I was really looking forward to this one but unfortunately it was a little boring. It didn't exactly feel like a romance, so I guess it's contemporary fiction with romantic elements. It did have some sweet moments, and I liked the ending. I just found myself not really caring about any of the characters.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was really cute and funny! I really related to Roisin and the struggles with her relationship and how old friendships evolve. There wasn't any like shocking reveal, at least to me, but I enjoyed the ride and laughed a lot. I will definitely be checking out more from this author. I received an advance review copy for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

This book definitely falls more into the women's fiction category than romance. The focus is Raisin's journey of self discovery and healing after her boyfriend essentially creates a tv show about her life. There is a romance, don't get me wrong, but it is not the driving factor of this book as it isn't started until about the half way mark. I'm not going to lie, I struggled with this one and it's taken me months to finally finish it. I enjoyed Mhairi's previous book but something with this one just didn't click as well with me.

Between Us is not the romantic comedy or the love story you've been expecting. I would classify it more as a life story with an element of love included. Rosie was the focus and her relationships took center stage - and not just the romantic type. Themes of platonic friendships and support from them were included over and over. Definitely not the most emotional MM book I've read, but still a very compelling story. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I had higher expectations for this book as a devoted fan of Mhairi McFarlane, but don't get me wrong, I still devoured it and enjoyed her brilliant writing style. This book delves into gaslighting, exploring dysfunctional and manipulative relationship patterns that blend into emotionally consuming family dynamics.

The only thing that bugged me was that most of the book revolves around the unhealthy relationship of the heroine, who finds herself deceived by the illusion of their love life, leaving little time for her second chance romance. Indeed, her blooming romance with another man after getting rid of her toxic ex is too instant for my liking.

This one started off so slow In all honestly I wasnt sure if I was going to finish this one or not. It isnt til about 2/3 rds of the way in that this one gets kinda interesting. It was also hard to really connect with the main character or any of the other characters.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I put this book down about a month ago and haven't reached for it again. I didn't get very far and realized quickly that it wasn't holding my attention the way I wanted. Maybe I'll pick it up again one day, but I'm not sure.

I only read about 10% of the book, and in that small percentage, not a lot happened that pulled me in or made me want to continue.

Another wonderful read from Mhairi McFarlane. Mhairi’s books are like deeply emotional sweet treats I get to indulge in once a year. I adore her writing and her deeply layered storytelling. She is one of my absolute favorite authors and her books will forever be auto-reads of mine.

Between Us has a little bit of mystery, a lot of female empowerment, and a nice dose of swoony moments. I feel like this cover does not convey what you’re signing up for, but I won’t spoil anything else. 😉 I loved it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second novel that I've read by Mhairi McFarlane and I really like how she writes stories that go beyond a romance or love story as the primary storyline. At its heart, Between Us is a story of a group of friends and the dynamics of the relationships within that group and how they affect the group as a whole. In the beginning, I felt like I was watching an episode of Friends, but some of the relationships came to the forefront while other characters became less key to the storyline. I found the characters interesting, with some more likeable than others. I will say that I didn't find myself eager to pick the book up. However, whenever I did reach for it, I didn't want to put it down. I did like that the relationships were complex and realistic enough that you didn't know which way things would go, at times. I also liked the complicated mother/daughter relationship between Roisin and her mom. Overall, I am glad I read this story and will pick up other novels by Mhairi McFarlane.

I really enjoy Mhairi McFarlane's writing. Her books never disappoint. She crafts wonderfully relatable characters and offers plenty of tension, chemistry, and romance in her novels. Between Us is entertaining and engaging,, a great read

I really really really wanted to absolutely love and devour this book, but I found it to be a bit slow at times. I found that it picked up in the third half of the novel, I think I went into this one with too much of the mindset that it was going to be romance, which might have been my own fault.

Thanks to Avon, Harper Voyager, and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

This is the second Mhairi McFarlane book I've read and I am really coming to love her slow, even style of plotting. Sure, there are some kinda crazy things going on in this book (a character writes a tv show that may or may not be based on his real life cheating but definitely includes secrets from his girlfriends life that he used without consent) but it still felt like a book where slow and steady wins the race, which was a great balm for the ups and downs I've been feeling in general.

Heck, the main character (Roisin) doesn't even figure out just how big a jerk her boyfriend Joe was for the 10 years they were together until like 3/4 of the way through the book! And the final relationship seems to only really blossom in the last half of the book, which was such an interesting choice. I liked it? I think?

Regardless of the pacing, the characters felt real and I appreciated Roisin's growth through her journey and I'll keep reading McFarlane's books forever.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun book. I enjoyed it a lot!

This is my fourth book by Mhairi McFarlane and my favorite of the ones I've read. It was a unique and refreshing rom com that dealt with some serious issues in a tactful way.

This book begins with one of my favorite things -- a long time group of friends meeting up for a weekend. I loved all the dynamics of their friendships and reading about their group origin working at a bookstore. Roisin feels like her long- term relationship with Joe is coming to an end, and after doing a group viewing of his newest tv show she has more questions and concerns about the relationship.

While Joe is off to LA for work, Roisin goes to her hometown to help her mom with the pub she runs. One of Roisin's old friends comes to help, and things go from friendly to more between them -- in such a sweet and surprising way. I loved this swoony romance and was rooting for them through the ups and downs.

This book also touches on emotional manipulation and gaslighting -- Joe make Roisin doubt herself and is an artful liar. I think this all shown in a very realistic way and is something few books touch on.

Overall I would absolutely recommend this book and I really loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

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 have loved Mhairi's body of work so far, but Between Us was a miss for me. The start is so painfully slow, and the characters are so numerous (and frequently unlikeable)... I was on the struggle bus from the start. We're still being introduced to new characters at nearly the 30% mark, McFarlane taking her sweet time getting all the players to the stage before introducing what ought to be the primary conflict. That conflict finally arrives with glacial slowness -- a set-piece around which the rest of the action will revolve. But god, GETTING THERE takes an age. And frankly, one of the characters involved (Joe. The character is Joe.) is so awful, his inciting behavior is not surprising or novel. The whole thing just has too much sprawl.

McFarlane is a champion of the found family, the close-knit friend group with Complex Dynamics®, the intrepid heroine with a normal body and normal self-esteem and normal everything, still getting her HEA in the end. But in previous books, there's always been a clear through-line for that heroine -- a reason we connect with her, a reason we want to see her happy. Roisin just...doesn't have that quality. And unfortunately, it made this a right slog from start to finish.

2.5 stars, rounded up because it's Mhairi and I believe she's better than the book she wrote.

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!