Frankie George is kind of tired of her life in Surrey. Her job gives her the ick, she shares a flat with several roommates (and their significant others!), and at 34 that’s the last place she wants to be. When she meets a guy in the lift at work, she has 0 expectations of ever seeing him again. But when he asks her to take a trip to Maui and her boss forces her to go, everything changes. For better or worse? Frankie now has two weeks in paradise to get to know Max Ray.

The Meet Cute Method is easily one of the best romance books I’ve read in a while. It’s cute - as is customary with most romance books - but it’s more than that. This book has it all - romance, friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers, humor, and depth. The characters each have excellent development, and even the background characters are well-developed and fun to learn about. While I would say this book is a light read, it definitely will be making my summer reading recommendations to all my friends. I love Portia’s writing style and will absolutely be checking out her other books!

Thank you NetGalley & Boldwood Books for the preview of The Meet Cute Method! This was a super cute and easy read, perfect for the Summer. The story follows Frankie, an eclectic journalist who is tasked with her toughest article yet-meeting a guy in person. In an unfortunate elevator incident, Frankie makes friends with Max, who Frankie’s boss deems the perfect match for her article. This book was fun and light hearted, and I really enjoyed it!

The story
Frankie is the dating and relationships journalist at a London based women’s lifestyle magazine. Tired of the very many online dating mishaps, she decides to try set up real life “meet cute” situations to see if that has a better chance. Her new boss is ready to get rid of the old team so she is really keen to keep Addison happy. While Frankie’s meet cutes are mostly a disaster zone, she meets a fellow writer in the building lift. When Max offers her the holiday of a lifetime in Hawaii, will she have any more luck finding a meet cute there?

My thoughts
This is the first of Portia MacIntosh’s books I have read. It definitely qualifies as “romcom” genre. Cute, escapist, girly with a handsome and principled hero waiting patiently in the wings for the heroine. It’s a cute, light read. 👍

When cute tech guy Max offers Frankie a free trip to Hawaii, she’s both excited and apprehensive. There’s got to be a catch, is there? It’s not like she’s had great luck in the romance department either, whether in real life or the meet-cutes she’s been trying to set up as part of an article for her new boss.

This book started out very strong. I really enjoyed all of Frankie’s failed meet-cutes. I did feel that Frankie and Max’s initial meeting was a bit rushed, and I would’ve liked something more between them, but MacIntosh definitely made up for it with their second meeting. I didn’t expect the twist in Hawaii. I had been wondering about the catch (because of course there’s a catch) and this one made me laugh out loud.

The end of the book was very rushed, especially the climax. I would have liked for it to be drawn out a bit more, or have more of a confrontation than ‘you tricked us’ ‘I never want to see you again’ ‘I’m leaving’.

Thank you for the author and netgalley for the early copy!

this book could be many people favorite. the story is full of tropes that readers like lately - fake dating/ fake marriage, friends to lovers, one bed trope.
This book can remind you to ‘How to lose a guy in 10 days’ movie or ‘The unhoneymooners’ book by Christina Lauren.

I really like the beginning. All the meet cutes that Frankie failed in a funny or cringe way. Somehow those moment kept me entertained. I felt like Frankie one of the most unluckiest woman in the world when it comes to date and relationship. But I don’t really know how could she not notice the most obvious meet cute with Max.
I started to loose interest when Albi came into the picture. I really didn’t like his character and the way Frankie acted around him. Or Frankies character overall while she tried to make a meet cute in her holiday where she needed to play a fake fiancée character.
I felt like in the second half of the book we didn’t get much of Max. He’s got forgotten. And the love between Max and Frankie stayed underdeveloped. That’s why I didn’t liked the last half of the book.
And I’m sad about it, because the beginning was so promising.

This book just wasn’t for me. It was as a quick read, and it had so much potential. But I just find it kind of cringy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book exchange for an honest review.

The Meet Cute Method is an adorable concept and I really enjoyed when Frankie is trying to fabricate all the meet cutes.

I found that apart from the first couple of meetings I didn’t really see any connection between her and Max, and I found the second half a bit boring.

Overall it’s a nice, quick beach read with good romcom vibes.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I am a sucker for British banter (even when it’s mostly inner monologue). In TMCM we have a meet cute (duh), friends to lovers, fake dating and so much more all rolled into one. It really reminds me of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days - except obviously the reverse.

I enjoyed this so much I did not want to put it down!

Loved this book so much. I'm speechless because I wasn't expecting to like it so much and also I would do anything to read this book again for the first time.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Portia MacIntosh. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.***

2.5 stars

Frankie is a love and romance writer for a magazine who is in danger of losing her job. After being tasked with creating meet cutes for an article she’s writing, she manages to completely miss the real life meet cute happening with Max, a man who works in the same building.

This book lacked balance for me. Frankie was a bit all over the place. She had plenty of chances to be truthful with Max about what her boss had her doing on their holiday, but she never did. I liked Max, though I think his backstory was overly complicated. I found it hard to reconcile that he didn’t have a good relationship with anyone in his family but still went on family holidays. The whole story tangent with his ex, his brother and his uncle seemed forced, as did many parts of the story to me. There were funny parts, but there were also some cringey parts too. The worst part for me was the romance between Max and Frankie. There were so many things going on in the story that I felt like they spent as much time avoiding each other as they did getting to know one another. Consequently, the love felt rushed and contrived. Also, the ending fell flat for me.

2.5/5

The Meet Cute Method is a rom-com about Frankie, trying to conjure up meet cutes for an article she is writing for her magazine, and she ignores the most obvious meet cute with Max. I did find some of the meet cutes she worked to create funny, but the book felt forced at times.

This book had a lot of potential. I enjoyed the cringy meet cutes that Frankie was forcing herself into, but something just didn't gel for me. I knew that she was going to end up with Max, but I never really felt the chemistry between them. At times it was hard to even tell if they cared about each other, or were even existing in the same world. They barely spent time together, and then all of a sudden they couldn't keep their hands off each other, but there was no build up, or realization.

Frankie was an interesting character as a 30 something trying to finally earn enough to not have to share a flat with others. I did think that the cast of characters in the book were pretty one dimensional though, lacking some personality. I didn't connect with any of the characters, which I think was part of the problem.

I think the main frustrating part was that Frankie had plenty of opportunities to come clean to Max about her "meet cute" work and she just didn't.

I guess this just wasn't the right book for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an open and honest review. All opinions are 100% mine.

This was a fun read, but was not one of my favourites; plenty of chances for Frankie to come clean at any point, but she didn't. I don't even think it occurred to her she should. That said, this was as funny as all the other books and it was a lovely read for a rainy day.

At 34, Frankie didn’t think that she would still be living in a flat share with four other people. Having worked for the same magazine for almost 10 years she is hoping that the pending promotion she is in line for will enable her to move into a small Soho flat on her own. making the journey into work she is distracted by a fake meet cute moment in the coffee shop, misses her bus and then gets stuck in the lift at her office block.

Her day continues to go wrong when her editor has been fired and replaced by Addison who has a reputation for turning around publications but taking out her deadwood along the way. Kissing goodbye to her promotion, Frankie needs to pitch a new ideas for her love and dating section and suggests the cute meet method. Setting up ways for to meet men in ordinary situations, a missing dog, falling in the street, broken down car etc.

Whilst this isn’t going the way she hoped, she has struck up a friendship with Max from the lift incident. Inviting her on a last-minute Hawaii holiday it sounds too good to be true, which it is but opting to help him whilst she finds opportunities for her articles leads to a very different outcome but with so many lies told, who can believe the truth when it is in front of them.

I enjoyed this book, our main girl Frankie was relatable and I appreciate a writer who creates characters who don't look like they walked off a magazine cover, she was also 30-something which makes a nice change from the 20-something characters we so often see.
I didn't really gel with the "surrounding" characters - her housemates or supposed best friend felt a little two-dimensional and there wasn't much to their relationships. I did enjoy the vacay to Hawaii, possibly because I am desperate for travel and reading about a 5 star resort made me feel, a little emotionally closer to travelling (although, of course not on the same scale). It does gloss over (what I would call) some Tory vibes and there's a couple of jibes made about Max's dad underpaying and treating employees badly which made me uncomfortable as it wasn't really addressed or dealt with - and for a millennial, I cant see Frankie being okay with that but she seemed a little blindsided by all the consumption and materialistic over-indulgence of the place/family.
Overall, if you're looking for a witty, quick summer read, then this definitely ticks the boxes.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Boldwood Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A light, fun, easy beach read. Perfect for book clubs.

2.5 ⭐️ (rounded to 3)

Plot: 2.5/5
Characters 👫: 2.5/5
Spice 🌶: 0/5
Tropes: fake dating, friends to lovers, (sort of) enemies to lovers, there's only one bed

This is a cute summery feeling sort of read. I like to think that this book is a bit of a mixture between "How to lose a guy in 10 days" and the "Unhoneymooners". In that our main character, Frankie is a writer for a style magazine and is challenged to write an article about her main love interest, Max, where she subsequently falls in love with him. And in relation to the "Unhoneymooners" both characters are forced to go on vacation together, in Hawaii no less, aaaaand surprise!! They have to pretend like they are in a relationship.

Let me start by saying, I think that this book had a lot of potential, I was enjoying the first portion meet cutes, though they were a little cringey and embarrassing, but hey, that's life. Embarrassing things happen a lot, especially whenever you are purposely putting yourself into a situation that is outside of your comfort zone. I also found the book a little slow. We don't meet Max, the fmc's main love interest until later in the book, and even then it's sort of just a passing through type of vibe. Then, miraculously, Frankie and Max end up going on vacation together in Hawaii where Max's parents think that Frankie and Max are engaged, hence, the fake dating. However, I just never really felt that much of a connection between Frankie and Max. They had, what? One date together and a couple of times hanging out and they figure out they're in love? The chemistry between the two was just sort of lacking for me.

Like most romcom's, we know what we're getting into, a HEA, but of course something has to go wrong along the way. This book is no exception. A little predictable, but I don't really mind that. Overall, it was okay, but I felt like just a tad bit rushed, and I would have liked more interactions between Frankie and Max, more of a bigger build up, ya know?

*Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review*

If you loved How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days then this book is for you, thoroughly enjoyable and one to take on the beach this summer

This was my first Portia MacIntosh book. I was drawn to the book for the cover, and author's first name. Sadly, that's all I liked about the book. I didn't connect with the characters, and I felt like a huge part of the story was just missing. Details were added to bring back stories/events in but just didn't hit the mark to bring it all together for me. I didn't feel the chemistry between Frankie and Max, I felt the sparks more with Uncle Albi.
I've never been to Hawaii but so many books are set there recently that it's getting boring, if the Rays are so rich why Hawaii?
I checked the author on goodreads and she gets great reviews, maybe I just picked the wrong book to start with?
side note - the word "erm" was in the book approximately 41times?

Frankie, a journalist writing about love and dating for a magazine, has been tasked with staging Meet Cutes in an attempt to meet someone the old fashioned way. Little did she know, the wonderful and terribly unflirty Frankie is going to struggle more than expected.
These books are always just so light and fluffy. Leaving you with a warm fuzzy feeling, and honestly that is my favorite thing. Portia write real fun-loving, and relatable characters, and knows how to leave you hanging with the romance. The romance is just done so well, that you fall in love with the characters individually, before dying for them to get together!


The story was interesting and easy to follow, with nice short chapters. The characters were well thought out, along with the relationships that linked them all - this was important, as there were a lot of sub-characters.

Frankie felt relatable. I appreciate a story with a 30-something who isn't stick thin, is awkward and super witty.

The Meet Cute Method by Portia MacIntosh is another delightful, laugh out loud offering from the queen of the holiday rom-com. I haved loved all of this author's previous books, and once again found myself giggling along with the all too relatable antics of a most appealing protagonist.

As a relationship expert at a popular magazine, Frankie has struggled to find her own happily ever after. When the idea is pitched that she put the concept of a meet cute to the test, she finds herself artificially manipulating the stage to hilarious results. But the success of a meet cute relies on its spontaneity, and Frankie soon realizes that a more organuc approach to love might just be the best course forward.

Once again, Portia MacIntosh delivers all of the humour, heart, and charm that we have come to expect, and I cannot wait to see where she will take us next.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.