You Had Me at Happy Hour by Timothy Janovsky

e-Audio, 07:34:39
Narrated by: Mark Sanderlin
Release Date: July 23, 2024
Published by: Harlequin Audio
Read from: August 10, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
Content Warning: Alcohol, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Mental Illness, Panica Attacks/Disorders, Toxic Relationships, Abandonment
For Readers Interested In: Romance, 2SLGBTQ+, Contemporary, Dual Pov, Neurodiversity (OCD), Realistic Fiction

    Rivalry never tasted so good.
     O’ little town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania—it may be charming, but Julien Boire can’t wait to get out of there. Soon he’ll be leaving to take an advanced wine course that will put him on track to become a master sommelier. Meantime, his OCD demands he keep clear of distractions, especially the hot new hire at his aunt and uncle’s restaurant, Martin’s Place.
     Which should be easy, because Greg Harlow is as ill-suited to Julien as a bold cabernet is to a delicate salmon entrée. Charismatic and confident, Greg is a TikTok mixologist who could charm a paper bag—even one as tightly wound as Julien. One thing they do have in common: neither wants a relationship.
     Greg’s history with dating is… complicated. Yet working together isn’t. First, they’re teaming up to launch a series of happy hour events at Martin’s Place. Then they’re agreeing to a no-strings sex pact that involves new worlds of experimentation. Nothing is off-limits. Except a future.
     It’s exactly how Julien wants it. Except for the little part of him that wonders if maybe he’s about to lose the kind of happy that could last much longer than an hour…

*MY THOUGHTS*

This was so much NOT of what I was expecting. I usually LOVE Janovsky’s words, but for whatever reason this just didn’t hit the same as the others. My guess was it was so basic.

This was the most formulaic contemp romance I ever read. I DID love that they didn’t have to come out to anyone, they were just together tho. But this just isn’t the usual for Janovsky. Usually he can make me cry or laugh out loud so much, but I got none of that from this one. I didn’t feel really anything from this one. (Maybe I feel this way after the last one? This one just felt so tame. Like he was trying not to go over any veggie lines in this one too. [IYKYK])

I’m thinking its because I didn’t care for the main characters. I wanted so much to learn about being a sommelier, but I didn’t feel like there was enough info in the book besides how difficult it is and how much it costs. Or why he had to go back to NYC so bad besides money. I just always assume there’s a deeper meaning (yes I know money security is a thing, but like he had a job?) Especially since the person he went back to was terrible.

I DID like the OCD rep and the way he handled the one character’s parents’ problem. He became what he did in spite of them and I thought it was incredible. And we all know I cannot resist the social media type books, so this was a fun addition to the book too. (Although we hardly get to see it.) I also liked the toy play in this one. I don’t read a lot of spicy books, so this was interesting.

This was pretty tame compared to his other one from Afterglow and I can’t help but wonder if he was playing on the safe side with this one. I hope that’s not the case. I hope in his next book he finds a happy medium for us all.

Overall, I give this,