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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
I think I prefer some of her other ones but a solid, engaging story that got me out of a reading slump - I love how she writes characters (although it was a bit disappointing for joe to turn out to be such a villain)
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was only in the last 25% of the book that I actually started to enjoy it. I normally love Mhari McFarlane’s books which is why I persevered, but it was hard going. I really didn’t like any of the characters whatsoever, so it was hard to root for them.
Whichever way I look at it,a long term relationship breaking up and one of the partners immediately getting together with someone in the same (very long standing) friendship group
massively gives me the ick.
Whichever way I look at it,
massively gives me the ick.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was deemed the rom com of the Summer so I was excited to read it but even though I liked the concept of it being set around a group of friends who had all gone their own ways but regularly reunited it all just felt a bit over done. The whole character ark of Joe could have been done so much better with the mystery if he was this sociopath who he wrote himself as. Rosalin hardly seemed that angry that the last decade of her life had all been a lie and she quickly moved onto Matt. Poor Matt who had been in love with her all that time and had a lot going on himself but still there for her. The whole Ginny being in love with Matt was anti climatic too with her realising she was never going to be loved by him but it's fine as he was in love with her best friend. I expected a lot more from this book and it all felt very predictable and cutesy.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really wanted to love this book, I have always liked Mhairi McFarlane’s books, but I think I they may not be for me anymore. I love a super slow burn, but when the couple doesn’t get together until 80-85% of the way through and then there is a third act breakup, it takes away from the small part of the romance that we get.
I liked this plot in the beginning, but I soon tired of it as well. This just was okay for me all around.
I liked this plot in the beginning, but I soon tired of it as well. This just was okay for me all around.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Before I get into the bulk of my review, a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at HarperCollins for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I read my first Mhairi McFarlane earlier this year and when this showed up as available to request I just had to. I enjoyed the other novel so much and this one sounded so different to me. In this novel, Between Us, we follow Roisin whose long term boyfriend has a show coming out that all of their friends are excited for. This is his second tv show as a writer and he’s been given permission to take chances in a way he didn’t get to with the first show. But Roisin is thrown when she realizes that Joe stole parts of her past, private and intimate things she’s shared with him and him alone, to make an exciting and risky show. She breaks up with him and moves back with her mom to help run the family bar for the summer. But help comes in the form of a close friend who she probably shouldn’t be getting these butterflies for. Between Us comes out on August 8th and is available for preorder now.
I want to start by saying that the premise on GoodReads and the premise I’ve given here are both somewhat misleading. I would say this is a Mystery novel about Roisin and Joe’s relationship and trying to find the truth buried in his lies rather than a romance between Roisin and her friend Matt. The romance is there, but it doesn’t really start until 71% of the way through the novel. It made it so the romance felt too fast when it finally did happen since no romantic feelings or attractions appeared in most of the novel. I wanted to feel more of the romance/attraction between Roisin and Matt since this is the couple we’re supposed to be rooting for in the end. But the author spends so little time discussing their relationship and their interactions with one another before the last 30% of the novel. I get that technically they were both in relationships at the start of the novel and Roisin takes longer getting out of hers. But once the romance finally started going I think we needed more romantic moments between the two of them to really feel it. And maybe it wouldn’t have felt so sudden if Roisin had voiced a thought like, ‘I can’t believe I’m feeling this for a friend I’ve know for a decade.’ Just some sort of incredulity from the couple that it was all happening so quickly. Because then we can all share some sort of disbelief before letting suspension of disbelief kick in. Am I fully making sense? Probably not. Let’s move on.
Things I liked: 1) the first part of the novel giving us a glimpse into Rich People Drama. I’m a girl who loves some Rich People Drama. Keep it coming. 2) When we got down to the nitty/gritty of who Roisin and Matt were, I could understand their coupling and how they could end up dating. I don’t know that I like the going from zero to ‘I love you’ in 6 seconds but with some more dialogue I could possibly accept it. 3) The fact that this feels new and fresh. We’ve all read the Romance novels where the main characters goes back home to hide from a fresh heartbreak/drama and discovers love again with a friend from their past. But this felt fresh and new because we had Roisin who wanted to get to the bottom of her deeply unhealthy relationship with Joe. It felt like a Mystery novel that turns into a romance when there’s 30% left. But that’s kind of also what I don’t love about it. I like the Mystery, I like Roisin finding ways to get answers, I just wish the author had managed to throw in a little more romance before the 50% mark? Also, this ends up feeling like the conflict is something between the two main characters we’re supposed to be rooting for where I usually like Romance third act breakups that happen due to circumstance. I want the two main characters to have to face an external conflict together in order to make the relationship work.
So, now I’m so conflicted because I enjoyed reading this while I was reading for the most part. I liked the mix of genres. I didn’t totally buy the romance. But also I read the whole thing (over 400 pages) in two days while also having work. So? I come in at a 3 for this one because I’m really torn about this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual content
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“‘Between us’ meant nothing.”
This book was gorgeous. There’s a level of introspection, understanding, and evaluation of characters and their actions in this book that pairs beautifully with a sense of poignancy that creates the most heartbreaking and heartwarming emotional impacts. So many scenes had peak emotional impact solely because the buildup was done so well and the execution of each plot point was flawless.
While this could easily have been a lighthearted, fluffy read, I’m so glad it wasn’t. Instead, actually seeing all aspects of a character struggle with the end of a relationship and review every aspect of their life in the aftermath was fantastic. It was meta, heart wrenching, and tackled gaslighting and cheating in a way that was so nuanced and deep, it was hard to witness at some points, but it never stopped offering hope.
That’s ultimately the most amazing part of the whole thing. It was such an easy book to binge and it didn’t lack in substance, but it never felt dark and I wouldn’t call it gloomy. McFarlane has such a quirkiness and sense of humor throughout that makes her characters fun, realistic, and all around great to read.
I loved this book because it was everything I didn’t realize I’d been looking for in a romance novel. Absolutely worth every minute.
This book was gorgeous. There’s a level of introspection, understanding, and evaluation of characters and their actions in this book that pairs beautifully with a sense of poignancy that creates the most heartbreaking and heartwarming emotional impacts. So many scenes had peak emotional impact solely because the buildup was done so well and the execution of each plot point was flawless.
While this could easily have been a lighthearted, fluffy read, I’m so glad it wasn’t. Instead, actually seeing all aspects of a character struggle with the end of a relationship and review every aspect of their life in the aftermath was fantastic. It was meta, heart wrenching, and tackled gaslighting and cheating in a way that was so nuanced and deep, it was hard to witness at some points, but it never stopped offering hope.
That’s ultimately the most amazing part of the whole thing. It was such an easy book to binge and it didn’t lack in substance, but it never felt dark and I wouldn’t call it gloomy. McFarlane has such a quirkiness and sense of humor throughout that makes her characters fun, realistic, and all around great to read.
I loved this book because it was everything I didn’t realize I’d been looking for in a romance novel. Absolutely worth every minute.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy