If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane is an excellent, airy, breezy, and fun romance (some may call it chick-lit). This is the first book by this author that I have read, and I am so excited to read more things that she has written now that I have experienced this awesome book!

I loved the dialogue from the very beginning. It was quick, catchy, and hilarious. I loved the banter and the British colloquialisms. It made it even more endearing to me.

I liked the lead female character, Laurie. She is successful, 30s, spunky, fiery, and holds her own. I love it! I also like Jaime and I think that they both compliment each other well and bring out positive characteristics in one another. I felt the connection and chemistry and enjoyed many lol moments.

I was thoroughly entertained and drawn in to the concept and plot and thought the author paced the novel along nicely. I also enjoyed the ending as well.

It was a great read and has created a new fan of Ms McFarlane out of me for sure!!!!

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks/HarperCollins for this excellent ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

After 18 years being in a monogamous relationship, Laurie Watkinson was blindsided when suddenly she is being broken up with. She not only continues working with her ex at the same law firm, but is humiliated further when news that he is going to be a father as well, only 2 months, and 2 weeks upon ending their relationship in “If I Never Met You,” by Mhairi McFarlane’s latest novel.

A chance encounter in a broken-down elevator with reputed “office playboy,” Jamie Carter, they contrive a plan for a “showmance.” This will give the rumor mill something else to talk about, and Jamie has a chance to improve his “playboy” reputation that he is capable of having a serious girlfriend, while vying to be partner. With such a plan, what could go wrong in this scenario??

As this fake romance is being played out in social media, they actually get to know each other in their real lives. They soon discover that they are wrong about their pre-conceived judgments about each other. In between all the pretending, it soon develops into something more.

I enjoyed the witty banter, all the tender, funny moments expected in a romantic comedy. All the emotions I experienced from devastation, frustration, anger, tenderness, happiness are what made reading this enjoyable. This novel had relatable characters, and I only had difficulty understanding the British colloquialism, which gave this book a bit of charm.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC. Look for this book to be available on March 24, 2020.

This was my first book by Mhairi McFarlane, but it won't be my last. I really enjoyed this, though I would hesitate to qualify it as a romantic comedy.

I loved this book! I really enjoyed how strong and intelligent the main characters were. It’s a refreshing change to read a book where the h isn’t a pushover and can truly hold her own in a male-dominated environment. I loved the storyline, character development, everything. It was well written and I’m just sad it’s over and I can’t read it for the first time again! I highlighted some stuff I loved while reading, but can’t post them due to spoilers. :)

** I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review."
One of the things I love the most about this author is her ability to mix spot om banter and wit within a redemption story. In my reading experience, most redemption stories become heavy handed or so focused on the thing the people get lost.
Unfortunately, this book is just boring. The premise of a woman in her mid thirties being left by a long term boyfriend has b=so many great possibilities. However, Laurie wallows a bit, gets pissed about male heavy handedness at work (justifiably), tells her not very good girlfriends, and then she's just there. I am told that Jamie is ladies man. I am told that Jamie is charming. I am told that Jamie is a lot of things but I don't get to see any of these things. Jamie is spotted with various women but does that make him a ladies man?
There is no heat. There is no chemistry. There is a trapped in an elevator hatching of the "fake" dating plan. That is it.
This book was a disappointment to me because other books by this author have been so much fun.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! It really delved deep into the characters' psyche, which I appreciated. My biggest qualm was that, and I have no great way of putting this, some of the British-ness was just too much. Which sounds strange, I know, but I've read a lot of books that are modern and British and found this one's speed/way of talking just a teensy bit hard to follow. Also, it felt like every bad thing in the world had happened to Laurie - just slightly implausible, but alas, it is fiction. For a romance-y book, however, it was fairly heavy.

Laurie and Dan have been together for 18 years. One day Laurie comes home to a distressed Dan on the couch. Dan then drops a big bombshell that he is no longer happy in the relationship. Laurie figures it’s because they’ve talked and decided they want children. So the thought of children scars Dan. Dan then expresses that it’s “not you it’s me.”
Two months after they split Dan wanting Laurie to hear it from him first, tells Laurie he’s seeing someone else and she’s pregnant.
To get back at Dan she “teams” up with the office playboy Jamie. He needs a girlfriend to impress his new bosses. While Laurie makes Dan jealous. So it’s beneficiary gain for the both of them. All of this started because they were trapped in an elevator.

If you read the blurb you know that Laurie and Jamie are stuck in an elevator lift together. To me that gives me the impression that they are stuck in this elevator for an uncomfortable amount of time where they start to kindle a relationship or their diabolical plan for their own benefits. But the elevator scene barely last a few pages. I figured the book would be centered around what happened in the elevator and how it brought the couple together. ( like half the book was them in this elevator for at least several chapters)

When it comes to authors writing, this is a pet peeve for me, but I hate when they write ha ha or heh he for characters laughing or just a point blank ha before the next sentence. It makes me cringe.

Story line was just plain to me. It seemed to stick to one thing and dwell on it. Didn’t keep me turning pages, left me wanting to hurry up and finish just to get it over with.

I truly enjoyed this book.
It was so witty and fun! Laurie is such a great character and very easy to fall in love with. She’s got great friends and a great head on her shoulders despite her very non-traditional upbringing. She’s the type of woman character we need to read more of!!
I think one of the reasons I loved this book so much was the way the relationships progressed. They were all very realistic. There weren’t any “instantly in love and needs to be together RIGHT NOW” scenarios. It was a slow build, just like it usually is in real life.
The book also covered many real and pressing topics. Things like, ptsd, sexism in the workplace, feminism, racism, uncaring parents, and more. The author did it in such a way that it made you really think about what you were reading and to give it a second thought, which I feel is very important.
Overall, a GREAT and fun book.

I don't read a lot of contemporary romances. Mostly because I find they get sex and men wrong. Yes, broad statement, I know. But in most of the ones I've read, the men are either too assholeish or too passive, and the sex is either too instalust without a plot or virtually nonexistent because it's some sort of romcom book where the sex is implied rather than written. It's ironic that historic romance, with all its constraints, produces better characters and better sex. (Obviously there are exceptions: Helena Hoang, RS Grey, Kayley Loring on a good day).

Yes, I realize that's a controversial open, and a big soapbox.  But anyway, I'll get off said soapbox now, and explain why I chose this book: the interracial romance. I saw the cover and thought, I must read this. So I went to Netgalley and requested it. In other words, judged the book by its cover. Isn't that every publisher's dream? I don't see many interracial romances, or well written ones, at any rate. This one knocked it out of the park.

The book is really three acts:
Act 1: Laurie and her boyfriend Dan break up. Dan says he doesn't want to settle down and have kids. They both work at the same law firm, so it's tricky, but they hide the breakup for two months, until the truth comes out.

Act 2: Laurie learns more terrible things about Dan. Still devastated. She makes a deal with Jamie, the office "lothario" (or is he?) to pose as a fake couple to make Dan jealous and to help Jamie get a promotion (his reputation for sleeping around is holding it back, he thinks).

Act 3:  Predictably what you'd expect about fake relationships: they become real-- both in the personal relationship sense, and real-world consequences sense.

I enjoyed this book for a bunch of reasons:

1. The humor is devastating. I laughed out loud dozens of times, and I've highlighted maybe 15 percent of the book, I was so amused. (Normally I highlight maybe a quote here or there that strikes me. Here I found everything funny).

2.  I found Laurie's journey really fantastic. She's screwed over by Dan, but she goes through the romcom motions that I find deeply satisfying like getting a makeover, strutting around looking and starting to feel confident. I really enjoyed Dan's jealousy too.

3. The interracial elements are deftly played but not overdone. 

4. The friendships among women, as well as the weird rivalries among women, are nicely drawn out. 

5. There's a nice slow burn build between Laurie and Jamie, with each additional layer and incident showing more depth-- whether it's Jamie's relationship with his parents, Laurie's fraught relationship with hers, their views on love and relationships, etc.

6. A book set in Manchester: Nice to see a book not set in London. 

However! I have one big gripe: where's the love scene? It's relegated to two or three sentences. It's like reading a Georgette Heyer novel: all this lovely build up, followed up by two sentences for a kiss, and poof, we're done. 

Aside from that disappointing exclusion, this is a truly excellent book. The first 80 percent is a 5-star read. The last 20 percent-- maybe 3 and a half? So I landed at 4.

The emotions in this book bring the characters to life. After being left by her longtime partner, Laurie is willing to fake a relationship with Jamie to make her ex jealous and to gain him a promotion. Laurie's emotional journey through the entire book felt very real and relatable. Jamie also becomes a likeable character as more is revealed about him and his family and friends. The secondary characters are fun to love and hate (depending on their relationship with Laurie).

I felt like this got a bit of a slow start, but once it got started, I really enjoyed it. I appreciated that Laurie had to take a deeper look at her motivations for her actions and that the parental relationships were featured and were fairly relatable (though not entirely).

This book was so cute and the perfect book to start the new year. What woman hasn't been blindsided by a breakup? Wondered endlessly about what they did wrong or could have done differently? Then dreamt about revenge? Oh Laurie is my hero. She is such a fun loving relatable character. I love her friendship with Emily and her relationship with her mom. She is the epitome of a strong independent woman who also wants love. 4.5 ⭐ I highly recommend it! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second book I've read by Mhairi McFarlane, and it did not disappoint! I can't wait for the next.

I adore McFarlane and this was so much fun to read. She's a lovely writer. But this just felt so overdone--the plot was so predictable because we've seen it before in a million other books and movies, and I wish there had been an x factor to shake it up.

This was my first book of the year (the decade!) and boy was it a great one! If I Never Met You had all the ingredients of my kind of romance: love interests with smokin' chemistry, slow, believable burn, humor, depth, character growth, and a heart-tugging/satisfying HEA. This is my second book by the author and in both there was some depressing back-story. At one point, I worried she was taking it a step too far for an otherwise light read, but it didn't go that way and I was relieved. I'm not one to fall in love with fictional book boyfriends, but I was pretty close with Jamie. Some of the British lingo went over my head but it didn't detract from my enjoyment. Really amazing book and I highly recommend to readers of the genre.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and I would like to thank them and the publisher.
This was my time reading anything by Mhairi McFarlane. I have to say that the beginning was slow for me .. I was almost ready to throw in the towel in finishing this book but here come the 4 chapter and I was all .. wait hold on Angela this book is actually picking up. From that chapter on I was hooked and enjoed the book. I did struggle a bit with finding myself thinking .. I thought this book was set in England .. whats with all the US references. But all in all I have to say I enjoyed this read and will definitely be recommending this to all my book followers and readers when this launched.

Here is a Laurie a lawyer who is mixed race and has been in only one relationship for the last 18 years will Dan who suddenly blindsides her by telling her he wants out of the relationship. Oh here's a kicker .. they both work for the same law firm so it's not an easy split she has to see him daily. Well as luck has it she finds herself trapped in the work elevator with the office playboy .. or is he really? The two end up spending two hours in there and get to talking and then it carries over to drinks ... and then it carries over to a plan to help one another out.
This is cute love story of find love when you least expect it and also finding out who you can truly depend on and also forgiveness and finding self worth in oneself. This would make a great summer read by the pool or under an umbrella at the beach.

*ARC received for an honest review*

This ARC sat in my TBR like a gift to myself. Mhairi McFarlane is a favorite author. And it was absolutely scintillating to have her newest book waiting for a rainy day. And it did not disappoint. My first read of 2020 and I’m all heart-eyes.

I felt seen here. A lawyer (and there was no cock-up where something that makes no legal sense was said) in her mid-thirties who feels comfortable with her life but maybe not with herself. Laurie was entirely relatable, likable, and enjoyable.

I think this is the most romancey a McFarlane book has felt, thus far. I went in expecting the personal-growth with a side of she-gets-her-man I’ve come to adore from this author. And I got something far more akin to a standard romance. Definitely put me on a back foot.

On that note - parts of this romance sputtered and flickered. There was some significant holes in the fauxmance set-up that someone as smart as Laurie would certainly have seen. And these carried over - making the relationship grate a bit.

Not the best McFarlane - but still a stellar read. Thrilled to start my year this way.

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I read this expecting a sizzling contemporary but instead got a dull story about a woman trying to piece her life back together after an unexpected breakup. I ended up not finishing.

I love a fake relationship story, and this was a good one! Jamie was awesome from the beginning, and Laurie was great once she got past herself! I was rooting for them, and hoping for Dan's demise from the very beginning! I'll definitely be reading more from this author!

This book just wasn't for me. The way the book is summarized and the cover styled, I expected this to be an actual romance novel, or at the very least fun and flirty chick-lit. Instead it was more literature, and by that I mean a ton of deeply emotional introspection for almost the entire first half of the book. Readers looking for a fun and light read need to look elsewhere. Those looking to ruminate over a longterm relationship that suddenly ends may want to pick up this book.