Mhairi McFarlane's books are always such a joy to read and this one was no exception. I love that her books are always more than just fluff. They're through provoking yet hilarious.

Tw: domestic and emotional abuse

Womens fiction, not a romcom or a romance. And not fun - the drama, the revenge, cyber-bullying by mid-30s adults. It’s all about hating bad exes and having bad friends, not building lasting new relationships.

Favorite lines:
“Good women are not a rewards system for silly men.” - YES

“Acts of kindness, acts of thoughtfulness: they could echo down the years long after the person who offered them was gone.” - awww love this

“Why did a woman’s voice have to be a chorus to count?” - a freaking men

McFarlane's book last year was one of my favorites of the year, so this was a bit of a let down. there some aspects of the writing/dialogue that just didn't work for me (i.e., characters seeming to say "lol" and "hahaha" out loud. I felt for Harriet and what she had gone through, but I mainly found her annoying and the story to drag on, and the eventual love interest to be almost nonexistent to the bulk of the story.

3/5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been putting off writing this review because I really had to mull over how I wanted to rate it. The book is not bad, but it was not at all a successful reading experience for me. For some reason, McFarlane’s books continue to be marketed as rom coms, with cute covers and blurbs that don’t even begin to scratch the surface of the emotional stories inside. I even checked the marketing for this one after reading, and saw something about it being “funny” and playing up the “forced proximity” and “roommates to lovers” angle. Which… is absolutely not what the book is about. Sure, our heroine moves in with a roommate, but the romance is a SMALL part of the book, and it’s woefully underwhelming. It’s also riddled with red flags that I could tear apart if I wanted to. But I don’t, because this is actually women’s fiction, and the romance is essentially a subplot in a book about moving on from past relationships and understanding gaslighting.

Let’s talk about the plot for a minute. The book is about Harriet, a woman whose relationship ends with an engagement. Harriet had already been thinking about breaking up with her boyfriend, so when he springs a proposal on her in front of his family, she knows that she needs to accept in public and then let him down easy in private. The end of that relationship brings up some larger issues, and Harriet is forced to confront them after she moves out. Wanting to get her own place as quickly as possible, Harriet moves in with a stranger in need of a roommate. Cal and Harriet don’t get along at first, but they soon realize that they’ve made terrible first impressions. And as Harriet spends more time in Cal’s home, she acknowledges that her past relationships may have been more troublesome than she wanted to admit.

It’s easy to frame this as a romance, because the changes in Harriet’s life come about after she moves in with Cal, and technically they do end up together at the end. But… it’s a lot more complicated than that. Gaslighting, cheating, and abuse are all themes, with a significant portion of the book spent on personal growth and emotional discovery. Harriet spends most of her time away from Cal, and the moments they’re together are not what I’d call swoony. Case in point? She’s not even sure that he’s single for the vast majority of the book, and when they do finally get together, it’s sort of like… that’s it? The women’s fiction element is stronger, and I think McFarlane’s work needs to be marketed towards an audience who will appreciate it. This is my second experience with her work, and the first one took quite awhile to win me over, though it definitely did – because the characters at least spent a lot of time on the page together. This never hooked me. Not only was the story much heavier (and less romance-focused) than anticipated, but it was also FILLED with British expressions that I didn’t understand. I’m familiar enough with the culture that I can usually piece together phrases I don’t know, but I spent a LOT of time deciphering text. So you can see why the reading experience was not successful for me, though not necessarily because of the quality. I had to give this a low rating because not much worked for me and the marketing is misleading, but women’s fiction lovers who go in with different expectations may have an entirely different experience.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

Ah yes, more toxic relationships! Intermixed with a slow burn budding romance with a bit of revenge tossed in to keep things interesting. This author keeps coming up with characters that I enjoy reading about, and this book is no exception to that. Bring on the next one!

I won’t lie - this was a slow start for me. That being said, once I got to about 20% in, I was hooked. The friendship growth between Cal and Harriet is more coming-of-age/internal growth vs that of a true romance book, and it is *chef’s kiss*. This book made me rethink relationships I had growing up, “friendships” and true soulmate-esque friendships, and how we define ourselves.

Without giving anything away, the last 10% threw me one way and then the other in the best possible way. The author loves adjectives, so it’s a little expository at times, but once you’re past the first 20% it settles out. Four stars because I felt that the title/cover misled me to thinking it was a rom-com and there are enough toxic relationships it can get a little overwhelming, but if you’re looking for a story about self-love and friendship, then this is for you.

This book was so quintessentially Mhairi McFarlane, it was so good! Her books are fun and humorous while covering heavier topics with grace. I will continue to read everything she comes out with!

I went into this book thinking I was getting a sweet straightforward romance. What I got was amazing story of friendship, support and love when someone really needs that. Harriet and Cal's relationship was so good and the romance of it was the secondary story. My heart was touched treading this story and Cal goes on my favorite book boyfriends of the year list.

Mad About You 4 ️
An emotional novel about a woman who calls off her engagement and moves in with a charming stranger who makes her question everything about her life, her past, and the secrets she’s kept for far too long. 
There are a lot of heavier themes and it was more women's fiction personal growth story than a fluffy rom com. But it still had all the things I love in chick lit - a relatable main character, a quirky and loyal best friend, and witty banter. I also loved that the main character was flawed and realistic. Hattie was dealt a lot of bad hands in the card game of life but she recognized that she made mistakes along the way as well. While the romance in Mad About You is more of a side plot, I loved how genuine the connection was and wanted more of their relationship. 
Overall, I highly recommend for fans of British fiction and can’t wait to read more from Mhairi.

A cute, fast read! The character development was well done, yet I didn’t truly feel invested in either Harriet or Cal. I did like their relationship though, but I kind of wish there was more romance—it definitely didn’t feel central to the story.

I liked it but the plot could have been tightened up. A good fictional read for vacation. The friendships were my favorite part of the book. Wonderful support of one another.

What a delightful book! I came into this book expecting more of a romance and walked away from a book that is more about learning how to love yourself. A beautiful portrait of friendship and women supporting women with a little romance sprinkled in. For fans of Alexis Hall and Casey McQuiston.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

This is my first Mhairi McFarlane book and man I was shocked! I was expecting the formulaic romance we all know and love with an enemies to lovers, forced proximity romantic trope. This was so character driven and the romance took a total backseat. Not that I am complaining. It was refreshing. I really got to know the characters through their journey together.

Mhairi touches on some really deep themes in this book including parental loss and emotional abuse. This was full of some awesome women supporting women and I am here for it.

The romance is a sloooooow burn but still satisfying. A clean romance with no spicy scenes. Just some top notch pining. Awesome read. I'll be reaching for more from Mhairi very soon.

Book tropes include:
-Women's Fiction
-Forced proximity
-Friends to lovers

I’m not going to lie and tell you I loved this book because the truth is I wasn’t the biggest fan until the end. This book isn’t a romance, it’s a women’s fiction book with a sprinkle of romance.

My emotions were all over the place and I couldn’t keep track on who I should love and who I should hate.

Overall, don’t read this if you want a romance but if you’re okay with a chaotic women’s fiction give this a try.

While I think I enjoyed this book enough, I really wanted more romance. It was mostly about the main character's strength and overcoming situations with friendships and past relationships. There were some really great parts, but I found myself skimming towards the end.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the arc. All opinions are my own.

“𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚐.”
~ 𝚂𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝙴𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚖

This is my fourth Mhairi McFarlane novel and what I love best about her writing is her stories take off in a direction that I can’t necessarily predict. Each one is different but for one common thread: women becoming their own heroes.

In 𝙈𝙖𝙙 𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙔𝙤𝙪, Harriet, a wedding photographer, needs a place to stay after she declines a wedding proposal. She moves in with Cal who happens to be the runaway groom from the wedding she was previously hired to do. Awkward coincidence aside, she’s still dealing with a spurned ex, but the surprise in the plot is when she comes across a long ago ex and suddenly all the trauma of that relationship resurfaces. Aware now that he was an emotional abuser and gaslighter, she seeks to help his current fiancé.

It’s encountering him again that gives her pause to reexamine herself, and everything that came after. It even tests her friendships with her two besties.

This story was amazing! But it could be triggering for anyone who has overcome something similar. I like how McFarlane gently maps out the downturn in her relationship, the red flags that Harriet sees clearly now, and what set her off to save herself. Harriet also clears the last hurdle of accepting her parents’ loss thanks to Cal’s gentle advice. The only thing slightly off to me is her romance with Cal. While you know it’s coming, it isn’t the focal point of the story, and I wish there’d been a little more of their spark. But it’s still good abs i adore them.

I’m so happy that McFarlane has more books for me to read. I recommend this one, but go in easy and hugs to you if you’re familiar with the subject matter within.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @avonbooks for my ARC. This is my honest review.

Mhairi McFarlane is my favorite author writing in this genre! While the romance wasn’t as big a part of this story as I would have liked, it was realistic and sweet to see their relationship develop. The rest of the story was thoroughly developed and enjoyable with some meaningful themes around unhealthy relationships and uplifting others. This book was also hilarious, as all Mhairi books are!

If you can get past the premise that someone who hates marriage and weddings decides to be a wedding photographer, then you might enjoy this piece of chick-lit that is trying to be a bit more than just your typical rom-com. It has more of a focus on people overcoming trauma than on romance. Personally, I didn't love Harriet as a lead character and as for them men, I was actually rooting for a different character, though Cal of course had his charms too. I happened to like the author's previous book "Just Last Night" a bit more, but I'd still be interested in reading future books by her.

NOTE: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another fun Mhairi McFarlane read – this one probably falls somewhere in the middle of the rest of her books, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. She is now very solidly an auto-buy author for me.

More a deep character study and story of painful self-discovery than the cover and synopsis portray. I was thinking I’d be getting a forced-proximity romance and instead got a bit of an emotional gut punch. I’m not saying the book was bad - it was great actually! I’m just saying I was in the mood for a quick, light read - which this was not it. So to summarize - good story, nuanced approach to some tough topics, and displayed all the ways people can be terrible to each other in relationships.