It was something much deeper, exploring the ways adults can still grow into ourselves and become the people we are meant to be with the right support and self-respect while providing commentary on all the ways the world works to stop us from achieving that growth. The book engages with serious topics like sexism, microaggressions, emotional abuse, and more. Likewise, the romance and fake-dating subplot were far less dramatic than what I was expecting-in the best way. At first, I struggled to reconcile this story with my expectations the first section of this book deals heavily with Laurie’s grief and struggle after the break-up, which is handled in a very realistic and tragic way that I was unprepared for. Mhairi McFarlane’s If I Never Met You is a deep exploration of the grief that comes with lost relationships, the roles other people play in our lives, and how we can rebuild and become stronger when we learn to trust ourselves, rather than shaping ourselves around the needs of others. When I heard the premise for this book, I expected a funny and lighthearted rom-com, but that is not what this book is.
But with Laurie working to rebuild herself and Jamie contradicting her every expectation, the lines between what’s real and what’s for show begin to blur. The result: a fake dating scheme on social media that will allow both Laurie and Jamie to get what they want. Forced to work together at the same law firm is tough enough, but when Laurie finds out her ex-partner is expecting a baby with another woman only months after their breakup, she decides enough is enough when an opportunity falls into her lap in the form of the office playboy, Jamie, desperate to improve his reputation. With the plan hatched, Laurie and Jamie begin to flaunt their new couple status, to the astonishment-and jealousy-of their friends and colleagues.Content warnings: emotional manipulation, depression, sexual harassment of a child, abuse.Īfter eighteen years with her high school sweetheart, Laurie’s partner suddenly ends things. It’s the perfect proposition: a fauxmance played out on social media, with strategically staged photographs and a specific end date in mind. Laurie wants a hot new man to give the rumor mill something else to talk about.
Jamie Carter doesn’t believe in love, but he needs a respectable, steady girlfriend to impress their bosses. Then a chance encounter in a broken-down elevator with the office playboy opens up a new possibility. When news of her ex’s pregnant girlfriend hits the office grapevine, taking the humiliation lying down is not an option. Her once perfect life is in shambles and the thought of dating again in the age of Tinder is nothing short of horrifying. When her partner of over a decade suddenly ends things, Laurie is left reeling-not only because they work at the same law firm and she has to see him every day. If faking love is this easy… how do you know when it’s real?
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