Can I have more? This is such a nice flow book. This is the type a book you read on the weekend and enjoy from beginning to end. I just need more of this Author I will be looking for reading in the future.

It's a fauxmance! Laurie and Jamie both need a means to an end, and boy, does this deliver! Really fun read.

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Okay, let’s do this . . . . .

*UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT*

I’m pretty sure most everyone else will like this just fine – or even better than fine – but it was just meh to me. Part of the problem is that I really loved Don’t You Forget About Me by this author (which of course I haven’t written anything about because 2020 is the year of suck and that also apparently includes my read-to-reviewed ratio) so my hopes were quite possibly set too high even before beginning.

To begin with a positive (the only positive for me????), I really dug Laurie’s pals. They reminded me Bridget Jones’ ride or dies and that is never a bad thing. Unfortunately, there were bad things. Normally I’m 100% in on the fake dating trope – buuuuuuuuuuut when it happens in the office???? Notsamuch. Especially when it’s a law firm or some giant corporation. I don’t know how things work across the pond, but I’m telling you where I live you sign papers upon being hired that clearly state there will be no fraternization. And also, while I get that it would be extremely humiliating for your significant other to trade you in for a younger model after 18 years (and knock her up to boot), how in the hell is a new pretend boyfriend determined to be the solution to all your problems? Way to not break that glass ceiling. And once again, CAN. EVERY. FUCKING. BOOK. NOWADAYS. NOT. HAVE. A. SEXUAL. ASSAULT. THROWN. IN. ?!?!?!?!?!

Bottom line, I didn’t like Laurie, I didn’t feel any chemistry between she and Jamie and tired trope is sometimes tired. YMMV.

When Laurie’s boyfriend of almost two decades ends their relationship, she’s left adrift. Being dumped after 18 years is bad enough, but as they also work in the same law firm they also have to see each other everyday. So, when her ex gets his new girlfriend of only three months pregnant she is left reeling. But, a plan if formed when she gets stuck in a lift with the office playboy; a fake relationship between them, to include splashing of photos on social media and fake dates. She will stop being pitied in the office gossip and show her ex exactly what he’s missing and he gets a veneer of respectability to help him in an upcoming promotion. But, soon it becomes hard to distinguish where the “fake” in the relationship ends and the real feelings begin.

I read my first Mhairi McFarlane book last year and it become one of my best of 2019, so I was really excited to dive on to her 2020 release. I was not disappointed. McFarlane has such an engaging writing style, it completely envelops you into Laurie’s world and has you happily devouring the pages. Needless to say, I think this one is going to be be a best of 2020.

I recently read Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams which was a romance that also tried to tackle a heavy subject matter; sexual harassment. For me, it didn’t do this very successfully, I felt like I was being preached at and told what was the acceptable opinion. Not that I disagreed, I just hated being spoke down to, which is how I felt. However, in If I Never Met You, I felt like McFarlane addressed heavy subjects like misogyny and racism with a much lighter, but no less impactful, touch.

But, this book may not be for everyone, although it is a contemporary romance, it has a HEA, it also has the feel of a women’s fiction novel. This book was very much about Laurie’s journey which just so happens to have a romance along the way. After being in a relationship with someone since her first week in University, Laurie is trying to find her new identity as an individual rather than as the second half of a couple. This is at times funny, Laurie is smart and witty and I loved seeing her gain confidence, and sad as Laurie has to face the rejection of the man she has loved for almost 20 years.

But, lets talk romance. Jamie, the office player and second half of the fake relationship Laurie embarks on, turns out to be so much more than I expected. At first, I thought he would just be a sexy, but fairly two dimensional prop in Laurie’s journey, however, he really developed into much more. As their friendship develops we get to see that “playboy Jamie” isn’t perhaps the man we thought he was, and that everyone else’s expectations fueled by malicious office gossip has painted him in an unfair light. The relationship between them developed really naturally and seeing them both discover what was under the surface was a delight.

This wasn’t the only important relationship in this book though. I recently listened to an episode of the Fated Mates podcast regarding female friendship in romance books. If you haven’t listened to Fated Mates it is a podcast hosted by author Sarah McLean and blogger Jen from Jen Reads Romance all about romance books. This book reminded me of that episode, in a nutshell, women aren’t islands and seeing friendships between women is important. This book compounds that idea and the relationship between Laurie and her best friend Emily was just as important and acknowledged as such, as the romantic relationship.

This book utilises a lot of tropes; fake relationship, friends to lovers, office romance, however, it manages to blend them together in an organic way to create a delightful experience. If I Never Met You was funny and insightful and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Everything was going great for Laurie. She’s 36, she’s a lawyer with a great job, and she has a long term boyfriend, that’s she’s been with 18 years, and plans to have a baby with him. Then he decides he doesn’t want kids, or to be with her, and leaves. To make it even worse, they work together still and he announces shortly after that he has a new girlfriend who is pregnant! Laurie decides to start a fake relationship with Jamie, a playboy at the law firm, so that she can make Dan see what he was missing.

I thought this was a really cute book. I really enjoyed the characters in the book. I thought there were times they were really amusing. I thought the book had a lot more depth to it, then it just being a romance book. There was heartbreak, friendship and self discovery in this book. I also listened to it on audio and loved the British accents! There are a few British terms/slang throughout the book. Overall, I would recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

When Laurie, serial monogamist, crosses paths with Jamie, resident playboy, humor is inevitable, right? Combine that with a POC protagonist and England, what else could a girl ask for.

I felt very connected to Laurie very early in the story. Her romantic history spoke to aspects of my past that I hadn’t thought about in a long time. This is a slow burn novel for sure and the focus is really the relationship rather than the physical aspects. There were times I wanted to shake Laurie and tell her how blind she was, while also being right there with her. There is so much humor in this book, that I actually laughed out loud a few times. In contrast to that, there are some heavy topics that are addressed and I cried once too. This book was everything I hoped it would be and more.

This was a cute, straight-forward contemporary rom-com that I read through rather quickly. It hit all the right notes. I recommend if you like this type of story.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I enjoyed If I Never Met You, though the romance was a bit of a reach for me, and it was definitely not one of the most memorable books I read this year.

I'm a sucker for a fake boyfriend AU. I thought the romance progressed pretty naturally but I was especially here for the story of Laurie's failed long term relationship. It really resonated with me.

Laurie seems to have everything together. Great career, stable relationship, perfectly cozy house. When her fiancé dumps her abruptly and she still has to see him at work every day, she surprises herself by accepting an unusual proposal from a coworker.

Jamie is determined to make partner, and the main thing standing in his way is his reputation as a ladies’ man. He decides the best remedy in a hurry is to fake a very public relationship. And since Laurie is reeling from her humiliating breakup and looking for a little vindication, she agrees that they should pretend to date. But as always happens in these cases (don’t characters in rom-coms ever watch or read rom-coms?), the line between fake and real starts to get very blurry.

This was funny and also heartbreaking. The first third of the book is mostly Laurie being sad after her relationship ends, and at times I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep reading. But I’m glad I pushed through, because I grew to really like Jamie and the whole cast of supporting characters. The conclusion is that much more satisfying for having suffered through heartache with Laurie to begin with.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review.

I really enjoyed this heartfelt book and the whole fake dating trope on this one! The writing reminds me of Sophie Kinsella, easy and light read. The characters were relatable, realistic and definitely likeable which made this read even more enjoyable. I especially loved Laurie’s character and admired her bravery so much. The chemistry was on point and the whole thing was just executed well. I thought the ending was very sweet and I’m really happy with it. Would definitely be recommending this book to friends who are going through some challenging stuff in life.

Alright, I had mixed feelings. I was tempted to do four stars because the bulk of the story was great great great, but I feel like the chemistry between the two main characters just didn't merit the ending. Obviously so many spoilers abound: I just didn't feel like this was capital L love for either of them, especially because Laurie spent legitimately the entire novel trying to get over Dan. He was the great love of her life and in four months after he broke up with her she's suddenly in love enough to get married to someone else? It just didn't feel like that between her and Jamie. It felt like the beginning of something, not the final chapter of them falling in love. They were together for one weekend, get back together, and then decide to get married? Not sold. So it was cute, but not 100% my thing.

The blurb says: "When her partner of over a decade suddenly ends things, Laurie is left reeling—not only because they work at the same law firm and she has to see him every day. Her once perfect life is in shambles and the thought of dating again in the age of Tinder is nothing short of horrifying. When news of her ex’s pregnant girlfriend hits the office grapevine, taking the humiliation lying down is not an option. Then a chance encounter in a broken-down elevator with the office playboy opens up a new possibility."

I made it a quarter of the way through the book and still didn't get to the chance encounter in a broken-down elevator part that happens in sentence 4 of the back cover blurb. Is it really a romance if the two leads don't even have any meaningful interaction in the first 25% of the book?

DNF because I was tired of reading a book about Laurie going through the stages of grieving over her ex when I was EXPECTING a romance.

DNF at 27%

Decided to put this one down for two main reasons. 1.) The entirety of what I read only covered the break-up of our MC with her ex-boyfriend. From where I left off the love interest was just formally introduced. That sort of pacing if a huge no for me. I can slightly understand the reasoning, but it just didn't work too well for me. 2.) The main reason I DNF... The idea of a white woman writing about Black issues in the way McFarlane did (the MC is Black) rubbed me in every wrong way possible. Making the characters BIPOC is one thing, but going out of your way to discuss issues you have no idea about is a whole other. I just felt entirely uncomfortable about this representation. Ew. Ew. Ew.

*Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This is more of a 3.5, but it didn't quite reach 4 star status. Thus it gets a three. This was cute. I liked Laurie and her journey of trying to move on from an 18 year relationship. I like the love interest, Jamie. My biggest criticism is that I wanted more whooing I suppose between Laurie and Jamie. For most of the book they say they are friends and then they fall for each other. It's fine for how it goes, but I think that in order for it to be more believable for me they needed more time together. Also, there's that obligatory hitch in the road towards end where there's some sort of miscommunication and the relationship seems like it's in jeopardy. I found it to be a little silly and thin veiled as to why they decided to separate, but that's just me. All in all a nice fun read.

3.75 stars
I listened to a finished audiobook copy.

Laurie has been broken up with her boyfriend of over a decade. The worst part is is that they work for the same company, have the same group of friends, and must still have to be around each other on a regular basis. And while he was able to move on immediately, she has not been. Laurie is stuck trying to figure out what to do now that the life she had planned is gone. She's in her mid-30s and must now figure out everything again on her own for the first time in years.

Jamie is the carefree guy in the office that everyone says is a bit of a player. But his player status isn't real, and instead, he's mostly the opposite of what all the rumors about him have been. He's kind, respectful and just wants to do everything possible in order to make up for stuff that happened when he was a little kid. He feels guilt for what happened and has now used an aloof attitude to hide that guilt, all while trying to make his parents proud and work up the corporate ladder. Now though he is stuck on the corporate ladder due to not having a serious girlfriend.

Jamie and Laurie make the decision to fake date in order to both get what they want. For Laurie, that's to rub it in her ex's face that she has moved on from him and to try and possibly get him back, while Jamie just wants a promotion that he can't do with his current status as a player.
Overall I really enjoyed this story. Laurie was a character I felt for and one that I wanted to become successful and see her worth. Jamie helped make that possible from the beginning. He saw her as more than just somebody who could help her get the promotion he wanted. Jamie saw Laurie as the badass woman that she is and that her skills as a Lawyer were extremely valuable. Did they both take advantage of the situations they were in too be able to make the fake relationship work.

Kicking myself in the butt for not reading this sooner. I really enjoyed this romance book. It was funny, heartbreaking, and hopeful. The relationships here felt so real because of the character flaws and growth. Definitely a must pick up for romance lovers.

I tried reading this book multiple times but never warmed up to the characters or the story so I gave up at about 30% into the book.

If you read her other book “ you had me at hello” which was a wonderful five star book. This one came up a little short maybe a three star. I love all the British lingo, of course. The concept of the fauxmance was also great. It just didn’t come together as the feelings being real and other small things. Humorous.