Review: HAPPY HOUR By Michele Scott

HAPPY HOUR
By Michele Scott
Published:  October 31, 2009

Four friends working in Napa Valley, Sundays are for fellowship, good food and wine. Jamie is editor-in-chief at "Wine Lover's Magazine," and a single mother. Before her husband died, she lived a fairy tale life. Guilt from his death keeps her from moving forward. Kat is a sommelier, and co-owner of a restaurant with her chef husband Christian. Although deeply in love they deal with a myriad of issues, including ex-spouses, Kat's teenage sons and her new age mother Venus. Danielle is a vintner who finds herself entrenched in both an identity and family crises when her eldest daughter returns home from college with a bombshell of a secret. Alyssa is an artist and gallery owner. When a tragic past event catches up with her, she must face the skeleton in her closet and rely on her friends to see her through her darkest hours. These women discover that friendship is the right prescription to get through the hard times as well as for enjoying the wonderful moments together.

It seems that the last few books I have read have been about women and friendships.  So, far all of them have been enjoyable reads and this one didn't disappoint either.  Even though this could be considered a "light" or "beach read", the topics covered in the story are not light.  Each of the women in the story have a crisis going on in their life and must find a way to overcome it.  Some of the situations were predictable, but there was just enough "surprise factor" to keep the reader interested.  Even though the women were all friends, it wasn't always easy for them to share everything about their lives, but once they did, the friendships became stronger and even more supportive.  I was wishing I had a group of friends like this to rally around when I was struggling. 

This isn't my first Michele Scott novel and even though this is different from her mystery series, I think Scott can be sucessful in writing a series for these women as well.  There was still much that can happen in the lives of these women to make another novel enjoyable.

As this book is read, every woman will realize how important the friends in her lives are.  You will realize you can't get through anything without your friends.  And, even though they may not give you the answers you want to hear, or understand your decisions, they will still be there for the long-haul.  As the story stated, "Life was always changing, never the same."  The one thing that did stay the same was their friendships - through all of it -divorce, death, family issues, parenting, teenagers, finances, aging parents, etc.    But isn't that what makes life interesting?  And each Sunday, as they gathered for wine, food, and support they realized "the only things they can really count on were friends, family and faith". 

Since Scott is also a wine lover, and has a passion for writing, horses, and cooking, I feel like we learned a little about her as well, as these were featured throughout the characters in the story.  The treat at the back of the book are the recipes for some of the dishes served at their Sunday gatherings. 

Since there are a lot of "hot topics" in the novel, this would also make for an excellent book club discussion.  There are even discussion questions included in the back of the book.  I'm a sucker for great friendship novels and this one didn't disappoint.  I gave this 4 out of 5 stars. 

If you would like to learn more about Michele Scott, check out her website HERE.  Scott also writes under the pen name A.K. Alexander.  For a list of all her books, check out her website.