REVIEW: Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane

In Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane, Investigative journalist Bel Macauley has begun focusing entirely on her career post-divorce as a lot of women likely do. And having moved to the Manchester, England, area to work out of a tiny, rundown satellite office with only one other full-time journalist, Aaron, hasn’t been as bad as she thought. Until the new intern, Connor Adams, shows up for his three-month stint. At first glance, Bel believes him to be the judgmental type who thinks he’s better than her or Aaron. But after she starts an investigation into a cheating, lying local mayor who is blackmailing her source’s niece, she sees Connor in an all-new light. He at first reluctantly agrees to pose as her boyfriend while undercover after they had a snafu with her first mark. Then things begin to change into a more affable relationship. Something she knows has the potential to keep growing. And she’s not sure that’s the best idea.

‘Why did men have to make themselves problems?’

You know how some people just irk you from the moment you meet them? Yeah, Bel is that person for Connor. And honestly, he’s not sure why. She seems okay enough and has made a name for herself as a podcaster and now works as a reporter. But there’s something about Bel that gets under Connor’s skin. It isn’t until he’s pulled into her investigation that he realizes they have a bit of attraction between them. And with his personal life already complicated, he knows pursuing anything with Bel is probably not smart. But the more time they work together as a team, Connor senses there is something special. Something that could be life-altering if they let it flourish.

‘Connor knew he should grin back instead of glowering, but this woman *would not stop* getting the better of him.’

COVER STORY was a slow burn enemies to lovers romance complete with the main characters being forced into a fake relationship while investigating undercover. In other words, Mhairi McFarlane yet again had me chuckling with the dry banter and crazy situations she created.

‘Connor Adams was now going to have to be persuaded to become part of her undercover identity, passionately against both of their wishes.’

CW: View Spoiler »Cheating, blackmail, anxiety, panic attacks « Hide Spoiler

Mhairi McFarlane’s books are like being dropped straight into a BBC comedy. And while I’ll admit that this American isn’t always up on British slang or pop culture references, I do very much enjoy McFarlane’s storytelling. She isn’t afraid to put her characters through their paces. And the friendships she explores–particularly each heroine’s best friend–are wonderful. In this case, Bel and her bestie Shilpa were an absolute riot together and truly had each other’s backs. Even when Bel had to go undercover while investigating a sleazy politician in Manchester, Shilpa was there with the assist anytime she was needed.

The slow burn between Bel and the new intern at her office, Connor, was an interesting one. It was more adversarial at first as they basically misunderstood each other’s intentions–and personalities. They both thought they could judge based on outer appearances. That didn’t work out so well. But once they got over their initial impressions of one another, they slowly realized that they had more in common than they thought. Bel wanted to prove herself as a serious investigator while doing right by her source who was protecting his niece from blackmail. And when Connor got the backstory after getting pulled in unwillingly to the undercover portion of Bel’s endeavors, he was pretty much all in.

Connor himself was in a complicated situation. Without spoiling things, I can say he was moving away from a relationship that just wasn’t working after also changing careers. He was overworked, utterly frustrated, and trying to find a path that would have his mind more at ease. Bel didn’t necessarily help with Connor finding peace of mind per se (lol), but I loved how they worked so well in tandem on the story. Their attraction grew as they spent more time together as did their understanding of each other. And I think readers will grow to adore them as a couple.

QOTD: If you were an investigative reporter, do you think you would like to go undercover or would you rather take a traditional approach?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: May 8th, 2025 | HarperCollins |

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…