I'll say it once and I'll say it every time - Mhairi McFarlane can write a damn book. And she can write a damn sequel too. This one just came out yesterday and it's obvious that I HIGHLY recommend it (but read Who's That Girl first).

The Details:
You Belong with Me by Mhairi McFarlane

Quick Summary:
At the end of Who's That Girl, movie star Elliot Owen shows up on Edie's doorstep. Now Edie and Elliot have to navigate their relationship in the spotlight and around new co-stars, colleagues, and challenges.

My Take:
A beautiful continuation of “Who’s that Girl” that I didn’t know I needed or deserved. When I got the eARC for this (thanks @netgalley!), I decided to re-read WTG and fall in love with Edie and Elliot all over again. I figured this would just be a cute lil story about their happy ever after, but it was so much more. There was realistic conflict, lots of tension, character growth, emotional moments, and so. much. adorable. and hilarious. banter (aka MM's speciality). This gave me all the feels.

4.5 stars!

Overview: After breaking up due to their incompatible lifestyles, copywriter Edie Thompson reunites with the (practically) A-list celebrity Elliot Owen over Christmas. However, the couple must navigate various obstacles that come with being in a long-term relationship as well as those associated with dating a famous celebrity…

Thoughts: I went into this book not realizing that it was a follow-up to a book called Who’s That Girl? Although it took me some time to get into the book and learn all the characters, I finally got sucked in around the time Edie approves of Elliot taking on a new acting job in New York (that involves intimate scenes with a very sexy coworker) while she takes on the managerial position in Nottingham managing an employee named Declan. Although this is not a typical romance (as Edie and Elliot are a couple at the beginning of the book), I ended up enjoying this book for its witty dialogue, humor, and even the mini mystery. Elliot was almost too good to be true, considering the amount of baggage Edie had. Also I loved Declan as a character and wish he had his own book!!!

Take home message: You Belong with Me is a charming book that explores the trials and tribulations associated with a long-distance celebrity romance. Should also satisfy those who are fans of the relationship-in-crisis trope. This book works as a stand alone, despite being a sequel, although I definitely plan on reading Who’s That Girl!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon/HarperCollins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

“There is being seen and there is being seen through.”

You Belong With Me is the sequel to an earlier book by the author that ended on a cliffhanger. I reread the first novel to recapture the energy of the first novel, Who’s That Girl?, before diving into this book.</p>

In this book, which picks up at the exact moment WTG ends, Edie and Elliott decide to give it a go. Edie gets dragged through the mud as only the significant other of a mega star could, despite being a perfectly lovely person. The wedding kiss and the gang at Ad Hoc are revisited. Why are our coworkers replaying their unresolved trauma on colleagues!?! Most of the plot twists are not the shocking, shouldn’t have been listening to this while driving, type. In fact, if not obviously coming, most left turns are at least strongly suggested ahead of time. As a raging Mhairi McFarlane stan, I’m biased but it was a good departure from the typical romance novel focused on the beginning of a romance. It takes skill to pull off a romantic novel about the next six months in a relationship after the honeymoon period has long passed.

A new Mhairi McFarlane novel is always cause for celebration in my book, and doubly so this year, because McFarlane published a sequel to Who’s that Girl – one of my favorites! Happy birthday to this Virgo!

You Belong with Me delves into the struggle of a long-distance relationship, the pressures of which are compounded when one person in the relationship is a famous actor. I usually don’t gravitate toward celebrity romances, but McFarlane pulls off this second chance romance so well.

Like all McFarlane novels, You Belong with Me is a relationship-centered and psychologically astute. It’s also very charming and chock full of witty banter. I think it differed from McFarlane’s usual formula because it was her first sequel – this allowed her to unpack the messy work of what happens after the MCs get together.

Huge thanks to Mhairi for allowing us to revisit Edie and Elliot’s story! And thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the galley!

I wish I had realized sooner that this was a sequel 8 years in the making. I was so confused from the get-go and felt like I was missing so much information, that I couldn't fully connect with the book. No matter how much I read, I couldn't care for the characters or plot. I wonder how I would've felt if I had read the first one. I DNF'd at about 60%.

This is book 2 in a series, and you definitely have to read book 1 to know what was going on here. (I may have started before realizing that and was super confused) Overall a nice ending to book one, following up on Edie and Elliot. I didn't overly get into this story, but liked it enough overall. Just probably not one I'll reread over again.
*arc provided by netgalley for honest review

I am such a fan of Mhairi and her fantastic writing with her amazing characters.
You Belong with Me by Mhairi McFarlane is a charming, hilarious, and heartfelt new novel about a woman adjusting to life in the spotlight when she begins a relationship with a famous actor.
YBWM is a humorous, and entertaining story.
The writing is beautiful and descriptive. I honestly felt like I was living in the world with the characters.
Mhairi's books are always witty, funny, charming and smart with great characters, and this one proves to be no different.

Witty banter was a five in this fun read. Very British voice. The story itself, of a relationship between a film celeb and his autobiography’s ghost writer, was fine. It was a bit different in structure, as it began with them together, and was more about them navigating the intricacies of a half-celeb relationship. I wondered where it was going at times. I didn’t love all of the full-length tabloid write ups - found them unnecessary. But generally really liked all of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon, for the arc.

This is a sequel to "Who's That Girl?" a book published 9 years ago. This is a stressful read, the characters are delightful and I enjoyed the character growth, but prepare yourself to sweat. This is not a light hearted romp. I would recommend to readers of Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez.

I enjoyed reading You Belong with Me by Mhairi McFarlane. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

A prior love shows up on Edie’s doorstep asking for a second chance, but is it possible after the prior fallout when the situation hasn’t changed?🚪

This is book two in a series, published almost 10 years after book one, and I’m not sure this was a couple we needed to revisit. For me, the book was so slow and anti-climactic all around. I don’t recall more than the broad strokes from book one, but from what I do recall, this felt very much like the same storyline with our main characters struggling with celebrity and the toll it takes on their relationship. The whole book was rather tepid for me, reading more like a revisit with “beloved” characters. (Not sure they’re actually beloved, but this was the vibe.) This may have worked as a novella for fans who loved the first book, but in my opinion, there wasn’t enough here to warrant another full length book.

My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for a complimentary advance copy of this eBook, out today.

Another first for me for this author. I did not know this was a sequel so I read Who's That Girl first before jumping on this one and boy was I happy I got introduced to Mhairi's work because I got this ARC. Now onto You Belong With Me. This was such a solid and fun read. The celebrity/Hollywood trope is not normally something I resonate with. Maybe because I know some of the stories can be a bit unrealistic but Mhairi's book definitely makes you believe its possible to experience love this way. I loved Edie and Elliot on the first book and frankly, I wanted more and was happy I could jump into the next one right away. This book fulfilled all the gaps the first book left. This sequel jump straight to what happened after and how Edie and Elliot is adjusting to the new relatioship. This book was heartwarming and left me so emotional. It was so easy to root for Edie and Elliot to survive all their issues because you can feel their love and care for each other. I love how the book is serious but funny at the same time. Overall, I highly recommend this book. Sooo good! Thank you NetGalley for the early copy. I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be reading more of Mhairi's books!

★★★½
This wasn't labeled as a sequel when I started it, therefore it was a bit of a confusing catchup in the beginning. After about ch 9, I felt caught up enough to fully enjoy the story! I'm not normally a celeb romance girl but I liked this take on one, probably bc it was a sequel so all the normal conflict that comes with a celeb romance was hashed out in the first one. The book was well written and had well developed and enduring characters all around. This is my first book from her and I'm excited to read another as I really enjoyed her writing style.

A sequel to the book Who's That Girl by McFarlane, You Belong With Me picks up after the happily ever after...and a period of less happy. I haven't read Who's That Girl since 2020, so I didn't remember a lot of the details anymore (it was one of my favorites from my 2020 Mhairi binge, though!). While it's the same characters as a continuation of the same love story from WTG, You Belong With Me almost functions as a standalone because Mhairi artfully reminds us of the important items from Edie and Elliot's first go-round. While their past is important, this story is about the fight for a famous TV star and an ad exec to be together and the kind of pressure a relationship can withstand. It functions almost as a marriage in crisis book, but the crisis isn't how much they love each other - at the beginning when Elliot walks back into Edie's life, they'd abundantly clear - the crisis is long distance and the media.

The reason I keep coming back to Mhairi again and again is her ability to capture the messy reality of human emotions. Life is complicated, and so are people. Most of Mhairi's books have a tidy tying-up where the heroine realizes the hero she's been looking for isn't the one she thought. This book explores the complexity of knowing who the One is, and negotiating to make it work.

Fans of Mhairi's books will recognize her very British humor, but maturity as her writing has grown. (I reread parts of her debut books as a buddy read earlier this summer, and I love seeing where she started!) Longtime fans will love cheering for a second HEA. And for those who haven't read one of her books before, this may be a good entry point, as long as you can hold on for dear life with the anxiety inducing plot wondering what happily ever after really looks like in a class difference, second chance romance.

The long awaited sequel to Mhairi McFarlane's Who's That Girl is here!

This is not a stand alone title. The first installment was published in 2016 and left us in an utter cliffhanger. Elliot, A list celebrity is back for our Edie with a swoony grand gesture on Christmas Day.

He's in New York and LA. She's in Nottingham with a day job as a marketing exec and copywriter. They have vowed that this is forever, but how does that work with paparazzi and millions of Instagram followers.

In Mhairi McFarlane's typical hearfelt, deep and relationship centered prose, we get to see the rest of Edie and Elliot's story! Die hard fans are so grateful for the ride!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the gifted copy. My opinions are my own.

Hiiiighly recommend reading the first book in the series before diving into this one.



This author's earlier novels were fine reads, the last few have been some of my favorites and thus couldn't wait to dive into this one. I did not realize this was a follow up novel to Who's that girl (to which my review was "loved Elliott, but that ending was terrible, WTH" 😅) that being said I wish I had reread before diving in because it was a little hard to get into since it had been so long since reading the first and the two books definitely need to be read as a duo (this is the only reason I'm rating 3 🌟 instead of what would have been 4). This was an enjoyable follow up and I absolutely still love Elliott 🥰, I wanted more from the epilogue but that is my usual M.O. I also wouldn't be opposed to a book where Declan gets his HEA!


Thank you Netgalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for my review!

loved the title as a taylor reference but i did not feel connected to these characters at all. i might be in a slump but this book put me in a bad mood

A worthy follow-up to "Who's That Girl". I'm not sure why Mhari McFarlane books aren't more popular in the US. She writes with such crisp wit and many laugh out loud scenes. You'll fall lin love with Elliott and Edie and root for them to work it out. Read "Who's That Girl" first. Thanks to the publisher for this ARC.

I love Mhairi McFarlane books, but this one wasn’t my favorite. This was….fine, but I wasn’t invested in the characters or the story at all.

I apologize I will not be reading this one,

I started it and really enjoyed the writing style.
It was just very hard to read without reading the first book first.
I was unaware that this was the second in the series when I applied for the arc.

I’ll be reading book one then I’ll re-try this one!

Thank you for the opportunity.