Between Us: The biggest rom com of 2023: smart, romantic and laugh-out-loud funny from the bestselling author of Last Night and Mad About You

Product Information

A lot of the beginning is her considering whether or not it’s right to end things, given the new revelations. I love her heroines, and I mostly loved Roisin even though she did things I didn’t always approve of or understand. Some of the group are wealthier than others, including Dev, who won a prize on a reality TV show and spun it into millions. Has she been gaslighted by a man who has been cheating and lying to her for years without giving away his second nature?

Especially because he’s not really contrite at all when she confronts him – he’s on his way to some important meeting and can barely be bothered to have the conversation and he’s all puffed up about it, taking inspiration from around him and it’s not personal and no one is going to know. While I came to like Matt, and understood the basis for their connection, for me their burgeoning relationship didn’t have the sense of inevitability that is present between the couples in McFarlane’s previous novels, and the balance between the romance and angst wasn’t there. All of her thoughts on Joe, her friends Meredith, Gina, Matt, Dev, her mother, her brother, her father, etc. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. Speaking of Joe, I liked that as readers we knew something wasn't adding up about his behaviour but you didn't know exactly what he was up to.

Roisin supported Joe for many years whilst he struggled to make a name in writing but his previous show, the one before this one they are gathering to watch, was a breakout hit and now Joe is a big name with a lot of accolades and a lot of people wanting to work with him. This just wasn't one I think I'll ever come back to and, sadly, I'll likely only remember it for it's most outrageous element (the meta bit).

I guess that this does chime with the repeated refrain 'slow but then fast at the end' which pretty much sums up this book! Yet the most unexpected twist of all is an old friend, who is suddenly there for Roisin in ways she never knew she needed. That is always the main character coming to terms with upheaval and change, generally from a break up of a long term relationship but sometimes there are other issues at play as well, like a past trauma that still overshadows them in the present, or the loss of a loved one and grief, etc. Something about Mhairi McFarlane’s books feels oh-so-familiar every time you open one for the first time.At least I easily got into the story, enjoying the friendship drama, self-growth, and second chances theme.