Small Hours is about the relationship between a father and his son and the misunderstanding that sometimes happen when people want to protect others or they don't communicate their feelings clearly. I loved seeing them navigate the feelings they had and how they managed to solve some issues. The writing style was wonderful and after I read the book I was left with a warm feeling but sad that the book was ending.
I love the cover and the chosen colours for it. The artwork is amazing and I am happy the fox is there on the cover.
I would have loved a book with sprayed edges in those colours and the fox there too.

The most beautiful, poignant, heartbreaking tale. Gerry’s dementia-type illness is portrayed perceptibly and empathetically and is so close to what I have seen. Bobby Palmer produces magical storytelling, page after page. His first novel is in my top 5 books of all time. Small Hours did not disappoint.

5*

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Published 14 March 2024. Having adored Isaac and the Egg, when offered this arc I jumped at the chance. After a talking egg, what could I expect this time? A talking fox of course and it blended in so perfectly with this novel about family, about nature, about fractured relationships. Jack had left home 15 years previously, a home where he was unable to connect with his father, Gerry, a man who immersed himself in the earth, in the woods, in nature; a man who didn't know how to talk to his son because the past had got in the way. Leaving home, Jack loosened his ties to his mother, Hazel, and his younger sister Charlotte. There was always an excuse why he didn't visit. But, hey, he had everything in London - a good job, a nice flat - he didn't need his family in their rambling house at the edge of the wood. But his hours are longer, his stress is higher until the day his bosses tell him they have sold the company. On that day he is left with nothing and stumbles back to his flat, stopping en route to help an injured fox. Then, he receives a telephone call from Charlotte to tell him that their mother has gone missing and he needs to come home. Once there he finds that his father is even further away from him as Gerry is suffering from an unnamed dementia and his sister is resentful that she has had to pout her life on hold, to be the constant in the home. The story unfolds beautifully and sensitively as we hear Gerry's voice, his confused memories and his present thoughts, his love of nature - his wood, the animals and birds. We hear Jack's voice, his feelings about his father, the anger that he felt as a young man and the way that he finds what is important. We hear from the fox - does it really talk? - as he guides both Jack and Gerry. Interspersed with this is Gerry and Hazel's love story which is gorgeous. This couple were meant to be together. The structure of this as is slides from voice to voice, from past to present worked perfectly for me. There is real poetry in some sections and a real love of nature. There is beauty in here, from the skies to the birds. And as for the fox - I'll let you decide. His voice was special. A wonderfully poignant read.

What a beautiful and powerful book!

Isaac and the Egg was one of my book of the year in 2022 and this new novel didn’t disappoint.

Full of wit and emotions, Palmer is such a clever writer, who definitely made me tear up quite a few times!

Embark on this amazing story about one’s journey through life, finding what matters, what was lost, what we didn’t know we needed.

Using a fox this time to help Jack find himself, navigate family, unexpected loss and reconnect with his roots, he’s there to guide him to understand the world around him, the world he left behind and the world he’s about to step in.

As he tries to find his way back, the fox will open his eyes, allow him to find empathy and understand others.

Thanks a lot to Graeme, Headline and NetGalley for the opportunity to read in advance!

I got on the hype train for Bobby's first book, Isaac and the Egg. It wasn't like anything I had read before and at times, just outrageously peculiar. But there was no denying his ability to write, and his ability to perfectly encapsulate raw human emotions, grief especially. And so I was right up there at the front of the queue with this one.

What I have noticed about Bobby's writing over these two books, is he doesn't just write a sentence as it is. It's not just words on a page. Each word is thought about in the wider context, honed to perfection, which means every sentence tells of an emotion and a feeling as well as what it actually is saying. Which means his writing reads like poetry, it ebbs and flows and is a joy to read.

He takes every raw human emotion - grief, loss, sadness, stress - emotions that we aren't always good at voicing, and managers to describe them 100% correctly, like of course that's how it feels, it can't possibly be any other way. He voices the words in your heart.

His books are about quite everyday things but with an added bizarre element, and there's almost this musical quality about them. He talks about everything from loss and grief, love, employment issues, anger, aging, health, family, loves and passions, hatreds, and this sense of belonging or not belonging.

It's got a very unique format which I think could have been too much, but he's handled it very well and it really suits the unusual premise. We have the standard main POV which is of Jack, the rambling, seemingly disorganised POV of his father Gerry, and then occasionally the POV of the fox. It sounds bizarre when I write it like that but it really works. It's set mainly in the present, but there are some flashbacks to the past, which threw me at first as it didn't specific that, but once I got into it, it very quickly became the natural way to tell the story, and you get this real understanding of why the characters are the way they are.

I love Bobby's writing about nature. There's so much beauty in the everyday, even in the danger of mother nature, and it's true that we don't always appreciate it. We're stuck in the busy cities, in the rat-race, going to work, earning money, and we forget about the world around us. But for me, this book is telling you to take a moment, close your eyes, and open up your ears and your soul to everything around you.

It's very...insular. I know there's this whole plot going on and whatnot. But for me, this is all about looking inwards. How are you feeling, how you feel about others, how you see each other and your place in the world, and that creates this sense of wonder in the reader.

Everything about this book, from the mundane to the fantastical, holds this power that really gets to you as you read it. It's less wacky (and I use that word as a positive) than Isaac and the Egg, but no less fabulous and emotive.

I found myself sobbing. At the sad bits yes, but at the beautiful bits too. It is so tender and full of feeling. The love I had for this fictional fox and fictional family - they could be anyone's family, anyone's dad, brother, son. It was just gorgeous.

A lovely story of life and losing- and finding- yourself and of connections, both to family and nature. Jack seems to have his perfect life and job in the city until it falls apart, and with the news that his mother is missing he returns home to his estranged sister and father- all in the company of a talking fox. A slightly wistful, thoughtful book, beautifully written, warm, and inventive.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I am really pained to write this review but I just couldn’t get into this at all. I dragged myself through the first 50% and had to stop. I absolutely loved the author’s first book but this just didn’t pull me in, in the same way. I found the characters very unlikeable (except for the fox, who I really warmed to) but the different chapter styles and the pacing were not my style at all and detracted massively from the story for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

When I read Isaac & the Egg, Bobby Palmers debut novel, I knew instantly I'd come across a new favourite author. Reading Small Hours 100% confirms that.

You know that feeling where you can feel tears coming.. in the back of your throat, that ache in your chest, that's how this book made me feel. I was right there in the midst of this family lost in the woods looking for Gerry. 😢

It was hard not to dislike Jack initially but as I continued to read I met a different side to him, the side he had shut away and ran away from. Hazel and Gerrys love story was amazing and you could just tell through the words how much they doted on each other. All the characters were portrayed beautifully, the relationships complicated but clearly full of so much love.

Bobby Palmer is a true creative genius as we're transported from the city to the country. The use of the descriptions throughout made me feel, hear and see everything so clearly, I could picture the story as if I was watching a movie. This is going to be one of those books I wish I could read again as if I'd never read it before.

A truly heartfelt and delicate novel that will gave me all the feels. I highly recommend this book to all my friends.

A huge thank you to Bobby Palmer for creating this work of written art. Also thank you to Netgalley for a much appreciated Arc.

It took time to get into this book but when I did I loved it. It's a story of family dynamics; love, loss, re evaluating and looking back at what changed the characters along the way. And then there's the fox! Definitely recommend this book - thanks to the author, NetGalley and publisher for the preview copy.

Absolutely beautiful writing - the occasional phrase would stop me in my tracks, needing a moment to reread and enjoy.

A wonderful story about a man coming to know himself, his family, and a fox.

Small Hours is a beautifully written book. It is sensitive, compassionate and empathetic. If you are fascinated about relationships, this novel gets to the heart of family dynamics. A father, a son and a fox are inextricably woven into a journey of discovery of how connection can emerge and be healed. Bobby Palmer has crafted a fascinating masterpiece.

Bobby Palmer is a master at uplifting grief and this was no exception. Another masterclass in emotional writing.

Thank you so much to Headline for the early copy of this via NetGalley.

I cannot put into words what this book made me feel, what it meant to me and just how good it is. I will try my best in this review but I don’t think my words can do it justice. First off I went into this having loved Isaac and The Egg and was excited to get stuck in but also worried that I had set my expectations unfairly high. It’s safe to say I was blow away to the point of tears towards the end. It’s an absolute emotional roller-coaster and you truly experience the journey of each character in the book. At times I was sad, at times happy and always so engrossed in this truly brilliant story. Jack, Charlotte, Gerry and Hazel are all great characters and you cannot help but be drawn into all their own journeys and the emotions that they must be feeling. The fox is also a star and I loved the connection to animals through out. Everything in the book is there for a reason with everything being so cleverly implemented by a very gifted author. Bobby Palmer is such a fantastic and creative writer, and I can’t thank him enough for writing this truly wonderful story.

Jack, our unlikely hero, has just lost his job in the city when he stumbles upon an injured fox who changes his life.
His sister, who is angry with him, contacts him to tell him that his mother has gone missing; he returns home to find that his father has dementia. Lost to himself and his family, Jack feels that his life is falling apart but his chance meeting with the fox is about to change that. We are invited to join Jack on his journey as he rebuilds his life and rediscovers what is important to him. This is a powerful, emotional story told through rich prose. Having enjoyed Isaac and the Egg, I wasn't sure that a second novel could live up to this - I was wrong!

Small Hours is written in a beautiful, prose type narrative, which is soothing and respectful of the issues featured in the storyline.

The story centres around Jack, a city high- flyer whose world comes crashing around him when the company he works for is sold. To make matters worse his younger sister calls to tell him that his  dad's health is declining and his mum has left  so she is struggling to cope - could he come home? However, his relationship with his Dad is very strained, can he really help at the moment?

We follow him as his mental health goes into crisis and finds himself walking to the park, where he discovers a sick fox. As he helps the fox it discovers thay he can talk to the animal and helps him to focus on what he needs to do next.

This all sounds a bit bizarre but strangely it works for the story! I really enjoyed this book!

A pleasing look about whether relationships can be mended after they’ve been neglected, and also on the more complicated issue of memory loss

The book narrates the return of city boy Jack to his rural family home when his mother disappears, leaving behind his father (the one losing his memory) and his sister.

It charts the bonds between each family member with each other, following what has been lost, found and renewed. It links in the earthiness of the outside world, particularly through his father and the fox he saves at the outset.

What a beautiful read, magical and such a tender loving story. Father, son and a fox

If you stood before sunrise in this wild old place, looking through trees into the garden, here's what you'd see:

A father and son, a fox standing between them.

Jack, home for the first time in years, still determined to be the opposite of his father.

Gerry, who would rather talk to animals than the angry man back under his roof.

Everything that follows is because of the fox, and because Jack's mother is missing. It spans generations of big dreams and lost time, unexpected connections and things falling apart, great wide worlds and the moments that define us.

If you met them in the small hours, you'd begin to piece together their story.

After reading and loving Isacc and the Egg, i was really excited to see what Bobby Palmer would come up with next. After a mysterious egg, why did we expect anything other than a talking Fox. I loved the simplicity of the story, 5 characters, but mainly the story of a father and son understanding each other. I really enjoyed that this story was sparked from a real life meeting of a Fox on the commons.

This book deals with Dementia/Alzheimers and it handles the topic very well. It's clear that Bobby has done his research on how this can manifest and how it can affect the sufferer and their family. I feel like this is one of those books that you think about for days after reading it. Unpacking its contents. The characters are each fully formed and you can tell a lot of time and research has formed each one. They feel like actual people and I became invested in them all.

Bobby Palmer is becoming an author who's shopping list I'd read. He deals with hard to explain/live with topics and injects fun characters in to the story without detracting from the important stuff.

As with Isacc and the Egg, Small Hours is going to be talked about a lot when it is released in March.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Netgalley, Bobby Palmer and Headline for allowing me to read this eARC

My first novel by Bobby Palmer and I found it thought provoking.

I did not find the concept of a talking fox to be strange. My interpretation of this is that Jack is so stressed and lonely, he is having a crisis and the fox is just his imagination. I felt sorry for Jack, though I felt irritated by him too.

The book deals with Gerry’s Alzheimers so sympathetically, I was very impressed with the way the author tackled this.

Overall, I found the story to be a little slow, but I did enjoy it.

I have mixed feelings about this book, and whilst there were moments that I really enjoyed, I did find that some of the book dragged. My biggest problem, though, was with the character of Jack, because for most of the book I really didn't like him. That made it difficult to care about what would happen to him, and I found that whilst I sensed that I was supposed to be worried about him, I mostly just wanted to give him a big shake! By the end of the book I did feel differently about him, but that was at the end, and for me that was too long a haul to have been waiting always for Gerry's story. Gerry was my favourite character, and it was his story I was most engaged with by the end.

The book is written in an interesting way, told from multiple points of view, including the fox - some readers might like that, some might not! I decided early on to just go with the talking fox and not overthink it, and I think that was probably a good plan! But the multiple viewpoints mean you do get some repetition in there, which I think was what made things feel a bit slow at times.

It does have some lovely nature writing through it though, and moments that I really did enjoy.