I really, really loved this book. At times, it's charming and witty, whilst also being rash and unforgiving. The thing I've come to find about McFarlane's novels is that they are all character driven, and this trait shines through again with Roisin and the gang. Roisin and Joe join their friends for a weekend getaway and series of celebrations. Unbeknownst to Roisin, they'll watch the series premier of Joe's new show between the engagement and birthday festivities. She doesn't expect secrets she's shared to be displayed on screen in excruciating detail and can't help but think he's using other life experiences as inspiration as well. Hollywood's calling and Joe leaves Roisin to figure out how she wants to proceed alone. Everything you want from a rom com and satisfyingly knotty with proper, recognisable characters. She just gets better and better’ JOJO MOYES

But when Roisin sees secrets she shared with Joe play out on the TV screen, she knows that between us means nothing at all. Roisin (Ro-SHEEN), her longtime boyfriend, Joe, and their fellow former bookstore employee friend group, The Brian Club, are off for a weekend of various group celebrations, including watching the premiere of screenwriter Joe's new crime drama. Roisin is horrified when on-screen events and characters seemingly mirror secrets of her childhood and possibly implicate Joe's infidelity. Joe swears it's creative license, but Roisin starts to see pieces that don't fit quite right and the more she digs, the more suspicious she becomes. I didn't anticipate some of the twists that came, but the more disappointed I became in one character, the more I gravitated and adored another. Even the supporting cast is incredibly well done. The end result was perfection. I eagerly anticipate her books every year and I am never disappointed. Mhairi is simply the best of the best, I adore everything she writes and I'm forever in awe of her talent . . . she makes me howl with laughter' EMMA HUGHES I really enjoyed the way this was laid out and especially enjoyed the relationship between Roisin the other women in their friend group. The open and honest communication they had was a 180 from the way Joe spoke to Roisin throughout most of the book.

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The book really centers around the end of their relationship, albeit just in Roisin’s head at first. A lot of the beginning is her considering whether or not it’s right to end things, given the new revelations. It’s no small thing to break up with someone she’s built a life with, and she wants to consider all her options. I liked that while she turns to Gina and Meredith for advice, and then to Matt for help, they all support her while also maintaining a realistic tone. By that, I mean it’s easy for Roisin to spiral in this situation but the three of them keep her on a more sane path. At least I easily got into the story, enjoying the friendship drama, self-growth, and second chances theme.

For now on, any faux romance novels just get an immediate one star rating and review from me. I don’t care how much I used to like the author. I'm giving this four stars, the downgrade because so much of this was, I don't know, McFarlane flavored? I mean, I predicted a bit too much based on knowing the author's other work. It's still very much my cuppa, but without any off-setting highlights to thrill me. Also, the humor was much more understated and banter is one of my favorite things about this author's work. Roisin finds herself searching for clues to the truth – about her life, their history, and the man she thought she loved. And it’s then that Roisin finds the most unexpected plot twist of them all. Among those same old friends, there’s a surprising potential for new beginnings . . . EVERYONE LOVES BETWEEN US She’s so ridiculously talented . . . consider this recommendation my personal gift to you and your life’ EMILY HENRY

And I think that basically sums up the state of the whole experience. I just wanted more. More laughs, more heart, more things to cry over, more sizzle. I wanted to feel a whole lot of things, because I'm used to feeling a whole lot of things, and -- barring maybe two moments -- in the end I didn’t feel much of anything. Everything you want from a rom com and satisfyingly knotty with proper, recognisable characters. She just gets better and better' JOJO MOYES 'I LOVE her books PASSIONATELY and this is her best yet' MARIAN KEYES My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Between Us highlights the ups and downs of friendships/relationships in your thirties, family trauma, and the difference between a gaslighter and "the one who has been there all along". These are my kind of romances that make me immediately give it five stars and a dignified personal recommendation from me at the end of the year. Haha. Anyway.

Summary

No one writes like Mhairi and somehow she gets better with every book. So clever, so heartfelt and so unbelievably funny, Between Us is a perfect book’ LINDSEY KELK Rosie and Joe met while working at Waterstones, a British bookstore chain, a few years ago. After finding a job as a teacher, Rosie supported Joe to pursue his writing dreams for years. He finally makes his big break when his screenplay gets a green light from Hollywood producers. The TV series he's created has resemblances to GOT but with a better ending (I wish!). Rosie cannot believe their life's trajectory changes with this imminent success. They decide to celebrate both Rosie's birthday and their friends' engagement party by getting together with their longtime friendship group to watch the pilot together. But when Rosie starts watching her boyfriend's precious work, he realizes he wrote about them. She feels like she's punched in the face when her secret, which she only shared with Joe, is revealed on the episode, and this is not the only bomb he threw on her lap. The leading guy of the story is a liar and cheater, and even the supporting characters are carbon copies of their common friends. Over the next few weeks, Roisin becomes a bit of a sleuth, begins to heal her estranged relationship with her mother and begins to realize she has feelings for a long-time friend. While I found the storyline engaging, I felt the character development was uneven among the members of The Brian Club. The descriptions of Roisin’s interactions with her students added a touch of levity to an otherwise serious novel. Mhairi writes with such magic, I am completely in awe . . . smart, funny, compelling – all things I’ve come to expect from Mhairi McFarlane’s books and more’ LUCY VINE Roisin, eh. I was very luke-warm on her throughout the book. I think the glacial flow of the book was the main reason. All of her thoughts on Joe, her friends Meredith, Gina, Matt, Dev, her mother, her brother, her father, etc. I think a way to fix this honestly would have been to have the initial meeting of the friend group as the prologue honestly. Get a sense of the characters and their motivations. That way when we jumped to 10 years later and they are hanging out, it would have meant more. Instead the prologue starts off with Roisin finding out about her parents affairs and her mother having an abortion. I was just wondering um okay, and then we shift to a teaching scene, her worry about Joe, and then her going away for the weekend.

Roisin finds herself searching for clues to the truth - about her life, their history, and the man she thought she loved. And it's then that Roisin finds the most unexpected plot twist of them all. Among those same old friends, there's a surprising potential for new beginnings . . . EVERYONE LOVES BETWEEN US Mhairi writes with such magic, I am completely in awe . . . smart, funny, compelling - all things I've come to expect from Mhairi McFarlane's books and more' LUCY VINEI had higher expectations for this book as a devoted fan of Mhairi McFarlane, but don't get me wrong, I still devoured it and enjoyed her brilliant writing style. This book delves into gaslighting, exploring dysfunctional and manipulative relationship patterns that blend into emotionally consuming family dynamics. I did appreciate the side plot around Roisin and her complicated relationship with her mother, and enjoyed their dynamics. 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 at Waterstones. 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? Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane – eBook Details If you're looking for a book that explores healing after a toxic relationship and confronts family issues that revolve around self-growth and women's fiction themes, rather than lighthearted romance, then this book would suit your needs.