I loved this book and loved all the characters , and loved the idea of a house share, i would highly recommend this book. with thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for this honest review

I adored this. I love all of Mhairi’s books but this one especially - and I think this is the most ‘cinematic’ yet (in other words, I would LOVE to see this one filmed!).

Funny, emotional, a little heartbreaking and a lot empowering. I thoroughly enjoyed Harriet’s story. As always MM creates a character that is completely relatable, flawed and wonderfully human. Loved Harriet and loved the unfurling of her story and how the bits and pieces of the person we meet at the start of the book were revealed. Her relationship with Cal was a delight. I think my favourite part of the way things developed with them was how they made each other laugh and the slow burn of friendship and opening up to one another. Lorna and Sam get all the points for being true friends to both Harriet and Cal respectively. Harriet’s past/present which included some serous subject matter that had a profound impact on her and everything that follows with Nina and Marianne was handled with care and honesty all the way. How it played out was perfect and fitting. Another great read to add to the collection (5 ⭐️)

I love Mhairi's book this is no exception. Harriet is a wedding photographer who doesn't have a great relationship record. She gets pushed into saying yes to her boyfriend's proposal and then tells him no.

Two strangers.
One big coincidence.
Driving each other crazy is just the beginning…

When Harriet Hatley decides it’s no longer working with her boyfriend Jon, she’s lucky to find a new house share that suits both her and her new landlord/housemate well. Cal is great but as it turns out, they have one thing in common, running away.

All is going well until the exes get in the way, forcing the pair to open up to each other.

But will the two face the past and finally stop running?

I’ve seen lots of books by this author and have really fancied trying one. This book was such a fantastic read. I’m a big lover of a rom com and this was full of love and laughs as well as some more serious parts to the storyline that cover things that people deal with daily. I can definitely say it won’t be my last book by this author that’s for sure. Highly recommend for a rom com with a bit of angst.

Following the life of Harriet, whose main job is that of a wedding photographer, which ironically is not part of her future dreams. From awkward situations and a difficult past on which she wants left just where it is, until....

Mad About You whilst it has humour in parts, I wouldn't say it was a laugh out loud read. Touches on events that sadly some people could relate to. A slow burner, but overall good read.

Harriet Hatley is a wedding photographer, too jaded by her job and experiences to even consider marriage, a fact that her boyfriend Jon overlooks when he proposes to her in public, forcing her into an engagement she doesn’t want. It’s a crisis waiting to happen and it comes soon and with McFarlane’s trademark humour and wit. Harriet finds herself moving in with a housemate who has his own issues and cue more McFarlane wit and pathos as they learn to move on from self sabotaging actions and learn more about themselves and each other. I love McFarlane’s novels because she manages to weave poignant depictions of human foibles into familiar romantic tropes while giving life to them that is usually unique and engaging. This might not be her best but it’s still top notch and enjoyable.

Another absolute belter of a story from Mhairi.

The cover and description belie the depth and emotional complexity of this fabulous book and the ‘Mad about you’ title is representative of several madnesses.

In simple terms it’s the story of Harriet and Cal but it’s also a story of how important self-awareness and personal growth is - for so many of the characters. And how friends can be the family we don’t have.

Mhairi’s vocabulary, as ever, leaves me in awe and the phrase ‘like a mongol warlord’ will probably be appropriated at some point very soon.

Funny, witty, emotional and uplifting - I loved it.

Not just ‘girl meets boy’, this story will definitively be one I highly recommend to friends. And people on the bus.

Thank you #netgalley for an early copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for an early copy of this book for review.

Harriet Hatley hates the idea of marriage herself but loves her job as a wedding photographer. After her long term partner surprises her with a ring, she is suddenly single and moving out to be a tenant in the home of Cal Clarke, a hopeless romantic. Whilst they are like chalk and cheese they soon become friends, and over time it becomes clear they are both running from secrets that still impact their lives. As Harriet's world implodes Cal becomes her anchor. Their friendship develops as they both face off against their past.

I absolutely loved this book and I have already placed it on pre-order. This was extremely well written and I binged this book, grabbing snatches of it during breaks in work. I enjoyed the progression of the relationships built up in this book, and loved the characters as they developed. As I said above, this will definitely be on my re read list!

I already had a few books from Mhairi on my wishlist, so it was lovely to get Mad About You as an ARC, thanks to NetGalley

This tells the story of Harriet, a wedding photographer who doesn’t believe in marriage. The story starts with our main character rejecting a proposal from her very posh (and snob) boyfriend Jon. This leads her to look for a place to live and she’s delighted when one of her friends tells her about someone who’s renting a gorgeous place. Cal Clarke, her landlord, seems super nice and gorgeous, but she finds out he’s also someone she knows is an absolute jerk.

We’ll see their relationship develop (not loads and definitely VERY slowly) at the same time Harriet is confronted by someone from her past, bringing forward fears and emotions she thought were long gone and could potentially harm her career for good. I would’ve liked to see more of the main characters as most of their interaction, or lack of, seem to have been kept out of the story, making it look a bit rushed and unsubstantial.

The romance is not the main part of the book, focusing instead on how Harriet deals with her past, relationships and helping other women, victims of psychological abuse and gaslighting. This should come with a content warning as it can be triggering for some people.

This is overall a good book, but I must admit it didn’t quite reach my expectations, maybe because I was hoping for a light and swoony romance.

This was so much fun to read. It's well written and has a great cast of characters. The story was interesting and was well paced so it held my interest from start to finish.

A great story, a very easy read whilst also hitting some hard stories which are all too common. Enjoyable writing

This is a wonderful story which pulls you in right from the start.

The characters are well developed and find themselves in great situations which make you cringe and laugh in equal measure.

One I would certainly recommend.

It goes without saying that Mhairi McFarlane is one of (if not *the*) Queen of Romcoms. Her wondrous and plentiful regime continues with this new arrival. Carrying on from Last Night, this gears towards the darker end of her back catalogue with it's TW-worthy depiction of an abusive ex-relationship. This never stops the book from being so bloomin' charming, funny and heartfelt. I loved Harriet and quickly grew to care for her like a much-beloved friend, one you sort of see too much of yourself in that it's brilliantly painful and impossible not to live vicariously through. That's helped by how wonderfully written our male lead is, Cal enters the pantheon of McFarlane's magnetic menfolk - and he may have quickly entered towards the top spot.
A book that is food for the soul, balm for the brain and hope for the heart. Just wonderful.

I absolutely adore Mhairi McFarlanes books they are always so much fun, they are always fabulous and they are always really funny too.

In this book we meet Harriet who is a wedding photographer who has absolutely no desire to marry herself, which she has made abundantly clear to her boyfriend Jon. So why on earth on his parents 40th wedding celebrations with all their friends and family present does he decide to make a extremely public wedding proposal.

Not wanting to embarrass him Infront of all his family and friends Harriet agrees to marry him. But is then so annoyed and distraught that he blind sided her in front of everyone immediately breaks up with him. Making it one of the shortest engagements in the history of the world.

Now Harriet is basically homeless with no where else to turn. Stage enter Cal Clarke who has a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom for rent. And a new adventure, and a new life starts for Harriet.

Mhairi Mcfarlene really does have a wonderful ability to summon up a great cast of characters and make them instantly real with just a few words. I do have to say that this is actually a book that is a littl bit more serious than her other books as it deals with some more serious situations like gaslighting and control. But McFarlane really does it in a great way and makes another great book.

I adored this book so much and have not enjoyed a romcom in a long time. the writing style is not usually something I enjoy but this book took me in from the outset. It's not just about Harriet and Cal but Harriet finding herself and asserting herself. Would totally recommend to friends.

Harriet is a wedding photographer but has no desire to marry which she has made abundantly clear to boyfriend Jon. So why does he blindside her with a very public marriage proposal at his (ghastly) parents 40th wedding celebration? She accepts out of huge embarrassment and almost immediately breaks it off with Jon making it possibly one of the shortest engagements in history! On the plus side Harriet won’t have to put up with Jon‘s mother anymore, yuck, what a woman! She needs to find somewhere to live and first, enter Cal Clarke who has an ensuite bedroom for rent.

It starts out a hoot with plenty of laugh out loud moments as you’d expect from the smart writing of Mhairi McFarlane. I really like the character of Harriet who is smart, she has her issues but almost because of this she feels authentic and relatable. I do enjoy the way the author manages to some people up in just a few words and yet you really see them. There are some enjoyable coincidences and several scenes that are almost movie or TV worthy they are so lively and entertaining.

So, it starts on a fun note but this book feels more serious in tone than some of her earlier novels as it deals with gaslighting and control. The endgame resolution for this is really good and I’d have loved to have been there in real life, take that Scott, Harriet’s ex! It also deals with friendship and loyalty some stretching the boundaries of the latter. There is less of a romance element in this than in previous books which I’m happy about however, I do feel the romantic hook up at the end seems a bit sudden and possibly predictable, enjoyable though it is.

As usual, it’s a good read from a talented author and also many thanks for the “God’s own country” setting – Yorkshire, where else!!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins/Harper Fiction for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

A great easy read with equly great characters. A story of friendship, love, lies and heartache.
Harriet is a successful wedding photographer, she is a determined person and knows what direction she wants to go.

I love this book and couldn’t put it down! Wedding photographer Harriet has no interest in getting married. So when her parter proposes things get messy. This is the perfect romcom and heart warming to boot. I haven’t read any of mhairi McFarlane’s previous books but I’ll definitely be fixing that soon!

McFarlane is an auto-buy author for me; her books are reliably cheerful, with a dollop of Big Issues on the side to chew over. Her latest, Mad About You (a title I still cannot make sense of given the book's content, tbh) is no different, and I absolutely loved it. It's the story of Harriet Hatley, a complex, fiercely feminist heroine juggling traumas but refusing to let them get the best of her. She's just broken up with her boyfriend, Jon, and it has *not* gone well, so she jumps into a house-share with the handsome and enigmatic Cal, who is hiding secrets of his own.
McFarlane very much uses the above premise as a jumping-off point, and Mad About You continues her trend of writing... not rom-coms? It's billed as a rom-com, and presumably will be marketed as such, but it categorically is a story about self-discovery that features a romance. That's no bad thing, now. McFarlane's strengths as a writer lie in her ability to create fully realised, lively, loveable characters, and Harriet is an excellent example of that. She's layered, sometimes difficult, and deeply endearing. We root for her from the word go, even more so as layers of plot reveal her to be more complex than we previously thought. Harriet's journey is buoyed by her friends - McFarlane writes female friendships so well, it feels like these books should be friend-comedies, not romantic ones. I adored Lorna and Roxy (!!) and their closeness - depicted through drunken nights out, Whatsapp groups and DMCs - is one of the things that made this book shine for me.
Mad About You is not a book about men and women falling in love - to reduce it to that isn't fair on the novel or its talented author. It's a book about empowerment, trauma, redemption and failure, about learning to love yourself and your flaws. McFarlane's earnestness makes the book so readable, never feeling heavy-handed or difficult while still being gripping. And, of course, we get our happy-ever-after - I would riot otherwise, to be fair - with a swoonworthy male lead. But Mad About You offers bucketloads more than just a romance, it's a stellar read from a wonderful author.