Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Between Us is the first book I read by Mhairi McFarlane. I have heard nothing but positive things about this author but, unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one at all. I really had to push myself to finish it. The pacing was really slow and did not keep my attention. The writing style was not for me either, I feel like there were scenes that didn’t add anything to the story were included and the dialogue (way too many parenthesis) was off.

First off, thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Between Us is my first read by McFarlane and I desperately wanted to love it so much! I have heard nothing but positive things about this author. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me and I struggled to finish it. The pacing was extremely slow and I found the characters to be irritating. Honestly, it was the most boring book I have ever read. Sadly, I do not recommend this book. ⭐️⭐️

TW: Mention of abortion

I love the relationships Mhairi McFarlane explores in her books! Be it romantic, family, or friends, the dynamics always feel layered and real. McFarlane is officially an auto-read author for me for this reason, and this book continued to show why.

I especially felt for Roisin in this book, as she sorts through the mess and untruths of a failing relationship with her scriptwriter boyfriend, Joe. The premise that he used some of their relationship as inspiration for his new TV show was interesting, and it was hard to put the book down, waiting for Roisin to put all the puzzle pieces together.

When she finds herself falling for someone who is truly supportive of her, it was such a giddy feeling. I LOVED the romance that blooms in the last half of the book, and didn’t want the book to end.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC. This is my honest review.

Between Us had a very great premise, the writing was also good. Unfortunately the pacing at the first half was way too slow. The romance plot between Roisin and Matt was also too insta love and underdeveloped for me. But I really enjoyed reading the friendship group, the author had a great job describing each character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the chemistry between the characters. It was a fun, fast-paced story with tension of all kinds all around. It's got the messy relationships grown messier by the weekend away and then Matt comes in and just changes all kinds of things. It's a good book for a fun read.

I am always excited for a new novel from McFarlane and consider her one of my very favorite authors! I read her first book back in 2014, so I've been falling in love with her stories for almost a decade now. When I pick up one of her books, I always know that I can expect: a story that centers around the heroine's personal growth, a memorable cast of secondary characters, witty humor, a subtle romance, and a scenario that makes me reflect and reexamine my own assumptions or experiences. And all of that was true in this one, too!

However, it pains to me admit that Between Us wasn't my favorite. The repeated use of a long-term relationship ending only for the heroine to immediately fall into something new is getting a little old for me. I know it's often realistic, but I'm just begging for a little variety. I'm often so moved by the way McFarlane explores unhealthy relationship patterns, gaslighting, and other important topics in such a nuanced and thoughtful way. But here, I just found myself wishing for something a little different. Maybe I brought my own personal feelings too much into this one -- or maybe re-reading three of her most recent works before starting this one made the similarities stand out more clearly -- but I just couldn't quite get myself fully invested in this one.

Overall, I So Enjoyed It and will eagerly anticipate McFarlane's next release. Because honestly, even my least favorite McFarlane is better than so much of what I read.

I devoured this book in one day - every time I put it down, I couldn’t wait to pick it up. I will say, the beginning felt a little chaotic and hard to get into, but I quickly got pulled in. Some of the constant dialogue (especially when all the characters were together) just felt a bit busy. However, I love the way McFarlane writes non-perfect characters. Everyone has flaws, make mistakes, and while there may be clear “bad guys” there is a lot of humanity portrayed. I don’t think this will appeal to the typical romance reader, as really this is more of a friendship love, self growth type of women’s fiction. I loved it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

This book was so much more than I even imagined! I loved that the romance was almost a side story to Roisin's development. Seeing her character growth was incredibly powerful. My only complaint is that the end felt rushed and I just wanted more of Roisin and Matt!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. I always enjoy McFarlane's writing and this was no exception. I loved the group of friends, all well developed with many flaws, some easy to see and others well hidden. This story had a bit of a mystery to it...a serious tone like most of McFarlane's books. I really loved watching the story unfold!

Between Us is one of the best books I’ve read this year. Mhairi McFarlane has such a talent for taking a seemingly ordinary tale- a story about friendship and love- and captivating the reader so that you’re turning the pages, hanging onto every word.

In Between Us, Roisin and her group of friends met years ago working at Waterstones, including her boyfriend of almost a decade Joe. The gang gathers to watch the premiere of Joe’s latest TV show and its plot leaves Roisin feeling betrayed and questioning how well she actually knows her partner of 10 years. Suddenly Roisin has lots of questions and she won’t stop raising them until she uncovers the truth.

I was completely engrossed in this story. I did not want to put it down. Roisin is an incredible main character and I absolutely loved her arc. I felt deeply for her when she struggled and rooted her on as she found herself. In fact, all of the characters were very well done and I feel like that’s one of the true strengths of this book. I wish there was more of this story for me to read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I highly recommend! Just a heads up, it’s more contemporary fiction than romance.

This was not at all what I was expecting but I really enjoyed it! This was MESSY in only the way a longtime coed friend group with unrequited feelings can be. Between Roisin, Joe, Matt, Gina, Dev, and Anita (and throw in Meredith for good measure, such a Saint for putting up with everyone lol) there is plenty of drama to go around. Joe is the king of gaslighting, Roisin is a bit of a hot mess, Matt is the king of avoiding awkward feelings. They all have their flaws, but you def get invested in what is going to happen! I’m not sure I think the ending is believable but it’s fiction so that’s ok lol

I really wanted to love this book, I have always liked Mhairi McFarlane’s books, but I think I they may not be for me anymore. I love a super slow burn, but when the couple doesn’t get together until 80-85% of the way through and then there is a third act breakup, it takes away from the small part of the romance that we get.

I liked this plot in the beginning, but I soon tired of it as well. This just was okay for me all around.

Before I get into the bulk of my review, a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at HarperCollins for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I read my first Mhairi McFarlane earlier this year and when this showed up as available to request I just had to. I enjoyed the other novel so much and this one sounded so different to me. In this novel, Between Us, we follow Roisin whose long term boyfriend has a show coming out that all of their friends are excited for. This is his second tv show as a writer and he’s been given permission to take chances in a way he didn’t get to with the first show. But Roisin is thrown when she realizes that Joe stole parts of her past, private and intimate things she’s shared with him and him alone, to make an exciting and risky show. She breaks up with him and moves back with her mom to help run the family bar for the summer. But help comes in the form of a close friend who she probably shouldn’t be getting these butterflies for. Between Us comes out on August 8th and is available for preorder now.

I want to start by saying that the premise on GoodReads and the premise I’ve given here are both somewhat misleading. I would say this is a Mystery novel about Roisin and Joe’s relationship and trying to find the truth buried in his lies rather than a romance between Roisin and her friend Matt. The romance is there, but it doesn’t really start until 71% of the way through the novel. It made it so the romance felt too fast when it finally did happen since no romantic feelings or attractions appeared in most of the novel. I wanted to feel more of the romance/attraction between Roisin and Matt since this is the couple we’re supposed to be rooting for in the end. But the author spends so little time discussing their relationship and their interactions with one another before the last 30% of the novel. I get that technically they were both in relationships at the start of the novel and Roisin takes longer getting out of hers. But once the romance finally started going I think we needed more romantic moments between the two of them to really feel it. And maybe it wouldn’t have felt so sudden if Roisin had voiced a thought like, ‘I can’t believe I’m feeling this for a friend I’ve know for a decade.’ Just some sort of incredulity from the couple that it was all happening so quickly. Because then we can all share some sort of disbelief before letting suspension of disbelief kick in. Am I fully making sense? Probably not. Let’s move on.

Things I liked: 1) the first part of the novel giving us a glimpse into Rich People Drama. I’m a girl who loves some Rich People Drama. Keep it coming. 2) When we got down to the nitty/gritty of who Roisin and Matt were, I could understand their coupling and how they could end up dating. I don’t know that I like the going from zero to ‘I love you’ in 6 seconds but with some more dialogue I could possibly accept it. 3) The fact that this feels new and fresh. We’ve all read the Romance novels where the main characters goes back home to hide from a fresh heartbreak/drama and discovers love again with a friend from their past. But this felt fresh and new because we had Roisin who wanted to get to the bottom of her deeply unhealthy relationship with Joe. It felt like a Mystery novel that turns into a romance when there’s 30% left. But that’s kind of also what I don’t love about it. I like the Mystery, I like Roisin finding ways to get answers, I just wish the author had managed to throw in a little more romance before the 50% mark? Also, this ends up feeling like the conflict is something between the two main characters we’re supposed to be rooting for where I usually like Romance third act breakups that happen due to circumstance. I want the two main characters to have to face an external conflict together in order to make the relationship work.

So, now I’m so conflicted because I enjoyed reading this while I was reading for the most part. I liked the mix of genres. I didn’t totally buy the romance. But also I read the whole thing (over 400 pages) in two days while also having work. So? I come in at a 3 for this one because I’m really torn about this book.

I think this one might be on me, but despite enjoying Mhairi McFarlane I seem to keep picking up her books at the wrong time. I applaud the author for constantly writing nuanced stories, but it's my own fault for picking them up when I'm in the mood for a bit lighter. This one was painful in the beginning and it just wasn't one that I enjoyed. Classic it's not you, it's me situation when it comes to the book/reader!

Mhairi McFarlane is one of my favorite British authors, and I was very excited to read her latest. While it’s not my favorite of hers, I did love it.
As with most of her books, Between Us is not a typical lighthearted rom com. I consider it to be literary romance, by which I mean there is a lot more going on than falling in love and the romance doesn’t always take center stage.
Much of this book is spent getting to know a found-family friend group, of which Roisin and her long time love Joe are both part of. This friend group is chaotic and clever and absolutely delightful.
Then the reader and Roisin both discover Joe is an absolute selfish narcissist- this is written masterfully, by the way. Subsequently, a good portion of the story centers on Roisin dealing with her emotions and attempting to move on from her breakup. What does she do now? Where will she live? What happens to their friend group if Roisin and Joe are no longer together? I loved getting an in-depth look at the rest of the friends - they are constant characters throughout the entire book.
The romance for Roisin comes into the story in the form of an old friend she surprisingly connects with after she breaks up with Joe. The buildup is slow, careful, and sweet as they get to know each other better. They do move to “in love” fairly suddenly, and I wish we had more time getting them there.
If you go in with no expectations of a witty romcom, this will be a thoughtful and emotional read. I fell in love with Roisin and hope you do too.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I adore Mhairi McFarlane. She’s an auto-read author for me, and I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Between Us. Along with a small handful of authors, McFarlane has made me completely rethink the way I feel about the entire contemporary romance genre, which I used to think wasn’t for me. As it turns out, it is!

That being said, Between Us didn’t quite land for me as her others did. I thought the premise about a woman whose life unravels spectacularly after her screenwriter boyfriend uses their relationship as inspiration for his new television show sounded terrific. Roisin was a sweetheart, and Joe was an a**hole, and Matt seemed very sweet and handsome. I just didn’t get enough of the relationship between Roisin and Matt to feel invested in their will they or won’t they romance.

However, even a less-stellar Mhairi McFarlane book is still stellar, and I really enjoyed this read. Her books hit all of the notes, and her writing is never-ever cringey. I know I’m going to be happy every time I pick up a Mhairi McFarlane book, and I would definitely recommend Between Us (along with all of her other books) to lovers of the genre.

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

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperColllins for giving me the opportunity to read a digital copy of Between Us about Roisin and Matt.

Slow paced in the beginning then the story starts to pick up. This story reminds me of the British version of the American TV sitcom Friends.

This story is about friends gathering and how two friends eventually become boyfriend-girlfriend.

This was a new to me author. Some of the characters were likable while others were not as likable.

I love McFarlane and Im so glad I’ve gotten to read another one of her books! I found out about her last year and I think she continues to solidify herself as the perfect romance writer. And when I say romance writer I do want to preface it by saying that none of her books are 100% romance centric, but that’s what makes them so perfect. Her main characters always grab a bit of my heart while reading and Roisin was a perfect new love of mine. This is not my favorite McFarlane book, but I don’t think she’ll ever have a “bad” book in my mind.

I have tried and just cannot read this book. It is supposed to be a funny romance but is just not good. Unfortunately, this one was not for me.

I always love a Mhairi McFarlane novel, and this certainly did not disappoint. The characters had depth and humor, and though the story had a couple bumps and discrepancies, I love following the multiple story lines and people who made up the Brians List world. 4.5/5