Review ~ It's Not Me It's You by Mhairi McFarlane

Harper Collins

April 2015

When I read Mhairi McFarlane's debut novel, You Had Me At Hello, I was blown away by the strength of the writing and the ability of this author to get right into the nitty gritty of relationships. I must admit that I have had my copy of It's Not Me, It's You lurking on my book shelf for a while, not because the book didn't appeal to me, far from it, more than once I've picked it up, only to put it back to save till later...only a book obsessive will understand that sometimes you just want to leave a book a little while on the shelf, to savor later...

At a low ebb and in need of restorative literature, I knew that the time had come to brush off the dust and settle down with a book, I just knew in my bones would grab my attention from the beginning, and of course, I wasn't wrong. I devoured the story in less than twenty four hours.

The premise of the story, that of a woman proposing to her boyfriend only to read the panic stricken text he mistakenly sent to her, instead of to his mistress sets the scene for a modern day relationship dilemma which in the hands of a less talented author would soon become laden with platitudes and driven by melodrama. Not so with this story which rollicks along at a cracking pace, it's wise and witty, funny and breathtakingly sad and so immersed in modern culture that these could be people you meet everyday as you queue for your skinny machiato during the morning rush in Starbucks.

As I have come to expect, Mhairi McFarlane twists and turns the story like a magician with words and captures your attention so contentedly, that time really does cease to exist, and that old cliché of a book being a page turner, actually really does comes true. 

About the author

Amazon UK

@MhairiMcF

My thanks to Harper Collins for my copy of this book.