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acethirtynine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Minor: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, and Racism
streetmuseums's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Infidelity
Minor: Pedophilia
schmoopyplanz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I wouldn't call it a romance as much as just general fiction.
The author writes *very* triggering material. A good writer, but trauma is never forewarned and always hits hard.
This is the most light hearted one, and my favourite despite that.
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Racism
Minor: Emotional abuse and Pedophilia
This is the least triggering Mhairi McFarlane book I've read. None of her books have warnings of sensitive subjects that readers may find harmful, but every other one needs it. This one is no exception.kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Author: Mhairi McFarlane
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 2.50
Pub Date: March 5, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Slow • Predictable • Forgettable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Together for the past 18 years, Laurie feels she and her partner Dan are ready to start trying for a baby. When one evening, she broaches the topic, Dan quickly realizes he doesn't want children and ends things. Heartbroken, Laurie's once perfect life is in shambles and the thought of dating again horrifies her. Several months down the road, Dan announces that his new girlfriend is pregnant, Laurie feels humiliated.
That is until a chance encounter in a broken-down elevator with the office playboy who doesn't believe in love presents a new possibility. Jamie is looking to impress the bosses, and she wants nothing more than to make Dan jealous, so they agree to enter into a fake relationship with strategically staged photographs and a specific end date in mind...
💭 T H O U G H T S
I picked Mhairi McFarlane as one of my twelve authors for my 'Author Taste Test' challenge for 2023. Since I owned If I Never Met You I decided that would be the book I'd go with, unfortunately it was just one of those books that didn't work for me.
Firstly, the whole book was way longer than it needed to be. It just took too long for get to the new relationship. The whole breakup felt way more developed than it needed to be. I know an in depth exploration of the breakup was warranted, but this went too far. Heck, Jamie (the love interest) didn't appear consistently throughout the first half of the book!
Additionally, the chemistry between Laurie and Jamie was lackluster (maybe that's to be expected when two people are pretending?). The dialogue felt forced and a lot of the humour fell flat. I felt zero connection to the characters. The author tried to add depth, which I appreciate, yet it just felt like she tried to put in too much with some scenes seeming highly unrealistic and implausible.
Fake dating is one of those tropes that is very hit or miss for me. This was certainly a miss, as I don't feel it was utilized to its potential. The revenge pretenses of Laurie embarking with such an arrangement also came across as very juvenile.
Lastly, the whole scene with Laurie's father's friend felt like it came out of nowhere. And because it occurred so close to the end of the book it wasn't fully addressed and resolved. I think it was an important plotline, but why the author chose to wait so late to drop it into the story puzzles me.
When I first read the synopsis for this book, I thought I'd enjoyed, unfortunately that was not the case. I definitely don't think it was the right book to start with from this author. If I Never Met You was highly forgettable, but I'll definitely give her another try with a different book, as I really think it was the plot and not the writing that I didn't jive with.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fake dating fans
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Those who said family mattered above all else were wrong. People you love, who love you back, matter above all. Crap people you happen to be related to: you need to stop thinking you owe them limitless number of chances to hurt you."
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Racism, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Child death, Grief, and Cancer
sibling deathpinkfloydian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Racism
Minor: Drug abuse, Child death, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
bookmarkedbyjosephine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death, Abandonment, and Car accident
azkabanslibrary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
saeruh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
However, I felt like the first 100ish pages should have been edited down a bit because the plot kinda dragged there and didn’t really fully begin until like past page 120. I just didn’t need that much focus on Dan when the story was supposed to be about Laurie and Jamie falling in love. It made the first quarter of the book feel like a contemporary on divorce and marriage instead of love and romance. Also, I’m not a huge fan of the way that McFarlane used SO much British slang and also text speech out loud when characters were talking, like the “lol” that they would constantly somehow say irl. Maybe this style would have worked better for an audiobook but I felt it did not translate well to written prose.
Graphic: Sexism and Racism
Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Child death
Minor: Pedophilia
roget's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The first 25% of this book is a brutal, ripping betrayal. The piling on of a thousand, horribly unexpected and yet completely believable developments in the end of an 18 year relationship. She’s completely thrown and the absolute breakdown of her trust is gutting to witness and experience.
(I had to process through a long, emotional talk with my partner—that’s how impactful this girl’s breakup is.)
But then, slowly, you start to see the cracks in the former relationship as she does. A breakup that seemed to come from nowhere shifts into seeming something inevitable, given the quality of the relationship, which eventually turns into relief that she got out of it.
You grow to accept and hope better things for her as she does. I cried and laughed multiple times, and the dialogue is often excellent. Superb voice, and a generally incredible read that does not shy from angst in an often-fluffy genre. Hurt-comfort is top notch. Not lighthearted, but a satisfying close.
So poignant, you’d think it was really fantastic fanfiction.
Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Misogyny
Moderate: Cancer, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Classism, Drug use, Child death, Racism, and Sexual content
Racism is mostly depicted in brief microaggressions; adult/child relationship is tagged for a short but impactful repressed memory of a dangerous interaction the protagonist had with a predator as a child.franthebooknerd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, and Drug abuse