Last Night at the Disco by Lisa Borders

Timy reviews Last Night at the Disco, a standalone fiction novel by Lisa Borders.

An eARC was provided by Regal House Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Possible fit for The Sound of Madness Reading Challenge 2025 prompts:

Joker prompt that goes with anything: Freed from Desire

“I may have ended up more notorious than famous, but make no long before Aura Lockhart began commodifying her feminist rage ballads, I was the best-known person to come out of Keyhole, New Jersey.”

In 1977, twenty-six-year-old Lynda Boyle is desperate for fame and a way out of New Jersey. After failing to make her mark as an East Village poet and rubbing elbows with stars at Studio 54, she discovers a new path to glory through two local musicians, Johnny Engel and Aura Lockhart. Lynda believes she alone can transform them into rock ‘ n’ roll legends. Fast forward four Lynda is in hiding after a series of events force her to flee the tri-state area. When she sees Aura inducting Johnny into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Lynda’ s rage ignites. Determined to reclaim her narrative, she sets out to tell her story and secure her rightful place in music history. If she settles a few other scores along the way, that’ s just a bonus. Last Night at the Disco is a bold exploration of ambition, fame, and the often messy intersections of friendship and betrayal in the music world.

Look, there was no way in hell I wouldn’t pick the theme song of the 1998 film, Studio 54. Come on, that would have been gross misconduct.

I requested Last Night at the Disco on a whim, because 1) I’m a sucker for books with a music theme and 2) my TBR is sorely lacking books with music-related themes. I also have a Daisy Jones & The Six-shaped hole in my heart that needs to be filled. Unfortunately, Last Night at the Disco won’t be that book. And even though I decided to DNF at the 50% mark, I’m still left with a lot of mixed feelings.

But first things first. Last Night at the Disco tells the story of Lynda Boyle in a dual timeline – past and present. In the past, she is 26 years old, works as a teacher in her hometown after she failed to make a living as a poet in New York. That does not stop her from going back to her favorite place, Studio 54, at least once a week, but preferably twice. In the present, she is in her late sixties (I think?) and lives with her husband, hiding their identities, getting into trouble with their neighbours.

The reason Lynda decides to tell her story is that her old student, Aura, who had become a famous musician herself, seemingly erases Lynda’s influence in a speech, regarding a mutual friend of theirs, Johnny Engel (also a famous musician). In typical Lynda fashion, she feels slighted and wants to set the record straight.

Lynda is…an unreliable narrator at best, but she is also very unlikeable. She definitely has a narcissistic streak, as much as she denies it. She is conceited, she is never at fault, she never does anything wrong, but everyone is either jealous of her, wants her, or wrongs her. In her opinion, anyway. Sometimes it’s hard to decide whether she is telling the truth or blowing up her own importance to fan her own ego. Especially at the parts where she hangs out in Studio 54 and makes the reader think how important she is for being a regular (certainly nothing to do with the fact she is not above giving a blowjob to the bouncer if needs must), being friends with the owner, hanging out with celebrities. But these are also the best bits – even if they are only flashes – because Borders manages to give back the atmosphere of this rightly famous establishment. You can certainly imagine the dancing, the endless use of drugs, and the sex. If you’ve ever seen the movie 54, you probably get the idea (although I have to admit, it’s been a very long time since I watched it, so my memories are super fuzzy). At the very least, you should listen to the soundtrack to get in the right mood.

Last Night at the Disco is very easy to read, and I loved the cultural references. And I would have loved reading more about Studio 54 and the budding rock scene Aura and Johnny become a part of. But the thing is, it’s hard to connect with any of the characters if you are forced to see them through the eyes of a character who is way too full of herself. And while you know every coin has two sides, after a point, it becomes a chore to force yourself through the story. Lynda Boyle herself is not an interesting character – unless you are a psychologist, in which case, she is the perfect study material – and as such, it’s hard to get invested in her story, when you’d rather read about any other aspect of the story.

The thing is, Borders captures Lynda’s character perfectly, and I applaud her for choosing her as the narrator of this story. But at the same time, I wish there were at least another POV character, maybe Aura herself, to offer a counterpoint, so we could see the events from both of their perspectives, forcing us, the reader, to decide who was right or wrong. Maybe then I would have been more invested in finding out why Lynda and her husband have to live incognito and what actually happened between the characters.

Last Night at the Disco offers a glimpse into the 70s’ drug, music, and sex-fuelled art scene. If you can get over the MC’s unflattering personality, that is. Sadly, I couldn’t.

Since I DNFd at 50%, I won’t give a rating to Last Night at the Disco.