Evie has been in love with Ed for years, but there’s just one catch. Ed is in a relationship with Hester. Ed and Evie, along with their best friends Susie and Justin, play trivia together weekly. One night, Ed proposes to his fiancé Hester at trivia. That same night, the thinkable happens. Susie is hit by a car and dies. The friends are left to sort out the details of Susie’s funeral, alongside her very defensive brother Finley, who arrives from New York. After the funeral, Finley and Evie find themselves on a road trip to Scotland looking for Finley’s father who has dementia, where Evie learns there is more to Finley then meets the eye.

This is a complex, beautiful book that is sure to keep readers on their toes.

Just Last Night was well-written, entertaining, and satisfying. Romance readers will enjoy the sweet redemption story. It's not rom-com style writing, so if that's more your jam this one might hit different. Love that it has a middle age MC (34). Great escape from the world, but have the tissues handy. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Heh let’s not even talk about how long it’s taken me to read this book because I was embarrassed about 3 years ago.

I blame this on the freaking synopsis, which we need to have words about this synopsis because she be hecka confusing. Honestly, I avoided this for far too long because I thought it was a tragic romance? Yeah, not the case. So yes, I’m sorry but we’re doing the book a disservice with this misleading synopsis.

Now that that’s off my chest, a moment for me to sob into my pillow…

Let’s just clarify that this book contains 1) tragedy and 2) romance but not in the way you’d expect. And it is ABSOLUTELY CHEFS KISS TALENTED, BRILLIANT, INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, SHOW STOPPING, SPECTACULAR, NEVER THE SAME, TOTALLY UNIQUE, COMPLETELY NOT EVER BEEN DONE BEFORE,,, you get the gist right? She was pretty good if you ask me.

I think I’ve talked about my love for Mhairi McFarlane quite a lot at this point so it’s no secret that I think she’s a genius. But this book only further cements that fact and gah you just need to read it so can see for yourself. If you did need a push, maybe remember that Emily Henry said “she wishes she wrote this” and yup, it can’t get any better than that. They really do have such similar writing styles, though Mhairi’s writing has much more British wit naturally.

I’m getting side-tracked so back to the point… Mhairi is a genius. Okay, that’s all. Jk. I just absolutely love how she manages to balance equal amounts of hard-hitting emotional topics whilst maintaining the level of wit and delightful British charm absolutely flawlessly. Astounds me every time. And I’m not sure what else I can say to convince you to just need to read it yourself and find out. Maybe shed a few tears while you’re at it. But I promise she’s worth it.

Let’s talk about the plot for a minute. Four friends. Main character Eve in love one of the friends for years. Nothing ever happened. One of their friends dies. In comes grief. And also deceased friend’s estranged brother. That was as simple as I could put it. And the gist is that the plot is rather complicated but at its core actually simple: grief, overcoming that grief and also learning to deal with the things those you love did not tell you. Hope you’re still with me and not in tears.

The relationship between Eve and Susie is what shines most in this novel. The other friends are not as prominent a presence as the two ladies and there’s a reason for that, which I really appreciate as it brings female friendship and those complexities to the forefront. They’re imperfect but beautiful and it’s wonderful to read about.

I mentioned an estranged brother earlier. I didn’t mention that he’s also basically ostracized by his whole family and literally did not get along with his sister. Makes for an interesting conflict amongst Eve and her group of friends. And I so adored how Mhairi simultaneously weaves on the one hand, Eve coming to terms the death of her closest friend, and also learning the ways in which she made mistakes. And with that came personal growth for Eve. It was beautiful to watch. Did I mention that Finn is a cutie pie? Because he is and I loved watching him grow closer to Eve. They deserve the world.

And I also just love Eve as a main character. She’s funny and vulnerable and did I mention goth? Couldn’t get any cooler in my most humble opinion. And I most definitely had butterflies watching her grow closer to sweet baby Finlay. Cutie pa tooties deserve the world and I will personally hand it to them. Maybe. I’m not god but I’ll try my best.

If you’re looking for a heartfelt, gut-wrenching, vulnerable but also hopeful read with friendships, romance and everything in between, you’ve come to the right place. She’s sure to make you laugh and cry and feel all the feels probably all at once. But I promise you’ll love it <3<3<3

Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane is a perfect fit for readers who adore heartfelt, emotional stories about lifelong friendships, unexpected love, and the power of second chances, with a dash of humor and a deep exploration of the complexities of human relationships.

Don't be fooled by the cover of this one. What I expected to be a light and airy read was much deeper - but still great. McFarlene is a great writer and managed to weave humor in some difficult topics. Don't expect a light and fun romance but something much deeper and this will be a great read!

I started reading this book in 2021 when it was released and ended up DNFing it. Since then, I’ve had zero desire to pick it up, so I’m calling it! I just didn’t care for the dynamic between the characters. The whole pining in the beginning just wasn’t working for me and it really bothered me that her supposed best friend betrayed her like she did. Since I didn’t finish the book, I will not be rating it or reviewing it on my platforms. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review though!

I appreciate the ability to send a rating and review for this title. It gave me Grease vibes and I love that.

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

I just am not a Mhairi Mcfarlane fan. I don’t know exactly what it is but I just don’t get pulled into her stories. I feel bored with them fairly quickly and they take me forever to read unless I force myself to just finish it. This is totally a personal issue though.

More in the fiction with romantic elements category, this high drama tale set across the pond focuses on a group of 30-somethings for whom trivia night is sacred. Eve has been in love with Ed for years, but upon a friend Susie's death, discovers the man she's in love with (who is engaged to someone else) slept with Susie. Feelings and relationships are complicated; when she needs help, Eve turns not to Ed, but to Susie's brother to help her find her missing father.
I was not a fan of the setting or characters and found myself plodding through; Josie Silver continues to be my go-to for heartstring tugging grief, complicated feelings, and finding new love.

I loved this book, and we enjoyed interviewing Mhairi McFarlane on the #AmWriting podcast, episode 261.
She was as charming as her characters!
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-261-really-funny-real-funny-rom-coms-plotting/id1099630313?i=1000519519134

‘Just Last Night’ is a fun story of a group of friends figuring out their choices in their everyday lives. If you’re searching for a light, meaningful read, this story is for you!

This book was unfortunately not for me. I got about 30% in and I just could not get into it. I honestly don’t even remember what it was about. I know others absolutely loved this book, so I recommend checking out their reviews for it! It may have just been the timing, I may try and check it out again at a later date.

While this is technically listed as a romance, and it did have romance with a sort of happily ever after, it was more focused on grief and missed opportunities. It was gut-wrenching. I think McFarlane's books are marketed as light-hearted romances, but they are not. Totally worth your reading time, though.

Ugh so beautiful. The heartache and the grief was palpable. I felt all sorts of emotions that I did not expect. Thank you for the arc!

I wish that I had enjoyed this book more than I did, I was annoyed by Eva and Edwards and just wanted to scream at them, I also did not like the character development of the main character.

With each new read, I continue to become more and more impressed with Mhairi McFarlane. There’s just something about her somewhat dark sense of humor that just speaks to my soul. I wasn’t expecting it to still be present in a story that navigates the process of grief, but it managed to be a motivating factor in the healing process for these characters. This story had a most impressive range of emotions and discussed grief in such a tangible way. Heartbreaking and moving.

While this wasn't my favorite McFarlane Book, I find her to be a good read alike for Emily Henry when Henry's books are hefty hold lists

A delightful book full of adventure, action, and thrills. Fun to read, engrossing world building, and very descriptive imagery made it feel like it was cinematic. It's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. Would recommend.

This is my third Mhairi McFarlane book, and while the others I've read by her have been slow to get going but then were fascinating, this one was a bit more evenly paced but never got stellar. Eve, Justin, Susie, and Ed are a tight foursome of friends, even though Eve is secretly in love with Ed. A major tragedy happens to change everyone's lives, and lots of secrets are revealed. Unfortunately, I found the main character, Eve, to be not very likable and somewhat pathetic, which made it hard for me to root for her. I was expecting this to be a light read, and while it does have a happy ending, there are a lot of serious themes of grief and loss, so it wasn't quite what I thought based on the cover / genre.

I did not click with this book at all. I thought it would be a contemporary romance novel but the authors sense of romance is different from mine.