This is such a great book! Cover Story is my very first book from Mhairi McFarlane, and OMG I can't wait to read all of her books.
I was hooked since the beginning.

I absolutely loved the banter between Bel and Connor - sharp, comical.
The characters were well written, relatable, each one have their own baggage, that little by little our work on it together.
This is a slow burn story, you didn't feel like it is rushed, as you can see how their relationship shift from not standing each other, enemies, to later became THE person.

This book has a Dual POV that let us see both perspectives on the same circumstances, and you can see how they grow on each other, from enemies-coworkers to allies.
I love their relationships with their families and friends; Bel x Shilpa relationship is hilarious, Connor x Shaun brotherhood is awesome.

There were some sensitive topics that were so well handled and written, which added some depth to the story. It made you care and understand more about the characters.

I ONLY WISH for an epilogue or a bonus chapter of Bel x Connor.

Pub Date Oct 07 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for this amazing ARC in exchange of my honest review.

McFarlane is a riot and netgalley is my bff for giving me an ARC. I stayed up into the wee hours of the night to finish this one, and laughed very loudly throughout the whole thing.
This may be one of my favorites of hers yet.

Mhairi McFarlane does it again. Wow. I stayed up until 2AM finishing this novel last night, and it did not disappoint. Losing myself in a book doesn't happen often but when it does, it is one of the best feelings in the world. Everything that makes her writing great, this book had: humor, complicated characters who aren't cookie-cutter, a witty FMC, and a coming-of-age story for grown-ups.

Our two main characters, Bel and Connor, are investigative journalists, which introduces a very fun espionage-related subplot. And of course, we then get a fake-dating trope. But it in no way felt trope-y or trite. This is something McFarlane does best: she never writes over-the-top scenarios but instead pens humans and conversations that feel incredibly authentic. Her main characters weren't swoony for each other. They were contemplative and guarded.

Also, Bel and Connor's miscommunication through this book somehow didn't make me want to pull my hair out. It felt genuine and painstakingly realistic.

But then, when things change for the better, and feelings begin to emerge (shout out to McFarlane for including a dual POV because that was lovely), it isn't insta-love. All of the little things come together, and the reader has two individuals who seem to just work together.

Thank you Netgalley, @AvonBooks, and @HarperVoyagerUS for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I cannot wait until October so I can repeat this experience.

This book was a cute rom com with an element of mystery and some humorous blunders! If you love an enemies to lovers trope, this one is for you. There were a lot of different things happening, but she tied everything together in the end. Mhairi McFarlane always delivers!

4.5 stars for me!!!! THIS WAS. SO GOOD. Classic Mhairi McFarlane. I think this is my fifth (?) book of hers, but tbh I lost count!

We have a few different plots going on, a little romance, and TOP TIER witty banter. One of the best parts of Mhairi’s books are how insanely fleshed out and well rounded her characters are. I feel like these people are my real life friends!! Connor and Bel are perfect main characters and I absolutely loved the dual POV. The Will-They-Won’t-They was done in a way that I truly was like “okay, maybe they won’t?” at more than one point. I love when romances truly have obstacles for the main characters to get over to get together and prove how real it is.

If you want a book with multiple interesting plot lines, great characters (main and side), family drama, slow burn romance, and a book that actually made me LOL then this one is for you.

The only thing I will say, is that once they released the mayor story, that plot went away really quickly. Like there wasn’t a ton of follow up on the Mayor besides a quick sentence saying tnat he went to rehab. Okay also I wish we got closure with Ant!! Like what happened with him?? I wanna see his wife divorce him!

THANK YOU NetGalley & Avon for the E-Arc! I can’t wait to get a physical copy come October! <3



P.S. Mhairi McFarlane you make me wish I was British </3

This was such a fun, fast-paced read! I loved the snarky banter, the slow-burn tension, and the chaos that comes with fake dating your work rival. Bel and Connor had me hooked from the start, equal parts frustrating and adorable. Definitely a new favorite romcom!

Would I recommend this book to you? Yes

Expected Release Date: 10/07/2025

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the early access. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Thank you to Avon for the advance reading copy!

The premise for this book sounded entertaining, and the cover design is so beautiful! Unfortunately, the writing style just wasn't for me, and I had a very difficult time fighting to stay engaged. I lost that battle with myself and chose to put it down for the time being.

The characters had a hard time holding my attention
I felt like there was too much bouncing around and I couldn't get into the book


Thank you NetGalley for the arc

Another winner from McFarlane! I love her books, and this one has a little more depth to it. It's more women's fiction than romance as it tackles issues like gaslighting, #metoo, and workplace romance boundaries. I appreciated how McFarlane develops characters with depth and maturity to stand up for themselves. I really enjoyed this on!

I love Mhairi McFarlane’s novels, and this one didn’t disappoint. A delightful romcom. This one didn’t delve into as heavy subject matter as some of her previous novels but still a great read that delves into issues reminiscent of those you can find in her other works.

I enjoyed this so much! This author is new to me; I loved her premise, pace, & characters. Connor, an older than usual intern, joins a small newspaper publishing team, & surprises them with his dedication and smarts. Bel is a driven journalist & podcaster who discovers a juicy political cover up & when Connor stumbles into her cover story, fake dating ensues. The chemistry is electric, the story compelling, & the banter top notch. Releases Oct 7.

I’m a longtime fan of Mhairi McFarlane, and once again, she didn’t disappoint! Cover Story hooked me right from the start with its perfect mix of humor, heart, and sharp writing. The slow-burn enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Bel and Connor felt so real and earned. Their fake relationship for an undercover story gave way to some seriously swoon-worthy moments, and I loved seeing their connection grow from tension to something much deeper.

What really stood out was McFarlane’s signature witty banter—so funny and spot-on—and the way she tackled deeper themes like burnout, ethics in journalism, and starting over. The dual POV added great depth, letting us really get inside both Bel and Connor’s heads. Plus, the friendships were strong and authentic, which is always a highlight in her books.

By the end, I was totally invested and left with that warm, satisfied feeling only a great romance can give. My only tiny wish was for a bit more of an epilogue to see what happened next, but overall, Cover Story is a smart, heartfelt romcom that fans of witty, slow-burn love stories won’t want to miss.

I think the book was good but it wasn't great. It just had sooo much going on. The characters were likable enough it was just a bit overwhelming in a lot of ways. I usually like Mhairi McFarlane books so I was a bit disappointed. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this arc and give my honest review!! დ

rating: 2.5 ✰

✎ This was my first Mhairi McFarlane book and I am sad to say I don’t think i’ll be reading more of her. I have heard a lot about her books but this one wasn’t for me. At first, I was enjoying the story and the investigative side of journalism but then when it came to show the story to the world it all seemed so simple and nothing really deserving happened with that storyline. I also feel like our characters were surface level, like we were told more things rather than them being showed. For example, with Bel, we were told everyone loved her and that she had this kind of sunshine persona but then I don’t feel like we got to see that side of her. Connor’s main thing was being serious and just closed off, we were told he suffered from depression but we didn’t explore that aspect of mental health. The romance didn’t seem believable and real, we have these two people who don’t like each other based on first impressions and are always saying things to other people about the bad things in their personalities and then we see a change to them being friendly but not entirely friends and then we jump in the last 5% of the book to them realizing they are in love with each other. It also felt very dragged out and I just wanted to get this book done and thought about DNF’ing.

Glad to have had this opportunity but sad to announce this was definitely not for me.

3.5 stars! I really loved the end of this book! I generally liked all of the storylines and liked how they were resolved, but found the book a little slow moving overall. I only have If I Never Met You, Who's That Girl and You Belong With Me to compare this book to which I remember having more romance despite being slow moving. As usual, I enjoyed Mhairi McFarlane's writing and the British humor, but I felt like the romance was too much of a slow burn and there was not enough of it for me personally. It was such a slow burn with too much assuming and prejudging that there was just not enough chemistry or tension. I did appreciate how both Bel and Connor helped each other and grew to trust and love each other after their previous relationships. I actually bought into their connection and the romance, I just wished there was more of it and wasn't as rushed in the end!

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This story follows Bel, an investigative journalist who goes undercover to work on a major story. She ends up working the case with the new office intern, Connor, who she is not that fond of.

There are a lot of plots in here including Bel's stalker, her ex, fake dating Connor to sell her undercover persona, and a little thriller involving the big story she's reporting. While all of these plots were interesting, none involved the slightest bit of romance. I normally wouldn't mind this, not every story needs a romance plot/subplot but Mhairi McFarlane's books are marketing as "Romcoms" and it's very misleading. I read Just Last Night last year and that one lacks in romance as well. Romance is barely even a subplot in these books. The romance in Cover Story didn't kick in until 95% into the book....the literally end. Because of that, I found myself not really caring at this point whether Bel and Connor ended up together. I just think these books need a new marketing strategy.

As for the writing, I find it very difficult to read at times mainly due to the slang and setting of her books which isn't the author's fault. It's just so heavy in the book that it keeps me disconnected from the story.

There were a few quotes from Connor's POV that kind of made me dislike him. Just his general dislike of Bel at first and how he would never be attracted to her because he's "not most men" was strange to me. He had a few sweet lines when we got to the 90% mark when the romance came in but it wasn't enough to outweigh his attitude at the beginning of the book.

Overall, I think if you go into this story with the mindset that it's majority fiction and a tiny, tiny subplot of romance, you will probably enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

wasn’t my favorite mcfarlane but there was still a lot of heart and humor to this that i enjoyed! definitely one of her more romantic ones which i appreciated.

I think overall this is a 3.5 for me. Bel and Conner were both likeable characters but it wasn’t super different from any enemies to lovers/fake dating tropes that I’ve read before. Maybe some spots of added depth. Overall good, but didn’t blow me away. Thank you to the publisher for the gifted arc.

Cover Story was my second Mhairi McFarlane book, and she is now a must-read author for me. If you aren't reading her books, you are missing out. They are just perfect. Fans of Falon Ballard would enjoy. Cover Story is two colleagues, who don't really like each other, but become forced to work together on an assignment.

As much as I’ve enjoyed Mhairi McFarlane’s previous books, this one was too entrenched in British culture for me to stay involved in the latest of her lovely, messy, very human tales. This was quite disheartening because I love stories from all around the world. Unfortunately, when I keep having to search online for definitions to phrases dropped without any context clues to help an ignorant American reader, it’s hard to stay involved in the story. So let me say that while it’s likely a 4 for those who get all the lingo and other references, it was just a 3 for me.
That being said, it is a good story; the protagonists both had emotional growth to accomplish here and the journalism plot was an interesting one. However, the fact that we were only given dribs and drabs of the FMC’s main dilemma until nearly 3/4 of the way through seriously hampered my connection to her character. Everyone orbited around her as if she were as glorious as the sun but the scenes where she was actually in action never demonstrated much to justify that awe.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free ARC. All opinions here are wholly my own.