Don't You Forget About Me was my first book by Mhairi McFarlane, and I'm so excited to add her to my list of must-buy authors! This book was so funny and full of British witticisms that made the pages fly. It took a bit to get the story going, but once the plot was set-up I couldn't stop reading. Georgina gets fired from her waitressing job and finds her boyfriend in bed with another woman all in the same night. She takes the first job she can find, which is bartending at a new pub that just so happens to be owned by her high school boyfriend. Even though she and Lucas seemed meant to be, they broke up inexplicably and never spoke again. Things are super awkward working with him in the pub, but Georgina persists while simultaneously battling the unwanted advances of her cheating ex. She also deals with unresolved family issues with her parents and sister. I couldn't stop reading until I found out how things would resolve with Georgina and Lucas--what exactly happened in high school to keep them apart? Don't You Forget About Me is full of humor and is a pleasure to read, but it's so much more than a rom-com. It tackles some weighty topics like toxic masculinity, gaslighting, and feminism. Huge thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the preview copy!

Excellent second-chance romance that had me laughing and crying and fully identifying with Georgina and her quest for acceptance and love. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

This book went from making you laugh out loud, to crying in one sitting! I love a good book that makes me feel different emotions. Its like you escape for a little bit. Sometimes you just need a good cry!

Lemme tell you my story before you throw stones.



This is a fun story but it's not what I would categorize as a romance. It's chick lit. Chick lit that reminds me a lot of Bridget Jones's Diary only Georgina is probably wiser than Bridget.

They both get into wacky situations regularly, they're both British and they both have a core circle of friends that stick by them through thick and thin.

I actually really like Georgina and empathized with her familial trials and tribulations. She's a generous friend, kind to others, loyal and has a hard time with conflict which has landed her in some unpleasant situations and taken a bit of a toll on her psyche.

Her humor is VERY British and sometimes that misses the mark for me but here it was mostly a win. Had I gone into this expecting a modernized version of Bridget Jones's Diary in all likelihood I would be singing its praises right now.

But... I was expecting a romance and the guy who "forgets" her from high school and she have no relationship development. At all.

There's actually more relationship info/development between Georgina and her ex who is... a special one.



He was not boring nor was this story and on those two fronts, I will give credit where credit is due. But at the end of the day it just didn't meet my squishy marshmallow expectations and I found that frustrating. The premise of first loves reuniting is what caught my attention, plus the title, but the focus was not on them reconnecting. Rather that took a secondary role to Georgina coming into herself which is fine but not what drew me to the book in the first place. However, my opinions are my own and YMMV.

I'm somewhere between 2-3 Stars but will round up because it held my attention consistently.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet, funny, and modern! Mhairi McFarlane hits the nail on the head with this one! It's compulsively readable, dynamic, and an all around FUN read. I have had many readers recommend her books to be before and this is the first time I have sat down and read her work! I am impressed. I cannot wait to read more of her novels in the near (like, very near) future!

[ Full review to be posted on release day ]

Having heard such high praise about this author and being smitten with the description, I wonder if this was a case of setting myself unrealistic expectations. While I very much enjoyed the writing style and was captivated by the protagonist, this book actually seemed very light on the actual romance. I’d borrow another book by her from my library, though.

Contemporary romance in line with "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Good In Bed." Prior to this book, I hadn't ready anything by this author, but the premise and title hooked me. It's a second-chance romance between Georgina and Lucas, but it evolves into much more of a finding yourself story. I enjoyed Georgina's process of becoming a fully evolved adult, but there were points in the novel that dragged on a bit. I was a little concerned because the happy ending I was hoping for wasn't materializing, and I was 98% finished with the book. I'm hoping that a series about Georgina's best friends follows, because I'd like to see more of Georgina and Lucas.

While the writing was sharp and witty, there were several words that I assume are British slang that I couldn't define using context clues, so that was a bit jarring. Other non-British readers might have similar problems.

ARC provided by NetGalley and HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

At 30-years old, Georgina’s life isn’t where she thought it would be. She never completed college, she works at a subpar Italian restaurant, she’s dating a self-centered comedian and her family (and everyone else for that matter) never takes her life seriously. In short: she’s a joke. And Georgina would love to change that, but it just doesn’t seem possible.

On one unlucky night, Georgina gets fired from her job and then walks in on her boyfriend having sex with his agent. Now Georgina is jobless and single—not a winning combo. But lucky for her, she gets a job opportunity to be a bartender at a pub for a wake. Not ideal, but at least she can pay rent.

Georgina really takes to bartending and the one-time job turns into a full-time job offer. She feels her luck has finally turned around, that is until she discovers who her boss’ financial partner is—Lucas, the one who got away 12-years earlier. Lucas and Georgina secretly dated in high school and it’s been over a decade since they’ve seen each other. And it appears he doesn’t even remember who Georgina is. If that isn’t a bruise to her ego, Georgina doesn’t know what is.

We watch Georgina fumble with finding herself again and learning to stand on her own two feet, standing up for herself more than she ever has. She discovers what she wants in life and what she doesn’t. And she puts herself out there in the name of love, even if that meets rejection. She’s not who she was when she got fired or discovered her boyfriend cheating, but she’s so very happy about that.

Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane is a funny chick-lit meets romantic comedy novel. This was the first time I’ve read anything by this author and I loved all the humor and witty phrases throughout this book. Unfortunately, other parts of the writing I didn’t enjoy—the colloquial dialogue mixed with more formal narrative. I thought this would be more of a romance according to the cover and the synopsis, but a romance this is not. There is a cute little romantic element at the very end, but it was short lived. The story is truly about Georgina growing as an individual, and that’s something I can appreciate. While not my favorite book in this genre, I did enjoy it. 3/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Mhairi McFarlane for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Georgina seems to have only bad luck. SO much happens to her that is not her fault. Her family doesn't seem to believe that she gets into these situations by accident and criticize her in a way only your family can. When she takes a new job her past comes back to haunt her, as the owner is an important man from her past. A colorful cast of characters made this book enjoyable. I laughed out loud at some of Georgina's predicaments, and I teared up through her heart break.

Georgina Horspool loses her job as a waitress for telling the truth. She then goes to her boyfriend's apartment to discover him in bed with another. How bad can it get? Her brother-in-law gets her a one night job at his friends soon-to-be opened bar and all goes well until the owner's brother and co-owner appears and he is nonother than her high school boyfriend and love of her life, Lucas McCarthy. They separated badly, yet she still has feelings for him. He claims not to know her, a blow to her ego, but she then pretends not to know him either. They end up working together and she finds out he has just lost his wife to cancer. Can their feelings reignite? This story is hard to put down, Well written with characters one can relate to. Enjoy.

I've read a lot of books set in England and normally don't have any problem with the British phrases and slang. This one was much harder to read and I thought some of the scenes were over the top. I found myself skimming parts of the book that didn't involve Lucas and Georgina together.

Oh my goodness. This book was spectacular. I laughed, I cried, my heart broke and slowly mended itself back together. I fell so hard for these characters. I will probably compare most books to this one for a while.

I LOVED this novel. From chapter one, I was chuckling. I loved Georgina, who is fired from a job at a terrible restaurant despite doing nothing wrong. Looking for solace, she stops at her boyfriend’s house, only to discover him in bed with his assistant. Scrambling to be able to pay rent, she lands a job as a bartender, only to learn that it is half owned by the boy she fell in love with in high school. She’s had no contact with whatsoever with Luke in the 12 years since graduation because of a misunderstanding, and he’s only become sexier with time.

Georgina is not a stumbling Bridget Jones’-type character. She’s competent, but events in her life have derailed her college education and her confidence in herself. As events from her past haunt her and the guy she just broke up with continues to harass her, it’s wonderful to see her evolve and grow. She does this in part with the help of her friends, who are all empowering in a fun (that is, you don’t feel it’s overtly political) way. About how when our parents or ex-boyfriends don’t care for us the way we should be cared for, we, counterintuitively, don’t always take care of ourselves the way we should. Getting back at them through self-neglect (not a great strategy, in case that’s unclear).

Highly recommend.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the sneak preview to this book, which RELEASES SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 in the United States.

Georgina Horspool leads a comedic life even if she intends otherwise. After getting fired from her latest waitressing job at an “Italian” restaurant even Chef Boyardee would eschew, she gets hit in the face with another shock. Georgina’s finds her boyfriend in bed with another woman, who is also his PA. Needing a new job pronto, she takes on a temporary assignment at a pub that turns out to be owned by her first love and his brother. Their parting had a profound effect on her life, one that she never really recovered from and now, he appears not to remember her. And now, they will be working together as she is hired for a permanent job.

Georgina’s long held dream to be a writer has never materialized. Georgina seems to be stuck in the recently coined term, adultolescence which her judgy family continually reminds her that it is not on. She and her friends frequently bemoan the vagaries of dating and finding “the one” as since they hit their thirties. Working with Lucas McCarthy, her old flame, Georgina finds she is still very attracted to him, but he holds her at arm’s length. The romance in this story is quite slow burn.

I was expecting more of a romance; most of this story is more typical of the Women’s Fiction genre that focuses mainly on Georgina’s self-analyzing introspection as well as interactions with family and friends. As with a lot of people who however deal with their lives through humor, Georgina’s antics have some dark undercurrents. Since the author is British, there a lot of slang terms that will not be familiar to Americans, but readers will get the gist. Also something I find common in Brit-Lit is though this is labeled a romance, steamy scenes are few and far between or not even on the page. The humor in the story is definitely helps to level out some of the angsty parts.

A charming read for fans of Bridgette Jones. I don't usually read this genre and found it to be a fun way to engage! I loved the romantic arc, but i loved the character growth even more. Charming and cry-worthy with all the feels.

This is a fun and delightful escape into romance. The characters are well-drawn and vivid and the situations are excitingly awkward for the characters. This was a pleasant read.

What a sweet, serious story about first love, life, and consequences. I loooooved this book. I told a friend as I was halfway through- I have a new one to recommend to you, but I need to finish it first so I make sure the ending isn't wrong. And now that I finish, I can confirm- the ending wasn't wrong. The story of reconnection with your first love mixed with the terrible expectations young women are up against is beautifully told. I also really appreciated Georgina's circle of friends (and the vivid descriptions of each) and the family thread. This was my first read of Mhairi McFarlane book. Now I must get all the others!

I have officially found a new “must read” author in Mhairi McFarlane! Almost immediately after diving into Don’t You Forget About Me, I just knew I was going to love this book! This novel melds the romance and Women’s fiction genres together brilliantly! I thoroughly enjoy how Mhairi added so much laugh out loud humor and jarringly realistic situations and then mixed it all up with quirky awesomeness. I think I went into this novel thinking it would be a super light read and I was surprised by how much depth was packed into the storyline. Don’t You Forget About Me is a 5 star novel that I highly recommend! I truly look forward to seeing what Mhairi McFarlane comes out with next!

This is the story of Georgina, a thirty year old woman who works as a waitress and dreams of becoming a writer. After getting fired from her job, she takes another waitressing job whose owner happens to be a guy she dated in high school. The main focus of the story is her journey of letting go of the past and finding out who she really is and what she wants more than the romance. It was a fun read and I enjoyed the story!

Georgina has just been fired from her latest waitressing gig and then she dumps her boyfriend all in the same evening. So when her brother-in-law tells her about a job she jumps at the opportunity, little does she know it will put her directly in the path of the first boy she ever loved, now the man who doesn't remember her at all!