This was really gross (complimentary) and surprisingly sweet for a little horror novella. The cover and description drew me in - I can absolutely see why this series is described like "Goosebumps for adults" if they're all this length and packed with this much depth and heart. (And a nice little lesson on how violence begets violence, even if it feels like vigilante work.)

Thank you to Shortwave Publishing and Netgalley for the eARC!

This fast-paced horror novella was excellently done, from the plot to the characters to the gore, 10/10! It was surprisingly emotional and packed a lot of depth into just a little over 200 pages, and I could have read so much more about Brian and Jenny! Cue the 1812 Overture!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With the 1812 Overture as a backdrop, this novella is a perfect symphony! I hung on to every note, never daring to look away, a profound YES ringing emphatically in my ears with each chapter!

How clever as well, to keep the reader in suspense by leaving a sentence mid-thought, only to pick it back up moments later.

I’ve read 25 books so far this year, and this one takes the alcopop. A new favourite! A dark read that seeps into you like a cold drink on a warm sunny day. The beginning will sink its claws into you, so beware - consumed in just one sitting, you won’t be able to put it down.

Amor, you’ve done it again! I f**king love you, you dirty minx!

Brian is the owner of an exclusive and luxurious bar. He curates a decadent experience enhanced with fine liquors for the rich and famous. Brian is also fuelled by deep-seated anguish and a longing for vengeance. An irresistible pairing, as you’ll soon find out.

Let the 1812 Overture play 🎶

A fun, quick-paced horror novella. The author did a fantastic job with the pacing, and it was surprisingly clever with its art symbolism. This was a refreshing read, and I can absolutely see the “Goosebumps for adults” vibes.

We meet Brian, the owner of a super luxe, elite bar. He’s poured everything into making the place feel curated and swanky. But unfortunately, Brian finds himself in a bit of a bind and discovers an unexpected ally for some pretty dark deeds.

I appreciated the balance of camp without tipping into cheesy while keeping the pace moving and the characters interesting. The story unfolds in a fun way, with the present moving forward and the flashbacks moving backward. It was disorienting in a good way and kept me wanting to turn the pages.

My only critiques are really a product of the novella format. I absolutely could have read a full-length novel about Brian and the Dirty Minx. Readers who enjoy fast-moving, dark, slightly campy horror will have a great time with this one.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Gemma Amor for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Happy Hour coming out October 20, 2026. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I really love horror stories. I thought this would be fun. It was definitely short, but it reminded me of 90s stories. It was great. I’d check out more books in the series.

Come for the drinks, stay for the kills. Gemma Amor knows how to pack a punch—this novella can be read in one sitting, but that doesn’t means the characters and storyline are rushed or lacking. Happy Hour’s main character, Brian, is a talented mixologist and owner of the new hottest bar in London—The Dirty Minx.

Creating new cocktail recipes isn’t the only thing Brian is focused on though, seeing as he’s bashed someone’s brains in down in the basement of the bar and he’s actively plotting revenge on his brother’s ex-girlfriend. Who knows—maybe murder is the muse Brian needs to create a new cocktail special.

I love that this book is a part of an anthology series being marketed as Goosebumps for adults. Happy Hour feels like a mix between Tales From the Crypt and Goosebumps. I had to stop reading to write down cocktail recipes (why have I never thought to mix in peppercorn on my sugar rim??) which I can’t say has ever happened to me while reading a horror story before. Kudos to Amor on this very fun read and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.


Read this book if you like:

-That scene at the end of Fight Club where the Narrator and Marla hold hands while all the buildings collapse
-Sweeney Todd style drinks
-Cocktail recipes that make you stop reading so you can write them down
-Satisfying revenge plots
-Bubble Gum Lip Smacker lip balm


Thank you to NetGalley and Shortwave for the e-ARC of this book.

The cover is doing the series' job before you open anything. It tells you the setting, the decade, and the joke all at once, which is more than most horror covers manage, and it sets the expectation the book then meets. Anyone who spent time in a video rental shop will recognise exactly what it is imitating.

Happy Hour is my first Killer VHS book and it worked as an entry point, since the series runs as standalone novellas and nothing here assumed I had read the previous eight. Two timelines move around Brian, a bartender in an exclusive underground London club in the nineties, and the book is far more interested in how he became this than in what happens next.

The structure is the thing I will remember. Amor cuts a sentence off partway through, hands the reader to the other timeline, and completes that sentence several pages later on the far side of the transition. For a series built on videotape and found footage, that is the right formal instinct, two recordings sharing one cassette, the old one bleeding through the new. It reads as a deliberate echo of the series conceit rather than as a stylistic flourish, and it keeps both versions of Brian present at once rather than letting the past sit behind the present in sequence. It also does something practical, which is that the flow never breaks. I read fifty percent in one sitting and finished in three days without ever wanting to put it down, and the splicing is a large part of why.

The prose deserves credit. There is little conventional plot and the book is stronger for it. This is a character excavation, and it succeeds, since I finished it understanding how Brian arrived where he did.

My reservation is the ending. It arrives quickly and stops, and after the groundwork the book lays I was left uncertain what it had been building toward. The difference between a novella that is short by design and one that reads as cut short is the difference between this being very good and being outstanding.

One note for readers deciding whether to request it. This is gore rather than fear. It did not frighten me at any point, and it works better as something nasty and fast than as something dreadful. The series tag about Goosebumps for adults holds up.

Format recommendation: ebook or paperback both work, and the mid-sentence splicing is the kind of device that reads more cleanly on the page than it would in audio, so I would stay with print.

3.5 stars, rounded to 4. I would read another in this series.

I received this ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This wee horror novella was a delight to read. It was jam packed with some graphic and unsettling imagery however it was placed in just the right spots to make this story memorable. A disturbing little read a lot of horror fans will definitely enjoy and a great choice for this series.

What a strange and wonderful story this is. Delightful, in the creepiest way. I loved this one. The 80's club scene, with a secret underground bar is such a true representation of the essence of that time, and a perfect backdrop for this novella. Candy had the ultimate 80's "Meeting In The Ladies Room" mindset, of the rich and famous, that made her as easy to love as it is to loathe her. Brian is a character you probably shouldn't like, but I did.
I am looking forward to adding this to my horror shelf.
Thanks NetGalley for sending this for review.
#HappyHour
#NetGalley

Brian owns the trendiest bar in London, and he’s put his heart and soul into curating a unique space for his clientele. These efforts attract society’s rich and famous, but Brian is always keeping tabs. And if his bar or his person is disrespected or wronged, there will be deadly consequences.

This is such a delicious little novella. After reading ITCH! earlier this year, I knew Gemma Amour would deliver, and she did so in spades! Here’s what I liked most:

The back and forth between present day and Brian’s past was a great way for us to subtly and slowly learn more about his motivations. It made the novella very difficult to put down!

Morally. Grey. Main. Character! I love when we start to pull for the “villain” of a story, and this is what happened for me as I kept reading Happy Hour.

The violence here is done with purpose and not for its own sake. It helps tell and inform the story, and Amour writes these scenes so well!

Overall, I highly recommend Happy Hour! It’d be easy to knock out in one or two sittings, and it packs a punch for its page count. Definitely pick it up!

Thank you @shortwavebooks for this arc!

This is a wild ride told in dial timelines, past and present day so we learn who our eccentric bar owner is. This one kept me reading and gasping!

Dexter meets Cocktail in this revenge-filled read! Brian struggles with how his brother died and is driven to fulfill their dream of opening a bar called Dirty Minx. This upscale bar in London has become the destination for the rich and famous, further putting a spotlight on Brian’s abhorrence for entitled, wealthy people. Until one day he discovers a way to change the world for the better and with the help of his emerging love, Jenny, turns the distasteful into tasty.

Part of the Killer VHS Series, this novella delivers the gore and guts as promised, so be sure to check it out when it releases in October!

Thank you to @netgalley and @shortwavebooks for this advanced reading copy.

#happyhour #gemmaamor #killervhsseries #horrorbooks

Gemma Amor is one of those authors who always seems to nail atmosphere, and this book was no exception. It has a quiet sense of unease that builds as you go, and I liked that it focused just as much on the people as the horror. It's the kind of story that sticks with you more because of the mood than because of any one big scare. It slowed down a little in a few spots for me, but overall I really enjoyed it. Definitely worth picking up if you like character-driven horror with a lingering, unsettling vibe.

Received this ARC from Netgalley

Gemma Amor's Happy Hour has a unique format that really works. Each chapter is divided into present day happenings and past happenings, eventually meeting up into the present day. Brian has always dreamed of opening his own bar and finally does. The Dirty Minx is the place to be, frequented by celebrities and the who's who of society. Drinks flow, as does revenge. You follow Brian's quest for revenge, his coverups, and get into WHY he is the way he is, all the while rooting for him (I like a bad boy okay?).