A great romantic will they-won't they read with the added element of the damage that can be done by social media.
Harriet is a great character. I love her interactions with her friends, her determination to succeed and her bravery in removing herself from a failing relationship.
I also loved Cal and the lovely friendship they develop against the odds.
Certainly a generic format but a well written version of it and thoroughly enjoyable.

Funny, thought provoking and simply addictive. Great characters as you’d expect and just so powerful.
I adored this and am a huge fan of Mhairi McFarlane.

I have loved all of Mhairi's previous books and was really looking forward to this new story.

As always, I read it far too quickly, as her books are just so easy to read - likeable characters, relatable situations and a good dose of humour. I was rooting for Harriet from the beginning and found Cal to be a really nice chap, someone who would do Harriet the world of good .... but will they get together?? You'll have to read this to find out!

Normally one of my favourite romcom writers, but this story fell a bit short for me. It felt like it was ticking boxes - endearing main characters, unusual comedic situations, witty repartee, crazy observations and similes - and lost the secret sauce. For one, it was slow to start (I almost lost interest half way). Something was missing.

Harriet is a wedding photographer who breaks her domineering boyfriend's heart when he proposes. She makes a hasty decision to move in with a stranger who happens to be cute, successful journalist Cal. And of course they get along, but Harriet's emotionally abusive boyfriend from the past comes back to haunt her.

I appreciated the important message about the insidious effect emotional abuse can have and its impact on future relationships. And the second half of the book gathered momentum. But I struggled with the characters. Other than Harriet, the other characters were a bit flat. I could never get a clear image of Cal -he felt like a support character, nice guy but quite bland. Harriet herself was annoying, and drove me crazy how she kept sticking her nose where it didn't belong. Lorna, the best friend, was the best of the bunch - spunky, loyal, empowering - running her own restaurant and getting the guy she wanted.

Overall solid, but far preferred the layers and emotional subtlety of Last Night,

An utterly romantic story of a young woman trying to escape her past and present romantic failures and her unexpected encounter with a man that has no idea what’s in store…

The first book I read from Mhairi McFarlane I absolutely hated. I thought I was one and done with this author, but, after seeing so much about her other books and reading many amazing reviews about her writing, I decided to give her another shot.

Every single time I read yet another book by her (I think this might be number five) I'm so glad I kept going. Because nowadays I think she's brilliant.

Mad about You is a complicated romance. In a sense that it takes the long way around to finally get to the romance part. It had a long list of trigger warnings about gaslighting, emotionally and physically abusive relationships, and more. But it was a delight from start to finish.

This is the story of Harriet and Cal, two people who were very unlikely to fall in love but did just that. It´s also a book about friendship, finding yourself and standing up to bullies.

A must-read for fans of Mhairi, and for those who need that extra incentive to read something from her again.

📚 Book Review 📚
Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane 4.5/5⭐️

Advanced Reader Copy thanks to @netgalley @harpercollinsire

Harriett Hatley is a renowned wedding photographer. The funny thing is she doesn’t believe in marriage, in fact she loathes the idea. On that note it comes as a massive shock and betrayal when her boyfriend Tom proposes in front of his entire family.
As a result Harriet needs to find a new place to live to get away from Tom ASAP.

In her search for somewhere to live she meets Cal, the groom of an almost wedding she covered in which he ran away from his bride to be.

Cal has a room to rent although it’s abundantly clear to Harriet that he doesn’t want her living under the same roof as him. Harriet is running from her past and so is Cal. Will the two be able to help each other get over past relationships and heal broken hearts?

I enjoyed Harriet as a character, she is very well written and well developed. This is most notably a romance story but friendship is a strong theme throughout especially between Harriet and Lorna. The perfect story to escape and lose a few hours away from the day to day.
Out 14th April.

Another brilliant, brilliant read from Mhairi McFarlane. I fell in love with Mad About You from the moment I started reading it. Harriet is such a loveable character, as is leading man Cal and the journey of them was a really fun one to follow - you’re rooting for them all the way! Harriet has problems from a bad relationship that have haunted her for years, the road she follows to overcome this was an emotional one but very brilliantly written. Very few books these days make me laugh out loud, but Mad About You nailed it in so many places. I will be recommending this to everyone!! I feel genuinely gutted I’ve finished it already.

This was a great book to curl up with on a rainy afternoon , light breezy and very entertaining .
Harriett turns down her boyfriends proposal so has to find somewhere to live , enter Sam who she had met briefly at a wedding where she was the photographer , she moves into his spare room , there is a spark but Harriett has so much going on and Sam has a jilted ex girlfriend on the horizon too .
I really enjoyed this , heart warming and uplifting

Very pleased to get the chance to read a new Mhairi McFarlane book. She is one of the best Romcom writers around and I have loved every one of her books. Mad About You is no exception with great characters and lots of twists and turns. Harriet is a photographer specialising in weddings. She lives with her super wealthy boyfriend Jon in an amazing property but when he decides to propose with all his dreadful family in attendance Harriet realises that this is the last thing she wants to do and moves out of Jon’s house finding a room to rent through her friend Roxy, an estate agent. The room is in a house owned by Cal whose wedding she was booked to photograph except Cal changed his mind at the last minute leaving his bride in the lurch. Harriet has not had a good history regarding choosing suitable men so when she goes to photograph another wedding and sees a very controlling ex engaged to another woman alarm bells ring and she decides to take action to prevent the wedding going ahead. Mhairie’s style of writing is witty and easy to read. The style is modern with one of the focuses being on social media abuse. Her characters are great ranging from the horrible Jon, his mother and Scott, Harriet’s abusive ex to the excellent Harriet, Lorna, Nina, Sam and Cal. All her characters are totally believable and I was thrilled to be able to obtain this ARC. Many thanks to NetGalley for this.

I have read all Mhairi’s books and have thoroughly enjoyed every single one and each time her new one comes out I think it can’t possibly top the last one but this one has to be my favourite. Her writing and dialogue is wonderful and you feel that you are actually living the story with all the characters. It’s a book you race through because it is so enjoyable and yet don’t want to finish. A total joy to read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy,

Having previously read and thoroughly enjoyed Mhairi McFarlane’s Last Night I was very excited to be approved to read Mad About You. It’s safe to safe this book did not disappoint and was an absolutely brilliant read. As with McFarlane’s other books, Mad About You is a rom-com, but it also explores a much darker topic, in this case it is the impact of coercive control.

Mad About You centres on Harriet, a 34 year old wedding photographer. Harriet is running away from getting married, her boyfriend’s hateful family and her past. She ends up in a dream house share with the handsome Cal. Only Cal is running away from his recent past as well. Will Harriet and Cal be able to take a risk, face up to their pasts and maybe even find the best reason to stick around?

As a main character I absolutely loved Harriet. In Harriet McFarlane has written such a brilliant female lead; she is smart, very funny, and a great friend, but also carries the weight of previous trauma on her shoulders. I would never wish to spoil the plot, but the journey that Harriet goes on in this book, and the confidence she gains was just so wonderful to read.

I especially enjoyed reading about Harriet’s friendship with Lorna, her long term best friend. They were such a great team and I loved how unapologetically herself Lorna was. Being a romance I have to mention our leading man Cal. He was a great character, who was also kind and very funny. He comes with his own difficult past and history, but is still always there for Harriet when she needs him. This was such a brilliant slow burn romance from a very awkward beginning to friends to lovers.

In this book McFarlane explores the impact of coercive control within relationships. She does so in a very sensitive manner and yet doesn’t hold back from exploring just how big an effect this has on Harriet and the other women who fell victim to the same man. McFarlane also looks at the perils of courts held on social media and the devastating impact that this can have.

Overall this was a brilliant read. It had so much depth, heart and humour. This is a book that will make you belly laugh, make you swoon but also lead you to shed a tear.

Always love her books- they’re like Prosecco when you know you should be drinking water: sparkly and fizzy and a lot of a treat :)
This one gave me all the feels and I’m a relative sociopath- keep them coming Ms McFarlane…

Harriet Hatley is a wedding photographer who hates the idea of getting married. She has been through a lot in life and it's just not in the stars for her, so when her boyfriend proposes, she runs a mile... She decides that living in a house with you ex isn't the best idea on the planet, so she starts looking for a room to rent. Enter, Cal Clarke!

Cal is a hopeless romantic who happened to be a runaway groom at one of the weddings that Harriet was shooting and when they both find out, it makes for an AWKWARD living situation. They are like chalk and cheese but somehow they make each other laugh and like spending time together.

When Harriet's past begins to catch up to her, she is left wondering if Cal will be supportive or a stowaway again. Her business, relationships and even tenancy are all on-the-line. Will she be brave enough to tackle her demons head on?!

I could not stop reading Mad About You from the moment that I picked it up. It is an absolute cracker of a book but also very emotional and discusses serious topics. Harriet was a strong and likeable main character who had been dealt a rubbish hand in life, seriously the girl cannot catch a break. I was holding back tears when reading about her family and then I wanted to scream when you met scumbag Scott.

Cal was an actual sweetheart and so shy! I was wary of him to begin with but warmed to his kindness, I also adored his friendship with Sam. They were comical together! Another lovely character was Lorna, she is the best friend that everyone needs and will support you no matter what.

Mad About You is a fantastic read that is funny and lighthearted but also talks about emotional abuse and gaslighting. I loved the bravery of the women in the wedding scene and how they were taking back the narrative. It made me cry and it was beautifully written. Mad About You is a must read and Mhairi McFarlane's best book yet.

Mhairi McFarlane quickly became one of my favourite auto-buy authors after I read my first book by her and I've loved each one since. I am so happy that this falls into that category too, even surpassing the rest to be my favourite book by her to date.

This witty novel handles sensitive, serious topics with such care and pulls it off beautifully. I adored the characters, each one fleshed out perfectly including the side characters. Mhairi McFarlane is very much like Marian Keyes in the way that she can take a serious topic and write a beautiful book about it while still having hilarious one-liners that would be seem out of place if anyone else did it.

Of course, I loved the romance aspect of this but it wasn't the main part - just an extra bonus. And yes, I cried at the final few pages. Then reread them twice and cried twice more.

Mhairi McFarlane simply never disappoints!! She is my favourite writer in this genre!

Mad About You features Harriet who, in her thirties is dating Jon……….a ‘catch’ on paper but she doesn’t love him like he loves her, , so when he proposes to her in front of her family…………well……it’s a step too far and things have to change and the book follows what happens next.

The humour in this author’s writing, for me, is second to none. Laughing out loud is a phrase often bandied around in reviews and often when I read these ‘LOL’ books, I do chuckle but not ‘really’ laugh………….Mhairi McFarlane never fails to have me belly laughing…..till the tears run down my cheeks. She has an amazing turn of phrase, her wit just so ‘spot on’! I just can’t praise her humour highly enough.

The difference between this author’s books and others in the same genre is that while, yes, there’s a romance brewing in the background, there are other storylines going on at the same time,, to pique your interest and make you think. The storyline featuring ‘gaslighting’ and a narcissistic controller was really well done.

This book gave me that rare feeling of not wanting to read it too quickly because I didn’t want it to end but not being able to stop myself page turning either! Nothing else to say - it’ a brilliant book in my opinion and deserves more than the maximum five stars! And if you’ve never read Mhairi McFarlane before………..I envy you, …… read one, you’ll want to read them all!

My HUGE thanks go to Mhairi, the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced reader review e.copy.

Thank you HarperCollins for letting me read Mhairi McFarlane's latest 💕 the minute I see a Mhairi McFarlane book announced, I am glued to NetGalley so I can request the book the minute it comes out, and this was no different... But sadly this is my least favourite of hers!

Harriet is a wedding photographer, living with her rich boyfriend Jon in Leeds, when she turns up to a wedding that the groom has just run out on. I don't think I need to explain more than that, because it's a rom-com, we all know what's coming! Although this is filled with Mhairi's idiosyncratic writing and warmth (she's the only rom-com writer where I'm actually interested in the subplots), there are two reasons why I wasn't a huge fan of Mad About You. First up, it's written in third-person and I ALWAYS vastly prefer her first-person novels. Not sure why – I think it's because her writing feels a bit more authentic when coming from inside a character's head. Secondly, I thought there was just too much going on in this book, and there wasn't enough space to devote the required level of attention to all the subplots and emotional events. The romance felt like a bit of an afterthought; barely there and without anywhere near as much build-up as I would have liked. Still – you can bet that I'm already very excited to read Mhairi's next book, and I really do love seeing UK cities other than London represented in fiction 💕

An excellent romcom/women's fiction story which is exactly what Mhairi McFarlane does best!
I needed the giggles this book provides with witty, intelligent banter between the characters and some really comical reflections, this definitely gives a lot of warmth, fun & humour. It does also deal with some gritty, hard-hitting issues with relationships including coercive control.

I adored the characters, Harriet certainly holds her cards close to her chest but we get to see her vulnerability and learn how her difficult past has moulded her in to the character we meet at the start. The friendship age has with Lorna was heartwarming and I loved their interactions, it was also mirrored equally by Sam & Cal's friendship.

I am always in awe at how eloquent & witty this author writes, and how there's a lot that is expressed through the book that feels like a kind of therapy for those with difficult relationships in itself. Highly recommended

Brilliant contemporary fiction, perfect escapism.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

You can’t go wrong with a book written by Mhairi McFarlane and she’s done it again!
Mhairi manages to create characters that you’d want to be friends with - and characters you definitely wouldn’t.
Mad about you covers female friendship and strength, male friendship and support, and bullying and abuse in a relationship. There is a lot of love, humour and hope in this story and once again I was sorry to finish one of Mhairi’s books.