Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane

8 reviews

sgrifgirl's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

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.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Dementia, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

Minor: Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

abiigrl's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

chaermander's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

As always, Mhairi McFarlane's writing style is humourous and easy-going (with some lovely vocab), but this book is a little disappointing compared to the others of hers that I've read. Very very little plot - seriously, nothing really happens. The character development starts slow: this took me a while to get into because, if there's no real plot and no real character development, what is there? But it starts to quicken from about 60% in, and there are some nice phrases and interpretations of grief and relationships. This one will be heading to the charity shop, though - not one to reread down the line. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death, Dementia, and Car accident

Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Terminal illness

mishaps's review

sad medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, and Toxic friendship

eligru's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Dementia, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol

beccaruthe's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

mswiatowy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Car accident

Minor: Terminal illness and Death of parent

emmawilkins's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Dementia, and Car accident

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Death of parent