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BETWEEN US by Mhairi McFarlane

BETWEEN US

by Mhairi McFarlane

Pub Date: Aug. 8th, 2023
ISBN: 9780063117990
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins

Friends turn lovers after years of misunderstandings.

Roisin Walters and Joe Powell have been a couple for a long time, she being the kind Monica to his somewhat mean Chandler in their group of friends in northern England. But as Joe has found fame as a TV writer, Roisin can no longer pretend that their relationship is thriving. When she realizes that he’s stealing ideas from her life to fuel his new project, and might also be unfaithful, Roisin tries to call it quits. In the process, it slowly dawns on her that their pal Matt McKenzie no longer feels like just a friend. By turns comic and poignant and occasionally spiked with soap-operatic confrontations, McFarlane’s latest offering is more in the tradition of Bridget Jones’s Diary than a straightforward genre romance novel. While her female protagonist occasionally seems written to incite the reader’s exasperation, Roisin’s scenes with other women and the portrait of her flawed mother show a more deft hand at representing the gender. Matt, with his slight resemblance to Mark Darcy, comes off as error-prone but a well-meaning nice guy. McFarlane defers their happy ending (or happy start, as Roisin the teacher explains to her students) for most of the plot, spending more time on Roisin and Joe’s messy breakup. The novel’s emphasis on female solidarity against gaslighting, narcissistic boyfriends might be cathartic for some readers, while the off-the-page sex between the eventual couple might not work for others. References to abortion and abuse are handled with a respectful touch and feel like an organic part of the plot.

An entertaining romantic drama with more conversations about fidelity and sex than sexy times.