[Synopsis]

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 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… 

[My Review]

If I Never Met You is a sweet, easy read that follows a pretty traditional rom-com format, with a bit of a twist – main character Laurie has just been dumped, in pretty horrible circumstances, and she’s distraught. Which explains why she agreed to do something surprising: to enter into a fake relationship with the playboy of the law firm they work at, Jamie, to make her ex jealous, and to advance Jamie’s chances of making partner.

What follows is humour and emotion which author Mhairi combines – along with likeable characters – to create a really sweet read. It strikes the right balance between provoking empathy for Laurie and providing entertainment, without being overly cheesy.

There’s definitely predictable parts, but I kind of expect that with this genre to be honest, and I liked that Laurie’s ethnicity is addressed in the book by herself, but isn’t made a defining characteristic about her. There are also other themes addressed in this novel, including family problems, grief, self-confidence and the treatment of different genders in the workplace. Mhairi McFarlane presents all these issues in a balanced and honest way, and I think this is one of the reasons she is becoming such a well-loved an author in the romance/ contemporary romance genre.

If you fancy a light-hearted, sweet read then then If I Never Met You is definitely worth a read!

[Rating: 4/5]

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Many thanks to the publisher, HarperCollins UK, for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.

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