Between Us: a smart, romantic and laugh-out-loud funny romcom from the bestselling author of Last Night and Mad About You

Roisin and Joe join their friends for a weekend in the country for a triple celebration, part of which is in honour of Joe's latest television show - a crime piece that he has penned. Roisin is shocked to see things that she had told Joe in confidence playing out on screen, and as time goes on she finds herself wondering if other parts of the show are also inspired by real life, such as the lead character's infidelity?Mhairi McFarlane has been one of my favourite authors for a while now, and as such I was sorry to find that her latest offering did not live up to expectations (though admittedly they are high for this author). I do think there has been a change in her writing over her last couple of books, a move away from chicklit and more into women's fiction territory, and whilst I thought this worked really well in Just Last Night, it has left something a bit lacking in her last two books for me personally.As with her last book, the focus in Between Us, is very much on a failing relationship, and whilst there is a new romantic interest for Roisin, who I liked, this aspect was just covered far too fast to feel any real connection to, and as such just didn't come off as believable or as a relationship to feel invested in. And whilst I appreciate that McFarlane perhaps wants to cover more ground than just romance in her books, one of the main reasons I fell in love with her as an author was for the great chemistry between her romantic leads, which unfortunately seems to have become very much a side aspect to her books nowadays.On a positive note, the book still has McFarlane's trademark humour, and I did actually really like the friendship dynamics at play in the Brian Club, as they call themselves. I thought McFarlane did a good job of portraying a group that have been friends for a long time, but are at that point in their lives when things are changing and some of them are drifting apart, such that the future of the friendships seem to hang in the balance, and there is this feeling of nostalgia for what once was. The group felt believable to me, and some of my favourite parts of the story were centred around the group as a whole.I liked Roisin, however, I will say that at this stage, McFarlane's heroines are beginning to feel a bit samey. I despised Joe, and as such the fact that so much of the book was taken up by him did begin to grate on the nerves. It was very clear even before his show aired and aroused Roisin's suspicions, that the relationship was fraught, and given that Roisin was already contemplating ending things with him, things just seemed to drag on unnecessarily. Even after they have broken up, we then go on to spend the last 20% of the book mostly on Roisin still playing detective and trying to catch him out. I do appreciate that McFarlane was trying to explore gaslighting and manipulative relationships (and not for the first time either), however, for me personally having so much of the focus on a relationship that is already basically over just didn't make for a compelling read.I did appreciate the side plot around Roisin and her complicated relationship with her mother, and enjoyed their dynamics.Overall, the book was still enjoyable, mainly due to McFarlane's engaging writing style that made the book an easy read. The pacing perhaps felt a little off, with the first half rather slow, and then a bit too much happening in the second half. For me the book probably worked best when it was exploring friendship dynamics. I do hope in the next one, McFarlane doesn't spend the majority of the book focused on a break up or an ex, as she now has in her last two books.

Mhairi McFarlane NEVER disappoints. In my opinion, she is the undisputed queen of the smart rom com, and Between Us just highlights again her exceptional talent. The rom com genre is such an easy read, people might assume it’s an easy write. In my opinion, this couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve read many a book that claims to be laugh out loud funny and romantic when actually, it fails on both of those fundamentals. Mhairi’s writing is so smart and so witty, laughs and swooning is guaranteed, but there is always so much more to her stories. She writes brilliant friendship groups, she writes complicated family dynamics, she explores toxic relationships better than any other author I’ve read, all whilst weaving a believable and swoon worthy love story. As for the quality of her witty words, she’s simply the best in this genre. Just look at these wonderful examples from Between Us -“She had a very unusual manner to go with the uncommon accent: sort of Head Girl in a boarding school, combined with the rigidly poised, religiose self-certainty of a West Coast wellness guru. Roisin could imagine her selling you a five grand cucumber juice enema in a way that made it clear you were lucky she’d even speak to someone with a non-salad flavoured arse.”“He’s had plugs?’ Roisin said. ‘As in a hair transplant?”“A weave,” Lorraine said. “It’s not well judged. He’s over-done it. He’s gone from a hairline like an old tennis ball to a thatch that looks like it’d come running if you shook a packet of Dreamies.”Just brilliant!Between Us, for me, is about trust, love, family, friends and following your gut instincts. It’s another five star read from an author that just never lets you down. Bravo Ms McFarlane!

I am a big fan of this author's fast-paced and witty writing. I greatly enjoyed the dynamics between the group of friends who form the cast of this story. A developing relationship created an element of romance, and, as I’ve come to expect from this author, some great one-liners that sum up a situation without any further detail needed. With a good amount of intrigue to keep the pages turning and a happy ending, it made for another great Mhairi McFarlane read.

I have read all of this authors books and while this is not my favourite (Jamie Carter is always going to be hard to measure up to), it is still a engaging read with relatable characters and a few good twists and turns before the end. I disagree with other reviewers who felt the first half of the book was slow- this authors skill is painting relatable characters that you feel are part of your friendship group and want to root for as the story progresses.It is not a rom-com- Mhairi McFarlane does make me laugh out loud with her excellent northern turn of phrase, but she manages to hide some serious thought provoking issues under this which very much puts her writing in the next level from other fluffy rom-coms.Absolutely worth a read.

Enjoyed ,not read in a while used to read heaps, spotted one of my favourite authors new book 😊Wasn’t let down I adore MM style of writing the characters so real in book, Lorraine ( we all know one )However didn’t we all click Matt was going to be “The One”Really great read.

Started off slow but I hit the point where I struggled to put it down therefore I have been staring at my phone for the last 4 hours and I finished it!The book follows Rois, her bf Joe and their group of friends specifically after the premier of Joes new tv show. Certain bits I predicted but I do wish the author went into more detail re: Joe after the big reveal.First book I’ve read from this author but I would defo recommend and defo reading more.

Absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down. Contrary to some other reviews, I didn't find it slow, and I did find it romantic, and it was as usual full of Mhairi McFarlane's dry wit.