*Thank you to Harlequin Romance for providing me an early copy of this book!

*TWs: Mentions of alcoholism, detailed conversation of mental illness (anxiety, OCD)

You Had Me At Happy Hour follows Julien (a sommelier with OCD who’s going through a sexual dry spot due to his rules for his partners) and Greg (a TikTok famous mixologist whose anxiety medication causes big problems in the bedroom) as Greg starts working at the same restaurant as Julien. To help each other out of their respective dry spells, they form an exclusive no-feelings-attached sex pact, but when new men and old flames pop up, they begin to question if feelings were ever really off the table.

This was cute! I’ve read a lot of books with the same basic plot structure lately, and this is one of the first to not sound tedious or dry. The plot points actually happened for a reason, and the characters drove them home with real ambitions and struggles.

The representation is also some of the best I’ve seen. Julien’s OCD isn’t made out to be a total character flaw, and it doesn’t magically go away when he’s with Greg. Same with Greg’s neurodivergence and anxiety. They’re both just people who also happen to have differences, and it’s never a problem in their relationship. They’re understanding of each other and willing to find ways to enjoy themselves alongside, not in spite of, those differences. The main thing being that Greg’s SSRI causes erectile dysfunction.

Julien is a sommelier who doesn’t drink. To talk about why this stands out to me, I need to spoil the reason he’s sober. So, minor SPOILERS for the duration of this paragraph. Julien chooses not to drink because his parents were both alcoholics, and when he was pretty young his mother got a DUI with him in the car. He’s likely genetically predisposed to addiction and doesn’t want to turn out the way his parents did. As someone also predisposed to addiction and who’s suffered abuse at the hands of an alcoholic, I’ve never seen a character like Julien on the page before. It’s always about religious beliefs or values, which don’t play a part in my decisions. I’ve never felt represented in that way before reading this.

I think the pacing was great—it’s easy to fly through without missing anything. The characters really were the highlight, especially their understanding for each other.

And the acknowledgements were cute, lol.

*Crossposted to GoodReads*

I have a love-hate relationship with Timothy Janovski’s writing. I liked Never Been Kissed, but I found You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince meh. I adored New Adult, but DNF The Fake Hating Game. After DNFing that last one, I started to wonder if Timothy wasn’t writing too much—quantity over quality instead of quality over quantity. Six books (three different publishers!) in just over three years is quite a lot.

You Had Me at Happy Hour is a captivating and vivid romance/romcom with a different take on several topics like alcohol and sex. And I liked that part very, very much. Julien has OCD and is neurodivergent. Greg has anxiety/depression and takes medicine. I loved both MCs (even though I hated Greg for a moment when he pushed Julien to take a sip of his cocktail). Julien and Greg’s job is making and serving (and tasting) alcoholic drinks, but both of them don’t/hardly drink for different reasons. Because of Greg’s medicine, his libido is low, and because of Julien’s OCD, he has rules for sex. And still, when they start hooking up, they have a satisfying sex life (even mind-blowing, according to Julien).  
 
But …

Although I liked this one way more than The Fake Dating Game, I hated what happened in the third act (Greg, what were you effing doing in NY??? and Julien, what were you thinking??? and Greg, no way, you stupid …!!!). And in the end, a book I was sure I was going to rate four stars ended up as a three stars rating. All because of that ridiculous third act.

Such an adorable romance! It's more character driven than plot driven- the plot is mostly the two of them falling in love and learning to support each other through their neurodivergencies and their challenges in following their dreams. It was well paced and I really appreciated how layered the characters were. They felt like real people you could meet and love in so many ways and I so appreciated how emotionally satisfying the spice scenes were. It wasn't just AH MY BOYS ARE KISSING but it was AH THEYRE KISSING AND SUPPORTING EACH OTHER. While there was attraction at first sight, the author does a great job of showing them bonding and showing how their connection leads them to love each other. And the representations of GAD and ED were really well done and showed a lot of knowledge and sensitivity. This was one of the best queer romances I've read in awhile.

Thank you NetGalley and Afterglow Books for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. 4.5 ⭐️ (rounded up) I was THRILLED to be asked to review another one of Timothy Janovsky’s books because he is one of my favorite romance authors! I absolutely loved the setting and premise of this one, and as always the spice 🌶️ did not disappoint! Timothy has an exceptional way of creating really well-balanced books: incorporating humor, descriptive settings, realistic mental health representation, and of course, some nice smut 😉 I always love to read his books and enjoy the journey through them so much. The only reason this was one was a 4.5 for me was the rising action/conflict toward the end seemed a bit forced and rushed. Other than that, I loved this and now I’m craving a nice fancy cocktail! Also his acknowledgements at the end were EVERYTHING!! Oh Timothy you’re just the best!!

Janovsky writes such reliably enjoyable romances and You Had Me at Happy Hour is no exception. Here he brings together two very different main characters and demonstrates over the course of the novel just how well they complement each other (while they of course also navigate trying to boost business at a failing family restaurant). He’s also able to deftly tackle serious issues while also making you laugh and swoon.

My only small issue is that the books in these series are short (I think I read this in two short sittings) and I do wish we got a bit more in the third act resolution. But to be honest, complaining that a book was longer is probably more of a recommendation than anything else. Overall, this is another great romance from an author that’s an auto-buy for me.

Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. Both characters aren't what they seem to everyone else, but to each other, they are everything. Both men understand each other once they get to know one another and that's when they fall. They have some bumps along the way trying to forget old wounds, but together, they are something special. It's not a long, drawn out story, but one that's worth being told.

A sweet and endearing rom-com! Greg and Julien’s story was lovely and meaningful, especially in its sensitive discussion of the effects of mental illness on life and relationships.