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

It took me a few weeks to get through this book. There wasn’t anything necessarily bad but unfortunately it just did not gel with me. There were definitely interesting aspects but my attention kept being pulled away from the story. This rating is honestly nothing against the book or author and is entirely a me thing.

If I'm going to be completely honest, I struggled with reading this one and I really couldn't connect with these characters. Even though this is slow burn, personally it was way too slow paced for me and usually I don't mind this. Whilst I do understand their jobs are journalists and they will have different stories to cover when working, I do think there was just too much going on and instead of it being all about the romance, this was in the background rather than being the main focus of the book. I would've liked more with the ending too, there was no epilogue so I felt the book just ended abruptly.

Sweet, funny - a warm cup of tea of a book. Not my favourite MM book but I highly enjoyed.

In the Manchester branch of their newspaper, Bel is an established investigative reporter and podcaster, recently moved from York for a new start. Connor is her London living thirty something intern, looking for. New start and not thrilled for it to be so far north. They don’t get off to a cracking start but when Connor sees Bel during her undercover work for a massive story, she has no choice but to pull him in or she’ll blow her cover. They start a fauxmance that starts feeling a little too real as they get closer to breaking their story.

I’m a sucker for a fauxmance. It’s just such good stuff, you know exactly what you’re getting and this does not disappoint. It’s full of McFarlane’s signature wit and one liners, complete with a plucky heroine and dashingly handsome man. Seriously, what have you got to complain about here?

No other author makes me laugh out loud like Mhairi McFarlane, I’ll read her books forever. My favourite will always be ‘If I Never Met You’ and I will never stop campaigning for a sequel but this lovely book was a balm.

I have to say I struggled with this book I couldn’t get into at all
I tried numerous times but just didn’t gel with the characters at all I don’t know why it didn’t happen but it didn’t
I am so sorry to the author that I couldn’t complete this book

Mhairi McFarlane's books are always a solid good time. I really like her writing and her very British flavour of dialogue always works for me.
Cover Story was entertaining and I was interested right from the start. The investigation part had me hooked and I was a little bit stressed by the end.
One of my favourite things about Mhairi's books is that they usually aren't a straight up fluffy romance. There's a lot more to her stories. The romance plot is super slow, she adds some heavier themes to it and there's usually a lot more conflict going on in her characters' lives. This one is no different: it explores mental health, infidelity, stalking and sexual misconduct among other things.
The characters feel like real people, with real lives and problems. Her female leads are all very similar and a little too kooky for my taste but I still root for them. Bel was no different. She's a little manic pixie dream girl but I enjoyed her character arc. Connor was a delight. I really liked him. The secondary characters were all great as well. I can always count on McFarlane to write a very good supporting cast. Shilpa was so funny she made me laugh out loud a few times.
The ending left me a bit dissatisfied though. I wanted more from it. The romance resolution, although kinda cute, felt too rushed and I wanted to see how they'd work it out with Jen and geography.
I still had a great time with this, really enjoyed it and will continue to work my way through McFarlane's back list.

Check trigger warnings before going into it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for approving me for this eARC.

Arrrgghhh!!! This book has me kicking my feet at the end! I love these characters!

Unfortunately knocked a star off because at times I felt like I was grinning and bearing it through the serious plot scenes in order to get to anything that moved the romance along. And the sheer number of scenes that failed to move the romance along in the way I was craving. I get that was the point, that this was an enemies to lovers slow burn, but at times it was just too frustratingly slow for my taste.

Cute little will they, won’t they..

Two almost strangers who don’t like each other from the moment they met, embark on an undercover mission to out a well known person. A person who takes what he wants, no matter the consequences. These two must “pretend” to be in a relationship in order to get their story.

|#Netgalley|

When Manchester newspaper reporter Bel McCauley gets the opportunity to break a HUGE story, she's delighted - this could skyrocket her career. The only downside is her new colleague, Connor. He's just started work as an intern with Bel and her colleague Aaron. Connor is caustic, grumpy, and dismissive - so when he gets roped into the story and Bel impulsively pretends he's her boyfriend, will he even want to play along?

Sure of course he will, or there wouldn't be a book. LADS. This is one for the slow burn girlies. This had me giggling and kicking my heels like a schoolgirl, I couldn't get enough of it. I've grown to really love Mhairi's books over the last few years, I think she does a really fantastic mix of light contemporary romance and deeper issues. This one is no different - difficult subjects like past relationships and mental health are addressed in a realistic, respectful way.

The banter is top tier, the characters are well developed, the chemistry is electric, and the addition of a slight mystery to the main storyline added an exciting element to what could have been a generic slow-burn fake dating rom-com. It's an engaging read that I devoured over a couple of sittings. Loved this one.

With thanks to @harperfiction for the eARC via Netgalley. Cover Story is out now.

#SharonReadThis25 #CoverStory

I don't know why I waited so long to finally read this book because I really loved it !
This is pure enemies to lovers, set in journalism. Bel works in Manchester; she has moved there to be away from her toxic ex. Connor is the new intern at her journal, whereas he is over 30. He decided to start anew after a carreer in finance. None of them is really happy, but they are good at their jobs. And one day, they are forced by ciconstances to work together. They have to prove that a famous politician is corrupted. And they begin to know each other, and realise that no, they don't hate. Perhaps even they could become friends... Or more ?

Lots of great tropes here, enemies to lovers as I said, fake dating a work partner, reaaally slow burn, strong female main character and toxic exes. It was fun, it was sweet, a really lot of banter and some tender moments.

I don't know what Mhairi puts in her stories but my word they are so good!

In this one we have Bel and Connor and they.....well....they hate each other. Bel is working for a national newspaper and Connor joins the team as an intern
So when Bel runs into Connor while she is working undercover for a story she has to improvise and pretend that she and connor are a couple and are very much in love
The one thing i always find about Mhairis books is that they are not just a surface level romance stories there is so much going on and they can be quite emotional

Loved it!

I wasn’t really expecting this romance novel to be quite so focused on an undercover reporting expedition but I enjoyed it very much specifically for that reason.

I am a big fan of Mhairi McFarlane’s books and usually love them. Yes, you’ll have noticed that ‘usually’. Sadly, I didn’t really get on with this one.

There are some pretty serious issues addressed in the book such as mental health, stalking, revenge porn and ‘me too’ situations. Journalist Bel goes undercover to try to out a high ranking politician taking advantage of his position with young staff. Intern Connor gets dragged in as the fake boyfriend to provide some cover so we have fake dating and enemies-to-lovers tropes

It’s hard to put my finger on why I didn’t click with this book. I didn’t particularly warm to the main characters of Bel and Connor, though actually I liked him better than her. I am used to Mhairi McFarlane’s books being funny and romantic, proper romcoms. In this one though, I didn’t really see much in the way of humour and the romance didn’t come till very near the end of the book. For me, there wasn’t enough light-heartedness in the story to balance the serious topics. There usually are serious topics woven through the author’s work but I didn’t feel there was a balance in this one.

I didn’t hate the book but I didn’t love it either. I was engaged enough to keep reading and the certainly found the final section quite gripping with a satisfying ending. Overall, this wasn’t a hit for me although it won’t put me off this author’s books. There are mixed reviews online but it’s clear that most people have loved it so don’t let me put you off!

Bel takes an instant dislike to her tiny newspaper office’s thirty-something new intern Connor and the feeling is mutual. However, when they bump into each other on a job and must pretend to be a couple, they are forced to reevaluate.

This was my fifth Mhairi McFarlane book! She has such a compelling writing style and her lead characters are always richly drawn. While I enjoyed Cover Story, I don’t think it was one of her more memorable stories. The romance is quite a slow burn, which is fine, but it felt a bit lacking and some more yearning wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Weaving in more serious topics is a McFarlane staple, but I think there were a few too many storylines going on here.

I ultimately did enjoy Cover Story and would recommend it but I wanted a bit more from it.

A Mhairie McFarlane novel is always a really fun read and this was no different. Bel works in a small office of a newspaper in Manchester. Connor arrives to do a short stint as an intern. They dislike each other on sight. When Bel is working under cover for a story, Connor inadvertently bumps in to her and she is forced to introduce him as her boyfriend. While you always know how this is going to end, it's a funny, heartwarming story with lots of great characters.
Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane? Sharp, smart, and full of emotional depth—loved it.”
This isn’t just your typical rom-com. It’s layered with clever dialogue, real emotional moments, and characters that feel so authentic. Mhairi McFarlane has this amazing way of blending humor and heartbreak, and this book is no exception.

The main character’s journey had me hooked—full of career drama, secrets, and complicated relationships that felt incredibly real. And the slow-burn romance? Chef’s kiss. It was subtle, swoony, and completely satisfying without ever overpowering the story’s deeper themes.

4.5/5 stars. A witty, heartfelt, beautifully written story that balances charm with real emotion. Highly recommend for fans of smart women’s fiction with a romantic thread.”



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