If I Never Met You: A Novel Paperback – March 24, 2020

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.

So many chick-lit books start with a break-up that's brushed over in the interest of getting on with the story. We're mostly told about it and expected to empathize on demand. McFarlane shows us the break-up in all its ugliness and humiliation, in a way that anyone whose been through one will recognize, which earned more emotional investment in Laurie. The characters were complex and fully realized and the office politics, with its undercurrent of misogyny, was all too familiar. The book was whip-smart, not pretentiously, and funny. Organically funny, not trying-too-hard funny. I got tired of the brand-name dropping, although it did fit in with the characters' low-level affluence. The book's flaw for me was too much internal dialogue in the first half. It went on and on to the extent that I began skimming passages to find where the plot resumed again. In the second half the book hit its stride, emphasizing plot and scaling back Laurie's self-talk. Had about a third of the internal dialogue been pared, this would've been close to perfect in its class.

This book has everything I look for in...I was going to say romance, but calling it that diminishes all that it truly is. It is first and foremost a story about relationships: ones that we have with a partner, a parent(s), a best friend, colleagues, and the friends we acquire as part of a couple. I love how all those relationships are explored through the eyes and experiences of the main character, Laurie. She is such a unique, strong, intelligent, witty, and forthright woman, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking a magic carpet ride through her mind and thoughts, as she struggled with the devastation of her long term partner leaving her, with confusing explanations and no warning, and through all the stages of grief, self blame, and confusion, and ultimately healing, and finding her own strength as an independent woman.As an American, I did struggle a bit understanding some of the British slang and wording, but not so much that it interfered with my overall enjoyment of the book.

After 18 years, Laurie's boyfriend breaks it off suddenly. Aghast and stumbling through a world that doesn't make sense anymore, Laurie strikes a fake dating deal with a fellow coworker. She just wants to feel wanted again. Like herself again. Maybe the ruse will help?This book hit me in the feels. It was so freaking sad in the beginning. Like I felt for Laurie hard. But then her and Jamie.....oh man. So freaking adorable. I absolutely loved their fake dating. I think this book was a bit too slow for me and I was verrrrryyyy dissatisfied with the ending. But this book held some amazing moments....though the slow pace was hard to slog through. I honestly wish this book had made the progression to focusing more on Jamie and Laurie than it really did and I think that was a deal breaker for me...

Me gusta mucho el estilo de la autora, me encanta que los personajes se sientan reales y maduros, entretenida hasta el final

This was a fourth reread since this book was released. Although I would tell anyone I love every one of Mhari's books, for a long time I thought this was my least favorite. Each of Mhari's wonderful stories make you cry while you laugh, and laugh while you cry; watching our heroine here rebuild herself after the disintegration of an 18 year relationship made me cry and cry (light on the laughter). But, with each reread I'm more impressed with the internal life of the heroine. Her intelligence, her strength, her simple female nurturing goodness become clearer with each reread. I love this fierce, stiff-upper lip lawyer of mixed ethnic backgrounds made all the more British because of it. We still have what I like to call " Brit funny" here, but its so laced with personal pain, self awareness and smarts that this book challenges a reader to stretch their expectations to get to the HEA, but it's worth the trip!

QOTD: Have you ever felt disconnected from a book from which you had high expectations?AOTD: I bought this book because of its hype but I found it a bit strange. If you haven’t figured it out yet, romcoms are my usual go-to genre but something didn’t click with this book!Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5Steam: not even a proper kiss, what more could I expect? 🤡🤡I don’t know, I mean, the story has its moments, it wasn’t terrible to read but the slow pacing and the lack of romance really let me down.I hate writing negative reviews but I had to say something about this book as the majority of the reviews I saw in bookstagram, states the opposite! The blurb/synopsis for this book is kinda misleading. Yes, the fake dating trope is used, but it neither kept its promise on the actual storyline nor a bit of romance. Maybe you’ll find some instances of PDA by the end of the book, otherwise, it was a completely platonic friendship between the characters.I normally adore romances, but something was actually missing in this! I admit the plot was good, but I was not at all satisfied with the writing. The sentences were a bit confusing and I actually had to re-read some parts more than twice to get an imaginary glimpse of the scenario, which sounds absurd I know 😂I might be wrong, but in my own opinion, for some reason, I didn’t connect with this book at all and found myself skimming through the chapters to get over with it 😫But readers, who don’t mind slow pace (not slow-burn pls note), a bit of chick-lit with lack of romances and a bit of British humor, will probably love this book 😷

Wie das bei "Mädchenbüchern" so ist, kann man sich früh denken, wo die Reise hingeht. Dennoch hat mich das Buch gepackt, da die Charaktere einfach interessant sind und der Schreibstil mich abgeholt und mitgenommen hat. Ich habe das Buch in wenigen Tagen gelesen und kann es definitiv weiterempfehlen. Das Englisch ist sehr gut verständlich.

This is the story of 36 year old lawyer Laurie, who in the aftermath of her partner of 18 years leaving her and very quickly thereafter announcing his new girlfriend is pregnant, gets herself embroiled in a fake relationship with work-place stud and known heart-breaker Jamie Carter. He's trying to redefine his image in order to get a promotion at work and Laurie wants to make her ex jealous, such that its a win-win for both of them surely, only as the boundaries between what's real and what's not start to get more and more blurred, it becomes apparent this whole fake-dating is not quite as uncomplicated as it was set out to be.Having been left slightly disappointed with Don't You Forget About Me, I was delighted to find McFarlane back at her absolute best here. My only slight nag was that the first quarter of the book is more or else entirely dedicated to Laurie's heartbreak over Dan. Given they had been together for 18 years, I completely get the emotional trauma that Laurie must have been going through, and on the one hand, have to applaud McFarlane for not simply going in for the laughs but rather delving through Laurie's emotions sensitively. That being said a bit too much time was dedicated to Dan for me personally, and some of these chapters did get a bit dreary. All I'd say is if anyone starts off feeling the same, stick with it, as after the 25% mark or thereabouts the story takes off and lightens up, as the fake-dating gets underway and Laurie and Jamie's relationship takes centre-stage.McFarlane writes great leading men, but I have to say that she's outdone herself with Jamie. What I really liked about him is that he isn't what he first seems, and like Laurie I enjoyed getting to know the real him. Whilst he gives off this impression of just being out for himself, he's actually quite sensitive, and there are reasons why he is the way he is. The section of the book where he and Laurie visit his parents in Lincoln, may have been my favourite part, just for the vulnerability that Jamie showed here. He's also completely adorable in the way he's clearly besotted with Laurie, even though she doesn't realise this (and given he may as well have had a sign on his forehead reading 'I'm in love with you,' I did at times feel bad for him that Laurie couldn't see past his reputation as a ladies' man).The relationship between Laurie and Jamie is an absolute joy to read, with ups and downs and misunderstandings along the way, but what was great was how they supported each other and helped each other through some difficult times.Laurie herself makes for a wonderful leading lady - she's smart and kind, and the type of person you'd want as your best friend. I like how she gains confidence in herself as the story develops. Again McFarlane does a good job of illustrating the compromises you sometimes end up making in relationships without even realising and what you settle for, and that is something Laurie only realises after her break up with Dan. I also liked the depiction of Laurie's complicated relationship with both her parents, and thought it contrasted well with Jamie's very settled home life - and there were some touching moments involving both their families actually.I liked the friends in this one too, something I think I complained about with the last book. The dynamic in the friendship groups felt different to what had become a bit of a standardised formula in the last few books, with the strength of Emily and Laurie's friendship really shining through, and I also loved Jamie's best friend Hattie.There's so much else I could talk about, as actually there's a fair amount of plot. I have to say I thought McFarlane did a great job with her depiction of the Law Firm where Laurie, Jamie and Dan all work, and the misogyny at play.All in all this was a delight to escape into - warm, funny and romantic (possibly McFarlane's most romantic actually), with astute observations of our modern society. When it comes to ChickLit, McFarlane really is in a league of her own.