bar would bore you out of your mind, but that was not the case; Emma had legitimate thoughts and memories that kept coming to mind that helped us unravel the how’s and why’s of what we were about to discover. The supporting cast was also enjoyable to getting to know: Jimmy and the bunch of the Final Final.

This book was so good and so smart, please pick it up if you enjoy contemporary novels, drama or a story set in closed place.

Thank you so much Net Galley, Anna Bruno an so the publisher for this e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

I found the synopsis to Ordinary Hazards to be so intriguing! I loved the idea of a story taking place within a few hours at a bar. Oh, the things that can go through someone's head when they're drinking alone. It did not disappoint!
Emma hit the town bar at 6pm, as per usual, but this turned out to be anything but an ordinary night. As the night wears on and everyone's thoughts/actions become more lucid and unpredictable, Emma's story unfolds. She sips her whiskey as her mind wanders, as she considers what brought her to this moment - why her once promising future on Wall Street ended with her as a teacher/author, living in a small town and a daily patron of the Final Final.

The story unfolded rather slowly but thankfully, as the alcohol worked its magic on Emma (and the other regulars in the bar), her thoughts took a turn and head in a direction much deeper than just surface level musings. I found myself invested in the characters - not only Emma, but Lucas, Lionel, Jimmy, Cal, and even Yag. Emma's biases about each character were apparent but as the evening wore on, each person's struggles, short falls, and mistakes come to light and Emma's opinions about each person changes.
It's a raw look at an individual's life and how decisions shape that person, as well as the lives of those around them. I really enjoyed the unfolding of this story and I intend to read more books by Anna Bruno.

I was quickly drawn in to this story through Bruno's captivating writing and storytelling. The prose had a sort of meditative/contemplative feel to it, as it follows Emma over one night at the local bar as she pours over everything in the last few years that led her to that night. I thought we got a real sense of the small-town vibe of the bar and the community through Emma's interactions over the course of the night, as well as in the flashbacks. Overall, I thought the way things unfolded worked well for the story, although a few parts felt like they dragged on a bit. But I felt that this was a story a lot of people can relate to in the general sense - how did I get here? What do I regret, or not regret? Would I change anything? I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.

4/5 stars

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Went in blind(ish) in. I was trudging thru this. She has had a hard time but it wasn't good. It was slow and blah. It went in and out of different times to understand why she is so sad.

I wanted to finish it to give it a decent review but I was not a big fan.

Thanks netgallryn for this arc...

I finished this one in a single sitting. The story is unlike anything I have ever read. It almost reminded me of The Hateful Eight (2015). The whole story connects to the people that frequent the local bar The Final Final.

Immediately, I connected with the main character, Emma. I thought she was lovable, relatable, and smart. For the second part of the book, I sympathized, even more, when we found out more about her past. The side characters were also well developed.

I also enjoyed the structure of the story. As we are introduced to the characters in the room, we get a small glimpse into their lives. These parts take up most of the first half of the book. Once everyone is established, we focus more on Emma and the events leading up to the ending.

The ending blew my mind and broke my heart.

Overall, this one gave me an indie film vibe. If you love character-centered novels, I'd definitely check this one out.

Anne Bruno wrote a very interesting and honest character driven book about a woman and her grief and loss. Emma loathes her father for what he became and how he treated her and then she becomes her father. She meets Lucas in The Final Final, the neighborhood bar, that has been Lucas and his friends local meeting place and Emma becomes a regular. She writes a best selling book about three people in her life, one being her father, and while on a book tour tragedy strikes, and it’s not until the bar is destroyed that she realizes that if Lucas had been there he would have been able to save it.
This was a very real book showing the emotions Emma goes through in her loss and grief and then the acceptance that her decisions were part of her loss.
Thank you Atria Books for this ARC for an honest review.
#Atriabooks #OrdinaryHazards #goodreads

ORDINARY HAZARDS opens quietly as a youngish woman sits in a lackluster bar on the edge of a small town and proceeds to reflect morosely on her life while getting drunk. She knows the others in the bar fairly well, having sat with them night after night, doing pretty much the same thing. As the book proceeds, readers begin to understand some of the reasons for her drinking and learn more about her cohorts around the bar. Author Anna Bruno has written a surprisingly tender drama of lives on edge and guilt seeping in every which way. The uncertain reasons for the guilt and darkness becomes clearer as the story progresses. Lives can be hard and circumstances difficult; working through trauma makes for interesting stories. This is definitely one of them. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Very engaging story and well written. This is not like any other book I have read. So subtle yet so engaging. The story takes place in a bar with flashbacks so pay attention. Obviously Anna Bruno is a great author, I would read anything from her.

This debut novel grapples with some serious issues – ambition, alcoholism, grief, life in a small town, and consequences for your actions. It is set during one evening that the main character, Emma, spends at the town dive bar. She reminisces as she drinks and drinks, and we learn the back story of the last few years of her life.

The bar, The Final Final, is a bit of a character in the book too. Filled with the same bartender for years, the same patrons, and the same cycles that these characters are living through. Being from a small town, I know the realities of the people that grow up and stay in the town versus those that leave and never come back. We get to know the regulars at the bar, and they are an interesting lot! Many of them are friends from high school and have some old baggage to deal with along with the demands of adult life.

Emma is a Harvard grad, a bigwig in the world of finance, but she has settled in this small town in upstate New York and teaching a business class at the local college. We learn about her ambitious father and how she has always been pushed by him to get to the top. We also learn more about her ex-husband Lucas. There’s also a sweet dog that plays a big part in the book.

This one builds up to a pressure cooker ending and I wasn’t quite sure how it would all play out. In the end, I really liked how the author ended it on a hopeful and forgiving front when much of the book was dealing with tough issues.

Ordinary Hazards, by Anna Bruno, brought to mind two books that I enjoyed a lot,  Ask Again, Yes and When All is Said. The feelings of melancholy, grief, and regret are a part of all three books. In this case, a high achieving financial wizard spends her evenings in a run down bar, in a run down small college town, drinking until she can think no more. She has suffered a great loss, two great losses actually, partly no fault of her own and partly because of decisions and choices she has made. She must forgive, in order to move on, to even want to live again, but her heart is hard and she doesn't even have the strength to forgive herself. 

We know that Emma's marriage broke up nine months ago and it's obvious that she cannot forget her ex-husband, cannot let him go. She eavesdrops on conversations, hoping to hear about him and she knows that he must put in a lot of effort to avoid her since the town is so small. As she downs an enormous amount of alcohol, among people who have been her ex-husband's friends long before she ever came to town, she reminisces about their marriage, her parents, her motivations to succeed, and also her motivations to move to this small town and stay in this small town, when she has/had the financial world at her feet. 

Emma does some really, really deep thinking. If her long and detailed deep thoughts could have been put in footnotes, I'd been very happy to skip over them. But, these thoughts are what make up Emma and what will help her to move on, if it's possible. All she has now is her dog Addie, her work, not her former work which was part of her undoing, but her teaching career, and the bar where she gets drunk more often than not. 

The other regulars at the bar are an interesting lot, complex, and carrying their own heartbreak and burdens. Still, among the sadness there is humor and what I thought was going to be too depressing to read turned out to be a book I did not want to put down. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC.