What a wonderful book that deals with grief and friendship. A young psychologist advertises for people who are grieving. The group that forms are very different and diverse.
A sharp-tongued lawyer who has no intention of letting down her walls, a fragile young woman looking for a place to belong, a musician at the top of his game who's one drink away from losing it all, and an interior designer facing the crumbling of her picture-perfect life—this unlikely group slowly opens up, not only to the possibility of a happier future but to friendship, change, and even romance. As Genevieve, the group leader guides these 4 there are some surprising episodes. The twist had me gasping. Such a superb story.

The Seven O’Clock Club ✨💚🕰️
4⭐️
0 🌶️

Thank you so much to Berkley for the free advanced copy! #berkley #berkleypartner

This book was incredible. I really enjoyed the way that grief was the main topic that was handled, but I mainly enjoyed the care that went into exploring it on the page.

I tend to fall into a pattern of only reading romance, and this was the perfect book to bring me out of that rut. I really liked how the premise of this book was different than anything else on the market right now, but still has the appeal of “Before the Coffee Gets Cold”.

This book did have a bit of a slow start, and it took some time to get to know each character and their situations. I did love the element of found family in this book!

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

First off- the premise and concept for this book was excellent. It's what initially pulled me in, and I thought it was done well. I can't decide exactly how I feel about the plot twist, but I don't think I liked it, and the further out I get from having read it, the less I liked the twist.

// 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 //

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆
Goodreads: 3.88
Genre: 𝘍𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯; 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕
🧠 Grief/Counseling
🗣️ Multiple POV
🥺 Emotional
⁉️ Unexpected Ending

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕
Four strangers, each grappling with a recent loss, are brought together in an experimental grief therapy group.

𝑺𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒕 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔
• This book quickly captured my attention and I really enjoyed how the characters journeys and stories were developed with such care. I felt immersed in their journey, wanting to know and understand their experience.

• The story puts an interesting spin on grief, the grief process. That is really the main focus of the story. It’s handled well with highlights of happiness amongst the sadness. I do think in terms of executing a story on this topic, the author did really well.

• So why only 3 stars? The twist about 75% through the author goes a direction with a strange reveal that felt very disjointed. I was not really a fan of the twist and felt it took the story an unnecessary direction and really put a damper on something that up to that point was so good. I do think if I had realized this book fell into the “magical realism” category, it would have been less jarring.

• The romance element here didn’t feel authentic, yet it also was emphasized much throughout the novel. While the individual character development was good, I felt this could have been flushed out better.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 @𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘱𝘶𝘣 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!

Book Review: The Seven O'Clock Club by Amelia Ireland
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5 stars)

This book was such a pleasant surprise! The Seven O'Clock Club brings together four strangers for an experimental treatment aimed at healing broken hearts—and what unfolds is a beautifully layered story about grief, connection, and personal growth.

I really enjoyed watching the characters evolve. Their development felt natural and well-paced, and by the end, I was genuinely invested in each of their journeys. The plot twist caught me completely off guard in the best way—it added emotional depth and complexity that elevated the whole story.

While it didn’t quite hit 5-star territory for me, it’s definitely more than a solid 4. If you’re into character-driven stories with emotional resonance and a touch of mystery, this one’s worth picking up.

Interesting topic but it felt forced to me. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and I found that, while they had grief to deal with and varying ways of dealing with it, this book was trying to be deep where it didn’t need to be and failed to hold my interest. I gave up at about 40% because the story was slow to develop and I lost track of the various characters because they all sounded the same.

I wasn’t initially excited about picking up a book centered on therapy sessions and grief—having lost my dad less than a year ago, it felt a little too close to home. But debut author Amelia Ireland delivers a twist about two-thirds of the way through The Seven O’Clock Club that absolutely floored me. From that moment on, putting the book down was not an option.

Told through alternating points of view, the novel follows four strangers in a grief therapy group: a ruthless lawyer used to control, a young woman searching for belonging, a chart-topping musician battling addiction, and an interior designer whose picture-perfect life is unraveling. Their losses are wildly different, and none of them can figure out why they’ve been grouped together—especially when their enigmatic group leader seems to know unsettlingly personal details about each of them.

The dynamic between these four personalities is engaging enough on its own, but it’s in their final session that everything shifts. A revelation from their leader reframes the entire story, unleashing a cascade of emotions that hit hard and deep.

While the first part of the book leans into slow-burn territory, it allows you to genuinely invest in each character’s arc. And the payoff? More than worth it. The Seven O’Clock Club delivers one of the best plot twists I’ve read in years. I rarely cry over books—but this one got me.

If you’re looking for something unique, moving, and quietly mind-bending, add this gem of speculative fiction to your TBR list. You won’t regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and of course the author Amelia Ireland for the advanced copy of the book. The Seven O’clock Club is out now. All opinions are my own.

I had seen a lot of chatter about this one on bookstagram so decided i wanted to see what it was all about. This is a new author at least to me, and found myself very into her writing. THanks so much for the gifted copy!

I absolutely devoured this book back in January and have been anxiously waiting for its pub day to post my review. It has an original plot, it is creatively devised, and it demonstrates how people identifying as unfunctional can come together and build unbreakable love and friendship bonds. The characters are raw, vulnerable, and funny. They are loyal to a fault. They are shy to point out their own strengths and quick to point out others. I will recommend this book to readers time and time again. Easily a five star read for me!

We’ve all probably heard of the five stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Sometimes medication can help people sort through their feelings of grief, strong support from friends and family can certainly be helpful, and therapeutic exercises such and mindfulness journaling can lift our spirits. Isolation however is almost guaranteed to fail each time. Genevieve Dempsey, therapist, has been conducting research about grief and believes strongly that there are two other stages that need to be added to the cycle of grief in order for people to heal their broken hearts. Therefore, Genevieve invites four strangers to therapy to conduct a research experience that will prove her hypothesis. The strangers however don’t know that they are participants in a study. What unfolds is beautiful. The strangers challenge each other, support each other, make each other cry, and feel safe showing their true identities…their true rage. At the end of the day, the strangers build a love and bond that is inseparable…they will have each other’s backs for all of eternity.

Thank you @NetGalley and @penguinrandomhouse for the ARC. I can not say to much about the plot, except this is a must read. I enjoyed reading about the cast of characters and what brought them to grief counseling. Each story is filled with redemption and love. There is a twist I did not see coming and could not put the book down. Amelia Ireland writes beautifully.

The Seven O'Clock Club by Amelia Ireland takes you on an emotional ride. The main characters in this book all come together for an experimental treatment in love. I didn't know what to think going into this read. The characters are forgivable after you don't like them. The author does a great job of changing course with a plot I didn't see coming. I didn't want the book to end but was also happy it did. This author has a creative way in writing and I'll be looking for future books.

Amelia Ireland does a wonderful job portraying the stages of grief . I enjoyed the multiple perspectives storyline and the twist caught me off guard. I would highly recommend this book for those in need so a heartfelt novel. Thank you again for the advance copy.

A twist I didn't see coming!

The Seven O’Clock Club begins with Genevieve, a therapist, conducting an experimental grief therapy group. She has selected four participants—Victoria, Callum, Mischa, and Freya—who must attend weekly group therapy sessions for four weeks.

Initially, the group is hesitant. Victoria, Callum, Mischa, and Freya are either skeptical about therapy or reluctant to share the reasons for their presence. What we do know is that they all have lost someone, and the loss has marked them. At different stages of grief, they doubt Genevieve’s ability to help.

As readers learn about these characters and their losses, it’s easy to grow attached, rooting for their healing and the release of their inner demons. Then comes a plot twist that changes everything.

This entertaining debut delivers a compelling narrative and richly developed characters. Despite exploring profound loss and guilt, the story avoids being overly somber. Ultimately, it offers hope.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book. It’s about a group of people who are grieving for various reasons, and from early on I was so interested to hear about what each of them had gone through. It takes some time to learn why each person is in the group, but watching how they slowly came to trust each other and to open up was a lovely experience. This is a sad book, but it didn’t make me sad. It’s the sort of book that makes you have hope for humanity, that shows you the good in people, instead of always seeing the bad. It was so refreshing. And there’s also a twist that I did not see coming at all. It was super interesting, I loved it.

I definitely recommend this one. 😊💛

4.25 stars - This was such a fascinating book. It pulled me in immediately and had a great pace with enough forward momentum in the plot even though it was a very character driven novel. Each of the different POVs we get in the book are so unique and I really loved each of the characters. The journey each person went on was beautiful and heartbreaking and I was itching to get back to this book each time I had to put it down. I enjoyed how complicated and messy Callum, Freya, Victoria, and Mischa were but so lovable at the same time.

Towards the end of the book there was some heavy handed exposition which was quite a bit different than the rest of the book and I was thrown off by that. Even so, I really loved this book and would absolutely recommend this. Check trigger warnings on this one!

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing for the eARC - all opinions are my own!

Four strangers have been invited to a grief counseling group that meets on Tuesday nights. It seems that there is nothing connecting them: one a music star, one a teen who was a full-time stay at home carer for her mother, one a very important lawyer, and one who just wanted to be a wife and mom. All of them have just been going through the motions of life until they meet and begin to form an inexplicable bond. One which, at the coaxing of their leader, Genevieve, leads to their opening up and becoming closer with each other than any of them would have imagined possible.
Then the group experiences something completely unexpected which turns everything they thought they knew upside down, when their leader reveals why she chose each of them specifically to be part of this experimental group.

This book is for anyone who’s ever strongly grieved a loved one, been unsure how to move on, or for those who can empathize and love well-written dramatic twists. This would be a great book to discuss in a group or club as it opens the doors to lots of conversational conjectures that all of us have wondered about at some time. It also reveals, as Genevieve says, “…the importance of having someone to talk to. Someone who could help you overcome the hurdles that, for whatever reason, you’re unable to cope with by yourself.”

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are solely mine and do not reflect the author, publisher, or affiliates.

The Seven O'Clock Club was an interesting story concept that was nicely executed.

It can be so difficult to have a book that features so many characters, but Amelia Ireland wove their individual stories together so well. It not only went through each of the stages of grief, but cleanly jumped between characters with each chapter. The pacing was also really nice as you get a little more of each character's back story and what is happening with their group.

This was a good debut and I am looking forward to seeing what Amelia writes next.

The Seven O'Clock Club are four very different people who have come together to try to overcome their grief with the help of counselor, Genevieve. I'll be honest- this is not a book I would normally pick up. When I was given the ARC, I decided to give it a try. This is a quiet book at first, with the four characters Mischa, Freya, Victoria, and Callum seemingly four grieving people with nothing else in common. But as the group moves through the stages, they start to care about each other. As someone who's been dealing with the loss of my dad for the last year, I was hesitant to read this. However, it really touched me and and I was surprised by how the story was resolved. I think I would get even more out of it as a reread. This is a fantastic debut and I look forward to more from Amelia Ireland in the future.

It’s a really interesting book. Four people are brought into an experimental treatment therapy for grief. We see them going through different stages as they relate to one another and help one another through the therapy. Then there is a twist in the book that I did not see coming. I really thought that the way grief can be seen through different. People’s eyes was handled beautifully. The banter between the characters entertaining even in a book that cover such a heavy topic. It’s definitely a book I would recommend.