Solid 3.5. But before I say anything: this is NOT a romance book… that being said, I still very much enjoyed it. I would categorize this as women’s fiction rather than romance seeing as there’s only a few scenes where the two love interests are actually speaking to each other. That being said, romance is a strong subplot.

This book has some very strong female characters and mainly deals with the cycle of emotionally abusive relationships. I thought it was done very well and I enjoyed Harriett’s character. All in all, I liked the writing style of this as well as the story/message, I just wouldn’t pick it up if you specifically want a romance heavy book (which seems likely given the synopsis and the title, which are slightly misleading). In the end it didn’t bother me though, and I had a good time!

In typical Mhari McFarlane fashion, Mad About You is a hilarious story about a slightly down-on-her-luck everyday woman in the UK who finds herself and love over the course of the novel. This book in particular was multi-layered, dealing with topics such as infidelity, gaslighting, and physical violence. In my opinion, this book falls more into the Women's Fiction category than the Romance category as the romance is very very light in the first 2/3 of the book. However, I still enjoyed the book a good deal.

TW for domestic emotional abuse and internet bullying.

I don't know how much longer I can deal with McFarlane's literary with (very) low steam romances. Her normally laser-focused humor and detailed description of her characters' lives didn't help me truly connect with the characters I needed to connect with.
This isn't really a romance, as two of Harriet's exes crowd out Cal for competition, in page count and everyone's headspace. It looks like the two exes are part of a blame-the-victim(?) tack the story takes, which I'm sure doesn't make those readers who've experienced emotional abuse feel good.
Because I felt no emotional connection to Cal and Harriet, as well as not feeling anything between each other (because Cal wasn't given the time), the standard "only a first kiss and fade-to-black sex at the 96% mark" was sort of insult to injury. This book is better than McFarlane's "Just Last Night," but that's damning with faint praise.

“Mad About You” makes you think about the diverse ways to be Mad: angry, crazy happy, etc. Just browse a thesaurus and view all the different words. Mhairi McFarlane engages the protagonist and the reader in many of these differing feelings. And gives us a happy conclusion, with laughs along the way. This is a novel about female solidarity, standing against a serial domestic abuser and gas lighter. It is a novel about finally standing up to a bully, regaining your self-esteem and examining female friendship. And you thought you were picking up a typical romantic comedy!

After suffering from some weird rare secondary infection and then mono immediately after that, I have finally finished this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC.

This was truly a lovely read. It wasn’t at all the rom-com I was expecting and this was my first time reading the author. The writing style was smooth and easy to follow, which I appreciated.

When I say it wasn’t the rom-com I was expecting, I mean this was more a story about a girl and her journey of healing. Harriet’s been through a lot, and she goes through a lot more—but there is true love in the end.

I expected to be disappointed at the lack of romance, but the story itself was so good, I wasn’t bothered at all. I love empowering stories about women taking control of their lives. This was certainly that!

However, definite trigger warnings for emotional abuse & narcissism.

All in all, I enjoyed this!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mhairi McFarlane is brilliant at conveying an interesting and heartfelt arc for her characters as well as a charming love story. The romance in this book is relatively small compared to the growth the main character Harriet goes through, but I enjoyed the romance all the same. The connection Harriet and Cal have felt so genuine and warm and charming.

This book is about traumatic pasts, letting go and moving forward more than just two people falling in love. I felt for Harriet throughout so much of this book. Her internal struggles with coming to terms with past abusive relationships, while still hoping to be able to let good people into her life, hits home.

It is heavy read at moments because of emotional abuse, gaslighting, and toxic behavior from exes and family, so caution ahead if this might be triggering.

I absolutely loved this book. Mhairi MacFarlane is one of my all time favorite authors and this book is her at her best. Every one of Mhairi's books is a love story, but not really a romance novel. In basically every one of her books, the characters grow and develop and battle inner demons and finally realize that they are worthy of the love of the wonderful person who has been beside them all along. This book is no different, and has deep and impactful examination of the long term impacts of gaslighting and emotional abuse and how that can shape a person and their ability to love and trust. All of this great character development is, as always, alongside hilarious and deeply British dialogue. Cannot recommend enough.

Mhairi McFarlane is one of my automatic buy authors. All of her books are full of people who fight through big bad life troubles and find themselves in the end, There is also a healthy dose of great friends and loves. Mad About You is no exception.

Harriet has just ended a relationship and needs a new place to stay ASAP. She moves in, sight unseen, with a landlord named Cal. Of course Cal is good looking and Gaston charming, but she soon finds out that she knows him as a groom who left the bride at the alter of a wedding Harriet was photographing. This, and Harriet’s own past come out in a slow burn romance complete with a great cast of friends and foes.

Highly recommend all of MM’s books, especially if you like Jill Mansell or Beth O’Leary.

4.5 stars

Another winning romcom with serious overtones from Mhairi McFarlane. Honestly, I had been saving this review copy for a while because I knew I was going to love it but after a couple of so so novels I was ready for the big one and it didn’t disappoint though at first I thought it was going to.

Hannah Hatley is a wedding photographer who has come across it all, including a runaway groom - no wonder she doesn’t want to get married. She has been involved with Jon for two years and though she’s had some niggling doubts it’s only when he goes down on one knee in front of his family that she realizes it’s over. She hastily moves out of his house into a room in a home owned by the dishy Cal Clarke. But when she is working a wedding she is horrified to recognize the best man and it rips open her past and her future.

On the com side, Ms McFarlane never lets me down. Her specificity and cultural references feel like they are aimed just at me, whether it’s a cooking simile or a Game of Thrones analogy. I would love to have the author as the charming and witty friend I meet on Thursday nights in my local wine bar where we snort-laugh putting our lives and the world to rights.

On the rom side, I was initially a little doubtful. It seemed very genre-conventional with Cal, our swoony, kind, and funny hero coming straight from central casting, complete with laser-like pale green eyes. But really this is just a Trojan horse for a thoughtful and powerful skewering of how some men manipulate and emotionally abuse their partners and a celebration of the power of female friendship. This is something that the author has tackled in previous novels but takes much more of a central role.

Ms McFarlane's genius is creating credible characters that we care about within the confines of a romcom. Harriet is the typical attractive and doesn’t really think about it protagonist but her past in an emotionally abusive relationship and her decision to tackle this head on breathes real life into her and she busts out of the genre. Other characters, though all genre familiar are top-notch versions of their types: dumped boyfriend Jon and his GoT awful family; Harriet’s besties Lorna and Roxanne; Cal’s wingman Sam; even Cal himself and his quietly awful parents.

I appreciate that the jaunty block-colored cover is a code for romcom and could put many potential readers off - I say, read it on your Kindle so no-one can see that aqua and enjoy!

Thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

I so wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it just didn’t hit home for me. I kept putting it down and coming back to it hoping for more. It was marketed as a romance, but there were really only two chapters of the main characters coming together and the rest of the book was focused on the “other woman” revenge. Now don’t get me wrong, emotional abuse is very real and something I actually appreciated having a place in a romance novel to provide depth. However, while the sentiment was there, there was just something missing. Maybe it was the characters I couldn’t connect with, but I would have liked more romance and using the emotional abuse as a plot point rather than the whole plot. From the summary, I thought it would have been about Cal and Harriet falling in love in the forced proximity trope, but it was more focused on her past. I know I’m in the minority here, so this truly might be the book for you, it just wasn’t for me.

Mad About You

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romance
Published: 2022
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5
Recommended: Yes!

I was so blown away by this book. While I went into the story expecting a romance, this book really delivered exactly what I needed right now–an empowering story about strong women. I was so impressed by this story and I will be quick to read more books by this author.

I give this book 4.5 stars. I expected this to be a typical romcom but this was not it. This was a complex book.

We open with Harriet photographing a wedding. The groom does a runaway. From there, we are brought to present day. Harriet was taken to a family event by her current beau. Her beau does something that leads to their breakup. Needing a room, we find Harriet renting a room from Cal. From there, we see Harriet navigate relationships.

This book is about relationships and how each of your relationships ripple into other relationships in your life.

I highly recommend this book—especially if you like reading about the inter dynamics of relationships. Not only romantically but also friendships.

This book was hilariously entertaining, while also focusing on some incredibly serious topics such as emotional abuse and destructive relationships. The world feels so authentic - the characters are witty and clever and flawed all at once. There's a really sweet romance, but at its core, this book is about healing from an abusive relationship, and women supporting other women. I think this was a very well-written book and I hope Harriet's story touches every reader and tugs on their heartstrings like it did mine.

One book I can't help but think of as somewhat similar is The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary - both include two strangers sharing a place, and both touch on abusive relationships. They are also both witty and ultimately, heartwarming, so if you're a fan of Beth O'Leary, I think you'd enjoy Mad About You as well.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a digital review copy of this book via NetGalley!

I think McFarlane is underhyped among contemporary romance popularity contests because of Christina Lauren and Emily Henry, but this is another very good romance from her!

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Publication: August 9, 2022

This is my first book by McFarlane and I was on the fence. The cover and description is misleading which I think is what frustrated me. I was looking for a rom-com with hilarious circumstances. This book went a more heavier route with Harriet's story. I would classify this book more as a women's fiction rather than rom-com.

I did enjoy reading about Harriet's past relationships and the topic of domestic/gaslighter abuse. However, I expected something completely different when I looked into the book. I also personally struggled with the flow of the writing. The writing itself was easy to read but the flow felt choppy in some places but then slow and dragging in others.

I do want to read some of McFarlane's other books even though this book and I didn't quite jive the way I wanted to.

Overall, this book would be perfect for fans of women's fiction, MC growth, Colleen Hoover type stories

Really cute beach read! Harriet receives a surprise proposal from her boyfriend of a few years (in front of his family!)....sounds cute, except she doesn't want to get married and he knew this. She soon finds herself single and needing a place to rent. The rest is history :) I highly recommend for a quick read.

3.5 stars.

I am an MM stan but for some reason this one just didn’t do it for me. There was so much of Harriet dealing with her exes that we didn’t get to see the relationship between her and Cal blossom the way it should. Definitely very toned down on the romance and more about addressing past trauma and the healing process that comes from speaking your truth.

But also, everyone needs a Lorna in their life.

Mad About You

⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re looking for a cute closed door romance check this one out! Mad About you is the latest Mhairi McFarlane book that comes out this August!

This book was a little longer than I anticipated and parts were a little slower. Overall it kept me entertained.

There was a lot of focus on abusive relationships. I liked how she confronted it but I didn’t think the story showed how she got the growth really.

Read if you like:
✫ Women’s Fiction
✫ Friends to Lovers
✫ Close proximity

Summary: When Harriet Harley ends up single and homeless following a breakup with her new fiancé, she moves in with Cal Clarke, a stranger dealing with his own pre-wedding breakup. When Harriet’s ex-boyfriend makes a stunning accusation, Harriet is forced to confront her past as she figures out what she wants for the future.

Thoughts: I love Mhairi McFarlane’s writing and feel she is on of the most underrated authors on Bookstagram and in general. Her character development is always superb as she creates these well rounded, three dimensional individuals, flaws and all, that you feel you could have encountered in your own life.

Although her plots are sometimes a bit slow getting started, you always feel she’s given you just enough, never too much and never too little. You always come away feeling you Have regained a sense of what is important in life.

My only criticism is that while I understand the focus of the plot is on Harriets growth as an individual in overcoming past trauma, I wish we could have had a bit more of Cal, as well as, more interactions between him, Harriet, and Sam.

I really enjoyed Mad About You and highly recommend not only this novel, but all of McFarlane’s previous work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The story kept me hooked and the crises that the characters were going through felt real. I liked that it juggled heavy topics with a lighter approach. It made me question what I would do in the same type of situation, while still having a rom-com story undertone.