If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane

Laurie and Dan have been together for 18 years, half of Laurie’s life, and they are ready to take the next step, trying to have kids.  Laurie is devastated when Dan suddenly ends their relationship.  They are both lawyers at the same firm and now that the end has come, Laurie cannot avoid Dan and the gossip at their firm.

Jamie Carter is a lady’s man at their firm.  A chance encounter causes them to hatch a devious plan.  They will pretend to date to make Dan jealous and to help Jamie’s career.  The partners have said he needs to settle down.  Will their plan work?

I loved the character growth for both Laurie and Jamie.  We learn that appearances and assumptions are not always accurate.  They have both suffered loss in life and are able to bond through their shared experiences.

Laurie is a strong woman and I loved it.  The novel had an interesting look at workplace politics and how you are treated as a woman that is single versus a woman who is dating someone.  It was also an interesting look at how other women who are not career women can be threatened by another woman’s strong personality.  Dan loved Laurie, but some part of him wanted a woman that idealized and pampered him instead of a woman that was real and being true to herself.   I like that by the end of the novel, Laurie realizes her own real worth.  She can excel at work and take the big leap herself in her career.

Laurie is black in a predominately white town of Manchester in England.  She has a lot of racial moments in the novel such as people asking her “where are you really from?”  It was an interesting dynamic.

Favorite Quotes:

“To deciding what our happiness is and being happy that way.”

“Anyone who moaned about hangovers in their twenties should be forced to suffer a hangover in their late thirties.”

Overall, If I Never Met You is an entertaining novel with great humor.  I loved that the novel was about Laurie finding herself and happened to find love along the way. I could not put this book down during our recent camping trip.

Book Source:  Review Copy from William Morrow Books.  Thank-you!