I have mixed thoughts about this book, I liked the idea behind it and really wanted it to be more than "he's pretending he forget her" but it was just that which was such a shame. I like the growth our main character experienced and what I loved the most about this book was how funny it was. It was light-hearted and also a really good look at someone in their late twenties who haven't got it all together feels a bit sad but still powers through. Our main character is also really brave which I think stands out the most, she faces so much crap from people on a daily basis but she's still out there fighting and it honestly made me love her so much and root for her a lot!

Fabulous! I enjoyed every minute of this book! The characters really came to life and I literally read it in 2 days!

I really enjoyed this nice, easy read. Recommend highly. Well written with likeable characters. A bit predictable but enjoyable nevertheless.

I loved Don't You Forget About Me so much. I’ve read a few of Mhairi McFarlane’s books before - and I’ve reserved two at the library to take on my upcoming holiday. She has this amazing ability to make each situation feel real as well as hilarious. This story tells the tale of Georgina – a nearly 30-year-old woman stuck in a rut. Due to personal circumstances, she quit university and stumbles in and out of disaster jobs for the next ten years. Her family is concerned with where she’s ended up and a disaster with her love-life makes her reevaluate some things. We learn that Georgina had an intense relationship with her first love at sixth-form but the flashback at the beginning leaves the story unfinished – how and why did the relationship end? Flash-forward and she’s forced to come face to face with him again, though not all is as it seems. We gradually learn that Georgina has suffered some traumas throughout her life and has to face up to her past. A subplot of the novel deals with Georgina coming to terms with a personal bereavement, and as I have personal experience with this, I found the way McFarlane talked about it spot-on; it really gave me some food for thought. There were a number of times that I properly laughed at loud with this book – it always happens when I’m on a packed train – and I encourage anyone to give it a go. It’s a hilarious and thoughtful story about first love and second chances. The fact that the title is a reference to one of my favourite 80s songs – and a regular mainstay at Ultimate Power – only made me love it more.

This was just the light hearted and funny book I needed after a long week. Well written, witty and engaging.

A love a good Brit-chick-lit, and Mhairi McFarlane is a brilliant author. I haven't read all of her other books, but I want to after reading this. The characters, the dialogue, the plot, the pacing - all were spot on, making for a really enjoyable read. The romance was complex and realistic, and the cast of characters so well-written. I really appreciate when the author takes the time to properly round out the whole cast, rather than the MCs. I'll definitely be looking up McFarlane's other work now.

Don’t You Forget About Me – Mhairi Mcfarlane

Sorry, I just can’t even think about the title without thinking of the Simple Minds and that scene at the end of the Breakfast Club when Judd Nelson punches the air. Good times. Even better times is the fact that this book deserves to be up there with the Breakfast Club and the classic song by the Simple Minds. Yes really. That satisfied feeling you get at the end of the Breakfast Club is the same as the warm, satisfied feeling you get at the end of this. I genuinely loved it!

Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to rise again…
The hilarious new heartbreaker from Mhairi McFarlane!
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…

This is the best Mhairi Mcfarlane book I’ve read.
I mean to be fair, it is only the second one, but it is leagues ahead of my previous experience. I received a copy of this via Netgalley and when they offered it to me, I figured, you know what, this has a Breakfast Club reference in the title and I’m ready to give her another go, I wanted to know what the fuss was about when it comes to Mhairi Mcfarlane, so many people I know love her and after my last experience, I didn’t know why. Now I do. I am so glad I accepted Netgalley’s offer and that I read it because I bloody loved this.

Look, there isn’t anything new about this book particularly, even with my limited experience of her books, I can say with some confidence that Mhairi Mcfarlane is the queen of writing sassy, intelligent women who aren’t happy with their lot in life. This is no different.
Our heroine, Georgina, is having a bit of a crisis of confidence. She was a promising student who was smart, witty, funny and had a lot going for her. Only here she is; thirty, out of work after another ‘tide you over’ job putters out, single and trying to reconcile who she is and how she got here. Her family, though they love her, views her as a hot mess and they’re not afraid to make this known. And honestly, at the point we meet Georgina, she would be inclined to agree with them. Then a chance meeting reconnects her with her teenage boyfriend, only he doesn’t seem to remember her at all (Or does he? DUN DUN DUN) and through seeing him again, she is forced to directly look at and deal with her past and start to move towards being something akin to happy.

Here’s the thing, the last Mhairi Mcfarlane book I read was a real non story, there was a girl who liked a boy and he was dating someone else and the whole book was about her kind of just falling apart because they weren’t together but people talked about her. And I was like, what? What is this? This book though, this book was like meeting an old friend and getting a big hug, it was warm and endearing, it had substance and most importantly, I laughed and welled up in equal measure. Georgina was a great main character, her group of friends were interesting and likable and her family were so real. I could feel her frustration with her step dad and her despair over Lucas, I loved every word of it.

Look, normally, a story where a woman only realises what’s wrong in her life after a man enters it would fill me with rage fire, but that’s the beauty of Mhairi Mcfarlane’s story telling here, Georgina and Lucas running into each other after all these years might be her motivation but it all comes from Georgina and her willingness to finally let it go and to move on. Even though this is about Georgina and Lucas and you spend the second half of the book just wishing they would get together, this is a very modern book, it deals with toxic relationships, not just with significant others, but also with family. It explores how women are poorly treated at the hands of men and there are a lot of instances where you are feeling sad and angry on Georgina’s behalf, even if it is told in a humourous and light hearted way. While there is a romance in this (and dear God, I shipped it. Hard.) this isn’t a boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl sort themselves out, this is about noticing red flags, complex families and growing old as gracefully or disgracefully as you like.

I don’t think there are enough stars in the world to express how much I loved this.
Now, which Mhairi Mcfarlane book should I read next?

Georgina hasn’t had much luck in love or in her job - and on the same night she is fired as a waitress from the worst restaurant in Sheffield, she also finds her boyfriend in bed with another woman. Luckily, she quickly finds another job working at a new pub in town, only to be shocked to discover that one of her bosses is none other than her first love, the boy who broke her heart when she was 18. And if things weren’t difficult enough, he doesn’t even remember her at all.
This book is such a captivating, fun, but also emotional read. I really liked the character of Georgina, she feels realistic, down-to-earth, with a sarcastic wit. Her life is far from easy: her crazy ex-boyfriend is stalking her, her family always try to fix her life, and now she has to deal with her feelings for her boss, leading to a series of awkward situations, hilarious scenes, and moving moments that kept me completely engrossed.
This is my first novel by this author and I have to say I really enjoyed it and I am now looking forward to reading all her other books.

Just finished this book. I found it quite slow to get into but only the first few pages and then it flew. Georgina is a lovely character and deserves life to treat her well. Geoffrey is not a good character (we have all met someone like him in our day to say livex) but perfect for the book as he fitted into the storyline which was needed to give Georgina credence to get better in her world. Her mother also as the story went along came into her own and turned out to be very endearing towards the end. Her friends were great and as they were described I could visualise them easily. Devlin and Lucas - what can i say - perfect. A lovely book and one I will keep to read again in the future and will recommend it to friends. I have not read any of the author's books before but will definitely read more.

I loved this so much - am a massive fan of Mhairi Macfarlane and this didn’t disappoint. Her stories are wonderfully lighthearted and easy to get lost in, but without the saccharine layer of so many books in this genre - whilst still leaving me sighing a happy sigh when I’d finished and wishing I’d not ploughed through it so quickly!!

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Harper Collins, for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

In Don’t You Forget About Me we’re following our main character, Georgina, on a journey of relationships, break ups, love, laughter, heartbreak and also family problems. There is a lot happening in this book and with Georgina.

The book starts off with Georgina in high school, 12 years prior to the present day, where we’re introduced to Lucas McCarthy, a quiet, Irish lad who captures Georgina’s heart. However, something happens at their leaver’s party and we are then thrown into the present day where Georgina ends up being sacked from the worst restaurant in Sheffield and then finds the worst boyfriend in the world in bed with someone else.

However, when her brother-in-law helps her get a job at local pub, it only seems right that her boss ends up being the one and only Lucas McCarthy.

At 30 years old, Georgina is a jobless waitress, who’s single, flat sharing and constantly getting grief off her family for not being further on with her life as she should be. Not only that, but now her childhood crush is her boss and he doesn’t appear to remember her AT ALL.

I had an absolute blast with this book. I loved the storyline, I love that it didn’t just focus on Georgina’s love life but also her family problems and her friendships. There was a lot going on but not too much that it became overwhelming. It was a nice balance and I feel like I know Georgina as a person.

Mhairi’s writing is outstanding. This is the first book I have read from her and part way through the book, I said on one of my reading vlogs that the writing style reminds me a lot of Lindsey Kelk with the I Heart Series (which is one of my favourite series of all time). As it turns out, in the Acknowledgments, Lindsey gets a shout out and it appears they’re close friends.

There’s no holding back with Don’t You Forget About Me. I am always partial to a book that has swearing in it and some real-life reactions to situations. As I am reading, I will always try to voice my opinion on what’s just happened (when I’m alone obviously) and it will usually consist of some swearing or name calling of a character or something similar and I always find myself chuckling if it turns out the character reacts a similar way. It just makes the book and storyline seem much more realistic.

I adored this book. Hilarious and charming, I couldn’t fault it. I highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of Lindsey Kelk.

Huge 5/5 stars from me!

I absolutely loved Don't You Forget About Me and am now going back to read all of Mhairi's other books.
The characters were likeable and relatable from the get go, and I had a vested interest in Georgina's love life and how it all panned out.
Well written, engaging, and so funny. I would highly recommend.

I found a story slow to start and was tempted to give up reading it. Having seen that has been given five star rating, I felt I had to persevere and it was worth it! A teenage love that Georgina had never forgotten. In fact that love had been her measuring stick for all future romances. What happens when they meet up again years later and this time he is her boss?

I think the only way to describe this book is to say that it's just lovely. I'd heard so much about Mhairi McFarlane from a friend who has read all of her books so was keen to find out what all the fuss was about and I really have.

Georgina Horspol is one of the most true to life characters I've read in a long time. She's on the prettier end of average looking, kind-hearted, hilarious but also incredibly flawed and a bit of a pain in the neck but that's all part of her charm and exactly what makes Don't You Forget About Me so lovely.

McFarlane writing is truly witty and feels like a conversation with friends but also raw and brutally honest in a way that you wouldn't expect.

I can't wait to get stuck in to some of her other titles!

It's so so good! Imagine a book that has all the key components of a romantic comedy but revitalises them. McFarlane has created a romcom modern classic that is knowing, funny and oh so beautiful. I feel in love with both it and the characters!

I really enjoyed this story. It was funny and sad, heart-warming and relatable. Georgina is in her thirties, a waitress with a shitty boyfriend. When she gets fired and walks in on her boyfriend cheating on her – both on the same night! – it time to make some changes.

A mix of good friendships, longing for your youth, family drama and funny situations makes it hard to put this book down and my favourite take away:

‘Liking yourself is a radical act,’ Clem had instructed Jo and myself. ‘Never more so than when you’ve had a crap time from a man.’So when you get turned down for a second date, when you find out you were one of seven options, when your texts have the Read receipt, when the WhatsApp shows two blue ticks and your Facebook messages say SEEN – Clem says do the opposite of wallowing. She prescribes: spend an entire day treating yourself as you’d wish to be treated. Take yourself for margaritas, see a film you fancy, have a long walk. Buy something frivolous which brings you joy, order a takeaway. Get sheets with high thread count and lie like a starfish on them, naked. ‘It’s like aggressive hygge. Celebrate how great you are and what a nice time you have by yourself. Refuse to partake in the self-loathing we’re virtually commanded to, in this sick society.’

In times of disappointment, the answer is aggressive hygge!

Thanks to the Publishers via NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. I gave this an 8/10 or 4 stars.

Georgina is in a relationship that sadly ends, as a result of seeing her boyfriend in bed with someone else. That's not the only bad thing that happened to her that day, she also found herself being sacked.

Lucas runs a chain of bars with his brother and ends up being Georgina's boss, as she finds employment in one of the bars in a rather unconventional way.

This is quite a roller coaster of a ride in lots of ways. It's not your usual romantic comedy style book, as it covers some dark themes too. However, it's peppered with lots of comedy moments that will have you chortling to yourself if you interpret it in the way I did.

This was one of the first books that I've read by this Author and I will look for other books by her.

It's a great read to curl up with a nice coffee, sat by a cosy fire or even on a park bench on your lunch hour in the sun. Just read it really and immerse yourself in Georgina's roller coaster of a life.

Having read a lot of crime of late I needed a light read and this book delivered in spades. The book had me in tears laughing so much so I woke my other half more than once which nearly hd is confiscated from me. This book is brilliant, the lead character Georgina I could be best mates with, her friends could be the same and her thirty something still confused at life. She's me, but my blonde isn't natural. Meeting her first love years later and the reason they split leaves you both sad in places and joyfully happy in good measure. You fall in love with the characters,their stories become your own and I now want to read more of Mhairi McFarlane her writing is brilliant.

It's rare that a book makes me cry real tears, and also quite rare that I stay awake well past my bedtime to keep reading, but this novel was such pure enjoyment that both of those things happened. This book was a delight, in the same way that Elizabeth Bennet and Bridget Jones' stories are a delight. Highly recommended for a light, heartwarming escapist story

I have read other books from this author and I loved this one. I found it very funny and totally relatable. Highly recommended. Five stars from me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Mhairi McFarlane for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.