DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME BY MHAIRI MCFARLANE // spoiler-free book review: looking for a new laugh-out-loud british comedy with a smidge of romance to read? look no further!!!

Ugh stop what you’re doing right now!!!! Because IM IN LOVE WITH MHAIRI MCFARLANE AND NEED YOU NEED TO BE TOO.

I’m literally never shutting up about her books ever,,, Welcome to part one of screaming Ruby *wink wink*

Title: Don’t You Forget About Me
Author: Mhairi McFarlane
Page count: 433
Date published: 1 January 2019
Genre: Adult contemporary fiction

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Synopsis:

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 along the way, with a business and a dog.

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…

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STAR RATING: (4.5 out of 5 stars)

Thought I was signing up for all the Simple Minds references and I’m not mad that we never got one. She can remain as blissfully unintentional as she wants because she will definitely not be forgotten *screams*

Trigger warnings for death of a parent, death of a spouse and sexual assault

WHAT A BOOK! I had a sneaky feeling that I would adore this author to bits hence why I bought like 3 of her books before I had read one of them. But my gut is trustworthy apparently. That sounded vain but I feel like being vain today. Deal with it.

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This book was so not what I expected but in THE BEST WAY possible. I thought I was getting a cutesy rom-com and that it would just be really good. I sound like I have zero taste but if you know me, I’m super picky. Point is, I didn’t think I was signing up for wildly amazing writing, stunning characters that sound full of themselves but are oh so real, complex topics dealt with such care and vulnerability and a kind of romance on the side. This was everything I needed it to be and I need you all to go and read so we can love together,,,,,

GEORGINA I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU AND GOSH THIS WAS BRITISH AND A MISHMASH OF EVERYTHING GENIUS ITS SO GOOD I HAVE NO WORDS

Truly this review is a mess but this book gave me whiplash and I don’t know how to articulate myself. It’s so good. The plot sounds whacky and cliche but Mhairi never made the book feel oversaturated. It was like a warm hug with how real it felt *insert heart eyes*

McFarlane did an excellent job at handling really fragile and complex issues. It was not made a spectacle, it was just something the characters had to deal with and I want to weep at how beautifully handled it was!!!!!!!

Also the romance! I loved them. My only complaint that knocks off half a star is that I wanted more. Though I also think it was perfectly written so idk, but I do think I would be head over heels obsessed if there was more. But talk about a slow-burn that you would think drives me insane buT I LOVED THEIR BUILD-UP LUCUS MARRY ME ILYSM

Now I shall leave you all and devour all of her other books because I need more and Mhairi McFarlane is a writing genius and my new idol and I’m in love HOW WILL I RECOVER?!?!?! You should go read babes k love you bye xoxoxoxoxo

“Here’s what life has taught me so far: don’t worry about that thing you’re worrying about. Chances are, it’ll be obliterated by something you didn’t anticipate that’s a million times worse.”

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“When there is so much left unsaid, your mind is free to fill in the words that were never exchanged in a hundred thousand different ways…”

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“Sometimes because the people we wanted to care for us, didn’t care for us, we live with a deliberate lack of care for ourselves. A way of getting back at them, through self-neglect.”

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“There are always those worse off than you. Your problems are not invalid as a result, or needing to be measured against an internationally recognised pain scale before we decide if your condition is severe enough to treat.”

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“No one else is going to fix you. The only person who can fix you, is you.”

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“I didn’t know what falling love felt like, I’d never done it before. I discovered you recognise it easily when it arrives.”

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“And I was scared my expectations were never going to be met. But I’ve learned it’s better to have unrealistic expectations than none at all.”

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“I wondered, Georgina, if you could imagine being in love with me again, the way I’m in love with you. And that given you’re the best thing to ever happen to me, if you could give me the chance to try to be the best thing that ever happened to you.”

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HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? ARE YOU GOING TO READ IT NOW? WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR NEW FAVOURITE AUTHORS? I’D LOVE TO KNOW!