Portia MacIntosh

Gigi is excited about her sister's wedding. What she is not excited about is that she is maid of honor, and her ex is the best man. Not only will she have to be stuck on a resort in Hawaii with her ex, but he is also bringing his new girlfriend who is a well-known influencer that treats Gigi like gum on the bottom of her shoe. Gigi enlists the help of her friends to try and find her a date that will rival her ex's to no avail and a good amount of comedy. Once in Hawaii, she is still determined to find herself someone to be her plus one. She sees her luck changing when she is upgraded to a luxury suite at the resort with all the amenities. Why question that kind of luck. Now to find the right man for the job.

Portia MacIntosh has a way with writing humorous situations that although kind of unbelievable read like they could definitely happen. The Suite Life is a cute rom-com. I enjoyed Gigi as a character. I loved how she never gave up and put herself out there even when she didn't feel all that sure of herself. I loved that she was able to laugh at herself and shared her mishaps with her friends.

This is the second Portia MacIntosh book I've read this year and I do enjoy her writing style. While I liked Ex In The City a little more, I will definitely keep my eye open for what she writes next. My sincere thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read The Suite Life for which I have given my unbiased opinion of in this review.… (mer)

My sincere thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read Ex in the City by Portia MacIntosh. I give my unbiased opinion of the book in the following review.

.Nicole's life is not where she wants it to be. She is living with her former partner and his two boys in an affluent neighborhood not far from London. She loves the boys but is not in love with their dad anymore after he did something she can't forgive. She knows she needs to move on, but wanted to make sure everything was going to be ok for the boys first. Enter Dylan the ex and former rock star. Dylan was part of her life nearly ten years before, and she is not all that sure she wants the neighborhood to know about who she used to be even though she longs for some parts of that life. Dylan asks her to help him with his image in light of a possible return to music. Is this a good idea? How will the "mean mums" treat her when they find out about her past?

I have to say that I really did like this book a lot. I love a good second chance romance and from the first time they make contact in the story, the chemistry between Dylan and Nicole is written so well that it was easy to imagine them together. We are treated to a nice slow burn when they stay in the friend zone for a good part of the book. Dylan's character is pretty swoony, and I liked that Nicole wasn't afraid to re-visit her past and allow herself to re-connect with old friends. The reservations she had were believable and understandable which is another nod to the writing style here. I'm looking forward to trying another Portia MacIntosh book in the future.… (mer)

Author: Portia MacIntosh
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Star’s: 4/5

I read this book a few months ago and found it a fun light read and just as charming as can be for a romantic comedy and I love a good romantic comedy.

Lila is a romance novelist who finds out on her wedding day there her fiancé‘ is cheating on her with one of her friends. Lila decides after this disaster that she is going on her honeymoon to the Italian Island San Valentine all by herself. Here she meets Freddie another visitor on the island all by himself who she later finds out is a movie star. Lila and Freddie end up parterning together. This allows them to have fun and access to all the couple activities. After a few days Lila’s ex Daniel and his girlfriend Eva arrive and ended up in Villa next to Lila’s. Lila also happens to be in the Villa next to Freddie. The escapades that Lila and Freddie go through to beat Daniel and Eva at everything are wonderful and witty. They pretend to be a couple which begins to infuriate Daniel. As all of this unfolds, Lila and Freddie find that they are starting to have feeling for each other. Even Lila’s best friend Ali shows up as does Freddie’s manager Marty.

The interaction and the escapades between the characters flows wonderfully and the comedy the ensues is great. There were moments that I actually laughed out loud while reading this book. I only gave this book 4/5 STARS as I thought the ending could have been better. Lila is a very strong woman throughout the book which is why the ending did no do it for me. The book does end very happy.

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Edited · 3m… (mer)

  Recommended: sure
For characters who might make you cackle in delight every now and then, for a plot that flirts with absurdity just enough to make you smile, for a slow wind into more serious territory where you're there without realizing when it went from silly to somber

Thoughts:
I think the simplest way to sum this up is by saying that if you read the blurb and it makes you smile and think it sounds like something you might enjoy, you probably will. It definitely delivered, even though going into it I was like "how on earth will they explain that this guy introduced her as his cousin when that would be SO stupid of him??" And yet, in the moment, I was totally on board and thinking that the only way out of the situation was to pretend they were cousins. Yep.

This is a romance of course, and I'd say that the romance in it was a definite slow-burn and honestly a little bit secondary to the main issues of the relationships. Since Poppy and Zac have already had a relationship built and even been married, that initial falling in love stuff happened more or less off screen. We get some nostalgia and reminiscing, but no real flashbacks. So if you're coming into this hoping for steamy or swoon-worthy moments, you're probably not going to be satisfied. It's more of an element to the character's story rather than the singular focus.

The characters overall are... fine. They each play a role, and they fill it in as well as they need to. Some are definitely flatter than others, like Poppy's pretty crappy friends and Poppy's wild-child new friend Kat. Still, Kat was probably my favorite character despite it all. In the end, the friendship aspect of the story is resolved in a few pages, so it does come full circle, but it's not something we see a lot of throughout.

While it's mostly really silly and lighthearted, there are definitely some more serious issues that come up in the story of Poppy and Zac. As we learn more about what happened with them, the book does have some more serious moments to match the pain of what they went through. It typically bounces back fairly quickly, but just be aware that it's not ALL Scotland and movie stars.

And finally: the resolution. WOW y'all, if you're looking for an ending that's Jerry-Springer-ish kinds of drama with over-the-top characters, then this will be everything you dream of! It's all a bit silly, but in a way that still made me smile the whole way through.

Here's the moment that made me cackle early on:

She cheers wildly as she catches [the bouquet], then almost violently throws it down on the floor in that way you often see American footballers do so.

This image tickled me just right, especially in context of that whole scene! I absolutely cackled the whole way through it. So if that seems like the kind of humour you enjoy, this will work for you. :)

A few spoilers & trigger warnings below:
The characters discuss miscarriages and other characters are pretty crass about it. There's also cheating referenced, though not seen. If you're a fan of the snowed-in or only-one-bed tropes, then you'll get your moments in this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a free advanced copy! This is my honest review.… (mer)