This was my first book by Mhairi McFarlane but I have two friends her sing her praises and I am happy to report that I am now on the hype train as well!! I'm really excited to dive into her backlist.

Between Us is a story of a large and long term friend group - the main character in the book is Roisin. Her boyfriend, Joe, is an up-and-coming TV writer. His newest show, however, has similarities to their lives together that Roisin can't ignore. One of the main storylines in his show is that the male main character is a serial cheater. Roisin just can't shake the feeling that art has mimicked life in more ways than one....

Though this book is about Roisin and Joe's relationship, it also delves into the other relationships within the friend group. Be aware, though this does have a romantic arc - it is not a romance and is definitely not a rom-com (don't worry the romantic arc is not between Roisin and Joe)! However, I still wholeheartedly recommend - it's truly fascinating how Mhairi is able to weave together such a large friend group and so many relationships and make the story so compelling. It's really an ensemble cast but at no point was I confused about who was who. All the relationships and personalities felt super realistic - no character is perfect but so many of them are compelling.

Joe is truly the worst and most manipulative character I think I've ever read??? And honestly I mean that as the highest compliment - it's really hard to write a character that is SO realistically awful but Mhairi knocked it out of the park. His gaslighting of Roisin even worked on me at one point!! I truly very nearly believed him at one point - his character is honestly so well done. I raced through this book at least in part because I wanted to find out the truth!!

Both of my friends told me that Emily Henry loves Mhairi's books and I can totally see that! I think this would be a great read for fans of Emily's

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon/HarperVoyager for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book opens up with a group of friends who have stood the test of time but are now starting to “crack” as a group. Rather quickly, the book shifts from the focus being on the friends as a collective group to Roisin doubting her boyfriend, Joe, of ten years. It appears Joe’s hit show is possibly a hidden confession. Roisin is faced with uncovering the truth while also tackling conflict with her mother, keeping her friend group afloat, and rediscovering her confidence.

There is humor, passive aggressiveness, gaslighting, hidden feelings, and dark secrets that come to light. Overall, the beginning and end of this book was great! Struggled to be invested throughout this read and found them all to be unlikable to some extent.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

Mhairi McFarlane strikes again! t BETWEEN US exemplifies why she has become of my favorite authors in the past few years. There is a darkness to the plot and a messiness to its characters that would drag the story down in the hands of a less accomplished writer, but McFarlane balances these elements out with her trademark whip smart banter and a delightful sense of humor and comedic timing that makes this a breeze to read and had me laughing out loud in many places. BETWEEN US centers on Roisin, whose ten year long relationship with her partner Joe has been faltering ever since his big career break through. While on a friends holiday with their closest pals, something comes to light that forces her to begin to question not only the future of their relationship but also their present and past. The nuance of power dynamics within relationships and within groups of friends is explored so brilliantly here, and the smart, clever writing makes absolutely fly by. Not to be missed!

Another winning Brit-chick-lit novel from McFarlane. Her writing is once again so rich and skilled. She gets to show off her vocabulary by having a main character, a literature teacher in a long-term group of friends who met while working at a bookstore together in their uni/post-uni years. Roisin wonders how her 10-year relationship has fallen apart now that her boyfriend is a successful screenwriter. How does she extract herself from the relationship without exploding their friend group? But fate pushes things along when there are so many signs of his rottenness. There isn't a ton of 'swoon' in this one, not those supercharged, sexual tension-filled romantic moments, but that's not McFarlane's style. Her characters are eccentric but so believable that once they get together you just know in your bones they are going to last. Roison gets her happy for now satisfied ending. I was quite satisfied, as well. It's a great choice for readers who like a set of complex characters figuring out life together.

An encompassing look at relationships and how our perception of them can be altered with time and experience. This was my first Mhairi McFarlane book and it definitely won't be my last! The author crafted a kaleidoscope of characters that brought to life the complexities of today's relationships, be it friendship, love, or familial. Highly recommend Between Us, and will now be adding the author's backlist to my TBR pile! Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Roisin has been dating Joe for nearly a decade and their lives are thoroughly intermixed. When a weekend away with their mutual friend group to celebrate a birthday, an engagement and the premiere of Joe’s new show doesn’t go as planned, Roisin gets the feeling that she doesn’t know her partner as well as she thought she did. Once the weekend is over Roisin must follow her intuition to unravel the mystery of who Joe really is, and separate fact from fiction.

This was my first book by Mhairi McFarlane, and it was definitely not a low drama romantic comedy. The writing certainly had funny moments, but overall the story was much more dramatic than I usually expect from a romcom. The characters are richly drawn and feel completely real, like a friend group you could know. I really empathized with Roisin as she knew in her gut that something was wrong with her relationship but was continuously gaslit by Joe. I was rooting for her chance at happiness with or without a romantic partner, but I did find her blossoming romance to be very sweet and swoony.

Recommended for readers who enjoy: 🧶 unraveling the mysteries of a toxic relationship 🛋️ close knit adult friend groups ✍🏻 art imitating life 🎭 romantic comedy and drama in equal measure ❤️‍🩹 finding love in unexpected places after heartbreak

Unfortunately, the publisher does't do Between US any favors by marketing it as a romance. it's an enjoyable piece of literary fiction tht's been placed in a poor position. Romance readers will be disapointed to find a novel that's more than half-way through before they see anything resembling the love story most crave.

3.5 stars. Mhairi McFarlane is an auto-read author for me, but I didn't enjoy this novel quite as much as some of her others. Roisin and Joe have been together for 10 years, but their relationship unravels when Joe's new television show reveals a little too much about him and Roisin starts questioning their entire life together. As usual with McFarlane's heroines, I found Roisin very likable and relatable. There were a couple of reasons this book wasn't a total hit for me. First, I struggle with gaslighting in fictional relationships; I just hate reading about it, which is no fault of McFarlane's but rather my own preferences. Second, although the romance that appears well into the novel is sweet and lovely, it's way, way, way too soon after Roisin has just started learning the truth of her past ten years with Joe. Girl, take some time to be single and get some counseling! A small thing I absolutely loved: Mhairi (a name I googled to learn how to pronounce back when I first read a book by her) slickly has her character called not one but two nicknames fairly early on so that we're not left wondering about how to say "Roisin" in our heads. (Rosh & Sheen). Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for a digital review copy.

Between Us was a fun read! This was my first Mhari McFarlane book, and I can definitely see myself picking up more of their work.

Roisin's story had a good pace and following her along on her journey was really interested. I love a multifaceted main character, especially when I get to see them handle such intense situations, and it was exciting seeing how Roisin handled every step.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with an ARC of Between Us!

I really enjoyed this I enjoyed the drama waiting to find out what happens next, and what happens with Joe this is a fun book definitely more fiction than romance but still enjoyable if you’re looking for that romance element. I have never read another book by Mhairi McFarlane before but this will definitely have me checking out more.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this e-galley

It hurts me to rate a Mhairi McFarlane book so low because I love her work, but this just didn’t do it for me. There was too many plot points attempted in this, which made it hard for any of them to feel thorough. Joe sucks from the get go, and it’s difficult to root for them, and the lengths that Roisin goes to to catch him felt kind of juvenile to me at times. The Joe storyline leaves no room for the additional romance, and I honestly wish it hadn’t been included and had just been about Roisin grappling with this relationship and it’s end.

Meatball the cat for prez, though.

This was an enjoyable and lovely novel by Mhairi McFarlane! What makes McFarlane's writing so addictive is that the journey is so relaxing. As a reader, you are simply following the characters through their lives as if you are friends. I especially enjoyed Roisin's mystery as she uncovered her relationship with Joe. Thank you, NetGalley for this book!

Between Us is my first Mhairi McFarlane book, so I can’t compare it to her others. However, I absolutely loved the idea that the boyfriend was using their relationship as the inspiration for his show- I thought this was such a smart and interesting hook. This was a fun and easy read!

Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane

Even before Roisin watches the first episode of the television show her long-term boyfriend wrote, she feels that the relationship is coming to an end. But while viewing the show with her boyfriend and their friends, she sees that he has taken extremely private moments from her past and put them in the show without even a check-in. Not only that, other moments and characters seem eerily similar to their real life, leaving Roisin to wonder if it's possible that other aspects on the screen are true as well--like the shameless infidelity that the entire series/character arc is built around.

This book is 100% women's fiction and romance adjacent, but my heart raced from about 30% on as if it were a thriller! I finished the second half in one sitting! Roisin's journey to uncover the truth about the last 10 years between her and deplorable Joe is extremely satisfying. Roisin is a really loveable main character. I love that just because she was a low-maintenance girlfriend/friend did not mean she let anyone walk all over her in this book.

Read this if you like the sound of. . .
• a schoolteacher heroine
• tricky friendship dynamics, *imploding* friend group drama
• British humor and banter between friends. I admit I occasionally felt like I was on the outside of some inside jokes, but it made this friend group feel very real, too.
• Messy relationships - between friends, parent/child, lover, etc. The family situations for both Roisin and Matt were interesting and it was sweet to see them reveal their secrets to each other.
• a heroine who stands up for herself, commits to difficult conversations, and goes on a personal journey you can really root for!
• a secretly pining hero!!!
• I feel like this will make a fantastic audiobook - the friend group conversations can be done so well on audio!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read this Avon and Netgalley

Four stars for a great book from Mhairi McFarlane! I devoured this book over a weekend, and enjoyed the premise of the story. Roisin is a member of the Brian Club, a group of friends who met years ago working at Waterstones. Throughout the story, Roisin and her boyfriend, Joe, are struggling with their relationship which is exacerbated by the new TV show he is producing.

I found Roisin's journey and character to be both relatable and inviting, which made me want to keep reading and support her choices. Her path of self-discovery and understanding what she wanted in a relationship was also fascinating read. Additionally, the evolution of friendships and exploration of dynamics in this novel really worked for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the e-ARC!

I really enjoy Mhairi's work and this book did not disappoint. This was a very creative plot and I think many people will enjoy this novel when it is released.

Another great novel from Mhairi McFarlane.

Roisin and her long time boyfriend Joe meet up with their friends for a weekend away at a country house, to celebrate the new TV show that Joe has written, as well as the engagement of friend Dev and Roisin’s birthday. The group all met working at a bookstore a decade before.
Roisin and Joe’s relationship has been a little off recently, as his recent success has him jetsetting all over the world, while she stays at home teaching at a local school. She feels he doesn’t have time for her anymore.
Long term friendships are examined as one of the group, Dev, has struck it mega-rich while others have not, Gina has always secretly loved Matt, but he brings his famous girlfriend to the event, etc.
While they all eagerly watch Joe’s new TV show, Roisin realizes with a start, that the show is about them. A family secret she shared only with Joe, is revealed early on, and she feels like she has been punched. The main character on the show is a liar and a serial cheater, and Roisin begins to question whether Joe is in fact that person.
Roisin has always had a difficult relationship with her Mum, but she takes some time at her Mum’s pub in her home town to consider her future with Joe while he is travelling. We are privy to her Mum’s unusual behaviors, and Roisin’s attempts to make the relationship work. When Matt comes to help too, life takes an interesting turn for Roisin.
I felt Roisin fell for Matt a little quickly, but enjoyed the second chance they both had, and the insights into the friendship dramas of thirty-somethings, the dysfunctional relationships, the gaslighting of Roisin, and the parent child dynamics.
Many thanks for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. 4 stars.

Wow. So y’all don’t even know how much it pains me to not have loved this book. Mhairi is my absolute favorite writer of romcoms but this one… it hit different. I can’t even explain why, but this book was a diversion from her usual formula and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had expected to.

I loved Roisin (how do you even pronounce that name?) and she just might be one of my favorite FMC ever. I also loved (and hated) all of the characters in this book because Mhairi did her usual fantastic job of writing multifaceted, perfectly imperfect people. I also enjoyed the ending of the story but overall, it felt disjointed to me. The prologue didn’t seem to connect to the rest of the story at all and the middle of the book became a bit of a slog for several chapters.

It is hurting my heart to even have to admit there were flaws to this book because it’s not at all a good representation of Mhairi McFarlane’s capabilities as a romcom writer. This was a buddy read with my friend Lori - her first time reading a book by this author - and now I feel it’s my duty to direct her toward some of Mhairi’s better offerings. I encourage anyone else who is trying this author for the first time to please give one of her other books a try. She is really amazing and remains one of my favorites. Because of this, I am still going to give the audiobook a listen once this book is published. I’m hoping I can enjoy it more than the ARC read.

Thank you to NetGalley, and my favorite author for a free copy of the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Content warning for toxic/emotionally abusive relationships.

I’m a fan of Mhairi McFarlane and especially appreciate how crossover her books are. They usually lean more women’s fic/commercial than romance but if I was walking in cold based off the title, cover and blurb…I do wonder if there will be an expectation gap from readers because this book is awesome, quirky, real, and unique in the topics tackled, and structure. Anyway, onto the review

Roisin and Joe have been together nine years. From his struggling writer days to the present when his second, expected to be another smash hit TV show is premiering. They and their friend group—the Brian’s (an inside joke from where they used to work), all trek out to this fabulous country estate for a watch party. But when secrets Roisin told Joe in confidence end up on the small screen she wonders what else is fact and what is fiction. Is he cheating the same as his character? Is he a pathological liar like his character? And can she trust him after this betrayal?

To clear her head she helps her mom out at their pub and their mutual friend Matt comes with and I’m sure you can guess where that’s gonna go.

What I wasn’t expecting and was a total delight was the self discovery Roisin has throughout the story as she must decide what she wants for herself.

At times I felt like I was “watching” a twisty, drama filled prestige television show that I imagine the author intended the atmosphere to feel like which was a fun element.

I am a big Mhairi McFarlane fan and have read all of her books. The thing I love most about her books is the witty dialogue, and in that respect, Between Us did not disappoint. McFarlane's writing is as witty as ever and is entertaining to read. She has also created a good romance story with a solid plot. With that being said, I was a bit disappointed because it felt like some of the plot points were recycled from her other books. I also had trouble caring much about the Brians, the group of friends that are a large part of the main characters' lives. I recognize, though, that I might be unfairly comparing Between Us to some of McFarlane's older books. I still think Between Us was much more entertaining than most of the romance novels on the market.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the advanced reader copy. All of my opinions are my own.