The Last Laugh by Tracy Bloom – Book Review

The Last Laugh by Tracy Bloom – Book Review

The Last Laugh by tracy bloom

The Last Laugh

Author – Tracy Bloom
Publisher – Bookouture
Pages – 308
Released – 23rd February 2018
Format – ebook
Reviewer – Stacey
Rating – 5 Stars
I received a free copy of this book
Post contains affiliate links.

 

‘I’ve googled it, how to die,’ Jenny says to Maureen. ‘It was full of climbing this mountain, swimming that sea, becoming a marathon runner and raising millions for charity.’

‘Sounds like bloody hard work. You can make it more fun than that surely?’

Jenny discovers her days are numbered at the same time she discovers her husband is having an affair…

Frankly, her life was tough enough already. Two tricky teenagers, her mother’s constant complaints, friends who aren’t up to the job and a career which has been spiralling downwards since she won ‘Sunseeker Tour Rep of the Season’ twenty years ago.

And now this: a cheating husband and a death sentence.

Enough is enough. Jenny vows to keep both catastrophes a secret. She takes her life – and death – into her own hands and decides to live as she did when she was happiest… in 1996. She plans a spectacular 1990s themed party in place of a wake that she herself will attend. But will she be able to keep her secrets for long enough to have the party of a lifetime?

New one review witch 2017

Jenny had just been given the devastating news that she had terminal cancer, and most likely looking at 18 months to 2 years left to live. Having been to the hospital appointment on her own, she decided she needed to talk to her husband and went to visit him at work, where he was working late. Unfortunately, it wasn’t paperwork he was dealing with, although there was a filing cabinet involved, but some leggy blonde woman.

After leaving the office building, unnoticed, realisation set in, she was really dying and her husband was really cheating. Determined to be herself for as long as possible, she decided to forgo chemotherapy and put off telling her family, confiding in only one person, a women at the care home she works at, Maureen. Well, who else could she of opened up to? Cheating hubby, anxious 15 year old son, moody 17 year old daughter, mother who has always seen the worst in her, a brother who was never around, or her dad that had dementia, and this isn’t including ‘friends’ that are so far up their own arses.

She might not of been able to stop the cancer from eventually taking her life, but she could have the best 18 (ish) months that she could have, starting with turning the clocks back to 1996.

Since the death of my dad from cancer in 2016, I’ve avoided books that deal mainly with subjects like this one, terminal cancer and death. However, I’ve been reading Tracy Bloom’s books for many years, so I knew what the writing was going to be like. I also knew that she would take a difficult subject to talk about and make it into something positive and enjoyable, I wasn’t wrong.

In The Last Laugh the plot is a humorous take on one woman coming to terms with her cancer prognosis and deciding to take matters into her own hands. She has nothing left to lose anymore, so with a new haircut, adventurous clothes, a slim body (though not intentional), and a no holds barred attitude, Jenny has returned to how she was when she felt like the happiest woman alive. She doesn’t want people’s sympathy, or their tears. This is her death and she is going to go about it, however the hell she wants to.

I liked Jenny from the beginning. Some people might not understand her attitude of wanting to go to a medical appointment alone, or not telling her family of her diagnosis, but I could understand her perfectly. What I saw was a woman trying to protect those she loved, plus she didn’t have to deal with people looking at her sympathetically or trying to wrap her in cotton wool, she just wanted to be herself for as long as she could. She only chose to tell elderly Maureen as she knew that she wouldn’t sugar coat anything, nor go all soppy on her.

Ms. Bloom has managed to take a hard to deal with subject and whilst keeping the seriousness of it, has written a plot that you can laugh along with. Yes, there are a few ‘gulp’ moments, but for the vast majority of the book I had a smile on my face.

The Last Laugh is a beautiful book that has been exquisitely crafted and one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Reviewed by Stacey


Purchase online from:

Amazon.co.ukAmazon.com


About the Author

Tracy Bloom

I started writing when my cruel, heartless husband ripped me away from my dream job, shopping for rollercoasters for the UK’s leading theme parks, to live in America with a brand new baby and no mates.

In a cunning plan to avoid domestic duties and people who didn’t understand my Derbyshire accent, I wrote NO-ONE EVER HAS SEX ON A TUESDAY. It went on to be successfully published internationally and became an ebook Number 1 Best Seller in the UK in 2013 before being named Best Author Published Read at the Festival of Romance.

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14 Responses

  1. Tin says:

    I love the cover! Plus the main character is surely a strong woman with everything’s happening with her life.

  2. Nikki says:

    I added this to my TBR yesterday!

  3. Great review, thanks. As a mom, entering those very consciously mortal years, this really speaks to me. Definitely TBR, thank you!

  4. DJ Sakata says:

    This looks delightful – I ran to request it on Netgallery

  5. WOW! Sounds like an epic read! Another great review Stacy. (I would totally cry reading this I’m sure LOL)

  6. Cia Black says:

    This books gives me the same vibes as the movie 50/50 starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. While it gives me the same vibes it still seem uniquely different.

  7. Latoya says:

    Okay, this made me do my shocked face. I’m curious now how she copes with all the changes in her life. I’m going to have to check this one out

  8. Gayathri says:

    I love your retelling of the blurb and you are tempting to read this one if I can get my hands on it. Great review

  9. Great review, this is the second review that I heard amazing things about this book. I used to stay clear away from books like this one, because of personal reasons. But I have read quite of few of books like this last year, but now I am not ready too read them again. Because my grandfather just passed away last December because of the complication of cancer he had, so I am not quite ready too read a book about cancer again. But I will one day try to pick this one up for sure because of the great reviews I heard about. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post.

  10. Wonderful review! It’s great when an author can take such a serious topic and craft it into something much lighter. Glad to hear you liked it!

  11. Allie Bock says:

    Thank you for the review. It’s not my type of book but looks interesting.

  12. Megan @ Ginger Mom and the Kindle Quest says:

    I just downloaded this one this weekend and can’t wait to get to it!!! I loved your review, by the way 🙂

  13. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. X

  14. Wynne says:

    This seems like a book I might enjoy. Love your review, will definitely pick this one up soon