Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by analenegrace
You Had Me at Happy Hour by Timothy Janovsky
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Another fantastic Timothy Janovsky!
Thanks so much to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book.
I really enjoyed this super fast-paced romance! While there is a non-romance subplot, it's fairly low stakes, and the story is much more focused on the new neurodivergent MCs finding love and what they want out of life. OCD and Anxiety can be tricky things to write, and as someone who has both, I think Janovsky nailed both. Rather than making these things the characters' main struggle, both are medicated and instead, their respective divergencies are part of their whole character and are respected by their partner.
The romance was very fluffy and nailed many fun tropes, such as grumpy sunshine, friends with benefits, and miscommunication, which is an especially hard trope to write. The characters have a lot of scenes, so we see them fall for each other, even with the bit of instant attraction they both have. The sex in this book was well-written, taking into account both their OCD and anxiety, particularly with Greg's medication causing erectile dysfunction, how Julian accepted and worked with it, and how Greg understood Julian's OCD and general need for certain things before sex.
My major criticism of this book was how time passed; I didn't realize six months had passed until they told me, and I was shocked because it felt more like weeks. It could have been a little longer to flesh out the romance, but I understand it's a harlequin book, so this is its desired length.
Janovsky is one of my must-read romance authors, and so this was another great one from him!
Thanks so much to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book.
I really enjoyed this super fast-paced romance! While there is a non-romance subplot, it's fairly low stakes, and the story is much more focused on the new neurodivergent MCs finding love and what they want out of life. OCD and Anxiety can be tricky things to write, and as someone who has both, I think Janovsky nailed both. Rather than making these things the characters' main struggle, both are medicated and instead, their respective divergencies are part of their whole character and are respected by their partner.
The romance was very fluffy and nailed many fun tropes, such as grumpy sunshine, friends with benefits, and miscommunication, which is an especially hard trope to write. The characters have a lot of scenes, so we see them fall for each other, even with the bit of instant attraction they both have. The sex in this book was well-written, taking into account both their OCD and anxiety, particularly with Greg's medication causing erectile dysfunction, how Julian accepted and worked with it, and how Greg understood Julian's OCD and general need for certain things before sex.
My major criticism of this book was how time passed; I didn't realize six months had passed until they told me, and I was shocked because it felt more like weeks. It could have been a little longer to flesh out the romance, but I understand it's a harlequin book, so this is its desired length.
Janovsky is one of my must-read romance authors, and so this was another great one from him!