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Cover Story

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Cover Story

By: Mhairi McFarlane
Narrated by: Charlotte Mills
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About this listen

The unputdownable, brilliant new novel from the Queen of Romcom.

Bel’s joined the tiny Manchester office of a national paper from her indie podcast.

Thirty-something Connor is going to back to the start as the new intern.

The latest office news? They can’t stand each other.

So of course Bel bumps into Connor when she’s working undercover on the biggest scoop of her career. And of course she’s forced to improvise, pretending they’re a couple. A couple deeply in love.

Two rivals. One fake romance. The headline writes itself…

©2025 Mhairi McFarlane (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers
Contemporary Literature & Fiction Romantic Comedy

Critic Reviews

'[Mhairi has] a snort-inducing sense of humour' The Times

'Mhairi McFarlane's ability to encapsulate complicated friendships and relationships is incredible…every book she writes [is] unputdownable for me' Emily Henry

'I loved it so so much. I’m having withdrawal symptoms … delicious' Marian Keyes

'Smart, sexy and oh so addictive…multi-layered, complex characters woven into a story laden with belly laughs. I adored it' Lindsey Kelk

'Everything about this book is perfection … relatable, real, honest and a total joy from start to finish' Lucy Vine

'I literally inhaled it…I found myself going to bed at 8pm, three nights in a row, so I could finish it' Holly Bourne

'The most brilliant beady-eyed social commentary; Jane Austen if she knew where all the best Happy Hour deals were to be found' Emma Hughes

'Unputdownable … Mhairi is the queen of smart-as-hell romcoms' Cressida McLaughlin

'My drop-everything-unconfined-joy-read-or-die author; I love her books so much' Jane Casey

'Genuinely romantic and genuinely funny, while also being incredibly clever, pacy and observant' Niamh Hargan

'A smart, funny, and relatable heroine in Bel, and a sharp, layered hunk in Connor' Justin Myers

'Superb storytelling … puts her into that refined club occupied by Jilly Cooper and Jane Austen. Loved, loved, loved it' Jay Rayner

'Delicious and addictive … Mhairi McFarlane retains her place in the highest echelon of romantic fiction writers' Muireann O'Connell

'Massively entertaining: it's legitimately funny, with steamy chemistry and a heroine so relatable she felt like my friend … Mhairi McFarlane is the voice of genre, the queen of contemporary romantic fiction' Laura Jane Williams

'Hilarious dialogue, great location, hot leading man and an investigative journalism plot – Mhairi fans (there are millions), you are in for a treat' Hattie Crisell

'Smart, relatable and very, very funny. A brilliantly entertaining read – I loved it’ TM Logan

All stars
Most relevant  
Mixed one here- I quite liked the plot but the writing was frustrating. The story being recapped each time the perspective changed meant it lost momentum at times. I liked the narrator for the FMC but her male voices weren't great. That being said I listened to it in 48 hours!

Good plot, questionable writing, medium narration

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Could not enjoy the story with the awful performance. I kept being distracted by the accent. Unbelievable for the characters IMO

Awful accent

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Such a great romantic comedy. I love the way Belle is not easy to win over and Connor isn’t a sappy modern man. These are real characters, not woke wannabes. Such and entertaining book 👍

Very funny!

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Another brilliant escape from Mhairi McFarlane! Hilarious, heartfelt, and so relatable—I didn’t want it to end. I’ve been a longtime fan, and she never fails to leave me raving about her books.

I just love all the characters!!

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Always love this author and this book is one of my favourites so far.
Highly recommended

Fabulous

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I’m sorry but I could not stand this book!! It was soo hard to finish and i was really trying to stay in the story. The narration is just awful, it was so hard to listen to.

Struggled to finish

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I cannot get past chapter 3 as I feel no connection to any of the characters due to the narrator. It is so important to get the right narrator for an audio book. It sounds so rushed and harsh

Awful narrating.

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