What a wonderful book! A coming of age story that brings to mi d Sex in the City Mets Two Broke Girls. A colorful cast of characters led by lovely Isa and Gala, drive a tale of a couple friends living on the edge one summer in New York City. The city itself becomes a supporting character! A joy to read!

As I write this, we are going on a year spent at home due to COVID-19 so the idea of spending months in a new city and mostly just going out and having fun sounds rather enjoyable. This ride through New York City nightlife was a nice escape that transports you to a different, yet not so along, time in the world and stage in life. While mostly just pure fun, there are also some additional themes and layers here that can make you ponder, as well as times where it seems the fun may run out. Overall, it's a solid debut that is a particular nice respite in our current times.

Isa is in New York. Why? She just is.

Happy Hour takes place from May to September, telling of the summer best friends Isa and Gala move to New York City just because. They're nearly broke and always struggling to find ways to make money (their immigrant status severely limits their options), but with enough beauty, charm, and social connections they manage to stay afloat in New York's social scene.

There isn't much of a plot. The novel is written in first-person, diary-style from the point of view of Isa as she describes interesting moments from the summer and the coming-and-going various people. The book was not mind blowing but still charming and highly enjoyable. It is a quick read and Isa is a fairly likable character. You'll float through this novel as care-freely as Isa and Gala in their New York Summer.

Unfortunately I couldn’t finish this book as there were too many typos and missing letters in the middle of words - I couldn’t make out the words for half of them and this was happening in every other sentence. I’d love to read this once this has been sorted though as I love the idea of the plot.

Remember those parties that Gatsby used to throw at his place in The Great Gatsby? All pomp and glitter but no real warmth- that’s exactly what Isa and Gala’s adventures seem like, to me at least. They are always on the go- every night at one club or other, one party or the other with a whole bunch of people who are acquaintances of acquaintances, for the most part. While the book blurb explicitly states that at 21, Isa and Gala had already realised that the pursuit of pleasure is the most important thing in life, I could hardly stand the party after party after party and fleeting appearances of all these different characters, and the diminishing finances. Yes, I know they are all of 21, we must give them a break, but these girls cannot survive on alcohol alone. About halfway through, I was on the verge of giving Gala my mindful for her recklessness. Isa is the more sensible of the two, and more likeable as well, but that only shows how much Gala got on my nerves as I had to try my best to like Isa herself. The last twenty pages were the best, I’d say, because finally h there seems to be some change in their situation. The rest of it seemed to me to be quite wry.

Thank you Netgalley for the free copy.

Oh boy... reading this made me feel like I was 23 again! Two young women in New York City, it's the perfect backdrop for this story. These two women work through personal and financial trouble while learning so much in the process. Great read!

Happy Hour was a fun enjoyable read about being young in the city! It brought me back to my college days, and this will be a great summer read.

An absolutely sublime read, following the two twenty something charming grifters Isa and Gala through the oppressive heat and immense opportunities of NYC in summer. Although there’s no typical plot, the wry and compelling writing makes you feel as though you are there, feeling their freedom and the untold possibilities for a bright young thing in a big city. For an older reader there’s something so deliciously carefree reading about young women with all the opportunities and advantages of a big city at thirty feet. Whilst it without a doubt romanticizes the abject grimness of being broke in NYC, you become carried away with the story, all the time rooting for the next party or contact or job that come their way. The characters were well developed, all flawed but each had enough vulnerability or charm to give them depth and complexity. I’ll be buying this for my girlfriends to enjoy.

I was interested instantly but as the story continued I got bored has potential though. Great writing style.

thanks to netgalley for the arc.

this was an enjoyable read! the writing was pretty okay and the story as well. it just had something missing. maybe because it’s been a while since i read a contemporary, but i did enjoy it enough for what it was.

I really liked this book, and found myself reading it with great interest. While there were many characters introduced, I felt like I got a pretty good sense of who they were and their role in Gala and Isa's lives. I loved the carefree-ness of the story and how adventurous it was. I envied the people who crossed paths with them and envied their ability to enjoy the present, meet and bond with new people, and their sense of priorities. This book challenged the narrative that young twenty-somethings need to be in post-secondary creating a career and life path, and instead suggests that it is okay to go day by day - things will still be okay. I also loved the author's style, there were many lines and sections that I found myself underlining and rereading because they were so beautiful, which I rarely do when I read fiction. The only aspect that troubled me was that at times it felt a bit unrealistic - the way the girls continued to run into people they had met across the world, or that they would manage to always get the attention or support of wealthier/well connected people. These were very fun aspects of the story that kept it exciting, but sometimes I thought "there's just no way!". Being from outside of the country and without income is very challenging and while those challenges were acknowledged throughout the story, I have to presume it won't always work out so smoothly.
Thank you for the chance to read this wonderful book!

Very fun and interesting read. Personally for me, I didn't get connected to the story but I can see other readers really enjoying this!

Didn't finish it...
The was in a dire need of editing, the writing felt like it was done by a teenager who doesn't know how to express herself.
The storyline was laaame .

This book was enjoyable despite my not really caring for the writing style. As someone who moved to NYC at 25, in the summer of 2011, very broke, I found it extremely relatable, observant and realistic. I found myself chuckling at so many of the observations about the New York social scene, and that made it fun. It felt like an inside joke between the author, the narrator and I. But in terms of being a great piece of literature or profound in any way, not so much. If youre looking for a light read and specifically if you are or ever have been a 20-something New Yorker, I think you’ll get a kick out of this quick read.

It’s an interesting book for sure. Not one I may pick up for myself. But it explores interesting thoughts and ideas.

Kind of hard to get through personally.

Unfortunately, this novel didn't land for me. There's a lot of good here. The writing is crisp and snappy. The sense of place is strong - i felt like I was in NYC in the summer. The characters seem fresh. I just need more plot, more growth, more depth. I've seen the book described as refreshing as a gin fizz. I don't disagree, but I need a steak with my cocktail.

Marlowe Granados' HAPPY HOUR is a hard book to write about. On the one hand, I blitzed through this book in a couple of sittings feeling as easy and breezy as the main characters, Isa and Gala. There is something so carefree that is fun to read, knowing that wherever Isa and Gala end up, it will all be ok,

However, the style of writing is so simple and almost too easy. The diary form allows a colloquial, confessional style but there were few times I was actually impressed with how it was written. I longed for a more immersive world like that of SOCIAL CREATURE or for a character to change her perception or grow even a little. Isa and Gala are young and having a fun summer and...what?

Thanks to Marlowe Granados, Veso Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book feels familiar. Not because I've ever lived in New York (I haven't), but because I've drifted around wondering what the hell I'm going to do with my life and how I'm supposed to pay the bills. It was like looking at myself a few years ago, moving from country to country and starting beautiful, intense friendships with people even though I knew I'd soon be leaving. It captures a moment in time so perfectly, one which I don't think I'll ever get to live again as I am buried under increasing responsibilities. And yet I was given the gift of being able to go back to those days through this novel.

There's no specific plot to this novel, it is more the story of a summer, and I know that will drive some people crazy, but I enjoyed it, it's actually the reason why I loved it so much. The writing is really engaging and I found I could relate to a lot of it. I wanted to know what Isa and Gala would do next and who they would meet. It also captured the strain of living with friends really well, and how you start off having a carefree summer, but as responsibilities build you can go from being friends to almost hating one another.

This is a book about being young, about drifting and talking and living. It is a story of summers where you drink too much and say things you shouldn't and go home with far too many people. And maybe not everyone will like that or relate to it, but I did. I was captivated by the writing.

Overall this was such a satisfying book to read and I'll definitely be recommending it. All of the talk about the different food available in New York made me so hungry. Especially because I'm back in England and I'm starved for any Latin American food, which Isa can get easily there. The only problem I had with this book was the arc I got was difficult to read because letters were missing here and there. This could be my device, so I'm not lowering the rating for that.