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emilyisoverbooked's Reviews (1.38k)
I love a good, cheesy, lighthearted romance every once in awhile, and that’s what I was hoping for in this book. Cassie and James swap houses and get to know each other over the course of 6 months, mostly over the phone. Cassie goes through IVF because she’s 37 and desperate for a baby, James runs away from a crazy ex-girlfriend because he doesn’t want commitment, and eventually they come together to figure out friendship and romance. I really liked the premise and storyline of this book, but unfortunately just wasn’t feeling any strong chemistry between Cassie and James.
Entertaining | Relatable | Unique
Finlay just divorced her cheating husband, and is left with two kids, syrup on her pants, a kid who cut her own hair, and a pile of bills. She's a struggling suspense writer, emphasis on the struggling... until one day at a Panera (that she was banned from for throwing soup on a customer), a woman slips Finlay a life-changing note after misunderstanding a conversation she overheard Finlay having with her book agent. This story was funny and entertaining, and definitely worth the read.
Finlay just divorced her cheating husband, and is left with two kids, syrup on her pants, a kid who cut her own hair, and a pile of bills. She's a struggling suspense writer, emphasis on the struggling... until one day at a Panera (that she was banned from for throwing soup on a customer), a woman slips Finlay a life-changing note after misunderstanding a conversation she overheard Finlay having with her book agent. This story was funny and entertaining, and definitely worth the read.
There are so many great aspects to this book: realistic main characters, quality banter, and a friends-to-lovers storyline. My only regret was picking this back up before bedtime... because when I hit that first plot twist, I couldn't stop! I stayed up until 1am to finish. I did think one of the plot twists was easy to see coming, but it didn't take away from the book at all.
Without giving spoilers, I will say that if you have experienced infertility, I would probably skip this read.
Without giving spoilers, I will say that if you have experienced infertility, I would probably skip this read.
Wow. I’ve read a few of Mhairi’s other books and really enjoyed the lighter romances, but Just Last Night was so wonderfully different, setting the romance as more of an undertone and taking a bit of a darker focus on grief, recovery, self-discovery, and discernment.
Every character is real, raw, and authentic, putting in work on their relationships, figuring out what they want from life, and owning who they are. They’re also charming and funny even as they navigate a major loss. I truly felt like I was a pet of this friend group throughout the book. Although this story is focused on grief and recovery, there is wit, love, and humor in all the right places.
Every character is real, raw, and authentic, putting in work on their relationships, figuring out what they want from life, and owning who they are. They’re also charming and funny even as they navigate a major loss. I truly felt like I was a pet of this friend group throughout the book. Although this story is focused on grief and recovery, there is wit, love, and humor in all the right places.
DNF 18% of the way in. Thank you NetGalley and Harvest House Publishers for the advanced copy.
I've been interested in learning more about cancel culture, and thought this could be an interesting take since I am also a Christian. However, this isn't a book on "how can we as Christians respond to a cancel culture" as much as a reaction of "how can we as Christians fight the cancel culture that is only treating us unfairly." It is a book complaining that conservative Christians are being attacked and wanting to cancel all culture that isn't ultra-conservative-Christian, and not an open two-way street of how to be a Christian in a cancel culture, as the title says.
Quote: "But when everyone's behaving fairly (read "like adults"), then declaring our beliefs won't trigger serious rational, professional, or legal consequences." ...except that if you make racist comments or treat people as less than human, honestly, that's not behaving fairly OR like an adult. Dallas puts politically correct into quotes when he uses the term, referred to Antifa influence over political leaders, said Christians experience “cancel culture Uzi” when being asked to call a transgender female "Elizabeth", and called George Floyd protests "throwing a lethal national fit." I think you can understand the type of thinking this writer has from these examples.
Dallas says "Will we faithfully- in our pulpits, homes, and lives- profess and steward the Word of God without adding to or detracting from it?" Hopefully, yes, and hopefully, that will mean actually reading the Bible and learning how to act and treat people instead of reading this book.
I've been interested in learning more about cancel culture, and thought this could be an interesting take since I am also a Christian. However, this isn't a book on "how can we as Christians respond to a cancel culture" as much as a reaction of "how can we as Christians fight the cancel culture that is only treating us unfairly." It is a book complaining that conservative Christians are being attacked and wanting to cancel all culture that isn't ultra-conservative-Christian, and not an open two-way street of how to be a Christian in a cancel culture, as the title says.
Quote: "But when everyone's behaving fairly (read "like adults"), then declaring our beliefs won't trigger serious rational, professional, or legal consequences." ...except that if you make racist comments or treat people as less than human, honestly, that's not behaving fairly OR like an adult. Dallas puts politically correct into quotes when he uses the term, referred to Antifa influence over political leaders, said Christians experience “cancel culture Uzi” when being asked to call a transgender female "Elizabeth", and called George Floyd protests "throwing a lethal national fit." I think you can understand the type of thinking this writer has from these examples.
Dallas says "Will we faithfully- in our pulpits, homes, and lives- profess and steward the Word of God without adding to or detracting from it?" Hopefully, yes, and hopefully, that will mean actually reading the Bible and learning how to act and treat people instead of reading this book.
Once again, the melancholy rom com returns. Shay’s life revolves around public radio, a love that she and her father cultivated all through her childhood. However, Shay's father passed away pre-storyline and and now her mom is ready to move on. On top of that, her best friend has a new opportunity that could move her away and her work nemesis, Dominic Yun, seems to be having all the success she wants at work. When the life of the public radio station is threatened, Shay comes up with the idea for The Ex Talk, a talk show about relationships hosted by two exes. But the exes aren't really exes - and Shay isn't sure how she feels about lying to her audience and to her family, especially since she knows her father wouldn't agree with it. As Shay and Dominic get to know each other, romance blossoms, and it is adorable.
This book is rich with public radio references, the characters are diverse, and the romance is spot-on. This was a one-day read for me because I just couldn't put it down.
This book is rich with public radio references, the characters are diverse, and the romance is spot-on. This was a one-day read for me because I just couldn't put it down.
