This is not your typical romance read it's more woman's fiction with excellent character development esp for Harriet.
I took some time to get into the story but then the last part of the book was super.
Instead of the thoughts with the two MCs had i wished it was a little more open.
I will definitely read more by this author.
Thank you Netgalley and publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

It didn't take long to discover why Harriet is such a great wedding photographer - she looks at weddings almost as a work of art (at least in my opinion). I loved how Harriet and Cal both find themselves down on their romantic luck so-to-speak with wildly differing views on romance. Their position is the perfect set up and of course, they find that what they have needed all along was the right person.

This is my first novel by Mhairi McFarlane. Overally I enjoyed the novel. I was expecting a romance, but I would say this more like women's fiction then a romance. Harriet Hatley is a wedding photographer who breaks up with her long term boyfriend after a very public engagement. She moved out and in with Cal, a man who left his bride at the altar. The rest of the novel follows these characters as they unveil their various dysfunctional and abusive relationships.

I go into Mhairi Mcfarlane books expecting the romance to not be at the forefront of the story (which is totally okay) but I was pleasantly surprised by the romance in this one! It was still very heart wrenching of course, and check trigger warnings before you read this book.

Thank you #Netgalley for an early read of #MadAboutYou

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Like all of McFarlane's books, I found this one rich with complex characters and timely issues that resonated with me. The heroine is finding her way in life, dealing with an old toxic relationship, and igniting a slow burn romance with her new roommate.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review! Mad about You was the first novel I have read by Mhairi Mcfarlane and I really enjoyed her voice! The novel follows Cal Clarke, a hopeless romantic and Harriet the complete opposite! This book follows the forced proximity troupe and it was a really enjoyable read!

Mhairi McFarlane is one of my favorite authors. Her stories fall in that sweet spot between women's fiction and romcoms, but this story lands more in the women's fiction genre. Don't be fooled by the cover-there is an unexpected depth to this novel that addresses recovering from emotionally manipulative relationships. This book is more about Harriet finding herself and learning how to stand up for herself, but there is a little side feature of romance. I appreciated Harriet's character growth and development and enjoyed this story. Many thanks to Avon Books and HarperVoyage US for the opportunity to review this book.

Harriett’s a wedding photographer who never wants to get married, so when her boyfriend proposes she finds herself newly single and in need of a place to stay. She moves in to a new place owned by Cal and quickly judges that she doesn’t want to be acquainted with him. Both of them still have demons from old relationships that they need to work through, which could lead to friendship or maybe even more.

I really enjoyed parts of this book. Mis-marketing is what I think led to a lower rating for me. The title, cover, and synopsis made me think this would mainly be a romance/rom-com. However, most of this book centered on Harriet’s past unhealthy relationships and trying to heal from those with the help of friends. I appreciate when a romance also deals with tough issues; I don’t need it to be romance only. However, I don’t feel like their relationship was given any room to grow so when the book finished, I was still not invested in them as a couple at all.
I know a lot of people really enjoyed this, and I’m glad. The story could be really good for the right person. My reading has been more particular in this season of life so not getting the type of story I felt like the publisher is trying to market this as just threw me off more than normal.
3.5⭐️
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy

This would have been a 2, if not for the unfolding drama. I've never seen someone completely trust that the people in her life are good and deserve a lot of chances, despite their actions saying otherwise.

After being burned by her past relationship, Harriet turns down a proposal from her long-term boyfriend, who she lives with. Realizing that she can no longer live down the hall from her ex, Harriet moves out and moves in with Cal, a former groom from one of her past weddings.

This book follows Harriet’s life after turning down the proposal and her journey to finding happiness and resolving the trauma from her past relationship. It is not your standard rom-com, and romance plays a minor role. I feel like Harriet gave everyone the benefit of the doubt except Cal. She constantly judged him and assumed the worst, completely ignoring or willing to forget the disrespect from Jon and Roxanne because they’re not like that, or that's how they’ve always been.

I found that I could not get behind the writing style. I’ve read a previous work by this author, and it was not as hard to read. I know this is an advanced copy/uncorrected proof, but there were so many unnecessary words that felt like they were thrown in to make it sound smarter. I am not British and don’t understand phrases and colloquialisms; if that's what it was, I apologize.

Overall, this book was not my cup of tea. I loved the constant twists and turns, but I needed more of a backbone from Harriet where it counts.

Thank you, Avon Harper and Netgalley for this free eARC for my honest opinion.

A really hard book to read, but worth it. Less of a romance novel and more of a journey through past trauma and domestic abuse, this story flowed nicely and kept a good pace. It was difficult to get through at times because of the intense descriptors of abuse, but I definitely liked the characters and the overall plot—especially the female friendship aspect.

I started this book on 7/30/22 but with the start of school and other craziness I just couldn’t get going. Finally yesterday I made myself get into it then couldn’t put it down.
👍🏻British novels will always before my favorite. They make ordinary things funny.
👍🏻Harriet is lovely. She has overcome a lot on her life and yet she remains kind, ground, and confident.
👍🏻My favorite relationship in the story might be Harriet and Lorna. Their friendship is priceless.
👍🏻Cal. He’s the best. So funny and endearing. Loved him.
👎🏻Wish Harriet and Cal could have been more of the focus
👎🏻There was a cheesy factor to the Scott storyline. Parts were great but other parts were a little much for me

🔥Everything pretty much happened off the pages.
😶There was a decent amount of language. They literally only used one word but it’s my least favorite.

Overall I enjoyed this one! It was heavy and light all at the same time. I would love another epilogue with Cal and Harriet and a book 2 for Lorna’s story!

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

CW: partner abuse (psychological, emotional)

Mhairi McFarlane has the unique talent of writing a love story that doesn't center around love - but in the best possible way! Her books deal with real issues and characters who organically develop and evolve - falling in love just happens to be a small part of their evolution.

When a book opens with a groom being stood up at the altar - you know it's going to be a good one ;-)
Harriet Harley is a wedding photographer (of the aforementioned doomed wedding day) and finds herself an unlucky participant in the business of love. After her own broken engagement with the "perfect" man, she is suddenly in need of a place to stay.

After a series of unfortunate roommate disasters, Cal is desperate for a new renter. He accepts Harriet's offer sight unseen because she sounds "normal" and low maintenance - exactly what he needs. As Harriet's life begins to unravel under Cal's roof, he can't help but be pulled in. Cal has his own issues (don't we all!) but he is a source of strength for Harriet in her time of need.

Mad About You is the story of a woman's journey to forgiving her past and moving into her future. Harriet learns to accept the parts of her past that have marked her life and use them as stepping stones instead of stumbling blocks. Mad About You is a story of love, second chances, and the strength of women.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Y’all, this book just wasn’t it for me. There were parts I enjoyed, parts I really liked, and parts I hated reading. It started off great but overall it was just too slow and boring and repetitive for me to love it.

It isn’t really a romance at all, yet there was a couple at the end. I felt no chemistry between them other than friends or roommates.

It read like a woman’s fiction that wanted to be a romance.

I do think there will be a good audience for this one and that loads of people like a slow burn woman’s fiction romance about woman in emotionally abusive relationships, as I’ve seen loads of great reviews for it, but it just wasn’t the book for me.

I really hate writing not great reviews as there really wasn’t anything wrong with this book.

I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it and won’t remember it.

I feel very conflicted with my review of this book. I know that Mhairi McFarlane is a bestselling author who is known for her British rom-coms, and I thought that's what I would be reading - but I very quickly realized that this leans much more women's fiction, which I was not expecting or interested in at the time. The cover art is also rather misleading, but that seems to be the current trend in publishing right now.

Overview: Harriet Hatley is an in-demand wedding photographer, but she doesn’t believe in romance and isn't interested in marriage. When her boyfriend proposes, she panics - but it turns out that there's more she is running from than a marriage proposal. Suddenly single, she finds a room to let in the home of Cal Clarke, a hopeless romantic who just experienced his own wedding-related disaster (that Harriet was loosely a part of).

A lot of this book just felt like A LOT to me. Too much description, too many oddly worded sentences that I had to read 5 times to understand, too many characters, too many long and unnecessary scenes with friends and other side characters, and it took me too long to get through. Any of the romance that I was expecting was whittled down to one chapter toward the end of book. No thanks!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Avon Books and Harper Voyager, for giving me an electronic copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane is about Harriet Hatley–a wedding photographer that calls off her engagement to the “perfect man” because she doesn’t really believe that a wedding or marriage is in her future at all. This turn of events results in her moving in with a complete stranger (well, kind of) and a lot of time to herself to unpack how all of her past relationships have impacted her life.

While it does have romance, it’s not the main driving force in this book. I feel like I spend more time as a reader getting to know Harriet and watching her fall in love with herself and move forward. No relationship in this book is forced. They all feel organic and meant to happen on their own timeline.

This book was written for you if
-You love an imperfect main character that you can relate to as she figures herself out
-You like reading books in which you have no idea what will happen
-You’re interested in Women’s Fiction with a dash of romance

Friends to lovers, yassss! I've heard of Mhairi McFarlane but this was my first foray into her books and I can't wait to get my hands on more (looking at you, Just Last Night!) This was partly a romance but there was also just so much more going on that I really enjoyed. Harriet and Cal were everything to me and my only complaint is that this book wasn't longer. Pick it up y'all!

Thank you to NetGalley, and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Let me start with, I absolutely love the whole "move in with a stranger" trope. There is just something about it that I absolutely love. This book was excellent. The growth of the characters is what I like when reading. Harriet was put through hell from an EX and seeing her come out on top made me cheer for her extra hard. Both Harriet and Cal were likable. The banter and tension are top-notch.

This book... hits in a different way. It should come with a trigger warning concerning the topic of emotional abuse, but what an uplifting story in the end. If overcoming difficult relationships speaks to you, then read this book. The strength of friendship shown in this tale is phenomenal!

Thank you to #Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this gem of a novel!

Harriet Hatley, a renowned wedding photographer who is in no mood to marry herself, is in a bit of a pickle. Her boyfriend, Jonathan 'Jon' Barraclough, is perfect on paper. He's wealthy, sweet, takes Harriet on lots of trips, and is smitten with Harriet. The only problem? Harriet is just not on the same page with him. After a truly disastrous dinner party celebrating Jon's parents' anniversary that ends in a proposal meant to trap Harriet and Harriet panicking, our FMC is suddenly a single 35-year-old woman of Leeds. What makes it all worse? She's living in Jon's spare bedroom until she can move, which she needs to do ASAP.

Cal Clarke has had a string of horrible roommates and needs a new tenant immediately. When Cal and Harriet's worlds collide, more than just a home is shared between the two of them. And when Harriet's past comes knocking, and by knocking I mean like a wrecking ball, Cal is the calm center of the eye of her storm.

As Harriet's job, relationships, and friendships start going up in smoke and tensions arise, it is not a shining white knight that comes to Harriet's rescue, but rather someone else Harriet has not seen in a very long time - herself.

Something I am learning about Mhairi McFarlane's works: the romance element does not always necessarily mean love for another, but also love for oneself, too. I adore how she shows how the world can tear down a woman but then how a woman can build herself back up again in this cruel world indeed. Mad About You is a wonder, and reading this book has provided me with a new favorite author indeed.

I wanted to like this one, and certain aspects I did (e.g., I like books that take place in British cities besides London), but the main character cried so much and the romantic resolution, such as it was, was so tertiary to the plot, that it became difficult to wade through all the tears and obsession over past relationships. Meh.