3.5⭐️

This is my first book by this author and I have heard nothing but good things about her writing. It took me a while to get into this book and I struggled to finish it. I didn’t really connect with Roisin but I did feel for her and the way that Joe treated her and their relationship. I I wish there had been more of Roisin and Matt’s relationship and less of the relationship that was over. I understand the need for some of the insides of Roisin’s relationship with Joe but I was wanting more romance. Overall it was an okay read and I do look forward to more from this author.

This was the first book I've read by McFarlane, so I had no expectations going in.

There were some pacing issues that made this read a bit of a struggle. It was really slow, and I had a hard time getting into the plot. Additionally, the characters were a bit irritating. It's like there was nothing redeeming about any of them, so it got really tiring. There are instances of gaslighting, manipulation, dysfunction, and the FMC is in a really unhealthy relationship that she FINALLY gets out of just before insta-falling into love with someone else. This just wasn't my scene.

The perfect summer beach read -- smart and engaging. As the main character, Roisin, says in an early chapter, "Perhaps that was the magic of any holiday: it lifted you out of the familiar and gave you a brief aerial view of your life in progress. It made you confront your world's smallness in the vastness of opportunity."

A number of reviewers have been disappointed in this offering from McFarlane for not delivering her typical contemporary romance, but the strength of BETWEEN US is its exploration of the ways in which women's identities are intertwined with their friendships and romances. When you learn that those you love aren't who you thought they were, what happens to your own sense of self?

Although the novel begins slowly, it's not long before it's a page-turner. Roisin's friend group, formed when they were early-adults, is a strong ensemble of secondary characters, quirky and endearing. But can those friendships endure life choices that result in different values, incomes, and life styles? The novel's mystery and depiction of gas-lighting are compelling, and its romance is interwoven with Roisin's journey to a healthier self-understanding.

This is a fun and beautiful read, I loved it.
This book tells us the story of Roisie and Joe and their group of friends, they meet one weekend for various celebrations, but as the weekend goes by everything becomes a mess. I loved the friendship of the group, the way the author combines mystery and romance and how the plot unfolds, the romance is top notch, so hilarious and sexy.
You definitely don't want to miss this story, it's entertaining, funny and had me hooked from start to finish.

I was so right to be excited about Between Us! I was practically foaming at the mouth when I could read it.

When Roisin and Joe join their friends at a country club house for a birthday/engagement/TV Show Premiere Party tension rises as Roisin questions her relationship. As they watch her boyfriend Joe’s new TV drama she realizes the private things that should have been between them are now shared on the big screen. It begs the question, what other things on the show are inspired by true events?

The beginning of this story was a bit slow for me in terms of investment in the characters. However, sure enough, I gained more and more interest as Roisin and Joe’s relationship was shown and the dynamic between the friendships was displayed. Soon enough, I could not move from my pillow nest because I couldn’t put the book down!!

McFarlane has a real talent for making her characters seem so relatable and human that I found myself invested in not only Roisin but also our side characters. I wish I had even more time to spend with the characters in the group, especially as we navigate the complexities of romantic feelings between friends.

At a certain point, I did fear that Joe’s characterization was going to come off cartoonish in terms of his betrayal but instead, I empathize with Roisin as she navigated the mind games he played. Unfortunately being someone who has dated someone like Joe, I felt the nauseating anxiety and self-doubt that Roisin experienced as she jumped through hoops to figure out if she was doing the right thing by ending her 10-year relationship. 

While including dashes of romance, this novel leans heavily on the fiction side in that the romance does not take center stage and I am glad for it. I loved the reflection on family dynamics, womanhood, and the importance of having a place within a family or community. As a result, we get an often funny, reflective, and entertainingly chaotic exploration of a woman finding herself by unraveling the past.

This story was very entertaining. It kept me guessing what was really going on, and wondering how trustworthy Joe was as a character. Roisin has had a lot of history with Joe as they’ve been together forever, so she would know these things, right? As more is revealed on Joe’s show, what actually happened, and what was made up? Roisin is determined to find the lines between truth and fiction, and nothing is going to stop her. She is a character I rooted for, as she learned more about herself and what is important to her in her life, as well as in her relationships. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 stars)

Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane takes readers on an engaging journey through the life of Roisin, a complex and relatable protagonist. The novel's strength lies in Roisin's internal dialogue, a genuine portrayal of her struggles, insecurities, and aspirations. McFarlane masterfully delves into the depths of Roisin's mind, making her a truly authentic character. However, while her internal reflections were clever (and brilliantly British), I hoped for more external expression of her thoughts and feelings. Giving voice to her internal struggles in her interactions with others would have enriched the narrative and added an extra layer of depth to her character.

The plot heavily revolves around Roisin's toxic relationship, which becomes somewhat overwhelming as the story progresses. Though probably intended to illustrate Roisin's challenges and growth, it often overshadowed other potential plotlines. Additionally, Roisin's relationship with her friends, despite them being her "family," seemed shallow at times, and held the potential to unravel additional layers of her character and provide a refreshing perspective on her personal struggles.

Despite these reservations, Between Us retains its charm with McFarlane's engaging writing style and a cast of memorable supporting characters. The book captivates through its emotional depth and relatable themes (insecurity, cheating in the modern age, finding new love!). Fans of character-driven narratives will appreciate Roisin's journey, her internal struggles, and the glimpses of her potential for growth. Overall, Between Us is a compelling tale of self-discovery and personal transformation, making it a worthwhile read for those who enjoy stories that explore the complexities of the human heart and mind.

Thank you, Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of Between Us.

I enjoyed this novel. It was nice to see how a friend group bands together to help out when one is down on their luck. This was my first novel by Mhairi McFarlane, and I liked it. I found myself yelling at our MC to dump that loser gaslighter; I was rooting for our MC to open her eyes to the friend that should be more than just a friend; and I was hoping that Roisin could continue to build her friendships while still moving forward in her own way.

Roisin and Joe are on a weekend getaway with their friend group. The weekend is filled with fun as they celebrate a birthday, an engagement, and Joe's new TV show that he wrote. Roisin and Joe seem to be on shaky ground, but their relationship really jumps the shark when Roisin sees that private things that she has told Joe about her past have become fodder for his TV show. She's also left wondering which other parts of the TV show are rooted in truth such as the MCs infidelity. As their relationship crumbles, Roisin steps back to help her mother out at the family's pub and catch up with one of the members of the friend group. Roisin will need to find out what she wants in her life and what she's willing to sacrifice to get it.

I'm a fan of Mhairi McFarlane, so I had high hopes for this book. To me, it was just okay. The ending felt predictable and contrived to me. Overall, it was still an enjoyable read, just not as good as I had hoped.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. McFarlane is pretty much an auto-read for me at this point, so I really was thrilled to receive this ARC. This book was quite different from all of her other books and I think she portrayed the inner workings of a relationship with an emotionally abusive gaslighter very well. However, it dragged on a bit in the middle and I wish Roisin would have learned the truth about Joe before starting things with Matt. Something about it all felt very rushed at the end. This isn’t the traditional rom-com that McFarlane usually writes, so I’m not sure how it is going to be received. Overall, I think it was probably a 3.5 star read for me.

I adore Mhairi McFarlane. I have read all of her books. I own both print and e-books, and on a rainy day, they are always the books I will turn to to lift my spirits. Her latest is no different. She has such a unique voice, and I always love her characters. I couldn't put this book down because I was enjoying the story and the chemistry between the characters so much! All you rom-com fans out there, this is your next (and best) fix! TEN STARS! I loved it!

Roisin and Joe have been together for years and find themselves drifting apart. Joe is a successful screenwriter and shares the launch of his new television series with their group of friends at a weekend celebration. Roisin finds herself caught completely off guard when the series mimics something that happened to her in her youth. The problem is she told Joe in confidence and now he is sharing it with the whole world. Roisin is questioning everything about her relationship as she sees the man she loves in a different light. To make matters worse there is some tension among the group of friends and her mom needs her help to run the family pub. Lots of secrets and drama!!

I am a HUGE fan of Mhairi McFarlane but this one was a miss for me. I had a really hard time getting invested in the characters. The story started off slowly but by the end I found myself liking Roisin more. It just took awhile to get there. The end was satisfying but I didn't understand Roisin’s motivation to get to the truth when it just didn't seem to matter any more. This isn’t a deal breaker for me and I will continue to read McFarlane’s books. Sometimes you just don't click with a book, this was one of those instances.

2.5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of several previous Mhairi McFarlane books, I was looking forward to reading this. However, this book was especially hard for me to get into. I did not connect with the story or the characters and thought about not finishing it until about halfway through.

The book follows an unlikely group of friends that each have their own unique character flaws and quirks. The entire story is told by the main character, Roisin, and largely focuses on her relationship with her gaslighting boyfriend, Joe. Without giving any plot points away, I was largely hating the main characters, relationships, and was bored with the story at the beginning and that didn’t really change until the mid-point where I started to feel a little more connected to the characters and the story started to develop. Some of the people in the friend group are largely unnecessary to the story except to corroborate the fact that every person in this book is keeping secrets from each other.

Once I started to connect with and appreciate the characters, I no longer felt like I was wasting my time with the book, but I still feel like it lacked a lot of character development. I do feel there are some important elements in the book highlighting the importance of honesty and healthy relationships, both friendly and romantic, and always appreciate that McFarlane writes about women who have honest and trustworthy friendships.

Mhairi McFarlane is a favorite author of mine and while this isn’t my favorite of hers, I still really enjoyed it. I love the group of friends, their quirkiness, wit and support of each other. This really is a friendship or relationship story more than it is a romance. There’s a lot of relational conflict, particularly regarding Roisin and Joe (that did get a little too drawn out) but there’s also a lot of joy. It didn’t feel like a light read to me with all the conflict and deeper themes revolving around trust, friendship and honesty but it still gets 4 stars.

3.5 stars

I love that Mhairi McFarlane plays with the structures of the traditional romcom and she does so again here with some success - fully half of the novel is set over a weekend in which Roisin, our heroine, realizes that her 10-year relationship with Joe is over.

The second half sees us back on mostly familiar ground as the new love interest emerges from behind his facade of good friend. That it’s done while working at Rosin’s mum’s dowdy pub in rural Cheshire adds to the entertainment.

As has become increasingly important with this author’s more recent novels, friendship and loyalty play a major role. Roisin’s tight group of friends, formed when they were all working at a bookshop in their early 20’s, provides support, insight, and the proverbial found family. They are a nicely drawn group of diverse characters who act as a sounding board for Roisin and as a Greek chorus for moving the plot along.

There is also a dark thread (as there has been in previous MM romcoms) about men gaslighting and mentally/emotionally abusing women. As readers, we only know Joe from the present day - he has become a wildly successful writer for TV and is slightly oily with the fame that has brought, particularly compared to Roisin’s worthy work as a high school English teacher.

The author manages to combine all of this into a coherent novel full of her trademark very specific lines that made me smile and occasionally laugh out loud.

What I didn’t love was the chopping up of the novel into 75 very short chapters which made it hard to get a reading rhythm going: The chapters bled into each other, with no apparent reason for the break.

That aside, this was a most entertaining and enjoyable novel. I appreciate that the author is pushing the bounds of the genre while still keeping a steady core of what we fans love.

Thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

I didn't love this at the beginning, but I cannot stop thinking about it a few weeks later, so it clearly had some staying power in my brain. I almost DNF’d and really had to slog along to get into it. It took about 60% for me to actually care or get into any real plot. It’s kind of like Happy Place if the main couple hates each other. However, this was incredibly relatable as I have personally experienced a lot of the scenarios in this story, but I think it was a little disjointed in the story. I think this could have been interesting but it honestly felt like two different books - the second one was much more interesting, but getting there was strange. Ultimately I think this is well worth the read, but it is a little clunky.

Between Us is about a woman whose life unravels spectacularly after her screenwriter boyfriend uses their relationship as inspiration for his new television show.

I sat on this review for weeks because I wasn't sure how to articulate my thoughts but its pub date is fast approaching so here goes nothing

-Does Mhairi write the most compelling characters, the best villains and messy relationships? Yes!

-Does she write the best dialogue? Also yes!

-Is this a romance book? Not really, but there is a sweet romance at the tail end of the book!

-Is it a rom-com as the blurb advertises? Although there are funny moments, I wouldn't categorize this book as a rom-com. It is relationship fiction. There is a little bit of a mystery in it.

-Is this book for everyone? I doubt it, I totally get the mixed reviews.

Honestly I cannot tell you more without giving away any spoilers. If you've read any of Mhairi's books you have an idea about what to expect. Just for reference, I'd say this is more Mad About You and less Just Last Night. I think Mhairi has a knack for writing about trauma without making the story melodramatic.

I was glad to see Roisin for standing up for herself.

Based on the description and other reviews, I expected more of a romcom vibe out of this, but honestly it's lacking on both the rom and the com sides. Much of the book is centered around the disintegration of Roisin's existing romantic relationship rather than the development of a new one.

I felt like too much time (nearly a third of the book) was focused on the one weekend where the friend group got together, all the tension and backstory it allowed for certainly gave good insight into the friends and their complex, intertwined relationships, but frankly I found it almost a slog to get through. Things picked up afterwards and the pace felt more even afterwards.

I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I had different expectations going into it than what I had. Expecting a cozy romcom and getting a book more interested in heartbreak and the ways you never truly know someone leads to too much dissonance.

Summary
When Roisin and Joe join their friends for a weekend at a country house, it’s a triple celebration—a birthday, an engagement, and the launch of Joe’s shiny new TV show. But as the weekend unfolds, tensions come to light in the group and Roisin begins to question her own relationship. And as they watch the first episode of Joe’s drama, she realizes that the private things she told him—which should have stayed between them—are right there on the screen.

———-

It took me a hot minute to become vested in this book, but looking back I appreciate the groundwork a bit more.. The story follows Rosin and Joe’s content - albeit sleepy - relationship and the evolution of their friend group.

Joe, Matt and Rosin took center stage and the characters consumed the reader leaving little for the other characters.. I am still undecided if I liked the end as it seemed too perfect given the timeline. Perhaps if there was more time for resolution - or an epilogue to cover that bit - I would have felt happier for the characters.

The portrayal of gaslighting truly shines in this narrative. The depiction of subtle disinterest and nuanced dialogue is brilliant. The reader is left with a sense of unease throughout the book.

Readers who enjoyed Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler and The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary will want to add this book to their stack.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon and Netgalley for the advance reader copy.

Between Us
by Mhairi McFarlane
Pub Date 08 Aug 2023
Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon

It was a little slow for my taste. While I enjoyed that she stood up for her gut feeling and the author does a great job painting a picture of what is going on and the FMC is feeling the last 30% was were the juicy stuff happens!