If I Never Met You

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’m an American citizen so the British slang took a bit getting used to - in fact I had to use Google a few times - but once you get the diction down, it’s easy. It’s great seeing a book about an older protagonist for once, given that “older” in the average romance novel means “around 26, give or take.” As much as this is a romance novel, it’s much more about Laurie’s growth and self-development after the dissolution of a decades plus-long relationship.The first chunk of the book is dedicated to the set up and aftermath of her breakup, Jamie doesn’t even really come into the picture and have their “official meet-cute” until about 100 pages in. (Given that the book is only 400 pages long, I thought it was a bit strange.) However the pacing picks up a lot after that, and there is a lot of witty banter between Laurie and Jamie while they are concocting their plan.Laurie and Jamie are great characters with well-developed back stories to explain why they behave as they do, and it was so sweet seeing them opening up to one another about the traumas and wounds of their past. The only disappointing thing about this book is that it wasn’t at least a hundred pages longer! Seriously, the book takes so much time building up the premise that the “getting together for reals” part is severely undercut and everything ends on a rather abrupt note. Adding more story beats would have probably addressed some of the complaints about this book lacking steamy moments, while I just wanted to see more time spent being a real couple.Overall this book was a genuine joy to read and I'll just have to think up scenarios in my head of what happened to Laurie and Jamie immediately after the final page.

I couldn‘t stop reading. Her novels are a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, because usually I try to avoid romance novels due to toxic stereotypes. Even though the story is around love, Mcfarlane always constructs complex female protagonists whos perspective isn‘t only limited to romantics. The book is surely forseeable but it got nice little twists and often brings up practical wisdom. I‘m really glad Mcfarlane took a step out of her comfort zone by adressing issues of sexism in the workplace, society and personal relationships. I would love to see more approaches towards these havier topics .As a non-native speaker, this book also can be great way to expand your register!

My niece like it

I would say that overall this was a well written story with relatable characters. I enjoyed it so much that I finished it in 2 days, but I have my qualms about it. Regardless of my overall rating, I loved and enjoyed this book A LOT. It was heart wrenching to see what Laurie was going through at the beginning, but all that for Jamie to come into her life was so worth it.*SPOILER*I love both Laurie and Jamie so much, but the one problem I had with this book was the fact that there wasn't a moment where the two of them had peace to themselves. I really wanted to see more of them be cute together especially at the end. But, something or some outside conflict always came up and they had to untangle the mess (either by themselves or together, as a team). I understand that we get to see both Laurie and Jamie have each other's backs for the majority of those problems, but I didn't think it was necessary to have that many conflicts arise? Although these outside conflicts drove the plot of the story, I just found them to be very interruptive for the growth of Laurie and Jamie's relationship. Hence why this book is a 3.5/5 for me. If there weren't so many problems coming up every 10 pages, I'd give it a 5 to be honest.I think whoever is thinking about reading this book should still read it. If I Never Met You is worth worth the buy and read!

Mhairi McFarlane took me from heartbreak to restoration in 400 pages and I loved it! You could feel Laurie's anguish over the demise of her 18 year relationship, but I love that it wasn't all woe is me (though there was a little bit of that) - she is a fierce, independent, intelligent woman and she stood up for herself in a way that I found very admirable and even inspirational. I also really enjoyed Jamie's character and the way they advocating for each other and grew as individuals. I was taken aback by the small (and possible slightly triggering) reveal from Laurie's background - after reading Don't You Forget About Me which also had a character that had a traumatizing event in her background, it made me wonder if this is a tidbit that was included in all of the author's books. Other than that, I enjoyed watching Laurie regain her self-confidence, find new love, and recognize that love (real love) comes in many different forms. I look forward to checking out Mhairi McFarlane's back catalogue and I'll definitely be adding her to my "auto-buy" author list. 4 out of 5 wine glasses.