This was my first ever book by Mhairi McFarlane that I got around to reading even though I already own Last Night, but I guess I need the time pressure of arcs to pick them up. I was so very excited but sadly so very disappointed. Strap in for a rant of some sorts.

🔆 Premise:
We follow Bel and Connor on a journalistic undercover fake dating mission regarding a high profile case of power abuse in exchange for sexual favours and blackmail.

🔆 Review:
This alone would be a promising storyline, with everything fake dating and the one bed trope in some scenes entails. So why did I feel nothing? How is that even possible?

a) The first 20-25% of the book mainly follows Bel getting the mission started, and way too serious for a romcom. And this case felt like a thriller, but at the same time was dealt like a cute side story that's fun to uncover and reveal. Like did we not learn in the past decades that powerful charismatic men in charge can do whatever they please and simply with two nobodies uncovering his mistakes and felonies this does not mean anything. Why deal with is like it's fun?

b) Connor starts off in a very weird and unhappy relationship that does not end until like 25% into the book as well. This all gives off such a weird vibe and makes everything odd and too fast moving.

c) Bel also has a "stalker ex-colleague turned wanna be boyfriend even though he is married and does not get 1000 no's thrown into his face". How should this be a romcom? It is creepy, super serious -ONCE AGAIN.

d) There was no real banter, flirting, or tension. There wasn't any real yearning. And I mean, I am fine with a slow burn. But that is slow BURN. I did not even see or feel a spark.

e) Bel gets portrayed as this somewhat weak woman in her mid-thirties that needs help and saving. She cannot deal with her stalker Anthony without Connor, she does not speak up to her family about her ex and his lies (yes, ONCE again, a serious topic), she does not think things through on her undercover mission, she labels herself as undesirable, even though we get from Conner's POV that basically every man lusts after her,...

f) I got bored reading the same scenes from first Bel and then Connor's POV multiple times throughout the book and started skimming on basically rereading the same scene with one sentence difference on every page.

So I guess I did not feel nothing. I felt nothing regarding the romance, because where was it? Besides the few pages towards the end and like 5 sentences throughout the book?
I felt anger, disappointment, frustration, annoyance, rage, and then relief when I made it through.

This does not mean that I won't read the Mhairi McFarlane book that I already own, but this one was a total miss. Please do not romanticize stalking, power abuse, and me too cases. Just don't. And if you do talk about them, which is important, do not deal with them as if they managed to take them down with no skill and without fight. That's just not how the world works, sadly.

Special thank you to HarperCollins UK, Netgalley, and Mhairi McFarlane for the arc in exchange of an honest review!

Cover Story is a fast, fun novel about investigative journalism. As with every McFarlane novel, it brilliantly combines heartfelt romance with serious and important topics, leaving readers with plenty to think about long after the last page.

A classic Mhairi MacFarlane, a smart and spunky northern girl with trauma in her past and a less than perfect ex boyfriend misunderstands the handsome but grumpy man with his own baggage at first, but their chemistry and genuine goodness mean that over dirty jokes and pop culture references they end up falling for one another. good banter, well rounded secondary characters and well paced, but exactly the same as all the others.

Usually I am a big fan of Mhairi McFarlane's books but I really struggled to get into this book and found myself more skim reading instead to see if I could get into it/it would get better but sadly not as the synopsis made it sound like a great book to read.

A great read to get your teeth into. Bel is an investigative journalist and podcaster in Manchester when a new intern Connor arrives from London he and Bel don’t get off to a great start can they help each other and maybe find a common friendship while trying to get a scoop for their newspaper. A great read for the summer holidays

A slow-burn romance, with an undercover investigation aspect? And it's written by Mhairi McFarlane? Sign me up! It's funny and witty but still manages to capture the underlying issues of the investigation the two main characters are caught up in with appropriate gravity. The characters felt fleshed out and real and the romance was perfectly paced.

The most delicious slow burn rom com , combined with an undercover newspaper investigation where handsome intern Connor has to pair up with boss Belle in a fake boyfriend girlfriend set up - what could possibly happen?

An absolute gem of a book. Brilliant characters and the relationship between Bel and Conor was amazing. Highly recommend reading this one!

A romance but with an underlying story. Bel McAuley is an investigative journalist, well known for her podcasts. Establishing the Manchester office of a national newspaper she needs to make her mark. When she gets wind of a scandal involving the very popular, very public local mayor, she is excited to get her teeth into it. Inadvertently dragging intern Connor into the case introduces all sorts of unexpected feels. Funny, dangerous, and very much will they/won't they/when will they? #netgalley #coverstory

Lightness of Touch,..
As Bel joins a national newspaper at its Manchester offices, Conor joins as the latest intern. Needless to say, these two do not gel. As circumstances conspire to throw them together, will a fake romance turn on its head? A contemporary tale on a love story written with a lightness of touch, a good dash of humour and dollops of empathy.

I really thought this shake-up in plot would break the unexpected three star streak I've had with this author, bringing me back to the highs and lows (in a good way!) alongside an exciting and different vibe in dynamic between the love interests, but here we are. Not that three stars is bad. But it's just not what you want to end up with.

And while the dynamic between the love interests was good -- think less miscommunication and more constant, 4ever, misunderstandings mashed up with faking slash undercover work -- it was everything else around them, including the main plotline driving the need to be undercover that I just couldn't gel with. Mostly because it feels like, once again, we're existing in often-trod territory with previously-navigated themes.

So as fun as McFarlane's narrative voice always is, and as good as the aforementioned dynamic was, the rest was just either underwhelming or something to push through (though when it came to Anthony it was more like cringe through). Which are words I never thought I'd have to type in a review for this author.

This is an easy, absorbing read, which will come as no surprise to fans of this author, and I finished it in basically one sitting. I only wish my enjoyment aligned with the speed at which I read it. But, as I've said before and I'm saying again now, I doubt I'll hit a point where I stop reading this author's new releases. Or at least.. I hope I don't.

I absolutely adore Mhairi’s books, so I was super excited to receive an Arc of Cover Story.
It’s comical and witty, typical Mhairi style and one of the things I love most about her books.
As a Yorkshire girlie, the fact that it was set ‘up North’ was the icing on the cake for me.
As you might expect with a Romance style book, so many of the typical ‘tropes’ were covered in this delicious story. I just had to knock a star off as it was just a tad too ‘slow burn’ for me and a little more spiciness would have been nice. Although I appreciate these issues are purely my taste, not necessarily the masses!
I will absolutely continue to pick up Mhairis books and would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys a good Romcom!

Another genius novel from Mhairi McFarlane. The thing I love best about McFarlane is how she (in my opinion) turned the tide of "chicklit" from something cheesy and light into something well written, humourous, challenging and brilliant. Like the others she wrote before, Cover Story is well crafted with fantastic characters who quickly worm their way into your affections. And, like all of her novels, you genuinely don't want it to end.

Highly recommended.

Bel is a journalist working in the Manchester office of a big national newspaper, with her colleague Aaron and a rotation of interns. The latest intern in Connor, a 30 something year old who immediately starts things off on the wrong foot with Bel. Hostility between them simmers away, with the pair wanting to spend the least amount of time together as possible. But when Connor stumbles upon Bel on an undercover job, she has no choice but to introduce him as her boyfriend. They need to keep the façade up for several weeks, as Bel tries to get evidence on a massive scandal involving Manchester's much beloved mayor. Is the sparks from the tension between them due to mutual hate or is there something bubbling beneath the surface?

This is an enemies to lovers, fake dating situation that is a slow burner. A bit too slow for my own liking to be honest. There was a lot of set up for the undercover plot so it felt like things were moving at a very slow pace at the beginning. It also meant that the romance part had less time too and the connection between the main characters suffered. I think the fact there was a dual storyline also didn't help the pacing, it might have worked better from just Bel's POV. I wasn't a huge fan of the main characters, I didn't gel to them, but I did enjoy some of the side characters, specifically Bel's friend and Connor's brother. And I loved the Manchester setting, it made me really nostalgic.

Was there anything I did like about the book? Yes, Mhairi's usual humour was there, her writing is very witty and fun. And there are some serious topics tackled very delicately. The undercover storyline is about the mayor cheating and taking advantages of women much younger than him. And Bel has a stalker from a previous role, who is making her life hell. Mhairi handled these topics really well and adds much substance to the novel.

Overall while it wasn't my favourite Mhairi book, I've seen reviews that loved it and it's been recommended for those who enjoy stories with slow burn romances.

I’m a fan of Mhairi McFarlane — her writing is sharp, relatable, and humorous - and so as expected this was another fun, easy read rom-com. The story, an enemies to lovers and fake dating, was intriguing. I loved the dual POV and Connor, the male main character. But the dynamic felt a little off between him and Bel somehow. I didn’t really feel the spark between them which was disappointing for a romance. Although one of the things I like about the author is that her books are always so much more than just a romance. That said this one possibly attempts to tackle too many things (stalking, cheating, a manipulative ex, depression, and a #MeToo news story). So overall a good read but not one of my favourites by the author.

Firstly big thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins and Mhairi McFarlane for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Can Mhairi do wrong? I am convinced she cannot. Another brilliant novel and I am ordering my shelf trophy copy now.

The novel is told in dual POV of Connor and Bel. It is hilarious, thought provoking and sexy. We get a SLOW burn romcom and get to have two fingers up fo fhe patriarchy.

My only criticism? I wanted more! Almost cruel where it ended. However I'm not knocking anything off rating as it was still brilliant read and it's not a bad thing to want more!

Highly recommend

#bookreview #books #reading #book #bookpost #bookworm #bookish #love #Romance #netgalley #harpercollins #coverstory

I was so excited to read this book after seeing Haley Pham rave about this author. I ended up loving this book! There were so many layers to this story that I enjoyed (it did not feel like just a typical romance book). I cannot wait to read more.

This was utterly brilliant. A great story, and wonderful characters that you couldn’t help rooting for, both professionally and personally. Some great insight into the world of ghostwriting and the literary world and it would make a great film - the words really bring the characters to life.

McFarlane's trademark witty and sharp writing with layered characters is once again evident in her newest novel, Cover Story. We have fake dating antics that keep us entertained throughout while developing a slow burn romance.

A lot of topics were packed in, with varying degrees of success; infidelity, messy break ups, depression, sexual harassment, stalking, complex undercover story. It was a lot. That, along with the MC's being so judgemental made me struggle to connect at first.

However, by the time we got into the latter part of the story I was hooked and invested in the outcome of these characters.

Bel has joined the tiny Manchester office of a national paper. Thirty-something Connor is going back to the start as the new intern. They can't stand each other. So of course Bel bumps into him while she's working undercover on the biggest scoop of her career. And of course she's forced to improvise, pretending they're a couple deeply in love.

It's interesting how in the beginning they couldn't stand each other for reasons that could be easily addressed 😂 Added to the drama of it all. Once they were forced together for a time, their slow progression towards tolerating each other at best was amazing to see.

I loved the subplot on uncovering the story that would make or break Bel's career. She also had quite the sordid past when it came to relationships. Connor supporting and protecting her was beautiful.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5⭐
Steam level: 1.5🌶️ Closed door