This is my first book by this author and I honestly can't wait to dig into more of her work. This is not a lighthearted rom-com. The author explores adult friendship dynamics across a friend group where everyone is at different points in their careers, love lives, and socio-economic brackets.

Our FMC Roisin discovers that her significant other has used personal stories she shared in confidence as 'inspiration' for his latest TV drama. Not only that, but the core group of friends in the show is eerily similar to their group. Roisin begins to wonder how different the main character in the show is from Joe. While navigating this, she also deals with complex family relationships, teaching teenagers literature, and sorting out past traumas.

I really enjoyed the way this was laid out and especially enjoyed the relationship between Roisin the other women in their friend group. The open and honest communication they had was a 180 from the way Joe spoke to Roisin throughout most of the book.

The book deals with themes of gaslighting, manipulation, and adultery so, as always, please keep that in mind before jumping in yourself. Truly enjoyed this novel and hope it does well when it releases this August!

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for sharing this digital advance reader copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC copy of Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane.

I breezed through this book in just a couple days, which is always a good sign. It was clever and funny, and touched on some fairly heavy topics without ever feeling too heavy. Mhairi McFarlane is a new author to me and I’m looking forward to discovering her other works.

Having read many of Mhairi McFarlane’s books, I was very excited to dig into this one. McFarlane writes an excellent love story and I’ve loved her previous work. I have to say, this book was different than what she has done before. This book was darker, more nuanced and multilayered. Do not go into this book expecting as easy-to-read romance. You DO get some wonderful romantic swoon worthy moments but that is not the whole point of the story. Parts of this story are hard to get though, there are multiple possible trigger’s and at times it reads more like literary fiction. But I believe those things add to the story. This book is the story of finding one’s strength, being lifted up by the people who care about you, and leaving behind the people who haven’t served you well. It was unexpected and yet enjoyable.

Roisin and Joe have been ships passing in the night for the past year, ever since Joe's show got picked up, and he's become Mr. Hollywood. To celebrate his new show's premiere, they join their friends for a weekend away at a country estate in the Lakes. Their group has been together for ten years, but when secrets are revealed, and Roisin begins to question whether she ever knew the true Joe, everything begins to fall apart.

More in the vein of McFarlane's last book, Between Us definitely skews more as women's fiction than a romantic comedy like her earlier works. Much of the story was spent on Roisin finding herself, rather than on her finding true love, resulting in a predictable, but sweet, story. McFarlane's books are always so descriptive, and I really didn't want the story to end. I want to be a part of all of these character's lives forever, and I want them all to be happy (with the exception of Joe!) The only thing that didn't really ring true was the chemistry between Roisin and Matt, I think if I had read more scenes of them from the past, when they were working at the bookshop, I might have been more invested in their blooming relationship.

I really struggled with this. The friends were not friends at all. Not sure why Roisin put up with Joes idiocy and rudeness towards her for so long while she’s jealous of everyone else. Joe vs Matt was just childish. Dev being clueless about money was even worse. Just not for me I guess.

There is a lot of narrative distance and it’s not working for me. The characters aren’t feeling like characters I’m interested in or want to invest in. There’s so much build up of random details that I’m confused as to what’s actually important. Stopping at 7%.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

Mhairi does it again! Super cute book with great chemistry. The main character was very relatable but that may or may not be the purple hair which I also have hahah

Pure brilliance, this book! I am a massive Mhairi McFarlane fan, so not at all surprised by yet another brilliant story by her! I am surprised, however, at how she was able to mash up a romance and, quite frankly, a mystery! The romance bits were almost secondary to the mystery of Joe's (possible) duplicity and cuckoldry. I was so wrapped up in did he/didn't he that I found myself looking at my own partner like he was Jasper Hunter! Needless to say, I was absolutely captive to this story- couldn't put it down! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Special thanks to Mhairi McFarlane, Netgalley, and HarperCollins Publishers for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

Mhairi McFarlane became an instant read author for me when I first read her last year on vacation. While I liked "Just Last Night," I feel like every one I've tried since then has felt flat.

Roisin started dating Joe when they met working at a bookstore (shout out to Waterstones, spent a quality afternoon in one when I was in Liverpool!), and they're still friends with the same group with which they worked there. Joe is now a seemingly successful TV writer, and when his new show seems more fact than fiction, Roisin starts to question her partner of a decade. Another plot point is Roisin going back and forth from her apartment to her mother's pub a few miles away to help while Roison is on summer break, and her mother is seemingly unwell and understaffed.

And that's where I with the plot so I don't give stuff away. I had a had a hard time telling when it jumped from Roisin's life in the city and her life helping her mother. Maybe it's how I read this ARC, maybe it's an issue others had as well. Overall, I liked it, but I don't know if it's a book I'd pick up again. Mostly because I'm starting to be slightly jealous that all of McFarlane's characters have strong friend groups in their late twenties and early thirties.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Mhairi McFarlane never fails to disappoint. I have been a huge fan of McFarlane for a while and when I saw this new release, especially with this cover I practically RAN.

I really enjoyed the premise of the story and how we got to watch the two MC's lives and complex feelings for one another unfold. As someone in their early 30's reading a book that mirrored the joys of this milestone, was great.

The only hang up I have about the book is that I felt that some characters were more developed than others.

This is the first Mhairi McFarlane book that I have read but I’ll definitely be reading more of them now that I’ve started. Loved the friend group in this!

I love books that include fun friendship groups. This didn't disappoint. I loved the full circle aspect in differing relationships---one of which Roishin & Lorraine. I adored Matt from the get go and do wish we got more of them.

This book begins with a group of friends, called the Brian Club, celebrating an anniversary, an engagement, and a birthday. As it turns out, Roisin’s long term boyfriend Joe also has a huge cause to celebrate — the pilot of his new show is airing. He also gets a call with an exciting opportunity in Hollywood. He doesn’t share this with her before he tells the entire crew. Sure, they have been drifting apart for a while, but still … And Joe is awful. He is selfish and self-aggrandizing. He only thinks about himself. Not Roisin, not his friends, just himself. Then, the Brian Club watches Joe’s show, and yeah, I can’t say anything without spoilers. That isn’t the only thing that happens, but it ends with the group splintering a bit. Can anything be repaired? Can Roisin forgive Joe? Should she?

This is very much a Mhairi McFarlane book. If you’ve liked any of this authors work, you’ll definitely like this one. It is about friendship, personal growth, and romance.

The friendship group was hit and miss for me, probably because some of the characters were more developed than others. Gina was a piece of work, Meredith was just there, Joe was … Joe. Roisin and Matt were the life of this book. I felt for Matt from the first accidental embarrassing situation. The more I learned about him, the more I liked him. I really felt for both Matt and Roisin. They both truly deserve better than where they started in the book.

Now, this doesn’t read like a four star review yet … but that is because I’ve only really mentioned the beginning to avoid spoilers. There are so many joyful or funny scenes. Matt’s girlfriend reveal was amazing, every scene with a particular cat, Roisin’s investigation and especially its conclusion. There are some incredibly well written relationships and such character growth. Also, you just want to cheer out loud in places. This is, in no way, a light easy read, but it isn’t dark and dreary either. It is well rounded and kept my interest all the way through.

TW: gaslighting, so much gaslighting, as well as cheating.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an arc of this book.

This is the second book I've read by the author and I had a hard time connecting with it. It's well written and it kept me reading to the end, but a large part of the story is spent with the main character trying to find out some things about her boyfriend.
As for the romance, it's very slow burn.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

I wanted to like this more, but it was just odd? I'm not sure how to describe it.

I will say, this is my first time reading a Mhairi McFarlene book and the slang really took me a minute to get used to (and understand) what was going on.

I felt like the story was written well, but there were some parts that seemed a bit slow that could have been either left out or developed more.

The romance between Matt and Roisin felt forced and out of place. Especially when she tells him that she's loved him all this time whereas we don't have any info regarding how they interacted when they were younger/throughout the years. I would have liked some more development with that.

Also, the preface when Roisin was younger really didn't flow well with the rest of the story - it felt out of place.

Mhairi McFarlane has been an auto-read author for me since 2016, and any of her upcoming books automatically make it to my most anticipated releases of the year list. To say I dropped everything once I got an ARC of this book is not an exaggeration. While Between Us isn’t my favorite of her books, I still really enjoyed it! Between Us follows a woman who discovers her long-term screenwriter boyfriend isn’t who she always thought he was, amidst the implosion of their tightly knit friend group.

Roisin has known her friend group since they all worked at Waterstones together ten years ago. They’re all gearing up for a weekend away to celebrate an engagement, a birthday, and the premiere of her boyfriend Joe‘s new show. Over the past year, Roisin has felt Joe pulling away from her and their relationship, but the breaking point comes when she realizes he’s used her painful secrets as a plot line in his show. Even worse, the show is centered around a serial cheater, leaving Roisin to wonder just how much truth he’s written into this show.

I really loved the characters! The friend group is a strange amalgamation of people tied together since they all worked together. There’s Dev, someone so likable that he won a reality show a couple years ago. Now, he’s struck it big and isn’t afraid to shower his friends with money, however uncomfortable they may be. Matt is a so-called playboy but not without a kind heart; Gina is the sweetest of all of them and has been in love with him for years. Meredith provides support to everyone and can be depended to give you the harsh, but necessary, truth. And then there’s Joe, Roisin’s screenwriter boyfriend whose career has taken off after a small show he wrote for became an international success.

Roisin lives in fear of all of them growing apart, especially since all of their lives have gone in such different paths. She particularly thinks her and Joe’s relationship would only contribute to this, so she’s been mostly ignoring the fact that he doesn’t seem to like her, or Matt, anymore. However, after she watches Joe’s new show, she can’t help but realize that this is the end for her.

The book really centers around the end of their relationship, albeit just in Roisin’s head at first. A lot of the beginning is her considering whether or not it’s right to end things, given the new revelations. It’s no small thing to break up with someone she’s built a life with, and she wants to consider all her options. I liked that while she turns to Gina and Meredith for advice, and then to Matt for help, they all support her while also maintaining a realistic tone. By that, I mean it’s easy for Roisin to spiral in this situation but the three of them keep her on a more sane path.

Amidst all this, Roisin returns to her childhood home to help her mother out. She’s always had a tense relationship with her, especially since she’s very toxic and more obviously favors Roisin’s emotionally unavailable younger brother. I liked that she does realize over time that, despite their differences, there’s love there. Their relationship might not be perfect, but they can hold this complex love at least, something important when Roisin’s just lost a long-term relationship with now tainted memories.

The romance is a bit leaner in this book than I expected, but that was honestly for the best. I love how Mhairi McFarlane always slowly builds up the couple’s rapport in her books, and this one was no exception. Reading this book made me want to go back and reread all of her books now! Something about her writing just clicks with me. I ended up speeding through this book because I couldn’t put it down.

Between Us documents the slow, and then fast, decline of a long-term relationship and how that affects a mutual friend group. It had all the heart and wit of McFarlane’s other works, and I really liked the story and characters. If you’re a fan of this author’s previous books or are looking for a woman’s fiction/romance title, I would definitely recommend Between Us!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC of "Between Us" in exchange for my honest review. This novel follows a close knit group of friends in their early 30s. They all met years ago at a local book store and this novel now follows their complex relationships ten years later. Our two main characters Rosin and Joe are a teacher and writer who share both an inillectual bond and a long time friendship. Their friends come together to celebrate the release of Joe's show. Throughout the book Roisin and Joe unravel their complicated feelings for eachother. I thought this was a super fun and quick read! I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a friends to lover troupe.

this book is a new author for me! this book def made me feel all the feels and take my time! I totally related to the main character and would recommend this book for anyone looking for something new

I love a story about a friend group. The ending here was semi predictable and I’m glad the hinted at twist wasn’t as embarrassing as it seemed from the book’s blurb. 2.5/5

Like any Mhairi McFarlane book, this story was of two minds. The first half is about the deconstruction of one thing, while the second half is about the building of another. If you’re someone who finds yourself wishing romances had more subplots, and literary fiction had more romance, Mhairi McFarlane is the author for you.

In this story, Roisin and her boyfriend Joe, go away for the weekend with their friend group (The Brain Trust) to celebrate a few of each other’s achievements. The most notable being, Joe’s new TV pilot crime drama HUNTER that the group gathers together to watch. But when the main character’s bad behavior mimics many of Joe’s characteristics, Roisin finds herself wondering if she really knows the man she’s been with for the last 10 years.

Like all of her previous books I found myself utterly smitten with the writing and banter. The characters felt real, the plot was engaging and the story propelled itself forward at a nice pace. I liked Roisin a lot, and the friend group was well developed.

I do think the beginning could have been cut down a little more, as the book really finds its footing in the second half. Despite this, I still really enjoyed Between Us, and am already planning on a reread.

Not as good as Just Last Night, but will anything ever be?

**Thank you NetGalley for proving this ARC in exchange for an honest review.**