William Morrow Don't You Forget about Me

Oh boy. This was such a chore to read.I am so disappointing, I can't even begin to describe it.I had purchased 3 of Mhairi McFarlaine's books at once purely based on the reviews. Reviews that were all predominantly consistent! 4-4.5-5 star reviews! Reviews that promised I would absolutely fall in love with McFarlane if I was a fan of Sophie Kinsella.I picked this one up first, because I liked the idea of a first love walking back into someone's life. The plot sounded interesting, the characters sounded funny and cute, so I went for it.The first part that tells the story of Georgina and Lucas secretly dating and falling in love in high school was my first warning. It was written in a way that came off as clumsy, rushed, and almost like a badly described version of an 80s chick-flick. I cringed a little reading their make out scenes together, and their 18-year-old thoughts. I didn't think much of it thought, because I figured writing YA is not exactly McFarlane's forte and she only added this small section to set the groundwork for the rest of the story.Then the actual story started, present day, 30 year old Georgina working at a really horrible Italian café/restaurant. In a series of unfortunate events (which, we'll soon learn is basically Georgina's whole life), she ends up being fired in front of a restaurant critic, and leaves in a huff. She decides to go straight to her boyfriend's house instead of going home, and oh my God, he's in bed with another girl.So far, I'm really just trying to get to that point where she meets Lucas again. And let me tell you, it doesn't happen for a while. But then, when it DOES happen, he doesn't remember her, and she's crestfallen, because in her mind that means what they had meant nothing to him.She starts working for him and his brother, and they somehow begin to get to know each other all over again, even though there remains that barrier that neither one of them seems able to break past. Does he really not remember her, or is he only pretending? I'll leave that for you to guess, but it's pretty obvious from the get-go.I guessed very early on, when she had that little breakdown with the male entertainer, what had happened back in high school. I felt really sad. And was looking forward to see how this would be revealed and tackled in the book.Unfortunately, this isn't revealed until the last 3 or 4 chapters of the book (this is a big book!), and it is revealed on stage, in front of an audience, which I felt was...not appropriate. The way it was tackled? It wasn't. Not really.There was a lot of wasted time in this book. A huge book, filled with so many side characters, subplots, secondary character backgrounds and so on. Things I really wasn't interested to know or read about. You really want to get into a secondary character's story, write a sequel! But let's just focus on Georgina and Lucas here. They barely had any scenes together. They were few and numbered, and when they did, they never lasted too long. There was no sizzling romance. There were no butterflies in my stomach. Nothing. I mean, I picked up this book because I wanted to read a feel-good chicklit, and instead I got landed with a 400+ page book of constant babbling that in no way moved the story of the two protagonists forward.Not to mention that Lucas was actually not likable at all. Regardless of what happened in the past. There were so many different moments where he would lash out, and the things he would say were in no way OK or forgivable. They said a lot about his character and I would not have looked past them so quickly the way Georgina has.Disappointing to say the least.

I've enjoyed all the other books by Mhairi McFarlane but this one made tedious reading and I had thoughts of giving up on it. Some of the sentences didn't really make sense and some of the so-called humour was lost on me but there again modern day humour doesn't strike me as being funny - bring back Steptoe and Ken Dodd!With such a promising synopsis, the middle of the book could have been cut out and begun again at page 290.

I'm new to this author and I very quickly ordered a bunch more from her by chapter 4! Brilliantly funny yet totally heartfelt. Absolutely loved this.Now, just in case I'm meant to be reviewing the physical book and not the story, it was rubbish. All the pages fell out after they were turned and I'm really not an aggressive page turner! Hopefully a one off dodgy bind.

I really enjoyed this book. I have never read anything from Mhairi McFarlane before and I was really happy that this was my first book.They way she wrote Georgina was inspiring, a modern women, unapologetic and realistic. She is someone who knows her faults, stand up for herself and makes peace the painful things that come with life.To avoid any spoilers I will just say Georgina has a second chance with her first love in a surprising way and I loved the reality of not being able to jump back were they left off, life changes people and things are never simple. While this story is pretty predictable it also focuses on some harder issues we may all face in life like sexual assault, abusive relationships, family drama and heartbreak.I really recommend this to anyone looking for an easy ready but one that has a few twist and turns along the way!

This is the first Mhairi McFarlane book I have read and hopefully not the last. I bought it after reading some very favourable reviews, and absolutely loved it. The characters are all so totally believable, both good and bad. Hilarious in so many places, that I laughed out loud time and again. Basically it's a love story gone wrong at age 18. I loved both lead characters, and the story of how they meet up 12 years later at age 30 and gradually get to know each other again. The story is filled with lots of charming moments, along with some bad memories. Also loved everything that happens with their friends and family. A great read if you like a feel good book, although there are some dark bits. Thoroughly recommended.