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.

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.

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! ❤

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 think this was the Mhairi McFarlanest of the Mhairi McFarlane books I’ve read. (Which is, coincidentally, all of them.) She has a specific writing style and a manner of unfolding the story - and that was in full effect here. And while I had a good idea of the major players and their roles nothing felt rote Bc McFarlane successfully tackles some big big issues in a beautiful way.
And because I just finished it I’m so tempted to say it’s the best of her books. (I should reread the others for an honest comparison - otherwise it’s the giddy buzz talking.) There were certainly aspects here where she outshone even herself. The beginning of this story was nearly flawless. It brought more emotion than I’d anticipated. It feels as if Ms McFarlane has honed herself to a shiny edge. And this story moves forward gracefully and easily - like a silvery little stream or river. Something natural and lovely.
I cannot recommend this author enough. I talked to another reader recently about how if you read any author enough you find something you can’t adore. But Mhairi and I? We’re not there yet.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to offer my unbiased opinion.

This was absolutely heartbreaking. What a lovely, tender read. This was so full of complex and beautiful friendships, loss and love. Superb!!

I really liked this book... I've read others by Mhairi McFarlane and was excited when I received the ARC for Just Last Night. The characters were relatable, witty and real. It was a little slow to get into but at the same time I didn't want to put it down. It was beautifully written with great dialogue and great characters. I was a little disappointed with the letters and diaries, I kept waiting for Eve to slip and read more and find something really juicy =) I would recommend!

Mhairi McFarlane once again did not disappoint! This was a slow burn, but when I really got the meat of the book, she tackles some hard subjects. Physical abuse, self loathing, overcoming, and more. It was a beautiful book about friendship, forgiveness, and moving forward. Her characters were difficult to like at first and I’m still not sure how I felt about Susie, but they all grew on you. Thank you Justin because he was a beacon in some of Eve’s darker moments.

This book has all the feels. It is a little slow to get into but please keep going as it is worth the read. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to read Mhairi McFarlane, I highly recommend you remedy that ASAP! Just Last Night is the the forth novel I’ve read from her and simply put it was fan-freakng-tastic! This novel had it all—an incredibly well written storyline, endearing characters, and even though this novel brought tears to my eyes at moments, I found myself laughing hysterically at other times! Mhairi has a gift for writing novels that play out like a movie in your mind— so naturally I already have mentally cast all of characters lol!!! Just Last Night is a 4.5 star read that comes out just in time to add to your summer reading list—whether your sitting on a beach or relaxing on your back deck, this is the book you will want to be reading!