Score: 5/5 Bookmarks

Steam rating: 🍆 /5

Thank you to William Morrow for gifting me a review copy of If I Never Met You by Mhari McFarlane.

What can I say, I absolutely loved this book. The characters were wonderful, the drama sucked me in, the dialogue was witty and the romance was sweet.

As an Australian, I think I’m often drawn to dry British humor because it feels like home. I know that sounds odd, given that the two countries couldn’t be further away from each other, but for the most part I would say that Australians and Brits have a lot more in common than Aussies and Americans. Plus my family lived in Salsbury, UK for a few years and I spent a reasonable amount of time there.

In the book, our leading lady Laurie gets dumped after a decade with her boyfriend. And what’s worse, they work at the same law firm! Enter Jamie, who has a reputation as the office playboy. He needs a down-to-earth girlfriend to turn his image around if he’s ever going to make partner, and Laurie obviously wants to get back at her ex. What could possibly go wrong with a fake office relationship? ;-)

I also listened to part of this as an audiobook and absolutely loved the narration by Sara Novak. If you’d like to get it on audio, click here, otherwise click the button below to grab a physical copy.

Synopsis:

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 rumor 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...