How far would you go for a taste of fame? Jane Anderson learns that she'd go as far as living a celebrity's life in order to escape her own for a while in "Happy Hour" by Anne Mitchell.
After finding out that her husband had an affair, Jane goes to New York City to visit her best friend and take in the sights. What she doesn't count on is becoming a sight herself, when everyone mistakes her for celebrity talk show host, Rosie Reynolds. When Rosie offers her a deal that's too good to be true so that she can hide a secret from the world, Jane sees no choice but to take her up on it. After all, she might be getting a divorce soon and will need the money. However, fame, even the pretend kind, comes with its own price tag.
I came across "Happy Hour" while I was looking for a light, escapist read. The cover is so cute and definitely attracted me to what was inside. This is a case where the contents definitely fit the feeling conveyed by the cover. It was entertaining the whole time and kept me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed the vicarious experience of touring New York (in this case, just the really expensive stores and restaurants), even though I'm not a fan of the city myself. Ms. Mitchell made me want to visit again though. (I definitely wouldn't mind a celebrity telling me to shop using their bank account as part of that visit.) There was enough detail that everyone and everything was easy to visualize. The dialogue flowed nicely and there were a lot of humorous moments, as well as heartfelt ones.
While the title of the novel implies that it will be a happy story overall, the ending seems almost too convenient and contrived at the same time. I got to see results I wanted, but not quite the way I was hoping they'd come about. I don't want to say anything more as to not spoil things for other readers, but I think they'll understand what I'm getting at when they read it. I also would have liked e-mails from her friend to look more like e-mails than part of Jane's inner monologue, but that could have been the e-book formatting, as I noticed some other parts had split sentences.
I had an enjoyable time reading "Happy Hour." It definitely put me in a good mood at the start of the day, as I usually read it on my PC Kindle during breakfast. And at $2.99 for Kindle, how can you go wrong?!?
I received this book through a free promotion on Amazon.
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