Sometimes I need a break from whodunnits and psychological thrillers so when I came across a novel that had the same title as my favourite Simple Minds song and a ringing endorsement from Marian Keyes I just knew I had to read it.
Mhairi McFarlane certainly didn't disappoint, this was the exact book I needed to read. It was a romance, but it was so much more. The characters were awesome (even the ones you loathed!), the only one that really irritated me at times was the main character, Georgina, but even when she was annoying me she was so relatable.
The story starts with a budding romance in the sixth form between our heroine Georgina and the mysterious Lucas and I have to say that having spent my sixth form years in the UK Mhairi McFarlane did an amazing job at invoking memories I'd actually forgotten I had.
We quickly fast forward to the present day and Georgina is 30 and working in the worst restaurant in town and even the way this restaurant and staff are described allowed my mind to actually see the restaurant. When she was totally unfairly dismissed from the restaurant she decides to pay an unexpected visit to her boyfriend. This turned out to be a mistake as said narcissistic boyfriend was in bed with his PA.
Then she receives an offer to do a one-off gig to tend bar at a wake - the bar in question has been newly refurbished and is looking at opening up again. Georgina absolutely loves working the wake and gets on really well with one of the owners, Devlin. At the end of the night, he offers her a permanent job which makes her feel like her life is on the up again.
Of course, it would be a boring book if that was all ..... enter Devlin's brother and the other owner of the bar, Lucas. Whereas Georgina recognises Lucas instantly, he doesn't appear to have any memory of her whatsoever and is not happy that Devlin hired her without consultation.
I won't tell you anymore of the storyline, I will let you discover it for yourself. Yes, it's a romance, but it is so much more. The characters are really well-rounded (I do hope Kitty gets her own novel one day) and it is also a book that deals with gaslighting and not ignoring red flags in relationships. It's about great friends and complicated families and about overcoming adversity. Oh, and the one-liners will have you in stitches!
I thoroughly enjoyed Don't You Forget About Me and couldn't put it down until I had finished.
As with most of the books, I read this was downloaded as part of my Kindle Unlimited membership something I highly recommend no matter what genre of book you like to read. In fact, it's also a great way of exploring new genres too, I've recently read some supernatural and some science fiction books through my membership.
