It was fun, it was entertaining, and the characters were normal people. Really enjoyed it, it was a fun read.

This book was so cute. Enemies to lovers. Schemes. One of the most fantastic mother figure characters I think I’ve read about.
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It was laugh out loud funny so many times. Reading this book has made me want to go back and read all of Portia’s previous works!
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🌟🌟🌟🌟.5/5

ARC REVIEW
Your Place or Mine by
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💖 Serena is having a bad week. She’s jobless, homeless, and is now strapped with moving in with Ziggy, the new Bain of her existence. But things may not be as bad as it seems.

This was a cute British romcom. Here’s what I loved:

💖 Serena was a great heroine. She pushed back against adversity and was hilarious. I really liked her.

💖 Diana. She may have died early in the book but I liked her. She was a true feminist pioneer.

💖 Ziggy. New book boyfriend alert. He is funny and a sexy musician. What’s not to like!

Make sure you add this one to your TBR!

-forced proximity
-rock star
-British romcom
-closed door
-dealing with loss

Thank you to the author for the ARC book in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: 1/17

I was excited to receive a copy of Portia’s new novel Your Place or Mine, a fun, enemies-to-lovers romcom about two people who find themselves unexpectedly house-sharing.

Serena works in Diana’s Tearoom in Leeds (think Betty’s Tearoom vibe – if you know, you know). When her boss dies, Serena loses both her job and her flat above the tearoom. Serena’s boyfriend is reluctant to help and doesn’t offer to let her stay at his house. Serena’s friend Taylor saves the day, offering her a housesitting role, whilst Taylor and husband Tim go travelling. Unfortunately, Tim offers the house to his friend Ziggy (who is also in need of a new place to live) at the same time.

Ziggy is the arrogant, messy, lead singer of a local band. Are Serena and Ziggy total opposites? Are they too alike? Each tries to make living in the house unbearable, to drive the other away, with interesting results.
Your Place or Mine? is funny, cute and avoids stereotypical cheesy clichés. Portia gets the detail just right. I had to laugh at the description of high ponytails, blue eyeshadow and Elizabeth Duke jewellery from days gone by.
The main characters were well written and the side characters were likeable. I wanted to learn more about Serena’s friends Al and Kira, it felt like they had a great story going on too.

A short, quirky, fun romcom. Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Serena isn’t exactly having the best year ever. Everything has started off well enough, in fact, it all seems amazing, she has:

An amazing job
Somewhere to live
A wonderful boss who is more like a best friend
A great boyfriend - though he doesn’t ever invite her to his place

Then, in one fell swoop, everything starts to fall apart, when her boss and close friend, the wonderful Diana, has a heart attack and dies.

Diana’s children, Agatha and Andrew, are as heartless as is possible and within days Serena finds herself homeless and jobless. Understandably, she is devastated, but it seems as though the children, who are fully-grown adults by the way, have something personal against Serena, so are proving particularly vindictive.

Of course, it can’t just be the one thing that goes wrong, it’s at about this time that Serena also discovers her amazing boyfriend Dean has been lying to her all this time and his ex isn’t exactly his ex!

Unsure of what to do, or where to go, her friends, Taylor and Tim, have the perfect solution. They’ve decided to go away for a few months and need someone to housesit in their fixer-upper.

Things aren’t exactly perfect though, because Tim’s friend Ziggy is also going to stay and he’s somewhat determined that he’s going to make things so bad for Serena that she’ll want to leave him to it!

What starts as very much the cliché enemies to lovers, turns into something of an only one bed situation somewhere along the way, but can the two put their differences aside and make living in the house together actually work?

I saw this book in the Boldwood Newsletter and knew that the story was going to draw me in quickly. I wasn’t wrong. I immediately sympathised with Serena’s situation, it was clear that she had incredibly strong feelings for Diana, even without ever really meeting her on the page. Serena’s situation is not one anyone would want to be in, but it’s easy to see where she gets her strength from.

The small pranks that Ziggy and Serena play on each other are initially harmless and rather like a boy pulling a girl’s pigtails in the playground. It’s obvious from the start that there is something there. Despite being in a somewhat satisfying relationship, Serena hasn’t been able to ignore Ziggy’s presence, and Ziggy definitely wants to get to know Serena better.

Of course, when the pranks end up causing damage, the two have to work together, and this is the tie that binds them together.

Ziggy proves to be a great friend when Serena really needs someone to support her. He’s the person she turns to when she needs a shoulder to cry on, and the one who comes up with a few truly genius plans when she has some things that she needs to sort out.

I really loved reading about their growing friendship, which only served to build on the chemistry that they had already been displaying.

This was a lovely rather gentle romance built on a few of the tropes that always prove popular in romantic comedies, and though it started off playing at enemies to lovers I think that the ‘only one bed’ that wasn’t really only one bed helped the story far more.

This is the first book I have read by Portia MacIntosh, but now I have read it I want to go out and get more.

Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked liked this book! I couldn’t put this book down and I finished reading it all in one day. As soon as I read the synopsis I was hooked. It was a 5/5 star read for me. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

- Strangers to lovers
- Forced proximity
- UK setting

Storyline: Serena loves her job working at Diana’s Tearoom. She is ready to spread her wings and take on a bigger role when suddenly her boss passes. Causing her to lose her job and apartment in one fell swoop. Her friend Taylor offers to let her stay at her house while her and her husband are abroad, however, she will have to share. Enter Ziggy, the laidback guitarist. Ziggy and Serena keep one upping each other as Serena’s life continues to spiral out of control!

Super cute and quirky read. Really liked the banter between Ziggy and Serena. Based on the length of the story it was hard to delve deep and really connect with the characters. Yet the plot kept me entertained the whole way! Loved the little twist and tuns!

I loved this! This was SUCH a fun read and a unique plot. I feel like with romance books, it can get a bit repetitive but this was a fresh take on a new favorite trope of mine. I fell in love with these characters and didn't want it to end!

I have not read ay Portia MacIntosh books but have had her recommended before so I was excited to see what her writing was all about :) Her writing is funny and way and delivered great characters with great chemistry. The enemies to lover trope is a favorite of mine (always helps me get out of a slump). Ziggy and Serena are both dazzling and the fun of seeing how it all plays out was addictive so I raced through this book in a few hours.

Thank you to Boldwood Books & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC

Cute story, always love a good enemies to lovers! I personally didn't love the way our couple got together but that's just my taste! Ziggy's arrogance was definitely a little much for me at some points and I get that it's kind of the point, but it was kind of a turn off/red flag at some points. I absolutely adore the cute cover, and this book definitely made me giggle! Overall, good read!

I loved this book, Serena and Ziggy were both such fun characters, their hijinks and conversations were exciting to read. Serena and Ziggy both needing a place to stay end up sharing the house of mutual friends while they are away. They started out as enemies to lovers (my favorite trope) and they both were such likable characters, even when they were pulling little pranks on one another I just kept rooting for them. Oh, and the supporting characters...AL was fantastic. I adore him ❤️❤️❤️

“I’ve never disliked someone, been so mad at them, and yet wanted them so badly at the same time.”

Something random I really liked about this book, is that these characters weren't exuberantly rich. Having heaps of money seems to be a trend in romance books, and it was nice that these characters both had jobs, but both struggled finically and couldn't just afford to go out and buy a place or easily be able to afford the fixes to the house that was needed.

Your Place or Mine? 4/5 ⭐️
🗓 Release Date: January 17th, 2023
🛋 Enemies to Lovers
🛋 Forced Proximity

A big thank you to Portia MacIntosh, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest , review. Your Place or Mine comes out January 17, 2023.

Your Place or Mine is a cute enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity novel, that was funny, easy to read and full of heart. When Serena's beloved boss and landlord passes, she is not only grieving but finds her self about to be homeless. Luckily her friend Taylor is going away with her husband and needs someone to house sit for them, the only catch is that Tim (Taylor's husband) has also offered the house to his friend Ziggy. What ensues is a couple of weeks of pranks increasing in severity to try and get the other to move out. Their games are quickly called quits after a episode with a poorly placed candle. Now the two will discover that they are better as a team when dealing with a cheating ex, a inherited adult store, and a single night of a fake relationship.

Your Place or Mine was such a fun and light read. Serena and Ziggy are both very likable main characters and I adored the side characters. The pranks they pulled on one another were funny and not super detrimental to each others health. I loved seeing Serena start to grow into her roll at the adult store. Over all this was a very low stakes romance that gave me all the feels. If you are looking for a book seeped in found family, romance, and humor Your Place or Mine is the exact book for you!

This one was super cute! Enemies to lovers and forced proximity are two of my favorite tropes, and this book did them so well. The little pranks/standoffs were adorable, and had me giggling the whole time. I will say that the cheating plotline irritated me a bit, and that I wish we'd focused more on Ziggy and Serena instead. I still really enjoyed this one though!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

The book maybe could have benefitted from being about 60 pages longer, with the page count coming in around 240, a lot of things felt rushed. The romance aspect came in a bit too late for me and I would've liked a bit more angst/tension from a shared living situation book.

What a funny book.....loved it.

Meet Serena and Ziggy who both end up house sharing in unusual circumstances. Serena's life is falling apart and she end up taking her best friend up on an offer of house-sitting. Meanwhile Ziggy has also agreed to housesit....the same house!!!

Will they be able to live together??
Enjoy the exploits of this unexpected houseshare.

I just loved this storyline. When there is a mix up on who is going to house sit Srena and Ziggy are forced to share but they are both trying to get rid of each other with a series of pranks. When they join forces and work together they make a formidable team. I just loved seeing this play out. A fun read, with a dash or romance and some tounge in cheek banter ... what's not to love about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review

4 stars!


I genuinely enjoyed this! Such a relaxing and fun read. I do wish there were more scenes of Ziggy and Serena but regardless I enjoyed it. I felt like some scenes felt repetitive such as Serena tagging Dean along, I just wanted her to show him up and let it all out because I just despised him haha

I also liked the side characters even if their part was brief I was smiling when they showed up again, especially Al!

I loved this book! Serena is a warrior! After all the crap she put up with the book. And ziggy is hilarious the pranks were hilarious. This book had me laughing out loud!

I loved this book. Serena had a LOT going on, from losing Diana to becoming homeless, to feuding with her new housemate to discovering her boyfriend was cheating… you’d think it would all make for an overwhelming and chaotic storyline but it doesn’t at all. It’s fast paced, interesting, funny and heartwarming all at the same time. So easy to read and get stuck into and made me smile often. Loved Ziggy’s character and their initial pranks on each other. An entertaining read!

Enemies to lovers + forced proximity? Yes please! My first Portia MacIntosh novel did not disappoint. This was fun, this was romantic, this was light — the perfect novel to blow through in one sitting.

After Serena loses both her job and flat due to her beloved boss Diana passing away, she moves into a friend’s to housesit. A mixup causes Ziggy, an musician, to also move in because he has roommate issues. Now, they have to begrudgingly live together and coexist despite their feud.

For starters, I would like to know how the name Ziggy came around. Yes, that is indeed his actual name. It’s not even a nickname for… Sigmund? Ezekiel? Siegfried? His parents did him dirty. I hated him (and the name) at first, but, like Serena, grew to love him as the book progressed. Their relationship progression was just so natural; you don’t even notice it. Their pranks were hilarious and their humour was so quintessentially British - I loved it.

In fact, all of the characters were well fleshed out. The dynamic between everyone, including Serena and Ziggy, is lighthearted and chill. There were also several subplots occurring, which lended itself well to the fast-paced nature of the book. From trying to break up an engagement to a mini-heist, there was no shortage of excitement.

The overarching message of love and grief throughout was so heartwarming. The way Serena honoured Diana’s memory and learned to live for herself was beautiful. Her character development was truly top-notch. She’s incredibly resilient, managing to turn a terrible situation around with her positive outlook and witty personality.

Smut-seekers: note there were no ‘steamy’ scenes here, which I personally didn’t mind. It’s classic PG fade to black, so if you prefer sex scenes you might be disappointed.

Overall, this was nothing groundbreaking, but it had all the hallmarks of a perfect romcom. Despite me not having any expectations, this was a treat to read. I highly recommend this if you’re after a quick, flirty, feel-good novel!

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from Boldwood Books via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**