This might not be my all-time favorite from Mhairi McFarlane, and honestly, at the beginning, I had doubts about whether it was my kind of read. But I decided to stick with it, and I'm really glad I did because I ended up quite enjoying it.

The core of the story revolves around Roisin and Joe's relationship, which has been on shaky ground for a while. There's something off that Roisin can't quite pinpoint. They go on a weekend getaway with friends and watch the first episode of Joe's new series, only to find eerie parallels with their own lives, along with some unsettling predictions. Could it be the truth?

The book offers a multitude of elements, but I wish there had been a bit more focus on the healing process, and things didn't resolve as quickly as they did. I particularly liked the detective aspect of the story and the theme of female empowerment, which was a refreshing change from women tearing each other down.

I'd love to share more, but I'm afraid I'd give away too much. Let's just say I ended up enjoying it quite a bit!

I enjoyed this book as much as I could, it felt incredibly long with way too much fluff. Definitely more a "slice of life" style book, with the plot picking up well over half-way through the book. Great writing, just slow.

Roisin’s life is flipped upside down when she discovers that unbeknownst to her, her boyfriend is using their relationship as inspiration for his new, revealing television show.

This was more serious than the usual romances I read, but I enjoyed that the plot had so much depth beyond the romance. Honestly, it was barely a romance and more the story of a woman learning the truth behind her toxic relationship, figuring out what she really wanted and going after it. Themes of gaslighting and mind games, cheating and lies were prevalent.

The characters in this book were carved out beautifully and very convincingly. The writing was a prime example of showing versus telling. While this sometimes slowed the plot and led to overly descriptive moments, it did make for a realistic and believable progression.

Overall, I’d recommend this one to those looking for a story of personal growth and resilience, one that highlights the development of the main character, as she discovers the truth about her friends, her relationship, and her life.

The Mhairi McFarlane’s books that I have read are never cut and dry romance and Between Us was no different. It was a super slow burn and didn’t even have hand holding until 75% in! But I was SO engrossed the entire time and loved it so much. I really found it refreshing how it didn’t follow the formula of most romance books (although I don’t mind a solid formulaic romance). I enjoyed getting to know the characters and not knowing where the story was going.

I adore a book with a solid friend group and while I found a few of the friends a bit annoying or underdeveloped, overall I enjoyed reading about the group’s friendship.

I really enjoyed the main character and the love interest who will not be named in order to avoid spoilers. They were the cutest pairing and I was very invested in them!

4.5 rounded up. Thank you to netgalley for the arc!

I really love Mhairi McFarlane's writing, and she is so great at character development. Between Us is not exception! I really liked Roisin, the heroine, and found her to be authentic and believable. My only critique about this book is that there is so much focus on her toxic ex and not enough focus on the healthier love story. I would still highly recommend this book, and I will be continuing to anxiously await this author's next book!

Thanks to HarperCollins for my ARC!

I really enjoy Mhairi McFarlane’s writing, which is why I keep going back. I’ve been less connected with her last few books and this one also stumped me for awhile.

Roisin is in a long term relationship with Joe and they are part of a larger friend group that is getting together for a holiday. Roisin has been feeling less than happy with her relationship with Joe and then begins to see him in a new light. Their relationship sours and it feels like she is very quickly realizing she actually has feelings for another of the friends in the group. This transition felt so rushed and with little background. Though I felt this was the ultimate and best thing for these two, I was slogging through just asking myself “how? When? What?!”.

Thank you to Avon for a gifted copy of this book and a digital ARC. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it. None of the characters really pulled me in or made me care about them.

This book was very difficult to read. It was very British? I just couldn’t connect with the characters. The were adults acting like children. The book only got semi - interesting after about 60%. It was a very slow start, and it just fell flat. It felt like a lot was happening, but also nothing?

1 star

BETWEEN US was a fabulous and well-written romance with great characters that felt like friends. The storyline was comedic and laugh out loud funny, but also felt realistic. Thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyage for the opportunity to read and review BETWEEN US.

Really fun rom-com. Will be recommending and reading anything in the future from this author. Thank you for the title.

This isn't my favorite book by the author, but it's still a very solid read and I will definitely encourage people to pick it up if only so I can introduce them to the joys of her back list!

This book had friendship, character development, love, and dramaaa. The way Mhairi can write about toxic relationships, family issues, self growth and still add humor and lightheartedness at the same time is brilliant, this book had me actually laughing out loud. I’m not the biggest fan of third person pov but surprisingly with this book I hardly noticed it and really enjoyed regardless.

Between us, two simple words that carry such meaning within it! When things are shared in utmost secrecy, what part of it can be revealed, and what should be concealed, is something that weighs on everyone's conscience. When Roisin finds out that her long term boyfriend and screenwriter, Joe used actual events said in utmost confidence in his latest crime drama, she begins to see her relationship in a new light and sets out to find the truth about Joe's deception.

A huge Mhairi McFarlane fan, I devoured this book in one go! I loved the characterisation of Roisin and was rooting all the way for her breakup with Joe. In fact, I have never been so invested in a couple's breakup as I was with Roisin and Joe's. It was heart wrenching to see her puzzle together the bits of truth together, wanting desperately to believe Joe, yet perturbed by the nagging suspicion that all was not as it seemed. Although categorised as a contemporary romance, this novel goes much beyond that. It is an account of people trapped in dysfunctional relationships, gaslit and deceived skilfully at every point.
Deftly written in third person narrative, with a versatile mix of characters and subplots connected to the protagonist, Mhairi McFarlane, though this is far from her usual style, has weaved an enjoyable novel that leaves the readers something to think about profoundly.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I started this book and read 45% because I was intrigued. I liked the friend group and all of the Britishism however, I haven't been able to pick it back up. This is book is mainly women's fiction which is fine but I have to be in a certain mood to read as it has little to no romance.

Between Is by Mhairi McFarlane
Contemporary romance.
A celebration with friends turns into a nightmare for Roisin after viewing Joe’s new tv show that basically puts her life on the screen. As the episodes continue, Roisin questions her life choices and how she can trust anything in the future.

A difficult topic of cheating, invasion of privacy and restarting and restating goals. It was a slow start for me. I had to restart this more than once and I really disliked the ex-husband. It was brave of Roisin to confront and question and walk away. I was glad for the new relationship jt felt the inevitable problem was overdone.
An ok romance that had more lows than highs.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was fun! I really liked Roisin as a character, and became really invested in following her breakup and journey through uncovering the truth about Joe (although it did get kind of predictable after a point). I also really liked how supportive and loving her friends were, and there were quite a few funny moments. I'd personally classify this more as a women's fiction novel than a romance novel, because the actual romance doesn't pop up for probably 2/3 of the story, but I enjoyed it regardless of the exact genre.

Between Us
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Mhairi McFarlane

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Avon Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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.

With her friend group in chaos and her messy love life on display for the whole world to see, Roisin returns home to avoid the unwanted attention and help run her family’s pub. But drama still follows, in the form of her dysfunctional family and the looming question: what other parts of her now-ex’s show are inspired by real events? Lies? Infidelity? Every week, as a new episode airs, she wonders what other secrets will be revealed.

Yet the most unexpected twist of all is Matt, the charming playboy of her friend group, who is suddenly there for Roisin in ways she never knew she needed…

My Thoughts: I had really high hopes for this book as a McFarlane lover but it fell a little flat for me. The following trigger warnings are gaslighting, toxic relationships, family dysfunction that trudges over into emotional toxicity. Roisin was so convinced of Joe’s love for her that she was blindsided when their innermost secrets ends up on the reality show he wrote the screenplay for. Feeling hurt and betrayed, she escapes home heading from one toxic group to her dysfunction family and through this, only one friend from the group, Matt, becomes more to her than she every could have realized. This follows the tropes of second chance romance, friends to lovers, small town, and a small amount of instalove flowing from toxicity into a potentially healthy relationship.

Most of the book was focused on Roisin’s toxic relationship and left little room for the second chance romance with Matt. I felt like Roisin jumped from Joe to Matt too quickly. I would liked to have seen more of a blooming, slower romance into Matt and some deep healing from Joe. Roisin was too invested into catching Joe in the act, even though they had already broken up. The complicated relationship between Roisin and her mother is one that I could appreciate. The first half was more slow with the second half being too fast, if that makes sense. The characters were developed well with complexities, witty banter, some chemistry, and were intriguing. The friendship group was heartwarming and even a little poignant at times. The author’s writing style was humorous, creative, charming, slightly poignant, and engaging. The author does a stellar job at exploring gaslighting and narcissism, and the effects it can have in a relationship. This book is more character driven than plot driven and contained subplots that were interesting.

While I do not feel this was up to typical McFarlane standard, it was still a good read. It is more chick lit than romance, but does have some romance within the pages. I will still read future McFarlane novels and would still recommend this book to readers, as I believe it will resonate with readers in more ways than one.

Great drama and love! The characters were great! I definitely will want to try another book from this author

Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane is another good read from this author but not my favorite. I liked the plot and the detective work and the humor and the emotional vulnerability and the various characters. I'm usually laughing throughout this authors books but this one felt a little darker and didn't catch my attention as much. However, I will still continue to read anything this author writes!

Mhairi consistently delivers books with complex characters and so much heart. I hoped I knew where this one was going and I was so pleased with how the story played out.

Roisin and Joe join their long-time friends for a celebratory weekend getaway - a birthday, an engagement, and the premiere of Joe’s new tv show. Roisin doesn’t expect to see things she shared in confidence playing out on the big screen and begins to wonder how much of the main character’s philandering is based in reality. She begins to call the last decade of her life into question as she seeks out answers.

Roisin is such a great character. I really loved the side plots with her family, and I was so here for her journey. Mhairi made her such an empathetic character, and I appreciate how much time we spent with her during her growth.

I loooooved this book, and I need to read more of Mhairi’s backlist ASAP.

Thank you to @avonbooks for an eARC. All thoughts are my own.