Book Review: If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane

The Blurb:

If faking love is this easy… how do you know when it’s real?

When her partner of over a decade suddenly ends things, Laurie is left reeling—not only because they work at the same law firm and she has to see him every day. Her once perfect life is in shambles and the thought of dating again in the age of Tinder is nothing short of horrifying. When news of her ex’s pregnant girlfriend hits the office grapevine, taking the humiliation lying down is not an option. Then a chance encounter in a broken-down elevator with the office playboy opens up a new possibility.

Jamie Carter doesn’t believe in love, but he needs a respectable, steady girlfriend to impress their bosses. Laurie wants a hot new man to give the rumour mill something else to talk about. It’s the perfect proposition: a fauxmance played out on social media, with strategically staged photographs and a specific end date in mind. With the plan hatched, Laurie and Jamie begin to flaunt their new couple status, to the astonishment—and jealousy—of their friends and colleagues. But there’s a fine line between pretending to be in love and actually falling for your charming, handsome fake boyfriend… 

My Rating: ★★★★★

My Review:

Mhairi McFarlane has long been an auto-buy author of mine; particularly on audiobook. Her books are always narrated so well, I just can’t help but get caught up in the feels and the drama and the laughs.

As a romantic comedy If I Never Met You ticked all the boxes for me and is highly deserving of all the stars. It had a similar feel to Mhairi’s other 5 novels but this didn’t detract from the enjoyment factor of this book. I think my familiarity with her narrative style adds to the comfort and ease in which I so easily fall for her characters.

As with all of Mhairi’s novels, I was kept entertained by the banter between the two main characters, Laurie and Jamie…..even developing a small bookish crush on Jamie, who was witty, kind and somewhat vulnerable under his ‘too cool for school’ façade.

The enemies-to-lovers trope is a much loved favourite of mine and Mhairi reliably brings this kind of story to life in her latest novel. With engaging characters that provoke some intense feelings of hate (thank you very much Dan…you unbelievable arse!), love (why hello there Jamie Carter 😉 ) and support (Laurie….I really needed her to get back on her feet, get the right guy, win the promotion…etc…), If I Never Met You was a heart-warming and captivating read.

In a sentence:

A perfect feel good read for when you’re stuck in isolation due to some crazy pandemic.