**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*
I generally love British romance. But this book was a bit of a mess. I loved the pub quiz parts but this friend group is very immature and a bit codependent. There is a lot to of cheating amongst the friend group. There is so much slang it distracts from the story.
Although I loved the premise, the book itself was disappointing.

A group of friends complete in a quiz challenge. One friend keeps asking another out. I really did not enjoy this book. I enjoy English books but this book had too many local English words that it made it hard to read. This was just not my type of book. I know there are many other positive reviews but I just could not get into the book because of the local slang.

This was such an odd reading experience for me. From the moment I picked this up, I was hooked and did not want to put it down. The friend group was so charming and the main character, Clarrie, and her love interest, Simon, had SO MUCH CHEMISTRY. Seriously, SO MUCH. I was positively buzzin' over how much I was enjoying this. HOWEVER. Clarrie ended up becoming SO INSUFFERABLE. She was her own worst enemy and kept ruining things for herself and I am never gonna be over it. BLAH. Also worth noting: this book is VERY British. I didn't really mind it, but if you're not into that, this is definitely not the book for you. Also also worth noting: there is A LOT of cheating in this book. None of it is between the main couple, but it happens at two different times and it a lil unsettling, so just keep that in mind if you want to read this as well. ANYWAY overall I did enjoy this book, but I can't pretend that I didn't have quite a few issues with it in the end.

TW: cheating, miscarriage, cancer

A sweet and funny read
The humour in this book was dry which I loved.
This book was different to the usual book and this was good
A hilarious book

I really loved the idea of this book but unfortunately couldn't finish. The heavy British slang became too confusing and distracting.

Unfortunately, I didn't finish this book. I like the idea of the plot but Baker seems to have written mostly dialogue, not to mention the huge amount of very British-slang. I don't usually notice it as a Brit myself but I noticed how overused some of the slang was. Wow. I've never seen the word 'bloody' used so much in one book.
I didn't find much scene-setting or backstory either - like I said, mostly dialogue - and didn't find myself connecting with the characters as much as I'd hoped. The conflict in the story dragged a lot and the characters seemed to be having the same conversations repeatedly that I lost interest very fast. They'd find something out then tell someone, then tell someone else...got very repetitive.
The friendship group was sweet, although I don't entirely agree with them trying to get Sonny back with Gemma considering she cheated on him. You'd think your best friend would deserve better. There was also so much sex talk and male/female "jokes" that were a little questionable at times and parts of the story that didn't need to be that long was indeed dragged out.

I found this friends-to-lovers story well written and entertaining.
It's full of humour, it made me laugh more than once, and the characters are fleshed out and so likeable I couldn't help rooting for them
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I mainly had to request this book on Netgalley UK because of the cover, that was what attracted me the most. But then I read the synopsis and it became even more interesting that I just had to request and read it.

This story has a love trope from best friends to lovers and that is honestly one of my favourite tropes. Best friends mean so much to us and if there is even a chance of them to split apart in the future is honestly scary but its just a risk that they just have to take. Best friends are the ones who know us the best and to be able to live where they're right beside us one day and gone the next is terrifying. So I understand why Clarrie was very hesitant to start a romantic relationship with her lifelong best friend, Simon.

The trivia plot of getting Clarrie to date him is actually golden right there. It was brilliant and it just shows his determination that he's all in for it. He has to work so hard to win that its so sweet and is willing to bare it all for the woman he loves.

I cannot deny that I was also screaming and trying get her to stop being so scared like some the side characters where Clarrie's family and friends would tell her to just go for it. The things that she's went through and seen affects why shouldn't really commit to Simon but they love each other too much and I suppose that is more than enough for them to go along.

The banters between the gang was honestly one of the main reasons why I couldn't pick this book down. Even though they're always insulting one another, childish and so much more but deep down they care so much. The kind of friendships that they have is so precious and priceless. Its the kind where we seek to have and these kind of friends are the ones whom we will always have close by us.

Honestly, this was all in all a very fun and exciting read. I really couldn't believe that I finished it in a day but I did. I would really recommend to anyone looking for funny banterings between friends in pubs, shifting the love from best friends to couples and a whole lot of trivia!

It was a lighthearted read. A great friends to lovers story. The hero and the heroine were hillarious togather(the heroine more so than the hero). Thank you netgally and the publishers for a chance to read this one. I finished it in one go.

Who doesn’t love a best friends to lovers storyline? This book had a great blurb and for the most part I enjoyed reading how Simon kept trying to woo his best friend Clarrie. Clarrie always thought Simon was joking and never took his advances seriously. ⁣
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The book is very British so I struggled with the humor at the start for a bit. It also was a longer read than it needed to be and some parts were slow moving.⁣
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All in all, it was a cute story with the perfect ending.⁣
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It's hilarious, it's thought-provoking, but it just isn't romantic enough for me.

We have here two characters who have been best friends for 22 years. Simon has known that he's in love with Clarrie for so long, but Clarrie... doesn't. He has been asking her out for years, but coming from a playboy, what else can one expect other than that he is doing it all for fun? So Clarrie has been turning him down over and over. When she finally convinced him to cease his attempts at teasing her, he promises to do so under one condition: if they win the quiz League this year, she will have to go on a date with him.

It seems very much like the typical stories of best friends to lovers. You know, bets, a moment of enlightenment, jealousy (not too much of it, lucky me)... but there are certain aspects of it that made this special. One, the pub quiz nights. I believe this is a thing of the British, and it really caught my attention. I love how the author has described the ambience of the events so wonderfully that I could feel along with the characters the suspense and eagerness to win. All of this wouldn't have been possible without Clarrie and Simon's friends, which brings me to point two. Even if, as mentioned at the beginning, that the romance is not enough for me, the friendship... it's everything. Were it not for that, I wouldn't have given this 3 stars. They're all so hilarious! And though most of the book consists of sex jokes, I couldn't find it in me to be offended by this group of friends. Most of the time I was just left plainly amused and glad for all of the companionship and love they have for one another.

Besides that, I have to say that this book covers a lot of thought-provoking moments. At first, Simon may seem like the annoying one. But later on when I thought about it, Clarrie seems to be the one at fault too. Her constant reaction to push away is understandable. Her fear of the unknown is realistic and relatable — but she also has to understand that maintaining the status quo forever is not possible in life. Let's just say that when it comes to relationships, it is always best not to take advantage to the point where a party's self-respect is torn to shreds. Someone who truly loves would never allow that person to go through that heart-breaking ordeal.

And that's the thing. These characters have so much substance that I was really tempted to give it a 4 or a 5, but it just fell short on the romance department quite a bit, and it really disappointed me (a.k.a not enough flutters in my chest). I would only recommend this to readers who are keen on reading about the ups and downs of a 26-year-old who is suffering from anxiety, and about the friends she has kept around her all these years. It's an entertaining yet reflective piece of work. But if you're not used to reading British slangs, and is fully sure that they would disrupt your reading experience, then perhaps you might want take a step back. It didn't stop me from enjoying this book though! It takes a little bit of getting used to, but nothing I can't handle. In fact, I actually enjoyed it more, because it allowed me to bask in the British culture.

Mary Jayne Baker makes my reading an enjoyable one each time I pick up her books and reading " A Question Of Us" is no exception. Her TRUE Yorkshire humour really does come through and believe me, it's truly appreciated. The lady is so talented in her writing, wit and describing of absolutely everything.
This book had me giggling all the way to my next pub quiz

I didn't know what to expect from this book when I read the summary but something about it called out to me, maybe it was the mention of a pub quiz or maybe it was the childhoood/bestfriends turned lovers trope. But I'm glad I got the opportunity to read this book. It was delightfully english, funny, witty, full of banter but also angsty and so honest and real at times. I loved the relationship of Clarrie with the whole group, Sonny, Si, Dave. Gem,. it felt natural and silly and mocking but also good fun. It honestly gave me envy (of the good kind) to have a friend group like that.
The book did get a bit slow by the middle, but I've always been a fan of slowburn and getting to know each character was a delight.

3.5 stars

From the summary of this book you can pretty much tell that it's tropey, but there's nothing wrong with that. I had so much fun reading this. I was giddy from the romance and I even cried at times. Plus, the friendships between the characters was one of my favorite parts of this book. They all had their own thing going on and they didn't feel one dimensional.

I have to say, though, that it started getting repetitive after a while. I mean, they were having the same conversation over and over about why they wanted/shouldn't be in a relationship and the resolution came too quick at the end.

To me this read ore like a script than a book, there was a lot of dialogue, and I am a big fan of showing not telling, I wanted more telling frankly.

The story was good, but I just never connected with the characters, because I never felt like I got to know them.

I wanted to like this book, but it just wasn't for me.

Clarrie is part of a pub quiz team. All the members of the team are close friends. All have known one another since their school days. They know every secret, can finish one another's sentences and love one another.

Clarrie particularly loves one of the other members, Simon.

This team is not extremely successful. That is not because they have not been organized. Each member has a special topic of study. But, until this year, there has not been any intensity. Of course they want to win, but having another drink has been the main goal.

This year is different. Simon has bet Clarrie that if they win, she will go out with him. If they lose, he will never ask her out again. Ever.

This book is about Clarrie but it is also about relationships, friendships and sharing a history which can create hurdles among friends.

To be honest, at times I was not a Clarrie fan. It seemed to me that by the time she was 26, she should have become better at reading the hearts of her close friends. She had shared her life with these people. In fact, she is great at being empathetic with everyone except one person.

The story is filled with humor. The kind of humor which made me laugh out loud. But, there are also moments which made me want to cry. Just as in real life, there are dark times which must be faced and overcome.

Everyone is looking for something in life. At times the journey to a happy ending can be uphill all the way.

This reader was cheering for everyone in this story. Good wishes and happily ever afters are all I had in my heart for each character.

Clarrie and Simon are very complete characters. Each of them have a presence in their world. Clarrie does not recognize her own presence, Simon is very aware of who he is.

The secondary characters are not just window dressing. Each of them are an important part of the story.

I liked this book. Ms Baker is a very talented author. At times I felt that scenes could have been a little tighter. But, that would be my one tiny complaint.

A Question of Us does not fit into any special category. It is a novel about life and the difficulties one can face in life. It is a novel about friendship and the love and support one can get from friendship. It is a novel about love and the lengths people will go in order to find and hold the love of their lives.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a story which will make them laugh, make them think and eventually make them happy they read the book.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are my own.

Clarrie and Simon have been best friends for years. He wants to be more than friends, but she won't give him a chance.
A bet on the pub quiz could mean a change to that, but will they win?

An entertaining read.

At 26, Clarrie is struggling to be a “proper” adult. She never has any money, her dating life is a trainwreck, and her best friend Simon is always asking her out. The only thing in her life that isn’t a mess is her pub quiz team, the Mighty Morphin Flower Arrangers. When Simon bets her a date that their team will win the quiz league, Clarrie is forced to figure out what she really wants in her life.

I’m usually a huge fan of best friends to lovers romantic comedy trope, but this book didn’t really do it for me. The characters just felt flat to me. Clarrie’s clear anxiety problems were never really addressed and it was just implied that being with Simon would fix all of that, which really rubbed me the wrong way. The plot also moved way too slow for me, when at the same time, the conversations felt hectic and hard to keep track of. There were some plot points that that felt shoe horned in for the sake of driving the plot, but didn’t feel like they made sense to me. Overall, I feel like The Bookish Life of Nina Hill is a similar book that does it better. This one is a pass for me.

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review.

DNF at 16%

I nearly DNFed this one at the first page, but decided to persevere and see if I’d like the ARC more. Nope. The friend group acts like middle schoolers, every word that comes out of their mouth is a sex joke, the “hero” won’t stop pestering and asking out heroine despite her repeated denials, there’s very little trivia (which is all that I was interested in), and I was unamused that the MCs were trying to get their friends back together (relationship ended because of cheating). Just, not for me on all levels but it might be your thing. Try a sample: you can figure out if this is for you on the first page.

There is no contesting the fact that enemies to lovers is my favourite trope, but friends to lovers can always bag the second position. And this lovely book undoubtedly goes straight to my favourite shelf. Set in a typically British village, the story had me in the hooks from the very beginning and the pages flew by . . . just like that.
When I said 'village' that doesn't mean the story is all about a cosy, little Edenic place. On the contrary, most of the story surrounds a tightly knit group and pub quizzes and so we see more booze and talk than any real village life. The humour is irresistible and the banter (with sexual overtones) is spot on. Yup, if you want to pick some British slangs, this is your right pick.
Main characters are Clarrie and Simon aka Si. They are close since their birth but never could manage that final leap to love, all thanks to Carrie's anxiety. Now, at the age of twenty-six, she is finally cornered into a bet. Well, let fate make a decision and all that. Si is not your typical macho (with all his cockiness, he sobs when his mother is found ill) and I just love him for that.
The other members of the gang have their own major parts too with stories going on their own. We have Sonny (or Sunil) an Indian Sikh, Dave and Gemma. Everyone knows practically everything about each other and that creates the whole fun scenario. Couples are made (not unmade, fortunately) and life goes on.
I am practically jealous of them all actually. One of the drawbacks of village life is that there are no secrets, but the support of the tight-knit community can never be replaced. They make you appreciate the little things. I loved the way the story turned out, expected but still quite romantic. Wooh!
So what are you waiting for guys? Stock your drink cabinet and keep your tissues at hand; this cute little story is going to make you misty-eyed one moment and howling with laughter the other. A great comfort read for the weekends!