Always Happy Hour by Mary Miller (Hardcover)

Autographed by Mary Miller, Author, especially for HALO! Mary is recognized for her coming‑of‑age themes, Southern settings, and sharply observed character-driven narratives. Her work frequently explores ordinary lives, spiritual uncertainty, and social precarity. Combining hard-edged prose and savage Southern charm, Mary Miller showcases biting contemporary talent at its best. Fast on the heels of her "terrific" (New York Times Book Review) debut novel, "The Last Days of California", she now reaches new heights with this collection of shockingly relatable, ill-fated love stories. Acerbic and ruefully funny, "Always Happy Hour" weaves tales of young women―deeply flawed and intensely real―who struggle to get out of their own way. They love to drink and have sex; they make bad decisions with men who either love them too much or too little; and they haunt a Southern terrain of gas stations, public pools, and dive bars. Though each character shoulders the weight of her own baggage―whether it’s a string of horrible exes, a boyfriend with an annoying child, or an inability to be genuinely happy for a best friend―they are united in their unrelenting suspicion that they deserve better. These women seek understanding in the most unlikely places: a dilapidated foster home where love is a liability in "Big Bad Love," a trailer park littered with a string of bad decisions in "Uphill," and the unfamiliar corners of a dream home purchased with the winnings of a bitter divorce settlement in "Charts." Taking a microscope to delicate patterns of love and intimacy, Miller evokes the reticent love among the misunderstood, the gritty comfort in bad habits that can’t be broken, and the beat-by-beat minutiae of fated relationships. Published: January 2, 2018