This book was funny and full of joy despite the grief and loss running through it. Franny is 65 years old, she loves a drink (maybe too much) and is ensconced in her loneliness three years after losing the love of her life Frank in a tragic accident. Franny has successfully isolated herself from family and friends, pushing them all further and further away while she wallows in her grief. She is happy she has her gin, her dogs Whiskey and Soda and the photos of Frank she speaks to around the house but Franny is grumpy and rude to the people she encounters in real life. That is until a new family, the Salernos, move in next door.

Dee and Josh and their mum Sally slowly worm their way into Franny’s life and heart and her gruff exterior begins to crack. I loved seeing her change as she becomes closer and closer to the kids even though it was clear her grumpiness was hiding a lot of pain.

What I thought Happy Hour did so well is paint a portrait of a long and loving marriage. Franny and Frank are deeply in love before his death and Franny’s recollections of their life really highlights this. Her experience of grief is heartbreaking but Happy Hour is far from a sad and heavy book. She is funny even when she is being awful to those she is closest to! It's a grumpy old woman with a heart of gold vibe.

An absolute bonus were all the book references throughout. Plus Franny cooks some incredible sounding food and always has a drink of some kind in her hand and these are described in great detail which I took a lot of joy from. This is such a great contemporary novel full of love, friendship and the realities of life. Congratulations @jacquie_byron on the release of your debut novel I really enjoyed it!

Thank you so much to @allenandunwin for my #gifted copy of this book.