Took me a while to get into this, but once I did I just loved it!

Growing older doesn't necessarily mean growing wiser.

Gin in one hand, paintbrush in the other, Franny Calderwood has turned her back on the world, or at least the world she used to love. Then the Salernos move in next door. The troubled but charming trio - beleaguered mother Sallyanne, angry teenager Dee and eccentric eight-year-old Josh - cannot help but pull Franny into the drama of their lives.

It’s a story about one woman, two dogs and the family next door. It’s funny and uplifting. It’s raw and honest and explores the loneliness that getting older can get. There’s something I love about an older, slightly bitter, protagonist and Franny is my favourite kind. She reminds me a bit of Ove, from A Man Called Ove (one of my favourite books). She has to comes to terms with the fact that she has to widen her circle, now that her husband Frank is gone.

Such a beautiful read!

TW: family violence, death, grief and loss, alcohol

Franny Calderwood is a 65 year old reclusive, alcohol drinking, dog loving neighbour. Not the neighbour you expect to have, when Sally Anne moves in next door with her two children after recently separating from her abusive husband.

Franny is loveable, laughable, relatable, bossy, independent, hilarious and fussy, and I loved every aspect of her. Franny is so beautifully written that you can't not fall in love with her, enjoy her lifestyle, and feel her pain and loss after losing her beautiful husband three years earlier.

The connection between Sally Anne and Franny is empowering, the relationships that are formed with Sally Anne's two children are beautiful, respectful and borderline crazy, and I could see all of this actually panning out in my street.

Beautifully developed, three dimensional women managing their grief, trauma, loss, friedndships and future lives together, what isn't there to love?

There are some books you know you are going to love and enjoy before you start them and Happy Hour by Aussie’s author Jacquie Byron is one of those books.

A well written and charming debut novel of friendship, grief and humour with fun loving characters this book was a wonderful read and I can’t wait to see what this author writes next. Highly recommended.

Written with warmth, sensitivity, and humour, Jacquie Byron explores grief, guilt, forgiveness and atonement in her debut novel, Happy Hour.

In the three years since the sudden death of her beloved husband, Franny Calderwood has created a solitary life that suits her. Avoiding the company of those she and her husband once called friends, she passes the time with painting, solo excursions, gourmet cooking, and caring for her dogs, Whisky and Soda, often with a glass of wine or a cocktail at hand.
When the Salerno family - newly single mother Sallyanne, teenager Dee and eight year old Josh move in next door, Franny surprises herself by welcoming them in her life, but bad habits are hard to break, and when Franny reverts to her old ways, she must finally confront everything she has lost, to keep what she has gained.

I feel the storyline of Happy Hour is somewhat reminiscent of Fredrik Backman’s ‘A Man Called Ove’, but it definitely has its own unique tone, and doesn’t suffer in the comparison. Happy Hour offers heartfelt emotion and light, funny moments, but Bryon also explores difficult feelings associated with loss, and touches on serious issues including domestic violence, addiction and neonatal loss. I was worried that Byron would favour forgiveness over atonement , and I was very glad that this was not the case.

Franny, a 65 year-old artist and children’s book author, is an appealing character. Despite her heartbreak, she is quick-witted, cultured, generous, as well as a touch eccentric, particularly after a drink or three. It’s said that there is no wrong or right way to grieve, but it’s clear that Franny’s way of coping is not exactly healthy, and her behaviour could even be construed as selfish. Byron successfully walks the line though, so that Franny evokes sympathy, even when she acts badly. I loved the relationships Fanny formed with the Salerno family, encouraging self-belief in both the rebellious Dee, and sensitive Josh.

Funny, charming and poignant, Happy Hour is a sparkling novel.