#57 [2023/CBR15] Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane

Mhairi McFarlane has become a must-read author for me. I've enjoyed all of her books, although Don't You Forget About Me is probably my favorite. So, when I heard that she had a new book out, I immediately put a hold on it at my library. Between Us (2023) was another interesting read, although it wasn't my favorite of McFarlane's novels. Although I liked the characters and the story kept me reading, the romance was underwhelming.

The main characters in this book have all been friends for the last decade when they all worked together at a job with a terrible manager. Roisin is now a schoolteacher and has been dating her screenwriter boyfriend Joe for almost ten years. Recently, Joe has made it big with a very popular screenplay. Meredith is a single lesbian, and she lives with Gina, who has a perpetual crush on Matt. Matt is a womanizer from a very rich family. Finally, Dev and his new fiancé, Anita, round out the group.

The book begins with the group of friends meeting at a posh rented manor for a fun weekend. Roisin is becoming more and more disillusioned with Joe because he seems ever more distant and unfriendly since he became famously popular. Everything kind of implodes when a famous actress shows up looking for Matt, and Gina has enough, kicking her out of the house. Matt ends up leaving with her. Then Joe's newest show premiers and Roisin realizes Joe was using her personal life as fodder for his show, and he didn't even warn her.

After the weekend, Joe is heading off to America for work, and Roisin goes to help her mother run the bar that is their family business. Suddenly Roisin doesn't trust Joe and wonders if he cheated on her, like the main character in his show did. She asks Matt for some help, and he comes down. Roisin and Matt start spending some more time together, and even Matt helps out at the bar. Roisin discovers that Matt is more than what he seemed to be, and that he's been in love with her from before she was with Joe.

There's still a fair bit of drama between Roisin and Joe as they figure out their breakup and Roisin discovers the extent of his betrayal. Roisin also has a difficult relationship with her mother.

McFarlane is a very good storyteller. I always found this book interesting, and I always looked forward to reading more. But I couldn't quite understand why Roisin and Matt liked each other. Even after being friends for ten years, Roisin barely knew Matt, and believed all kinds of bad things about him. And Matt didn't feel like a real character. At first he was almost unbelievably bad, and then he became unbelievably good. I couldn't even relate to Roisin's relationship with her mother. So, I'm definitely reading McFarlane's next book, but this one was a little more meh for me.