Review: About Last Night . . .

Author: Catherine Alliott

Overview from Amazon:

An unexpected windfall. A chance to start over. A handsome man who might be too good to be true…

“A huge treat. Hilarious, yet poignant.” Sophie Kinsella, #1 New York Times bestselling author.

Molly is tired of living her dearly-departed husband’s country “dream life.” So when she inherits a London flat, she jumps at the chance to start fresh in the city. Except the new place already has a tall, dashing roommate with charm to spare…

As she soaks in the sophisticated urban life of restaurants, art galleries, and stylish friends, Molly wonders if something is missing. When a dubious agreement throws her new situation into jeopardy, a face from her past may give her exactly what she needed all along…

Will the bright lights of the city reveal Molly’s own dream once and for all?

About Last Night… is an irresistible, feel-good romantic comedy for women’s fiction lovers. If you like witty humor, madcap chemistry, and writing that entertains your soul, then you’ll love Catherine Alliott’s laugh-out-loud novel.

Personal Review

Molly and David move to their dream family farm in Hertfordshire, UK to escape city life in London in favor of the quieter countryside.  The only thing is, the farm has always been David’s dream and Molly was being supportive. During the beginning of the story, cracks are shown in their marriage and unfortunately there is no time deal with them as David tragically dies leaving Molly alone with the farm and to take care of their older children, Lucy, Minna, and Nico.

As much as Molly tries to keep up with farm life, she finds it very overwhelming on her own. Money is tight and the work itself is too much for one person to handle, especially if your heart is no longer fully in it. Just when she begins to lose hope, she is the recipient of an inheritance from one of David’s relatives.

Molly’s children start off as very self-absorbed and rude to their mother. They don’t get a lot better as the story goes on, which was disappointing. It’s almost like they were treating her as a child at times; it is more acceptable, to me,  to joke around when you have that relationship with your parents, but it’s important to know when to find that line of when to start backing off.  Almost every child does this with their parents at some point (some it’s daily and others it’s rarely), but it shouldn’t (to me) be the only way you interact (especially when your mom is going through a roller coaster of emotions and trying to figure everything out).  The children were relatable though when they got embarrassed by their mom’s antics (who isn’t embarrassed by their parent at one point or another no matter your age).

As a character, Molly wavered between being very bright and strong-willed to being gullible and a push-over without really any meaning behind her change. There just seemed to be she was one person when she was in the country and another person entirely when she was in London. When she returned to the country, she seemed to stay more like her city personality and never quite got back to her original self. It didn’t seem to have anything to do with growth or change for her, but rather based on her romantic status.

Molly has not one, not two, but three love interests (not even including her husband) throughout the story so it was fun to see her try and manage which path she should choose. The three men are nothing alike and it makes it a difficult choice for Molly, given that she’s out of practice with dating since she married David. It was entertaining reading about her interactions with each man as they individually brought something desirable to the table.  Her romantic life plus her overall happiness makes her waver between which direction she wants to choose: should she stay in the country or should she move back permanently to the city?

Overall, the story takes a bit of time to really move the plot forward as there is a lot exposition and set up to truly get to the main plot points. Once you get there though, the flow improves and soon you’re sailing through the slew of emotions and decisions that Molly has to go through.  Even though I had some issues with the book, I enjoyed the story and got through it in a little over a day. This story shifted my attention into the other works this author has to offer and I walked away feeling content with my reading experience. Although it’s not perfect in my opinion (it might be to others), it was a fun read and I would recommend for others to dip into this novel!