In Bass’ debut novel, a woman sinks into a pit of despair when her 25-year marriage collapses.

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Fifty-five-year-old Katherine “KK” Rhinehart’s self-esteem is a mess; she’s grappling with menopausal hot flashes and weight gain, hiding from the world at her family’s Cape Cod beach house in the off-season.

 

Since childhood, KK, her siblings—sister Elizabeth (“Bitty”) and brother Harley—and her best friends, the endearing Matty and down-to-earth local resident Chickie, have spent summers together at the Cape. When Bitty and Harley find KK there miserable and alone, they shower her with love, hire a cleaner, and set her up with groceries and steamy romance novels. Matty arrives from Boston with margarita supplies and a makeover plan for KK, and eventually Chickie convinces KK to come to Dockside, the restaurant she owns, for happy hour.

 

There, KK meets Jay, a gorgeous 34-year-old surf-loving bartender with hidden depth. They start spending time together—and falling for each other. KK unlocks an earlier, happier version of herself, though nagging insecurities regularly creep up. After a TikTok video of the pair goes viral, sparking ugly comments about their age gap, KK’s progress is swiftly derailed. Will the humiliation destroy her newfound happiness?

 

Moving fluidly between narrators and timelines, readers will feel they’re a part of this crew’s journey, swept up in a playlist that includes Madonna, Sam Smith, and Taylor Swift. Bass’ characters are lovable, complicated and flawed…which is to say, deeply human. Snappy prose and cleverly crafted plot lines elevate the rom-com tropes, striking the perfect balance between the laugh-out-loud funny and the heart-wrenchingly sad. “I might explode,” KK thinks when Jay touches her arm. “Or die. Or have an orgasm, which would be embarrassing. I think I’d rather die.”

 

In this heartfelt tribute to love and loss, Bass vividly captures aging, fresh starts, and the sort of ride-or-die friendships everyone wishes they had. Readers looking for a good laugh or cry (or both) in this fizzy page-turner won’t be disappointed.  

 

Sizzling, sharp, and hilarious.

                                 ~Kirkus Reviews 

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"HAPPY HOUR is a sparkling novel with one of the bravest, most fascinating heroines you'll ever meet. KK Rhinehart faces heartbreak head-on, with humor to combat the self-doubt, with the help of amazing friends, and with a most unexpected and wildly exciting chance at new love. Elissa Bass has created indelible characters, psychologically rich and true. She writes with wit and irony, with an open heart, and with the ability to make this poignant story in a seductive seaside setting read like a thriller. I couldn't stop turning the pages, and I'll admit that I was beaming through tears more than once. HAPPY HOUR has just become one of my favorite novels!"

~ Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author of 37 novels, including her latest, LAST NIGHT

 

"Effervescent, poignant and full of hard-won humor, Elissa Bass’s HAPPY HOUR is everything you want from a summer (or fall, winter, spring) read. You’ll finish the last page with the warm glow of a 'happy hour' well spent, but not soon forgotten."
 

~ Megan Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of DARE ME and THE TURNOUT