Mhairi McFarlane’s publisher seems determined to market her books as romantic comedy’s, even when they are not. Sure, Mad About You includes humour and romance, but I feel this is a disingenuous description of the book.

In fact the romance, that comes about after thirty-four year old Harriet Hatley ends a relationship with her boyfriend of two years, Jon, and needs somewhere else to live in Mad About You, feels almost incidental. The meat of the plot revolves around Harriet’s toxic history with a previous long term boyfriend, Scott.

During their four years together, Harriet was a victim of psychological and emotional abuse, Scott’s charming public veneer belying a pattern of coercive control within their relationship. She’s forced to confront that legacy, firstly when she realises, with some help from her best friend Lorna, that Jon also employed manipulative tactics during their liaison, and secondly when Harriet learns through a chance encounter that Scott is getting married, and she reaches out to his fiancée.

As part of that journey, Harriet must also come to terms with the loss of her parents as a child, a friend’s betrayal, and the sabotage of her business, so there is a lot of strong emotion in play which I think McFarlane handles sensitively. There are realistic consequences for decisions, and Harriet’s self reflections feel honest.

Though I didn’t find the romance to be as convincing as I’ve come to expect from the author, it’s enough to satisfy the conventions of the genre with its mild ‘enemies to lovers’ trope. Harriet gets her happy ending, but more importantly she is finally happy within herself, having come to terms with her past.

If you are looking for a light, breezy romcom, you won’t find it with Mad About You, but you will discover a thoughtful and engaging read.

I have enjoyed Mhairi McFarlane's books in the past and was looking forward to reading this one, which I did.

A fun, easy to read rom com which is great as a holiday read.

What a truly stunning read this book is and Mhairi never fails to disappoint. Heart warming and beautifully written.

So, my friends. It took me much longer to read this book that I've expected but there are some good reason why. Firstly, let's be honest, the book started really slowly and I was already panicking, not knowing what's happening and not knowing what to do with the characters. Secondly, later on, I started to cared about Harriet, our main character, very much. I liked her and cared about her so much that when something bad happened to her, I simply couldn't read further - it annoyed me so much that something wrong, something so unfair is happening to her and I can't change it, that I simply was putting the book away for few days, hoping against hope that maybe someone will come in the meantime and fix everything for her and when I'll start reading again everything will be okay and colourful and Harriet will be happy again. It hasn't happened for a very, very long time that a character grew on me SO MUCH as Harriet, there was simply something in her, something that made me adore her and I wished her all the best in the world.

The book is surprising. You're reading it and thinking, oh haha, another romantic comedy of errors and then boom, there comes this bucket of cold water on your poor, unexpecting head and the story totally changes tone. It was brilliant, guys, truly brilliant. And hats off to the author for writing about this topic and in such a way - I could really feel all the emotions in Harriet and it pained me that I can't help her.

Another brownie point for the author for the way the characters have chosen to deal with their abuser - you simply want to get up and give them a standing ovations, especially as it is so well written what kind of emotions and feelings were involved. Yay, girls!

So, guys. There is really much more to this story that you can expect. It's light and heartfelt, but it's also deep and dark. It's entertaining, but also thought - provoking. The author touches upon some serious issues, writing about them in such real and realistic way. The title works perfectly for this book, even though not in a way you could expect. The whole story is well balanced and multi - layered, another win from this author.

I enjoyed this book, it was funny and an easy read. Perfect for sitting outside in the sunshine with a cup of tea. I raced through this as I found it so enjoyable. A lovely summer read. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I must admit I took awhile to warm to this book as, basically, I just didn't like the main characters, particularly Harriet which was unfortunate as she is the main one! However, as the story unfolded and the characters developed I became more engaged and I even loved Harriet in the last part of the book. There are some quite dark parts as the subplot basically deals with mental abuse of the worse kind plus the seamier side of social media. There's enough romance to lighten the load plus good fun parts and enough twists and turns. to keep the reader's interest, in fact the last few chapters had me hooked.

I loved this one so much.

Over the years, I’ve read almost everything that the author has published and I was looking forward to read this new romantic comedy. Because she's one of the few authors that can make me swoon over great heroes and also be real and down to earth, reliable situations.

The mention of Carry from SATC was just epic to me.

It's funny, witty and delicious all round. With a great cast of friends and some pulls of your heartstrings moments, but very realistic ones, this romance will combine everything you can expect from a must read story.

It just left a big smile on my face. So add it to your TBR now!

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

I just adore Mhairi McFarlane's books and Mad About You was such a joy to read. Proper laugh out loud moments, others that made me well up, and overall truly uplifting.

Harriet is a wedding photographer, but is adamant she'll never get married herself. Newly single, she moves in with Cal, her landlord and roommate. Their first meeting is somewhat awkward, as he was the groom who jilted the bride at a wedding she was meant to be photographing.

But they become good friends, and confide in one another about the demons they hide from most others.

When Harriet comes face to face with her ex ex Scott, she's dragged back to a past she's tried so hard to forget. In the face of his fiancée, she sees the same pain she endured, and vows to try to save another woman from an abusive relationship. This backfires spectacularly at first, but a solitary social media comment unlocks a brilliant friendship and an absolutely genuius plan.

And Harriet just might change her mind about marriage when she realises what is right in front of her face.

I adored the female solidarity in this book above all else and the plan to bring Scott down had me punching the air with glee.

In a Nutshell: A lot of how you feel about the book will depend on how you feel about the main character. The rest will depend on whether you considered this a romcom based on that title and cover. I disliked the main character but luckily, I wasn’t looking for a romcom. Hence the mixed feelings.

Story:
(The GR blurb for this book is quite misleading because it makes the book sound like a story of Harriet and Cal. It isn’t. It is Harriet’s story almost all the way.)
Harriet, a wedding photographer, has been dating the “perfect man” for about two years, but when he proposes, a lot of doubts she’s been having come together and she breaks off the relationship. Suddenly single, she moves into the first good house-share she can find. Her new landlord, Cal, is also escaping a past relationship, but that’s about the only thing the two have in common. When Harriet’s past rears up its ugly head, she needs to ask herself some hard questions and decide whether to run away again or confront the past to clear her future.
The story is narrated in the third person limited perspective of Harriet.

I was not looking for a romcom. This book isn’t a romcom. So it clicked for me at least in that respect. But those who imagine this to be a sweet “chicklit” that is full of pep and love will be disappointed. It is not romantic to a great extent; it is not comic except for a few scattered scenes; it is not light-hearted at all. (Oh, and no steamy scenes at all. This is a plus point for me, but might be a minus point for some romance lovers.)

The title is perfectly suited for the book but not in the way you would imagine. “Mad About You” takes the other meaning of the word “mad”, as in loony/weird/stalker-ish. There are quite a few couple-based relationships in the book. If I count all of them, including currently dating or married or ex-couples or those mentioned for a few pages, there are about 8-9 pairs. Of these, most are toxic, involving gaslighting or cheating or dominating or mercenary agenda or mental abuse by at least one partner. However, I don’t think most readers who look at that title will think of this meaning while picking up the book. “Mad About You” thus might lead to very different reader expectations. (That bright pastel cover doesn’t help matters.)

The strongest point of the book is in the way it highlights insidious relationships (as is evident from the count mentioned above.) What I also appreciate is how the author didn’t shift from her agenda to a great extent. Unlike so many writers who cram in as many dark/important themes as they can, McFarlane sticks to toxic relationships and never loses her focus. She analyses such relationships from various angles and also covers online abuse and how people jump in to troll someone based on one person’s version of events. I love the confrontation scene towards the end; that’s the best part of the book.

What didn’t work for me was the plot & character development. The plot is not entirely predictable but there are too many convenient coincidences that fit in as neatly as a beginner’s jigsaw puzzle. I would have let this go if the characters were better but most of them ended up irritating me. The most frustrating one was Harriet. The writing sort of forces us into supporting Harriet and understand what she is going through. But there are many cases where she herself accuses without justification, takes very questionable decisions, and jumps to conclusions faster than you can say “Harriet!” I think your liking of this book will be highly dependent on the extent to which you connect and empathise with Harriet's character. I simply couldn’t. Cal was a loveable character but doesn’t get enough of page space. A couple of the other characters conveniently change from white to black to white again as per the needs of the plot.

Furthermore, the writing style also didn’t satisfy me. For some reason, I simply couldn’t get going with the pace, though I still don’t know what slowed me down. There is a lot of informal slang for which I couldn't even guess the meaning at times. There are way too many adverbs in use. Sometimes, a single regular-sized para ended up with 8-9 adverbs, which was very distracting. The chapter endings at times are really odd, like it would stop right in the middle of a scene and the next chapter begins in continuation with the next line of the very scene. (This isn’t a thriller; there was no need for such mini cliff-hangers.) There is the mandatory romantic arc but it was too rushed, thus making it more like forced couplehood than genuine love.

This was my very first Mhairi McFarlane novel and looking at the number of fans she has here, I am sure she is a fabulous writer. So this book might just be a wrong one to begin with. I will definitely read a couple more of her works before I can make up my mind on whether her books and I suit each other.

I have been going back and forth on the rating for this one. Most of the novel fell between 2.5-3 stars for me. But the confrontation scene and the spotlight on gaslighting deserves at least a 4 stars. So I’ll go with the average and rate this 3.25 stars.

My thanks to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the DRC of “Mad about You”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Such a good read. This is the first book I've read from this author and I'm now excited to read more. This was so much more than a rom com. I loved how it covered different types of relationships between people, both happy and toxic. It made me laugh out loud so many times and the one part that made me cry just made me love the book even more. It was an emotional read but in the best way. A very strong 5 star read

Harriet is a wedding photographer she loves her job but a wedding and marriage isn't for her. An unexpected proposal leads her to Cal, charming and handsome with his own demons to deal with.

And that's all I'm going to say ... I don't want to spoil anything but the ending definitely tugged at my heartstrings!

I've read a few books now from Mhairi McFarlane and they're great reads with the right blend of romance and humour, in this one there is also the issue of coercive control, it's a dark topic but her writing hits the mark.

The characters are relatable and well written.

I think this would make a great film!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC

When you don't believe in love and marriage, a proposal is the last thing that you are looking for. She must now face the past in order to create a better future. Cal is just the person to help her tackle this. Can she be brave and let a happy ever after take place. Thoroughly entertaining. Another great read from Mhairi.

Harriet is a wedding photographer in Leeds. Business is booming, but despite being around happy couples at work all day she doesn’t want a marriage of her own. When she finds herself in need of a new place to live, she moves in with Cal. He’s handsome and charming and his love life is also a complete mess. But is this the start of something good for both of them?

Now there’s a lot more to the plot than that - but I’ve tried to stick with not giving anything more away than the blurbs on Goodreads and Amazon do. Harriet is a brilliant heroine - she’s independent, resilient and smart and she and her friends have some great one liners. Cal is an attractive hero too - mysterious (until he’s not) with a ride or die best mate of his own. The Amazon strap line calls this a romantic comedy - and it is - but a big part of the book is a Harriet dealing with issues in her own past so that she can move on and move forward - and there are some tricky issues in there which definitely aren’t funny. But the resolution is punch the air brilliant and it all ends up alright in the end.

I read 350 pages of this basically in one big gulp. I stayed up late to finish it because I couldn’t bear to leave it it to the train in the morning - and as it made me get all weepy at the end, I thought I had made the right choice. But then I read the last 50 pages again on the train this morning.It’s that type of book.

Loved this! Great characters, really well-written and a storyline that reveals more about the two main characters as it progresses. Definitely recommended.

Never having read anything by this author I found this a Good read but storyline was somewhat predictable- but would try other books from this author

CW: Descriptions of emotional abuse, coercive behaviours, gaslighting, bereavement

Mad About You follows the story of Harriet, a wedding photographer in her mid-thirties who, after breaking up with her boyfriend, finds herself at the door of Cal, ready to rent a room. It's only then that she discovers he's the groom who jilted his bride-to-be at the church. What follows is less enemies-to-lovers, more mistaken first impressions.

The first third of the story is dedicated to the initial break up with Jon, but then we begin to discover that both he and her previous ex, Scott, are both manipulative in different ways. Scott is absolutely vile. Chapter 24 completely wrecked me, and I encourage anyone who has suffered emotional abuse to be prepared for potentially triggering and detailed descriptions. That said, I thought the subject was handled extremely sensitively and was well written. Chapter 31, meanwhile, left me incandescent with rage at the lengths Scott was prepared to go to. There's a twist that seriously caught me off-guard and made me feel even more protective of Harriet, who is fallible and such an authentic survivor of abuse. I appreciated the resolution between Jon and Harriet. But what I really loved was the female empowerment, and being able to witness Harriet's growth and self-awareness. It was truly cathartic after some of the earlier chapters.

As I mentioned, the romance isn't really enemies-to-lovers, more low-key* (very) slow burn that challenges misconceptions. It develops gradually, so that (even though I loved Cal almost immediately) it felt truly earned when it finally happened. Which brings me to their banter. There's something effortless about Mhairi McFarlane's humour, and it's in abundance throughout the story. It never feels forced, and she manages to find it even in often difficult and emotionally charged situations, which brings much-needed levity to what could otherwise be a very hard read. If you like a whole heap of emotion with your romance, this one's for you.

* I couldn't resist that hint at a certain actor from The Night Manager btw 😉

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: 🔥
Emotional Rating: 😂😢💔💓🥰😍

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review*

I cried, I laughed, I winced and I cheered
This book was a delight from start to finish
Hatty is going nowhere and she definitely does not want to accept the proposal she has just been offered..
Making the decision she does leads her down a path to a triumph but not without some twists and turns on the way.
I really enjoyed this story.

Sadly this is a DNF. I picked this as my next read wanting a good old Rom Com... I was given the comedy but at nearly half way through I still see no sign of Romance and I just can't continue.

This was just not as advertised and to me is not a Romantic Comedy, the love interest is still very much in the back ground at nearly half way through and I could see no end in sight.

I really tried to give it a chance but I just needed us to meet the said love interest earlier and for them to interact more by now. Can't even say this was a slow burn as I felt no burn.

Just was not for me and not what I wanted to read at the time.

Following a break up Harriet needs to find somewhere to live and ends up being a lodger for someone she has previously met. Cal is the groom that ran out on his bride a year before at a wedding where Harriet was the photographer.

As Harriet and Carl strike up a friendship they learn about their past relationships and end up growing and falling in love.

I have loved everyone of Mhairi Macfarlane’s novels she is a great storyteller.

I really enjoyed reading this book. There are some difficult subjects, such as abuse relationships and gaslighting. They were written about sensitively though, and there was a good balance of humour and heartwarming moments too. It was very well written and although I haven't read many of this Author's previous books, I am quickly becoming a fan and want to read more books by her.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.