This book was in a word, Perfect.

Going in I was worried that a book set in a London Market wouldn't have the magic of cressidas Cornwall books, but I was wrong. It had at least as much magic - maybe even more!

I real.ly dont want to say anything that will spoil this book, as it had me literally sobbing at times, and my heart was in my throat through certain parts, but in true romantic style we had the beautiful meet cute all the way through to the big ending!

Jess is content with her life, she works in a lovely gift shop in Greenwich Market and has a side line hustle, making artwork with inspirational quotes and motivational lines. Single, she keeps to a mall group of friends and rarely sees her parents. What more does she want?

One Sunday in this vibrant place, she bumps into Ash, who has stepped into help a stallholder with a runaway thief. Something connects between them, but Ash can only stop for an hour as he has a prior engagement. But he returns week after week and for that hour it seems that Jess is the happiest she has been for a while.

As some sort of friendship then relationship develops, we are thrown in to the lives of those in the Market as well and the the community around Jess, grows and embraces Ash as well.

But is an hour enough, t make not just plans for the future but deal with all the issues from the past and in the present. It seems not.

This is a great book from McLaughlin, in a departure from her normal. Of course it has romance at its heart, but it also has what might have been, what could have been, what was never was and the art of self preservation from a number of characters to survive. Can the Happy Hour be extended to a life time?

A really lovely story of a couple who meet by accident in a busy London market. Both are attracted to each other, and meet each Sunday for just an hour to begin with, both hiding secrets which are holding them back from admitting their true feelings.
We meet lots of fun and quirky characters along the way, and the book has a real sense of community, all pulling together to help each other.
An emotional story, with laughter and tears along the way, really enjoyed this book.

I love Cressida Mclaughlin and she is on my list of go-to authors, where I will always grab their books without even reading the blurb.
This one did fall a little short for me and I didn't adore it the way I did with every single one of the cornish cream tea series but it was still an enjoyable read with lovely characters.

I loved the Cornish Cream Tea series and was looking forward to reading this stand-alone book by the author. However I sadly didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped; I didn't like the characters very much, I found them to be extremely immature and annoying, especially Jess. It all felt very predictable and shallow. Some parts were good e.g. the descriptions of the muffins and I loved the character of Wendy, but overall I thought this book was rather disappointing.

Jess finds herself unexpectedly drawn to the charming and enigmatic Ash during a chance encounter in Greenwich market. As they continue to cross paths week after week, Jess begins to realise that their brief but meaningful interactions are the highlight of her days. However, as their connection deepens, Jess discovers that Ash is harbouring secrets that threaten to derail their budding romance. Can Jess unravel the truth before it's too late? With its irresistible blend of romance and intrigue, this captivating novel is sure to leave readers swooning.

Something a little different, which was refreshing. Cressida brings Greenwich to life. I liked all the characters. There were lots of thought provoking moments. Yes, a good read all in all. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Yet another wonderful book by Cressida. With loveable characters and beautiful narratives making it a heart warming spring read.

Jess is a trader in the market, when she’s meets Ash she wants to let her self go, but it’s so hard. He only has an hour a week to see her and there’s a trust issue. They are both likable characters full of personality. It was great reading about their story.

This a lovely romance story that is written very well. It’s an easy read that I read in one day. It’s a happy 5 star read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

This was a delightful read with a really fun premise. I loved being within the stalls with Jess, Cressida described them so beautifully. I would highly recommend this one!

As a fan of the Cornish Cream Tea series by this author, I’m grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this heartwarming story. Ash and Jess meet at Greenwich Market one Sunday after a pickpocket tries to steal from one of the stall holders. It becomes almost a ritual that they spend an hour together each Sunday, enjoying each others company as long as they can.

This has everything I want in a good read. It drew me in from the first chapter, I wanted to know all about Jess, Ash and all the other characters, like Enzo, Wendy and particularly Felicity. They all felt so real, just like people you really want to meet and spend time with. I even loved the stalls and shops they all ran. I really wanted to know what Ash was doing every Sunday after he’d left Jess and why he couldn’t explain to,her what was going on. As always with this type of book,- no spoiler - but you know things will always work out, you just never know quite how you’re going to get there. Another excellent read from this author.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for an advanced copy to review.

The story follows Jess and Ash who meet by accident one Sunday in Greenwich Market and go on to meet each Sunday for one hour. This allows then to build up a friendship and budding romance. Unfortunately Ash can only spend one hour with Jess as he has somewhere to be but won't let on where. This led to lots of guessing by me.

They are both very relatable characters and have issues with their past which makes for an interesting relationship between then.

As well as Jess and Ash's story there are numerous other side storylines featuring a wonderful range of characters. I especially loved Felicity and Spade.

A beautifully written book that had me invested from the beginning. The descriptions of the Market had me wishing I was there. There was fun, laughter and heartbreak which led me to go through a whole range of emotions and I must admit to shedding a tear or two.

This is a book I would definitely recommend.

A funny, romantic, beautiful story that will grab your heart and make you want to read more. This is a story about Jess and Ash. But all the characters in this book are great and the story is happy and sad, fun and funny, emotional and full of all the things in life you would hope for yourself.

A well written and easy to read book, the setting is charming the length of the book perfect and I read it in one day as I couldn't put it down. At times I felt like I was taking a tour of London as well as taking a ride along a romantic mini-rollercoaster. A great book and one I thoroughly enjoyed. 4 1/2 stars absolutely.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Another brilliant read from this author. This time it was set in Greenwich around the park. I loved the community spirit which ran all the way through this book. People coming together to help each other. The characters were so Interesting. I loved the attraction between Ash and Jess are how they finally fell in love. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

The story had me engrossed from the beginning. I loved Jess and Ash.

It was interesting to read about the lives of Jess and Ash.

I loved the setting, which was different to the previous books by this author.

I recommend this book.

Jess is perfectly happy working in Greenwich market with her job in a cramped gift shop that sells trinkets to locals and tourists. She is happy with her small circle of friends and being single. In other words, she thinks she is doing just fine.

One Sunday, Jess is thrown together with handsome, funny Ash, as they chase a pickpocket through the market. Sharing a coffee after their success, Ash and Jess soon start to enjoy one hour every Sunday. Is one hour a week really enough time to fall in love…?

I was absolutely thrilled to be able to read this book before publication. So far, I have enjoyed all of Cressida's books and always look forward to her next one.

I enjoyed the setting of Greenwich Market and I think the author really brought the hustle and bustle atmosphere to life. At times it felt like I was walking through the market, chatting with the traders, exploring the neighbourhood.

This story is filled with great characters that added a nice dimension to the story and there were a good mix of funny and sad moments. I loved the market community and the sense of helping & supporting each other. Felicity's story really showed the positive impact of reaching out for help.

I had to message the author to check if I needed a large box of tissues. I did wonder why Ash only had an hour and where was he going.

Jess and Ash’s story is slow-burning and at times riddled with miss-communication. You will really root for them and hope that they will sort themselves out.

This is a standalone but would also work well as part of a series, exploring the other traders lifes and catching up if Jess and Ash are doing well. I am sure Cressida will receive a few requests for a sequel.

The Happy Hour is the perfect stay-cation book for the summer.

The Happy Hour is a beautiful story about Jess and Ash and how they are thrown together when a young boy is caught stealing from the market where Jess works.
Ash come to Greenwich every Sunday to go to a secret meeting but starts to come every Sunday to meet Jess for what becomes their Happy Hour.
Making friends in the market along the way Ash eventually shares with Jess where he goes.
Can the relationship survive his revelation, filled with love and friendship this book made me warm through although I did shed a tear towards the end.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Oh, I really do love a book from this author and when i had the chance to read this one early, I absolutely jumped at the chance!

Right from the very beginning I loved this story so much and became engrossed in it. I loved both Ash and Jess and very much enjoyed how their stories unfolded. I knew that there was more to both of their back stories and i just loved how it was slowly being fed to me, just enough to keep me curious but not too much to spoil it too soon!

Cressy always manages to make me feel hungry whenever i read her books!! The way she describes the food that she is writing about totally makes my mouth water and i am always left feeling hungry! In this book it was Kirsty’s muffins that did it for me, especially the cheese and bacon ones, they sounded delicious…

I loved finding out about all of the places in London and i loved when Ash was giving Jess a film tour and was telling her all about films that were made in that location. I just loved how Cressy described places, it always makes me feel as though i am there, immersed in all of the novels goodness!

I thoroughly enjoyed the market location of this story and the whole thing was a perfect mix of wonderful emotions and was funny and wholesome and sad and romantic and purely escapist and I LOVED it!! I also loved the little cameo from Hester and Jake too - perfect!!!

Jess is perfectly happy. Perfectly happy with her job in a gift store in Greenwich Market, with being single and her small circle of friends.

One Sunday Jess meets Ash after chasing down a shoplifter in the market and so begins the habit of running into each other once a week but only for one hour. But Jess soon realises that their “Happy Hour” is the best part of her week, and perhaps being perfectly happy isn’t perfect enough.


I am a big fan of Cressida McLaughlin’s work, and her books are an auto request/buy for me. I started this one with high anticipation but it wasn’t long before I realised I wasn’t connecting to the story or the characters. I enjoyed the setting of Greenwich Market and think the author really brought the hustle and bustle atmosphere to life, as well as the good natured camaraderie between the stallholders. I can’t put my finger on the exact reason I didn’t feel invested, but this one just missed the mark for me.

I’m so used to reading Cressida McLaughlin’s books set in Cornwall & surrounding areas I initially found it a little jarring to read a book of hers set in London, of all places. However, I quickly overcame my discombobulation as Cressida’s writing drew me into a wonderful story.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, populated by fully-formed & interesting characters. The main storyline follows the development of a friendship & the beginning sparks of a relationship between two previous strangers who meet for one hour each week; however, there are also several other smaller storylines that develop other characters and add to the delicious medley this author always creates in her writing.
An enjoyable book, perfect summer reading.