I have really enjoyed Mhairi McFarlane’s other books and Cover Story was no exception. Romantic, humorous and clever this romantic comedy is easy to read and very enjoyable. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel

I went into this book expecting a fairly simple rom-com but it's so much more! Yes, there's romance and plenty of comedy but there's also a great plot and a serious story behind all the humour. The dialogue is fantastic, the characters are incredibly realistic and I can't recommend this highly enough.

Cover Story

I absolutely adored this book, I couldnt put it down.
I loved that it was set in Manchester as thats where im from and loved knowing the places they were going. I loved the whole story it was much more than a normal romance. I cannot wait to read more from Mhairi McFarlane i cant believe i havent read any of their books before.

Thanks as always to netgalley, the author and publisher for the fantastic arc

No great surprises in the outcome – but then I didn't come to this expecting major twists. A rom com which absolutely does what it says on the tine and an enjoyable read.

Connor is a thorn in Bel's side- almost scuppering her undercover scoop, inserting himself into her work like and being generally vile (or is he?).
The newsroom is a good setting for a rom com and the characters are well rounded with enough backstory to have you rooting for them to make the right choices. The investigative journalism side lends itself well to giving the story more impact and gravitas than you may normally find among the pages of the genre.
Overall a smashing read!

Sparklingly funny, witty and emotional. Absolutely brilliant.

Mhairi McFarlane is an expert in creating stories that have depth, shine light on mental health and issues of modern society but are also humorous, hopeful and romantic. And this is one of her best!


Where for others there is instant attraction, for Bel Macauley and Connor Adams there is adversary at first sight. They could not be more different from each other, journalism being the only thing they have in common. And because fate works in funny ways, Bel and Connor find themselves being forced to fake-date to secure a big story. Sounds like a recipe for success, right?



The magic of every McFarlane book is her ability to write characters that feel like real people. They are flawed and mess up but they are also inherently good people and simply lovable. And as with every of her books, the romance is almost a side plot but it never leaves you feeling unsatisfied (partly because the friendships in her books are also always beautiful). Balancing the amount of romance vs. plot is an art and Mhairi is THE artist.
The author’s emotional intelligence and sensitivity coupled with her brilliant writing is awe inspiring and genuinely one of a kind. It is quality and entertainment.

Dual POV, enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating coupled with an amazing story, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It was an absolute joy to read and by the end I could not put the book down.

Getting an earc of this book was a highlight of my year (and I know it’s only March but I stand by that). Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an earc in exchange for an honest review!

Cover Story is out May 8th 2025!

(Review was posted on Goodreads on March 5th, 2025.)

I was obsessed with this!! It was fun, crazy, light hearted and had me captured within the first few pages

I’ve loved her previous books, but this one was just much less funny?

I think the problem is with a writer like this for me, is that I really enjoy the first few (same with Emily Henry) and then I realise that because they’re so successful in the first few, it just becomes a bit formulaic.

Spoilers below:

‘ girl and boy don’t like each other until they do and then neither of them want to admit it so you have to put up with them both fannying about for 400 pages until eventually they do admit it’

This happens with other novels of the genre and isn’t a dealbreaker, but there tends to be a complete lack of subtlety around the appeal of the main female character. I mean it’s great that she’s gorgeous and she doesn’t know it but does every single male character have to be instantly smitten by her?
The Mr Darcy stand-in, the office colleague, her old boss, her ex fiancé, the celebrity target of her investigation, the random ‘handsome Indian photographer’ NPC, the brother who has one dinner with her and immediately realises she will prove irresistible to his sibling? It’s actually not that normal for one woman to have every single man she comes within inches of, be blindsided by the beauty she seems entirely unaware of? Even when she’s never spoken to them before.

And it’s not just romance. The influencer she instantly befriends, the uncle of a grooming victim, the victim herself, her new boss- it just seems a little bit lazy to create a character who is never overlooked or unnoticed by ANYBODY. They must all be dazzled and yet she’s managed to reach her mid 30s without actually causing Timothée Chalamet to have a heart attack, or achieving anything earth-shattering, other than having wealthy parents and a fun podcast.

‘Excuse me, has anyone ever told you – you look like the actor, Aaron Taylor Johnson?'

Well blow me down. She's done it again!

Another gem by Mhairi McFarlane!

I have read every single one of Mhairi's books and I have not found one I didn't like. Cover Story is everything I love in a book. The friendship felt genuine between Connor and Bel and I loved when he came to her protection against horrible Anthony.

The banter between Connor, Bel and Aaron made me chuckle. I love how they didn't seem to do much work in the office and just sat around chatting.

My favourite thing about Mhairi's books are the realistic, flawed characters that I would love to spend the day with. Bel is a strong woman and isn't afraid to stand up for herself and her beliefs. Connor appears standoffish at the start but you soon realise he has a heart and is a good person. As soon as he was described as looking like Aaron I was obsessed with him... what a lucky woman Bel is!

The slow realisation of their feelings for each other had me on the edge of my seat. If I didn't have a life outside of reading I would have finished this in the same day.

5/5 stars ⭐

I wanted to love this book so much, but felt let down by the development. The Manchester descriptions were really well done, to the point I felt the author had physically been there and was giving me a tour. The characters themselves were relatable and likeable, but sadly their dialogue felt rather forced and didn’t hold my interest. Some of the scenes felt very cringy, and not in a comedic way, more of a wow this writing is so bad I feel awkward this is in the book. I feel the book had great promise, was let down by lacklustre dialogue and cringy happenings which made me have to force myself to keep reading, rather than wanting to see what happened next

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this ARC.

Bel and Aaron are investigative journalists for a Manchester newspaper. New to the team is intern Connor who has just given his well-paid but soul-destroying job in finance up and is joining from the Lobdon office for three months. He and Bel hate each other on sight but due to an undercover operation that Bel started on the mayor after a tip-off, she and Connor have to fake being partners so they can befriend another couple that has important information.

There are plenty of tropes like enemies to lovers, fake dating, forced proximity and one bed only, but the romance is often overshadowed by the undercover operation the two of them are now in together. The topic is more important than ever - an influential sleezeball thinks he can get away with how he treats young women, plus Bel has a horrible stalker who refuses to take no for an answer.

McFarlane has a great turn of phrase, the dialogue (and there is lots of it) is smart and funny and such a delight to read. The romance is so slow-burn that it almost doesn't happen, the undercover operation is tense and the supporting characters Shilpa and Shawn are fun and quirky. The intelligent story is written in dual POV but I wished Jennifer had been left out the plot, she wasn't necessary in my opinion. Still, a fun read.

Another brilliant offering from Mhairi McFarlane. I laughed, I cried, I was so sad it was over as I turned the last page. I am devastated I'll have to wait for another new M McFarlane book to read.

As a typical romcom, it does the job. But if you're expecting a typical Mhairi, something is definitely missing.

Let me start with how much I love this author. I raved about Last Night to anyone that would listen. So I had high expectations for Cover Story and was left quite disappointed and almost aborted a few times.

Bel is a successful investigative journalist who has to put up with a new intern, who happens to be an ultra hot Connor who is giving up his high-flying career in finance to change direction and try journalism. There is mutual dislike from the start, until circumstances require them to work on the same expose.

For me the formulaic cat and mouse game was so predictable, missing all the author's normal creativity and originality. The characters were cute enough, but dialogue for Conner, the male lead, felt unauthentic and what we think women want to hear. There were parts that felt tortured and over-explained. I guess it was just missing the usual, lovely flow that I've come to expect from the author.

Much thanks for the opportunity to review this book.

I loved the premise of this book, and it started off so well, I did find the middle of the story a bit slow and it took me a couple of days to read which is unusual for me. The last quarter was a vast improvement and I devoured it. Some of the ideas were pure genius and it is well worth a read.

Funny, quick-witted and also covers so many important issues. Bel is such a brilliant leading lady and as a journo girl myself, love the representation. Also the mystery undercurrent and fake dating trope makes this a fun read. I love Mhairi's work and the books always keep getting better.

Argh! Read it, liked it, forgot to write a review.

Bel is a journalist and podcaster. She moved to Manchester from Leeds after a relationship with a colleague went wrong and he refused to accept they had broken up.

Connor was a big cheese in the City, but it gave him crippling anxiety so he walked away from a very lucrative job and at the ripe old age of thirty he's retraining as a journalist and his internship is at the paper's Manchester office.

Bel and her colleague have run the gamut of bolshie, Gen Z interns and are frankly a bit jaded so they may not have been the most welcoming to Connor. ON his side, he mistook Bel's hungover clothing and attitude as superiority which automatically puts up his hackles.

Then Bel gets an anonymous call alleging that a local beloved politician is not the reformed man he appears to be, and instead is a predator who targets young women. This could be the scoop of her career - if she can get the evidence, but without a slam-dunk the only known victim won't go on the record. The scoop is potentially so explosive that head office swear Bel to utter secrecy.

Bel comes up with a bit of a Scooby-Doo plan to get the Ring doorbell footage of the politician and his victim entering a local Airbnb by getting close to the owner, a Manc party-girl who owns a swanky wine bar. While undercover Bel has the misfortune to run into Connor and desperately claims he is her boyfriend, now he's been drawn into the investigation!

As the blurb says so well, two rivals, one fake romance, the headlines write themselves.

I liked this, both Bel and Connor realised they were in the wrong (a bit of Pride and Prejudice) and they worked well together. I loved Connor's brother.

Just a great rom-com.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Connor leaves his life in London for a short internship in Manchester. He's left his life in finance to train as a reporter.
Bel is a reporter who becomes Connor's mentor. They do not exactly meet eye to eye but circumstances mean that they have to work closely together.
The book then takes us through their roles, their family, friends, their past and looking to the future.
A light and entertaining book.

Manchester, journalists, sarcasm, righting wrongs. Another cracking book by the heir to Marian Keyes' throne. As always, Mhairi McFarlane combines romance, friendship and social issues beautifully. At times I laughed out loud and at others I raged at the realistic depictions of misogynistic men hiding behind the veil of bonhomie. Loved it.

set against the high stakes of a journalists fighting the clock to break a me too scandal, cover story will read as surprisingly tender if you're someone that wasn't familiar with mcfarlane's work beforehand. however, if you're like me and have read almost her entire backlist, this shouldn't come as a surprise with mcfarlane's characterization of the main couple as a highlight. she writes about people who have strong moral compasses, but are just idiotic with each other sometimes and that is just refreshing; bel and connor are the type of people i hope to meet in my lifetime over and over again.

I absolutely adored Mcfarlanes writing style. Completely agree with saying it is for fans of Emily Henry - I thought the premise of the book was very funny story but I actually liked the characters so much more in cover story. I loved Connor I thought he was a brilliant character. The first 20 per cent was a bit slow for me however I did find that until about 40 per cent of the way through I didn’t know the direction of the story so that intrigued me and bought the pacing up. The second half was brilliant. Would highly reccomend.