Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Du hast mir gerade noch gefehlt

I almost put this book down 8 chapters in because it was marketed so badly and the plot twist completely took me by surprise, and not in a good way. I’m glad I kept reading, because it ended up being a good book with lots of insight into all kinds of relationships: romantic, familial, friendships, and even with oneself. However, there are definitely things I would say people should know going in.

In the back-of-the-book description, it mentions “in an instant, their lives are changed forever.” This is a sudden, tragic, and traumatic death of a loved one, and main character. A good portion of the book is spent describing, in vivid detail, the grief experienced by the narrator. The grief is very realistic and well written, and under different circumstances I probably would have appreciated the perspective. But I was expecting a fun, breezy romance, and this is quite serious content matter. As someone who recently experienced a similar unexpected loss, it was very hard for me to get through and I would have appreciated more of a warning. In my opinion, the book should have been marketed differently, or at the very least mentioned that grief is a main theme.

Content Warnings

cozycritiques's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

“This is what I never knew about loss—it’s also about what you gain. You carry a weight that you never had before. It’s never behind you. It’s alongside you.”
- Just Last Night

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for the e-ARC.

Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Love Triangle, Found Family, Best Friend’s Sibling
Spice Scale: 🌶
CW: Death, Grief, Panic Attack, Past Abuse

This is one of those books that I think is going to stay with me for a while. When I read the blurb on NetGalley, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect—maybe some pining, intrigue, and uncovered secrets, a new love interest that changes the main character’s outlook on everything. And I did get that, but I also got a poignant look at loss, grief, and guilt and how those can affect even the tightest knit friendships and relationships. I think what I enjoyed the most is how powerful the relationships are in this story. While there is quite a bit of plot, the relationships between the characters really drive the narrative.
The portrayal of the friendship between Eve, Ed, Susie, and Justin isn’t just a rose-colored view of friendship. Yes, their friendship is full of fun and laughter, but it’s also raw and honest and messy. When Susie’s brother Finlay enters the scene, we get a look at the complexity of sibling relationships and how two people living through what seems like the experience can come out of it with two completely different versions of events. The romance in this is slow to start, only really beginning in the second half of the book, but it’s set up well and resolves nicely. It isn’t what drives the book, which I actually really enjoyed.
Just One Night takes a complicated and messy topic and manages to combine it with a sweet, slow-burn romance in a beautiful and powerful way.

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abiigrl's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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lenaricharz's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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jg34's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

I most definitely judged this book by its cover. I had heard of Mhairi McFarlane and based on the context and later seeing she has written many books all with cartoon covers, I came to the conclusion that she must write mindless lighthearted romance books. That is what I was in the mood for when I picked this book out but I got way more than I bargained for!

Yes this book ultimately was a romance (very good one at that) but it was much deeper than that. It was a journey of grief and how to navigate life after tragedy and what happens when you learn secrets that change how you see those closest to you. It was poignant and honest. But also very funny!

The main character Eve is what you could call ‘quirky’ but there is a line between unbearably and embarrassingly quirky vs just a bit silly. Eve is the second. Each character in this book had layers and it was so interesting watching everyone interact and learn and grow.

And the romance! So good. I don’t want to give too much away but the way these two character banter and handle each others grief with such grace and brutal honesty was what made me fall in love with this. We love mature adults, no silly miscommunication or anything here. Also no spice! Which I usually prefer an under-seasoned romance myself but idk why I really expected there would be, I guess because I thought this would be more like a Tessa Bailey romance book. It was not do not let the cartoon cover fool you!

I also loved how well everything concluded. There is always room for some ambiguity but I felt every loose end that was important got tied off by the end which is so pleasing. Specifically I really really liked Eve getting to tell another character exactly how she felt after she had been mistreated for years. Maybe it went too well to a point where it was unrealistic but it felt very cathartic to me it’s really refreshing getting to see a character spell out exactly how she feels and for it to be a conversation not a fight. Like I said we are mature adults here!!

Maybe the 5 star rating which I rarely give out is in part due to my admittedly low expectations being blown out of the water, but I stand by it. This was a great book.

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katerina_l's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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lisa_m's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was no doubt one of the best books I have ever read. Very clear 5 Stars!

I did not know what to expect going into it but I couldn't stop once reading. I read it all in one day and cried so so much. It was beautiful and so well written but also so extremely hard hitting.

Mhairi McFarlane is incredible at describing. I felt immidiately immersed in the story and even though I didn't like all the characters and disliked some decisions they made, they all just felt so real. Like real humans with real problems.

I think the best experience you can get reading this book is knowing nothing about it so I don't want to say anything more. This book made me really emotional and it's a story I doubt I will ever forget.

I can't wait to read more books by the author because everything I've read so far was amazing. Definitely one of my favourite authors now!

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mmalone's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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