Considering the subject matter of broken hearts and broken relationships and the utter humiliation of being dumped on live television, this story was a lot of fun.

I really liked Rosie and loved tagging along with her on her journey to reconnect with her ex-boyfriends. Primarily, her quest is to discover who sent the flowers and the note, but by the end of the journey, it seemed like she was on a quest more for self-discovery, forgiveness and moving forward.

The sender of the flowers doesn’t come as a surprise to me as I suspected quite early on, but Rosie’s journey to getting there was thoroughly entertaining on its own. My favorite of the exes was Eli. They dated a long time ago and have known each other most of their lives. When Rosie catches up to him, she discovers he’s an image consultant (Rosie could definitely use his help) and is gay. They reconnect and become the best of friends which I absolutely loved. He encourages her to go on a cruise where one of her exes works which will take them to New York to meet up with the final ex.

Rosie finds herself going on a cruise from Liverpool to New York with Eli and her parents. I thought this was a bit strange at first; I mean who wants their parents tagging along on a quest to reconnect with exes to see if they are the one? It worked and it brought Rosie and her parents closer together. I also enjoyed the various reasons why Rosie and each ex didn’t work and loved that Rosie wasn’t bitter about it.

Portia MacIntosh does a fantastic job here creating characters the reader can fall in love with also and situations that will have the reader laughing to tears. I would love to see Eli get his own story, even though it’s assumed there’s a happily ever after in this story for him already. The cruise ship setting was also fun and makes me want to book a cruise myself.

My Final Verdict: Though not everyone would react the same way Rosie did upon receiving the mystery bouquet, the trip she takes down memory lane was a great success, in my opinion. It brought her closer to her parents, brought Eli back into her life as the best friend anyone could ask for, a wonderful vacation trip on a cruise to New York (I’m still undecided on their choice for the best pizza in New York City) and giving Rosie’s confidence and self-esteem a giant boost.

I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy contemporary romance, romantic comedies and women’s fiction as well as stories that feature fun locations and amazing characters.

Thank you to the publisher, Boldwood Books, who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

I really enjoy Portia’s books, light hearted, funny and an ‘easy read’. I read this is two sittings having to know how it ended. I enjoyed Rosie’s character and loved her gay new bff Eli. Enjoyable read and look forward to her next one. Thank you for accepting my request.

Honestly, this title really fell flat for me. The concept was intriguing but fell flat in the end. The story became less realistic and it felt more like a chore to keep reading as the story progressed.The main character Rosie did not grow or change and it was hard to read about her continuing to make immature choices as the story went on.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this title.*

A sweet and fun romcom that was full of excitement, travel and fun. Loved the romance and laughed out loud many times. Portia Macintosh is an amazing writer. Easy and adorable read. Highly recommend.

I have heard a lot of really great things about this author. Sadly this book wasn't exactly my cup of tea. It was a fun, sweet rom-com, but nothing too spesh.

I mainly like to know what hero I am rooting for, maybe between two under duress, so all the exes were too many It's not the sort of second chance I like.

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Final rating: 3.5 stars

It's been a while since I read a chick lit book and I missed it. It's such a fun genre to read. So I thought what better way to break my chick lit dry spell than with My Great Ex-Scape by Portia MacIntosh. I am very happy that I read this book, because it's super cute. Rosie was such an interesting character and I really enjoyed her journey. Let's get started!

Rosie is on a mission to find out why none of her relationships worked out. In order to do that she tracks down all of her ex boyfriends and goes to talk to them to find out what happened that caused their break and if it was somehow her fault. I liked Rosie's will to find out what happened in each relationship, and her desire to have open conversations about that break up.

I loved seeing Rosie bond with her parents during the cruise to New York, as well as with her new bestie, her ex Eli. Her bonding with him is probably one of the best things I've ever read about, and I would love to see them in the future, maybe 5 years after this cruise? That would be fun. 

I felt a great deal of second hand embarrassment while reading this book. This isn't necessarily bad or new to me, since usually something really embarrassing always happens in chick lit, or things that I consider slightly embarrassing. I did at one point think to myself that Rosie should have just said no to drinking. She doesn't have a drinking problem, she just thinks she can handle alcohol. She can't, unfortunately for her. Though Eli did make fun of her a little bit because of that.

The thing I kept hoping for in the second part of the book, and it's the main reason for my rating, is that Rosie to have realized what she had when she had it. I loved her idea to seek out answers and maybe improve herself based on what she found out in her quest to have very straight conversations with her exes. But to me this book felt more like one of the stories where the journey is more important than the destination. There were things that happened along the way that I wished Rosie would have considered as more important than her initial goal. I feel like ultimately Rosie should have trusted her instincts more.

All in all, I truly enjoyed this book, even though I didn't quite agree with the choices Rosie made towards the end. I would be curious to see how her story went on, maybe a few years in the future. Like I said before, that would be very intriguing. I also enjoyed the author's writing style and I will definitely check out more of her books.

This was just a feel good book! It made me happy and I couldn't stop laughing. The cruise was fun and the ex-boyfriends were entertaining! I loved seeing Rosie's relationship with her parents as that's not usually typical for women's fiction. I liked that her family was not toxic! I was totally engaged and engrossed in this story. Rosie was a relatable character and overall I just enjoyed this pick me up of a book!

If you can put aside the unbelievable parts of the story, then it is an enjoyable and easy enough read.

This book was just what I needed! I finished this book in just a few hours. It’s a light, fun rom-com that had me actually laughing out loud a couple of times. Rosie gets broken up with while on TV and what follows is a journey across the Atlantic, connecting with all of her ex-boyfriends along the way. I did feel like the romance was lacking a bit and the ending came kind of abruptly. I recommend this if you like rom-coms without the steam. I rated this three stars! Thank you to NetGalley and Bolwood Books for my copy.

Rosie lurches from one catastrophe to another in a hilarious series of events, some of which are of her own making and some of which are sheer bad luck.

I loved the cruise angle too, but I really don't fancy going on one after reading this!

A fun, light read, this story is pure ex-scapism (see what I did there?) and perfect for taking you out of yourself for a few hours.

One of mine and my sister's go to/favourite movies ever is 'What's Your Number?' starring Chris Evans and Anna Faris. If you haven't seen it, it's a must. That's what this book reminded me of when reading the blurb, so I was really excited to see how Portia had written it and what story was to unfold as I read it. It was very funny and easy going with a lot of action and excitement throughout. Portia always manages to make it seem like there is a lot going on it terms of events and pace, however, it's never hard to read or follow.

Rosie was very matter of fact in how she spoke and came across both confident, but also wasn't afraid to show her vulnerable side. I don't want to give too much away, but I liked how she went to her parents in time of need and didn't act like she had to keep it all together herself. I'm a firm believer that you're never too hold to need or want your parents.

The cast of characters that Rosie ends up with are a constant source of entertainment. I love how her journey to find out who sent her the flowers gave her a new best friend, who was awesome and a family trip on a cruise ship, which was hilarious. The moments with her Mum and Dad melted my heart, I love how happy and excited they were about being together and going on a once in a lifetime holiday. It was incredibly sweet.

Rosie meets some idiots, but I'm glad she ends up with who she ends up with. I can't spoil it for you. You have to jump aboard and find out for yourself. 'My Great Ex-cape,' has many a laugh out loud, cringy and feel good moments to keep you entertained from setting sail to docking at the port.

This book was a first for me from Portia. She gets dumped but finds a way to find herself and love again. Total fun read and liked it. I will find more of Portia books to read.

I usually love Portia MacIntosh's works, but this was a bit disappointing, partly because it felt more like a travelogue than a novel. The concept was great; going to her ex-lovers really produce some hilarious moments. But the journey on the cruise was not that exciting as I imagined and the story lacked her usual spark.

My Great Ex-Scape by Portia MacIntosh
Rosie Jones has been dumped by every boyfriend she’s ever had - most recently by Dinosaur Dave, live on TV, during the ‘phone-a-friend’ segment of a quiz show. After the footage goes viral Rosie receives a bunch of flowers with a message:
I love you, I should have never let you go, I want you back x

But who sent them?

At a loose end and with £50,000 prize money in her back pocket, Rosie decides to take a trip down memory lane, visiting each of her ex-boyfriends to see not just if they are the one who sent the flowers but if they are the one.

Her journey takes her back to the house she grew up in and on a transatlantic cruise to New York, but can Rosie figure out which ex-boyfriend is the love of her life, or should the past stay in the past?

This was a well-written light cozy. I enjoyed this book very much. Rosie enjoyed her prize money and her amazing adventurous cruise with her friend and her parents. I will definitely by reading more of her books.

This fun rom-com had me giggling to myself so much! Rosie was such an endearing character, and I loved following her on her journey, even though I couldn’t think of anything worse than hunting down my exes! Like Rosie though, one of my exes is gay and when I did meet up with him twenty years later he was my line manager rather than my gay best friend, which was infinitely worse!

I really enjoyed the escapades that Rosie had on the cruise and in New York, and in true rom-com fashion there really were some truly cringeworthy episodes. Her new friendship with her gay ex Eli was so charming, and he was such a lovely character to join her on her journey. I love reading about his escapades too, and would have loved to have known more.

This was not the first time I’ve read one of Portia’s books, and it definitely won’t be the last. I love her writing style, and I love the way her stories flow, so effortlessly and naturally funny. I loved the moral of the story, in that you must take chances in life and live without regret, which is the way I try to live my own life. All in all this was a fantastic story, and an easy 5 stars for me.

I honestly don't know why it took me so long to read this book. It's fantastic and it feels like a big warm blanket was wrapped around me. I honestly couldn't put it down. This book is about a woman who revisits her past to be able to find her future. Sounds cheesy I know but it was tastefully done with a great main character, her adorable parents and her fabulous best friend (who I really want to adopt as my own). This is definitely a light and easy read but it definitely will give you all the happy thoughts. 100% recommended for anyone who needs something sweet and fun.

This was a cute read, a really sweet romantic comedy. I liked the characters and enjoyed the story. A nice easy read.

Very easy to read, funny book. I really enjoyed reading about Rosies escapades and the book really does start on a dramatic but funny note. Lovely plot lines with a dose of intrigue. Perfect for some escapism.

Thank you Netgalley

This is a delightful romcom to escape into and I thoroughly enjoyed doing just that!

Journalist Rosie Jones never expected to be a participant in a televised quiz show but, even more, never expected to be humiliatingly dumped when she used one of her lifelines to ask her boyfriend for the answer to a question! The consequence to her winning £50,000 is a lot of unwanted social media attention, her resigning from her job and finding an intriguing bouquet with a message that starts her reconnecting with her ex-boyfriends to see if she can ascertain just who sent them. She returns to her childhood home to stay with her parents and the fun continues as she discovers what has happened to them all and meets them all again. Get ready for some surprising revelations, a transatlantic cruise and possibly finding romance in this fun read.

The story has some great characters, plenty of twists, a fabulous friendship and has lots of laugh out loud moments. It is an easy, engaging read, another winner by this talented author, IMHO.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book via NetGalley and this is my honest review after choosing to read it.

Thank you for granting me access to this book!

I really enjoyed this and it was a great light hearted read. I will be looking for more books by this author in the future.