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caffeineandbookreviews's review against another edition
3.0
The good reads synopsis really does the summary of this book perfectly!
Though I felt that it takes a little getting into but the Alliot's way with words and descriptions will give you a good giggle so go pour a mug of sprite or whatever it is you prefer, grab some munchies, find a comfortable spot and have an easy read.
Though I felt that it takes a little getting into but the Alliot's way with words and descriptions will give you a good giggle so go pour a mug of sprite or whatever it is you prefer, grab some munchies, find a comfortable spot and have an easy read.
hfjelldal's review
4.0
Sweet and short book that you'll fly through! Super easy to get into, and you can't help but root for the main character. Overall a perfect read for summer, or when you want something a bit lighter.
svw89's review
3.0
2.5
If I were reading this ten or so years ago, I'd have probably loved this, this is the kind of book that I'd have read in one go, couldn't put down and wouldn't have wanted to anyway. My tastes have changed since then and things that would not have bothered me in the slightest back then now leave me with a bad taste in my mouth and make any sympathy I should have felt for the characters disappear.
My main issue with [b:About Last Night . . .|31227052|About Last Night . . .|Catherine Alliott|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|51883680] was the main character Molly. At first I really felt for her, her husband died soon after they left the city with their family for a farm in the countryside, leaving her to bring up her children and keep the farm they'd moved to running even though it had never been her dream, only her husbands. It's a tough situation. Instead of fleeing back to London she decided to stay and make the best of the situation because it's what he would have wanted. Unfortunately we soon find out the circumstances that led up to their move and I lost all sympathy for Molly. Maybe I'm just a heartless, unfeeling bitch who doesn't understand. And then it gets worse. She becomes more annoying and makes really stupid decisions, she appears quite pathetic at times, and doesn't seem to have much going on in her brain and I often found myself wondering how the hell she'd managed to survive so long on her own. This is such a shame - you'd think she'd be more intelligent, more resourceful etc. given what she'd managed to achieve over the past five years.
I do see a lot of people enjoying this. I do think it could be a good summer read for those who enjoy this kind of book. There's a range of characters, it's quite lighthearted with a sprinkling of seriousness and real issues, second chances, and a touch of romance. It did give me a feel of other authors' works who I have enjoyed a lot in the past and although this one wasn't really for me, I'd be interested in picking up some of the author's other works.
If I were reading this ten or so years ago, I'd have probably loved this, this is the kind of book that I'd have read in one go, couldn't put down and wouldn't have wanted to anyway. My tastes have changed since then and things that would not have bothered me in the slightest back then now leave me with a bad taste in my mouth and make any sympathy I should have felt for the characters disappear.
My main issue with [b:About Last Night . . .|31227052|About Last Night . . .|Catherine Alliott|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|51883680] was the main character Molly. At first I really felt for her, her husband died soon after they left the city with their family for a farm in the countryside, leaving her to bring up her children and keep the farm they'd moved to running even though it had never been her dream, only her husbands. It's a tough situation. Instead of fleeing back to London she decided to stay and make the best of the situation because it's what he would have wanted. Unfortunately we soon find out the circumstances that led up to their move and I lost all sympathy for Molly. Maybe I'm just a heartless, unfeeling bitch who doesn't understand. And then it gets worse. She becomes more annoying and makes really stupid decisions, she appears quite pathetic at times, and doesn't seem to have much going on in her brain and I often found myself wondering how the hell she'd managed to survive so long on her own. This is such a shame - you'd think she'd be more intelligent, more resourceful etc. given what she'd managed to achieve over the past five years.
I do see a lot of people enjoying this. I do think it could be a good summer read for those who enjoy this kind of book. There's a range of characters, it's quite lighthearted with a sprinkling of seriousness and real issues, second chances, and a touch of romance. It did give me a feel of other authors' works who I have enjoyed a lot in the past and although this one wasn't really for me, I'd be interested in picking up some of the author's other works.
snazzybooks's review
3.0
About Last Nightis the third book I've read by Catherine Alliott. The other two – The Secret Life of Evie Hamilton* and Wish You Were Here** – I enjoyed and gave 4 stars to. I had high hopes for About Last Night, but it didn't quite live up to the others for me. It's entertaining and has some funny parts which made me laugh, making it a fun read - but it really hugely impress me, for a number of reasons.
The characters are quite fun, though some – including, at times, the main character Molly – were a bit irritating. I liked her to begin with and felt for her, but as the story continued I got a bit annoyed with her decisions and actions which were, at times, ridiculous. Quite a few of the characters in this novel felt overly simplified and not particularly convincing; I didn't feel like any of them were really people I'd either know from my own life, or could conceivably imagine running into on the street, at work or...well, anywhere really. I do feel that I have to either empathise / like the characters, or feel just feel strongly about them (even really hate them) in order to engage with the characters and therefore the story, and I didn't feel either of these things with this book's characters unfortunately.
I found a lot of this story humorous and entertaining, and bits really made me laugh. There are some comical scenes and some amusing thoughts and utterances by Molly. The way she interacts with her kids, and her kids interact with her, can be really funny; their despair over their mother when she's embarrassing or confusing them really did make me laugh. However, the story felt like it dragged on a bit at times, focussing too much on small details or dialogue, and so I found myself wanting to speed read through big chunks. I guessed quite a lot of what was going to happen beforehand, and so the fact that it then took ages to get to those parts frustrated me. The ending was positive and wrapped everything up nicely, though, which is always what you expect from a summery read like this.
Overall I feel that this is an enjoyable novel that will no doubt entertain and amuse readers; it did both for me but sadly the characters fell a little flat, and in my opinion the narrative could have been cut down by about a third. However I'd still recommend About Last Night if you're after a fun and light-hearted read.
* Check out my review here for The Secret Life of Evie Hamilton.
* Check out my review here for Wish You Were Here.
Many thanks to Michael Joseph for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.
The characters are quite fun, though some – including, at times, the main character Molly – were a bit irritating. I liked her to begin with and felt for her, but as the story continued I got a bit annoyed with her decisions and actions which were, at times, ridiculous. Quite a few of the characters in this novel felt overly simplified and not particularly convincing; I didn't feel like any of them were really people I'd either know from my own life, or could conceivably imagine running into on the street, at work or...well, anywhere really. I do feel that I have to either empathise / like the characters, or feel just feel strongly about them (even really hate them) in order to engage with the characters and therefore the story, and I didn't feel either of these things with this book's characters unfortunately.
I found a lot of this story humorous and entertaining, and bits really made me laugh. There are some comical scenes and some amusing thoughts and utterances by Molly. The way she interacts with her kids, and her kids interact with her, can be really funny; their despair over their mother when she's embarrassing or confusing them really did make me laugh. However, the story felt like it dragged on a bit at times, focussing too much on small details or dialogue, and so I found myself wanting to speed read through big chunks. I guessed quite a lot of what was going to happen beforehand, and so the fact that it then took ages to get to those parts frustrated me. The ending was positive and wrapped everything up nicely, though, which is always what you expect from a summery read like this.
Overall I feel that this is an enjoyable novel that will no doubt entertain and amuse readers; it did both for me but sadly the characters fell a little flat, and in my opinion the narrative could have been cut down by about a third. However I'd still recommend About Last Night if you're after a fun and light-hearted read.
* Check out my review here for The Secret Life of Evie Hamilton.
* Check out my review here for Wish You Were Here.
Many thanks to Michael Joseph for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.
saarahn's review
5.0
Favourited
This book was hugely enjoyable, it was a little slow going initially but by the end it couldn't have been more fantastic. It was like a more hopeful, funnier, less cringey Bridget Jones story. The dialogue was insanely amusing.
Molly is a widow, has been for five years, and she has just stepped into a potentially huge inheritance. Cuthbert's inheritance, Cuthbert being the recently deceased uncle of her late husband. A relative she had little knowledge of - could she take his estate? How would this affect her life, could she possibly pursue her own dreams?
This story is quite the adventure and with Molly almost constantly making a spectacle of herself, it is definitely funny. There was one heart-breaking moment that had me questioning Molly's morality, but aside from that my sympathies were all for Molly. Her family was equally hilarious: an interfering fortune telling mother, and then bossy, judging, children. Their relationship struggles or just their struggles at managing their lives distracted from their mother in some instances. I liked this as it made romance less of an integral theme. There were indeed some more serious moments, feelings of sadness, looking back on old and lost loves, feelings of nostalgia and guilt. But, all in all, it was a light funny read.
Molly was an unwitting victim, she made mistakes but ultimately, she was taken advantage of. I loved the revelations, enough to keep Molly reeling and anyone's head spinning.
This book quickly became a favourite, I have brought a copy of A Married Man by Catherine Alliot, because I enjoyed this book so much. The ending was perfect.
I received this book through NetGalley.
This book was hugely enjoyable, it was a little slow going initially but by the end it couldn't have been more fantastic. It was like a more hopeful, funnier, less cringey Bridget Jones story. The dialogue was insanely amusing.
Molly is a widow, has been for five years, and she has just stepped into a potentially huge inheritance. Cuthbert's inheritance, Cuthbert being the recently deceased uncle of her late husband. A relative she had little knowledge of - could she take his estate? How would this affect her life, could she possibly pursue her own dreams?
This story is quite the adventure and with Molly almost constantly making a spectacle of herself, it is definitely funny. There was one heart-breaking moment that had me questioning Molly's morality, but aside from that my sympathies were all for Molly. Her family was equally hilarious: an interfering fortune telling mother, and then bossy, judging, children. Their relationship struggles or just their struggles at managing their lives distracted from their mother in some instances. I liked this as it made romance less of an integral theme. There were indeed some more serious moments, feelings of sadness, looking back on old and lost loves, feelings of nostalgia and guilt. But, all in all, it was a light funny read.
Molly was an unwitting victim, she made mistakes but ultimately, she was taken advantage of. I loved the revelations, enough to keep Molly reeling and anyone's head spinning.
This book quickly became a favourite, I have brought a copy of A Married Man by Catherine Alliot, because I enjoyed this book so much. The ending was perfect.
I received this book through NetGalley.
bananatricky's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, there were a few inaccuracies about the law and London geography that I spotted but it didn't spoil my enjoyment (and maybe they will get fixed before the book comes out?).
Molly Faulkner lives in a ramshackle house with too much land for a home but not enough for a proper farm with her three children: Lucy, Minna and Nico. Life is a constant struggle for money and Molly is a bit of a wheeler-dealer: raising lambs; packaging and selling lavender soap; selling horses and ponies; selling mail-order underwear, anything to keep the bailiff (who is at least a friendly woman) from the door. it doesn't help that most of her animals are verging on elderly and she hasn't quite lost her city girl soft-heartedness towards animals which means her vet bills are astronomical. Unfortunately the best vet in the area charges like a rhino and dislikes Molly ever since she stood him up for a date. Molly's husband David died just six weeks after they moved to the country and so she has stuck it out for five long years for his sake. The house is a mess, Nico and his mates hang out all the time drinking and smoking weed, Minna is alternately ecstatic and in tears over her love-rat boyfriend Toxic Ted, and Lucy is living in a tiny flat in London.
Then, out of the blue, Molly hears that David's uncle has died and she has inherited a small fortune. Enough to move back to London. Suddenly her thoughts are filled with memories of their previous life in Wandsworth, her former job in PR and the days of wearing high heels and designer clothes. But have five years in the country changed Molly?
In fact, she has inherited a lovely house in South Kensington and meets Felix, a devastatingly handsome artist and art dealer could her life be about to change? And then a blast from Molly's past comes back ...
Although this is the first Catherine Alliott book I have reviewed on GR I am pretty sure I have read at least one previously. If crazy mothers who read palms in a broken down caravan, annoying teenage sons, grumps vets and devastatingly handsome artists are up your street this is the book for you!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Bumped for release.
Molly Faulkner lives in a ramshackle house with too much land for a home but not enough for a proper farm with her three children: Lucy, Minna and Nico. Life is a constant struggle for money and Molly is a bit of a wheeler-dealer: raising lambs; packaging and selling lavender soap; selling horses and ponies; selling mail-order underwear, anything to keep the bailiff (who is at least a friendly woman) from the door. it doesn't help that most of her animals are verging on elderly and she hasn't quite lost her city girl soft-heartedness towards animals which means her vet bills are astronomical. Unfortunately the best vet in the area charges like a rhino and dislikes Molly ever since she stood him up for a date. Molly's husband David died just six weeks after they moved to the country and so she has stuck it out for five long years for his sake. The house is a mess, Nico and his mates hang out all the time drinking and smoking weed, Minna is alternately ecstatic and in tears over her love-rat boyfriend Toxic Ted, and Lucy is living in a tiny flat in London.
Then, out of the blue, Molly hears that David's uncle has died and she has inherited a small fortune. Enough to move back to London. Suddenly her thoughts are filled with memories of their previous life in Wandsworth, her former job in PR and the days of wearing high heels and designer clothes. But have five years in the country changed Molly?
In fact, she has inherited a lovely house in South Kensington and meets Felix, a devastatingly handsome artist and art dealer could her life be about to change? And then a blast from Molly's past comes back ...
Although this is the first Catherine Alliott book I have reviewed on GR I am pretty sure I have read at least one previously. If crazy mothers who read palms in a broken down caravan, annoying teenage sons, grumps vets and devastatingly handsome artists are up your street this is the book for you!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Bumped for release.
leanne_who_reads's review
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, at times it did frustrate me and initially I thought the first few chapters were slow-paced and wanted the story to move along quicker, however, chapter five onwards the book flowed at a quick pace and I loved it, the drama, the mystery, all of it, I loved it!
This book was heart-felt, it was authentic, it was charming and I really got invested in the life of Molly. I was rooting for her all the way. The twist with Felix, what a conniving son of a bitch! The lengths he went to. Henri was a sweet character and Paddy has a special place in my heart, I have a soft spot for him.
If you are looking for some light reading material this book will deliver. The story is warm and delightful, the characters are well developed, you get invested in the lives of the characters and I promise the book will not disappoint.
This book was heart-felt, it was authentic, it was charming and I really got invested in the life of Molly. I was rooting for her all the way. The twist with Felix, what a conniving son of a bitch! The lengths he went to. Henri was a sweet character and Paddy has a special place in my heart, I have a soft spot for him.
If you are looking for some light reading material this book will deliver. The story is warm and delightful, the characters are well developed, you get invested in the lives of the characters and I promise the book will not disappoint.
tasha34's review
3.0
I did enjoy this, some of the story was strong, especially her past but parts of it were just silly and unbelievable. Especially her son!
Whilst it wasn't a bad book it didn't have the edge that some of her older books did.
Whilst it wasn't a bad book it didn't have the edge that some of her older books did.
rhiareads's review
3.0
View more reviews on my blog, rhiareads.
I received a free ebook of this novel from the publisher & netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I wasn't blown away by this. I read another of Catherine Alliott's books - NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL - several years ago and remembered quite enjoying it so I thought this would be similar. Either I've already grown out of this sort of fiction, or this isn't on par with the author's earlier works.
The writing is good but I found it hard to connect with - or like - any of the characters. All Molly's problems seem to have been brought on herself so I found it really hard to have any sympathy for her.
This might be a good read for fans of the chick-lit genre, or fans of this author, but it's not a winner for me.
I received a free ebook of this novel from the publisher & netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I wasn't blown away by this. I read another of Catherine Alliott's books - NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL - several years ago and remembered quite enjoying it so I thought this would be similar. Either I've already grown out of this sort of fiction, or this isn't on par with the author's earlier works.
The writing is good but I found it hard to connect with - or like - any of the characters. All Molly's problems seem to have been brought on herself so I found it really hard to have any sympathy for her.
This might be a good read for fans of the chick-lit genre, or fans of this author, but it's not a winner for me.