Mhairi McFarlaneLast Night: Romantic, heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny – one of Emily Henry’s five best romcoms of all time

Another winner from Mhairi McFarlane, who when it comes to chicklit, I have now crowned my Queen! She had me with 'You had me at Hello', and since then the majority of her books have been 5 star reads for me, Last Night no exception.Last Night is actually a hard book to review, without giving away spoilers, which I don't want to, as part of what I liked about this book was that it wasn't predictable. From the blurb and the first few chapters, I thought I had the basic premise figured out, but turns out McFarlane had a lot more up her sleeve with this one. Our main protagonist is Eve, in her mid-thirties, and the story starts with the weekly pub quiz with her group of friends, who she has known since school - her best friend Susie, Justin and Ed. Her relationship with Ed is a little more complicated - essentially they almost got together before they went to University, but circumstance got in the way, and so they've just been friends since, expect that Eve has continued to love Ed for all these years, and even though he has a girlfriend Hester, who he has been with since Uni, there are small, meaningful looks he gives her now and then, that makes her wonder whether deep down he still has feelings for her too. At the quiz, however, Hester proposes to Ed, who accepts, and Eve is heartbroken.The first few chapters were light and witty with a lot of banter between this group of friends, and McFarlane has such a unique voice, that reading her books always feels like catching up with an old and trusted friend, and I was drawn in straight away. Still at this stage the plot seemed like fairly standard chicklit - friends to lovers, second chances etc. I liked Ed, and yet I did not quite know how to feel about the fact that he has kept our girl hanging for 16 years and then just got engaged right in front of her - it felt a bit off, though I fully trusted that McFarlane would have me swooning for him soon enough - after all her heroes are always completely swoon-worthy. But then she throws a huge curveball at us, and the book takes a turn in a completely unexpected direction, when something devastating happens.This is the point at which saying much more would be too spoilery, though I will say that the book covers some hard-hitting themes, and is not just a light romcom (trigger warnings for sudden death, grief and one of the characters being abused as a child). Really I would class this more as women's fiction, and it is certainly McFarlane's heaviest hitting and most emotional book to date. Yet what I loved about it, was that McFarlane was able to explore emotional subjects sensitively, whilst at the same time, balancing this with humour and romance, such that I never felt like the book was too heavy-going, and it still had all the things that I love about a McFarlane book. This might actually be my favourite book by her, which is saying a lot, but it was just such a perfect blend for me. Sometimes I feel that her books almost have too much going on, with too many side plots and characters that can detract from the main story, but here, whilst there still were a number of plots, they all interconnected really well, such that nothing felt superfluous and it was like pieces of a jigsaw fitting together. The book is about 400 pages, and in all honesty it could have been longer and I still I would have lapped it up as I was so invested in all the characters.McFarlane always takes her heroine on a journey of self-discovery and growth in her books, and with Eve there is no exception. To begin with, I wasn't as sold on Eve as some of McFarlane's other heroines, as I didn't think she stood out or had a strong enough voice of her own, but as the book went on, I felt like I did really get to know Eve, and the more that I did, the more I liked her. She was funny and down to earth, warm-hearted and the sort of person you would want as a friend, and I liked that she was a bit of a goth.At its heart this book is about friendship, and I loved how McFarlane explores these 4 characters and there friendship over the years, with the ups and downs. The group are really tight, and yet as the book goes on, Eve discovers that she doesn't necessarily know her friends quite as well as she thought, with secrets coming out. I also really liked how there were no real villains, (well, maybe there was one, in a twist at the end). But where it would have been so easy to completely villainize Hester, and whilst she is still a piece of work, by telling the story as she does, McFarlane still managed to lend her some sympathy. Ed, too, I thought was well portrayed, in that despite his flaws, I couldn't not like him, and I liked how McFarlane explored the toxicity of this ménage a trois between Eve, Ed and Hester and the resolution to this. One small quibble though, and that is I'm not sure I could buy that this dynamic between them had been going on for 16 years. Susie again, I think was handed really well, as there are things revealed about her that could have made her completely unsympathetic and yet that is not the case. The characters and relationships here had depth and realistic flaws and complexities that really shone through. Finlay is another case in point. A character from Eve's past who comes back into her life, he is not what he initially seems, and a lot of the second half of the book involves slowly unravelling his character.As I've said before, sometimes, I feel that McFarlane's books can have too many characters, and the friends in particular, are usually there for the light relief, but here the friends were intrinsic to the story, and the messy family dynamics explored through the book also really weighed in as part of the plot.The main setting for the story is in Nottingham, but there is a trip to Edinburgh that takes up a lot of the second half of the book, and given Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities, I loved the time spent here, for more reasons than one, it was definitely my favourite part of the story. There is also a shorter break to Derbyshire, that I also really enjoyed.Some reviews have commented that there wasn't really much of a love story here, and I can appreciate maybe why they've felt that way, but I actually disagree. I thought the romantic aspect to the story was really strong. Yes, it was slow-burn, but I loved the maturity and depth to it, and the book gave me those tender moments between the heroine and hero that McFarlane does so well, whilst also giving plenty of witty repartee between them. Her romances are always clean-cut, and more about the friendship and chemistry between the leads, and I think it a good thing that she always leaves you wanting more.I've always thought that McFarlane is a very astute observer and commentator, which shines through in her books with her wry (and very British sense of) humour, but she's also really good at handling emotions, and in Last Night in particular, I think she really excelled in this regard.There is so much more I could say about this book, but to do so I think would become too spoilery, so all I can really do is recommend it. If you're a McFarlane fan, then this should definitely appeal, and if you've not read any McFarlane before than this is as good a place to start as any. I would particularly recommend this book if you're not just looking for a light and fluffy romcom, but something with a bit more depth.

I genuinely cannot decide if this is a terrible book, or Ms McFarlane has completely broken conventions and written something so far beyond the usual “Tom com” genre that it’s fabulous.Spoilers follow:In short- this is a book about three rather obnoxious mid-thirties friends - Suze, Eve and Ed. When, at the start of the book, Suze is squashed by a car, it sets a journey of discovery in motion for our heroine, Eve.If we are meant to like any of these characters, then the book is an epic fail. Suze is selfish, spoilt and sleeps with the man Eve adores just because she wants to know why Eve adores him. Ed is lazy, selfish and manipulative. Eve is weak, foolish, selfish and grudge-filled.Throughout the course of the book, Eve, Ed and the dead Suze ruin most of the other characters’ lives, as well as their own.Ed leads Eve on for over a decade, ensuring that her one romance peters out when her partner tries to her her to move away from Ed and Suze.Ed and Suze have a one night stand whilst Ed is in a relationship with Hester. When this is discovered a decade later, Eve has a semi-breakdown and Hester becomes annoyed - so Ed ends their engagement. This is a lucky escape for Hester, as Ed, Eve and their minor character friend Justin have ridiculed her through the entire book.Eve and Ed are obnoxious towards Suze’s bereaved brother based on the unpleasant comments and lies that Suze told them about him.Justin’s birthday is ruined by Ed and Eve and Hester arguing (despite him having hired a cottage, none of them could be bothered to make an effort).Finlay - Suze’s brother, is a psychologist and ex-model. Despite not enjoying modelling, he has worked to keep up his appearance and physique. When, predictably, he jacks in his New York lifestyle to come and live in England to be with Eve, he gains half a stone which he is upset about, but Eve ridicules him saying it suits him (we are earlier informed that Eve’s previous partners have all been fatter).We also discover that Finlay was a victim of physical child abuse, he wasn’t informed his mother was terminally ill and his father has dementia meaning he will never have to answer for his crimes.Yet bizarrely it is marketed as a hilarious rom com. Which it definitely isn’t. If this is subversive fiction, it’s incredible. If it’s meant to be a rom com, it’s a disaster. I still don’t know which it is.

I knew when I read the epigraph and it quoted lyrics from a Pet Shop Boys song that I was going to love this book! 📕It didn't disappoint! Some real laugh out loud moments in a very empatheticly written book. This was my first book by this author and now all of her others are now on my wishlist. After I'd finished it I did go back and read the first chapter again as I'd assumed something else, I've now concluded this was deliberate and very clever ! Loved all the musical references - just to my taste. Fabulous book I struggled to put down and couldn't wait to pick up 💖 Heart warmingly sad X