“Grief is the cost of love. If you feel a lot of sadness to have lost someone, they must have given you a hell of a lot of love while they were alive.”

Things I struggled with:
✔️understanding Serena’s thought patterns and her willingness to risk her happiness
✔️misleading synopsis; prank wars were mild in comparison to what a generous part of the book was focused on
✔️connecting to Ziggy; I think I’m too old for books like this!!!!
✔️character’s behaviour didn’t always reflect their age
✔️pacing issues - almost DNF at 1/3 of the way through but knew I had committed to a book tour!

Things I enjoyed:
✔️plenty of great characters showing growth
✔️lots of subplots to keep me interested
✔️laugh out loud moments
✔️insight into being ‘the other woman’
✔️prank wars
✔️good emotional balance with grief and humour
✔️mindless entertainment

This is my very first Portia Macintosh book. My curiosity is filled and I was entertained - that’s all I was asking for during this week between holidays! For those who love romcoms, friends-to-lovers and forced proximity tropes will love this one. I can see why this author is so wildly popular.

I was gifted this copy by Boldwood Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

#blogtour

I can always rely on Portia to write a book that not only makes me laugh so hard but also makes me feel so happy. After reading this I will never look at the millennium falcon in the same way again.

Portia always makes me feel like I'm in the book and I feel like I've made new friends. I always look forward to reading Portia's books and can't wait for the next one.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

DNF at 35%

The premise of the book had such potential, an enemies to lovers roommate romcom?? I thought I was going to love this. Unfortunately however I could not even finish the book nor get halfway through it. Usually when I pick up a romance book I can tell from the first few chapters if I'm either going to love it or hate it. Unfortunately this book fell into the later category. The writing style was just not for me nor were the characters. Because this story is 1st person POV and I really felt no connection to the main character at all there was nothing tying me to the beginning of the story. I am a reader who loves character driven stories so the fact that this aspect was missing here definitely translated into my negative feelings toward the book. I felt like everything fell flat and there wasn't anything hooking me to the story to want to stay and continue. Despite the potential sadly this just wasn't the right book for me.

Thanks first to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.
This was just...ok. Not great, not bad, just center of the road ok. The characters themselves are alright, but some of the sub story lines could have been fleshed out SO much better. An older woman owning a sex shop? Super intriguing. A huge, successful business being put to auction, and it meaning more to others than to the owner's own children? That's got some great potential. Even the cheating sub-arc...the direction was meh, at best.
Overall I was very underwhelmed. It's good for a quick mindless read as long as you choose to not dig in very deep.

This book was really fun to read. I loved the premise of two people house sitting together and each trying to get the other to throw in the towel. I also loved the numerous subplots which were all interesting on their own but combined, they made the book more compelling. Although the book started off a little slow and I would have loved a little more from each plot it is definitely a great romance read!

Thank you to Boldwood books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favourite romance tropes is sharing a room/bed/house so I was definitely interested in this one. I enjoyed the story and the mischief but there were quite a few things that really downgraded my reading experience.

1. The sentences were way too long sometimes. There were lots of run on sentences with lots of commas that I felt could have been split into two sentences. Even when I was reading in my head I felt out of breath trying to read the ideas in the sentences.

2. There were a lot of typos that threw me off. There’s a typo at beginning of chapter 15 - than should be that. On page 129 it says “closer to forty than twenty”. Page 141 - “I’ve love that”
and page 149 - tonne should be ton. Just a few of the ones I couldn’t ignore.

Overall the plot was cute and was a really enemies-to-lovers story. It didn’t feel rushed or too slow which I liked. However, the book felt pretty average to me and I felt like I was reading about teens and not grown, 30 something year olds.

I was hoping for a cute, funny rom-com, but all I got was disappointment. I was never this close to DNF a book.

Serena & Ziggy only meet because both don’t have a place to live. Their friends offer them their house and they both say yes. That’s when the enemies to lovers starts, but also where it ends. The entire plot was boring, there was no tension and actions of Serena in some of situations (Dean!) just don’t make any sense.

The writing style is not delivering anything in its simplicity and gets boring to the point I needed to skip some passages.

Unfortunately is not recommended from my side.

This was a really quick but fun read. I enjoyed that there were funny moments as well as your typical romantic trope. The main character and love interest were likeable but I do wish the plot with Dean had been resolved sooner. Another great book by Portia MacIntosh!

Most of this book was about the FMC scheming to inform her boyfriend's fiancé (she didn't know about the fiancé when she started dating him) that the fellow was cheating on her (fiancé) with her (FMC). And in the remaining time, she has an enemies to lovers (sorta) with her house sitting partner.

This book should have had a heavy trigger warning for cheating, it's mostly just the FMC dealing with the cheating in a very roundabout sorta immature way.

--- ty to Netgalley for an advanced copy

2.5/5⭐️

When her boss and close friend unexpectedly passes away, Serena is forced to move out of her free flat above the cake company where she works and find a new apartment ASAP. Luckily, her friend Taylor is looking for a house-sitter while she and her husband travel. Serena quickly agrees, yet soon finds out that the same offer was made to another friend, a conceited, messy musician named Ziggy. Neither of them wants to live together, and what ensues is a competition to see who can drive the other away first.

I had trouble getting into this book. I thought Serena was likable at first, but quickly became irritated by her poor decision-making. I found the pacing to be slow and disjointed, and this book is described as a “laugh out loud romantic comedy” yet I found it seriously lacking both romance and comedy. It is an easy and entertaining read, but not my cup of tea.

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing me with an e-arc of Your Place or Mine? in exchange for an honest review!

Synopsis: Serena is forced to move out of her current flat and forced into having to find a housing solution quickly. Her friend Taylor and her husband offer for Serena to move into their house while they are away traveling. Serena quickly accepts the offer thinking this is too good to be true. All is well until Serena finds out she will have a roommate living with her. Enter Ziggy.

Review: I really liked Serena! I loved the mother daughter relationship she had with Diana and I was really sad for Serena when Diana passed. It was cool to find out about the secret business Diana left to Serena. Interesting business Diana had I might add 🤣. I liked watching the dynamic between Serena and Ziggy unfold. It was a slow burn, but in the best way. I liked how the book added some drama with Serena and Dean. It helped hold my attention. Overall, it was a quick and easy read!

Read this book if you like:
- enemies to lovers
- Forced proximity

I usually love Portia MacIntosh's novels, but I must admit this one was a bit of a miss for me.

It was so much more than a romance, which is not a bad thing... unless you're expecting a romance and nothing else.

Serena's life turns from bad to worse at the beginning and sharing a home with Ziggy doesn't seem like the dream she was sold at first. I liked their story, and the end is sweet.

I only expected a romance and the author wrote... life, I guess. The gap between what I expected from the blurb and all the plots surrounding the romance lost me.
It's always well written, and it's a good story overall.

Thanks you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing and eARC in exchange of an honest review.

When Serena is kicked out of her flat, an offer from her friend, Taylor, to house sit for her while she and her husband go travelling could not be better timing. Unfortunately, she's not the only one to have received this offer. She will have to share the house with Ziggy, an arrogant, messy (and annoyingly handsome) musician, and friend of Taylor's husband. Living with him is far from ideal. There's just one solution for Serena: drive him out of the house.

The characters were well developped. Serena and Ziggy were opposite and yet quite similar. I love how they start by hating each other, and how their relationship slowly evolve throughout the story with their banter and little pranks. They try their best to drive one another crazy, but the result is not the one expected by the end.

It reminded a lot of The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary. It's both funny and tackled serious subject at the same time. Behind the main plot which focuses on Serena and Ziggy, there are subplots concerning Serena who has to deal with the loss of a loved one and a break-up.

It was a very nice rom-com to read. I flew through this book, it was easy to read.

“Your place or mine” was a sweet story overall. I liked the comedic rivalry between our main characters, Ziggy and Serena. It was an easy read, no brainer that was enjoyable overall. Sometimes the story felt a little disjointed but it was an ok read!
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood books for this uncorrected copy in exchange or an honest review.

This book reminds me of all of my favorite romcoms. The cover is pretty, the characters are fun, and it felt realistic to me. I can’t wait to read what is next from the author.

Well Portia, you've done it again, a delightful romp of a story that had me chuckling most of the way through and I really hope that Serena and Ziggy carry on having heists and scams

A miscommunication turns Serena and Ziggy into reluctant roommates causing them to get off on the wrong foot. The pair are polar opposites, but their mural hate soon turns into more.

Overall this was super fun and such an easy read!

Serena is kicked out of her flat but her friend Taylor offers to let her house sit while away for a while. As she's moving in, she finds out that Taylor's husband has offered the house to his friend Ziggy. Both agree to share the house. Ziggy, however, takes the best room and has loud parties and seems determined to drive Serena crazy. Serena decides to drive Ziggy out of the house and reclaim it as her own.

I have never read a bad Portia MacIntosh novel. I really enjoyed this one as well! These two were hilarious as they tried to drive each other crazy and force each other out. Ziggy turned out to be a stand up guy though and helped out Serena when she needed it. I do think that they ended up "together" a little too fast, but I think overall, it worked.

The side story of Serena's boyfriend could have been left out and a lot more could have been spent on Serena inheriting a new business and trying to figure that out. The characters involved with the business were quirky and added a lot of fun to that storyline.

Overall, a fun rom com to read and one that I would read again! Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I actually really enjoyed this read - which when I first started I wasn’t sure about. It was a bit slow to get going, but quickly I was turning the pages and getting involved in the characters.

There is some foreshadowing throughout, but the enjoyment is getting there. Recommended read. .

This is such a cute story! I really enjoyed the banter between Serena and Ziggy. I also liked the story line with her employer and how that all proceeds. I will definitely be checking out more of this author's books!

Serena loses her job and her apartment, so with nowhere to live and no money coming in, her friend offers to let her housesit while she and her husband go travelling. But..the friend's husband offers the housesitting position to his friend, so now Serena is sharing a house. With Ziggy. A musician in a band who is messy, loud, and just plain obnoxious. But is he? This roommate war shows Serena that there is more to Ziggy than meets the eye.

Thank you Boldwood Books, Portia MacIntosh, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.