This is a super fast, cute second chance slow burn romance. I didn't realize this is part of a series, but can confidently say it works as a stand alone. I wish MacIntosh would have spent more time on Nicole and Dylan's relationship, but overall it was enjoyable. Thank you to the author, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for a gifted ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I honestly did not like this character. I felt she was stuck in a life she hates yet she didn’t do anything to change it. Yea I understand she was there for the kids but they weren’t her kids and it was 3 years of basically being a babysitter for the man.

I did like the rekindling of the old relationship but it feel like that wasn’t enough if the book. There was not enough romance and cuteness and to much drama that didn’t lend to the story.

Not my favorite- sorry

Now, I love Portia Macintosh and her stories but truthfully this just wasn’t as great as the others I’ve read. It’s a nice easy read but I just didn’t fall in love with the characters or find myself losing hours reading it.
Without giving spoilers Nicole is married to an insta famous man and we follow their relationship and how everything sometimes isn’t as it seems on Instagram.
I’ll always read her books but this just wasn’t the best I’ve read.

i am the biggest second chance romance fan but this.....did not do it for me at all😭 i was bored, couldn't engage with the writing, 35% in and i still felt like nothing was happening:( i loved nicole and dylan's relation with the kids and their dynamic but that's pretty much all:(

Such a fun book! I wasn't aware that it was part of a series, but this book certainly works as a stand alone. I loved this book=mainly because it gave me the chance to live out my rock and roll fantasies. Nicole is reunited with Dylan, her rock-star ex-best friend, when he moves in across the street from her and her new family. The rest of the book is a will they or won't they that keeps you guessing till the very end.

I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Ex in the City by Portia MacIntosh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a rom com, which totally hit the spot. Nicole Wilde is a former music journalist who used to be especially close with one band and best friends with its lead singer Dylan King. Now, though, she is adulting and helping doing PR for people who have really messed up. She is also helping raise her boyfriend’s two kids.

Then, Dylan shows up asking for her PR help. Will she revert back to her old ways, will she tell him she can’t help him, or…?

This was a fun, light read. Perfect for spring!

Thank you to the author, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for a digital copy in exchange for my thoughts.

I have read a few books by @portiamacintoshauthor and loved them all and this was no different. Nicole is such a feisty, independent lead and I found her so easy to relate to and I was desperate for her to find her happy ever after. When she reconnected with Dylan I loved their chemistry so much and wanted them to have their second chance they genuinely deserve. This was such a wonderfully written contemporary romance that I fell love with and I really hope there are more books in this series so I can lost in this world again.

Nicole lives in London suburb. She has the perfect Instagram life with her Instagram partner and his 2 children. She does the daily school run where she doesn't quite fit in with the other snobby mums. Turns out her life isn't as perfect as it looks on social media. She and her partner are essentially broken up but they are staying together for the children and until he can make some more money doing paid social media posts and endorsements.
Nicole used to be more of a wild child - a music journalist that would go out on tour with bands and chronicle their lives. Some of her best friends were musicians until a scandal hit and she lost not only her best friend but also her career. She's worked hard to repair and hide her past but now she finds that her ex best friend has popped up right across the street from her. Has he cleaned up his life? Can she ever trust him again?
This was a very quick read and I couldn't put it down. I wanted to know more about Nicole and her "ex". It was a bit romcom cheesy, but that's what I was expecting!

A fun romance which was a lovely, easy read when real life was so hectic!
This is a slow burn, second chance lovers romance with likeable characters. There are some ups and downs and laughs along the way.
I hadn’t realised it was part of a series, but it works as a stand alone too.

Thank you to Netgalley, Portia Macintosh, and Boldwood Books for this ARC. I will be giving my honest review.
3.5⭐
Nicole lives in a small town with her recent ex and his children. She find a box of her past things and starts to miss the person she used to be along with the lifestyle she used to have. After being unhappy with her new life, her estranged best friend shows up at her door asking for help. The story follows her reunion with her best friend and their friendship turns into chemistry.
I enjoyed the overall story with Nicole and Dylan. The characters had chemistry from the moment they saw each other again. The dialogue was easy to follow. But I felt like some of the details were over-explained. The way that the rockstar lifestyle was explained got a bit repetitive at times. I thoroughly enjoyed the positive energy this novel had. The ending was full of useful advice that I appreciated. The message about people being able to change was present throughout.

First off, I love Portia MacIntosh. Secondly, the title was so cute and of course, gave me Sarah Jessica Parker vibes. The storyline was cute, the characters are loveable (some of them, others annoy the poo out of me), and the overall read was exactly what I expected when I saw the author's name attached to this book. The rockstar past meshing up with the FMC's new life was what I was here for. I liked it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This was not my favorite Portia MacIntosh book. I felt as though the beginning was very slow, but as I started to get into it more, I definitely engaged more with the characters. I liked the character development, and felt as though I was right there with them. Would still recommend it, but probably would not read it a second time.

Nicole was once living an exciting life in the music industry. But ten years later life is in the slow lane, but when an opportunity arises, is it best to leave the past behind?
I struggled with Nicole in places, but she did grow on me and actually, I did end up liking this character.
This was a really easy read, which is something I love about this author. I can always get lost in their narrative.
I found this storyline slow in places, but this didn’t take away from the story and it just allowed us to get to know the characters a little bit more.
There were several funny moments that had me laughing out loud and was a great novel by MacIntosh.

Nicole was a music journalist back in the day who toured around and lived her life on her terms, going to gigs and hanging with the bands. But when her rockstar best friend Dylan was involved in a scandal, she decided it was time to put that life behind her and start fresh. Now she’s living with her partner of 3 years, Rowan, who is a social media influencer, and his children from his previous relationship. She never dreamed her life would be this mundane when she was living the rockstar life, but when her past comes calling again, it turns her whole life upside down.
This was a fun look at life behind the scenes at life in the music industry and life on the road. The characters were easy to get invested in and were relatable despite being famous and popular. I am a sucker for second chance romance so to watch Dylan and Nicole find their way back to each other again was a treat. There was a bunch of “will they or won’t they” because Nicole can’t forget what life was like back then, so can she fully trust Dylan? It really made Nicole think about the life she really wanted and who she wanted to spend it with.
This books speaks to all the moms who’ve traded in their designer bags for diaper bags and reminisce about the good old days when life is chaotic with kids schedules. Portia always writes stories with great heart and love and family, and this was no different. She has made me a fan for life.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Dont judge a book by it's title but if you did, you'd know how good this book was. Such a great title! And such a great book. This is Portia MacIntosh at her finest.

This book is the perfect pick me up laugh out loud romcom!

Nicole Wilde is living an Instagram dream; only, it's not her dream.... Infact, recent events have made it quite the opposite and when a figure from her past reappears, her life changes even more.


I enjoy Portia MacIntosh's books; they're often engaging but easy to read. This book is definitely an easy read although I found it a little slow to get going. The characters are likeable and believable even if the plot/set up is a bit forced - in a nice way, a way that you'd probably make up the story to be. I found myself really wrapped up in the story, then a bit out of favour with it but then enjoying the end again - it's an odd one, and I'm not sure how to write that in a review! It's not as good as enemies to lovers but it's an easy read with some good bits.

In her past, Nicole lived a fun-filled rock star lifestyle as a music journalist. But now she’s settled down in suburbia with her boyfriend and his two kids. On the outside, Nicole has a picture perfect lifestyle. But on the inside, there’s trouble in paradise with Rowan and Nicole doesn’t think she can handle this lifestyle of his anymore.
So when Dylan (the frontman of The Burnouts and old flame) turns up on her doorstep one day, Nicole can’t help but think this is a sign…

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this story and devoured it in just a few days! I’m also really excited to find out that there’s a couple more books featuring Nicole and Dylan, which I’m definitely going to have to read now!

Ex in the City is a perfect second time/redemption romance and I just loved how Nicole came more alive as each chapter progressed. Portia MacIntosh tackles some of the more difficult topics of addiction, misogyny and toxic behaviour sensitively and brilliantly, giving each of those focuses the attention they deserve.

Thank you Portia MacIntosh, Boldwood Books and Netgalley for another fantastic read. Ex in the City is out now and I’d definitely recommend getting your hands on a copy!

I’ve read a quite a few of Portia Macintosh’s books now
Ex in the City was a lot of fun! I devoured this one and as mum could definitely relate to how life changes as an adult

Thank you so much for sending me ‘Ex in the City’ by Portia Macintosh early

My thought:
- I hate Nicole, she’s insufferable. She’s so “I’m not like the other girls”, “all his girlfriends are interchangeable bimbos and I’m the only girl he truly cared about, I’m the only stable woman in his life” just urgh. It’s exhausting. She keeps going on and on about how she felt like every band’ that she hung out with’s mother and how she RELISHED being the only female influence in their lives. Like how is that a good thing, get off your high horse, your not better than those other women. It feels like slut shaming in a way

- I hate her ex fiancé. Not only is he a douche but he has some connection to social media which I hate in books, it takes away the escapism. More than that it’s the type of social media that I really dislike, some random guy trying to monetise his kids. It’s like something you’d see on some irrelevant vlog YouTube channel or Facebook

- Idc about Dylan, he’s whatever

- One thing I did like is the writing style and the concept I thought that was done really well

Overall pretty good but I didn’t like the characters

Hello Fellow Readers,

Do you ever think that a book would be absolutely perfect if not for this one character and their contribution to the plot? Well, that's what I thought, about Ex in the City and the drawn-out plot of Nicole, Rowan, and the mean girls of the PTA. I understand it a little maybe, but it went on for too long and seemed like an unnecessary obstacle to make things complicated for Dylan and Nicole. This is a second-chance romance, that right there is already complicated enough without having to include outside factors. I think Macintosh is a great writer but seems to throw in too much.

Nicole is a great female lead, she's not an emotional mess, that lets everyone walk all over her like romance books like to portray women as. Dylan is that bad boy cinnamon roll who has gone to rock bottom but has come out on top and wants to show Nicole just how far he's come. Of course, their history complicates everything. There's hesitation to start over and potentially get hurt, and there is also the miscommunication of feelings, so I didn't understand why the drama of everything else.

Overall, fell a little flat but still entertaining.