hey, hi, another big win for Timothy!

this book has a little enemies to lovers vibe to it, then morphs into a golden retriever bf/black cat bf kind of thing, and then turns into a very sweet story about the vulnerability of love and what it takes it open up to someone.

Julien and Greg are two wonderfully layered and dimensional characters. they're a lot better than your average romance protagonists, and further prove timothy's ability to create real people on the page.

there's some great mental health rep in there. Julien's OCD was woven into the story in a way that was understanding/accepting and not seen as some personal fault of his. and Greg's own mental health journey did an incredible job of deepening the story.

and let's talk about sex, baby. what i loved about these spicy scenes were how instrumental they were to the story and characters. they weren't plopped in there to fill some sex scene quota (which don't get me wrong, i enjoy) but they're designed and executed in a way to help understand these guys and their motivations and their growing relationship more. Timothy does a great job of introducing more realistic and diverse gay sex in this book!

i related to these guys a lot more than i expected and walked away feeling more seen that i've ever felt. it was beautiful!

available july 23 :)

I loved this book! Truly enjoyed it from start to finish. I picked it up expecting a fun little romance and instead found myself reading a book full of so much heart and real emotion. So many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read one of my favorite books this year a little early!
The characters in this story were so well done. They felt so real and fully formed to me. They were flawed and did not always make the “right” decisions at first, but watching them come to terms with that and grow past those choices really resonated with me. And truly made me love them even more! One of the best romances with neurodivergent characters I have ever read. If you’ve read and loved other books by Timothy Janovsky you will not want to miss this one!

You Had Me at Happy Hour follows Julien, an up and coming sommelier working at his aunt and uncles restaurant and Greg, the washed up TikTok star who is hired as the new bartender.

This story was so cute. I really enjoyed the characters and how real the issues they faced are. It gave them so much more depth and the problems they face, both alone and together, were things I find commonly skimmed over in MM romance novels. I appreciated the book tackling issues like mental health, ED, and OCD and how it can negatively affect dating within the queer community. It was the perfect blend of spice and feel good and I read it in less than a day. Julien and Greg are such interesting characters and they have such realistic quirks and personalities. I think a lot of queer people, gay men especially, will feel represented while reading.

Thank you to NetGalley, Timothy Janovsky, & Harlequin for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for my honest review ♡

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC.

I almost gave up on this book in the opening chapters as I thought “here we go, another enemies to lovers story where the enemies will be banging each other’s brains out soon and that will be pretty much it”. But I was wrong; I’m glad I didn’t give up; in fact this story had plenty of struggles and baggage on both sides, including some challenges with sex and intimacy. Eventually these were overcome and it was a rewarding journey. I’m happy to recommend this book!

Timothy Janovsky never misses! This book captured my attention from the start and kept me hooked the whole time. Definitely recommend reading any content warnings, but even though it deals with heavy topics, it felt well done and still overall light.

Julien wants to get out of PA, and his Sommelier classes are helping that dream. As he works on his qualifications, he gets the opportunity to travel to learn on his way to a becoming Sommelier Master. This is what he needs to get out of PA and away from the memories that are everlasting.

Greg needs to start over somewhere. He had his chance in NYC, but he needs something new. As a famous bartending TikToker, he finds the perfect opportunity to flee - a position at a struggling restaurant and a vacant room at his cousin's house.

Their first interaction is a meet-disaster, but they have to make things work out. After all, they work together and are both experts on their alcoholic beverages. After being forced to put on 2 Happy Hours a week, they get to know each other. And after some time, realize there could be a mutually beneficial arrangement between them.

The rep in this book was done beautifully! There is both Generalized Anxiety Disorder and OCD rep (one per MC), along with erectile dysfunction due to SSRI usage. Also discussions of alcoholism and the effects of alcoholic parents, including a previous car accident that is mentioned. Definitely recommend reading content and trigger warnings. I thought these topics were handled very well, and both MCs are/were in therapy and it is very clear!!

Absolutely recommend this book! I loved seeing their growth and ability to support each other and take care of themselves!

Thank you Afterglow Books & NetGalley for the ARC!

Timothy Janovsky had ME at Happy Hour in this newest swoon-worthy romance!

You Had Me at Happy Hour follows two main protagonists, Greg, a mixologist who seems to be having a pretty successful moment on TikTok, and Julien, a sommelier-in-training. Julien has worked at Martin's Place for a while and isn't having a great time lately. Enter Greg who has been called in to help drum up business for the restaurant. When the boys are forced to work together to ensure that the restaurant comes out on top, what starts as a rivalry soon becomes something more.

Just like in any Timothy Janovsky novel, I fell in love with the characters first. He has such a way of weaving characters together to make you fall in love with them and want to protect them from any harm that may come their way. Something somewhat different in this novel was that we got alternating perspectives from the characters. I really loved getting both perspectives and thought it made this story so fast-paced. I was racing to figure out how these two love birds were going to wind up.

Another component of this story that is NEXT TO NONE - is Timothy Janovsky's ability to make me tear up at the end. The character development and emotional impact of his books continue to just pull me in and not let me go. I can already tell you that these two boys will be taking up space in my brain for months and years to come.

This book is one that readers everywhere are going to enjoy. Fans of this author's other works and new fans alike will be racing to the shelves to grab this romantic comedy. Grab a copy, mix yourself a drink, and happy reading!

Thank you to Afterglow Books by Harlequin and Netgalley for this eARC.

I breezed through this one pretty quickly. This was my first book by Janovsky, and I can attest that he writes characters that are easy to know and come to love. The plot of this book was good, and then out of nowhere comes this third-act situation, that after getting to know the characters, I was confused how it even happened. It tackles some pretty heavy topics gracefully, such as ED, OCD, alcoholism, and abandonment. This one also has a great cast of side characters, and good level of spice.

I will definitely read Janovsky again, I think this mix just didn't itch the right spot in my brain, personally.

Thank you Afterglow and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. A very enjoyable read! Julian lives in a small town in Pennsylvania, he works at his uncle and aunts restaurant and dreams of becoming a Master Sommelier. The problem is he has to work through the steps to get their and the money is steep. Plus he’s not sure how his uncle and aunt will take the news that he wants to leave. Not to mention that his friends with benefits just left town so he’s in a bit of a dry spell. With his OCD finding someone who meets his requirements is a difficult. Greg just started working at Martin’s Place. He just left New York where his TikTok career took a dive, his boyfriend dumped him because he couldn’t preform sexually, and he wracked up massive debt. But he’s a whizz at making cocktails. Now forced to work together Julien and Greg must come up with a way to make the happy hours at Martin’s Place the happening thing. The situation might just be what they are looking for as they embark on a friends with benefits situation. But with neither looking for a long term thing can they keep it casual? And how might their situationship impact their long term goals? Equal parts, sweet, charming, sexual, and funny! I always have a good time with a Timothy Janovsky book! I loved both Greg and Julien and the way they related to one another was so heartwarming! With disability representation that was relatable! If you enjoy steamy rom coms then I highly recommend this one!

*Thank you to Harlequin Romance for providing me an early copy of this book!

*TWs: Mentions of alcoholism, detailed conversation of mental illness (anxiety, OCD)

You Had Me At Happy Hour follows Julien (a sommelier with OCD who’s going through a sexual dry spot due to his rules for his partners) and Greg (a TikTok famous mixologist whose anxiety medication causes big problems in the bedroom) as Greg starts working at the same restaurant as Julien. To help each other out of their respective dry spells, they form an exclusive no-feelings-attached sex pact, but when new men and old flames pop up, they begin to question if feelings were ever really off the table.

This was cute! I’ve read a lot of books with the same basic plot structure lately, and this is one of the first to not sound tedious or dry. The plot points actually happened for a reason, and the characters drove them home with real ambitions and struggles.

The representation is also some of the best I’ve seen. Julien’s OCD isn’t made out to be a total character flaw, and it doesn’t magically go away when he’s with Greg. Same with Greg’s neurodivergence and anxiety. They’re both just people who also happen to have differences, and it’s never a problem in their relationship. They’re understanding of each other and willing to find ways to enjoy themselves alongside, not in spite of, those differences. The main thing being that Greg’s SSRI causes erectile dysfunction.

Julien is a sommelier who doesn’t drink. To talk about why this stands out to me, I need to spoil the reason he’s sober. So, minor SPOILERS for the duration of this paragraph. Julien chooses not to drink because his parents were both alcoholics, and when he was pretty young his mother got a DUI with him in the car. He’s likely genetically predisposed to addiction and doesn’t want to turn out the way his parents did. As someone also predisposed to addiction and who’s suffered abuse at the hands of an alcoholic, I’ve never seen a character like Julien on the page before. It’s always about religious beliefs or values, which don’t play a part in my decisions. I’ve never felt represented in that way before reading this.

I think the pacing was great—it’s easy to fly through without missing anything. The characters really were the highlight, especially their understanding for each other.

And the acknowledgements were cute, lol.

*Crossposted to GoodReads*

I have a love-hate relationship with Timothy Janovski’s writing. I liked Never Been Kissed, but I found You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince meh. I adored New Adult, but DNF The Fake Hating Game. After DNFing that last one, I started to wonder if Timothy wasn’t writing too much—quantity over quality instead of quality over quantity. Six books (three different publishers!) in just over three years is quite a lot.

You Had Me at Happy Hour is a captivating and vivid romance/romcom with a different take on several topics like alcohol and sex. And I liked that part very, very much. Julien has OCD and is neurodivergent. Greg has anxiety/depression and takes medicine. I loved both MCs (even though I hated Greg for a moment when he pushed Julien to take a sip of his cocktail). Julien and Greg’s job is making and serving (and tasting) alcoholic drinks, but both of them don’t/hardly drink for different reasons. Because of Greg’s medicine, his libido is low, and because of Julien’s OCD, he has rules for sex. And still, when they start hooking up, they have a satisfying sex life (even mind-blowing, according to Julien).  
 
But …

Although I liked this one way more than The Fake Dating Game, I hated what happened in the third act (Greg, what were you effing doing in NY??? and Julien, what were you thinking??? and Greg, no way, you stupid …!!!). And in the end, a book I was sure I was going to rate four stars ended up as a three stars rating. All because of that ridiculous third act.

Such an adorable romance! It's more character driven than plot driven- the plot is mostly the two of them falling in love and learning to support each other through their neurodivergencies and their challenges in following their dreams. It was well paced and I really appreciated how layered the characters were. They felt like real people you could meet and love in so many ways and I so appreciated how emotionally satisfying the spice scenes were. It wasn't just AH MY BOYS ARE KISSING but it was AH THEYRE KISSING AND SUPPORTING EACH OTHER. While there was attraction at first sight, the author does a great job of showing them bonding and showing how their connection leads them to love each other. And the representations of GAD and ED were really well done and showed a lot of knowledge and sensitivity. This was one of the best queer romances I've read in awhile.

Thank you NetGalley and Afterglow Books for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. 4.5 ⭐️ (rounded up) I was THRILLED to be asked to review another one of Timothy Janovsky’s books because he is one of my favorite romance authors! I absolutely loved the setting and premise of this one, and as always the spice 🌶️ did not disappoint! Timothy has an exceptional way of creating really well-balanced books: incorporating humor, descriptive settings, realistic mental health representation, and of course, some nice smut 😉 I always love to read his books and enjoy the journey through them so much. The only reason this was one was a 4.5 for me was the rising action/conflict toward the end seemed a bit forced and rushed. Other than that, I loved this and now I’m craving a nice fancy cocktail! Also his acknowledgements at the end were EVERYTHING!! Oh Timothy you’re just the best!!

Janovsky writes such reliably enjoyable romances and You Had Me at Happy Hour is no exception. Here he brings together two very different main characters and demonstrates over the course of the novel just how well they complement each other (while they of course also navigate trying to boost business at a failing family restaurant). He’s also able to deftly tackle serious issues while also making you laugh and swoon.

My only small issue is that the books in these series are short (I think I read this in two short sittings) and I do wish we got a bit more in the third act resolution. But to be honest, complaining that a book was longer is probably more of a recommendation than anything else. Overall, this is another great romance from an author that’s an auto-buy for me.

Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. Both characters aren't what they seem to everyone else, but to each other, they are everything. Both men understand each other once they get to know one another and that's when they fall. They have some bumps along the way trying to forget old wounds, but together, they are something special. It's not a long, drawn out story, but one that's worth being told.

A sweet and endearing rom-com! Greg and Julien’s story was lovely and meaningful, especially in its sensitive discussion of the effects of mental illness on life and relationships.