I didn’t care for the authors style of writing and didn’t finish the book.thank you publisher and Netgalley

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC copy of Between Us. So I've read at least two other Mhairi MvFarlane books and I keep coming back to them. Each time I leave feeling conflicted but a better version of myself. Pros include: clean romance, deep relationships, great character builds, emotional heart string tugging, totally relatable, her ability to help me understand different perspectives Cons: the happy endings always feel a bit meh, I'm not sure I feel satisfied when I finish, and there is not enough happy to offset the emotional highs and loes I've been on. If those three read pretty similar it is because they are, but it feels very important. I like everything about her books, buy always need at least ten more epages of feel good content.

Roisin and Joe have been a couple for ten years. They reach a breaking point while spending a celebratory weekend with a mutual group of friends. Is Roisin overreacting to coincidental similarities in Joe's new tv drama or did Joe betray what she confided in him? Is Joe engaging in the same extracurricular activities as the main character in his show or is Roisin being paranoid? Roisin begins to recall past instances that mirror details in Joe's premiere episode. This is the beginning of Roisin questioning their relationship.
The idea of The Brian Club as a whole is cute. It's great if we can hang out with our core group of friends, especially for extended weekends under the same roof. Relaxing with friends is great. Making comments in fun at each other's expense is expected. Mean-spirited, bitter, or just plain rude comments are not helpful. The idea of one member having a crush on another member is a bit farfetched, but it made for a good plot device. This helped to make Matt seem awkward and unsympathetic. I was not sure how he would come into play as he decided to take a break from The Brian Club. I am still not sure how a romance grew out of the antics of these

This book was not a favorite of mine. I felt so conflicted reading this story. I wanted Roisin to just tell Joe to kick rocks and be done with him. She kept investigating to prove he was not worth her time. Perhaps that is the point. You have to do what works for you.

I was provided an e-arc by NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an unbiased review.

This will be a short and easy review because even though I wanted to DNF this book so badly due to me not connecting with the characters in general, this made me not want to like them as a group of friends like they weren't right at all. I was waiting for something interesting to happen throughout the book, it wasn't until I got to about 70-80% of the book that I started to get invested, the ending was cute, but the beginning to about halfway or so was not necessary, it was what I felt dragging the story on and on to get nowhere but the end of the book. This is just my opinion and my honest review when I received this ARC. I would suggest for anyone to read as these were my thoughts and I don't want anyone to feel discourage to read this. This is based off my preference on any books I read.

3.5 Humorous but a bit slow to get going

Between Us will tickle your funny bone as you watch a woman learn her husband's hit television show is based on their life...and their life has been a lie. With the help of friends, family, and a little know crush, our heroine learns that when you hit rock bottom, the only place you have left to go is up.

I couldn't focus on this book at all. I lived in Manchester, England and I struggled with the writing because Northern English is very different. I couldn't get into the characters- Joe is too cocky, Roshi is just annoying because of her low self-confidence, Gina needs to move on and Dev/Anita are just immature. What type of friend group is this? They all keep secrets from each other and all hate/envy the others. My friends successes are celebrated and all 7 of them were doing was trying to ruin the mood or bring up negatives.

It just wasn't my book and maybe the cultural barriers made it harder. I considered not finishing the book because of the first chapter alone because it was too much all at once and the English was too British.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I thought the story had a good premise. However, the protagonist moved on way too fast at the end and it didn’t keep my attention the whole time.

This was a quick read. The romance was sweet, but I felt that there could have been even more character development. I enjoyed the plot and.just overall wonderful.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Mhairi McFarlane read and I really wanted to love it, but I don't think her writing style is for me.

4.5 stars.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a romance. Yes, there is a bit of it but it's absolutely secondary to the journey Roisin goes through as she struggles to find out the truth of her nearly ten year relationship. Nor is this a fast-paced, quirky rom-com. It's a slow burn - both in terms of pacing and plot. We learn things as Roisin learns them which can be frustrating, but it allows the reader to feel the same anger and uncertainty and confusion that she does. What's true? Is she overreacting? Is she not reacting enough? Does she trust her feelings, or what she's being told?

I don't want to say too much more because spoilers, but I really enjoyed the slower pace. It felt natural and real. Life doesn't always give us an answer right away and Between Us doesn't either.

This was my first book by Mhairi McFarlane and, after seeing reviews from long-time fans of hers saying they were let down by this one, I am very much looking forward to reading more because I loved it.

Content warnings: mention of abortion, mention of possible sexual abuse ("off screen" and not to or by one of the main characters)

*ARC Review*

This is my first Mhairi McFarlane novel and I really wanted to be in love with it, but I think it just wasn't my style. This rom-com had many more twists and turns then a usually fluffy rom-com. We are introduced to Roisin who is a member of the friend group "The Brians". They have all been friends for years and Roisin has been dating fellow member Joe for a while. Joe and Roisin's relationship is on the rocks and intimate stories of her past have started to appear in Joe's new show he wrote. Trust is lost, relationships falter, and the wild rollercoaster begins. While mourning the relationship with Joe, a fellow Brians member comes into the light as her new love.

I enjoyed the story and the mysterious quality to it, but just felt it was a little jumbled. It felt like an everything but the kitchen sink story but not in a good way. I wanted to get to know Matt even more then we did, as it felt the relationship between Roisin and Matt was a very small part of the story (which stinks because it is what I came for). Lots going on, which somehow left me wanting more.

*3.75 rounded up

This is a fun contemporary romcom, though it's pretty light on the romance. When it's there, it's good, but it's thin on the ground. Perhaps because of the TV writer link, I'm finding it easier to think of movie and TV comps than books - things in the vein of Friends from College, The Big Chill, St. Elmo's Fire.

I appreciated Macfarlane's attention to the gaslighting that Roisin experiences in her relationship, but the length of time it takes for them to break up and for Roisin to feel confident in her sense that things were not right steals focus from the new relationship she's embarking on. I enjoyed it overall, but the pacing was muddied by this.

This was definitely not your average fluffy rom-com this had some romance in it but the focus was on Roisin and the deterioration of her relationship with her BF of 10 yrs. Joe and her friend group which is entwined with her relationship. It was about how friends grow together or apart and how to navigate different socio economic brackets while still maintaining your friendship. Joe and Roisin have been drifting apart while he has been working on his new 3 part limited series. While they are away celebrating 10 years of being friends with Matt, Gina, Meredith, Dev and his fiancée Anita and during the screening the first episode of Joes new series that she realizes that she doesn’t want to be with him anymore especially once she sees that he used something she told him in confidence in his new show. Which makes her wonder what else might be true in his show and starts her investigating Joe and figuring out what is truth and what is fiction. There is a side romance which is mostly during the last ¾ of the book and some family drama with Roisin’s Mom but that is kept in the background for the most part. This was a good fast read.
Thanks to Avon/Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

This is my second Mhairi McFarlane book. I received BETWEEN US as an ARC from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review so here goes. The cover(s) teases a rom-com but don't be fooled. The long term relationship between teacher Roisin and screenwriter Joe cooled over the last year as his career took off. Their group of friends reunites for a house party to celebrate an engagement, a birthday, and the viewing of Joe's new TV series. As Roisin decides whether she wants to stay in the relationship or not, the group watches the pilot episode of Joe's sexually graphic show. Roisin is unpleasantly surprised by content of the show that solves her dilemma and causes her to not trust their entire relationship. Other members of the group deal with unrequited love, money disparity issues, wedding planning drama, and growing apart. While the book does has some excellent qualities with strong, female friendships, cohesive writing, and (ultimately at the very end) a happily ever after, the tone throughout the majority of the book is stressful and anxious as Roisin understands herself better and untangles herself from toxic/untruthful/manipulative relationships with her family, friends, and lovers. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I knew I was getting women's fiction and not the romantic comedy suggested by the cover?

My favorite thing about any book by Mhairi McFarlane is without a doubt her writing style. For that reason alone I vouch for picking up any of her titles.

Between Us is another amazingly well-written book filled with strong characters and a fascinating story. I have so many lines and passages highlighted in this one for being relevant, witty, and hilarious. The start was slower this time around and it took me a while to get into the groove of this story but once I had, it was hard to put down.

It doesn't fit the typical mold of a romance novel and leans more on the contemporary side than the romance side. My main drawback was that I could have done with more pages at the end!

I received an ARC from Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a 4.5 rounded up to five. I devoured this book. It follows a typical Mhairi McFarlane plot (no complaints here though) — FMC ends bad relationship, has a vibrant friends group, deals with heavy issues while still maintaining humor, FMC eventually enters a new relationship with a sweet, swoon-worthy MMC. I’d put this in my second level tier of the author’s books — Tier 1 Gushing Love (Just Last Night, Don’t You Forget About Me), Tier 2 Vastly Enjoyed (If I Never Met You, Between Us), Tier 3 Enjoyed (Mad About You, You Had Me at Hello). Being an uncorrected proof, there were some typos, but I was generally able to infer what was being said when it was a little muddled. Some of the humor is very British, but I don’t think it impacts my enjoyment, though I’m sure it enriches the story for Brits. As a main character, Roisin was awesome, and I’d totally want to be friends with her.

This was a quick read. There were some wrinkles I didn’t see coming. I just wanted to be friends with Rioson. I’d like to read more about these friends.

As a huge fan of the author I was really excited to read this her latest book and was delighted to find that it was, as per her usual, a brilliant book full of humor, real life experience and joy. So well written and full of humor, this book will have you hanging onto to your seat, waiting to see what will happen. Amid falling in and out of love and friendship, the characters become real and discover things about themselves and each other. Highly recommended for all those that love a romantic comedy and just a great read.

I loved the premise of this book. The author does a great job of developing characters, but the pacing was so slow for the first half of the book that I found myself continually putting it down to read something else. It got better towards the end, but I wish it had been spaced better.

This was so good. I could definitely see this made into a movie. One I would watch over and over! Roisin was such a great character that you forget she is made up. So good.
I just reviewed Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane. #BetweenUs #NetGalley
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