The Happy Hour by Cressida McLaughlin

This book had lots of lighthearted moments alongside plenty more deep subject matter. The author did a fabulous job of making you really care about these characters (market characters were great - so many different personalities), the slow burn of making connections was just perfect and it is easy for the reader to enjoy the meetings as much as the characters seemed to. Thanks so much Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for this e-arc in return for my honest thoughts and opinions.

I have really enjoyed other books that I’ve read by Cressida McLaughlin but this one fell a little bit short for me. I didn’t feel invested in the characters or the location like I usually do and therefore didn’t feel invested in the story. It was a nice, easy read but her other books are better.

Whilst I liked this book, it wasn’t my favourite of Cressida’s unfortunately. I couldn’t wait to read this as I see it was set in Greenwich and I was brought up in the area so I was looking forward to seeing how Cressida described it etc. She did do the location justice and I did like the community spirit in the market, I just wasn’t sure on Jess and Ash’s relationship. I wasn’t sure if I 100% liked the overall storyline of how they had an hour each week and how it stemmed from there.

Overall, still an enjoyable read but just not my favourite. 3.5 stars

I’ve spent the weekend with the gorgeous Jess and Ash in The Happy Hour. Their story is a perfect blend of happy, sad and romance. The pining and the challenging and the learning to find some give, was a joy. The market is a brilliant, vibrabt location, but my goodness this book is a love song to Greenwich too. AND I totally loved the Hester and Jake cameo, from The Staycation. If you’re looking for a gorgeous London romance, look no further.

Oh my goodness, this book has ALL the feels. I absolutely loved it. It had me gripped from start to finish, riding the waves of joy, excitement, pain and grief with Jess and Ash.

Jess is such a likeable character. Working in the market, she is always ready to help everyone and has good friends who look out for her. But with a difficult childhood behind her she finds it hard to open up to people and holds tightly to her emotional independence.

When she meets Ash after he helps foil a shoplifting attempt at her friend’s market stall, she starts to meet up with him for one hour a week before his mysterious appointment, and her walls start to come down. But Ash has walls of his own and as they get closer, and their budding relationship begins to hit up against real life, they are both challenged to look at the past again, and decide how much they will let it govern their future.

I loved both Jess and Ash and their relationship was electric. I travelled the highs and lows with them and just couldn’t put the book down. The community in the market was also wonderful, full of colourful characters who looked out for each other and felt so real. I was rooting for them all. I always love Cressida McLaughlin’s books, but this one was extra special. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

What an absolutely beautiful book, It was just so heartwarming and romantic.
It’s all about Jess and the lovely Ash and the most beautiful love story which unfolds between them.
I loved all the characters in this story and their individual journeys, especially Felicity and it shows how important friendship is.
I could not put this book down and was hooked from the first page. Once Jess opened up to her parents my tears started and they didn’t stop until the end of the book. I loved every minute of this book a solid five starts and I’m hoping for a sequel.
Thanks to Netgalley, Cressida McLaughlin and Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This is written by one of my all time favourite authors so I was super excited to dive in and read this. This is a standalone read rather than being part of a series like others I have read by this author whose books just keep getting better and better and this one is definitely up there as a firm favourite. Once I had started reading I couldn’t put it down and became fully invested in the story.

The characters and storyline were engaging and this was so much more than just a romance story and also covered lots of relatable themes and loved how the time the characters spent together was aptly named in the title of the book the happy hour as without giving too much away this hour was so endearing to read about and such a magical part of Jess and ash’s week.

This book was emotional and heartbreaking at times yet also had the right balance of humour and more light hearted moments and also highlighted how some people come into your life at the right time and the power of friendships to help you get through sone trying and difficult times.

I would love a
Sequel to this to see how everything turns out between Jess and ash.

I’ve been a long time fan of Cressida for a long while and every new book release is a frenzy to read the book as soon as I physically can because they are such fantastic reads! She isn’t an author I sit on and new material is always greatly awaited. And this one!! Gah. Such a beautiful book from start to finish.

She’s my perfect auto buy auto enjoy author and when I read the premise for this one: massive yes please!

It was just. Aw. Adorable. Wholesome. Utterly cute and SO heartwarming. I lived for the weekly hour they spent together as much as they did and I couldn’t wait to see what they would do next. The slow development betweeen them two was *weep* so utterly lovely and as they began to open up to each other and draw together it was everything.

Getting to know them both (and the lovable market crew) was also something I lived for in these books. It super endearing and the author is expert at actually making you care for the characters. They become people you root for! It made the book incredibly satisfying and it’s another firm romance fav for my bookshelf.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy of the book in exchange for a review.

An enjoyable read.

This drew me in from the beginning, falling in love with Jess and Ash. As the story developed I enjoyed learning their backstories and found the motivational quotes a good way for them to express themselves. The other characters added a nice dimension to the story and the descriptions of the market had me dreaming of visiting. There is a good mix of funny and sad moments in the book which had me enthralled throughout. Another outstanding book.

Get ready for a rollercoaster of emotions. It’s a feel good story but has some thought provoking moments. Loved the characters at the market, I think we can all identify with one of them. If this was to be made into a film I think Jess should be played by Emilia Clarke (Last Christmas) , she’d be perfect. A thoroughly lovely story 🥰