Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane

 

Two strangers.
One big coincidence.
Driving each other crazy is just the beginning…

Harriet Hatley is running away from everything.

Getting married.
Her boyfriend’s family.
Her past.

A dream house-share seems like the perfect place to hide, but her unlikely housemate Cal is no stranger to running away himself. And he's also hiding secrets of his own . . .

Can these two take a crazy risk, face the past and finally find a reason to stay?

It has been a long time since I have picked up a Mhairi McFarlane book but when I read the synopsis for Mad About You I knew this was one I wanted to read.

Mad About You is a rollercoaster of a read, in true Mhairi form the book has a witty charm and the beginning of the book pulls you in with a light hearted start as we meet our main character Harriet who is a wedding photographer but she certainly doesn’t want to get married herself which she has made perfectly clear, or so she thought, to partner Jon!

As the storyline moves along the tone of the novel begins to gain more depth and has a more serious undercurrent as we discover a disturbing situation that Harriet faced in her previous relationship. By this point we have formed a bond with Harriet and when it looks like her past is going to come back to haunt her it brings out both anger and sympathy for her.

Friendships and relationships are tested as well as new ones forming which brings hope and lightness to this story. Cal who is Harriet’s live in landlord is a wonderful supportive character who has his own demons that we watch unravel but he also provides some entertainment along the way.

I think I would actually go as far as to say this is probably up there as my favourite by this author and is certainly one I would recommend for anyone looking for something with real life situations coated with a little wit and romance.

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Who's That Girl by Mhairi McFarlane

When Edie is caught in a compromising position at her colleagues’ wedding, all the blame falls on her – turns out that personal popularity in the office is not that different from your schooldays. Shamed online and ostracised by everyone she knows, Edie’s forced to take an extended sabbatical – ghostwriting an autobiography for hot new acting talent, Elliot Owen. Easy, right? Wrong. Banished back to her home town of Nottingham, Edie is not only dealing with a man who probably hasn’t heard the word ‘no’ in a decade, but also suffering an excruciating regression to her teenage years as she moves back in with her widowed father and judgy, layabout sister. When the world is asking who you are, it’s hard not to question yourself. Who’s that girl? Edie is ready to find out.

I have read all of Mhairi McFarlane’s previous books and really enjoyed them so when I was offered the chance to read and review her new release Who’s That Girl I didn’t hesitate and when it arrived I was shocked at the mammoth size of it!

After a shocking incident at her colleague’s Wedding involving Edie and the Groom, it soon becomes clear that Edie needs to lay low and her boss gives her the opportunity to return to her childhood town and work on a new project ghost-writing actor Elliot Owen’s autobiography. Returning home opens up old wounds that even a hot actor can’t help heal.

I don’t know if it was the daunting 535 pages of this book that I struggled with in the beginning of this book or if it was a case of the wrong book at the wrong time but I read the first chapter and was gripped but then I really struggled to carry on with the book and actually gave up twice but I have enjoyed the authors previous books so much so I was determined to pick it up again and I am so glad I did because as the storyline past the first few chapters I then found myself warming to Edie and looking forward to seeing how things panned out for her.

Edie was a sweet soul who is far from malicious, she was surrounded my toxic people especially Louis who I wasn’t keen on from the first chapter so it was great for her to return to her roots and find herself and reunite with genuine friends too. Her sister is shocking but the relationship between Edie and her sister actually brought some humour to the storyline.

Elliot Owen is our gorgeous heart throb, we get to see him in action at work but we also get to see him out of the lime light and really get to know him and how fame effects his day to day life and also we find out a secret that he has been hiding that looks like it is going to be leaked and the effect this could have not just on him but people close to him too.

I really enjoyed getting to know Edie and Elliot, both live very different lives and yet they have such a great respect and understanding of each other. When I reached the end of the book I thought someone had pulled a page out but no! Mhairi has left the storyline open at the end, yes you can guess a part of but not really know what the true outcome would be ( sorry trying not to give anything away here!).

This was another enjoyable, light and uplifting read by Mhairi McFarlane that also tackles some emotional and heartfelt topics too in such a gentle but detailed way. I am so pleased I picked this book up again, Mhairi McFarlane fans are sure to enjoy Who’s That Girl.

Hardback                Kindle

It's Not Me It's You by Mhairi McFarlane

Delia Moss isn’t quite sure where she went wrong. When she proposed and discovered her boyfriend was sleeping with someone else – she thought it was her fault. When she realised life would never be the same again – she thought it was her fault. And when he wanted her back like nothing had changed – Delia started to wonder if perhaps she was not to blame… From Newcastle to London and back again, with dodgy jobs, eccentric bosses and annoyingly handsome journalists thrown in, Delia must find out where her old self went – and if she can ever get her back.

Mhairi McFarlane is back with a bang with her new book It’s Not Me It’s You. This book had me in stitches especially early on in the book, I haven’t read a book in a long time that has made me laugh out loud and the humour in the book is very believable and realistic situations and events which is why it is funny because you can relate to it.

Delia was a fabulous main character she seems to dig herself into a whole and often make situations so much worse. She was a very likeable character who is very strong and I like that she didn’t just sit and cry and mope or be easily forgiving she was determined to make a change.

I had an idea how I thought the book would end but I even found my own opinion wavering towards the end as the author managed to throw a few spanners in the works to make me doubt myself!

A great read by this author

Here's Looking at You by Mhairi Mcfarlane

Anna Alessi – history expert, possessor of a lot of hair and an occasionally filthy mouth – seeks nice man for intelligent conversation and Mills & Boon moments.

Despite the oddballs that keep turning up on her dates, Anna couldn’t be happier. As a 30-something with a job she loves, life has turned out better than she dared dream. However, things weren’t always this way, and her years spent as the ‘Italian Galleon’ of an East London comprehensive are ones she’d rather forget. So when James Fraser – the architect of Anna’s final humiliation at school – walks back into her life, her world is turned upside down.

But James seems a changed man. Polite. Mature. Funny, even. People can change, right?
 So why does Anna feel like she’s a fool to trust him?

You Had Me At Hello was an amazingly good debut for author Mhairi Mcfarlane I have been long awaiting her next release to see if she can match such a great book.

Here’s Looking at You is about the lovable Anna, she was a big target for bullying at school, as the tormenting grew worse there was one little shining light which was the school heart throb, James Fraser, has asked her to perform on stage with him but Anna soon finds out in a cruel way that James is like all the others and has just put the final nail in the coffin.

Years later Anna has a job she is passionate about, some wonderful friends, there is a bit of a problem on the dating front and she has changed a lot from school but when James Fraser happens to walk back into her life she has to relive the pain all over again.

This is an amazing second book by Mhairi Mcfarlane it is easily as good as You Had Me At Hello, even maybe slightly better. The author really has a knack of creating really engaging characters, you really feel as if you know them. Anna is a lovable, fun, slightly vulnerable character who in my eyes is an inspiration, after all she went through hitting rock bottom she still pulled herself up and made something of her life. I really wanted to hate James but as much as I tried I really liked his character too even if I was appalled by his actions.

The storyline had me hooked, it covers a very emotional topic of bullying and it was written about very carefully, not only do we get to see what happened and how she felt in her school years but we also get to see the effect it has on Anna in later years, which is something people don’t think about enough it shows that with bullying it always leaves awful scars. Although the main topic of the storyline is a serious and emotional one it is lightened with a great sense of humour in other parts such as Anna’s disastrous dating! The humour was a great touch as it gave a book that could be all doom and gloom a great lift.

This is an excellent read that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to others it has romance, challenging issues, emotion, fabulous characters and humour what more could you ask for in a great book. I am sure this will be another big seller for Mhairi Mcfarlane.

Grab it quick on kindle at only 99p!! ( Time of review )

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You Had me at Hello by Mhairi McFarlane

‘Think of the great duos of history. We're just like them.’ ‘You mean like Kylie and Jason? Torvill and Dean? Sonny and Cher?’ ‘I think you’ve missed the point, Rachel.’ Rachel and Ben. Ben and Rachel. It was them against the world. Until it all fell apart. It’s been a decade since they last spoke, but when Rachel bumps into Ben one rainy day, the years melt away. They’d been partners in crime and the best of friends. But life has moved on: Ben is married. Rachel is not. Yet in that split second, Rachel feels the old friendship return. And along with it, the broken heart she’s never been able to mend.

I first of all have to comment on Mhairi Mcfarlane’s writing skill which is very sharp and witty and it comes across so naturally. I think the humour is also helped by the book being set in my home country so I easily understood the great British banter and made this book even more entertaining.

Our main character Rachel is an intelligent, humorous down to earth character who soon feels as though she is a good friend and I found that the delicious Ben brings out the best in her character and this is where I had my laugh out loud moments with the interaction between the two best friends. There were quite a few supporting characters in this book from friends on both Ben and Rachel’s sides and also work colleagues but they were all enjoyable characters and played great parts in the book.

Although I have read many books with “the one who got away” topic this book definitely has a fresh feel to it and doesn’t feel similar to anything I have read before and I didn’t feel that the book was overly predictable in fact there was a number of unexpected twists that you stumble across whilst devouring the book. The book jumps back and forth between Rachel and Ben’s time at Uni together to 10 years on and this allows us to see the characters grown and develop whilst finding out what happened in their early years to then lead to 10 years with no contact.

This is a modern day love story that will have you gripped from their first meeting. You will be laughing out loud and also having your heart strings pulled all the way through this book.

You Had Me At Hello is available now on kindle and at an amazing 99p!! This will be the best 99p you have spent this year. If you have not converted to the world of Kindle yet then the paperback is due for release on the 6^th December.

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