I haven’t had the opportunity to read a book by this author until now, and I figured an ARC might be okay. I unfortunately couldn’t finish it: maybe it was the Notting Hill trope, maybe it was just all a bit too fantastical without any realism given to Elliot from the start. I might try another Mhairi McFarlane another time, but this one wasn’t the one for me.

I love Mhairi McFarlane, and this was no exception. I didn't remember reading the first book, so I had to go back and review a bit, but it was a satisfying follow-up, even if I was a bit confused by Declan's role!

this was pretty good! I thought it was fun but it was missing something? it seemed ok but when i finished i felt like it lacked a vibe or something? im not sure but i loved elliot

You Belong with Me by Mhairi McFarlane, a follow up to Who's That Girl?, was entertaining and funny. I made sure to reread the first novel before diving into this one and I'm glad I did because while I remembered the overall plotline of the story, I had forgotten a lot of the little details. You Belong with Me was just as funny as the original but I didn't enjoy it as much as the first. I definitely think you'll have to read Who's that Girl? before reading You Belong with Me. It kind of goes over the events that happened in the first one but it doesn't provide a lot of context so it might be a little confusing. I was glad to be back with these lovable cast of characters but I felt like the story lacked something. You Belong with Me starts off right where Who's That Girl? ends and we see the two main characters decide to give the relationship another go and that's pretty much all we see happen? Elliot continues being a big time Hollywood actor who falls in love with 'normal person' Edie and Edie spends the entire book wondering why Elliot likes her and if maybe he'll leave her and end up with some beautiful actor. Things happen because Edie still can't trust the relationship and that's about it. I did enjoy this but I did believe it lacked an overall event that wasn't' Edie working about why Elliot was with her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this book, with my honest review below.

You Belong with Me is a well written book but ultimately not for me. We started in a confusing place for me as I felt I was in the middle of the book and didn’t get a proper introduction. As a result the rest of the book felt a little jarring and like I was playing catch up. Edie and Elliot’s relationship is written meaningfully but the flow never clicked for me and as a result I couldn’t really buy in to their relationship and, with it, the rest of the plot. I never got the ‘why is this important’ and ‘why should I be engaged’. Mhairi McFarlane is a talented writer, I know from reading her other books, and the books opening and flow may work for other readers but for me this ended up being confusing.

I’ve found out upon follow up this book is a a sequel to another Mhairi wrote in 2015 so I’d highly recommend having read that before this as I believe it would solve my feedback on the confusion and subsequent flow.

Another delightful story from Mhairi McFarlane. She has a way of writing banter that is rivaled by few, and the British-isms make me feel wonderfully nostalgic. The conflict for this one was painful and arduous to read, but definitely understandable. I really liked the way she approached the premise of someone ordinary and famous being in a relationship with quite a bit of realism. It was difficult for your standard romance novel because I think that trace insecurity and tenuousness is kind of infectious. I was just as convinced that the relationship was too precarious to last. I think I would've liked more piece of mind given the sheer onslaught of conflict than a brief speech at the end and a consequent engagement. There's something very unsatisfying about finishing a romance novel and feeling lingering doubt over the couple's lasting power in spite of the wedding. I definitely would've liked for Edie's insecurities to be unpacked in a more significant way as this felt like the most glaring ongoing issue still waiting in the wings. On the whole though, the characters had wonderful chemistry as always and it's always refreshing to read a romance novel where the characters genuinely communicate like adults.