Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane

 

Summary (from the publisher): 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…

Review: This was a fun office rivals story with a side of heavy hitting journalism. Bel and Connor seem to take an instant dislike to one another on his first day at their national paper job. When Bel bumps into Connor when she's working undercover, she's forced to pretend he is her boyfriend. 

The dialogue in this was so sharp and spot on! There is one scene where Connor and his girlfriend are having a pretty heavy falling out/confrontation scene. Connor's responses were just so dead on and calls her out in a very honest way. It's very clear that his girlfriend is out of her element intellectually with him and very much cannot hold her own with him. There are so many reasons why this highlights why they aren't right for each other but for me it also highlighted why Bel was a better fit as she and Connor are much better matched. 

I also loved the fake dating plotline (I always do love those ha) and in this case it felt relatively plausible given Bel's work. The scene where they have to stay together overnight and are scared by noises outside had me in its clutches!

I did not anticipate such a heavy subplot regarding the undercover work Bel is doing. She is attempting to undercover a man in a prominent role who has been accused of gross abuse of women. This was not a lighthearted rom com story and it gave the novel a lot of gravitas and heft. Bel and Connor are fake dating for a very important reason!

My only real con with this story was I didn't love the audio narration. I think this was just my personal preference because the narration was fine and a British accent, which fit the characters and story. But the voice was so sharp and staccato and just came across as harsh. Again, I'm sure other people would not be bothered but I do wish I had read this in a print copy instead. 

Stars: 4