Just Last Night

Another enjoyable read from McFarlane, mixing quirky characters, witty banter, and some seriously deep topics in a way I've never quite encountered before. It's as if P.G. Wodehouse decided to throw some PTSD awareness into the mix of his madcap comedies – and it works somehow.

The one qualm I have is that in both the books I have read so far, all the main characters are heavy drinkers. They drink when they are happy, they drink when they are sad. They drink to calm down and to pep themselves up, and just for the heck of it. If I had to reckon up the amount of time they spend being seriously intoxicated during the main action of the story and important conversations, I would estimate about 80%. Yet absolutely no one has a problem with that, not an inkling of a notion that it might be going too far or a form of self-medication that should be reconsidered.

Even though there are good messages about self-empowerment and authentic relationships, alongside these is the constant assumption: “We can't really have fun and live life to the fullest unless we are sozzled.” I find this a little weird. And sad. Alcohol is not to the human body as oil is to a car engine, something it needs in order to run happily and smoothly. It's a harmful toxin, however pleasurable its use may be, and should be treated with some caution. Call me a spoilsport if you like (Bertie Wooster certainly would), but in our day and age, it's just strange to promote drinking culture so one-sidedly without ANY awareness of the drawbacks.

I absolutely adore McFarlane's books, and Just Last Night is no exception.

My favorite part of her novels are always the supporting characters – the friends, the family, the MC's support net. So obviously I loved that Just Last Night is about those deep friendships and explores what happens when long buried secrets come to light.

Just Last Night was also a beautiful exploration of grief. I full on bawled through about a quarter of the book because it resonated with losses I've had in my life, but also because it made me think about what it would be like if my best friend died. The author did such a wonderful job of illustrating the myriad of emotions, the small moments when the grief hits you unexpectedly.

My one and only complaint is that I would have liked to see more interaction and development between Eve and Finlay. I loved what was there! It just felt like things were a bit rushed at the end, and that there wasn't a strong foundation for their relationship. The book focused more on friendships than the romance.

Spoiler: I am conflicted on how things turned out with Ed. On the one hand, friendships are complicated and the history and relationship after over 10 years of friendship is hard to ignore. On the other hand, I feel like he got off way too lightly after years of the ‘nice guy' routine.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.