I couldn't finish this one. I read 75 pages and had to stop. The main character was not likeable for me - 30, unemployed (formerly a waitress), no drive/ambition, sleeping with a loser stoner... I like strong, capable female protagonists. I had no desire to continue on unfortunately but thanks for my review copy.

This was my first McFarlane book, and it hit all the right notes for me. There was a lot of laughing, as well as tears, and I thought it was a wonderfully told tale of a woman trying to get her life on track.

George had been sort of floundering since her father's death. She was working in a dead-end job and in an unhealthy romantic relationship. It might have seemed like misfortune at the time, but I think losing her job and her boyfriend were two of the best things to happen to George. It pushed her into a new opportunity, and allowed her to grow and come to terms with events from her past.

I found it really easy to love and have empathy for Georgina. She was extremely amusing, kind, loving, and caring. She was also very complicated, and I really enjoyed the way McFarlane slowly revealed all her pieces until I was able to get the complete picture of who she was.

In her present, Georgina was trying to deal with being reunited with "the one that got away". This was her first and epic love, the one who imprinted himself on her soul, and his re-entry into her life churned up bits of her past, which she had never come to terms with - the grief of losing her father, her conflicted feelings regarding him, and the pain of losing Lucas. These were things that were holding her back, and it was fantastic and quite satisfying to see her work through it all.

Though there were many emotional parts, this book was also quite hilarious. A lot of the humor was provided via Georgina's friends. Everyone needs a ride-or-die squad, and this one was top-notch. Individually, they were interesting, but together, they were gold. I always had such a good time with this group, and it warmed my heart the way they supported Georgina.

I would call this women's lit, but it also had a great romantic element. Be warned: there was not a ton of romance going on, because this was really about Georgina's healing journey and her finding her way, but there were some fantastic moments, and that ending! My heart exploded from that speech. I think I might have gotten up and applauded. It was just that good, and of course, the happy tears were flowing freely.

Overall: I throughly enjoyed my first Mhairi McFarlane book, which had just the right balance of humor and emotion, and left me in a state of elation.

Let me preface this by saying I am not a Sophie Kinsella fan-but I know many readers are, and I am pleased to have a new author to recommend to them. I found this book to be full of British-isms that eventually got tiring. If the author wants to appeal to an international market, it's probably best to not always use references that others won't know (case in point-what is Dairylea? Who is Basil Fawlty?). The main character is not particularly likeable, she's a mess-always finding ways to spin a story so she has no blame in the situation, coasting along from one bad situation to the next, much like the Shopaholic character in Kinsella's books. That said-I know this trope of a misunderstood character trying her best is popular, so it's good to have another author in my Reader's Advisory toolkit.

Don't You Forget About Me is a story about two friends, Lucas and Georgina, who met in school and ended up dating one another. They drift apart for unknown reasons and reconnect when Georgina is hired as the bartender at the bar Lucas owns after she's fired from her waitressing job at a local Italian restaurant.

I'll be honest and state that I couldn't really connect with the characters. I understand that Georgina is going through a tough time, especially after she was fired and then found her loser boyfriend in bed with someone else. But this book had a hard time holding my interest. There's major miscommunication between the two leads that could have been solved by simply discussing what happened between them. I didn't really care for Lucas and there was no spark between him and Georgina to make me want to root for these two to end up together.

There are some very important topics that were discussed and I think that Mhairi McFarlane wrote those specific scenes with a lot of emotion. They connected me to Gerogina the most. Overall I would give this 2.5 stars.

**Thank you to William Morrow Books for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest review**

Does anyone else sing this title every time they read it or is that just me??

“You always remember your first love… don’t you?”

Georgina works for the crappiest Italian restaurant. Not only does she get fired, but she shows up so surprise her boyfriend and finds him between the sheets with someone else. Now without a job and a boyfriend, she takes a temporary gig bartending for a wake at a new bar that hasn’t opened yet. She is so thrilled to be offered a full time job but there is only one problem... the man she fell in love with twelve years ago is a co-owner.. And doesn’t remember her at all.

Lucas has grown up since the last time she saw him twelve years ago on prom night. Still as handsome as ever (if not more), but a little more brooding and a business owner with an adorable dog. While Lucas has become a successful grown up, Georgina dropped out of college and has been working crappy jobs ever since. She is aspiring to be a writer but hasn’t written anything since her diary entries about her days with Lucas in High School. Crossing paths with him again brings back the pain of what happened twelve years ago and why the memories of that night have haunted her ever since.

But maybe it’s not too late for the truth, and just maybe, a second chance with the one that got away.

It’s always a bad idea starting a book at 9pm. I could not put this book down and read well into the early morning to finish! If you are a fan of Sophie Kinsella, you will love this book! I loved the humor and it didn’t overshadow the serious topics in the story. I could relate to Georgina because she is clumsy and has terrible luck, yet she laughs off her misfortune. I saw immense character growth for her which I always love in a novel. This is a story of romance and self discovery with sass, witt, and depth. I absolutely loved the characters! If you love second chance tropes and hilarious scenarios that will have you laughing out loud, this should definitely be on your reading list! Mhairi McFarlane did an amazing job with this novel and now I want to read all of hers other novels as well.

Thanks so much to William Morrow Paperbacks / HarperCollins for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! Publishes September 10th!

Such a believable, enjoyable romance! As usual, Mhairi McFarlane's depiction of the main characters' relationship with each other and their respective relationships with friends and family is so spot-on. This work tackles some weightier themes than seen in prior books but she pulls it off.

This story is about Georgina who ends up being a barmaid at at a newly open pub. When she accepted the job she didnt know she would be running into the boy she fell in love with when she was In school.
I really thought I was going to read a romance but this didnt have that much of it. I felt like there was a lot of things going on with all the characters but still felt like it was all of the place. I just felt like this read wasnt for me. Thanks Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.

This is the first book that I've read that is labeled #chicklit. Now I want gum. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiclets">Chiclets </a>were my very favorite gum, next to grape Hubba Bubba which I still find in a Lakeview gas station occasionally) Anyhow, I think the main character, Georgina would approve of gum obsession. I mean I don't know for sure, but she seems agreeable to that sort of quirkiness.



At the start of the story, she gets fired and finds her boyfriend in bed with someone else within like an hour. It's a lot. That was the part that reminded me of Bridget Jones, which is the only example I could find of #chicklit. When she gets a new job bartending she finds out that her old high school crush owns the place.



This isn't a capital R-Romance, but it has romance in it. I like that the story isn't all light and fluffy because life usually isn't and the backstory of her father dying made the happy parts better for me as a reader.



In conclusion, I love Mhairi McFarlane. I'm now seeking out every book she has out in the world.

I think I was very misled by the synopsis of this book. While parts of it are funny and fantastic and I love Georgina as a character, I felt like I didn't connect with the book as a whole. There is a lot of serious material here--sexual harassment, family issues, relationship issues. Some parts of the book were just lengthy paragraphs of dialogue between Georgina and her friends. The whole thing felt like a big mess at times. I think I was expecting a lighthearted rom com. This book is also easily about 100 pages too long.

I appreciate Harper Collins sending me an ARC to review. I wish I had loved it more!

A wannabe writer, Georgina, is battling a lost job, a break-up with a cheating boyfriend, and an overbearing family. At her new job, she finds out her boss is her high school boyfriend, Lucas – who doesn’t remember her. The book follows her journey of becoming a better writer, standing up to her family, and accepting herself, as well as struggling with what her latent feelings for Lucas mean.

I’m not a huge fan of chick-lit books, but I had a blast reading this. It was a quick read, and I loved Georgina as a character. The middle of the book slowed down, but I was kept hooked with the promise of Georgina’s growth and character development. She becomes surprisingly self-reflective and thoughtful and I ended up loving her so much more at the end than I did at the beginning. McFarlane really puts in care with her writing and manages to combine humour, sadness, and entertainment that balances well. I really enjoyed reading this book and loved how sweet the ending was.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!

I was definitely sold on this by cute cover and the earworm the title provided. This is a great comp for readers looking for books like those by similar British authors like Jill Mansell or Katie Fforde. It was a little too long for me with a middle that dragged a bit, but I found the ending very satisfying, and thought the growth that Georgina went through felt authentic.

Both hilarious and heartwarming. I would go to see this movie! Georgina is spinning her wheels in the hospitality arena. Unlikely and outrageous events seem to follow her around resulting in frequent job changes. Catching her semi-famous comedienne cheating on her the same day she gets fired lands her at rock bottom. Her brother-in-law fixes her up with a one-day gig tending bar for a funeral reception and while there she bumps into her first love -- but he doesn't seem to recognize her! More than a fluffy romance, this book explores Georgina's relationships with her friends, housemate and her family. Will she ever get to be a writer? Will she have the nerve to use her own material in the open mike contest at her bar? There is lots of snarky dialogue as well as a great cast of quirky characters. Nana Hogg may have a small role, but she will not be forgotten.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC in return for an honest review.
This may be an unpopular opinion...
I wanted to love this story as this summer has had an amazing amount of RomCom novels. However, this fell flat for me and it did not read like a RomCom but rather was more drama. The initial romance between Lucas and Georgina was sweet and full of possibilities and then it was over (no spoilers but the whole scene just didn't make sense to me).
When they reconnect it is odd because their ending had been so weak. I would have liked the author to really develop the initial relationship so the return was impactful. I am so sorry I didn't love this book as I never like to leave a negative review. I would absolutely read this author again, I was just expecting a romantic comedy centered around a return to one's first love and this was not it. Book itself was well written and aspects of the book were engaging.

Between that cover and the synopsis, I was expecting a fairly fluffy romance. Let me tell you right now, this is not that at all.

I might have liked Georgina if the story would have been about her. Instead there’s eleventy billion characters and plot directions and I found myself skimming through anything that wasn’t her and Lucas. As for Lucas, I didn’t feel like we actually learned anything about him.

Plot wise, it’s a mess. The writing was all over the place and I never felt settled. I will say there are a lot of great passages about misogyny and gaslighting and how women are expected to act and I think a lot of those sections are was kept me interested. The last two or three chapters felt focused and would have been worth the wait if this book wasn’t 400+ pages.

Overall, I was completely misled by the synopsis. I don’t think I would have requested it if it would have been more accurate and I’m left wondering if two stars is too high.

FYI: there’s a very long scene of a character talking about being sexually assaulted.

**Huge thanks to William Morrow for providing the arc free of charge**

This author was new to me and in the beginning I couldn't quite figure out her writing style. But after a chapter or two I got into it, and I couldn't put the book down. It was funny, sad, heartfelt, entertaining, and it made me think about how when somethings happen in your past, do those things shape how you are in the future. A great read-and now I'm going to check out her other works.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC and a chance to read this book.

A wonderful title to recommend to readers who love romantic comedies. Great characters, good pacing, and a unique premise that is a little bit different than the typical love story. Sophie Kinsella fans, I think, will particularly like this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I needed this story! It was just a fun read. Georgina is awesome. She always seems to get into wacky crazy situations, but she has people to help her get through it!

Thanks so much NetGalley! Adored this one

I have to admit that, solely based on the cover, I wasn't expecting this to be quite so thoughtful. That being said, I love this book! I honestly hadn't read anything by this author before and I am kicking myself for that fact. But the good news is that now I get to go read her backlist. This definitely is very British but I couldn't necessarily compare it to any other authors. I loved the story, the second-chance romance, the characters ... truly, everything.

Don't You Forget About Me comes out next month on September 10, 2019, you can purchase HERE! I loved this so much and highly recommend it!!

Did I have him, even fleetingly? Only my diary stands as proof, yet I can't bear to look at it. It lives at the bottom of my bra drawer, always close and yet forever untouched.

I found this book of struggling barmaid Georgina and her long ago love Lucas to be utterly charming.

The book focuses on Georgina, who is a little lost after losing her father and quitting college about ten years ago. Since then, she's bounced around like a pinball at service jobs and dating disappointing men who don't take her blonde cuteness and lack of career seriously. After losing a horrendous job, Georgina is given a temporary bar position that reunites her with her first love, who seems not to remember her at all.

Through all this Georgina struggles as the black sheep of her conservative family and struggle with her dream of writing.

I enjoyed the book's gentle humor and interesting plot, and I would definitely recommend the book to others.

Thanks to NetGalley.com, the author and publisher for my ARC.

Cute light hearted chic lit book. If you're looking for something light and fun to read, this should be your next go to. It's a quick read and will have you hooked from the first page.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.