Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane is a great book to take with you on a long haul flight. It’s a fun and relaxing read, perfect to help the time pass. Here’s my book review of Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane.
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Overview of Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane
I think Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane is a great book to take with you on a long haul flight because it’s really fun and relaxing to read. My book review of Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane isn’t 100% positive (keep reading to hear all my views!). But I still enjoyed reading this book, and would definitely recommend it for a long haul flight.
Mad About You follows the story of Harriet. At the beginning of the book, she breaks up with Jon, just after he asks her to marry him. They’ve been together for two years, but Harriet isn’t happy in the relationship or with his family. So she decides to end the relationship instead of marry him. She moves out of his house, into the spare room of Cal’s house.
At first, Harriet doesn’t like Cal. She judges him, after knowing that he ran out of his wedding in the past. But over time, Harriet’s opinion of him changes and she begins to realise she misjudged him.
We also learn more about Harriet’s past throughout the book. We learn that before Jon, she was previously going out with Scott. And it was an emotionally abusive relationship, that Harriet is still healing from.
This past relationship with Scott forms a significant part of the story when Harriet becomes involved with Scott’s life again. After seeing Scott with his new fiancée, Harriet decides that she cannot let Scott continue to abuse people so writes to his new fiancée. Together, and with another of Scott’s ex-girlfriends, they plan their revenge. And alongside this, we see Harriet and Cal’s relationship grow.
If you like the sound of this book, buy yourself a copy here.
What I liked about this book
My favourite part of this book was that the writing style was very easy to read. It’s the perfect book for a long haul flight because it was easy to read in big chunks. You could probably read most of it in one go without finding it tiring. It was a nice story, and a nice way to pass some time.
I also liked the storyline of female empowerment throughout the book. This was a book about female friendships and female solidarity. And about women coming together to stand up to an abusive man. And it was also a book about a women finding the strength to stand up to a past abuser, and moving on with her life. I think that element will resonate with a lot of readers. I’m sure many of us have had bad relationship experiences in the past, and in many ways we’re still not fully healed from them, or don’t fully have closure. This book is about Harriet finding that closure and healing, so she can move on with a much happier life.
What I wasn’t so sure about
I enjoyed reading this book, but for me there were quite a few parts I wasn’t so sure about. I often found the story a bit simple and obvious. There weren’t too many surprising plot twists, which could have made the story more interesting. And there were a couple of plot points that I wasn’t too sure about.
The letter
The main plot point that I questioned was Harriet writing a letter to her ex’s fiancée – I don’t know how I feel about that. I appreciated her standing up to someone who made her life difficult, and I liked the female empowerment and solidarity aspects of the move.
However, at the same time, I sometimes feel like some things are best left in the past. I almost wonder whether Harriet just forgetting about Scott and going on to live her life happily without him would be a better expression of female empowerment, rather than spending years thinking about Scott and still being affected by their relationship to the point of feeling like she needs to interfere with his new relationship. I don’t know, I’m slightly undecided. But for me, I think I’d rather just move on and live my life to the full rather than go back to try to get revenge. But I know other people would take a different approach. I honestly don’t know which approach is best.
For me personally, after an abusive ex-relationship, I think taking a solo travelling trip to live my life to the full without him would be much better than writing a letter to him. I think that’s a much better way of dealing with things. But maybe that’s just me, and maybe other readers would love Harriet writing a letter to her ex’s fiancée.
Cal and Jon
Harriet’s friendship and the development of the relationship with Cal also felt a bit obvious. They were set up to not like each other at first and then for feelings to grow. It felt very obvious and a very easy plot. I would have liked their relationship to have maybe had a few more layers and a bit more interesting development.
And then there was also Harriet’s treatment, and also the book’s treatment, of her ex-boyfriend Jon. To me, it seemed a little unkind. Of course Jon wasn’t a perfect character, and he didn’t take the break up well and shouldn’t have done many of the things he did. But he was a man who was in love with Harriet and ready to marry her, and then had his heart broken. He probably was acting a little irrationally. But he was portrayed very negatively in the book, and I didn’t feel like he fully deserved that.
Finally, just a small point – the book had a lot of current references to social media and other current things. I feel like it won’t be long until this book feels dated and these references are no longer relevant.
Would I recommend Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane
I’d definitely recommend this book as the perfect companion on a long haul flight. It wasn’t my favourite book of all time, but I still enjoyed it. It was fun and easy to read, and a nice story. So it’s the perfect feel-good book to read on a long haul flight.
I hope you enjoyed my book review of Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane! Buy yourself a copy here. This book is set in Yorkshire, so if you’d like to plan your own adventure there, check out my blog about the Yorkshire Dales and the best walks. There’s other beautiful scenery in the UK as well, like the Scottish Highlands, Devon, and Wales. Or head further to Europe, to Prague, Vienna, Berlin or Bruges. Or to the USA, where you can enjoy the best of California and North-West USA.
