I'll always read a Mhairi McFarlane novel, even though this was a follow-up to one of my least favourite of hers. I'm never a huge fan of when she writes in third-person (I just find her first-person perspectives SO much more convincing) but I did like this, it's a nice and easy read. 3.5 stars probably

Perfection.

I am a HUGE Mhairi fan and have been since her first novel. Who’s That Girl is undoubtedly my favourite of all her books (and my favourite book of all time), so I was so unbelievably excited and a little nervous to hear that she was writing a sequel – and I have never read such a perfect sequel in my life.

Continuing straight on from WTG we meet up with all of the incredible characters that make up Edie’s world, every single one is done justice and the novel kept me hooked throughout- I devoured it within a few hours.

Mhairi is the queen of her field and she couldn’t have written a more perfect or befitting story, it is magnificent. Her turn of phrase is fantastic, her humour, snarks, characterisation and quotable/relatable lines will be highlighted and instagrammed all over the place.

I couldn’t have loved it more.

I made a mistake here. Going into this I was unaware this was technically a sequel. I haven't read book one before, which I think plays a role in my enjoyment level of this book.
The main couple were already developed characters and relationship in a previous book that I missed.
Reading only this you definitely feel you are missing a massive part of the story. Which made me struggle to really care if they end up back together or not.

Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalleyfor letting me read this!

Is its hilarious? No. It's funny - because McFarlane is a very witty writer - but it's also very tense and quite stressful.(I really wish they wouldn't say things are 'hilarious' - it does her work a disservice I think.)

(The first half of the wedding scene is excruciatingly painful. If you've ever had to be social when your heart is breaking you'll be having the horrors.)

This is a sequel to Who's That Girl, which luckily I read earlier this year.

Edie is a Normal Person (even if she does have more enemies than she might expect or deserve) but Elliot is a Film Star. They might both be from Nottingham but he's a bit Hollywood these days and their romance in Who's That Girl was complicated if not doomed. It ended on a cliffhanger. So here we are to find out what happened next.

I don't care about sequels usually - I'm happy for a story to stop where the writer stops it. But I was pleased to spend more time with these characters, who are so delightfully written. I've raved at length about McFarlane's dialogue, her jokes, and her ability to write friendship groups where you'd be happy to be mates with the characters. Her protagonists are empathetic and her male leads are delightful. Elliot is a dream, and not just because he's handsome/rich. He's so incredibly thoughtful - that's the attraction I think, in lots of ways - and he's funny. The relationship is constantly at risk through distance and the unbalanced nature of normal v famous but Edie and Elliot have tangible chemistry and that's because they have fun together. I find this charming. Their banter is top level.

One of the appeals of romance I think is that when the male characters 'see' the protagonists, the reader can enjoy that sense of being seen, understood, cared about. I think this might be a rarity in Real Life, rarer than hot sex or roses. Elliot's ability to communicate his feelings is swoonworthy in itself. I adore talky characters.

Anyway, yes, I loved it.

PS There's no 'n' in restaurateur. Jay Rayner will be disappointed if it's too late to fix this.

Mhairi plays an absolute blinder with 'You Belong with Me', a worthy sequel to ‘Who’s That Girl?’, a book with an infuriating but genius ending. Finally, we get to witness what happens Edie opens the door on Christmas Day. 'You Belong with Me' has cemented my love of stories about the grit that comes after declarations are made, to me this is real romance.

This book is this is an incisive look at trying to make a new relationship work when lingering fears threaten to destablise a foundation you're trying to build together. Both Edie and Elliot share the trauma of losing their mum's tragically at an early age. Mhairi McFarlane weaves her magic depicting two people in love but petrified of adding to their tally of 'unimaginable loss', a situation exacerbated by reality of a long distance relationship where one of them is a celebrity. Edie fears Elliot leaving her for a glamourous co-star in his new TV show, Your Table (Mhairi was clearly inspired by The Bear), while not realising he is just as vulnerable that she'd leave him because his celebrity causes her strife and that she, too, could leave him for a colleague.

All the fabulous side characters - Fraser, Richard, Hannah and Nick - that made the first book so special are also back.

With all the same wit, banter and charm, plus a whole lot of swoon (be still my heart when Elliot tells Edie that they belong to each other), this book left me with a five-day book hangover after devouring this book within a day.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

I absolutely love a goid a Hollywood romance and books by Mhairi McFarlane so this is the perfect combination. I love an accurate portrayal of someone both in the industry and someone outside of it yet somehow making it work. I have so much more to say on this amazing book and will be sharing much more soon.