I am the biggest McFarlane fan - being approved for an advanced copy of her newest book was amazing.
You Belong with Me picks up straight after the ending of Who's That Girl - I checked my review for that one, and had described it as possibly one of my favourites of McFarlane's. This is the first time she's written a sequel to one of her books, and I'm going to be honest and say... It really didn't need it.
Usually I read her books in one or two days, I can't put them down. Arguably I'm busier at the moment with a baby and a toddler, but I just didn't have the desperate need to finish this book.
It felt slow, the bulk of the book focuses on the "should they, shouldn't they" of Edie and Elliott's relationship. It becomes a bit naval gazing and repetitive. There are interesting dissections of issues that come up in relationships, however because these issues are centered around Elliott's fame, it's not exactly relatable.

By the end I didn't really care about the outcome, which felt disappointing. I think fans of hers will still want to read it, but if I was encouraging anyone to get into her books this definitely wouldn't be my first recommendation.

mhairi mcfarlane you may become a new autobuy author. at the recommendation of emily henry i decided to check out one of mcfarlanes novels and ive yet to be disappointed. straddling the line between romance and women’s fiction, she seamlessly weaves real life issues into a swoon worthy romance that i find utterly real and compelling, such an instant pleasure!

What I adore most about McFarlane's books is that you feel like you are actually there and that the characters are your best mates. Her writing is effortless and her ear for dialogue is impeccable—she's also the right amount of cheeky and has a great sense of humour. ⁣

This book balances humour and heart and is so much more than a spirited rom-com. And the side characters will steal your heart.

Eddie is in love with Elliot, a famous actor. Together they will face challenges that come with his job.
I was disappointed by this book. I was waiting for a twist, something big, but it was only typical things a celebrity can expect.
But it was well written with a lot of beautiful sentences about love and feelings

I was doubly keen to read this book as Mhairi McFarlane is one of my favourite authors and it’s a sequel to Who’s That Girl? from way back in 2016. I confess I didn’t remember all the details of that book but there was enough in You Belong With Me to refresh my memory. I also think that you could read this as a standalone though as the main points of Edie and Elliott’s back story are clear from the context. If you have read Who’s That Girl?, you may remember it ends on something of a cliff-hanger. Well, this book answers the question ‘what happened next’.

This book is quite unusual in that the main characters are already together pretty much from the start. So does that mean there’s no will-they-won’t-they element to the book? Well, no it doesn’t. Most of the book is about marketing manager Edie and Hollywood star Elliot figuring out just how their relationship is going to work. They live very different kinds of lives, largely on different continents, and the author gives us a really good idea of what pressures the celebrities in relationships must face. Constant speculation, bitchiness on social media, not knowing who you can trust would put a strain on any relationship. To a certain extent, Elliot and Edie’s relationship reminded me of Notting Hill where one half of the couple, in this case Edie, wants to continue their life as normally as possible.

For a while, I was thinking that this was quite a quiet story, just a simple exploration of a couple working out what they wanted from each other. Before long though, I realised that I was totally hooked as Mhairi McFarlane worked her magic and showed that this was in fact an in-depth exploration of two people very much in love, but facing all kinds of complications. So there was indeed a will-they-won’t-they feel to the book.

This author is just so brilliant at writing about complex emotions and making her characters so relatable. As well as Edie and Elliot we have Edie’s fantastic friends Hannah and Nick, her brilliant boss Richard, new colleague Declan (involved in what is surely one of the most memorable scenes in the book!), Elliot’s brother Fraser and his new girlfriend Molly. Even if most of us can’t relate to what it’s like to be in the public eye, we can certainly relate to the thoughts and emotions of both Elliot and Edie.

There’s themes of jealousy, insecurity, betrayal, family, friendship and of course love in You Belong With Me. It’s witty, sharply insightful and a really satisfying read.

Addictive and emotional, this is a love story to get lost in and impossible to put down. A terrific read

Absolutely adore Mhari Macfarlane! She manages to write such relatable and likeable characters that feel like friends. Would always recommend and You Belong With Me is no different!

This book was truly everything I didn’t realize I needed. Mhairi McFarlane is a must read for me, and I’ve been shouting from the rooftops about Who’s That Girl for as long as I can remember. Mhairi absolutely killed it with this sequel, which can also be read as a standalone.

Mhairi McFarlane has a gift for dialogue that is just unmatched. Sure, Elliot is a gorgeous movie star, but it’s his wit and charm that you’re going to fall in love with. This book really explores how it can be hard to get to forever even after grand declarations, but reminds you that the journey is so, so worth it. Can I give it 10 stars?

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a copy to read and review!

Swoonworthy and fantastic in equal measures.

I have loved all of Mhairi's previous books and this is no exception.

Edie is so loveable, real and someone I would be proud to call a friend and she certainly goes on a rollercoaster of emotions during the course of this story with her relationship with the famous Elliot.

This is a fast paced, page turning masterpiece. I loved the ending - which wasn't actually what I was expecting!

Bravo Mhairi!

Can't wait for the next book!

Gorgeous book as always absolutely delight to be acquainted with the characters created by Mairi. All so relatable and I read it in a couple of days thankyou

I had requested You Belong With Me to review because I like McFarlane’s style, but discovering it was a sequel and I needed to read a 500 page novel first didn’t give me a whole lot of hope. That said, I whizzed through both in a few days and they were smart, funny, emotional, and surprisingly relatable given it’s about a film star falling for his “normal” ghost writer. I did find that You Belong With Me went on a bit, as did the first in the series, at times finding quite silly reasons for Edie and Elliot to clash, but if a little bit shorter next time I’d pick another McFarlane up in a flash.

We rarely get to see stories about the couple's life after the declaration of love and this was just that. A relationship with a celebrity wasn't going to be easy and we got to see Edie go through that with her famous actor boyfriend Elliot.

Edie put Elliot on a pedestal even though he didn't like that since everyone else treated him differently. There was also Declan, her coworker, whom Elliot sussed out was in love with Edie when the two were introduced. It didn't help that Elliot's costar at the time was a touchy feely character who had Edie on edge when photos came out on the paper.

There was also the paparazzi and articles with intimate details of their relationship and even Edie's past. The mystery of who in their circle was leaking info was exciting to figure out.

They had to make a choice on whether to work on their relationship no matter how hard and with the difficulty of long distance, or to just call it quits and deal with the heartbreaking aftermath.

I didn't realize it was a sequel until I read the acknowledgements. It was written in such a way that I didn't feel like I was missing a whole book's worth of backstory.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. It's been a while since I read Mhairi's books. This was a treat 😄

I was so excited to read You Belong to Me, the sequel to my favourite Mhairi McFarlane title, and it didn't disappoint. Funny and packed full of heart and wit. I loved every page. Mhairi remains the queen of this genre.

I didn’t realise until after I’d started reading this book that it was the sequel to Who’s That Girl, which I haven’t read. However, this wasn’t a problem and I found that I was easily able to pick up the story of Edie and Elliot as there were constant references to their earlier story which didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this book. Elliot, the famous actor, and Edie, the advertising executive, are trying to make their relationship work even though their lives are poles apart. Their story is told with wit, charm, sensitivity and is an enjoyable read!

I love McFarlane but of late I feel her books haven't held the same level of comedy I have come to expect.

Being a sequel to "Who's That Girl?", which I absolutely loved, I thought this was the book that was going to change my recent opinion. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Whilst I was thrilled that cliffhanger ending was resolved with the outcome we all wanted, I wish this had been a short story. There wasn't enough of a storyline to warrant a whole novel. It felt like McFarlane was creating issues to fill pages, and often the reactions didn't even match the protagonists character.

Perhaps if I had re-read the first book and gone straight into this one I might have been a little more enthralled, but with an 8 year gap it became the sequel I thought I wanted but actually, I didn't need.

Edit: so I've just realised that this book is a sequel to 'Who's That Girl' which I haven't read and didn't realise prior to reading this so now totally understandable why everything felt flat, oops... the review below was written prior to me knowing this!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book.

I really wanted to love this book but it all felt a bit flat to me. I loved Mhairi's style as writing, which was beautiful, but I just couldn't connect with Edie and Elliot. My rating is purely a personal preference, the book was well written but it just wasn't for me.

I recommend going back and reading the first instalment again - I think I would have enjoyed it more with a bit of a refresher. That said, it’s like putting on a comfy cardigan and settling in to catch up with old friends. I love Mhairi’s books for the realism and this is no exception - happily ever afters are hard fought, and even the more sweet for it.

Who’s that Girl? is one of my favourite books by Mhairi McFarlane, and has my favourite word and book quote eve.

So I was pretty excited to see the return of Edie and Elliott

I swear I thought I was going to have my heart broken like Edie’s was so close towards the end of the book.

Two minor criticisms is that there could’ve been some more happy moments for Elliott and Edie, they seemed to spend a good deal of the book in miscommunication. Perhaps a novella would’ve made it a better read.

However this was still a great book, I felt a little saudade after finishing it!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC to read in exchange for my review

As a huge Mhairi McFarlane fan who adored WHO'S THAT GIRL, I was over the moon to receive an ARC of the sequel, YOU BELONG WITH ME, in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and the publishers HarperCollins UK | HarperCollins.

I would live in this story if I could! Edie and Elliot are delightful from start to finish and this was exactly the sequel I was hoping it would be! After reading WHO'S THAT GIRL years ago, the cliffhanger ending is continued beautifully in YOU BELONG WITH ME. This sequel builds perfectly on the world and characters established in WHO'S THAT GIRL, while adding new characters, new story lines and conflicts, and new reasons to love and root for Edit and Elliot.

I absolutely and whole-heartedly recommend this book, and will reread this again in no time! I would recommend folks start with WHO'S THAT GIRL as to not miss out on the lovely character and world creation in that story.

Absolutely gutted that I've been unable to read this due to formatting issues. My review is based on this author's previous books and I will be buying this on release!