Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Du hast mir gerade noch gefehlt by Mhairi McFarlane

94 reviews

adiloretto's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-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

5.0

"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."

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Chronic illness and Drug use

erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad fast-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

4.75

I loved this story. Heart-wrenching, funny, poignant, and desperately sad. I cried multiple times and thoroughly highlighted passages. The characters felt so textured and the emotions they felt and reactions they had seemed realistic and meaningful. I loved all the scenes with the core friend group—their friendship felt so real and their dynamic so lived-in. I definitely want to read more from this author. 

Read if you like emotional, funny, poignant stories about love and friendship and growing up in adulthood. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, Car accident, and Death of parent

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

capmorrow's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Dementia, and Grief

marycage's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Infidelity

gabrielastbr's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Car accident, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

k8lynn's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

byrdy's review against another edition

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

4.25

Read with caution if you are in a vulnerable emotional state or have recently experienced loss. This book looks like a rom-com from the cover but it is really about grief. I personally love McFarlane's ability to explore difficult subject matter and still have light-hearted moments.  If you like dramedies, this book is for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, and Car accident

Minor: Dementia and Toxic friendship

There is cheating mentioned if that is a trigger

anneroza's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Abandonment

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

cozycritiques's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders