3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you Boldwood Books for this ARC!

Your Place or Mine? is about Serena and Ziggy, who end up as accidental roommates. The two of them instantly hate each other and try to get the other to give up their stay at the house. This house only has one finished bedroom. With their best effort, they fight dirty to get the other to go away. They get into all types of trouble together with their scheming and I found that to be very entertaining!

There are some sensitive topics talked about in this book such as grief and financial struggles but overall this story is really light-hearted. I found myself really cackling out loud at some of the things Serena says and does! This book is more about the schemes Serena does to help herself and others after she loses her dear boss, which leads to her also losing her career and apartment. This book is told solely from her perspective, so it feels more like women’s fiction or comedy than romance.

There are many side plots in this book that come together at the very end. The way this book is written felt pretty chaotic to read. There are at least 4 different storylines that all involve our single narrator, Serena. One of the storylines includes cheating, not between our main characters–Serena and Ziggy, but it is a part of the book from basically beginning to end. I don’t mind if cheating is present in book, but I don’t feel like it was successful or necessary in this story. It was distracting from the romance between Serena and Ziggy. I wished that Macintosh would have spent more time building the relationship with the main characters relationship.

As expected with so many plots, this romance is very much plot driven. I prefer to see more character growth in my romances, so I think readers who like romances that focus on the plot instead of character development, will enjoy this one. I did find many of the antics with Ziggy and Serena in the latter half of this story to be so sweet and I craved more of those interactions. I loved their back-and-forth banter and when they were on good terms it was very cute!

Overall, I liked the book. I think this story could appeal to many romcom fans! It was funny and fast paced.


Spice Rating: 1/5 🌶
There is some innuendo but all the spice in this book is inferred or closed door.

"Grief is the cost of love."

In the past year or so, I have read three of her books and enjoyed them all immensely. Usually, this ominous start has a particular reason. When measured against that yardstick, this book was good but not as fun. I think I would have preferred the lead couple in this book to not have gotten romantically involved. Every other part of the story was something I could get behind.
We have two people, only one of whom we have access to the private thoughts of, who need a temporary roof over their heads. Serena has just lost her beloved employer (and landlord), who has bequeathed her the most random gift. Ziggy was offered the place at the same time and is okay to share but ends up rigging the system in the house to especially annoy Serena.
Serena's plotline has a very eclectic mix of things happening. There is the professional front, the personal and that small crossover that is actually bad for her mental health. Her actions and her behaviour are entertaining and emotional in parts. Ziggy is not as captivating. I would still recommend this book to readers of this genre, but after the number of them that I have read, even by the same author, I am a little pickier with the central love story. I look forward to whatever the author has next in store.
P.S: Although the timing of this book means it overlaps with the NetFlix movie of the same name, they are completely different.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

A cute, Quick read. I enjoyed the enemies to lovers trope, but I would have liked to have seen more character development between Serena and Ziggy.

Your Place or Mine? involves two different plotlines. One of them centers around Serena and Ziggy, who are two strangers that are forced into living in the same house while their friends are on vacation. They hate each other right off the bat, but some feelings rise up that start to change things. The other plot involves Serena trying to expose a cheater for the cheat that he is.

These two plotlines made the story a little messy. The plots didn’t combine until the very end, so it was like I was reading two different stories combined into one. The hate-to-lovers plot is the one that’s mentioned in the synopsis, so the cheating plot was shocking and I honestly wouldn’t have requested this book off of NetGalley if I was aware of the cheating plot. I was debating whether or not I wanted to mention the cheating element in my review, but it takes up at least 50% (if not more) of the book so readers should be aware of it. The cheating plotline wasn’t even resolved well. I was hoping for some epic reveal of the cheating, but the resolution ended up being awkward and annoying.

This was an adorable read. I love a fun enemies to lovers. It was an interesting journey that these characters went on. And it was fun watching them grow into themselves. A lot of interesting and real life problems were being faced in this book and i really enjoyed that aspect.

I really wanted to like this book but I had a hard time getting into it. The characters weren’t really relatable for me personally.

𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍! 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞! 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬….

This is one hilarious read and as always another brilliant addition to the collection. I have devoured this book in just one sitting and found myself completely unwilling to put this book down.

I have laughed out loud reading this gem. One thing with a Portia book, I find I have a permanent smile on my face. This is a gem.

The characters are brilliant! Serena and Ziggy are a very entertaining as a pair! Add in the others and you have a brilliant cast in this book.

This is perfectly paced and will hook your attention from the very beginning. I find myself filled with excitement when Portia has a new book landing and this hasn’t disappointed.

I’ve read all of Portia books and this is definitely high on the list of favourites.

This is heartwarming and completely brilliant from beginning to end. I cannot recommend this book high enough.

A cute and entertaining book that was a lot of fun to read! I've read a few books by this author and enjoyed them, so I did not hesitate to pick this one up. I was not disappointed!
Serena has been having a rough time of it lately. Her employer, who she adored, passed away, and she finds herself out of a job and home since she had been living over the business and her employer's children have decided to sell. Her friend Taylor provides her with a temporary solution. While she is away travelling with her husband, Serena can stay at Taylor's place. Seems like the perfect solution, except that Taylor's husband didn't know she offered Serena the place and offers it to his friend Ziggy. Neither Ziggy or Serena are very happy about sharing a home, and they engage in pranks hoping to flush the other out. But when one prank crosses the line, they put their differences aside and work together to fix the mistake. They begin to understand each other more and it doesn't take long for hate to turn into something more beautiful.
The story was full of fun and heart, filled with many humorous moments and left me with a smile on my face. The characters were well-defined with realistic qualities which made them relatable and I couldn't help but fall in love with them. There was no question about the strong chemistry between them, and their banter and interactions were fun to read. Glad to have had the opportunity to read this one!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Portia MacIntosh is at the top of her field when it comes to writing contemporary romantic comedies. Her most recent book, Your Place or Mine? is the perfect example. This fast- paced read is guaranteed to have you laughing out loud!!! After all, no one writes witty banter quite like her.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This romance story is an almost anti romance story. There is just as much in this book about why not to fall in love and how bad relationships are as anything else. In fact the plot and character development for Serena and Ziggy was probably lacking in part fault due to the development of Serena's current relationship and how she comes to the end of that. The story of sharing a house with your enemy who will turn lover is a definite reason for me to have picked up this book to read, I was expecting a full on humourous enemies to loves, forced proximity with all sorts of antics and pranks but this all felt secondary so I was a little deflated by the outcome.
Portia Macintosh hasn't lost her writing style and it is still an easy fun and enjoyable read I just dont think the plot was what I was expecting and definitely not from the blurb.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.

This was a quick read, but ultimately it was too insta-love for me. I didn’t feel the connection between the characters. I needed more character development to fully get invested in their relationship.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy. Thoughts are my own.

This was cute, but not as cute as most of the author's other books. Not quite sure I really bought this couple together. Having said that I will absolutely read the other is next book.
They can't all be winners.

As always, Portia Macintosh gives the perfect mixture of comedic excellence and a romantic swoon fest. I had a very good time with this and will always read anything Portia dishes out :)

I would have liked this book a little more if the cheating parts didn’t go on as long as they did. I hate it and it’s distasteful. But that’s a me issue. The authors writing was easy to follow and engaging.

This is a very fun read! I love Portia MacIntosh's humour and I absolutely enjoyed this one.
The book deals with unemployment, loss and trying to move on in life, and yet remains a light read.
The author's characterization is interesting as always!

A rom-com that follows Serena and Ziggy, who fall-together when they become unexpected roommates while housesitting for mutual friends.

Usually a fan of the enemy to lovers trope, Serena and Ziggy felt quite invested in their nemesis roles. I missed where their mutual feelings of disdain moved from one end of the spectrum to the other; the transition was abrupt and did not include any slow build-up or growing anticipation. I found it hard to connect to their romance.

And while not specific to the romance of Serena and Ziggy, with infidelity as a theme woven throughout, it all just felt a bit uncomfortable. It's hard to muster-up the warm and fuzzies when it's sandwiched between yuck and heartbreak. This one was not for me.

I received an advanced copy of this from NetGalley and was so excited to read it! The synopsis had me very intrigued and excited to see what was going to happen between the unexpected housemates. I enjoyed all the different scenarios in this story that the FMC had to encounter and overcome but a lot if it fell flat for me. The synopsis leads you to believe that it is going to be a story focused on the rivalry/romance of the two main characters and that felt like it was barely part of the story. The FMC deals with loss, a cheating ex, and inheriting a new business and this felt like it came before the 'reluctant housemates' trope.

Overall it was an okay read for me but I was expecting quite a bit more! It did have me rooting for the main character and laughing to myself at times though and I always enjoy that.

That moment when you think it can’t get worse, but then it does.
That’s what Serena is living through in Your Place or Mine?
Just when things seem to be smoothing out, another thing tries to derail her life.
When her friend offers her a place to stay, she’s surprised to find out she wasn’t the only one offered the house sitting job. Ziggy-musician, mess maker, and hater a cleaning supply smells-is Serena’s new housemate. After experiencing many catastrophes, they begin working together. And as we all know opposites can definitely attract.

I enjoyed the amount of subplots happening in this story. Even though many, many things go awry for Serena, the story is woven together beautifully.

Your Place or Mine? is a story of resilience, of fate, of found family, and ultimately love despite the odds.

Thank you NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and Portia MacIntosh for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

Your Place or Mine?
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 1/17/23
Author: Portia MacIntosh
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Pages: 289
GR: 3.77

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Boldwood Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: Trigger Warning of cheating. This is not my first MacIntosh book, I love her writing style. I have found a lot of the authors from Boldwood Books write such quality stories and I always enjoy reading them. Serena is hit with a lot at once, when her employer/close friend dies, she is left without a job and home, not to mention the loss of her friend. Serena is invited to her friends house to stay while they are out of town, but the friend’s husband did the same with Ziggy, whoops, unexpected roommates! While they are complete opposites, can they learn to stand each other in order to move on the next step in their journey?

The story is narrated in a first person POV. Serena and Ziggy are definitely polar opposites. A classic enemies to lovers trope that played out well. Serena is quirky, laid back, and has to have everything in order. Ziggy, on the opposite end is very easy going and doesn’t feel like everything should have a place. The tension and pranks was brilliant. The characters were developed well with witty banter, chemistry, and creatively woven throughout the story. The author’s writing style was complex, funny, swoony, and kept me engaged. There were some separate storylines developed but in the end, they all made sense.

This was such a fun, lighthearted story, it just kept me smiling throughout the story. The only con for me is that the cheating plot went a little longer than I would of liked. Now, cheating tropes do not bother me, I just would liked more focus on the relationship. Having said that, this is still a great book to read and I would highly recommend.