You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane

You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane

Avon, 2012.

Review by Helen Jackson.

What happens when the one that got away comes back? Find out in this sparkling debut from Mhairi McFarlane.

‘Think of the great duos of history. We’re just like them.’
‘You mean like Kylie and Jason? Torvill and Dean? Sonny and Cher?’
‘I think you’ve missed the point, Rachel.’

Rachel and Ben. Ben and Rachel. It was them against the world. Until it all fell apart. It’s been a decade since they last spoke, but when Rachel bumps into Ben one rainy day, the years melt away.

They’d been partners in crime and the best of friends. But life has moved on: Ben is married. Rachel is not. Yet in that split second, Rachel feels the old friendship return. And along with it, the broken heart she’s never been able to mend.

Hilarious, heartbreaking and everything in between, you’ll be hooked from their first ‘hello’.

Last year I read quite a few debut chick lit novels, and none of them really stood out, the characters felt two-dimensional and predictable. I was debating on never reading another debut again. Until I found this; it sounded so good (and the title is awesome), I had to read it.

I was so glad I did.

The novel begins with Rachel and her long-term/live in boyfriend splitting up. Although she knows it’s the right thing to do, it’s still really hard for her; I felt her pain, even though she was doing the best thing for her.

When she sees Ben again, who she’s not seen since university, we slowly get hints of their friendship, and why they haven’t seen each other for 10 years. It helped giving the novel an air of mystery.

Of course there’s then her 3 best friends and their issues – they’re all brilliant characters too.

I bought this on my Kindle app on my phone – I thought I should finally bite the bullet and do it. I loved reading it this way, it was light, and always on me. Brilliant. However, when I really, really love a novel, I like to keep the book, have it on a shelf, and just seeing it reminds me of it, and makes me happy. I can’t do this because it’s not a real book. Gutted.

All in all, I totally would recommend this. I went to an Avon books event a few weeks ago, one of the highlights of my evening was hearing that Mhairi is writing another book. I’ll be buying that without a doubt!

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.