I’ve really enjoyed all of Mhairi McFarlane’s books so far so had been looking forward to this one being released - and I was not disappointed.

This is a story of thirty something Laurie who is unexpectedly dumped by her childhood sweetheart Dan after spending the past 18 years together. As they work together, Laurie is not only heartbroken but also embarrassed when Dan moves on very quickly after their relationship ends... cue Jamie, the office hunk, and a master plan for revenge.

I find Mhairi’s writing really witty and always like the strong sassy female characters she creates. I loved Laurie’s journey from heartache back to happiness in this book and enjoyed the humour along the way. I couldn’t put it down yet was also sad to finish the book so soon - like other characters the author has created I really liked Laurie & Jamie and want to find out what happens next for them.

Excellent read to get away from it all for a bit. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Harper Collins, Mhairi McFarlane and NetGalley for the ARC of this book

Laurie is a lawyer in Manchester, she's been with her boyfriend Dan (also a lawyer at the same law firm) since she was eighteen. However, eighteen years later there is still no sign of a ring but they are in the cusp of starting a family. Or so she thinks.

Returning after a night out her life as she knows it comes shattering down when Dan decides he's leaving. Stating that he's not been happy for a while and needing to 'find himself'. In the weeks that follow a dramatic turn of events happen and she is left questioning everything.

After getting stuck in the lift with the office love rat, he comes up with a plan that might help them both. But can they pull it off? Will anyone believe the lies?

I had mixed feelings about this book, I worried that it was so cliché to be making a plan with the office love rat. However, you should never judge a book by it's cover. Discovering that under the rumours there can be a different truth.

I read this book before my copy to review came because I had heard lots of great things about it.
It didn't disappoint. My first book from Mhairi and it has the winning formula the catching first chapter. A way or saying so much so early to increase interest, intrigue, where you have so many different ways you believe the story will go but you have to read and keep reading to find out what happens.
I read the book in a day and was overwhelming satisfied, it's a really believable story. Crazy idea but I could imagine trying to get my ex jealous.
Brilliantly written and a new author added to my directory of authors to watch.
Not to be missed.

This was so good! All the characters felt real to me, as well as the complexities of modern love and what you expect from life versus what you have. I loved that it was set in Manchester and spoke about class and race and gender in ways that flowed in the narrative. I love Mhairi McFarlane's books but this might be my favourite yet.

Oh boy. The problem with this book is that it isn't what's advertised on the tin. The blurb and marketing says fun and flirty rom-com. This book is very serious and depressing; the romance doesn't really kick in until the second half. I didn't enjoy it because of wrong expectations.

If I never met you Is about a girl called Laurie who is a respected lawyer and who has been in a long term relationship for 18 years with Dan. However circumstances change and she is found to be pretending to be in a relationship with the lawyer who seems to have a lot of female company.

I really enjoyed the main characters profession and how she was having to battle with her personal life getting in the way of her job. I found the book to be veering off a little from the romance but other than that I was happy with the plot and felt as if I was really there watching the characters interact in the real world.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Wonderfully written, magical in its own way, true to real life, quite funny, and with a beautiful cover! I love how Mhari describes her characters. Can't wait to re-read!!

Unfortunately I couldn't get into this one and had to DNF it at 15%. I just couldn't get invested in the characters, which is essential with a character-driven story like this. I'll try other books by the author in the future, but this one didn't work for me.

A predictable storyline but a great read! I absolutely loved all of the characters and the rom com type theme throughout!

This was a cute story and the chemistry was good. Really loved that the heroine was 'older' as in her mid-thirties; life does still happen to women in their mid-thirties, and it's not just a blip from twenties to forties as is the case in many books out there. It felt good to see this period of life represented and in such a light and positive way. Did feel the heroine could be a little over the top at times, but the overall feel of the story makes up for it.

I’m a huge Mhairi McFarlane fan, so was pleased to be given the opportunity to read this ARC.
Laurie has been in a long term relationship with Dan, a co-worker and is planning on spending the rest of her life with him. When Dan breaks up with her and she discovers that there is someone else she is devastated.
When she gets stuck in a lift with the office Lothario Jamie, they hatch a plan to have a fake relationship which will benefit them both - making Dan jealous and showing the management that he has settled down and deserves a promotion which is on offer.
The fake relationship comes to the attention of their workmates, having the desired effect on Dan, but as time goes on the feelings become real on both their parts but they cannot bring themselves to tell the other.
Great characters, lovely friendship with BFF who is also confidante to Laurie and we eventually get our happy ending.

I loved it. The perfect recipe for Lockdown Distraction, it mixed nicely the fake relationship trope with relatable characters, a pinch of drama and an amazing setting (Manchester FYI). I really enjoyed imagining the characters walking down Deansgate and St Peter's Square. They even ventured over to Lincoln which is really close to where I grew up.


This is the first book I’ve read by Mhairi McFarlane and I’m so glad I did, I’m going to be visiting all of her previous novels now! If I Never Met You was an easy and enjoyable read without being too simple. Not that it was complex either - it was just right! It had just the right amount of drama to keep me intrigued and emotionally involved and the characters' situations were well designed and pretty true-to-life in my opinion.


As a 30 something year old living in Manchester myself it was so easy to follow the narrative and feel that connection with Laurie. While her situation made my jaw drop to begin with she had an excellent and dry sense of humour as well as relatable relationships with her friends, colleagues and family. Jamie was adorable, as a bit of a rogue, you know where the story is going but everything unravelled and the ‘relationship’ developed at a natural speed and not at all rushed.


If I Never Met You is a wonderful story and one I think I may revisit again in the future.

This is my first Mhairi McFarlane novel and I can see why she’s a favourite of the rom-com genre! Basically, Laurie gets dumped by her long-term boyfriend, who thinks he’s stuck in a rut, and sends her spiralling into an existential crisis about where she should be at this point in her life. Enter Jamie, who needs a way to improve his reputation at the law firm they all work at and has a crazy idea for them to fake-date. It kills two birds with one stone, you see, it will improve his image and make Dan jealous – win-win!

What I especially loved about this story was that it was realistic. Jamie was always a gentleman and proved to not be the man-whore everyone made him out to be, and Laurie wasn’t all career-oriented or baby-crazy, she was a nice mix of both, plus super smart and incredibly witty. Their relationship was a proper slow-burner as well, not falling into any of clichés of shoving two characters together but rather letting them get to know each other outside of work, away from the distractions and gossip and the surprisingly toxic environment of their office.

All in all, it was a lovely page-turner, both romantic and dramatic, with dashes of feminism, important friendships and the perfectly imperfect love interest.

I literally couldn’t put this book down and drank in every word until it was finished.

I love a fake dating plot and “If I Never Met You” was like an adult “To all the boys I’ve loved before”. Super sexy and romantic, with gorgeous characters that you fall in love with yourself.

This book was the perfect escapism and I had a definite book hangover when I finished it. I loved it!

The book has a nice plot and active characters in it. A nice and cute romance story in a very relaxing pace. I didn't feel rushing at all while reading it. Although it took a bit of my emotion, but it still manage to cover up the hurtful feelings by giving me a chance to feel loved by the sweet romantic Jamie.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Laurie, Dan and Jamie, the eternal triangle given a magical uplift from the pen of this skilled writer. It could have been fluff.but it wasn't. It was lighthearted, perceptive and eminently enjoyable. A book for the times we currently find ourselves in and healthier than both chocolate and wine. 5 big sparkly stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’ve got a soft spot for any and all Mhairi McFarlane books so I was always going to enjoy this one. She just writes books that leave me happy. Also, I don’t read enough books set in the UK and I just love seeing a world which is familiar to me. I know some US readers probably are thrown by the Britishisms but I love it. It’s nice to see familiar things (which is why we need more diversity in books so everyone can have this moment of seeing the familiar when they read).

Our main character, Laurie, works at a law firm with her long time partner (whose name I can’t remember… Dan?) and she kind of feels like she has it all. She’s got the house she wanted with the man she thinks she’ll spend the rest of her life with. She has good friends and she works a job she (mostly) enjoys. She feels a little smug about how perfect her life is and she’s getting ready to take the next step with this guy and they are going to try to have a baby together… or she thought they were. Then he breaks up with her in such a dickish way. He says he hasn’t cheated which is some kind of bullshit because emotional cheating is real. And well, I’ve given the first few chapters of the book away but that’s just the start of it. She could have coped with the break up if it wasn’t the fact the dickhead ex works at her company and has moved on all kinds of fast with his new woman and that leaves her as the sad ex who can’t be angry with him because that means she’s jealous. But she is all kinds of mad and unhappy about being the centre of office gossip. So what does she do? Has a fake relationship with Jamie Carter, another guy she works with. For him, it means he looks more settled like he can have a stable relationship and gives him a step up in his career (or he hopes it will) and for Laurie? Well, it seems like she doesn’t get much out of it other than avoiding being the sad ex in the gossip and instead is banging the hot guy all the women want and the guys hate for various reasons. They stage social media posts and have various staged dates and it works. Her ex is jealous and it stops folks bothering her. It’s all good until feelings starting getting in the way. And boy do they start getting in the way! The book has the obvious romantic twists and turns, we all know fake relationships always go wrong, so in a lot of ways, this is predictable. But you will honestly love it. Even when you aren’t surprised about the next ‘plot twist’ you won’t even care because you get invested real fast.

I’m probably not selling this book in the best way, but honestly, I loved it. It was one of the few books I couldn’t put down during The Slump (which is capitalised for how awful it was). McFarlane always packs a whole heap into her books. There’s always a brilliant group of friends you want to be friends with too so you can have a cheeky trip to the pub together. There is an awesome romance with characters who are flawed but you like anyway. And there is always a family presence (be it good or bad) which adds another level of emotional drama. It has it all with a fake relationship (my favourite trope of all time). So yeah, this book ticked all the boxes for me.

It’s well worth a read (in my very biased opinion). Mhairi McFarlane is one of my favourite authors I simply don’t talk about enough.

I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

This is a light hearted, fun romance.
Although predictable, if ever you fancy a nice easy read this could well be the book for you.

I wasn’t overwhelmed by this book but put it in my “ok” category. I can’t say I really enjoyed it but neither felt it was particularly bad but mediocre. Can’t put my finger on why I have this opinion but it just didn’t catch my imagination

This is not my usual genre, I enjoyed the style of the writing. I bought into the main character Laurie so much that sometimes I was confused that the story is written in 3rd person. I felt like it was her telling her story.

I read this book very quickly because I wanted to know what happened in the end. Maybe because I don't read this style of book, I was disappointed with the ending. But I guess that's the way romcoms end.