Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this ARC.

Bel and Aaron are investigative journalists for a Manchester newspaper. New to the team is intern Connor who has just given his well-paid but soul-destroying job in finance up and is joining from the Lobdon office for three months. He and Bel hate each other on sight but due to an undercover operation that Bel started on the mayor after a tip-off, she and Connor have to fake being partners so they can befriend another couple that has important information.

There are plenty of tropes like enemies to lovers, fake dating, forced proximity and one bed only, but the romance is often overshadowed by the undercover operation the two of them are now in together. The topic is more important than ever - an influential sleezeball thinks he can get away with how he treats young women, plus Bel has a horrible stalker who refuses to take no for an answer.

McFarlane has a great turn of phrase, the dialogue (and there is lots of it) is smart and funny and such a delight to read. The romance is so slow-burn that it almost doesn't happen, the undercover operation is tense and the supporting characters Shilpa and Shawn are fun and quirky. The intelligent story is written in dual POV but I wished Jennifer had been left out the plot, she wasn't necessary in my opinion. Still, a fun read.

Another brilliant offering from Mhairi McFarlane. I laughed, I cried, I was so sad it was over as I turned the last page. I am devastated I'll have to wait for another new M McFarlane book to read.

As a typical romcom, it does the job. But if you're expecting a typical Mhairi, something is definitely missing.

Let me start with how much I love this author. I raved about Last Night to anyone that would listen. So I had high expectations for Cover Story and was left quite disappointed and almost aborted a few times.

Bel is a successful investigative journalist who has to put up with a new intern, who happens to be an ultra hot Connor who is giving up his high-flying career in finance to change direction and try journalism. There is mutual dislike from the start, until circumstances require them to work on the same expose.

For me the formulaic cat and mouse game was so predictable, missing all the author's normal creativity and originality. The characters were cute enough, but dialogue for Conner, the male lead, felt unauthentic and what we think women want to hear. There were parts that felt tortured and over-explained. I guess it was just missing the usual, lovely flow that I've come to expect from the author.

Much thanks for the opportunity to review this book.

I loved the premise of this book, and it started off so well, I did find the middle of the story a bit slow and it took me a couple of days to read which is unusual for me. The last quarter was a vast improvement and I devoured it. Some of the ideas were pure genius and it is well worth a read.

Funny, quick-witted and also covers so many important issues. Bel is such a brilliant leading lady and as a journo girl myself, love the representation. Also the mystery undercurrent and fake dating trope makes this a fun read. I love Mhairi's work and the books always keep getting better.

Argh! Read it, liked it, forgot to write a review.

Bel is a journalist and podcaster. She moved to Manchester from Leeds after a relationship with a colleague went wrong and he refused to accept they had broken up.

Connor was a big cheese in the City, but it gave him crippling anxiety so he walked away from a very lucrative job and at the ripe old age of thirty he's retraining as a journalist and his internship is at the paper's Manchester office.

Bel and her colleague have run the gamut of bolshie, Gen Z interns and are frankly a bit jaded so they may not have been the most welcoming to Connor. ON his side, he mistook Bel's hungover clothing and attitude as superiority which automatically puts up his hackles.

Then Bel gets an anonymous call alleging that a local beloved politician is not the reformed man he appears to be, and instead is a predator who targets young women. This could be the scoop of her career - if she can get the evidence, but without a slam-dunk the only known victim won't go on the record. The scoop is potentially so explosive that head office swear Bel to utter secrecy.

Bel comes up with a bit of a Scooby-Doo plan to get the Ring doorbell footage of the politician and his victim entering a local Airbnb by getting close to the owner, a Manc party-girl who owns a swanky wine bar. While undercover Bel has the misfortune to run into Connor and desperately claims he is her boyfriend, now he's been drawn into the investigation!

As the blurb says so well, two rivals, one fake romance, the headlines write themselves.

I liked this, both Bel and Connor realised they were in the wrong (a bit of Pride and Prejudice) and they worked well together. I loved Connor's brother.

Just a great rom-com.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Connor leaves his life in London for a short internship in Manchester. He's left his life in finance to train as a reporter.
Bel is a reporter who becomes Connor's mentor. They do not exactly meet eye to eye but circumstances mean that they have to work closely together.
The book then takes us through their roles, their family, friends, their past and looking to the future.
A light and entertaining book.

Manchester, journalists, sarcasm, righting wrongs. Another cracking book by the heir to Marian Keyes' throne. As always, Mhairi McFarlane combines romance, friendship and social issues beautifully. At times I laughed out loud and at others I raged at the realistic depictions of misogynistic men hiding behind the veil of bonhomie. Loved it.

set against the high stakes of a journalists fighting the clock to break a me too scandal, cover story will read as surprisingly tender if you're someone that wasn't familiar with mcfarlane's work beforehand. however, if you're like me and have read almost her entire backlist, this shouldn't come as a surprise with mcfarlane's characterization of the main couple as a highlight. she writes about people who have strong moral compasses, but are just idiotic with each other sometimes and that is just refreshing; bel and connor are the type of people i hope to meet in my lifetime over and over again.

I absolutely adored Mcfarlanes writing style. Completely agree with saying it is for fans of Emily Henry - I thought the premise of the book was very funny story but I actually liked the characters so much more in cover story. I loved Connor I thought he was a brilliant character. The first 20 per cent was a bit slow for me however I did find that until about 40 per cent of the way through I didn’t know the direction of the story so that intrigued me and bought the pacing up. The second half was brilliant. Would highly reccomend.

5* Entertaining and very funny

I’m already a huge fan of Mhairi McFarlane’s, so when I received her latest book, Cover Story, it immediately shot to the top of my ‘to be read' list. I wasn't disappointed.

A Manchester newspaper is staffed by two people, Editor Arron Parry and Bel Macauley the Investigations Editor. Every three months an employee from the London newsroom is sent to Manchester for temporary work experience. After a change of profession from city worker to journalist, Connor Adams arrives at the tiny Manchester office as the latest intern. Connor is obviously unhappy about being in Manchester and his and Bel's first meeting was hostile.

When Connor bumps into Bel while she’s undercover for an explosive news story, to prevent him accidentally revealing her true identity, she claims that he's her boyfriend, unwillingly he's drawn into her investigation.

This book was everything I've come to expect from Mhairi McFarlane, there's witty dialogue, confusion and misunderstandings between the main characters, several plots running simultaneously, with amusing secondary characters.

A complex enough plot to keep me thoroughly engrossed. Result, an excellent read.

ARC generously supplied by HarperCollins UK and NetGalley, this review is my personal, unbiased opinion.

Absolutely LOVED this book! I can’t praise this author enough for her writing style, the language she uses is so relatable, and I think I fell in love with both Bel and Connor.
Such a great storyline, which I won’t share because nobody likes spoilers, but let’s just say that there was nothing negative to write about this one.
Off to recommend to everybody I know!

She’s done it again. I’ve loved all of Mhairi Macfarlane’s novels for lots of reasons. She has a way of writing characters that makes them so relatable, flaws & all. She’s the Queen of witty asides & her observations of modern life are spot on (or this lady of a certain age thinks so anyway!) The descriptions of Manchester are real but sexier. Do yourself a favour & read this & then read her back catalogue if you haven’t already done so. I loved it.

Hold the presses: major book hangover alert.

How the fuck does Mhairi McFarlane do it? Every book just gets better and better (and I know sound like a fawning cliche saying this). Cover Story is like the smoothest cocktail that carefully balances all the flavours. The next thing you know you've woken up with a major hangover and can't read another book. The only cure was to re-read my fave bits and look at tickets to Manchester (seriously, Manchester tourist office should give her commission).

This book is sharp, witty, well-paced and astute, blending social commentary, a bit of a mystery (I'd kill for a series with Bel and Connor investigating crimes) and a swoony, very slow-burn romance. It also continues a recurring theme from her previous books, namely the varying ways men wield their power via The Nice Guy in the Room act (who, past McFarlane hero Finn advises we should beware of) to inoculate themselves against scrutiny for abusing women.

I adored Bel, she's resourceful and daring but a bit battered after a toxic dalliance. Connor was also her perfect foil, a man wears his heart on his sleeve. Shilpa and Shaun were also perfect, with Shaun giving Fraser a run for his money as my fave McFarlane brother. To reduce the romance to 'enemies to lovers' ‘fake dating’ tropes is to do a disservice; it's far more layered. Instead of immature pranks and insta-lust with a romance going zero to 100 out of nowhere, it's a gradual slow-burn. Bel and Connor constantly wrong-foot and misunderstand each other every step of the way. I love that we witness both points of view as their feelings sneak up on them.

I was bereft when it finished. A gazillion stars.

Massive thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the ARC. I have the ebook and audiobook pre-ordered.

Queen Mhairi does it yet again and it is glorious.

(I shrieked with joy when I discovered I was granted this ARC and contemplated taking a sick day so I could devour it in one sitting, but alas, I did not and read it over the course of two days like a mature professional adult.)

This story begins when heroine Bel Macaulay, journalist and semi-famous podcaster begrudgingly welcomes her new intern. She's expecting another lazy Gen Z protege, but is caught off guard by Connor Adams, a depressed thirty-something leaving the cutthroat world of finance to follow his life long dream of becoming a journalist.

And the disdain they share for one another is immediate.

Unlike most enemies to lovers, there is no hidden instant attraction for either of them. None whatsoever. Their first meeting has Bel perceiving him as cold and privileged, and in turn she treats him as if he is beneath her. He finds her insufferable and a bit pompous, as she and her colleague treat him as less than.

But like every Mhairi gem, their relationship slowly simmers alongside the main plot, advancing Bel and Connor from workplace nemesis to initially reluctant partners when they stumble into the investigative opportunity of a lifetime.

Like all Mhairi books, there's always an underlying theme or social commentary, and this one was public image and what happens when it is weaponized by those who wield power. We got to tag along with Bel and Connor on their covert mission to expose a highly public perpetrator. Mhairi covers this subject in an impactful way, sensitive yet light enough to make our undercover spies' sleuthing work entertaining (I suspect any woman who has dealt with something similar may feel vindicated by Mhairi's words on the subject). I also appreciated the deep dive Mhairi did into the processes of investigative journalism, bringing to light the legality of certain aspects - things I did not previously know yet was fully engrossed in.

Mhairi wrote this as a dual POV which she has not done in quite a few years. I found it super effective to be able to also see into the mind of Connor as the story unfolded. Both Connor and Bel were tremendous leads and every time I read something by Mhairi, I'm blown away by her characterization. Connor and Bel aren't these flawless and perfect Rom Com charicactures, but real and relatable people with flaws. They are emotionally intelligent and mature despite their failures. They feel human and like people you may know in the real world, and you may even see yourself in them at times, as I certainly did with Bel.

I also found this to be quite possibly one of Mhairi's most romantic pairings, despite the very long simmering slow burn. There seemed to be more romantic moments captured on the page versus allusions to it off-page like she usually does.

All in all, Mhairi *never* disappoints me and is perhaps one of the most consistently good authors I've ever had the pleasure to read. Full of brilliant passages, a couple of Mad Men or Sopranos references, and a multi-faceted story arc that combines romance, quick witted comedy, and the depth of social structures, Mhairi hit it out of the park with this one (again).

I read every Mhairi McFarlane that comes out and I enjoyed this considerably more than most of her recent books! Also made me really want to plan a trip to Manchester (literally already messaged my friend about it). I have to say that the final misunderstanding was insane and I felt like the book was quite overwritten, with dialogue that often sounded like someone was trying too hard to be witty, BUT the story was fun and I really liked Connor as the love interest.

When I read the premise of this book, I immediately felt like I would love it and I’m happy to say it definitely did not disappoint. “Cover Story” does a brilliant job combining two of my favourite romance tropes, with a cast of characters that I wish were my friends (Shilpa is a dream and I want to be her when I grow up!)

Though it is definitely a romance, and a swoony, slow-burn, delicious one at that, I want to talk about the investigative part of it first. I love that it shows Bel’s investigative process, and her grappling with morality when she makes some questionable choices in the pursuit of justice. While reading the book, I was genuinely nervous for Bel and Connor during some scenes, and I think it’s a testament to Mhairi McFarlane’s skill that I reacted like that. It’s also a powerful social commentary, critiquing the power imbalances that exist in so many different spheres of life, and the obsessive, almost psychotic interest of some men in women’s lives. Every woman who’s had an unpleasant experience with a man will no doubt feel vindicated in some sense by this book.

Now for the romance - oh, the romance! Bel and Connor are opposites, in the best sense. Bel is fire, and Connor tempers and grounds her, and together, they are unstoppable. Their chemistry is off the charts, and I love that it’s a true slow burn, with both characters slowly figuring out that they might like the other more than they expected to. I also really enjoyed seeing their relationships with Shilpa and Connor’s brother, Shaun, who give Bel and Connor the push they need to be open to the idea of falling in love again.

The writing is funny, paced really well, and thoroughly enjoyable. Would definitely recommend to anyone in search of a comfy romance with a little more to it than meets the eye.

Another absolute stunner from Mhairi! 🤩
The best in the business at writing fully formed characters that leap off the page, they are flawed and real and have you rooting for them almost immediately. I loved that Bel was not perfect by any means, but was still so likeable.
Connor was a dream leading man and I’m still thinking about him now. 🥵 My only note is, I wish we’d had a tiny bit more topless action from him.
Loved it and would recommend to friends and enemies alike.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I never feel that 5 stars do Mhairis books justice, they deserve so many more. I Love Mhairis books and this one was just brilliant. I Loved every minute of it, the only thing i can say that I hate about her books is that they have to end and then I’m left bereft.
As always the characters just draw you in, I loved Bel and Conor and Shilpa was a hoot, Mhairi always brings serious and sensitive subjects into her books too and this one touched on stalking. The humour and wit is just pure Mhairi and I had a good few laugh out loud moments, I’m gutted it’s finished and am lost on what book to read next as how can you follow that. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this early copy

I love Mhairi McFarlane so I have been dying to read this one, and as expected, I loved it!

I thought the romance in the book was really sweet, I liked how the main characters made assumptions about each other at first, but then got to know each other and realised that they were wrong. The undercover angle was great fun to read and it was a nice opportunity for the characters to spend time together when they probably wouldn't have bothered to otherwise.

I love that these books aren't purely romance books, Bel had lots going on in her life and I was fascinated by her career, friends and family dramas. The side characters all felt believable and I enjoyed getting to know them.

If I have to be a bit picky, I didn't love the Anthony sub-plot, and that last conversation between them rambled on for far too long in my opinion.

The ending was really nice and it made me cry! Would definitely recommend this book.