Just Last Night is my first book by this author and while I enjoyed the story, I wasn't expecting such a sad/grief filled book.

Eve, Justin, Susie, and Ed have been friends since they were teenagers. Now in their thirties, the four are as close as ever, Thursday night bar trivia is sacred, and Eve is still secretly in love with Ed. But in an instant their lives are changed forever. Eve’s world is upended as secrets are revealed, and she wonders if she really knew her friends as well as she thought she did.

I can't wait to read other books by Mhairi McFarlane. I really enjoyed her writing style and would definitely recommend her!

Wow. Just wow. This was so good. Probably because it went in unexpected places. I thought I was getting set up for one romance, but another one swooped in and it felt right and I loved it. I also loved that the main character, Eve, realizes that she deserves and needs more out of her whole unrequited love thing. I thought that all of the characters in this one, Eve, Susie, Justin, Ed, and Fin, were very developed. I didn't want this one to end at all and re-read it twice already.

"Just Last Night" follows 30 something Eve and her three friends, Ed, Susie, and Justin, at their regular Thursday night quiz nights. Eve finds herself thinking of her ex, who has immigrated to America and is now married with a child. She starts to wonder again about her almost relationship with Ed and what could have been. When Ed's longtime girlfriend pops up and crashes their night, it sets in motion things that are going to change the group of four forever.

No spoilers here for readers, but have some tissues standing by people. I cried a bit. With the world the way it is and for some of us who lost people due to COVID or other things this past year, this book will slap you in the feels. It goes into a lot of things I think which will cause you to stop and think. McFarlane walks you through first love, unrequited love, death, loss of parents, and even new love.

Eve is a heroine that I found myself rooting for from beginning to end. "Just Last Night" not only shows you loss, but also secrets that are kept not only from Eve, but from other people as well. I liked the fact that you don't really know what's going on with other people, and how things revealed, even if long ago, can still burn.

Since this is told in the first person, via Eve, you do get to see her character developed, but you also get to see some changes to others like Ed and even Fin.

What a great book and it just has me wanting to re-read McFarlane's backlist again.

This was an unexpected read for me. My first of Mhairi McFarlane, and I for sure want to read everything she's ever done now. There was a lot of drama (not normally a genre I seek out), but it was written in such a compelling way that I couldn't put it down. The friends were so well written, and I loved how their lives were so intertwined.

Another great read from Mhairi McFarlane. She always does an excellent job of incorporating friends into her characters’ lives, not just romance. In this case, four friend lives are intertwined with the love story and some tragedy. Eve is a compelling character and you root for her to find love, even in unexpected places.

This is a compelling novel written with excellent characters and a drama that twists and turns and keeps you riveted. I loved it.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Usually I dislike books that unfold too slowly but this book gripped me so quickly with its beautiful writing and development that I found myself not minding the slow pace of the plot at all. Instead, it gave me plenty of time to connect with the main character of Eve as she traverses her grief over the death of her close friend and examines the relationships she has with those around her, as well as the paths she has chosen in her own life.

This book is not some light romance that makes for a quick read. It is much more character driven than I expected but, again, is written so well that the reader finds themselves immersed in Eve's journey. I appreciated that the character becomes more honest with themselves as the book goes on and that she is allowed to find faults in her behavior that are realistic and logical. I also like that the "romance" in the story takes a backseat to Eve's own discovery of self and that her grieving process both over the death of her friend and the moving on from the past is one that most will be able to sympathize with.

This book was a hidden gem for me and I will be seeking out the author's backlist for sure. I found the story very fulfilling and smart, dealing with heavy topics head on but keeping a sense of humor at opportune times.

This is my first time hearing of this author, and I am officially in love! This is the first ARC that I read that I’m actually going to purchase the book when it’s released; that’s how much I loved it (and I don’t typically like chick lit). The first quarter of the book or so is really fun to read. The snarky, witty dialogue between the four friends is fantastically done. A lot of authors struggle with realistic dialogue, but not here. And the fact that I got Twin Peaks, Paul Weller, and The Cure references warmed my black Gen X heart. In the midst of the fun times, this book took a HARD left turn. But it was no less enjoyable. The way the author dealt with the aftermath was really lovely, and made me tear up. Yes, I’m being vague, I don’t want to give away too much of the plot. Oh, and the way the secret love story was done was *chef’s kiss*. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go read every single thing McFarlane has ever written.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow & Custom House for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’ve been reading raving reviews of McFarlane’s books but never got a chance to read them. I was glad to get a chance to read this beauty, now I understand the hype around her books and this book definitely exceeded my expectations. I am happy that I have her previous books to devour.

It’s about four friends - Eve, Susie, Ed and Justin, who have been friends since school. I warmed to them from the get go and their witty banter was hilarious and made me reminisce about the time spent with my friends and miss them more as we drifted apart and everyone got busy with their lives and families.

Just eighty pages in, McFarlane dropped a massive bomb, I had to read a few times to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me and I was hollering at the author, WTH, how could you do this and you must be a wicked witch to pull this on them and on me. After the storm had passed, had me wondering at my strangely strong reaction and I’ve realized that this was due to me being heavily involved with these friends and invested in their camaraderie.

This title is such a loaded word since what happened in one night has shattered the foundations of their friendship, could potentially tear them apart. Was their bond strong enough to withstand this catastrophe?
The great part of this book was it’s strong, well flushed out characters and witty dialogues. It was a joyous journey with Eve while she learned to value herself, take her life back, realize what her heart truly wants. Justin’s one-liners and quips were utterly hilarious, had me honking out with laughter whenever he made an appearance. I can’t get enough of him. Susie was sassy, audacious, and snarky. Ed came across as protective and caring but has his own shortcomings. Fin was broody, cynical, grouchy, and perceived universally as a heartless jerk. He reminded me of Mr. Darcy.

These characters seem very real to me as each has their own strengths and shortcomings and that’s what made their friendship and relationships complicated and messy. This story has everything you look for in a book, heartwarming friendships, hilarious one-liners, betrayals, jealousy, brooding hero, slow burn romance, beautiful locations, heartbreaks, unrequited love, breakups, disasters…

Overall, I would highly recommend this heartwarming book.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Mhairi McFarlane's latest capitalizes on all the things readers love most about her books: tight-knit friend group, witty protagonist, complex emotional landscape, slow-burn romance, and characters reckoning (at last!) with their personal histories. JUST LAST NIGHT is for die-hard McFarlane fans, yes, but is also perfect for readers who love Josie Silver's novels, Kate Clayborn's LOVE LETTERING, and Nora Zelevansky's upcoming release, COMPETITIVE GRIEVING (May 2021).

The story centers on Eve and her forever-close friend group, made up of Ed, Susie, and Justin. When tragedy befalls them, an interloper rocks the group's dynamic and forces them to confront parts of their shared history that have been obscured by secrets. As Eve and her friends struggle to make sense of a post-tragedy world, they also must confront who they will be -- to themselves and each other -- within it.

If McFarlane's previous books have focused on a central romance and included a strong found family/friend group as a secondary feature, JUST LAST NIGHT evens the distribution of focus considerably. Here, Eve and her friends are the primary focus, with a somewhat-unexpected, slow-burn romance feeding into the changing dynamic among them. It's like McFarlane took all the very best elements of what she does and turned the volume past ten; if it weren't so thoughtful, nuanced, and at times heartbreaking, it could be fan service. That's how good it is.

Marketing copy from the publisher comps In Five Years and The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, but I feel these titles promise a semi-supernatural, Sliding Doors-type element that simply does not exist here. Ultimately, the cover, title, and copy don't hit the mark at all. I wasn't disappointed in the least (McFarlane could rewrite the phone book and I'd probably read/love it), but I worry that readers new to Our Lady of Slow Burn might come in with false expectations.

Content warning: sudden death, child abuse.
Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Mhairi McFarlane for my lack of sleep last night and tiredness today. I started this with the intention of only reading a chapter or so and as always happens with McFarlane's books, ended up reading all through the night to finish it in one sitting. McFarlane does such a great job handling the sometimes difficult subjects in this book while also telling a heartfelt story about a group of lifelong friends, first loves, and heartbreak. Highly recommend, just don't start it right before you want to go to sleep.

OH MY!!! Just last week After my 10,000th reread of If I Never Met You, I thought “I need something new from Mhairi McFarlane”. FF, I hop on Netgalley and randomly select this one based on the cover and description, and it wasn’t until I opened it on my Kindle did I even notice the author! How serendipitous?!?!?! This was a great read to kick off my 2021! Sometimes McFarlane’s characters and their flaws can be formulaic and repetitive, but hey, it works. I love a witty protagonist and McFarlane delivers every time. I've read just about every McFarlane book (making Who's that Girl a priority to top off the list this year), and I love how she interweaves the genres of Women's Fiction and Romance. She also handles a couple of dark topics in this one [TW: sudden death and physical abuse], but she navigates seamlessly through processing and dealing with these emotions, I think much of this is owed to her descriptive and engaging writing style. I also just love the relevance you get when her characters refer to past and present pop culture moments - you really get a sense of who they are and it has me a bit more engrossed and aware of the setting. I’m looking forward to the final version in May. (less)

This book broke my heart, put it back together, then turned around and broke it again. It is a poignant look at a life long friendship of four people who tragedy hits and forces them to deal with things swept under the rug. Secrets, betrayal, manipulation, and unrequited love test this friendship during the toughest of times.

I just enjoyed how seamlessly Mhairi McFarlane took us between the past and present at just the right time so we fully felt what the characters felt then and now. I have to admit the British humor was beyond me at times. The sass and snark of these women (Eve and Susie) was entertaining, but it was the irreverence of Justin’s that really had me laughing out loud.

So, I stayed up all night reading JUST LAST NIGHT laughing, crying, and turning page after page. Well done, Mhairi McFarlane.

I received an advance copy of the book. This is my voluntary review.

Ugh, I tried. I seriously tried to get into this book and I had such high hopes for it. But the first several chapters left me bored out of my mind.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Sadly this book just wasn’t for me...

Mhairi McFarlane is one of my current favorite authors. Her books are always more than just romance. This tale of friendship and betrayal tugged my heartstrings and made me examine my own friendships and expectations of them. Highly recommend.

I don't know what it is about Mhairi's stories but I'm always so intrigued by the premise and I just feel let down by the plots and characters. There is nothing wrong with the book per se, but this plot let me feeling all the bad feels and I never felt like I was on board with the characters and their arcs throughout the plot. I do think it was well paced and the characters were interesting but I felt like they weren't totally fully formed and left me with a lot of questions.

Mhairi McFarlane has a very specific style of writing:
--northern English setting
--heroine who undervalues herself
--hero who is seen as an 'arsehole' at the beginning
-- often the book begins with the end of a long relationship or emotional affair.

So you know what you're getting when you start one. But man this one is her best yet. She's perfected her style, and Eve's story is so wonderful.

I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say it's Eve growing after a personal loss, and reconsidering truths she's believed for 16 years. And it's a lovely journey.

Friendships are forever or are they? This story follows Evelyn as she navigates love, loss, tragedy and finding the strength to love again, which is a lot for one story. Will the loss Eve is feeling, keep her from finding her happiness??
 
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This book was more of a 3.5 stars read for me. The subject matter can read kind of heavy with all the loss and back story mixed with family issues. I guess I never really found my groove reading this book. I also don't know of a more appropriate title but I wouldn't assume the subject by the title itself, if that makes any sense. Just an Okay read for me.

Thank you Mhairi McFarlane, netgalley, and HarperCollins for this ARC opportunity! ❤

This book took a turn that I wasn’t expecting but I think that made me love it all the more. Life isn’t easy and it doesn’t often make sense and this story really reflects that, while also giving us some of Mhairi’s usual romance.

Mhari McFarlane is quickly moving up my list of can't miss authors.
In Just Last Night, Eve, Justin, Ed, and Susie have been bffs since they were teenagers. But then one night something happens that changes their lives for ever. In the aftermath, Eve discovers a shocking secret and has to work out whether she really knows her friends at all. When she is at her lowest though, she finds a new confidant in an unexpected place.
This was the kind of book I couldn't put down and wanted to read "just more chapter" until it was ridiculously late at night and the book was finished.

I nearly died on the spot from excitement when I got an advanced copy of Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane. I am a big fan of all of her past books that I’ve read and this one was no different.

It was definitely an emotional rollercoaster of a book ...and without giving anything away- this book deals with some heavier themes. Despite that, even in the midst of all the heaviness, it is balanced out with well timed moments of levity. I found myself laughing several times.

This book has so much witty dialogue- which is present in all of Mhairi McFarlane’s books and is something I really love about her writing. The quick dialogue of her characters always reminds me a bit of Rory and Lorelei Gilmore, which is a huge thumbs up for me since I am very fond of them.

Overall, I really loved Just Last Night. Highly recommend pre - ordering or getting it when it comes out in May!