Mhairi McFarlane has been one of my favorites for awhile now, and I'm happy to say I LOVED You Belong With Me (YBWM). I haven't read her entire back catalog yet, and didn't know YBWM was a sequel to "Who's That Girl?" (WTG), so as I started reading YBWM and found that out, I stopped to go back and read WTG. I also loved WTG and didn't want the story to end, so was thrilled to see that YBWM picks right up where WTG ends. I also couldn't help but think about how people had to wait ~8 years to find out what happened! It's not a requirement to read WTG before YBWM, as McFarlane does a good job of adding context, but I highly recommend reading it first as you get to know the characters so much more and it makes YBWM a richer story.

I found Edie to be a very sympathetic character and well-developed, and I related to her quite a bit. She clearly made a mistake, but a very human one, and I really enjoyed following the aftermath, leading to her reconnecting with family and friends, as well as meeting Elliot and seeing their relationship develop. Elliot was incredibly emotionally intelligent, kind and considerate, and solidifies the "book boyfriends ruin real men" stereotype. When I started reading WTG, I immediately thought it needed to be a movie, and I feel that way even more having read YBWM. While the book are hilarious and are rom-coms, there are more serious themes like grief, loss, betrayal, complicated family relationships, among others that create a well-rounded story with depth.

I love Mhairi McFarlane's writing, and once again found myself highlighting passages in almost every chapter. She has a way of putting feelings and thoughts into words that I didn't know how to put into words. She's also hilarious and is a master at banter, and the funny moments feel natural and not try-hard like some authors can be.

Really my only complaint is that I thought YBWM wrapped up too quickly. It felt like Edie said her piece and then all of a sudden everything was perfect again. I felt like they needed to talk through what she said a little more; I figured Elliot would respond more than he did, and while the reader can assume they talk about it more after the wedding weekend, I wish we would have gotten to see a little of it before Fraser walked out.

Overall, I loved this book so much, and plan on purchasing copies of both WTG and YBWM, and can see myself rereading them both in the future.

CW: Infidelity/Infidelity-adjacent, manipulation, betrayal, depression, discussion of suicide and brief description of what happened (non-graphic), loss of Mother (in the past), brief discussion of alcoholism & drunk driving and resulting death, grief, loss, complicated family relationships, discussion of character's adoption as a child, negative experience with biological father

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

I just want to preface this by saying that I feel like I can’t give a very fair review for this book because I didn’t realize it was a sequel to a book that I did not read. I kind of learned the gist of what happened in the first book as I got further into this one, but I still felt like I was missing some important details that may have made this story better. It also was hard for me to really understand Edie and Elliot’s relationship because I felt like there wasn’t really much going on in this story? I found myself questioning where it was going throughout almost the entire thing. I didn’t necessarily dislike this book, but I didn’t love it either.

However, I am interested to know more of their dynamic in the first book, and maybe I’ll come back to read that at some point.

I am going to give this book 3 stars since it really is my fault for not realizing there was a book before this.

⭐️ 3 ⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I didn't realize this was part of a series, so I was not familiar with these characters because I didn't read the first one. It was an enjoyable read, but not my favorite romance I read this year. Just overall okay.

3.5 stars

It's the age old question - what really happens to your favorite fictional couples after the last page? In this case, Edie and Elliot have to navigate living two very different lifestyles while being a brand new couple. And apparently the way they handle this is by fighting and mistrusting each other. For the first half of this book they both drove me nuts. They were constantly arguing and wouldn't communicate their feelings and then got annoyed at each other for not understanding their feelings. It was just... a lot. Even in the times they weren't fighting they seemed to have zero chemistry. Around halfway through the book both Edie and Elliot finally developed personalities and I enjoyed their relationship a lot more. There were some really sweet moments between them that were nice to read. H0wever, they still COULD NOT STOP ARGUING. After investing two whole books in them I was really rooting for their relationship but they just don't seem like they would work out in the long run.
OUtside of the relationship issues, not much happens in this book. There are a few subplots, with someone selling their story to the tabloids, Elliot's brother's wedding, and the return of Jack, but they were so bland that it wasn't enough to keep the story going.
If you loved the first book, maybe you'll enjoy the continuation of Edie and Elliot's story, but I found them kind of annoying in both books so this one just didn't really do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

I liked this book. I love Edie as a character and really enjoy reading about her life. I also like Elliot as a character but there is something about them together that does not click for me. I do think they are cute together but I was not yearning for them to be together. McFarlane’s writing is witty and beautiful at the same time and I will definitely be reading more of her books.

2.5 Stars

Mhairi McFarlane is one of my favorite authors. An auto-buy, auto-read, don’t read the synopsis because I trust her with my life kind of author. Welp, I didn’t read the synopsis for You Belong with Me and just jumped in head first having no idea it’s actually a sequel! I read the first book eight or so years ago & had mostly forgotten about it because admittedly it’s my least favorite of her books. After forcing my way through the first few chapters I realized my mistake and promptly shelved this one to re-read Who’s That Girl?

Once I finished my re-read I could see with the pretty abrupt ending what MM was going for with You Belong with Me. But honestly, I’m so sad to say I just wasn’t invested in the story. The first book was good not great and for me and this is the sequel I would have never asked for. One more chapter? Would have been lovely! A little epilogue? A great idea! A fluffy novella to wrap up Edie & Elliot’s story? Brilliant! But a whole book? It dragged on & on for me and I really had to muscle my way through it.

Mhairi McFarlane is still a queen to me & her writing was on point as always! I will forever read her books. If you loved the first book then you will probably like this! I think you need to be really invested in Edie & Elliot and I just wasn’t.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like although this was cute and I do love a sequel this just fell flat a bit. I was a little bored in the middle and almost didn't finish it when I was 25% in.

I loved the first Edie Thomspon book, re-reading it many times over the years and the sequel so did not disappoint! The book had all the witty banter that McFarlane is famous for along with the grounding energy of people's real lives and insecurities, written with sensitivity. 5 out of 5 stars!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a great read! I would recommend it to a friend. I loved it! Five stars. This book is a captivating exploration of human emotions and relationships. The narrative unfolds through the lives of richly developed characters, each facing unique challenges and growth. The author’s prose is both lyrical and engaging, drawing readers into the story with vivid imagery and relatable experiences.

I DNF’d this book at about 45% unfortunately.


After I decided to DNF, I read some other reviews and discovered that part of the issue I was having was because I didn’t know that this is a sequel. One of the big problems I had was feeling very confused as to what was happening.


Another thing I found frustrating was the vernacular. The writing felt thick and heavy to me, and I felt like I spent a lot of my time trying to interpret the “British-isms” from context clues. Honestly I thought I was pretty up to date with British jargon but obviously I’m not.


What I ultimately determined is this is the kind of book I would’ve read in my 20s when I was a snob about education levels and refused to read any book “lesser” than classic lit, or thick heavy (and obviously prophetic lol) dystopian books full of meaning, subtext and especially angst. These days I’m more interested in light fluffy books. Women’s lit is out, puff pieces are in. Basically this is the world’s longest “It’s not you it’s me”.


I think if this were a movie I would eat it up, but the book is not for me.

you belong with me by mhairi mcfarlane is an entertaining read, but it didn’t quite hit all the right notes for me. the story is a continuation to “who’s that girl?” and it revolves around the two main characters, Emma and Jamie navigating their relationship under the public scrutiny and long distance.

in all honesty, the main characters acted a bit… childish at times? both of them struggling with issues of jealousy, him being in the public eye and the package it comes with? it dragged and dragged until i almost felt i wanted to drop the book and pretend the sequel doesn’t exist. i can see other people enjoying this book, but it was a disappointment for me.

lastly, thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Edie, a normal person, is dating Elliot, a Very Famous Person. He has to travel internationally to work on films while Edie stays in their hometown to pursue her own career. The long distance, work relationships, and their respective insecurities put a strain on relationship. They love each other and want to make it work, but is that enough?

I enjoyed the cast of characters. After Edie was outcasted at work, it was nice that a new coworker came in and treated her without judgement. I kept thinking I knew which way the story would go, but as I kept reading I was also confused which way I was supposed to root for as a reader. This was my second McFarlane book and I look forward to reading the rest of her work!

I was really drawn to this book because of the author. In practice though I struggled to connect with the plot and ended up not finishing it. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book without initially knowing it was a sequel. Despite not having read the first one, I really enjoyed it. This is my second by McFarlane and she writes such depth to her characters that we often don’t find in a romance. This isn’t heavy on plot, but rather on how Edie and Elliott navigate a relationship, which we often don’t see in this genre and I felt it was explored well. Fans of hers and particularly those who read the first one will be happy with this one, or others such as myself who come in blind.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Publishing.

Mhairi McFarlane is my favorite romcom author but I was disappointed with this follow up to Who’s That Girl? (2015). The author has been playing with the romcom format for a while and I have generally enjoyed her twists within a pretty rigid genre: though the plots may not be traditional, the romance and sprightly comedy are always top notch. This one just didn’t work for me.

Picking up from where Who’s That Girl? ended, everywoman Edie Thompson and glossy famous actor Elliot Owen decide to give it a go, despite the strain his career puts on their relationship. And there’s part of my problem: instead of the usual will they-won’t they we have a couple who are trying to make it work. It should be an interesting wrinkle on the romcom format but I found it a bit of a contrived slog instead. It didn’t help that I found myself not particularly caring about Edie and Elliot.

Edie’s career is taking off as she now runs the Nottingham branch of London advertising agency Ad Hoc with a new work colleague, Declan. Unlike the author’s previous novels, there is little focus on Edie’s life outside her romance; her friend group and family are very much back burnered and her professional triumphs are downplayed. This is usually the area where the author scores, with fully rounded out characters and a believable complex life for the main character. Instead we just have a lot of angst about tabloids and gossip.

However, the author has kept her genre-topping sharp wit and ridiculously funny banter, even if it occasionally feels misplaced. That alone will keep me coming back.

Thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Was confused at first since i didn't know there was a book before this one, so I had to go back and read that one first! But overall, a good read 😊

Thank you, Netgalley, for the chance to read this 🩷🥹

I'm such a fan of Mhairi McFarlane's writing.
You Belong with Me is a sequel to Who's That Girl which I didn’t know going in. I wish I had read the first book before.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and had a fun time reading it.
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't think Who's That Girl needed a sequel before I started this, and I still don't think it does now that I'm done. The same problems that caused Edie and Elliot to not work in the first book are the same problems that cause them to not work in this one. Even after the ending, I still don't feel like they resolved any of their major issues. Edie needs to do a bit more self reflection. It is just so tiring to hear her become jealous again and again and hold Elliot up to a standard she herself does not meet over and over. I thought Elliot was boring in the first book and I still think he's boring in this one. This book made me question whether they should really be a couple.

The humor in this was a bit too aggressively British for me to enjoy, but to be fair all of the Mhairi McFarlane books I have read have been so as well. I think if you usually enjoy her humor you will continue to enjoy it in this book.

This book felt unnecessary to me, but if you love Edie and Elliot and felt unsatisfied by the ending of the first book you may find something to enjoy in this.

This was a cute book. Part of reading it was my bad, as I didn't know it was book 2 in a series. I feel like I need to go back and re-read that one.

I didn't realize that this was a continuation from a previous book, but now that I know, I understand why the beginning was all in from the start.

I actually kinda liked that about it, although since I didn't have prior knowledge of the friend group, some of those bits were hard to decifer. Also Mhairi's writing style is very jokey and make fun, which I appreciate, but it was a little hard to get into it from the start. Usually I really enjoy that kind of writing because my brain hasn't met a side tangent it doesn't like, but like I said, was a little jarring to just jump into.

I did enjoy that these characters had what most likely resembles relationship drama, I mean however close one can get when one is a very popular actor, but the jealousy feelings felt that of something one would typically feel in a relationship where things are a bit uneven in the way that Edie felt.

It had addictive parts when we were trying to sleuth out the leaker, and just how sharp witted they were with each other.

All in all, a good read.

Thank you to Avon Books and Netgalley for an e-copy.