I am such a huge fan of Mhairi McFarlane- literally have enjoyed everything I have read by her and this is no exception! This story was the perfect blend of romance and mystery and she always, always manages to write a strong FMC which I am here for. I think the topics of friendship and relationships are hard to cover, especially for people in their early 30s. Everyone has a group of friends they met when they were in college and it takes a lot to make those friendships last over the years. Inevitably, you worry about everyone drifting apart which we see Rosh deal with. And I would say most of us have had our own experiences with a gaslighting sig-other at some point, so that being talked about here really resonated with me personally. I'm glad Rosh was able to see past Joe being a total wank and trusting her gut that something was off in their relationship. Honestly, a great read- I was so happy with how everything worked out and Mhairi will always be an auto-read author for me.

Another winner from Mhairi McFarlane!
Roisin (Ro-SHEEN), her longtime boyfriend, Joe, and their fellow former bookstore employee friend group, The Brian Club, are off for a weekend of various group celebrations, including watching the premiere of screenwriter Joe's new crime drama. Roisin is horrified when on-screen events and characters seemingly mirror secrets of her childhood and possibly implicate Joe's infidelity. Joe swears it's creative license, but Roisin starts to see pieces that don't fit quite right and the more she digs, the more suspicious she becomes. 
I really, really loved this one. Mhairi has a talent for writing messy, imperfect characters with flaws and spirit who are tackling big, current, adult issues while both screwing up and triumphing. There's also plenty of witty charm and laughs. Deep into one of Mhairi's books, I always feel engaged and drawn into the story, the unapologetic realness and inspiration she weaves in. This book in particular was twisty and suspenseful with gaslighting and relationship toxicity. I was absolutely sucked in until that beautiful, perfect ending. The side characters add so much, I loved the Brian Club! It's always a treat to dive into a new Mhairi book and this was no exception. 
Many thanks to Harper Collins Avon for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I’ve read one other book by this author, but Between Us felt very different that If I’d Never Met You. Ultimately I enjoyed it very much, but I was a bit unsure if there was a tonal issue.

The story begins with a group of long time friends meeting up together for the weekend for several celebrartions and for the premiere of Joe’s new TV. It’s mostly light and fun but the brief arrival of a celebrity felt really broad compared to the rest of the grounded story. After the TV show airs, Joe’s girlfriend, Riosin is upset because private things she’s told him make it into the show. They have a fight about this, and something about the tone and the tenor of the fight, while reasonable, felt a bit jarring from the initial lightness of the story.

After that, much of the book is Riosin deciding if she should stick to her guns and break up with Joe and she helps out at her mom’s pub with another of theirs friends, I think a lot of the story was pretty rote and predictable after that, but still very enjoyable.

There’s a late scene with Riosin and another woman (no spoilers as to who!) that was extremely well handled and fresh, There are some heavy moments throughout, but the tone felt more cohesive after that first initial fight.

Generally speaking, I read fiction across multiple genres. I love this because if I'm feeling a reading slump in one, there are others I can reach for that I will adore. This all to say... I haven't been in love with a book in weeks, and a friend of mine suggested we start Between Us. It was love at first word. I wish everyone wrote with Mhairi's wit and deep dive into characters.
Roisin and Joe join their friends for a weekend getaway and series of celebrations. Unbeknownst to Roisin, they'll watch the series premier of Joe's new show between the engagement and birthday festivities. She doesn't expect secrets she's shared to be displayed on screen in excruciating detail and can't help but think he's using other life experiences as inspiration as well. Hollywood's calling and Joe leaves Roisin to figure out how she wants to proceed alone.
I didn't anticipate some of the twists that came, but the more disappointed I became in one character, the more I gravitated and adored another. Even the supporting cast is incredibly well done. The end result was perfection. I eagerly anticipate her books every year and I am never disappointed.
Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Mhairi McFarlane just never disappoints. She continues to come up with completely new storylines in amazing ways. While it doesn't surpass my favorite MM book, Don't You Forget About Me, I still really enjoyed it and the characters.

I was so excited to receive my first ARC from NetGalley and Avon. Even more excited that it was a Mhairi McFarlane book as every one I read continues to get better and better. This one didn’t disappoint. The book grabs you from the first chapter and keeps you guessing along the way. Once I started reading I couldn’t stop. The book is funny, charming, heartwarming, and real. Talks about serious topics and makes you laugh out loud at the same time. The cast of supporting characters was perfect. Thank you again for this advance copy!!

Couldn't get more than a couple of chapters into this one. I like this author plenty, but this one missed the mark. I wasn't able to get into the story or understand the setup and premise. It was probably a combination of not being in the right mindset, but this one was a big let down.

Mhairi McFarlane does it again! She is one of my favorite authors and can never wait to get my hands on a new book. This book was not my favorite of hers, but still managed to be a 5-star book! As it begun, I was not quite sure where it was going. Unlike those books where you suss out the main characters in the first few pages, I wasn't sure about this for a while. However, even being a little lost in where the book was going, Mhairi writes so well that I enjoyed just being along for the ride. Then, as the plot revealed itself, I was fully invested and couldn't put it down.

3.5 stars. This book was a complicated read for me. The first 30ish% was a struggle of wondering when the story was really going to start moving. Once it picked up, the middle really brought me in, but then the end felt like there was a lot jammed in and felt rushed. I’m still conflicted on my overall feelings, because there was so much I liked about it, but also a lot I wish had been done differently.

Roisin is headed off to a weekend away with her boyfriend, Joe, and their friend group to celebrate multiple occasions, one of those being the premiere of Joe’s new show. Turns out, Joe took events Roisin shared with him in private and made them very public ‘fictionalized’ storylines for his show. On top of that, some of the other elements of his new show have her questioning everything she thought she knew about their relationship. As it all unravels, she spends time back at home helping her mom out and finds an unexpected deeper connection with one of her longtime friends.

Let’s start by saying Joe gave me some real Joe Goldberg vibes, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he had more than metaphorical skeletons in his closet. I really felt for Roisin as she came to terms with the extent of his lies and gaslighting over the years of their relationship. I understood her need to find answers, even after she’d already come to her decision about the fate of their relationship. I wish she’d settled everything before trying to move on though, only for her own sake to have a clearer headspace on both fronts. While there were enough hints dropped that the new romance didn’t feel entirely out of nowhere, I did feel like it was rushed on Roisin’s side. (I also don’t buy that Gina moved on so quickly after years of pining.) There were also a lot of interesting family dynamics at play here that I would’ve liked a bit more development of than just a couple quick conversations.

I think if the first part of the book had been shortened considerably to get to the conflict between Roisin and Joe sooner and given those pages to allow for more time to really dive into the fallout and subsequent moving on, I would’ve loved this one.

i really wanted to like this more than i did, but unfortunately something for me fell flat. i really enjoy the authors work, so this is definitely a me thing of just not feeling the book.

thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC!

Such a sweet storyy about losing and finding love while losing and finding yourself. A little bit of a puzzle wrapped in a charming story about a circle of friends who might be drifting apart - and knitting back together.

This book is as much lit fiction as is it romance. Roisin and Joe have been a couple for 10 years, and have settled into a degree of comfort. When they spend the weekend with a group of friends, two of whom are newly engaged, Roisin starts to question if her relationship is what she thought it was. From the beginning, this book went in a very different direction than I was expecting, and every time I thought I knew what this was going to be, it would change. In that way, it is a little like The No Show. Definitely recommend, but don’t go in expecting a traditional romance.

Beautiful, moving, swoony, BETWEEN US is my favorite McFarlane novel yet! I was gripped from page 1 and it didn't let me go. Thank you to Netgalley for am arc of my now favorite book of the year.

I’ve read several of Mhairi McFarlane’s books so when I saw this one I jumped on it. I’m sad to say I just didn’t love it like some of her others.

Without giving too much away here’s what I liked about Roisin and Joe’s story:
~ she trusted her instinct
~ she finally saw Joe’s true colors
~ she followed her heart
~ the ending! 💕

What I didn’t love:
~ I felt like the story dragged a bit
~ I had to look up some of the British slang but got the gist of it
~ the romance part didn’t happen until the end


Overall I still love Mhairi and will always read anything she writes. I didn’t connect with these characters as much but I think it’s mostly because I just didn’t like Joe. If you’re a Mhairi fan, don’t skip this one, just know it’s sort of different.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
This book was interesting, to say the least. After reading the description, I figured that the plot would have started with a bang but actually it took a solid 30% to actually get to the main plot. That first 30% was build up to the plot, which is necessary but this time it was a bit much.
Once the plot picked up, I didn't really find it that interesting. The book didn't pull me in like most others would, which really disappointed me.
While I was reading, I did really enjoy reading the banter between the friend group. I really enjoyed reading about the friendships and what they meant to each character, but the rest of the book fell flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for an eARC of this book.

Between Us got off to a very slow start for me. I was about 25% into the book still wondering where the story wanted to go. The MFC Roisin is a teacher and ten years into a relationship with her partner Joe. He has recently come into success with his career as television writer and creating his own shows. Raisin seems unhappy and feels uncomfortable with this therefore the long-winded chapters of discussions with her mates on a weekend getaway.

I won't say much to avoid any spoilers but as the story unfolds it becomes more interesting. The writing is good and the pace moves along, but Roisin never gets out of her own head regarding Joe and their relationship, things in her past and where all of this is going for her future. I had really had it with her about 3/4 of the way through the book. I will say here that I wonder how far she would go and when she would stop before she had satisfied herself that she was right. I categorized it an obsession because had she been a real person and not confined to the pages of a book her thoughts would have roiled in her brain 24/7. This type of women's fiction might appeal to some, but is not my cup of tea.

Thank you to Mahairi McFarlane and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There is a quote in this novel that perfectly describes the story for me - "It was slow, but fast at the end."

The first half of the book describes the main character, Roisin, her long-term boyfriend Joe, and their core group of friends from days gone by on a celebratory weekend getaway, which is setting up the rest of the book, which takes place in present day and goes by much quicker (in my opinion).

I had trouble connecting with Roison at times, but overall Mhairi does a fantastic job of planting the seed of interest and I kept wanting to come back and see how things were going to end for her and the other characters. The author does a wonderful job of detailing the ups and downs of friendships and relationships in adulthood. There is also a fair amount of family trauma, cheating, gaslighting, and manipulative tactics in this book - but the way the characters handle these is very realistic which I greatly appreciate.

The romance in this book is somewhat sparse, but not absent completely. The main theme is more emotionally charged and dramatic, thus I would recommend this to anyone looking for something to read in the Contemporary Fiction genre, not necessarily Romance or Chick-Lit.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have got to say Mhairi does not disappoint. I truly love how Mhairi books are focused on growth and knowing to love oneself above all while going through life altering situations. This book makes you feel all sorts of emotions from anger to sadness to happiness as you read Roisin going through them. I cannot stress how this story made me feel. Roisin and Joe were built on a lie that was discovered 10 years too late, but that didn’t stop Roisin from learning what mattered along the way and that was friendship, truths, and real love.

A new Mhairi McFarlane's novel is always a highlight of any reading year. The theme of gaslighting is central to this story, as it features a highly likeable heroine in Roisin, a competent secondary ed English teacher with devoted friends but a mercurial boyfriend. From the first pages, it's not clear how long Roisin will tolerate Joe in her life, despite their decade together, since their relationship has been on a steady downward trajectory for quite a while. From Roisin's perspective, Joe's loss of interest in her coincides with his rapid rise to fame and success as a TV screenwriter. She's not comfortable with his enamored feelings about celebrity, having no interest in the status or even potential wealth it will bring to them as a couple. She quite admirably enjoys her quiet life with books, teaching, and good friends. A weekend get-together in the first chapters with their four best friends, however, puts them all in one closed environment where tensions build and secrets are exposed.

McFarlane does a fine job examining the phenomenon of gaslighting and narcissism, popular cultural topics today. I do also think though that these are pretty irredeemable traits for any person to embody, and so unlike other books by her, Joe is a fascinating, if rather one-dimensional character. That led me to question why Roisin, wonderful though she is in so many ways, can be so misled by what one friend calls a "mean boy." The question of Roisin's attraction to someone so selfish and heartless is certainly raised more than once, but I'm not sure this book has answers, and I think maybe it needed some. I think too it's fair to say that Joe's personality disorder is central in one way or another to the entire book, leaving scant oxygen for much else, including a new romantic relationship for Roisin.

McFarlane often de-centers the romance in favor of a heroine's development, but here, more than most of her books, the romance is slight. I still really like Him but it took a long time to locate him in this story. I found them together a little rushed for my liking too. And maybe because I am inclined not to want to give narcissists undue attention, I wanted the story to move away quickly; it doesn't.

I debated giving this book three rather than four stars, but I did absolutely enjoy reading it despite some misgivings. Some scenes really stayed with me days after reading it, including totally engaging scenes of Roisin handling disrespectful boys in her classroom. The friendships in this book are poignant and heartfelt. The true hero of the book is well worth the time waiting for him to take center stage. Ultimately, despite some criticisms, McFarlane remains one of my favorite romance authors.

Between Us focuses on Roisin’s tension with her boyfriend of almost 10 years, Joe, that’s exacerbated when he uses real life inspiration for a new tv show. His actions put their friend group at risk as Roisin tries to figure out what’s real and what’s fiction.

I’ve enjoyed other books by Mhairi McFarlane, so I was eagerly awaiting this one. Mhairi does a great job of writing heavier topics with some lighthearted and funny characters. I was worried in the beginning because Roisin was noticeably judgmental of the women in her life, but she showed growth as the story progressed and I think a lot of it stemmed from her own insecurities (not that it makes it right, it just made sense for the character). I would love to see more about Roisin’s female friends (Gina and Meredith) in a sequel. I do think the storylines featuring Dev and Anita lacked follow-through too, but I wasn’t as interested since they weren’t as close with Roisin and her journey.

I would’ve preferred less of Joe, although I can see some appreciating the realistic depiction of how complicated your thoughts can be in that type of relationship (as Roisin tried to figure out her feelings and what was real). I would’ve loved more of Matt, as he was really the shining spot for me. Overall though, I was enthralled by the last third of the story and definitely cried. Always have your tissues ready with a Mhairi McFarlane book, because she really depicts relationships and life events in an engrossing way that hits home.*

Rating: 4 stars
CW/TW: toxic relationship, gaslighting, infidelity, panic attacks
Spice: 0 to 🌶️ (some kissing)
Good for readers who: want a deeper romance or a mix of fiction, mystery, and romance
Romance tropes: friends to lovers, love triangle, slow burn, closed door romance

*Thanks to NetGalley & Avon & Harper Voyager for providing this ARC! All opinions are my own.