This book just didn't do anything for me. I like short novels, but ultimately "Happy Hour" felt lackluster and shallow. I am getting too old to like stories about superficial women with no goals or no drive. Just your run-of-the-mill party girl novel. Very surface level and underwhelming.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I expected more from it. The 2 main characters seemed to be just doing the same thing over and over. I know that your 20's is the time to experiment and be adventurous, but sometimes I felt that they were not even enjoying it.

Happy Hour follows two early twenty-somethings as they navigate the summer in New York City. The narrator's voice is very sharp and makes biting comments throughout the novel that reminded me of Naoise Dolan's Exciting Times. Apart from the tone, the exploration of the female friendship between our protagonist Isa and her friend Gala was one of the best representations I, myself an early twenty-something, have seen in literature. Though the novel seems very low-stakes, it still manages to explore more serious topics. Discussions on feminism, racism, classism and grief are woven into the narrative and thus come very naturally to the reader. Overall, a great debut and I will be picking up anything that Marlowe Granados writes next!
Thank you very much to Netgalley and Verso Books for the review copy!

At the end of a happy hour, one of two things happen – the party carries on, or everyone goes home. Halfway through Marlowe Granados’s debut novel, Happy Hour, I was in two minds – stay or go?

Obviously I stayed or I wouldn’t be writing a review.

The narrator, Isa Epley, twenty-one years old, is spending the summer in New York with her best friend, Gala Novak. The girls have hardly a cent to their names, and spend the days doing various cash-in-hand jobs (such as nightclub hostesses, extras on film sets, and life-drawing models) to fund their night-time adventures – bars, restaurants, parties. They rely on tenuous introductions and acquaintances for invitations, meals and trips to the Hamptons.

I can’t tell you how much pressure is put on girls like me and Gala to give other people a good time.

The story is told through Isa’s diary entries, and as the summer progresses, her and Gala’s friendship is strained by their lack of money and differing intentions (I wouldn’t go so far as to say ‘ambitions’ because the girls hardly think a day ahead, let alone months or years).

There is very little ‘action’ – some flirtations, an art show, and toward the end of the novel, Isa reveals she is grieving for her mother – but none of this is substantial or explored in a way that speaks to broader themes. I don’t need ‘action’ if the story focuses on the dynamics of relationships, however, Isa and Gala’s friendship is one-dimensional (and Gala is painted as selfish and irresponsible). There are lots of very good stories about female friendships which hold truth in the dialogue, the small acts of care and the tiny betrayals (Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth springs to mind, and of course the exceedingly more complex Neapolitan series by Elena Ferrante) – unfortunately, Happy Hour falls well short of those.

But somewhere among the endless and interchangeable descriptions of outfits, party-goers, and scrounging cab fares home, nestle Isa’s reflections on people and their behaviour, and these reflections are sharp and insightful.

They seemed to find hardship fascinating – dirty hair but suspiciously straight teeth. Because they begrudgingly accept allowance from their parents, they think they’re not upper-middle-class. There are, of course, slummers in every generation.

These men spoke as though a revolution were going to start right from that very bar – as though what they did was necessary and vital to the world. I can hardly understand how they came to think that way.

Isa is largely unaware that her honesty comes off endearingly as opposed to cocky. She is clear-minded and unapologetic – she knows what she likes (things that are elegant and glamourous) and while she is directionless, she is self-assured.

It takes practice to have restraint, and we are not yet at an age to try it out.

So should I have left after happy hour? Probably, but sometimes the last conversation you have at the end of a long night is the best. I’m not sure who this book will be marketed to – Millennials? Although maybe it says nothing new to them. It will no doubt make a sparkling movie.

2.5/5 Ambivalent.

I received my copy of Happy Hour from the publisher, Head of Zeus, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

📚Book 44 of 2021: Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados

🙏🏻Big Thanks to @netgalley and @versobooks for the ARC

💬Reader’s Digest Version: Happy hour is a chronicle of the lives of two whip-smart, street savvy girls who travel from London to spend the summer in New York City. Having little to no money doesn’t stop them from having the time of their lives as they weave through the city, rubbing elbows with members of high society, movie stars, and other wildly successful people. Their scrappiness, grit, and refusal to sacrifice their fun due to lack of funds makes this an entertaining, at times wildly funny, captivating read.

🏃🏻‍♀️My Take: I loved the honesty in this book. The narrator, Isa’s, observations on New York society had me laughing out loud, nodding my head in agreement, and cringing all at the same time. Let me just say: there are few people in this world more scrappy and determined than a 21 year old girl looking for a good time in a big city. It took me back to my own college days living in Pittsburgh..getting drunk every night. Waking up at 5 am to go to work and then class..then doing it all over again. Nothing got in the way of having a good time for me..and the same can be said for Isa and Gala. While I did enjoy this book, it did start to get a little tedious and repetitive towards the end..maybe a little more substance would have made this more compelling, but overall it was very well written.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This book is getting a lot of attention. I unfortunately wasn't able to read the attachment sent due to letters being dropped throughout the book. I gave it a good try!

Happy Hour provides a glimpse into the life of Isa and Gala, two 21 year-old women trying to get by in New York City without working permits.

I really struggled to read this book. I am usually a sucker for atmospheric novels about nothing much at all, but this did not do it for me at all. The atmosphere Grandos created was cold, as were her protagonists. I got the sense that Grandos was attempting to tell the story of self-made women, who make it in the world with little support, but Isla and Gala read as more self-indulged than anything else. I was also shocked at their attendance at a Kimono themed party, which seemed to be hosted and attended by non-Japanese people. This display of mindless cultural appropriation is not cute or quirky and had no place in this book.

It's likely that the themes dealt with in this book and the way they are dealt with are just not my favourites. Grandos shows great promise as a prose writer, and I would try other work by her in the future.

This was an okay book but not really my cup of tea. Easily forgettable and I just don’t find it interesting. Would still recommend to other people who particularly like this genre.

Two young women on the cusp of discovery. One chronicles their nightly forays into the great breathing giant that is New York. The other embraces every open door they go through. It’s a great first moment for this writer. It’s open and honest as only first moments can be. The cold light of day only allows them to burn brighter.

A very unexpected book. Starts out as what seems to be a chick-lit party girl tale about 21-year-old Isa and Gala who move from London to New York City, who in between "doing nothing" half-heartedly run a stall in a street market on weekends, in between living New York night life to the fullest on everyone else's dime. A pretty good playbook for how to hobnob with the NY jet set for essentially free. Very lighthearted at the start, particularly Isa's situation turns darker as time goes on, and we eventually get a look at the grief that lies under her carefree facade. While not the book I thought I'd be reading, an interesting surprise.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had a difficult time getting into this book - not sure if I just didn't relate to the narrator's sensibilities or was looking for more action. I did enjoy the descriptive quality of writing and think Granados did a nice job of capturing the frivolous and somewhat frantic nature of young New Yorkers trying to soak up city life.

I wanted to like this book I really did. I just couldn't get into it. The flow of the book was not for me. I had a hard time following the plot and the climax was not much of a climax. I feel like I just followed a 20 something girl around while she went out and got drinks and a job. I wanted to get into it and I feel that this style of writing will really appeal to some people but it just did not appeal to me.

If the vibe of HOT GIRL SUMMER was a book, it would be Happy Hour. Two twenty-something dazzling young women decide to take over NYC, cocktail-by-cocktail. Formatted as a diary of one summer, readers are taken on a journey through Isa and Gala's world in NYC, and the excitement and stress of making it work in the Big Apple when you have no job, but lots of connections.

I will admit that the book feels repetitive (wake-up, find work, go out, drink, fall asleep, repeat) at times. But Isa's internal thoughts help to break it up. the interactions between Isa and her male suitors felt very realistic. (Haven't we all had a past boyfriend who is giving mix signals and was confusing all the time?)

I found myself picking the book up whenever I had a moment as I wanted to know what shenanigans Isa and Gala would find themselves in next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Verso Books for providing me with an ARC of Happy Hour. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

Based on the publishers blurb and brief description this book seemed like something I’d really enjoy, unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Perhaps it’s my age, or expectations but this book fell short in plot, writing, creativity and purpose. I hate to write negative reviews as not every book is for every reader,I just found myself bored by Isa and Gala’s endless, repeated cycle of partying, complaining, bad decisions and lack of motivation or direction. I get it’s meant to offer a glimpse of twenty-somethings living their best carefree life in NYC, but this was rather vapid and empty.
Fans of Sally Rooney and other millennial authors might find this relatable and entertaining but for me it was a pass. Thank you to the author, Marlowe Granados for the opportunity to review this book.

I absolutely adored this book - delightful, fun and whip-smart. Cannot wait to see what Granados writes next!

Surreal and okay read. Not much that I didn't like, but I not much that I loved. I would be interested in reading something else by this author.

Happy Hour missed the mark for me. I love character driven stories and I especially love stories of women making their way through New York, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters in this novel. I did like the diary style of the novel, I just wish the characters had more substance.

(3.5 stars)
Fun read!
I spent my early 20’s in NYC as a starving artist—hopping from one bar, art show or warehouse party to the next. Reading Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados reminded me of the carefree, fluid nature that is the playground of New York City, where your days are spent chasing dreams and your nights are spent in transit exploring one cool location or conversation after another.

Happy Hour is a contemporary novel that follows two young girls, Isa and Gala, in their first sweltering summer after moving to NYC. They can barely afford their place in Bed-Stuy and are surviving on the meager diet of bodega staples and street hot dogs. Despite their economic struggles, with a little bit of mascara and a clean outfit, Isa and Gala still manage to appear glamorous while exploring all that the city has to offer.

I thought Happy Hour captured the grit and glamour, and feast or famine lifestyle of NYC well. I enjoyed the fluid writing style, the constant entrance and exit of city characters and thought this was a very interesting and accurate depiction of New York for the young and pretty.

Thank you to the publisher: Verso Books, and Netgalley for my gifted egalley.

If I saw either of these two girls in a bar, I would instantly hate them. They are vapid, annoying and so, so, SO stupid.

That said, in book form, I love them and I love this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

This is the perfect book. I have said multiple times that if I never read another book about New York City it'll still be Too Soon. And thus I had avoided this novel all summer. When in reality I apparently don't mind books that are not about being Anxious and falsely Reverent in New York. As Marlowe Granados herself said, "[The bimbo] only punches up." Which is exactly the reaction one should have to New York City. The joke is not on the bombshell. The joke is on the people who moved there to just push capitalist value set morality on like, literature and art. Which is not literature or art. So this book gilds no lilies. It has loads of diamanté in the rough allusions to my all time favorite book, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. A girl can't go on laughing all the time ... after all, bird life is the highest form of civilization. So then we got dressed.