BLOG TOUR: Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane @MhairiMcF @williammorrowbooks @TLCbooktours #bookreview #dontyouforgetaboutme

When I read Mhairi McFarlane’s latest novel Don’t You Forget About Me, I expected to enjoy it. The premise sounded adorably like just the sort of contemporary rom-com I love. The book is that but it’s honestly so much more. One of the best books I have read this year! When I started looking into whether I wanted to read it, I found hundreds of reviewers who are huge fans of McFarlane and her previous books. Now I already went back and purchased two others. I can’t believe I hadn’t read anything by her before!

About the Book

Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to rise again…

If there’s one thing worse than being fired from the grottiest restaurant in town, it’s coming home early to find your boyfriend in bed with someone else.

Reeling from the indignity of a double dumping on the same day, Georgina snatches at the next job that she’s offered – barmaid in a newly opened pub, which just so happens to run by the boy she fell in love with at school: Lucas McCarthy. And whereas Georgina (voted Most Likely to Succeed in her school yearbook) has done nothing but dead-end jobs in the last twelve years, Lucas has not only grown into a broodingly handsome man, but also has turned into an actual grown-up with a business and a dog along the way.

Meeting Lucas again not only throws Georgina’s rackety present into sharp relief, but also brings a dark secret from her past bubbling to the surface. Only she knows the truth about what happened on the last day of school, and why she’s allowed it to chase her all these years…

Reflection

I loved this book so much! From the very first chapter it immediately clicked with me. I flew through it, and I already know it’s a book I’ll revisit in a year or two and read again. It’s a story with so many layers, I know that I will discover new things to connect with on a re-read. That’s how wonderful it is!

McFarlane has a boldness to her narrative and writing that adds so much depth to her characters and their story. She goes to deep, soul-testing places with her character Georgina. And yet, I don’t mean this review to sound heavy, there’s so much humor and lightness in the book as well that I’m struggling to describe how a book is both laugh-out-loud and deeply emotional at the same time.

I once read about a comparison of heartbreak to a romantic resume, every experience making us more prepared for the next one. This is something I’ve only come to really understand as I’ve gone through a few relationships, had my heart broken, loved so deeply that I sacrificed my own happiness at times, and still look back after healing and marvel at the good times and how much stronger I am. Not because it won’t happen again, but because I know I can survive it.

That’s what this book was for me. A rush of all of those feelings and memories personified in Georgina and her life. I connected with Georgina so much, she is vulnerable, flawed, strong, and so undeniably lovable, I think she will resonate with so many readers. In the book, Georgina doesn’t just struggle in relationships, she has some tough times with her family as well.

A lot of things that have happened in her life left her a bit broken, feeling like a failure, and unsure about what to do when she didn’t live up to the standards that she felt should be met by thirty. But she also is so resilient and keeps going through times that are tough. And they are TOUGH. But Georgina is someone who also presents herself candidly as just who she is. And that is something I findboth  inspiring and relatable.

The love story in this book doesn’t come easy, which makes the outcome so moving that it felt like it happened to me! Georgina is a character who has a place in my heart, and whom I won’t soon forget. Read this book. I was captivated by every moment!

Links to buy:

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Thank you TLC Book Tours and William Morrow Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.

About the Author

Mhairi was born in Falkirk, Scotland in 1976. She went to school in Nottingham, studied English Literature at Manchester University and then returned to Nottingham to delight its citizens with her journalism. After roles as trainee reporter, reporter, feature writer and columnist, she realised she’d climbed to the very top of the mountain at the Nottingham Post and at age 31 decided to write a novel. Some very skint years followed, during which she thought she might’ve made a huge mistake.

Her debut novel, the romantic comedy You Had Me At Hello, was an instant hit upon being published in December 2012. It’s since become HarperCollins’ best selling ebook to date, has been translated into 16 languages and is being developed as a major feature film, with Mhairi writing the screenplay. The follow up, Here’s Looking At You, was published in December 2013 and made the Sunday Times Bestseller list.

Mhairi’s first hardback title for HarperFiction, It’s Not Me, It’s You, is published on November 6^th 2014.

She’s currently working on her fourth novel, adapting You Had Me At Hello for screen and developing a comedy-drama script for television.

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