I was provided an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review.

The cover is what grabbed me first on this book and made we want to read it.
It's a common storyline, about the what ifs and what could have beens...Nothing complicated in the plot and fairly predictable. But I did enjoy this quick read. It is well written, but has several chracters that were borderline annoying, and cringe worthy. It all takes place over the course of one wedding, with flashbacks from the past.

Great fun, escapism at its best. Really loved the story of Luca and her university friends. Funny and well written - thank you.

Thanks to HQ Digital for the arc!
When I requested this title, I was expecting something different. The cover is so adorable and it kinda reminds me of other similar books I read in the past. I was looking for that feeling. I wanted to love these characters just as much as I loved others before.

Sadly, I just couldn't.... because everyone around Luca is extremely boring.

She has a great sense of humor, but jeez, her friends are so annoying! For many times I caught myself thinking, "why is she friends with these people?! They haven't seen each other in such a long time, whyyyyy is she attending this wedding?? And whyyyyyyy does she care so much about what they think of her?"

At first I was actually rooting for Pete, cause I wanted her to live a new experience and enjoy herself, without worrying about Tom or anyone else. But well... I didn't write this book.

The message at the end is something that I truly believe in - you have to fight for the things you want. Things aren't just gonna happen to you. In that sense, I really liked the story and I can see what the author wanted to show. But unfortunately, this isn't a book I would like to read again.

This is a quick little read with generally likable characters. It poses and answers the question about it timing matters when people are meant to be together. Told in a single day, with flashbacks, readers follow Luca and Tom to see if they figure it out.

Now in her early thirties, Luca is feeling just slightly as if time has moved on without her, particularly when an invitation to one of her uni friend’s weddings appears. Always the single one, and with no real prospects of that changing anytime soon, it’s time to pick up with the gang and see how things have changed for everyone else. And more than anything else, this light and quick read is a testament to the power of friendship and the effects of choices made years ago on the present day. With plenty of laughter, memories and lots of long-held secrets revealed, the dramas in this are low as these are real friendships not determined or decided by proximity or constantly seeing one another. These friends allow for missteps, don’t worry about position in the now, and always refer back to the fun and support they all shared years ago.

The story mixes past moments with present: each character is introduced and presented with enough background to show the progression of who they were to who they are, without missteps. The refreshing nature of a supportive set of friends, with little actual drama but plenty of moments both laugh out loud and cringe-worthy kept the read pleasant and flowing. While there are no great surprises here, and only a touch of ‘love’ interests, the progression of the story felt natural and kept me cheering Luca onward as she, although later than the others, tries to find her own way into growing up and starting to actually live the life she hoped for (or dreamed of) so many years ago. Easy to read and sure to leave you smiling – this is a perfect hideaway weekend read, guaranteed to leave you refreshed and relaxed.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-an9” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I will definitely be looking to read more from this author! This was a fun, quick and light read. I thought it was a realistic story and found myself laughing out loud throughout the story. I really enjoyed the writing style and found the characters to be realistic.

Everyone has them, right? The friends from university that your life is, somehow, intrinsically linked to? After all, going through that many highs and lows together is bound to leave some sort of mark on you. So just imagine: 10 years on... And you see each other again. The boy (man) you almost had a thing with, the ex-boyfriend, the best friend, the goof, ... They're all there - and they're having The Time of Our Lives! (Sorry about the pun - I know it was horrible, I promise not to do it again)

I was offered an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are strictly my own.

The Story
Love is in the air…?

Luca is used to being the ‘single one’ at weddings – it happens, when all your other friends are engaged, married or taken. But when she bumps into Tom, her friend from university who broke her heart into a million pieces, she finds herself wondering what could have been.

It’s ten years later, surely she should be over that Tom by now? So why is he looking even more gorgeous than ever – and why doesn’t he seem to be able to keep his eyes off her either?

And as the champagne flows and old secrets resurface, Luca realises that perhaps the time to take a chance on love and life is…now?

The Opinion
I will be honest - all of the flashbacks to the past, ca. 2008? They seemed to lead to something horrible. I mean, honestly, I thought some kind of murder cover up was about to happen. So when the big drama on New Year's Eve - apart from, you know, the non-kiss - turned out to be what it was? I felt kind of let down. Relieved that nothing absolutely had happened, don't get me wrong. But still - I thought something more was coming.

In better news, though, that's probably the most negative I'm going to get about this book. There's something quite nostalgic-yet-stressful about the idea of seeing all your old housemates again. Especially if you feel as if they have progressed in their lives more than you have. And Portia MacIntosh manages to capture that discrepancy just beautifully. On the one hand, you just fall right back into your old slots - taking 10 years of all of your mental ages, at least. On the other hand, all of you have moved on. Changes have been made, families have been started - and old wounds have been pestering.

The beauty in the flashbacks, for me, was that we got a perfect view not only of Luca and Tom's (non-)relationship, not only of the big "drama" that happened 10 years ago... Mostly, it's just that you got to see exactly how these people have grown, yet are still, in so many ways, the same they were in university. Sure, some dad-bod might have been added into the equation, some commitments have been made. But in the grand scheme? You get to see these people re-discover their friendship and who they, themselves, are and were.

The Rating: 3.5/5
If you're in the mood for a fun book, something that'll give you all those university-feels? This is definitely the one for you. Old friendships, new chances... 

And of course- it certainly helps that there's an adorable romance-that-keeps-getting-interrupted happening. What with all the elevators getting stuck, the bridges collapsing, ... I just had to read through this entire book in one sitting, to make sure these two got back together! (Goodreads)

-Saar

A very quick read, highly enjoyable with a good selection of characters. Really enjoyed it. Unfortunately there were lots of errors which did make it difficult to read.

Definitely recommended.

The Time of Our Lives was a short read that can definitely be classified as chick-lit.
I so so wanted to love it, but it kept falling short for me. I actually didn’t mind the main character, and the plot seemed interesting, but it just felt like something was missing for me.
The book felt almost cliched in its execution but it had several instances where different parts contradicted each other.
Another aspect that annoyed me was that the main character’s weight was brought up several times and each time it turned me off from the book a little bit more. Also, I didn’t like the love interest, Tom, even a little bit. I felt no real connection to him, and I couldn’t understand what exactly Luca liked about him. I felt like his explanation for how he broke her heart 10 years ago was total B.S. I already didn’t like him and his cowardly explanation just added to that. Maybe the book would have benefited from his point of view or a more in-depth look at the past between him and Luca? I’m not sure, but by the end, I didn’t even care. I quite liked Pete, until the obvious, yet even after everything, I felt his character had more substance than Tom.
The book also provided little tidbits of drama amongst her Uni friends and each one felt more unnecessary than the next, especially the drama with Clarky.
I don’t know man, it just wasn’t my favorite. I enjoyed it enough to give it 2.5-3 stars, but I definitely wouldn’t read it again.

This book was ok. I found it cheeky and I liked the premise. There were a lot of spelling errors however which was distracting. Overall 3 stars.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this. It's a highly enjoyable book that is fast paced and fun. We meet Luca, (the name reminding me of that 80's song) a guest at a wedding, who's questioning her happiness and progress in life.
What follows is a past to present narrative featuring a group of roommates from uni who have unresolved issues. These characters are very well done and entertaining to say the least.
The love interest, well, he could probably do a bit more to make up for the past, but they do have time now don't they?
Ignoring the small errors in the file, its a solid read with a relatable female lead.

I loved this book! It was fun, corny and entertaining!
Highly recommend if you want something cute and quick!

This ARC had so many grammar mistakes it helped to take my completely out of the story. The story itself also didn't help. There were many repetitive elements. How many times does the lead character have to overhear a conversation? The male lead was not very fleshed out and his motives were unrealistic. The plot was meandering. There were some humorous moments, which show that the writer has her moments. However, the total effort was very subpar.

"We decide our own fate. Nothing is set in stone. Life is what you make of it."

A very fun and quick read about a group of friends seeing each other years after university at one of their mate's wedding. Secrets from the past get revealed (nothing too dramatic) and how each decision they made back then still affects and shapes them ten years later. I liked that everything happens within 24 hours with flashbacks to the uni days. Predictable at times but witty and sharp nonetheless. The writing is nothing extraordinary, very simple and straightforward. The ending was wrapped up rushed but all in all, an easy good feel book with humor and laugh out moments.

THE TIME OF OUR LIFE. is sweet and funny chick lit book perfect to bring smile to your face and deliver lovely happy ending.

Our main protagonist Luca is going to a wedding of her collage roommate. That fact that she is single and overall very unhappy in her career and how her life turned out is more reason for her to feel reluctant to go and see all the people from her past. 10 years ago there were six of them living together. In a then and now storytelling we see how not just Luca's but life of people around her was and how consequence of their choices set their future for better or worse.
In a perfect countryside wedding between vows and dancing secrets are spilled, ex boyfriends emerge, lots of unexpected mishaps happen.

Can you save a friendship?
Will you finally catch the one who got away?
Is it a matter of happenstance or fate?

I felt ending was a bit to rushed and sudden as Luca switched her tune pretty out of nowhere.
Still solid read...


Filled with lots of funny and sweet moments this is very fast paced book that I easily got lost in it.
Read in one sitting!
Perfect vacation/ beach read..

A fun novel which was easy to read. There were laugh-out-loud moments, some cringey-hold-your-head-in-shame ones too! But it was a lighthearted read that I found myself really enjoying. The characters all seemed nice and the writing was quite fast paced so would recommend.

Fun-filled, fast-paced, quirky and romantic; MacIntosh's novel can be read in one sitting, which is fitting as the story takes place over 24 hours.

This is the first book I have read by Portia MacIntosh and I really enjoyed it; I will definitely be looking to read more from her! This was a fun, quick read about old friends looking back at their pasts and trying to move forward. I thought it was a pretty realistic story and found myself both laughing and cringing at different points on the story. I really enjoyed the writing style and found Luca to be very relatable. All of the characters had different personalities which made it seem like it could be anyone's group of friends. Overall it was an enjoyable, quick read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is a super enjoyable easy read! I loved the premise of old friends meeting up at a wedding after not seeing each other for a long time.

Luca is on her way to her University roommate's wedding, where she is planning to meet up with all her old roommates. They are such an odd ball bunch and every time they are together they revert back to how they acted and interacted with each other at Uni. Secrets come out, old boyfriends and potential new suitors, definitely make this a wedding to remember!

Overall, I found that the pace moved quickly and kept in interested through out the whole book. The story takes place over 24 hours or so but is interspersed with flash backs from University days, that show you how events shaped Luca and her friends into the people they are 10 years later. There are lots of funny and sweet moments that will have you chuckling as you read it.

What stopped this being a four star read is that throughout the entire book, there were so many typos, with words running together and letters being left off a word and being joined to the next word. This made it frustrating to read, as I would have to pause to work out what the word was supposed to be, so the flow was not smooth at all! And there were a couple of discrepancies when it came to descriptions (Eg,Paul wasn't bad looking, next paragraph: Paul was good-looking).

Thanks so much to NetGalley and HQ Digital for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A funny, witty tale of old uni friends coming together again at a wedding and rehashing things from their past whilst trying to move on with their lives.

It may be fairly straight forward - maybe a bit predictable - but it is an enjoyable read. Well written, with a whole host of characters that will make you laugh and cringe at times. It all takes place over the course of one wedding, with flashbacks to their uni days.

Tales of ill-timed kisses and wrong decisions with a romantic story at it's heart. I like the main character of Luca, she seemed to have her head screwed on and endures a series of "disasters" during the day.
She'e very likable as a main character and I found myself hoping things turned out in her favour.

My first experience of this author and I read it in one sitting. Simple and enjoyable, a nice binge read.