I am embarrassed to say that I didn’t realize this was a sequel, and I haven’t read the first book, Who’s That Girl, but I still enjoyed You Belong With Me by Mhairi McFarlane. It would have been helpful to read the first one because I spent the first quarter of this book wondering why she isn’t doing ANY level setting with the characters or story. Once I figured it out things went better, I will say that this is the first of her books that I didn’t downright love.
The basic idea is that a ‘normal’ girl falls in love with a famous actor and they try to have a ‘normal’ relationship even though the tabloids and even some friends make that extremely difficult. Cute set up but the book was just so much talking … just finding every single reason not to be together, coming close to breaking up, and then not breaking up. This happens over and over again and I got a bit tired.
Overall, I love McFarlane’s books and her down to earth heroines, but this wasn’t my favorite.
Published in the US on September 3, 2024, many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was an interesting premise… watching the beginning of a relationship unfold! It brought unique perspective to the dating experience! Would recommend it!

It would be really helpful to know this book is a sequel that basically requires reading the first book. I started this not knowing that detail and was so confused just a few pages in. That being said, I wasn’t a fan of the first book but I thought this one was much better. I do like Edie and Elliot’s love story and seeing their journey of being in a relationship throughout the entire book felt like a new perspective on romance. However, there really didn’t seem to be an overall plot other than ‘will they stay together?’ Pretty anticlimactic, but there were a variety of subplots that kept the novel interesting. Much like the first book, I really disliked how major decisions about their relationship were made literally at 95% of the way through the book. I do believe there was too much dialogue, but that also seems to be quite characteristic for Mhairi McFarlane. Overall, it was good, but not sure if I would rush to read both books. 3.75⭐️, 1🌶

I love Mhairi McFarlane – if she writes it, I’m definitely buying and reading it. She’s one of my go to auto buy authors and one I can confidently recommend for others. This was a different experience for me than others I have read – first off, this one is a sequel. I have not read the first one yet, it’s one of her backlist titles I haven’t had a chance to read yet. That being said, I was still able to follow, read and enjoy this one. I’m looking forward to trying the first one now, and want to try rereading them back to back. However, like any Mhairi book it is well written, has interesting characters and is definitely worth the read.

I love MM and will always pick up anything she writes. I didn’t read the book these two meet in but loved jumping into a relationship that had already endured those beginning stages and had found some grooves already.

Okay first off, I LOVE Mhairi McFarlane. One of my favorite writers. I love her writing style and for that alone I am glad to have read this book.

I feel conflicted about this compared with the previous novel or her others. I guess because it was a sequel. I was glad with the ending (I really was nervous for a moment there!) but I would’ve liked a longer epilogue about their new life together. They patched things up kind of quickly without really explaining what they’ll do to fix their issues. Oh well.

Mhairi McFarlane has done it again! What a stunning read, truly. I’m staggered by her brilliance with every read.

When I finally (finally! almost a month after publication..) started this one, I was so thrilled. Because this opens in such a way that I was feeling the good vibes right away. And as I did not reread WHO'S THAT GIRL? before starting this, that says a lot about both how much I love the first book and how McFarlane was able to bring us right back into the thick of it.

And listen, a lot of this has that same kind of magic. But. But. I have two major nitpicks.

The first being that I felt Edie to be really inconsistent with how she dealt with her insecurities and jealousies after getting back together with Elliot. We barely had time to enjoy the good times before we found ourselves getting spun up in drama and conflict and, to be honest, some of it felt overblown.

I don't know if some of this rockiness was as a result of doing a sorta nostalgia tour of book one by going through similar motions, almost as a refresher for those who may have forgotten how the first book went, but instead it made this feel less like a sequel and more of a rehash, negating the need for extra content -- also, let it be noted, as excited as I was about a sequel, I was perfectly happy with the ending of the first -- because you'd think after big words, big promises, the second try and all, we'd be in a better place to not be in that same boat.

My second issue wasn't that I was mad about Edie's workplace drama still being a factor, because that to me makes total sense, but it's the villain's behaviour that just felt too same-y from the last few of the author's books. It is feeling like an addition to the tried and true McFarlane formula and while there is much to love from said formula, this element isn't one I want added to the roster No matter how relevant to today's social media culture, complete with he said she said uncertainties, the impact is somewhat lost when I know to expect it, and am bored by the expectation of it.

All that to say, though, even when these two characters seemed to be spinning their wheels, or accidentally (or on purpose) self-sabotaging themselves, I was still rooting for them. I still liked them. I just wish we had less external drama and more introspection because Edie did have some demons to work through and it felt like they only sorta had a brief cameo at the end for the lightbulb moment and then it was all done. And same with Elliot. He is confronted with some genuinely awful behaviour near the beginning of the book and the reality of that seems to be mostly forgotten for the remainder of the story.

Overall, my feelings about this book are complicated because while at the end of WHO'S THAT GIRL? I was totally convinced these two belonged together, there were times during this second-chance had me questioning that connection and chemistry and compatibility. Which I suppose is the point of this particular trope, and possibly why I generally dislike it. But. We did have a few good laughs. We had another really lovely friend-group. And I managed to avoid being a snotty mess in the reading of it; something I usually don't mind because I Like To Feel Things to Prove I'm Not Dead Inside, but in this case I was happy for the reprieve from emotional devastation.

I'm definitely not mad this exists. And maybe I'll feel better about it if I can ever find time to start from the beginning and read it as a whole. But for now.. I might pretend this sequel doesn't exist and treat book one as a standalone. We'll see.

Pulled in by the Emily Henry blurb… and didn’t stay much longer than that. I should have known better than to trust another pink cartoon cover, but I haven’t learned my lesson yet. Too cliche and too British for my taste.

Mhairi McFarlane has been one of my favorites for awhile now, and I'm happy to say I LOVED You Belong With Me (YBWM). I haven't read her entire back catalog yet, and didn't know YBWM was a sequel to "Who's That Girl?" (WTG), so as I started reading YBWM and found that out, I stopped to go back and read WTG. I also loved WTG and didn't want the story to end, so was thrilled to see that YBWM picks right up where WTG ends. I also couldn't help but think about how people had to wait ~8 years to find out what happened! It's not a requirement to read WTG before YBWM, as McFarlane does a good job of adding context, but I highly recommend reading it first as you get to know the characters so much more and it makes YBWM a richer story.

I found Edie to be a very sympathetic character and well-developed, and I related to her quite a bit. She clearly made a mistake, but a very human one, and I really enjoyed following the aftermath, leading to her reconnecting with family and friends, as well as meeting Elliot and seeing their relationship develop. Elliot was incredibly emotionally intelligent, kind and considerate, and solidifies the "book boyfriends ruin real men" stereotype. When I started reading WTG, I immediately thought it needed to be a movie, and I feel that way even more having read YBWM. While the book are hilarious and are rom-coms, there are more serious themes like grief, loss, betrayal, complicated family relationships, among others that create a well-rounded story with depth.

I love Mhairi McFarlane's writing, and once again found myself highlighting passages in almost every chapter. She has a way of putting feelings and thoughts into words that I didn't know how to put into words. She's also hilarious and is a master at banter, and the funny moments feel natural and not try-hard like some authors can be.

Really my only complaint is that I thought YBWM wrapped up too quickly. It felt like Edie said her piece and then all of a sudden everything was perfect again. I felt like they needed to talk through what she said a little more; I figured Elliot would respond more than he did, and while the reader can assume they talk about it more after the wedding weekend, I wish we would have gotten to see a little of it before Fraser walked out.

Overall, I loved this book so much, and plan on purchasing copies of both WTG and YBWM, and can see myself rereading them both in the future.

CW: Infidelity/Infidelity-adjacent, manipulation, betrayal, depression, discussion of suicide and brief description of what happened (non-graphic), loss of Mother (in the past), brief discussion of alcoholism & drunk driving and resulting death, grief, loss, complicated family relationships, discussion of character's adoption as a child, negative experience with biological father

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

I just want to preface this by saying that I feel like I can’t give a very fair review for this book because I didn’t realize it was a sequel to a book that I did not read. I kind of learned the gist of what happened in the first book as I got further into this one, but I still felt like I was missing some important details that may have made this story better. It also was hard for me to really understand Edie and Elliot’s relationship because I felt like there wasn’t really much going on in this story? I found myself questioning where it was going throughout almost the entire thing. I didn’t necessarily dislike this book, but I didn’t love it either.

However, I am interested to know more of their dynamic in the first book, and maybe I’ll come back to read that at some point.

I am going to give this book 3 stars since it really is my fault for not realizing there was a book before this.

⭐️ 3 ⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I didn't realize this was part of a series, so I was not familiar with these characters because I didn't read the first one. It was an enjoyable read, but not my favorite romance I read this year. Just overall okay.

3.5 stars

It's the age old question - what really happens to your favorite fictional couples after the last page? In this case, Edie and Elliot have to navigate living two very different lifestyles while being a brand new couple. And apparently the way they handle this is by fighting and mistrusting each other. For the first half of this book they both drove me nuts. They were constantly arguing and wouldn't communicate their feelings and then got annoyed at each other for not understanding their feelings. It was just... a lot. Even in the times they weren't fighting they seemed to have zero chemistry. Around halfway through the book both Edie and Elliot finally developed personalities and I enjoyed their relationship a lot more. There were some really sweet moments between them that were nice to read. H0wever, they still COULD NOT STOP ARGUING. After investing two whole books in them I was really rooting for their relationship but they just don't seem like they would work out in the long run.
OUtside of the relationship issues, not much happens in this book. There are a few subplots, with someone selling their story to the tabloids, Elliot's brother's wedding, and the return of Jack, but they were so bland that it wasn't enough to keep the story going.
If you loved the first book, maybe you'll enjoy the continuation of Edie and Elliot's story, but I found them kind of annoying in both books so this one just didn't really do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

I liked this book. I love Edie as a character and really enjoy reading about her life. I also like Elliot as a character but there is something about them together that does not click for me. I do think they are cute together but I was not yearning for them to be together. McFarlane’s writing is witty and beautiful at the same time and I will definitely be reading more of her books.

2.5 Stars

Mhairi McFarlane is one of my favorite authors. An auto-buy, auto-read, don’t read the synopsis because I trust her with my life kind of author. Welp, I didn’t read the synopsis for You Belong with Me and just jumped in head first having no idea it’s actually a sequel! I read the first book eight or so years ago & had mostly forgotten about it because admittedly it’s my least favorite of her books. After forcing my way through the first few chapters I realized my mistake and promptly shelved this one to re-read Who’s That Girl?

Once I finished my re-read I could see with the pretty abrupt ending what MM was going for with You Belong with Me. But honestly, I’m so sad to say I just wasn’t invested in the story. The first book was good not great and for me and this is the sequel I would have never asked for. One more chapter? Would have been lovely! A little epilogue? A great idea! A fluffy novella to wrap up Edie & Elliot’s story? Brilliant! But a whole book? It dragged on & on for me and I really had to muscle my way through it.

Mhairi McFarlane is still a queen to me & her writing was on point as always! I will forever read her books. If you loved the first book then you will probably like this! I think you need to be really invested in Edie & Elliot and I just wasn’t.

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

I feel like although this was cute and I do love a sequel this just fell flat a bit. I was a little bored in the middle and almost didn't finish it when I was 25% in.

I loved the first Edie Thomspon book, re-reading it many times over the years and the sequel so did not disappoint! The book had all the witty banter that McFarlane is famous for along with the grounding energy of people's real lives and insecurities, written with sensitivity. 5 out of 5 stars!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a great read! I would recommend it to a friend. I loved it! Five stars. This book is a captivating exploration of human emotions and relationships. The narrative unfolds through the lives of richly developed characters, each facing unique challenges and growth. The author’s prose is both lyrical and engaging, drawing readers into the story with vivid imagery and relatable experiences.

I DNF’d this book at about 45% unfortunately.


After I decided to DNF, I read some other reviews and discovered that part of the issue I was having was because I didn’t know that this is a sequel. One of the big problems I had was feeling very confused as to what was happening.


Another thing I found frustrating was the vernacular. The writing felt thick and heavy to me, and I felt like I spent a lot of my time trying to interpret the “British-isms” from context clues. Honestly I thought I was pretty up to date with British jargon but obviously I’m not.


What I ultimately determined is this is the kind of book I would’ve read in my 20s when I was a snob about education levels and refused to read any book “lesser” than classic lit, or thick heavy (and obviously prophetic lol) dystopian books full of meaning, subtext and especially angst. These days I’m more interested in light fluffy books. Women’s lit is out, puff pieces are in. Basically this is the world’s longest “It’s not you it’s me”.


I think if this were a movie I would eat it up, but the book is not for me.

you belong with me by mhairi mcfarlane is an entertaining read, but it didn’t quite hit all the right notes for me. the story is a continuation to “who’s that girl?” and it revolves around the two main characters, Emma and Jamie navigating their relationship under the public scrutiny and long distance.

in all honesty, the main characters acted a bit… childish at times? both of them struggling with issues of jealousy, him being in the public eye and the package it comes with? it dragged and dragged until i almost felt i wanted to drop the book and pretend the sequel doesn’t exist. i can see other people enjoying this book, but it was a disappointment for me.

lastly, thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!