Today, I’m delighted to join the blog tour for Mhairi McFarlane’s latest romcom – thanks to Random Things Tours for inviting me to join the tour and for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
From the Publisher:
When Joe and Roisin join their group of friends for a weekend at a country house, it’s a triple celebration – a birthday, an engagement and the launch of Joe’s shiny new crime drama on TV. For Roisin, it’s a chance to connect with the group of friends she made a decade before, working as a bookseller. But for Joe, it’s a distraction as his writing career soars.
As the weekend unfolds, tensions are revealed between the group and Roisin’s sense of foreboding about her own relationship grows. And when the friends watch the first episode of Joe’s drama, she realises that the secrets she told him are right there on the screen. But is that all he’s used? What if the fictional hero’s infidelity also isn’t fictional after all?
‘Brilliant on relationships, friendships and emotions… I loved, loved, loved this book’
MARIAN KEYES
BETH O’LEARY
‘Gorgeously romantic, as well as a story about friendship and grief and loss; I never wanted it to end’
KATIE FFORDE
‘Funny and heartfelt, full of humour and wisdom, I absolutely loved it’
‘An effortlessly brilliant read – will have you laughing when you shouldn’t and sobbing when you least expect it’
GIOVANNA FLETCHER
JENNY COLGAN
‘Totally hilarious and wincingly real’
My Review:
I don’t read a lot of romance novels – nothing personal, but I’m usually found in the darker depths of crime novels and gritty history! However, a new Mhairi McFarlane novel is always able to tempt me away from my diet of police procedurals and twisty thrillers!
This novel opened with a group of friends meeting in the large, remote Benbarrow Hall for a weekend of celebrations. One of them even comments , ‘It’s like a murder mystery place’ which had me on pretty secure ground!
However, instead of gruesome deaths, McFarlane explores the dynamics of the group, called the Brian Club, who met 10 years previously while working at Waterstones in Deansgate. Two of the group are getting married, there’s a few secret (and not-so-secret) crushes and lots of tensions.
At the centre of the narrative is Roisin – a secondary English teacher – whose relationship with Joe is floundering a bit as his career in screenwriting takes off and she sees a bit too much of their personal life in his new TV show. Taking some time out to help her mum run the family pub, Roisin begins to evaluate her life and relationship – with tonnes of support from her female friends and one of the Brian Club’s men.
Look, it’s like all the ingredients were made for me – secondary English teaching, Waterstones, female solidarity, lots of humour. Absolutely ticks all the boxes!
And I did like this book a lot. I especially liked the dynamics between Roisin and her mother and female friends – McFarlane writes with buckets of warmth about women, which is lovely. In fact, the men were mostly less developed or, in the case of one key figure, a total scumbag (I had a much stronger word here before – consider this edited!) Even the romantic lead seemed to just be mainly handsome and with nice arms – not a bad thing obviously, but I’ll admit I was kind of hoping that Roisin would see the light and take up with the fabulous Meredith!
The book has plenty of character development and back-story to keep the reader interested – and I loved the scenes at Roisin’s school which (to a teacher) were cringingly relatable! I’m sure we’ve all taught those kids!
I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys light, humorous, romantic reads. There is a bit of a trigger warning for gaslighting, but the characters are suitably savvy and well-supported by friends that it doesn’t feel too traumatic. Sadly, real life isn’t like that, but McFarlane’s world is a joyous one where nothing truly awful happens (without it working out for the best in the end, obviously!)
About the Author:
Sunday Times bestselling author Mhairi McFarlane was born in Scotland in 1976 and her unnecessarily confusing name is pronounced Vah-Ree. After some efforts at journalism, she started writing novels and her first book, ‘You Had Me At Hello’, was an instant success and she’s since sold nearly 2 million copies of her books. ‘Between Us’ is her ninth book and she lives in Nottingham with a man and a cat.
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Thanks for the blog tour support x