This had a crazy number of excellent lines. You'd expect a novel about stateless young girls constantly on the brink of financial ruin and starvation, partying their way through fashionable scenes for meals, to be maudlin, but instead the girls were clever and completely unabashed, and so was the novel. It was full of observations so true they hurt and witticisms that made me chuckle. I loved it.

I breezed through HAPPY HOUR in a few sittings, soaking up Isa and Gala's story of a summer in NYC. I loved Granados' writing, the cast of supporting characters, and Isa, the star. This novel captures the feeling of being young, living in a big city, searching for something - for your identify, for something fun to do, for meaning - and it was a really enjoyable read.

I kindly received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I loved how the writing made me feel like I was in New York in the summer. However, I am the type of reader that needs more than a pretty setting. I like plot-driven books, and if that is you as well, then this is not the book for you.

I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm struggling to write a review about this one. On the one hand, it's a very quick read, but the ease with which the characters exist in the world made the whole book feel a little too inconsequential for me. Granados paints her characters well, there's no doubt about that, and it's one of the book's strongest points. I just wish it had a little more of a story driving these characters forward. "Happy Hour" is an interesting novel, and I'm sure there will be people who will love it, but it was a little too light for my taste.

“Whenever I’m on the subway or walking in the street alone, there’s a constant feeling of being on display. It’s a feeling I’ve never felt so strongly anywhere else. It’s so tiring, and sometimes I lie in bed not wanting to leave the house because of it. Simply appearing in public means that at any moment someone is free to come up to me, call out to me, graze me.”
Happy Hour follows Isa and her best friend Gala, two twenty-one-year-old girls who have moved to New York City with very little money, no visa, and a suitcase full of clothes. They try to find work - that pays in cash - where they can, and make the most of being twenty-one and in the city that never sleeps. The story is narrated in a close third perspective from Isa’s point of view, and I found her tone difficult to get used to - I thought the tone (especially in the beginning) was inconsistent: it would be purposefully ironic one sentence and then weirdly sincere and sentimental in the next, which felt confusing and made me question what I was supposed to feel as a reader. Maybe Isa’s supposed to read as sincere and apathetic at the same time, and I did get used to this after a while but still felt the writing wasn’t always very strong because of that.
I think Marlowe Granados is really good at describing specific situations and personality traits, and this is one of the things that makes Isa a fun and enjoyable and sympathetic character.
The vibes of the book were very Melancholic, which I really liked: “I once read that “one does not mourn in public,” and maybe that is why I prefer to be outside. I do not like coming home because it is the only place I am unsure of myself. Outside, I know the way to walk across a thoroughfare, feeling practised in my stride. Being alone with myself is being alone with my memories.”
Ultimately, I enjoyed the story and the characters, and most of the writing - and I really look forward to reading what Marlowe Granados writes next.

Happy Hour chronicles the journey of two women in their early twenties spending the summer months in nyc doing odd jobs to sustain their fun lifestyle of spending the evening/nights out meeting new people and drinking. The book is told in the style of a journal with very little plot and short sentences with most of the journal entries being structured in essentially the same way, which for me started to get a bit repetitive after the first 50 pages. The novel does tackle some interesting topics such as loss and feeling of being lost in the world which I liked, but overall it felt like an early 2000s teen drama; it was fun and quick to read and experience but it won’t really be something that will resonate with me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Verso Books (US) for sending me an advanced copy.

(2.5 stars out of 5 stars)

Before I began reading it, I expected "Happy Hour" to be a cross between Ottessa Moshfegh's "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" and Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar", two renowned novels that portray the experiences of young women living in New York City. However, this novel was so much more enjoyable to me. I felt hypnotized by the story, and I already miss the indulgent feeling of reading it for the first time.

"Happy Hour" is a plotless literary fiction novel chronicling a young woman's hedonistic, glamourous adventures in NYC from May to August of 2013. Written in the style of a journal, Granados' debut novel perfectly captures the lazy, humid, aimless essence of the urban summer. The narrator, Isa, is such an interesting and intelligent figure. Her confidence is so unwavering that some might consider it arrogance, but that's part of her charm. Though she has no long-term plans to support her extravagant lifestyle, Isa never truly seems to doubt her ability to get ahead. She lives entirely in the present, a feat that is both enviable and somewhat concerning. I loved her witty observations and her ability to see right through people's bullshit. For example, it was so fun to witness her inner thoughts during her conversations with self-absorbed, pretentious men at parties.

It's a perfect, thought-provoking summer read. The author's talent shines through, and I can't wait to read more of her work. I'll be recommending this to everyone I know.

“I do wonder whether my memories should stay only mine, or have they ever been?”

This book was delightful and refreshing and not really at all what I expected. Isa and her best friend, Gala, are spending their summer in NYC. They sell clothes in a market stall by day to make barely enough to pay the rent for their room and feed themselves bodega meals and happy hour cocktails. I expected heavy plot-driving youthful drama a la Gossip Girl meets the financial insecurity of inconsistent work. Instead, the events that happen merely become content for Isa’s journaling, providing sincere reflection and commentary that is not unlike Esther Greenwood from The Bell Jar (but a more light-hearted version).

This novel shines because of Isa’s insight. She’s got the gift of youth and a keen eye for detail, which makes the instability of the summer that much more fun to read. This book reminded me how quickly we can lose the go-with-the-flow attitude in our adult lives, and it was interesting how often I found myself worrying about Isa and Gala and how they were going to get by. NYC is a lovely backdrop with its assortment of company, specialty cocktails, delectable eats, and intriguing conversations. It’s one of those books that feels like it has a hidden, overarching story, which was my favorite part.

I’d recommend especially for fans of The Bell Jar and Sweetbitter!

4.5: This book read like a Whit Stillman film except the characters aren't buoyed by generational wealth and whiteness. The pacing of the novel through Isa's diary mimicked the frenetic pace of a busy, broke, and youthful summer. All of the characters were well realized and interacted with each other in a way that I'm sure would conjure up some familiar feelings in many readers. The strangeness of bumping into someone that brushed you off on the street, or being stuck at a bar with people asking all the wrong questions of you are embodied so adeptly in this work.

While there is no "normal" plot, the storytelling is organic and lucid. 10/10 would recommend to anyone who enjoys an NYC novel that delves into female friendships and the many social circles we keep, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Verso Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Happy Hour is an easy, casual read sprinkled with observant musings that prove Isa is set on learning as much she can about the world simply by living in it.

the writing style was a bit too confusion for me, I feel it needs a bit of formatting as the text was weirdly cropped and a few letters were missing which made reading difficult.

This was is definitely fun and I would highly recommend for a whirlwind of a read! I got through it in one day and enjoyed it!

Truth be told, I struggled to get through this one. The writing style did not cut it for me and I did not find either of the main characters particularly enjoyable (I won't say likable, because a well-written character can be a despicable human too).

Unfortunately, this one was a major miss for me. However, there may be some outside factors contributing to my low opinion of this book.

This book is about nothing in particular. It's following two young women who moved to NYC in the summer. They're broke, love to party, and love meeting new people. In short, I felt like I was watching a reality TV show with two characters I didn't care about. I wish I could say more about the plot, but it is a book about going out every night and drinking.

In a way, reading is my form of mindfulness. I read to shut off my mind after a long (and usually stressful) day. Instead of getting lost in this book, I still had my usual stressors creep up. My thoughts would wander, which is precisely what I am trying to prevent.

However, I understand that not everyone needs a structured plot. If you're one of those people, don't let me dissuade you and read away.

I liked the diary format of the main character in this book about NYC in 2013 but there was not much of a plot or anything else going on. Yes, this was a bright and easy read and I liked the stream of consciousness but again, nothing else happened. It was kind of a struggle to read with no much happening but I can understand why another reader would enjoy this.

IMO just an ok read and kind of sort of recommended this but it did not blow me away, Again, not for me but other people will like this.

Thanks to Netgalley, Marlowe Granados and Verso Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 9/7/21

I'm not sure if this was supposed to be YA but it sort read like that with the breezy conversational style. I whipped through it but I don't know if Isa and Gala. will really stay with me. It read sort of like an alt-Gossip Girl which isn't bad in and of itself but I was expecting a little more depth.

This novel follows the main character Isa in the format of her Diary. Through the entries we see her move to New York from Europe. She moves into an apartment with her friend Gala and we follow these two as they struggle to thrive (and sometimes struggle to even eat) in New York. They are not living in the United States legally so working and earning income is a constant struggle for the two. This is more of a stream of consciousness writing than it is a story that is strictly based in a plot., which is always something that I enjoy. I particularly felt as though this novel did a great job conveying the struggle it is to live in NYC without a large income. Few books truly are able to capture poverty the same way this novel was able to. The writing was so beautiful in my opinion and it really captured the thoughts and personality of the main character. I do not typically enjoy diary entry books but this felt so raw and authentic that it was hard to hate the set up. The novel also felt very much so gatsby-like because Gala and Isa were constantly going to extravagant parties where they met rich men who had a sense of old money. In all this was a beautifully written book that was edged in tragedy and struggle.

This is an oddly beautiful book but one so worth reading. I would highly recommend you immersing yourself in this well told well written story.

I feel like I’ve read several similar novels to Happy Hour but still found much to admire in Granados’s writing and the female friendships and the hardships of your early twenties on a shoestring. The depiction of summertime New York really stood out too.

Ok WOW.
This book was infinitely better than I ever expected! The book's summary doesn't do the magnitude of this story justice but I'm not sure there are words to truly describe it well enough. This is a book you need to read to understand the experience it carries.

Happy Hour is a story of two friends in their early 20s surviving New York City for a summer - in any way they can - as scrappy, beautiful young women who deal in the currency of social capital, as they penny-pinch their way through the city. Told through the eyes of the main character, Isa, through her diary entries, this is a story of aspiration and aimlessness with equal parts relatable and unrelatable.

Isa is dry, stoic, and uses her personality and hard, impenetrable exterior as armor. Her recollections will read light and carefree, having you think she is vapid or "cocky", until all of a sudden she slaps you in the face with a line or paragraph that is extremely vulnerable and deep that reminds you she is human and that sometimes personalities are merely a mask. Everything and everyone is deeper than you think - something we often forget in the internet age.

I, quite literally, highlighted at least one line, if not more, of every single page in my Kindle. The prose is beautifully written and woven through and I will absolutely be buying a physical copy for my library.

This book has an authentic feeling that can truly only come from stories that have actually happened, in some way or another, and regardless of who you are, I'm confident you will find something relatable about Isa Epley. Happy Hour transported me back to when I was 19 and my early 20s, scraping by with similar stories, using my youth in the only way I knew how.

TY to NetGalley for the ARC ahead of the USA release date!

I highly, highly recommend this read!

Review links below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPTdARDL6vD/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPd37DtrPE1/