Amazing book, plot and characters. Got addicted to it until I finished it! Blown away!

Absolutely loved this book! What should be a really sad story is written so well, both funny and incredibly heartbreakingly sad, but with such optimism that it's impossible not to smile. A wonderful celebration of the character's life, strength and courage.

This was heart-breaking !! The 'C' word I believe is the most dreaded word in the world right now. Sometimes, it makes life feel so unfair. Books like these teach us to live our lives to the fullest each day, to show our love to our family each day, to not take family for granted each day.. Each day matters.. you never know when you'll lose someone dear to you.. And while the thought can be disheartening and gloomy, there are so many people who regret to not have done more, to not to have said more, to not to have shown more..

Jenny is living a life which is crumbling out of control. Her husband finds her boring, her daughter finds her embarrassing and her son prefers keeping to himself. And if the current situation wasn't bad, she finds out that she has cancer and also finds her husband cheating on her with a colleague.. Her mother always finds fault in her and keeps her absent doctor brother on a pedestal. Her father has Alzheimer.. Phew.. We are on a sad, heart-breaking roll here.. Hurdles after hurdles..

Jenny remembers the year of 1996, when she used to work as a tourist guide and how everything was so sparkly then.. With her life shortened because of cancer, she wants to make the most of the time remaining.. She plans a farewell party for herself, though all the invitees think it is a simple get together.. She invites her absent brother, her long lost friends, her family.. all the people who matter to her..

Now, normally under such pressurizing circumstances, most people break down, lash out.. something.. at least demolish your cheating husband's car..I would've !! But not Jenny !! She calmly plans a 1996 themed party..

At first, I really didn't understand Jenny.. I mean, lady, your husband is having an affair and you are dying.. Show me some angst !! It was as if she's in her own 1996 world and that annoyed me.. But as the book progressed, we could see her trying to help everyone around her.. Her son, daughter, her parents,her brother..and even her husband.. I realize that if she had acted in anger, she might have lost the little family bonding she was able to achieve at the end of the book.. Lesson learned : Decide if arguments are more important then family. It might have taken so much courage for Jenny to forgive all those selfish people around her..And that's why this book felt good to me..

Though, I would have liked an epilogue in the end could've shown Jenny's family coping after her death, many years down the line.. her children growing to be compassionate adults..her brother realizing his responsibilities towards his parents.. her friends missing her.. Maybe they could have had a get together in her memory.. Something to show the impact which her selflessness had on others..

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me this opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for my honest review

This was a really lovely book, covering a difficult couple of subjects.

Jenny's story was sensitively told indeed and I found myself getting quite emotionally involved. For me, this wasn't one of those books that make you really bawl all the way through; I found myself saying things like "you go girl!" and "wow, you are really brave", quite a bit of the time. And I really loved Jenny's friends, even her husband started to grow on me a bit by the end of the book ;)

I mean, HOW exactly do you tackle the fact that an otherwise healthy woman is suddenly told she has a limited life span AND she finds out that her husband has been cheating, on the same day?? Very skilfully, that is how. Read this book yourself and find out!

I absolutely recommend this book. 4.5 stars for me :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I felt this book was not so funny based on the subject matter. There were some funny bits, absolutely, but it was not comedy. All that being said I totally loved it. I loved Jenny’s courage and her defiance for looking all that she feared in the eye and making a choice to be happy despite it all. This was a very emotional book for me and some tears were definitely shed.

1996 was a great year for Jenny...she was 25 and just full of life and happiness. When Jenny is given a shocking diagnosis and finds out her husband is cheating on her the same day she decides she wants to live as 1996 Jenny again and sets out to plan the most epic party and get back to the Jenny she left behind in Greece. I loved this book from start to finish and had trouble putting it down. Read it, you won't be disappointed.

I do not wish to give the plot of this book away but believe me this book was brilliant. It made me laugh and cry several times over. The characters were superb and the relationship between Jenny and Maureen just marvellous.
If you like Marion Keyes then you will adore this book.
I have a new author to follow and look forward to reading more...............

Bittersweet! That's the main word that pops into my mind when I think about this book. So sad yet so joyful and lovely. Devastating, yet uplifting. I haven't read many non-psychological thrillers from bookouture, but they have hit the mark on the head with every genre it seems!

On the day Jenny finds out she has terminal cancer, she finds out her husband is screwing a leggy blonde. Talk about a bad day. So in order to make herself feel alive again, she organises a huge party. Just like the ones she had in her 20's. She invites all her family and old friends to come along. What transpires is a lovely story of reconciliation, moving through regrets, and of love.

To be honest when I started this book I didn't like it. I thought that Jenny was a complete dill. How could she act so blaze about a terminal cancer diagnosis. And I couldn't relate to her not being able to tell anyone about it. But as I kept reading I began to warm to her and the other characters, and by 3/4 through I was laughing out loud.

I really started to enjoy the characters and the dialogue. Although I couldn't help but feel like her husband was a complete bastard, I was even warming to him by the end. Impending death puts everything into perspective I guess. 

The main thing I was surprised about was how much I was thinking about this book after I finished. Not only thinking about the actual book, but thinking about the main theme - How important it is to enjoy your life right now. How you shouldn't wait to mend relationships and how you should always try to be happy, even when life is really REALLY crappy. I like to think of myself as a pretty upbeat, easy going person. I have seen quite a few people die (occupational hazard of being a nurse I guess...) But I don't know how I would handle this if it happened to me. 

Would I recommend The Last Laugh?

Absolutely. It was a quick, entertaining and upsetting in a good way. Death is a part of life, and I really enjoyed and appreciated this perspective. Great book!

Many thanks to author Tracy Bloom and Bookouture via NetGalley for a copy of The Last Laugh for me to review.

The Last Laugh is an unforgettable and highly entertaining read (even if it seems a bad sad from the synopsis). I have head the pleasure of reading only one of the authors former novels, but I plan to pick up many more as soon as possible.

I think this book will satiate any woman's needs.

Recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy. 4.5*

Jenny receives devastating health news after "celebrating" her birthday with her family. Husband Mark is preoccupied with a huge takeover in work, daughter Ellie 17 cares more about what the coolest girl Phoebe thinks and finally 15 year old son George is a bundle of anxiety.

Jenny works in a care home where her elderly friend Maureen lives. I loved Maureen, the kind of feisty sweary old women that is so engaging and endearing. Jenny reminisces back to 1996 when she felt her life was at the high point before work and family and it's subsequent stresses have dulled her personality.

With the help of Maureen they throw a 1996 party and invite Jenny and Mark's old friends and family to try and rekindle some life before it's too late.

There are some genuine laugh out loud moments and some definite tear-jerking ones in this book. Tracy Bloom invents some wonderfully colourful characters and her writing is masterful in balancing the laughs with the tears in what could have been a depressing story. Having said that I still thought Mark was an ass. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I loved this book. Some laugh out loud moments and also some very sad ones. This would make an excellent film to equal Me Before You

The best time of Jenny’s life was in 1996, she had just turned 26 and met Mark the man she would go on to marry.

Fast forward 20 years and Jenny and Mark’s marriage is not doing too well. When Jenny discovers she has terminal cancer and on the same day she finds out Mark is having an affair she decides to keep her diagnosis to herself. With the help of Maureen, a resident at an elderly home where Jenny works, she decides to throw a party with a 1996 theme to celebrate her life.

This is a riveting read with several colourful characters, in parts it is heartbreaking but it also has some lovely touches of humour. An excellent book which kept me reading through the night.

If you are looking for a read with pure comedy moments then this book will not disappoint. As always Tracy Bloom manages to deliver some comedy genius whilst also being able to make you reflect on what you would do if you found yourself in the same situation as Jenny.

I laughed throughout this book and shed a few tears at the end, it was an emotional light hearted read that I really enjoyed and would recommend

This book surprised me, in a really good way! It's not my usual read at all, but I wanted to try something different. I really enjoyed it.

This is a warm story that is both sad and uplifting. It makes you think about the choices we should make while we still have our whole lives ahead of us and not just when stricken with a devastating illness. I thought it captured family life very realistically and I loved Jenny, because she was so upbeat and a little mad.

I loved this book! Jenny is dealt two catastrophic blows on the same day. Not only is she diagnosed with cancer, but then she discovers that her husband is cheating on her. Far from being a bleak read, this book was thoroughly uplifting and filled with humour and spirit. Parts of this book were laugh out loud funny and I didn't want it to end. Thank you NetGalley for introducing me to this wonderful author and for the opportunity to read this book, I can't recommend it highly enough!

The Last Laugh
Tracy Bloom
Available: February 23, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
While billed as a romantic comedy..its more of a love story. Not a traditional love story, but more of where Jenny falls back in love with herself. I think every woman gets to a point where they want to be seen as more than a wife/mother/career/whatnot – they want to be seen as a whole person – liked they used to be when they were younger. Jenny just had the gumption to make her outside match the age she was inside.
What I loved: My favorite scene (aside her her telling off Phoebe – how I wish I would have done that to some of my daughter’s friends!) is the sumo wrestling dance off. While I can’t do that with my mom now (she may break a hip), I know that I need to have an absolutely silly moment with my own daughter sometime soon.
What I didn’t love: I still couldn’t stand her husband - even at the end, but he’s her lobster and that’s what works for them.

What I learned: I would love to go back to 1991/1992 if I could..
Overall Grade: B

www.FluffSmutandMurder.com

I truly enjoyed this novel.
It was a wonderful blend of humor and at times tears, as Jenny struggles to “Live” each moment and to move as if she was “on top of the world” in 1996.
She has received some awful news and elects to keep this a secret from all, but one beautiful friend who help her put her life in order and help sort her priorities.
Jenny has courage along with humor and as she says “Time to start living.”
Great story!

I thought I was going to hate this book after only recently losing a family member to cancer, but it was a great read!
Not only does Jenny find herself being diagnosed with terminal cancer, but on the same day she walks in on her husband bent over a female colleague on a filing cabinet. She then faces the dilemma of what to do, and her best idea is to go back to her best year - 1996.
This book is heartbreaking at times but hilarious in others. A well written thought provoking book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Tracy Bloom for allowing me to read this fantastic book.

Absolutely loved this book! What should be a really sad story is written so well and with such zest and optimism that it's impossible not to be smiling. A beautifully told tale.

Thank you netgalley and Bookouture for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Jenny and Mark met in 1996, followed by marriage, 2 kids and a dog. Mark is working towards his life goals, their daughter Ellie, is a nightmare and their son George is a quiet nervous boy. Jenny's world is rocked when she is diagnosed with cancer and when she goes to tell Mark, well it doesn't go as planned.

With the help of her friend Maureen, jenny embarks on a party to celebrate her life while rectifying some mistakes along the way.

Oh this was such a brilliant read. I was engrossed and laughed out loud and welled up. It was great!