Honestly, I think I went through every emotion imaginable reading this book! This book gave me all the feels, and it was all thanks to Laurie's character/journey of discovery (so to speak). While I would consider this book to be a rom-com, it's so much more than that. It's relatable on so many levels (hence the emotional roller coaster), and I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. This is the first book I've ever read by Mhairi McFarlane...the first of (I'm sure) many more!

This is only my second novel by Mhairi McFarlane, and it most certainly will not be my last.
This book incorporates one of my favorite tropes, fake dating, and did so flawlessly. I absolutely loved Laurie and Jamie together as they got to know one another. I appreciated their romance as smart, accomplished adults - it never felt cheap or fake. They dealt with real issues and approached their friendship (and romance) in a mature way that you don't always find in a novel.
The portrayal of Laurie felt very real to me, as she grieved the loss of her 18yr relationship and discovered herself again. I feel like we spend a lot of time with just Laurie at the beginning of the book, and while it set up the stage nicely, it did feel a bit slow after a while. But once Jamie came into the picture, I was fully invested in their story.
I recommend this book if you enjoy smart, heartfelt romances about real women finding themselves and finding love.

If I never met you was actually the first book I read by this author. I think I had a hard time getting into this book when I first got it so I put it down for a few months and finally got back into it in February.

I really liked the main character, I thought she had a good attitude about life despite what had happened to her. I liked the ending how there was some redemption, but I don’t want to spoil the book too much by talking about what happened here.

I don’t think I am a fan of the fake dating relationships in adult romance fiction, that seems like that would be best left in the young adult genre. The plot wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t my favorite plot for this genre.

This book was still written well and I liked the characters. I think readers will definitely enjoy it. I always love it when covers are purple, they always draw me in since purple is my favorite color. This was a three star rating. This means it was still good, but had potential to be better. A three star rating does not mean the book was bad.

This was given to me by Netgalley and the publishers. This had no impact on my thoughts, my thoughts are my own. Thank you for giving me the chance to read it!

Okay what a great book. I really liked the plot from the beginning really interesting and very different. When I first started the book I was a little thrown because I didn't realize it was set in England and some of the slang used so I had to adjust a little. Though honestly I enjoyed the fact that it was in England I tend to find that more of an interesting setting than somewhere in the US. The beginning was a bit confusing because there were a lot of names and things happening but I did like that you as a reader are completely thrown into the story line. Especially when she comes home to Dan and they have their conversation. Okay I must say that I love a fake relationship that becomes real storyline so this was completely up my alley. Especially when they have to go visit his parents. I have to say that Mhairi McFarlane is such a great writer and she does such a great job of showing what's happening with Jamie and everything through Laurie's eyes. I also thought it was an interesting way of writing to be third person but limited knowledge through Laurie. Also, I think this book does a great job at leaving no stone unturned, every conflict that was opened by the end was concluded. I just have to say that Jamie is soooooo cute and sweet and I just really liked them together in general. My only issue with this book was that I felt like pieces of it moved too slow, like there were pieces that could have been shorter or not as much time spent in Laurie's head. Okay one last tiny issue, I wish there had been an epilogue because there were a couple things that I wish had been told after.

This is my first book by Ms. McFarlane and it won’t be my last. I have been in somewhat of a ‘book funk’ for a while and for someone that reads non-stop, that’s been disconcerting. The title is an interesting one that can be taken in both a positive and negative way.

I immediately connected with Laurie with her intelligence, her reputation at the law firm, and her ability to understand racism but still make a life for herself. She has been with her boyfriend for 18 years, knows that her biological clock is ticking and wants a baby. Unfortunately, she thought of Dan as her soul mate and he tells her he doesn’t want a baby with her and is leaving. Laurie was left wondering why as there didn’t seem to be an obvious reason. When she learns that Dan is dating and the woman is pregnant, she’s hurt but she also gets mad. She starts searching for clues and finds that her boyfriend isn’t the man she thought he was. And from my own experiences, how do you ever trust again?

Since she works in the same law firm as Dan, she’s not quite ready for the stares, questions or gossip. As she’s leaving work late one evening, she’s on the elevator with Jamie, who has a reputation as a womanizer. As they spend some time together and start to know more about each other, Jamie comes up with the idea that they should have a fake romance – to make Dan jealous and to make Jamie look more settled for the partnership he craves.

This story has so many tropes between long time lovers and unfaithfulness, office politics, fake romance, great friends, family issues, major makeover, and more so you would think this would be a convoluted read. Ms. McFarlane expertly weaves heartache, lost dreams, passion for work, fake romance that starts to become more, childhood fears and losses, and so much more into an compelling story. I felt the gamut of emotions from aggravation, heartbreak, and hope for the future, along with so much laughter. Laurie’s friends and a co-worker brought an extra depth to the story. I could write about so many parts of this story I enjoyed it so much and I think I highlighted at least a third of the book!

As Jamie shares some of his vulnerabilities, Laurie has such a magical touch in saying just the right thing to make him look at things differently and feel better. Laurie is also searching her heart and mind and realizing what she thought she found in Dan wasn’t a true partnership. I loved that she realizes she’s stronger than she thinks.

I loved this story, but it didn’t have an epilogue and I was left wanting to know more about the characters and their lives.

I look forward to reading more of Ms. McFarlane’s work. Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this new work.

Here’s a great example of a book just not being for me. I had a hard time getting interested in the story through the first 1/3 because of the British slang and cultural references — for the most part I figured out the slang from the context and I kinda learned to coast by the references — but when the main plot of the fake relationship started I thought maybe I’d get hooked more. Then in one chapter I felt overwhelmed by the amount of slut shaming and wondered how much I’d missed in previous chapters. Paired with the shaming was a major “holy than thou” attitude from the female main character but then she would get defensive of the women when the “womanizing” man started to act like she expected him to. It was at this point I decided to DNF it. Purely out of curiosity, not for interest in the story, I decided to skim a couple chapters and read the end to see if it would be worth be going back and trying to finish it — however, my skimming felt like it was enough by the time I read the final chapter and I didn’t really feel like I’d missed much. I really enjoy a good fake relationship trope but this one just wasn’t one for me.

I adored this. Easily the best rom com I’ve read in ages. Fake relationships are my fave and this one as a delicious slow burn of tension with a heroine who is clueless that the hero is falling for her. I wanted them to figure it out SO badly and loved every minute of it.

The MCs are both serious people with challenges in their family relationships that slowly come out, and their personal growth kept this from feeling too fluffy.


Also, lawyerly competence porn, many takedowns of misogyny, and loving friendships. Even though the plot is pretty typical, break-up of a long-term relationship, Dickish ex, fake relationship to make him jealous, workplace drama...I was completely sucked in by the writing. My only problem was pacing in the first half, the love story was very compelling so I was grumpy about the occasional backstory digressions.

I am scared you guys. Really and truly scared. This is the 9th book that I have read this year and the 8th book that I have pretty much been head over heels for. Does this mean that I am destined to spend the latter 6 months of the year reading trash books?

You already know the formula for If I Never Met You , fake office romance to make the ex jealous or to get that long awaited promotion, loads of chemistry between the two parties and suddenly this “fake” romance feels all too real. Yes, you know the drill. What you don’t know is just how compulsively readable If I Never Met You is. Mahairi McFarlane’s writing style may be my spirit animal because I absolutely did not want to put this book down.

My first thought when I picked this book up was, “wow, 432 pages, this is pretty long for a rom-com” but at about the 20% mark it was clear why. McFarlane did not skimp on Laurie, our heroine’s, backstory. Before we even got to the heart of the actual story I was completely sucked into Laurie’s life and her heartbreak which in turn made me more invested in the story.

When Office lothario, Jamie and office good girl Laurie begin a whirlwind romance the entire office is abuzz but no one is more shocked than Laurie’s ex of nearly two decades, Dan. But now that Dan has moved on with another woman he has no right to any opinion on this budding relationship, but that doesn’t stop the entire office from offering up their very unsolicited opinions on the unexpected romance. Which is exactly what Laurie and Jamie wanted, or so they thought. For Jamie this is a much needed reputation repair in the eyes of his bosses and for Laurie the buzz is a great way to get back at Dan. Win, win. Until things get complicated that is.

With all of that said I was back and forth between giving If I Never Met You 4 or 5 stars but ultimately I settled on 4 because there were a couple nagging issues that in the end I couldn’t move past. My first minor issue is that (and I know we just did this whole spiel with American Dirt) McFarlane is a white woman writing from the perspective of a black woman. Normally I don’t mind this terribly if done well, and for the most part it was done well here. However, there were a few areas in which it didn’t quite sit well with me, namely the section where Laurie had to get her hair done. The topic of black hair was briefly discussed when her white BFF suggests that Laurie go to her white hairdresser because she “loves your sort of hair” Laurie then goes to said hairdresser who again effused about how black hair is her favorite type of hair. Wish I knew how to insert GIFS into my reviews because there are many that would fit here, feel free to use your imagination. My second minor issue was how in these fake relationship scenarios the woman can never imagine how this handsome man could ever be interested plain ol’ her even though everyone else can see that she is a knockout. My third not quite as minor issue which is what stopped me from giving the full five stars is that I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I completely fell head over heels for Jamie and Laurie and I felt that their romance deserved better than those last 50 pages. I wanted more, I wanted deeper, I wanted unexpected.

Please don’t let my last paragraph, however, deter you from reading this overall completely charming book that I adored 3/4 of and liked 1/4 of.

I really liked this one. It was a funny and romantic read and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good RomCom.

While I did t understand all of the British terminology I did love the fake romance trope. Both the hero and heroine were two people I wanted to cheer for! Bravo to the author for this story!

Thanks to NetGalley for making the ARC available to me.

While somewhat predictable, this book is still a very enjoyable read. Both of the primary protagonists have enough interesting quirks to their pasts (and presents) to keep me reading the book. A fair amount of thought was put into what a woman (non-caucasian) deals with in a very male dominated white collar profession. I was sorry that some of minor villains didn't get quite the comeuppance that I would have liked to see them receive, but it was a very satisfying read nonetheless.

I really wanted to like this book. But honestly, this is the second Mhairi McFarlane book I have read and I struggle to connect with the characters at all. It could be the style of her writing or something like that. The plot is always fun but I just wished I could relate or find something in these people that I cared for. Sorry - :( I feel like this is the unpopular opinion.

I've read all of Mhairi McFarlane's books and I think this one may be my favorite. I really enjoyed the, although predictable, plot because the journey to get to the inevitable conclusion was so well done. The characters had great development and were easily related to. I also really appreciated the special nuance given to the main character as a person of color and a woman. I found her everyday struggles important to hear and well represented through her vantage point. There was a little more colorful language than I prefer, but it did not detract overall from the story for me.

I tried several times to get into this story, but I just couldn’t. In a romance, I expect the main characters to spend a lot of time together on the page. But a quarter through this book the heroine has spent more time preoccupied with her now-failed previous relationship and all we know about the supposed new love interest is that he’s a horn dog. As a reader, I don’t care about her ex this much and it feels like a waste of energy to spend so much time on it. Where’s the romance? It doesn’t help that I have no interest to learn more about any of the characters.

I also have some concerns that the heroine is not-white written by a white author and there are a few things that feel diversity check-boxy to me. Like it was written with a white heroine and then someone said, “Hey, what if she were a different race?” And switched it around and added a couple of scenes to make it clear we’re aware of the “race issue.” That’s not what readers mean when we ask for more diversity in romance.

All this combined led to me not finishing the book. I’m protective of my reading time and this one didn’t make the cut.

Overlong. 432 pages of nothing original. The first third of the book was just over explaining the whole ex of 18 years situation. This book should have either been solely about that or the fauxmance. Not both. I also found Laurie truly annoying and really didn't root for her at all.

Unfortunately this just didn’t work for me. The premise was good, but it took entirely too long to explain why the ex-boyfriend is a douche.

This is the first book I've read by Mhairi McFarlane and I loved it. Laurie and Jamie were such an unlikely couple. Although they casually knew each other at the office, they most likely never would have gotten past a superficial acquaintance, (especially since Laurie did not have a favorable opinion of Jamie due to office gossip), if they hadn't gotten trapped in an elevator together on a Friday night for well over an hour and were therefore forced to actually converse. In addition, if Laurie hadn't been coming off the breakup of an 18 year (!) relationship, they never would have noticed each other. Just goes to show that timing really is everything in romance.

I love a good slow burn romance as opposed to the usual insta-lust, and this was a slow burn done perfectly. Initially, the MCs had no intention of making their fake relationship real, however, as they slowly got to know each other and got past each other's surface layers, their friendship and attraction grew, until it seemed inevitable that they would give in to their growing attraction. It was also lovely to see Jamie support Laurie and push back against the rather toxic, gossipy fishbowl that was their office. Laurie's previous partner had never supported her in her personal or professional life and it was so great to watch her regain her own ambition and agency after (voluntarily) subsuming her own desires to those of her jack*ss ex-BF. Laurie's growth in her personal and professional life was just as much a part of the story as the romance was. Overall, I can't think of anything I didn't like, except for the fight followed by the inevitable forgiveness at the end of the book which seemed rather abrupt, especially given the prior slow build-up. However, that was a minor niggle to a lovely romance.

Well this surprised me. First of all, I hadn't been immersed in a book like that in a very long time. I just stayed up all night reading and went to sleep at 7am. I had such a great time! It was a very light and interesting read.
It follows Laurie who has been in a loving relationship for 18 years only to find out the love of her life is actually a bit of an asshole and suddenly wants to break things off with no previous warning (yeah). Seriously, I wanted to throw my phone against a wall.
To get back at him she gets in an arragenment with another lawyer at their firm to pretend to be her boyfriend, and that's when things get interesting.
I love how the author really takes the time to explore the nuances of it all, Laurie's feelings about the whole situation, and to dig deep into the reasons for things happening the way they did. It's not one of those books where "Oh my god they have found themselves in a situation they have to fake date" but it makes no sense and you know the author just wanted to write a fake dating au but took no time to develop the plot. That's what makes this book unique in my opinion. The characters are complex and Mhairi McFarlane isn't afraid to show that.
I also really liked the very feminist aspect. Although Laurie's thoughts and treatment of a few women had me rolling my eyes, I feel like she had a character development and its something that's acknowledged at the end.
The romance, obviously, was very cute. It took it's time to develop as Laurie was still trying to suppress her traumas regarding her last and only relationship, her fears didn't magically disappeared because she was in love. It happened in the perfect timing and it had me smiling to myself.
I also love her friendship with Emily. Sisterhood at it's finest and I hope we get to see Emily have her own book. Overall it was a very fun, British read. Highly recommend.

If I Never Met You was a witty, romantic read, and I really enjoyed it! I loved the exploration of such a strong female lead, and how she navigated misogynistic work environments and relationships. I felt like this feminist side of the story was one of the strongest parts of the story. I didn't always loved the main character's dismissive views and comments towards other women, but for the most part really liked it. I also loved the main romance. It was really sweet and steamy, and the representation of a mixed race couple, and of a powerful woman being appreciated for her intellect and wit was great.

Light escapism with substance! Loved it. Successful lawyer Laurie is blindsided when her partner of 18 years walks out for time to evaluate his life, soon telling her that his new girlfriend is pregnant. Laurie agrees to enter a fake relationship with rakish co-worker Jamie Carter to give him a more sterling reputation and to give her a chance for revenge. Plans go awry. There was some British slang that had me befuddled, but I enjoyed the author's take on a competitive, misogynistic and highly toxic work environment, the friendship between Laurie and Emily and Jamie and Hattie, Laurie's hilarious friend and co-worker Bharat, dating in a social media world, and the issues of being biracial (Laurie).