Unfortunately, I could not get into this story. I found the narrator to be too conceited and superficial. I realize that was the intent but it felt so over the top to me.

I did enjoy the look inside the NYC music and social scene in the 1970s and perhaps would have enjoyed this story more if told from Aura or Johnny's perspective.

When we meet Lynda Boyle, it's 2019, and she is writing an email to Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone. Following singer/songwriter Aura Lockhart's induction of Johnny Engel into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Lynda, now 67 years old, wants to set the record straight about her true role in their history and success after a recent article in the magazine. The story takes us back to 1977. Lynda, who has yet to achieve success as a poet, lives in New Jersey, working as an English teacher at a junior high school. Aura Lockart is one of her students, and Lynda takes the young girl, who shows promise as a songwriter, under her wing. At a local club, they are both captivated by Johnny Engel, whose musical style is a blend of glam-rock and punk. Lynda wants to help make Johnny a star, and she also wants him in her bed. Through Lynda's email to Wenner, her journey unfolds, including the disastrous end of her relationships with Johnny and Aura. As we learn more about Lynda, it becomes clear that she is a troubled, narcissistic young woman. When the story shifts back to the present day, a mystery lingers about Lynda's whereabouts, as she appears to be in hiding with her unnamed husband.

Author Lisa Border did an excellent job in her research for Last Night at the Disco. It truly captures the nightlife of the era, featuring New York City's Studio 54 and the gritty punk rock scene at CBGB (if you'd ever been there, you probably still remember the smell). Anti-hero Lynda, although an intriguing person, became increasingly difficult to root for. While the story includes humor, particularly in Lynda's ongoing assessment of her beauty and poetic talent, I felt a sense of sadness for her. My heart went out to her parents. Aura and Johnny were great characters, and I wish more focus had been given to their careers. Overall, this nostalgic trip back in time was appealing.

What a fun read. I found myself laughing out loud several times. I felt like I got a great insight into a narcissist's mind. While Lydia wasn't very likable, I did find moments of liking her. I really appreciated her unapologetic attitude of who she was. With the way society often makes women apologize for owning their own wants/desires, I found Lydia refreshing (even if she was very narcissistic). It was fun to also read about the 1970s and how different society was-some of the teacher's activities were cracking me up. It was also fun to read about Studio 54. The only con I had about the book was that it was sometimes a bit confusing when the timeline switched. But it all came together in the end. This was my first book by Lisa Borders and I'd read another one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions and thoughts are my own and uncompensated.

Wow! This was my first book to read by this author but definitely not my last! This book will leave you wanting for more and the characters and storyline stick with you long after you finish it. Do yourself a favor and pick up this page-turner!

I love the setting of NY/NJ in the late 1970s, and the changing music scene during that period. I also loved to hate Lynda Boyle, she was such an interesting, fun, infuriating, and exhausting character. Because we only see the other characters from Lynda’s perspective, they come across as fairly two-dimensional. Johnny and Aura seemed like very cool characters I would have loved to get to know better, but that just wasn’t possible the way the book was told. The dual timeline was interesting but I didn’t feel like I had enough of present day to really grab onto Lynda’s relationship with hubby. Overall I would recommend this for someone who is interested in the NY music scene in the late ‘70s or just loves unreliable, narcissistic narrators.

Last Night at the Disco by Lisa Borders
If I met Lynda Boyle Ross in real life, I’d probably loathe her. I might find her physically attractive, but ultimately, I would be disgusted with her. However, as a fictional character she is utterly fascinating (most of the time). She sees herself as some kind of victim who never got the credit she thinks she deserves for the musical fame of Aura, one of her former students and Johnny her former lover.
Lisa Borders wisely tells the story in first-person. She pulls off something pretty amazing with Last Night at the Disco, she has a main character/unreliable narrator who is decidedly reprehensible, and manipulative, and yet the story is extremely compelling. This isn’t in spite of Lynda being the highly flawed anti-hero, but in no small part because of all of her bad traits. We’ve probably all have known a few Lynda Boyle Rosses in our lives. I know I have.
Back in 1977, Lynda, was just Lynda Boyle, a twenty-five-year-old, would-be poet and an uninspired and uninspiring English teacher at an underperforming New Jersey junior high school. She had an inflated sense of independence and self-importance, yet has gone back to living with her parents. From her own account she seemed more interested in her own questionable lifestyle and partying at Studio 54 than her career in education, and then there’s her coke habit. She rubs shoulders with real life celebrities throughout the novel. Lynda still lamented no longer living in New York, “The City” as everyone in New Jersey seems to call it. Moreover, from her attitude, nearly 50 years on, she doesn’t seem to have matured much.
None of this should dissuade one from reading this hilarious and very enjoyable novel. Borders paints Lynda as clearly a narcissist, highly intelligent, self-absorbed, yet comically only dimly self-aware, particularly when she reflects on what today we call stalking behavior. Lynda takes every opportunity to tell the reader how hot she was, and still is, seemingly turning on every male she encounters in the New York/New Jersey area and even in the unnamed Midwest state where she now resides.
What also keeps the reader turning the pages is her gradually unfolding account of her relationship with Aura which is way too close for teacher and student. If the novel has flaws, it is occasional pacing issues, although this underscores Lynda’s idiosyncratic, subjective and unreliable narration. Also, at times her self-absorption is just too much. For the reader she is a fitting guide on a musical journey to a hedonistic time —sex, drugs, and rock and roll, baby!

ARC Received from NetGalley

Chances are, you've met the narrator of Last Night at the Disco. Maybe not during the actual 70s, but somewhere in the course of your life you've come into contact with the co-worker, the distant relative, or the child of a friend of your parents' who thought they were Hot ShitTM. They were better than everybody else, they dropped celebrity names like a litterbug, and they demanded flowers without first purchasing the seeds. They dreamed big and likely manifested what luxury came to them, but at the end of the day you could tap their sternums and hear the Tin Man echo.

Lynda Boyle is that person. She's an A-lister in her mind when in reality she's not even a pop culture footnote. As Last Night at the Disco opens in the present day she's determined to set straight a Rolling Stone article about the recent induction of a rock legend to the Hall of Fame, delivered by her former eighth grade English student. If Lynda gets anything correct in her diatribe, it's that she did facilitate the meeting between 90s feminist rocker Aura Lockheart and Johnny Engel. Pretty much everything after that is history purposely skewed in Lynda's favor.

And it's freaking hilarious, right up to the last few pages of the book when Lynda's epislatory demand for credit concludes with a sitcom worthy womp-womp. But I won't spoil it.

As you read Last Night, you probably won't like Lynda, and that's okay. At the height of the 70s Me Generation she's conceited, vain, manipulative, and myopic. She aspires to fame as a poetess but rarely writes, using her time to schmooze people with actual talent during weekend jaunts to Studio 54. In a way she is like Gatsby's Nick if Nick were petulant and demanded credit for getting Jay and Daisy to hook up. She's convinced everybody loves her, that gay men will turn for her, when it's a sure bet that in the present day she's completely forgotten.

Lynda isn't Hot ShitTM, she's a Hot MessTM, an unrealiable narrator who would normally inspire me to close a book. I didn't, however, because the mess is such a fascinating train wreck I wanted to know if she got either comeuppance or a clue. That, I also won't spoil.

I did hesitate on reviewing the book here, because while there are music themes within the book, Last Night at the Disco doesn't focus wholly on music. Lynda is surrounded by amazing people - a gifted guitarist, student prodigies, shifty New York types and a cameo from 54's Steve Rubell - and she manages to make the entire story about her. That's the point, of course, but bless her, she isn't dull.

There were definitely bright spots in this book and bits of humor here and there to keep me engaged. I loved the pop culture references - I am a pop culture junkie so that made it fun for me. Beyond that, I wasn't very engaged in this book. I am sure many will fall in love with this book and the characters, but, it didn't hit for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publishing team for the ARC!

I loved the vibe and humor of this book! Lynda made me laugh with her experiences throughout the book and I love an unreliable narrator. It did feel like things got a little repetitive towards the end of the book but that’s my only critique. I would give this book a 4.5 star! It was full of drama, betrayal, and of course, the world of music.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sometimes I struggle with dual timelines but I found this one easy to follow - it kind of fell into the chaos that was the FMC Lynda’s life.

I couldn’t help but love Lynda - despite her being a complete narcissist, I admired the fire in her belly and her unwavering confidence.

Borders’ writing is so descriptive, it made me feel like I was right there in the 70s, beer sloshing all over me and cigarette smoke all around me.

I laughed out loud at so many points of this book, it was brilliant!

Lisa Borders’ Last Night at the Disco is an absolute delight from start to finish: a glittering, fast-paced, and irresistibly funny ride through the dazzling chaos of 1970s New York with the unforgettable Lynda Boyle at its center. Lynda’s voice leaps off the page, bold, brash, and utterly captivating, as Borders whisks us from the sweat-soaked dance floors of Studio 54 to the East Village poetry scene, blending wit, heart, and just the right touch of drama. The story’s energy is electric, the characters feel larger than life yet deeply human, and every page shimmers with the joy of storytelling. I finished this book grinning, already wanting to read it again!









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Reading the story from Lynda reminds me of Humbert Humbert, one of the prime examples of unreliable narratives in literary history. Just like Nabokov, Lisa Borders verrates a character that from the beginning makes it clean, that you can‘t really trust anything she says. Lynda can see no fault in herself, she is always the victim and she says that every man craves her. But as soon as she loses interest in them, or worse they in her, she loses her mind. She is in constant need to manipulate people and those who see through her tactics are the villains in her view. Everything is exaggerated, but somewhere there is a little bit of truth in the statements but who is to say that it really happened this way? The fact that no animal can tolerate or like her can be interpreted as her being a predator.
Lynda isn’t just an unreliable narrator, she is also entirely insufferable. She sees no fault in herself and cannot see her actions as wrong. There is no self reflection and realisation that she might not be as great as she believes herself to be, which makes it hard to read and follow her story without questioning her sanity. At times it was a drag to read through because there is not real character development in the story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book, but feel as though it may not be for everyone. Very interesting characters and plot. Great pop culture references.

A short review is better than no review, right? Last Night At The Disco was a wild ride. I’m a sucker for ‘70s nostalgia, and for ‘70s music. Linda Boyle is the unreliable, unlikable narrator I didn’t know I could enjoy so much! Thank you #NetGalley for ARC.

📚 E-ARC BOOK REVIEW 📚

Last Night At The Disco
By Lisa Borders
Publication Date: October 7, 2025
Publisher: Regal House Publishing

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you so much to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for this gifted e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

📚MY REVIEW:

Initially, I grabbed this book simply because the eye-catching cover design and title piqued my interest. The synopsis pulled me in too: I've had a years-long obsession with all things Studio 54 -- so much so that my friends joke I must have been a frequent visitor there in a past life (even though I was already a young child in its heyday).

This book was everything I hoped for and didn't even know I wanted. Part music fiction, part satire, part pop culture history, part rock-n-roll. This is the story of Lynda Boyle, narrating her life in the form of a letter to Jann Wenner, the editor of Rolling Stone, written to "correct the record" after an article about a rocker's recent induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was published in the famed magazine.

In 1977, Lynda is a narcissistic and self-absorbed 26-year-old, living with her parents in New Jersey after a failed attempt to be a famed poet in NYC's East Village. Lynda longs to leave New Jersey behind forever and become part of the world of glamour and luxury she experiences when she visits Studio 54, her fleeting connection to the opulent world she longs for. In New Jersey, she connects with two people who are blooming rock icons in their own right, and she's convinced she can help them make it big. Forty-ish years later, Lynda becomes incensed when she feels like she's been written out of the narrative -- and she wants to be sure her part of the story is told.

The details of the stories shared about the wildly frenetic nightlife in Manhattan in the late 1970s had me practically salivating as I read, as Borders's writing made me feel like I was right there with Lynda. Between her drug-fueled dancing and over-the-top encounters with the who's who of 1970s pop culture at Studio 54, to seeing bands like The Ramones at CBGB and Devo playing in tiny little bars, I felt like I could see the glitter falling from the ceiling, smell the cigarette smoke in the air, and feel the stickiness of the beer-covered bar floors.

As narcissistic and self-absorbed as Lynda was, I loved her and the confident badass she was. There was something so endearing and captivating about her stories that made this book unputdownable for me. There's quite a bit of quick jumping back and forth in timelines, between the 1970s and 2019, which could be confusing to some readers. The more I read, though, the more I grew to really love the quick switches between the past and the present. And I loved every minute of her whirlwind life.

If you're a fan of books like Daisy Jones and the Six or movies like Almost Famous, or if you love immersive reads with details that will make you feel like you're a part of a wild time and place in pop culture history, you're going to love this book. Maybe it's my love of disco, my connection with 1970s pop culture, my obsession with all things Manhattan, or a combination of all three -- but I gotta be honest, I freaking LOVED this book. Available on NetGalley now and coming in October 2025!

#LastNightAtTheDisco #LisaBorders #RegalHousePublishing #ARC #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #fiction #satire #bookreviews #bookrecs #booklover #bookaddict

I liked this book so much until about 60% or so and then it just started to feel really repetitive. I love an unreliable narrator with a strong, unique voice and this was a great one. A 26 year old narcissist in the late 1970s, Lynda was so fun to me. I laughed a lot at her perspective of the interactions around her.

But eventually the book just ended up feeling really long. Her antics felt similar, repeated over and over, and I got tired of reading the same situations with different men.

The concept was great and I thought the author did a fabulous job creating Lynda’s voice, I just wished for a little more variety in the plot.

This book is as if Daisy Jones from ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ is an awful person.

Lynda Boyle is an absolute crazy person, the whole book is an essential lie on how she was involved in creating the rock legend Aura Lockhart.

Lynda is an incredibly awful person which is entirely the point of the book and I enjoyed it immensely for that.

However I think that’s pretty much all I liked about it, something about this book is all build up no pay off, but it’s definitely enjoyable to read

Thanks to Netgallery for this ARC.

This was a good read gave it a 4.75 mostly as Lynda is just an unlikeable person a narcissistic sociopath who feels she is better than everyone else but also paints herself as a victim being cruelly tossed aside by Jonny and Aura when you see that she tried to use themas a means to getting back into the fame she felt she deserves. She also can't accept Jonny not wanting her, you see many examples of her sociopath and narcissistic behaviour through the story also the fact she is writing this as a email to someone in wanting to give her version shows her need to be the main character in the story and not a footnote in someone else's tale. This was a good story but didn't really engrossed me.

Regal House Publishing provided an early galley for review.

As a child of the 70's, throw the word "disco" around and you have my attention. I love the music, the glamour, the vibe. If I had been born eight years sooner, I would have spent many nights on those dance floors. And while a bit of the story here does take place in the most famous disco in the world, there is so much more going on in this narrative.

Lynda is not your typical middle-school teacher, and her unpredicatable nature makes her an interesting character to observe. However, about a quarter of the way through, I came to suspect how unreliable she was as a narrator. The more the story went on, the more I saw her delusions. Is it wrong to say I was completely onboard to see how this tragedy played out? I hope not.

This is not a typical tale, so it might hit readers in different ways. Still, I am sure it will hit the mark with the right audience.

A perfect read for lovers of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones. This is a romping, high-energy, dazzling foray into the glitzy, drug-fuelled world of 1970s New York disco. The protagonist is almost absurdly unlikeable, but you can't help but root for her. And the story's twisted mysteries unravel wonderfully. A fantastic book.