I really wanted to love this book but I could just not get into it. I have read other books by Portia MacIntosh and always enjoyed which is such a shame.

We meet main character Lara, and I really did not like her as a character at all and also Sonny, who again is not the most likeable.

Lara and Sonny join forces to go undercover at a celebrity retreat and I just found it quite bland and I was not really sure of the actual plot.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for allowing me a ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This story follows rival entertainment journalists Lara and Sonny and their love story. The writing style was simple and easy to follow along, but that’s mostly because it read like middle school fan fiction. The plot, the way the characters spoke, and the way everything was described were all very immature and made it very hard to follow along and stay invested. This didn’t work for me, but could maybe work for someone looking for an easy read where no critical thinking skills are necessary because everything is spelled out for you.

Lara and Sonny are work rivals who join forces on an assignment. The only catch is they have to pretend to be dating.

I love Portia MacIntosh. Her books make me laugh and are so clever. While this one held some of her usual charm and humor, it was lacking a little for me. I liked Lara and Sonny and wanted to see more of them together. The humor of the island and the whole retreat were spot on and I liked all of the quirky side characters.

All in all, this is a cute romcom that I just wanted a bit more from.

-work rivals
-fake dating

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted copy. My reviews are always honest.

Lara and Sonny are both journalists working in the same building but on different magazines.
Lara doesn’t like Johnny, she thinks he is too big for his boots and Sonny is always trying to upstage Lara so when she gets the chance to get her own back she takes it, unfortunately it backfires and they end up having to go on an exclusive couples retreat to get some information about another famous couple who are there or they will both be fired
Can they get what they need ?
Not my favourite of Portias books but it did keep me reading

I have read a few of Portia MacIntosh's books and generally enjoy them. This one does not seem to be getting good reviews, but I enjoyed it. I liked the banter between Lara and Sonny. I also liked the friendships they formed while at the retreat. I really loved that it got them thinking about their lives and what they want. I do feel like the retreat itself distracted the reader from the relationship between Lara and Sonny, but I still think there was plenty of interaction between them.

This is a great story full of humorous situations written so well that it feels like you’re there watching, and laughing while you read!!
Lara and Sonny are sworn enemies since uni, and the time that they slept together. They mess up royally at work because of their need to mess things up for the other, and end up taking an assignment or else they lose their jobs!! It’s a couples retreat of all things!! Will they come out friends or still enemies?? Oh, the road to that end was well worth reading!!
Many thanks to Boldwood Books for the chance to read this arc copy via Netgalley.
#Netgalley, #bookandttonic, #portiamacintoshauthor.

This one was enjoyable but felt like another of the same story as beach lovers by Emily Henry, something the same sort of premise and the same sort of banter so it wasn't short of a lot of fun and the banter was good between the two main characters

3 stars

Enemies to Lovers by Portia Macintosh was such a cute read. Its a fast book to finish as well. This book was about two coworkers in parent companies and they have to work together. This book was more Room come and there was no thriller. Lara and Sonny are rival journalist and they go on an adventure to uncover secrets of A-list celebrities. So it reminded me a little like Gossip girl but without the anonymous person spilling secrets. I liked how the story was in Lara's perspective and we get a gist of her time getting to know sonny more as well as the many people on the retreat. I did enjoy the friendships Lara formed and the reader does get to know some of the other couples as well as some details of Eden. To top it off they have to pretend to be a couple and in the beginning , we know they can't stand one another. So as the reader, we see Lara's perspective and we get alot of back in forward banter with Sonny and what she's thinking in her head. My only con is I can say this book was all over the place and there was some many things needing explaining. Some of the moments were also predictable. Also When reading an enemies to lover trope, I expect it to also have POVs in Sonny's voice but sadly that did not happen. This book though was not for me but it was a good bad time reading it. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this story. All opinions are of my own.

📖 𝙀𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙋𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙖 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙨𝙝

Lara is a journalist that is constantly having to compete and be compared to her rival, Sonny. After their petty fight goes too far, they are both on the verge of losing their jobs. They are given an ultimatum, pose as a couple and go to the exclusive Eden, a place full of secrets but boasts a 100% success rate at helping couples overcome their issues. Sonny and Lara are to spy on a famous couple that is there and expose their secrets. Very quickly they realize that Eden hides some huge secrets and they are forced to overcome their own relationship issues.

This was such a bizarre book. At some points it was like I was reading a romantic suspense. I wanted to enjoy this book but the plot was really far fetched and not really developed. The relationship between the two main leads was very flat and I couldn’t really see them as being in love by the end of the book. There was this big build up that there would be drama at the end but nothing happened. As a reader I was just left so confused. Nothing is really resolved, Lara and Sonny just ride off into the sunset without owning up to what they were at Eden for.

Overall I rate this book as a 2.5 ⭐️ rounded up to a 3 ⭐️. This is a closed door romance.

Tropes:
🫶🏼 Rivals to lovers
🚪 Closed Door Romance

Thank you to NetGalley for my eARC so that I can share this honest review!

Just a lovely feel good love story. Two work colleagues in opposition , get in trouble and end up falling in love. You just feel happy reading it. I loved the wind ups. The pink clothes and the handbag she would not let go of. Read it . A perfect ending

Lara and Sonny are very competitive journalists who work for different magazines, but the same publishing group. After trying to outdo each other they end up being sent undercover to an exclusive celebrity retreat - as a couple with relationship difficulties. Cue sunshine and games.
There is an undercurrent of attraction between Lara and Sonny which come and goes during the story. The actual island is not necessarily an idyllic experience, with a hard taskmaster in charge, and you do wonder how people can pay a fortune to be treated in such a way, but there may be method in what they are doing. The celebrities are treated sympathetically, as real people with some issues, rather than just glamorous, untouchable cartoon characters and Lara and Sonny start warming to them. Overall there is a touch of mystery, romance and a hard look at how journalists can hound famous people in the name of public interest giving a book that I enjoyed reading.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

Enemies to Lovers is a book about two co-workers who are forced into working together on a project while pretending to be in a relationship.
After a few chapters I was engaged and found myself laughing out loud several times throughout the book. Although I enjoyed it, it left me wanting more from the characters. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sadly, Enemies to Lovers didn't work for me. The title is misleading, the main characters were rivals, and nothing close to enemies, and I found the romance lacklustre and the characters a chore and really couldn't connect with them. There was great promise in this book, however for me it just fell flat

Lara and Sonny have been bitter enemies since college. They both worked as rival journalists, covering juicy celebrity gossip for their respective news outlets. One day, their bosses gave them an unusual assignment: they were to attend an exclusive celebrity retreat, posing as a couple. Their job was to observe the other couples and report on the issues they were facing during the counselling retreat.

Initially, they thought it would be a fun and tropical getaway, but the reality was far from it. They struggled to work together and bickered constantly, making the whole experience miserable. Despite their differences, they were drawn to each other and their relationship slowly began to shift from animosity to something more.

As a fan of the "enemies to lovers" trope, I was hooked from the start. When they were forced to share a bed and bond, it was clear that this trip would change their relationship forever. The couple's retreat, Eden, was shrouded in mystery and I couldn't wait for Lara and Sonny to uncover its secrets.

In the end, they kept their word to their newfound friends and didn't share what they learned. It was heartwarming to see them work together and overcome their differences. Overall, the book was a cute and easy read, but it was the chemistry between Lara and Sonny that made it truly captivating.

#boldwood #bookwoodbloggers #EnemiestoLovers #NetGalley

i was really enjoying this book until the last 50 pages where i got so confused ?

the plot was brilliant but the ending left me with so many questions, like why did they lie to brett? where were they actually? what's the issue with eden ?

so many unanswered questions, icl i didn't enjoy lara as a main character but i did like sonny and the others

im left feeling lost and confused and all over the place

This story is exactly how it sounds and so good! I highly recommend this one to all - it's cute as pie and a new favorite.

I am always a fan of Portia MacIntosh and her stories. As soon as I get a new one, I can't wait to dive right in. This one is no different. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. While this wasn't my favorite of her books, it definitely still kept me engaged. My only complaint is that this one was a little slower than normal. However, I do love the premise of the book. Boy and Girl are archenemies, only to have to work together to keep their jobs. Of course, hilarity and romance ensues!

Lara and Sonny have been enemies since college and now they are rival journalists writing about all the juicy celebrity gossip. Their bosses ask them to work together and go to an exclusive celebrity retreat as a couple too see the problems these couples are dealing with at this counseling retreat. They thought this would be a fun, tropical retreat, but it ends up being a miserable time. Will they be able to work together on this or will they fight the entire time.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, but of course when you hear that they are going on a trip where they will be forced to stay in one bed together and bond, you know exactly what will happen. The couples retreat, Eden was so mysterious and I really did want Lara and Sonny to out the retreat in their article instead of the other guests, and I also glad that they kept their word to their new friends and didn’t share what they learned. Overall, I thought it was a cute, easy read!

I love a good enemies to lover book, and just knowing that this is the title of the book made it all the better. I can’t wait to read with the author comes out with next.

I was pretty disappointed in this book, unfortunately. I have a lot of thoughts, so I’ll break them into bullet points.
- Lara and Sonny’s relationship is unrealistic and they have no chemistry at all. I don’t believe that they hate each other or love each other at any point in the story. There is no pining, no slow burn. There is nothing here to love or hate because their relationship is a subplot.
- This book seems pretty uncreative. Calling the book “enemies to lovers” and having three different characters named Lara, Laura, and Lauren is strange.
- this book is not a rom com, or even a romance for that matter. It’s about a woman who comes to resent her career while interacting with the people her job affects. That’s it.
There are some bits I enjoyed, such as Eden’s mysterious nature, and the other couples in Eden. It just feels like that story would have been better used for the thriller the author seemingly wanted to write instead of a contrived “romance”.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for a review. Because my review is generally negative, I will only be posting it to goodreads.