I really was excited for this read, I have read two other books from this author and was looking forward to reading more from her. The story follows Bel,a journalist chasing a major story she comes across, with the help of the new intern Connor they try their best to unveil the story. At times it was difficult to understand the slang they used but overall the story and writing flowed together well.
I loved reading from Connor's POV and you come to care for him but you don't really see a spark between Bel and him until literally the very end.
That being said this was a 2 star book for me, I felt the chemistry between our characters was not there at times. I felt what the book was trying to give but it sadly did not do it for me. I found there was too much miscommunication for me.

Mhairi McFarlane, the woman that you are.

This book is by far McFarlane’s most romance-centric book. It’s fun and the relationships and characters feel intentional. I loved both Bel and Connor individually and together.

There’s lots of good banter and spark between the FMC and MMC, and the fake dating is great without being too trope-y. Our characters both get a lot of screen time to individually learn and grow while also weaving their lives together.

There are some heavier topics in this book, stalking, abuse of power, and cheating being on that list. Despite the themes, the book does not read as heavy-handed in any way.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I’m a newer Mhairi McFarlane fan as this is my second book of hers I’ve read and it did not disappoint. Her story telling pulls you in from the start with likable characters and all the lovely tropes. I loved these characters from Connor and Bel, to the lesser mentioned side characters.

I should first start out by saying I enjoy this authors previous work and her writing style but this book killed me and not in a good way. I originally sent this in as a DNF but I am no quitter.

This book started off so slow it took me a month to read. The third person point of view became so confusing at times I didn't know who was who. I enjoyed Bel and Connor but didn't feel any chemistry with them. I wanted Shilpa to have her own HEA but it never happened. We waited until 90% of the book in for them to finally acknowledge each other and then it just ends. It needs an Epilogue.

2.5/5 for me. The ending was cute.


Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC of this book.

One of my favorite books of the year so far!!!

A really well done enemies to lovers, lots of banter, super fun. Lots of learning and growing for the main characters and side characters. A win for the women and survirioes of SA, grooming, etc. very empowering on that front.

Loved the writing style, it just felt so natural and fun. It felt like chatting with my best friend. I also loved seeing both Bel’s POV and Connor’s POV. It made the dance between them so fun.

I do however wish we got more of a resolution from the Amber side plot. That’s my only big critique. It felt like she just fell off and never got a resolution. It feels unfair to her and makes Bel seem like she really was just using her.

I live in the US but studied abroad in Leeds, and having the setting up in Manchester/York was so fun for me. Very nostalgic and loved getting little memories of UK tidbits, places, and phrases.

I wanted to give up on this one so badly, but today decided I would push through and finish it. I love Mhairi McFarlane, but this book missed the mark for me. On a positive note, Bel and Connor were fun main characters. There was also a consistently sweet female friendship theme, and I enjoyed the journalism aspect of the story. On another note, this is the slowest slow burn, and while I love some tension-building, this took way too long, in my opinion. The pacing felt poorly planned. I skimmed a decent amount of the middle chapters because it felt like they were dragging. Overall, not my favorite Mhairi McFarlane read, but would recommend if you’re looking for a women’s fiction vibe that is less romance-focused.

I'm grateful to NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishing, and author Mhairi McFarlane for providing me an ARC of this book. I'm not typically one for the fake dating trope, however the description of this book hooked me and I was excited to read. For me, the pacing was a little off and I found myself having a hard time with some of the dialogue. I went into the book expecting more of a rom-com vibe, and was caught a bit off guard by some of the heavier topics (though, shout out for having a MMC talking about his struggles with mental health almost from the get go!). Overall it's not a bad read at all, I just think readers should go in with a more realistic expectation of what the book will ultimately deliver.

I love anything with fake dating but the workplace rivals to lovers aspect was such a good addition. Bel and Conner had such good banter and were both so witty I loved anytime they interacted. The investigative journalism story was top notch and I loved the twists anytime we learned about why Bel moved to Manchester. Mhairi is always gonna deliver!

I enjoyed this book, but it was a hard one for me to get into. I struggled with the dialect at first because there was a phrase or word on almost every page that I had to look up or use context clues to understand. It also seemed like the book dragged on at some points. Overall I enjoyed the story line. The romance didn’t quite do it for me, but it was very believable.

While I've enjoyed some of Mhairi McFarlane's other books more than others, this one was a miss for me. The beginning of the book felt really slow to pickup, and that made it a bit of a slog to want to pick up over other things on my shelf. Third person narration isn't my favorite, and that narration combined with various issues that trigger me personally (infidelity, divorce, mental health issues) made it tough to continue when the story was feeling slow.

I found the beginning to be paced kinda slow and then towards the end as the story was reaching the climax I couldn’t read it fast enough, but was definitely more invested in the plot than the characters so rushed through to find out the conclusion. Felt like a lot of tropes were put in there: forced proximity, fake dating, enemies to lovers and none of them were outstanding. Overall a pleasant read, but not jumping to the top of the list for me by any means.

I went into Cover Story completely blind, and unfortunately, that didn’t work in my favor. The story starts off in a disjointed way, and I found the third-person narrative difficult to connect with. It took a while to figure out what was happening, and by then, I felt detached from the characters and the plot.

The writing style just never clicked for me, which made it hard to stay engaged. I appreciate unique formats and slow-burn suspense, but this one didn’t quite land. While the concept had potential, the execution left me more confused than intrigued.

That said, I know this book works well for some readers—it just wasn’t a good match for me.

This book has so much emotional depth, I was not prepared! There are some darker aspects but I also laughed though at least 30% of this book, it was such a surprise. I loved the characters and their development throughout. The overal idea of how public perception can be powerful and influential was a strong plot too!

This is my first book by this author, and I was excited to receive this ARC given that I’ve heard praise from friends about her previous books. Not to mention, the first line in the description for this book on Goodreads describes the author as “the Queen of Romcoms,” so I fully anticipated this book to have that feel. Sadly, it did not, and I think that’s one of my biggest issues—feeling as though this story is not accurately advertised. Because of this, my expectations going into reading did not match the reality of the story.

Cover Story attempts to tackle many things at once (a stalker ex, a cheating ex, a MC who cheated, a MC battling depression, a divorced friend, jilted exes, breaking a big news story about a shitty mayor by going undercover), and in doing so, made the story feel scattered. Also, in trying to develop and sort through so much, the romance gets placed on the back burner. It’s not even really addressed until the last 8% of the story and, even then, the conclusion left me unsatisfied. I especially loathe a miscommunication/misunderstanding trope. The romance ultimately felt like it got thrown in at the end after realizing it had been forgotten.

While I wholeheartedly enjoy, and often seek out, romantic stories that explore sensitive themes and shed light on tough topics, as this one does, that seemed to be the primary focus here. I did appreciate the way in which the topic at the forefront of the undercover investigation was addressed, the outcome of which was ultimately satisfying, but I got neither “rom” nor “com” vibes as a result.

There were parts of this story I enjoyed while others felt rushed and/or underdeveloped, and I think implying it is a “romcom” does it a disservice, especially since the central focus is not comedic in the slightest.

** Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. **

4 stars! ⭐️ I became so invested in Connor and Bel!! This is a slow burn romance but the tension and banter keeps you turning page after page!

What to expect:
- slow burn
- enemies to lovers
- fake dating

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

Thank you so much netgalley for the opportunity to read this book as an arc
I don’t know if it’s because I was reading the great big beautiful life before this, but this gave me a similar vibe to emi,y Henry especially that book
I’ve been wanting to read something from this author for a while now and I’m so excited my journey with her books has finally begun. I really enjoyed the writting and the storytelling and I can’t wait to pick up some other books from her next

“You can’t have a fake, fake boyfriend. I’m the real fake.”

★★★☆☆ (3.5 rounded down)

I really struggled with my rating for Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane. It was overall, an enjoyable read. The rivals to lovers, the subtle pinning: the high-school-editor-of-the-school-newspaper-amber absolutely swooned over this newspaper storyline. However, for having a lot of deep undertones in this story, it still came off as very superficial and surface-level.

My biggest qualm was there was A LOT going on in this story. It felt like whiplash as we kept adding more subplots to the overall story. I had a hard time tracking everything and at only 416 pages, not everything wrapped up in a tiny bow by the end. I think this is an excellent case of “less is more.” And not even getting to the romance aspect of the book until the last 10%? It unfortunately felt rushed with still a lot of unanswered questions.

Many, many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a Mhairi fan from way back and was itching to get my hands on this book! It took me awhile to get into it, I’ll be honest. Bel is an award-winning podcaster and journalist who has relocated to Manchester following a breakup. She has an excellent story opportunity fall in her lap, but the new intern at the paper she’s working for drops himself in the middle of the action. Instead of grumpy – sunshine, it is grumpy – grumpy. There are many many miscommunications. I feel as though the beginning of the story took too long and the end of the story was rushed. We get so many details about some parts of the story yet there are plot holes that are never filled. I still love this author, and I will still be back the next time she puts out a book, this was not my favorite.

I have been a huge fan of Mhairi and she never disappoints! Bel works in a newspaper alongside Aaron, a fellow journalist, and Connor, the new intern. Connor and Bel immediately dislike each other but are forced to fake date in order to investigate a story.
I really enjoyed the accurate representation of grief, depression, suicidal ideation and stalking.
Connor was the perfect MMC - he is grumpy, but caring and clearly grows and changes throughout the story. There is amazing slow build and the banter is 10/10.

loved!! mhairi is my favorite author and she never fails to disappoint. the external plot felt well-developed and the chemistry simmered.