After realising she is spending too much time in a relationship that isn’t what she needs it to be, Harriet decides to bite the bullet and to split with her boyfriend after he railroads her into accepting a proposal she is not enthused about.
Looking for a quick, clean-break, Harriet takes the offer of a house share with a stranger who has been having his own problems with his relationship.
Things might seem like they are working out but then everything starts to unravel and the life Harriet has built up for herself quickly starts spiralling into something she does not recognise. Harriet has to be brave and face the ghosts she has been running from.
I love Mhairi McFarlane, she is my absolute favourite and I loved this story. I put down my current read in order to devour this one.

Another Mhairi McFarlane book that I added to the top of my TBR ARC list as soon as it hit!
Harriet is a wedding photographer, who doesn't really believe in marriage, for herself.
She has issues from the past that stop her from truly committing, even to her lovely boyfriend, Jon. A surprise proposal from him, in front of his family, pushes her over the edge and she pushes him away.
Without giving too much away, all I can say is that this book has dealt with some pretty harrowing issues, including emotional harassment, narcissism, and the role that Social Media can play in totally ruining someone's life.
Harriet is lucky to have a good friend around her, Lorna, who, might I add is a character I would love to have in my corner! She ends up as a lodger in a house, where it turns out the landlord is a shady character she'd not think she would ever come face to face with, but sometimes shady isn't actually bad, it's more that you haven't got to know someone properly.
I read this in literally a day, so yes, a good book, a great read!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins, UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Wow – I loved this book. It perfectly captures the value of strong female friendship (and what it doesn’t look like), the power of social media, the horror of be gas-lit and the damage it does to your own self believe, whilst also serving up humour and a dollop of romance on the side.

I think my only real criticism of this book is the synopsis give to describe it – this makes if sound like bubble-gum romance, and if I wasn’t a fan of the author already I would have thought twice about picking up the book and reading it. Thankfully I did and would whole heartedly recommend it to others.

OH MY GOD. I mean, Mhairi McFarlane had me at hello but this is her best yet. I was happily reading along, checking out Harriet's girlie adventures as she finally says no to her rich boyfriend Jon's horrible public proposal (she gets 'Shanghaied' by him and an engagement ring at a hotel in the Dales in front of his rancid family). Harriet gathers her things and moves in with hot Calvin. All straightforward enough and good fun...I kept reading.

Then, about half way through the book, another plot emerged - Harriet's destructive, gaslighting ex Scott, Madchester dickhead and all round toxin. When she tries to warn his new girlfriend about his ways, Scott goes on the offensive and outs *her* as the abuser. This book just shows how easily these things can happen and explains why Harriet and so many other women - including me- live in fear of this sort of aftermath from someone who shouldn't have been allowed in their lives to begin with. I am three quarters of the way through and don't want it to end, unless it ends with Scott being hit by a bus.

Such a pleasant read like all her books. Was easy and a lovely story to follow. Thank you for the advance copy

I absolutely loved "Mad About You" and devoured it in just a couple of days, which is unusual for me! The story delivers great action right from the start, with some fun twists and great characters.

If I could give this ten stars I would
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, I love Mhairi McFarlanes books and have read them all, and every one I have absolutely loved, this was so so good, lots of laugh out loud moments as well as touching and emotional ones, the domestic abuse was handled very well and as usual with Mhairi her characters wer just wonderful, they are always the kind of people you would love to be friends with yourself, Harriet and Lorna wer a “hoot” together, some of Lornas comments or one liners really made me laugh and I loved the wit of Cal, and as with all Mhairi books I didn’t want to it to end BUT you can’t stop reading til it’s done then you are left with the loss and the anticipated wait for the next wonder from Mhairi, they cannot come quick enough.
Thank you so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for the privilege in receiving this early copy, def will be buying it when it comes out to have on my shelf with the others. ⭐️

What a treat. Mhairi is one of my absolute favourite authors and I was so excited yesterday when I was offered an advance copy of the book. Needless to say, less than 24 hours later and I’ve finished it, haha. And it did not disappoint! Made me laugh out loud and there was more than one occasion when I had a lump in my throat. Not your usual chick lit, covered some sensitive topics. THANK YOU so much - I LOVED IT

The story of wedding photographer Harriet, who having broken up with her boyfriend Jon, rents a room - sight unseen - in a house owned by Cal. A turn of events sees Harriet encountering a previous boyfriend, Scott with whom she had a toxic relationship with, which prompts her to explore its influence on her subsequent behaviour with Jon.

I love Mhairi McFarlane books but in terms of romance, this one falls slightly short - possibly because drawing in a new romance is the last thing that our heroine should be doing as she's reflecting on her past relationships.

However it's still an entertaining read. We have a strong-but-doesn't-quite-know-yet-it heroine, a likeable if low-key love-interest, supportive friends, and, of course, our pantomime villains in Jon and his atrocious family. One to recommend - along with all of the other Mhairi McFarlane books.

I really really loved reading this book!
Mad about you is a lovely easy read rom com story but I really didn't feel like it was predictable which I feel many rom com books can be!

I have read a few books from Mhairi McFarlane now and she is definitely becoming a favourite author for me.

The book itself also touched on such important issues with regards to toxic relationships. I thought Mhairi introduced this well and although it involved a heavy subject it was still an enjoyable read which made you route for the main characters.

While I'm a big Mhairi fan and read many of her previous books, this one just didn't do it for me. I couldn't connect with the characters, the story was incredibly slow and it took ages for us to even meet the love interest.

Saying that, I do enjoy her writing and I think this story has such potential. I love the idea so much and some scenes were really fun to read! I just think it was a bit too long and could be edited down quite a bit.

This book was classic Mhairi McFarlane: great character studies with sprinklings of life lessons.

I did really enjoy Harriet's story, and like the exploration of her relationships - including aspects of abuse and gaslighting. This book had moments that were quite moving, as well as a likeable heroine.

One of my qualms, however, was that both Calvin, and his relationship with Harriet felt somewhat under-baked: there just weren't enough moments of exploration (despite some emotional conversations). I felt like his role in the book was a bit sparse, and then the ending, when it came, just felt rushed and less believable.

But overall, it was an enjoyable read (although somewhat long). I give it a 3.5/5.

A new Mhairi McFarlane book - yes please!!

I could not wait to get started on this. Having read all of the authors previous books, I was beyond excited.

The book started slowly for me and I struggled to engage. I don’t know why this was and put it down to me being tired. It was at 48% when I felt fully engaged and committed to the story. This is really unusual for me with Mhairi’s books - I’m usually hooked by 5%

I liked Harriet…but found her character difficult to connect with until later in the book when we were informed of her backstory.

Supporting characters weren’t as strong as normal, I quite liked Jon’s Mum, she was a strong vile character with plenty of traits that leave you loving to hate her!

The ‘romance’ between Harriet and Cal was almost non-existent. This book would have been better labelled as general fiction as the romance element seemed to come from nowhere with both parties suddenly declaring ‘I’m in love with you’ at the end of the book - which was pretty confusing.

So, despite what may sound like a negative review, I did enjoy this book. I just couldn’t help myself from comparing it to the author’s previous work. It certainly wouldn’t put me off reading future work, and Mhairi McFarlane remains one of my favourite authors!

3.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 📚

Wonderful, witty, warm - Mhairi McFarlane never misses. Mad About You is a marvel, just like all her books!

I have to admit to being a fan of Mhairi McFarlane and this book was all that I hoped. I really enjoyed it. Harriet is a wedding photographer in a fairly humdrum two year relationship with her partner Jon. She attends a wedding booking that doesn't go ahead and the bride is left at the alter. Harriet's relationship with Jon implodes and she finds herself as the lodger of Cal, the runaway groom.
I think this is one of Mhairi McFarlane's best novels, It is in turn funny and sad and has some interesting messages about self esteem, social media and toxic men. I enjoyed it very much and highly recommend. Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel

I love this authors books so was looking forward to reading this. This was so much more than just a book about romance and although this book was heartbreaking to read at times this was balanced with humour and had me laughing out loud at some points. This book sought to bring topics such as gaslighting and cohesive control out in the open which I personally thought was done in a very sensitive and insightful way and that topics like these need to be brought out in the open more and not just brushed under the carpet as they often are.

The character of Harriet was one that as a reader I found myself invested in and her character was a very relatable one. She has been through a lot and deserves a break and a chance to find happiness. I would love a sequel to show what happens between her and cal and if she gets her happy ever after.

This is Mhairi McFarlane at her best - the wit was on point, and the British humour was perfection.

Mad About You is so much more than a rom-com. It is beautifully written and utterly hilarious - which is not a surprise when it comes to Mhairi. The characters were incredibly relatable, and the issues touched upon were represented well. It is very rare for a rom-com to actually make me laugh-out-loud, but this book achieved it whilst simultaneously tugging on my heartstrings.

My only criticism would be that I didn't quite get the feels between Harriet and Cal; nonetheless, it was so fun to read and go through Harriet's journey with her.

4.5 stars because her previous book Last Night was always going to be impossible to top.

Once again knocked out of the park🌟
From relatable characters that literally have the same conversations that me and my friends do, to completely accurate scenes of mortification and drama that happens in ever 20 somethings lives. AND absolute rom com vibes? The settings are always so freakishly in sync and familiar from my days dating a guy in Headingly to when I used to hang out in Prestwich. Mhairi never fails to deliver joy, heartbreak, passion and hope in one cosy package. My all time favourite author and this is my all time fave book of hers. 5 easy stars, and I now have a new book boyfriend.

ways enjoy Mhairi McFarlane books.
This is a book about love, friendship, believing in yourself and finding courage to stand up to abusers. There is a lovely romance quietly building along the way. I enjoyed the female friendships, looking out for each other and standing together. There are light moments interwoven and I enjoyed the good, kind, positive males and male friendships. There are some truly awful characters!
I did want a bit more from the Harriet/ Cal romance. That part was a little rushed for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read and review.

Loved this book! It was witty and clever with colourful characters who made me either love or hate them….depending on their connection to Harriet and how well they treated her. Harriet is the unlucky in love heroine who sets out to help the fiancée of her ex partner in a spectacular fashion. I absolutely loved the ending and would loved to read further stories about Harriet’s friends, Lorna and Roxy.