Reviews

If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane

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mikes_'s review

4.5

This book will stay with me for a very long time. This is for the girls with overly specific standards for their romance books who just cannot stand superficial, probably overhyped ones with problematic tones. Reading this felt like I was picking up my first Emily Henry book—Beach Read—and knowing immediately I would read whatever she writes. This is so good and perfectly catered to my reasonable taste. I fell in love with Mhairi McFarlane's writing and brilliance with this one, and I am happy to announce that I just found another auto-buy author, a cheerful win for me.

And what made me love this more is the way it connects women's fiction and contemporary romance. An exquisite and delicious combination, am I right? I love how it is centered on the harsh reality that men can really create the most painful situations for women due to their lack of self-security and sense of priorities, which then allow these women to question their self-worth and the nature they love. This is a story of many things other than romance, but among them is the story of a woman picking herself up, gaining clarity, and rediscovering her power and worth. This is a story of redirection when it comes to unexpected shifts and things you thought you knew like the back of your hand. I think the most powerful and heartwarming aspect of this book is the reminder that finding a soul mate is not necessarily a romantic thing. Trust me, I am such a cry baby; I cry like ten times a day due to random internet posts and videos, but I do not find that many books that trigger these tear glands. But the friendship between Emily and Laurie was so beautifully written that there’s this one line that Laurie, our female main character, said that made me sob. I felt it all in my bones. The best love we will ever experience in this life is from women; there's nothing like it; no one does it like them. They simply get it. Sometimes, the love of your life can be found in your best friend, and the other ones you find are just additions, which can be beautiful too, if you find the right one.

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𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 4.5 stars ★

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𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨/𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨: (just some)

“But life’s big decisions are mainly instinct, right? The same way we both just knew, back at university. Now I know this isn’t right for me anymore. I’ve lost myself.”

 “I know you will be very hurt but sometimes, paths diverge. He obviously has to do this next part of his journey on his own. Which is very painful for you, but it must be what his heart is telling him.”

 “At some point, you have to give up wishing for your parents to be who you wanted them to be and accept them as they are.”

“Yes, staying together out of love, not paperwork, was romantic. But if you flipped it round, he was also saying marrying made it too difficult to leave.”

 “Laurie had no faith anymore. As a lifelong believer in The One, in monogamous fidelity to the person who your heart told you was right for you, she was suddenly an atheist. If Dan wasn’t to be trusted, who could be?”

 “Her only conclusion was that a distance must have developed between them, so slowly as to be imperceptible, so small as to be overlooked. And it had gradually lengthened.”

 “That fear was lurking behind it all, she knew that. Domesticated, exemplary employee, devoted to Dan, ticked so many boxes – but dull. Someone who could make you feel like life held no surprises anymore.”

 “Being confronted with how little you could accept from someone, when your heart was on the line and you were being tortured, was awful.”

 “Dan hadn’t been sure about taking this huge step with the love of his life, but with Megan, it had happened instantly. He gave to her what he’d withheld from the woman who’d washed his socks for the last decade.”

 “Laurie never thought of herself as a dependent person, not at all, but it turned out you needed things – or people – you depended on to be taken away from you to judge that.”