I am seriously loving this author lately. After reading this (which I loved by the way) I went onto the kindle store and went a bit crazy with her other books.
Will definitely be adding this author to my go to list

After a really promising first couple of chapters which I loved, the book felt like it lost its way rather.
Emmy Palmer is an infamous actress in a well known fantasy TV series. When she is killed off, and she has sad news from home, she packs a bag and heads home to the Yorkshire coastal town she is from.
There were parts of this book I really enjoyed, and did read all the way to the end, but felt a little at sea with both the essence of the book, the characters and who was up for the romantic leads.
There were no characters that I loved or will remember, they felt secondary to a few issues that were put in but I didn't feel were taken too seriously or realistically. Family relationships and marriages are complex and can affect us all, and whilst I enjoy a romantic romp and escapism, this one escaped me. Also the small part of descriptions of the seaside areas was brilliant but never followed up. The timings on a couple of the days also could never work out unless you had a 40 hour day.
Thanks to NetGalley for the early read for an honest review.

There's the funny Auntie's and the sad news but celebrated life of Grandad and suddenly axed actress Emmy finds herself home. Can she save the local theatre company? Ca she rekindle an old flame? Or should she look a bit closer to home. This book has humour, drama and romance. A brill read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

I skim read most of this book, pages and pages of thinking and description, it just wasn’t needed, the amount of characters was unbelievable and We didn’t really get to know “some” before more were introduced so for most of the time I didn’t know who the people were, this is just not the book for me

I love Portia MacIntosh, and even though this hasn't been my favourite one, it's still a lough out loud, enjoyable and entertaining read.
I loved the fact that is wasn't just a rom-com, but also delved into family relationships and finding your true self.
I thought the timing was a bit strange, everything happens in the time of a few weeks and I found it difficult to believe that so many things could be organized and set in place so quickly. But that might just be my OCD self speaking.
The writing is so good, simple and effective, it draws you into the story, it's a pleasure to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Will They Wont’t They?
Portia MacIntosh.

Emmy Palmer is the lead actress on a successful fantasy show. When some less than complimentary rumours start to circulate about her, she finds herself suddenly out of a job and the only place to run, is back to her hometown to lay low and reconnect with family and friends.
As she is drawn back into the community, Emmy is convinced to join in with the Christmas pantomime. Only to come face to face with a past love.
Add in some complex family relationships, a dishy handyman and you get yourself a great read.

I loved this book. I liked the characters, they were an eclectic mix and really brought the story to life.
As well as being a well written, clever story, it was also laugh out loud funny.
The ending was perfect and left me with a big smilr on my face.
Uplifting and feelgood fiction
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publication date 7/9/21

With thanks to #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #WillTheyWon’tThey by #PotiaMacIntosh.

I was so pleased to be able to have the opportunity to read this book, I love Portia MacIntosh books and I was not disappointed.
This is the story about Emmy Palmer, an actress on the series Bragadon Forest (think Game of Thrones). She gets the news that there is a rumour going around that she is having an affair with a married showrunner and she retreats back to her home in Marram Bay. Unfortunately, Emmy loses her beloved Grandfather before she returns home, this leaves Emmy lost and doesn't know what to do with her life now.
Emmy's mum, arranges for her to meet 2 old friends, Kay and Billy, who talk Emmy into doing the pantomime at the local theatre. This allows different characters to enter the story, which all bring plenty of warmth and humour through out. All the characters in this book give something to the story, there is a good humour, it is fast paced, there are many twists and turns, due to this you are unsure what Emmy is to do next.
Emmy is a loveable character, you are willing her to find the right path. She doesn't always read the situation's that she is in correctly but tries to do the right thing in the end. I love that fact that it is a story around a pantomime, I mean who doesn't love a good panto!
Thank you to Portia MacIntosh, Boldwood Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book as an Arc, in exchange for an honest review.

What a great character Emmy is, her exit scene from the fantasy show she is a star of is a rather memorable opening to the book, and seemed to be the tip of the iceberg as to who she really is.

There are all manner of interesting family dynamics at play, and I loved her auntie Vee who was hilarious and kept trying to get the pair of them into all sorts of situations.

Then there is her estranged father, half siblings she feels she barely knows, an older sister who she doesn't seem to have the easiest of dynamics with. Not to mention her old friends and old crush when she returns to Marram Bay for a bit.

For fans of Portia MacIntosh you may be like me rather happy to see Marram Bay as the setting for most of this book, especially given it's a fabulous location at Christmas, and this book is set in the run up to Christmas, complete with a panto.

I'd have loved it even more had we had snippets from the panto script, as I love a good panto - oh yes I do!!

Although it is a familiar setting, it is a completely standalone book, so if you are new to this fabulous author then please don't worry.

This was a joy to read, it kept me entertained at all times, and I really liked the character of Tel, who kept seeming to crop up around the place, and the interactions between him and Emmy are fabulous.

This is such an enjoyable read and another hit from the always funny Portia MacIntosh.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Love Portia MacIntosh books and this is no exception but this did feel slightly different to me.
Emmy is a great main character and some of the cringeworthy situations feel really real (who hasn’t attended a family funeral like grandad’s) and I really engaged with her. I think the difference with this was it felt less Ron-com and more family oriented. This didn’t matter to me as I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway but I did have to adjust my expectations at times.
Absolutely loved the crazy aunts ,especially Vee and the whole thing was a great warm read that had some hilarious moments.

DNF’d at 41%.

The writing was good, and I definitely want to check out more books from this author. However, even at 41% nothing romantic has happened. The love interest was only seen about twice and there was hardly any interaction. I was also expecting a Christmas book and there were no Christmas vibes in this story.

There also seemed like there were so many subplots in this story. I really just wanted a cute Christmas romance, and unfortunately I wasn’t getting that from this.

Will They, Won't They by Portia Macintosh
Pub Day 7 September 2021
When life goes off track, sometimes the only thing you can do is go back to where it all began...
Emmy Palmer is the star of Bragadon Forest, the biggest fantasy series on TV; adored by the public, living the life of glamour and luxury in London.
But when scandal strikes, Emmy must escape the city and return to her seaside hometown to lie low and wait for the storm to pass.
Emmy's agent decides it would be a good look to star in the community Christmas pantomime, but who else could be playing her leading man but her ex-boyfriend who she may or may not have ditched to move to London a decade ago...
As the show approaches, love and friendships blossom and the real question is - Will they? Won't they?
Portia Macintosh again provides us with pure escapism. This rom-com has it all; it's a well-written, entertaining, feel-good, heartwarming, funny, uplifting story about family, relationships, loss, and of course, a sprinkle of Christmas magic.
This story will please all rom-com lovers.
I am happy to recommend it.
I want to thank NetGalley, Boldwood Books and author Portia Macintosh for a pre-publication copy to review.

Thank you @netgalley and @bookandtonic for a digital copy of Will They, Won’t They? in exchange for an honest review.

I did enjoy this book, BUT it is important to note, the title, description and cover are misleading. I was expecting a romantic comedy… a forced proximity/second chance romance story. It was a lot more than that, in a good way, but definitely took some time to adjust my expectations.

Emmy is an actress in London on a popular television show (think Game of Thrones). Her character gets killed off and a false story about her having an affair with the married showrunner breaks. Then, she finds out her beloved grandfather passed away. Emmy escapes to her hometown to spend time with family and get out of the spotlight in London. While there, she spends time with her mom and her crazy aunts, her sister, old high school friends and more. Emmy decides to buy and update her grandpa’s home so the family doesn’t have to rush to clean it out, but the contractor, who is also her neighbor, is driving her crazy. Then her friends and their theater group decide to do a pantomime to raise money to renovate the theater and Emmy’s agent thinks it will be great for damage control.

So long story short, don’t read if you are just looking for a rom-com, but pick it up if you are open to a story about family, relationships, coping with grief, going back to where you come from and figuring out what is important in life, with plenty of humor and a dash of romance mixed in.

#netgalley #willtheywontthey

I really wanted to love this book! The premise sounded so cute and right up my alley. But if you’re looking for a fast-paced rom-com this isn’t it. This was very slow moving with lots of side characters with major parts, or at least a lot of page time. I found myself skimming and skimming and feeling like I didn’t miss anything.

I love a Portia MacIntosh book. She always manages to craft a wonderful laugh out loud rom-com. This one is such a fun read,

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!**

First, let me say this book was super adorable and I absolutely loved it - it was not “laugh out loud” as described.

I read this in one sitting which is why it got 5⭐️, but it was also already a 4.5⭐️ read.

Emmy Palmer is an actress on a Game of Thrones-type show. When a scandal occurs she goes back to her home town to lie low for a while. She ends up buying a house to remodel, and while she’s there, becomes the star of a Christmas pantomime show at a local theater that is trying to be remodeled. Her agent thinks that this will help her image. She becomes the main star and her ex-“thing” - can’t even really be called a boyfriend, multiple times in the book it says they were never official or anything - is the main male star. Will They, or Won’t They finally get the chance to be together? Only time will tell…

This was a great story. It was everything you love about a Christmas Hallmark/Lifetime movie, without the super cheesy/awkward dialogue!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Emmy, is a lead actress on a fantasy series which is a hit show. That is, until she’s said to be involved in a scandal and is killed off.
Around the same time, she receives bad news, her grandfather has passed away.
So Emmy goes home to her childhood, as well as wanting to escape the drama in London.
As well as reconnecting with her family, she’s also doing that with her old friends and even those she had a crush on.
Her friends tell her about the local theatre, which is in danger of closing. Emmy agrees to take part in a show to raise money. The person whose co-staring opposite her, is her old crush. As they were growing up, many times they almost got together. So, now, will they finally get together?

I felt it was a cute story, a bit slow in places and plot lines ignored in places, till almost the end of the story.

Enjoyable Read.

I really enjoyed this fun novel. I liked the premise and it was a very fast paced read. It follows Emmy, an actress with a big part in a Game of Thrones type TV show, whose character suddenly gets killed off. When her grandfather dies suddenly she travels back to her Northern England hometown to be with her family. Whilst there she gets roped into performing in a charity pantomime that is being staged by her old friends who are part of her old theatre group. The characters are interesting and funny, and the whole thing is very enjoyable. Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

The blurb for this was interesting but possibly not entirely accurate once you start reading. It was a bit slow in parts but I did like the focus on Emmy and her reconnecting with family. I would have liked more time spent on building the romance with her final choice though. A light, easy read (3 ⭐️).

Emmy Palmer is an actress of Bragadon Forest, the biggest fantasy series produced in London. She is succesful and live a nice life till to tragedies happen. She move to her childhood town for get on her feet again. She buy a new house, she act in a play, she get new friends and meet some old ones. Will they, won't they find a way together...
She has a large family couse her parents are divorced and had new kids. As succesful she was so she is also unhappy with what comes out of her new life. But therenis always a way if there is a will.

I loved her after I get to know her character. She wanted always to do good but in all her success she was also not succesful. But fortunately not all went wrong. She had to find her happinies and she had found her purpouse of life. Just wonderful.

Thank to Netgalley.com and Bodwoold books for an arc copy in echange of an honest review.

Portia MacIntosh really is a fantastic story teller. Let me introduce her last main character Emmy Palmer (well her real name is Emma Watson but she can't use it because of the Harry Potter's Emma Watson...) She is a superstar actress in a fantasy tv show until her whole life collapses when her grandad dies and her character is being killed of the show.

This novel isn't really a romance as it's not totally about Emmy and Scott, her childhood sweetheart (what you would think is the plot... but it's so not !!)
It's more about family, following your dreams and how your expectations can be messed up by the reality of life.
I loved Tel who is so kind and attentive but he's also kind of surreal (like really the window ? or the theater). He probable is to good to be true but it makes such a cute, heartwarming Christmastime novel :D

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange of an honest review.