A complicated friends to lovers British romance that gave me TONS of Emily Henry vibes! If you're planning to try this on audio be prepared to dial down your listening speed by A LOT!! I found the narrator spoke VERY fast and I had to reduce my usual speed quite a lot. Other than that it was an enjoyable read but not my favorite by this author. A solid 3.5/4 star read. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was cute, but not at all what I expected. I ended up giving it 3/5 stars, but I'm acknowledging that some of that rating has more to do with me likely than the book.

It was my first Mhairi McFarlane book. I'm used to quickly-paced romcoms and this one was a tad slower than what I am used to. It reminded me a bit of Jenny Bayliss and her writing. You have to slow down to savor her work vs speed through it. I attempted to speed through this one like I do most from coms and it was lacking for me in that way. I couldn't connect to either main character and I found some of the side details with the friend group to be less important and more distracting from the story. It took me awhile to get through.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted earc of this book.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

As with other Mhairi McFarlane books, don’t get tricked by the cover into thinking this is a typical quirky romance. In fact, it would be a better book if the second-chance romance didn’t even exist in it.

And chapters break on weird places to keep them short. Trust your reader! They can be longer!! I won’t lose interest!!

Loved the friend group. Liked the main character well enough. Still want to murder Joe.

(But if my rich friend wanted to pay for my flights to his wedding events, I certainly wouldn’t feel weird about it. Hell yes, make it possible for me to go to Lake Como.)

3.5/5

3.5 stars rounded down

What would you do if your screenwriter boyfriend betrayed you by stealing a personal, traumatic childhood story, and aired it on national television? This is what Roisin must ask herself when her boyfriend of 10 years, Joe, blindsides her during a screening party at a weekend getaway with their friends group. To make matters even worse, the characters on the show seem to be not so loosely modeled after their group, and the lead male character is a serial philanderer, with one scene imitating real life enough to make Roisin question whether Joe has been faithful to her. Needing some time to sort through her feelings, and take the investigation into her own hands, Roisin returns home to her mother's country pub. She invites one of her friends, Matt, to come along, after he assists with her inquiries into Joe's nocturnal goings on. When faced with the gaslighting and lies by omission from multiple men in her life, Roisin must decide where she wants to go from here.

This was a tough one for me to get through. The pacing was slow, and the characters were intentionally not very likeable. Joe is mean spirited, selfish, and takes advantage of Roisin's support of his career, and it is frustrating to see Roisin put up with it for as long as she did. The first half focused a lot on the friend group as a whole, and then they mostly disappeared for the second half of the book, making them feel almost unnecessary to begin with. Having read several other books from the author, this one didn't feel like her others, and felt like I was reading a completely different author. It was more women's fiction than rom com, with strong friends to lovers and found family vibes.

Roisin is one of six friends that have been close since working at the same bookstore ten years ago. After one of them gets engaged, the “Brian Club” gets together for a weekend to celebrate. However, Roisin is not enjoying her get away. Fellow ‘club’ member and boyfriend of nine years, Joe, is behaving differently and suspiciously around her. After watching the premiere of Joe’s new show with the friends, Roisin is thrown a curve ball — he has written in events and situations from their relationship and the protagonist is not faithful to his girlfriend. What will she do with this new version of her boyfriend she has been exposed to?

This was a really cool idea for a novel. The self doubt and mental processing of the situation that Roisin goes through was well done and allowed the reader to empathize with her. Her network of friends, and even her mother’s character, did a good job of balancing her navigation. It really made you root for the good guy and want to punch the bad one. Overall a good read. 4 stars.

Review based on an uncorrected e-proof provided by HarperCollins/Avon and NetGalley. Thank you!

Roisin has been dating Joe for almost ten years, but things haven’t been the same for the past year. Things between them really start to unravel when Joe’s new tv show airs and she sees a scene from her past play out on screen. As Roisin knows that this is based on a true story, she begins to question what other elements of the show are based on true events. The book follows Roisin as she tries to figure out what is truth. As she is dealing with the aftermath of the tv show and breakup from Joe she finds unexpected comfort from a longtime friend.

I was really intrigued by the plot, but the pacing felt a bit slow in the beginning and it took me a while to get into the story. I wish we had more time to see Roisin’s new relationship. Overall, I still enjoyed the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I always look forward to a new Mhairi McFarlane book, and Between Us was no exception. Following a close-knit group of friends in their 30s, Between Us explores tensions between couple Roisin and Joe as Joe's hit new TV series pulls painful personal details from the couple's lives and as new love emerges in unexpected places. I love Mhairi McFarlane's voice as a writer so much, and it was such a pleasure to immerse myself in another of her worlds. Though it started a bit slow for me, the story definitely picked up at about 50-60%, and I'm glad I stayed with it. While not my absolute favorite by her, I would still recommend this book for fans of McFarlane or Emily Henry and look forward to her next book. 3.75 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon books for being able to read this in exchange for honest feedback.

Between Us is the first book that I have read by Mhairi McFarlane. I wanted to love this book. But I really struggled with it from the start., I almost had to mark this as a DNF through the first half. However, the second half way so much more entertaining.

The story follows Roisin while she is working through the end of a decade long relationship with Joe. The characters have all been friends for that long and it’s interesting to see how their relationship have changed along the way. Like in any group of friends, the dynamic changes over time, and I liked that this book shows that. The character development of Roisin is wonderful to read. I did enjoy the second half and the romance and happy ending of the story. Overall, I’d give this one 2.5 stars but I rounded up because the ending really did redeem part of the book.

Mhairi McFarlane is very likely my favorite contemporary author and getting a review copy and pre-ordering the UK version is just how I roll, thank you @harpercollins for the review copy!

BETWEEN US by Mhairi McFarlane has token Mhairi components including emotional catharsis. After Roison sees a painful moment of her past play out on screen in the newest detective show from writer boyfriend, Joe, she questions everything she ever told him…including her feelings about him. This breach of trust sets off a detective moment for Roison as she tries to discover if her boyfriend of a decade is closer to the narcissistic cheater portrayed in Joe’s newest show.

While the betrayal during a long term relationship felt a little monotonous and similar to other books, I didn’t hate it because it’s honestly more true to life than we’d like to admit because, say it with me, men are trash pandas. McFarlane builds a fantastic friend group with nuances and deep love for one another which has become part of her token charm as a writer; I always love the friends in her books.

What I loved most about this book is that I think it struck a perfect balance of true to life situations—men are terrible, trust no one—and beautifully fictional comeuppance and understanding from different characters. You get great dialogue in difficult situations which I loved even if that part felt a bit more fictional than factual to life.

I love Mhairi. I will always love Mhairi. The worst part about finishing is waiting a year for the next one.

Book publishes in US Aug 8!

Roisin's life starts unraveling when she discovers her long-term boyfriend has used parts of her life as key elements in the plot of his new hit TV series. His dismissal of it being a breach of their private life leads to a breakup.

As a teacher, she's on summer break and trying to pick-up the pieces of her life while she helps her over-the-top mom save her pub. An unexpected long-time friend becomes her confidante.

Matt is between jobs and joins her helping out at the pub. As they work together to create ambience at the pub for a big event in town toward gaining new customers, Roisin learns Matt is not the playboy he's allowed their group of friends to think he is.

A mysterious woman is key to Roisin sorting the lies with her ex, and she's on the trail. As the pieces of the puzzle fit together, Matt is there to support her. There's a spark between them, but is it worth risking their friendship?

This slow burn friends-to-love romance is a great read set in England.

received a netgalley from the publisher

This was a great book. Entertaining and well-written, it grabbed my attention and I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed this book and will continue to be on the lookout for books by this author.

Mhairi always manages to write a unique and page-turning story.
I've read all of her books and have been a huge fan of her writing, and I always want to be friends with her clever, witty characters.

This story is no different.
I won't rehash the blurb or give any spoilers, but I enjoyed how the story unfolded and how it had me wondering, along with Roison (pronounced rho-sheen), how much of Joe's TV show was fiction.

I couldn't stop reading and had to know how it would end.
I bought the audiobook and enjoyed listening to the story again in a British accent.

I can't wait to see what her talented brain will write for us next.

Mhairi McFarlanes novel Between Us is a story about listening to and believing your own voice. Main character Roisin is a capable and likable schoolteacher who resides with her longtime writer boyfriend Joe. As his career takes off and his TV shows reflect heavily on incidents that seem a little too close to their lives Roisin takes a hard look at their relationship. The Brian club, their group of friends and the couples families round out the cast of characters.
This story spends a great deal of time on Roisins toxic relationship with Joe and his ability to influence the way she looks at things. Only when she breaks free does she get to see the wonderful people around her. I would have liked a little more time spent on the handsome and kind Matt and less on our mean boy Joe. Still kudos to a story that has a woman break out of a gaslighting situation and come out stronger. Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for the preview read.

After a weekend with her friends leads to not only a falling out among a few of her friends, but also a breakup with her boyfriend, it’s safe to say Roisin’s life is a bit messy. As she returns to her hometown to stay with her mom for a bit, Roisin can’t help but wonder what other secrets will unfold about her relationship, and she is surprised to see which friend shows up for her in an unexpected way.

Mhairi McFarlance writes some of the best characters - they are complex with many layers and feel so real. This book was no different, from Roisin to the side characters, there were so many pieces and twists to uncover about their lives. They were flawed and relatable and I loved seeing how this story played out.

Thanks to Avon Books for the gifted copy.

I really wanted to get into this one, but something wasn't clicking for me. It felt slow and I couldn't really connect with any of the characters in the way I wanted to. There was real potential for me to enjoy this author, so I will definitely check out McFarlane's other books.

It's entirely possible this book deserves more than the 3.5 stars I'm giving it, but I am so over stories where the seemingly smart and capable female lead refuses to see what's in front of her and act, simply because she's afraid of disturbing the status quo.
Roisin and Joe have been together for years. She stood by and supported him while he started his screenwriting career. Now, Joe is known as the creator of one of the biggest hits on BBC with a new, much-hyped show coming. The thing is that in the last year, since the fame and the pressures of following it up, has seen them get farther and farther apart, even if Joe won't admit it. It takes spending a weekend with their longtime friends and seeing things told in secret displayed for the world in Joe's drama to force Joe into accepting that things might truly be over.
It touches on some good points about emotional trauma from the past affecting adult decisions. It also shows growth and healing when one takes the giant step of moving on. These are all points I really enjoyed, but I could never get over how wishy-washy the heroine is. Roisin is always described as the bold and brave one, but she's always doubting and afraid to do things. I understand it's a big part of character growth and showing that you don't always have to be the strong one, it just annoyed me. Especially because it's clear as day the kind of guy Joe is from the very beginning.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the early read!

As a fan of the author, I was excited to dive into this one. Sadly, this did not live up to her previous work for me. That being said, I will still be waiting patiently for her next book to be released because I am still a fan of her writing. This just wasn’t for me but I’m sure it will be for loads of others. I miss her typical wry humor and love stories. This was gaslighting and breakups and cheating and toxicity. Not what I go to Mhairi for.
Rosie and Joe meet while working at a bookstore years ago and begin dating. Then Rosie goes on to being working as a teacher and supports Joe as he struggles to pursue his dream of being a writer. He finally gets his big break when his screenplay gets made into a Netflix series and it changes their lives immediately. They have a party to watch the pilot and celebrate their friends engagement but as they watch the show, Rosie realizes that he has written about their most private parts of their lives without her permission. And there’s a bomb thrown in her face as well-the main character is a liar and a cheater-if everything else is based on their life, does that mean that he is based on Joe as well and Joe is a liar and a cheat?
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Mhairi McFarlene is truly one of my top 5 favorite authors. The way she writes you just know you are in for a good time. You’ll laugh, cry, gasp, and in the end want more. Not to mention the way she handles difficult situations or topics is *chef’s kiss* Her newest book is once again amazing and I was so invested in the story and it’s perfect ending.

Today is pub day so go get a copy!!! Thank you Mhairi, Avon Books, and Netgalley for the opportunity of an advanced copy.

My first Mhairi McFarlane book and I just could not connect with Rosin. I was excited to read a book by this author. It was a little too slow paced for me, as I was reading I felt like kept missing information. I ended up skimming through the 75% of the book. Maybe it was the British slang that had me stumped.