3.5 Humorous but a bit slow to get going

Between Us will tickle your funny bone as you watch a woman learn her husband's hit television show is based on their life...and their life has been a lie. With the help of friends, family, and a little know crush, our heroine learns that when you hit rock bottom, the only place you have left to go is up.

I couldn't focus on this book at all. I lived in Manchester, England and I struggled with the writing because Northern English is very different. I couldn't get into the characters- Joe is too cocky, Roshi is just annoying because of her low self-confidence, Gina needs to move on and Dev/Anita are just immature. What type of friend group is this? They all keep secrets from each other and all hate/envy the others. My friends successes are celebrated and all 7 of them were doing was trying to ruin the mood or bring up negatives.

It just wasn't my book and maybe the cultural barriers made it harder. I considered not finishing the book because of the first chapter alone because it was too much all at once and the English was too British.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I thought the story had a good premise. However, the protagonist moved on way too fast at the end and it didn’t keep my attention the whole time.

This was a quick read. The romance was sweet, but I felt that there could have been even more character development. I enjoyed the plot and.just overall wonderful.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Mhairi McFarlane read and I really wanted to love it, but I don't think her writing style is for me.

4.5 stars.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a romance. Yes, there is a bit of it but it's absolutely secondary to the journey Roisin goes through as she struggles to find out the truth of her nearly ten year relationship. Nor is this a fast-paced, quirky rom-com. It's a slow burn - both in terms of pacing and plot. We learn things as Roisin learns them which can be frustrating, but it allows the reader to feel the same anger and uncertainty and confusion that she does. What's true? Is she overreacting? Is she not reacting enough? Does she trust her feelings, or what she's being told?

I don't want to say too much more because spoilers, but I really enjoyed the slower pace. It felt natural and real. Life doesn't always give us an answer right away and Between Us doesn't either.

This was my first book by Mhairi McFarlane and, after seeing reviews from long-time fans of hers saying they were let down by this one, I am very much looking forward to reading more because I loved it.

Content warnings: mention of abortion, mention of possible sexual abuse ("off screen" and not to or by one of the main characters)

*ARC Review*

This is my first Mhairi McFarlane novel and I really wanted to be in love with it, but I think it just wasn't my style. This rom-com had many more twists and turns then a usually fluffy rom-com. We are introduced to Roisin who is a member of the friend group "The Brians". They have all been friends for years and Roisin has been dating fellow member Joe for a while. Joe and Roisin's relationship is on the rocks and intimate stories of her past have started to appear in Joe's new show he wrote. Trust is lost, relationships falter, and the wild rollercoaster begins. While mourning the relationship with Joe, a fellow Brians member comes into the light as her new love.

I enjoyed the story and the mysterious quality to it, but just felt it was a little jumbled. It felt like an everything but the kitchen sink story but not in a good way. I wanted to get to know Matt even more then we did, as it felt the relationship between Roisin and Matt was a very small part of the story (which stinks because it is what I came for). Lots going on, which somehow left me wanting more.

*3.75 rounded up

This is a fun contemporary romcom, though it's pretty light on the romance. When it's there, it's good, but it's thin on the ground. Perhaps because of the TV writer link, I'm finding it easier to think of movie and TV comps than books - things in the vein of Friends from College, The Big Chill, St. Elmo's Fire.

I appreciated Macfarlane's attention to the gaslighting that Roisin experiences in her relationship, but the length of time it takes for them to break up and for Roisin to feel confident in her sense that things were not right steals focus from the new relationship she's embarking on. I enjoyed it overall, but the pacing was muddied by this.

This was definitely not your average fluffy rom-com this had some romance in it but the focus was on Roisin and the deterioration of her relationship with her BF of 10 yrs. Joe and her friend group which is entwined with her relationship. It was about how friends grow together or apart and how to navigate different socio economic brackets while still maintaining your friendship. Joe and Roisin have been drifting apart while he has been working on his new 3 part limited series. While they are away celebrating 10 years of being friends with Matt, Gina, Meredith, Dev and his fiancée Anita and during the screening the first episode of Joes new series that she realizes that she doesn’t want to be with him anymore especially once she sees that he used something she told him in confidence in his new show. Which makes her wonder what else might be true in his show and starts her investigating Joe and figuring out what is truth and what is fiction. There is a side romance which is mostly during the last ¾ of the book and some family drama with Roisin’s Mom but that is kept in the background for the most part. This was a good fast read.
Thanks to Avon/Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

This is my second Mhairi McFarlane book. I received BETWEEN US as an ARC from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review so here goes. The cover(s) teases a rom-com but don't be fooled. The long term relationship between teacher Roisin and screenwriter Joe cooled over the last year as his career took off. Their group of friends reunites for a house party to celebrate an engagement, a birthday, and the viewing of Joe's new TV series. As Roisin decides whether she wants to stay in the relationship or not, the group watches the pilot episode of Joe's sexually graphic show. Roisin is unpleasantly surprised by content of the show that solves her dilemma and causes her to not trust their entire relationship. Other members of the group deal with unrequited love, money disparity issues, wedding planning drama, and growing apart. While the book does has some excellent qualities with strong, female friendships, cohesive writing, and (ultimately at the very end) a happily ever after, the tone throughout the majority of the book is stressful and anxious as Roisin understands herself better and untangles herself from toxic/untruthful/manipulative relationships with her family, friends, and lovers. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I knew I was getting women's fiction and not the romantic comedy suggested by the cover?

My favorite thing about any book by Mhairi McFarlane is without a doubt her writing style. For that reason alone I vouch for picking up any of her titles.

Between Us is another amazingly well-written book filled with strong characters and a fascinating story. I have so many lines and passages highlighted in this one for being relevant, witty, and hilarious. The start was slower this time around and it took me a while to get into the groove of this story but once I had, it was hard to put down.

It doesn't fit the typical mold of a romance novel and leans more on the contemporary side than the romance side. My main drawback was that I could have done with more pages at the end!

I received an ARC from Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a 4.5 rounded up to five. I devoured this book. It follows a typical Mhairi McFarlane plot (no complaints here though) — FMC ends bad relationship, has a vibrant friends group, deals with heavy issues while still maintaining humor, FMC eventually enters a new relationship with a sweet, swoon-worthy MMC. I’d put this in my second level tier of the author’s books — Tier 1 Gushing Love (Just Last Night, Don’t You Forget About Me), Tier 2 Vastly Enjoyed (If I Never Met You, Between Us), Tier 3 Enjoyed (Mad About You, You Had Me at Hello). Being an uncorrected proof, there were some typos, but I was generally able to infer what was being said when it was a little muddled. Some of the humor is very British, but I don’t think it impacts my enjoyment, though I’m sure it enriches the story for Brits. As a main character, Roisin was awesome, and I’d totally want to be friends with her.

This was a quick read. There were some wrinkles I didn’t see coming. I just wanted to be friends with Rioson. I’d like to read more about these friends.

As a huge fan of the author I was really excited to read this her latest book and was delighted to find that it was, as per her usual, a brilliant book full of humor, real life experience and joy. So well written and full of humor, this book will have you hanging onto to your seat, waiting to see what will happen. Amid falling in and out of love and friendship, the characters become real and discover things about themselves and each other. Highly recommended for all those that love a romantic comedy and just a great read.

I loved the premise of this book. The author does a great job of developing characters, but the pacing was so slow for the first half of the book that I found myself continually putting it down to read something else. It got better towards the end, but I wish it had been spaced better.

This was so good. I could definitely see this made into a movie. One I would watch over and over! Roisin was such a great character that you forget she is made up. So good.
I just reviewed Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane. #BetweenUs #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

A quiet, aching character study in the evolution of friendships and the lengths we can go to either avoid or confront our own choices.

Roisin and her friends, including her boyfriend Joe, have seemingly perfect lives. Although all of them know at least one thing about the others that makes this very much not true if you dig a little deeper. At the forefront of a weekend away is Roisin's growing realization that she and Joe are likely over, that Joe has changed with his writing and TV fame. And when she watches his new show, she sees on-screen evidence that what she had thought were private moments and discussions just between them, the relationship frays even more. And in this dissolution of Roisin and Joe, we see Matt and Roisin's mother play roles that Roisin didn't even realize she needed to have in her life. There are secrets and lies and a fair amount of gaslighting flying around among the group. And things definitely get worse before they have a chance to get better.

I loved the delicate balance of friendships here, on all sides. How each pairing or grouping talked to one another, how they all knew different things, and how they all tried to be supportive in their own ways. This group could be any group of friends. And the lies they told themselves and each other were lies that many of us tell to hide the parts of us that we don't want anyone to ask questions about. A smile can hide a lot of pain.

What made this story was the fact that it didn't seem farfetched or fantastical, it felt as if it could happen - or was currently happening - anywhere in the world. This is what makes it both devastating and hopeful.

I always struggle a bit getting into a Mhairi McFarlane book, but I know I need to persevere, because the payoff is huge! I am always very invested in the character's story and what it took to get them to the "end". The same was true for Between Us. Roisin's backstory was very detailed, as we see a group of friends reunited after 10 years of friendship. As her long term relationship falls apart, she realizes that what she has been looking for has been in front of her all of this time. Absolutely loved it! Highly recommend.

I love mcfarlanes writing and this was no exception. I loved the banter and the relationship between the main characters.

Roisin and her boyfriend Joe are spending a weekend with their closest friends, The Brian Club. Joe’s writing career is taking off and they plan to watch the first episode of a new series he’s written on the last night of their stay. Roisin is already questioning their long-term relationship when she finds he’s written an extremely personal anecdote into the show.

I had a harder time than normal translating all the British slang and spent a lot of time looking up words. I was feeling lost for the first third of this book, then suddenly, I’m sucked in and loving it. Joe is the ultimate gaslighting jerk, and you really wonder what Roisin ever saw in him. The rest of The Brian Club was endearing. I loved watching Roisin put together all the clues of what Joe had been up to during their ten years together. Loved Matt and I wish he’d been a bigger part of the book. But the real focus of the book was Roisin having the courage to make the right choice and speak up for what she wanted. It's so nice to read a realistic female MC with spunk and brains. Another great book by Mhairi McFarlane!

Thank you to Shelf Awareness, NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.