When Nicole was living the life as a music journalist, touring the country, going to gigs and hanging out with celebrities, she never thought she would end up living an uneventful life in suburbia. Ten years on, and she finds herself drawn back into her old life, when rock star Dylan King turns up on her doorstep needing her help to restore his public image. Nicole can’t resist helping if only to have one more glimpse of her former life.
Whilst Nicole and Dylan had a shared path, it was interesting to see how they had grown, when viewed through each other’s eyes. Portia Macintosh is also able to handle issues such as misogyny and addiction, with subtlety and sensitivity. I must admit that the start of the book was a bit slow in pace, but it quickly picked up with greater interaction between Nicole and Dylan. A good read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to @rachelsrandomresources for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really do enjoy Portia’s books. Always full of laugh out loud moments, sarcasm and serious when they need to be. This one was no exception.

Nicole lives a boring life in suburbia, taking the kids to school, avoiding the school mums and working hard to make a living for herself. She has a past that she has worked hard to hide, but one day it appears on her doorstep in the form of Dylan King rockstar, needing her help to repair his image. She can’t believe he’s here, her best friend from her previous live as a music journalist.

Such a great read, slightly predictable but fun all the same. A good insight too into band life, and the chaos that surrounds it. Am looking forward to her next book already.

Meet Nicole Wilde, girlfriend of influencer Rowan Nutter who’s working on her exit strategy out of the relationship. Rowan’s done something terrible and she wants out.

What he’s done, is not revealed immediately, but for the first 40 pages Nicole mentions about every other page that he’s done something terrible he can’t make up for. I started to suspect that when I finally would be enlightened about the terrible thing it would be a let down for all that it is hyped up.

And I kind of was disappointed. Okay, Rowan did do a terrible thing and breaking up with him would make sense, but Nicole has him first repair the damages and then she will leave him. That’s a bit, hmm, well, mean. (It does give off the signal that Rowan can repair everything that he has broken.)

At the same time with the reveal of the terrible thing - told rather casually - Nicole mentions that she’s a reputation manager (or something like that). Now if she’d mentioned that a couple of times up to that point, I would have understood why what Rowan did is such a big deal to her.

Next, old boyfriend Dylan King moves in across the street and wants to hire Nicole for her services. Naturally, Rowan gets jealous.

Overall a nice story, but Nicole did get repetitive in mentioning that she would be leaving Harehill soon, to the point that I stopped believing that she would.

A decade ago she was a music journalist, traveling with rock bands. Now she lives a life of luxury, with a hot husband and two stepsons. Her life is perfect on the surface but is quickly falling apart in reality. She knows she needs a change, but has not taken a final step to do so.

That all changes when she gets a surprise visit by her ex. It's her second chance at love and getting her life back on track again.

It is a lovely story about personal growth and love, but I had a hard time getting into it.

Ex in the City is my eighth read by Portia MacIntosh. Each read has been unique while still maintaining a nice ease while reading. The story follows Nicole Wilde who was a music journalist ten years ago. Now she lives a quieter life in the suburbs, but that all changes when rock star Dylan King recruits her to help his image. As the story moves forward, the reader not only sees the contrast between Nicole’s old and new life, but also Dylan’s growth over time through memories. While living the quieter life, Nicole lived with her boyfriend, Rowen, of three years along with his kids, Ned, and Archie, from a previous relationship. Now as she tries to rediscover her old life through helping Dylan, she gets to decide what is best for her.

The story flowed well and was an easy novel to read in a single sitting. There were minor bumps in the pacing and plot, but it still worked nicely. The beginning of the novel does begin slower as Nicole’s life is presented to the reader. For me, I would have preferred this part to be shortened a little just to give more time for the rest of the story. It was not bad, but I feel a tightened-up version could still have the same impact. I enjoyed that the story was not a straightforward main character leaves old relationship for a new one. There was some complexity to the events and the characters had great chemistry. I think there was a lot to enjoy in this story and I think MacIntosh did a great job. A few of her novels have been hit or miss for me, but this one was well done. The writing style is like her other novels where there is a simplicity to it while still being interesting. Overall, this was a great MacIntosh novel, and I look forward to reading even more in the future.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Boldwood Books, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

To me, everything that Portia MacIntosh writes is gold. Some are more hilarious than others, some are sweeter- this was just right in the middle. A mix of (best) friends to lovers and second chance romance had me cheering for Nicole and Dylan throughout the entire book. This book wasn't as much laugh-out-loud at the main character's stupid antics, but it definitely had me chucking. I feel like I loved it more than her usual humor. Nicole was a strong lead (and I could imagine her looking like a babe in her Cher outfit!). Dylan was a hot, reformed bad boy rock star with a sensitive side that I adored, especially when he volunteered at the school musical with the kids!

I didn’t know that this was a follow up to Portia MacIntosh’s first book, but you didn’t need to read that to appreciate this one. But now I want to reach Nicole and Dylan’s origin story!

I also laughed at Nicole’s BGE (Big Grandma Energy)- I feel that wholeheartedly!! Such a fun book with a great ending.

I generally quite like Portia MacIntosh’s novels, but this one was not one of my favourites. I found the characters very difficult to like or relate to and I did not really enjoy the plot. I finished it, but did not really get into it. The plot involves Nicole, a woman in a relationship that has broken down and who is just waiting to escape. In the past she was involved with bands in the music industry. Her old friend, famous rock star, Dylan King, turns up on her doorstep and Nicole starts to get her old life back. Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood books for an ARC of this novel.

Portia’s books are always just so much fun! I love the characters in the story and the unique plot. Definitely add it to your to be read list! It’s a fun book that will have you smiling throughout!

This is a lovely family, rom com book. I felt it was initially slow but once I got into it I just couldn't put it down. It's a friends to lovers trope and a 2nd chance at love. I feel the chemistry and fun between the leads was really well written

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own

Ex in the City was not what I was expecting at all and I couldn't not be happier.

This rom-com really focuses on friendship and family first and romance second. It's so well written and very addictive. I started reading in the evening and just finished at midnight.

I was grateful to receive an ARC of this book, my first read from this author, and I inhaled it, literally on one sitting! I loved the story of Nicole and Rowan and the boys, the history with Dylan and with her previous life, the juxtaposition and the funny insights into small town suburban (wealthy) London and tour life! The relationship with Rowan was very realistic and really informed Nicole’s situation and I loved how it was slowly revealed the history of Nicole’s previous life, her relationship with Dylan, and the tension from the beginning. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was rooting for the characters from the start! It was a very endearing story and I just adored it!

Nicole Wilde, a former music journalist, finds herself living an uneventful life in suburbia, in a relationship that is well past its sell-by date. When rock star Dylan King turns up on her doorstep needing her help to restore his public image, Nicole can't resist one last trip down memory lane. However, their history is complicated, and when her old life and new life collide, she realises that you can't run away from your past forever, and sometimes you just have to follow your heart.

Portia MacIntosh is a favorite author of mine. I don’t care for the rockstar trope but I figured if anyone could change my mind it would be with her writing the story. I put off reading this for a while even after I was gifted with the free advanced copy. I just wasn’t in the right mindset for the story I believe. I like to honor my commitments and decided it was time I read about 20% and life got in the way, I just picked up where I left off and it quickly reeled me in from there. It made me kick myself for not finishing it in one go. Dylan was secretive about his cleaning his act up but what a good reason to reach out to Nicole. Sometimes it isn’t time for your love story until some growing up is done. With Portia’s profound way with thoughts and words how can her work be rated anything less than 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review,

What would you do when your life is crumbling and the past walks back into your life? Her current relationship is in shambles, but she has to keep pretending it isn't for the sake of her soon to be or already is ex's business, but suddenly a past relationship walks up and knocks on your door and you can see glimmers of the happiness that you used to have? Do you grab at it or do you leave the past in the past and find a new path forward? It was an interesting discovery of the main character finding herself and trying to forge the path she is truly meant to be on, but is the path worth revisiting when it also was wrought with pain? I was actually expecting a rom com, fun read. I did get a fun read, but it had more depth to it than I was expecting.

I am a big fan of Portia MacIntosh books and I was super happy to have the opportunity to read "Ex in the City". And once again, I can tell that I have enjoyed another book by Portia MacIntosh. I have more than enjoyed it! I loved it! It's a page turner. So many things are happening in this book. There is not a single moment of boredom! I don't know how Portia MacIntosh does it, but every of her books are different from one another. All here stories are unique. I really recommend you "Ex in the city", it's so so much fun!!!!

The author describes facial expressions and gestures perfectly, which make her characters feel alive and active. I also really liked the rock and roll aspect of the book. Having traveled with bands on a much smaller scale than the ones portrayed in this book, I found it very true to my experience. The exposition in the book is also quite well done, and I found the looks into the main character’s past and current thoughts entertaining.

I thought that some of the ways the ex is dealt with in this story were a bit mean-spirited before we had the context to make it more understandable, and it put me off the leading couple a little at first. This is less of a problem as the book continues, and the characters did grow on me. Fans of second chance romances with a focus on self-actualization and growth will find this to be a fun read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC. This is my honest review.

3/5 Rocking and rolling your way out of a toxic relationship.

Dissatisfied with her relationship and clearing up her husbands financial messes and old friend turns up.
Not just an old friend but her best friend who was the rock god at the time. Rekindling the friendship only highlights more issues in her marriage.
Can you go back and it be even better than the first time round?
A lovely heartwarming story about holding on to the right person and making changes.

I normally love Portia MacIntosh's writing but with this novel it took too long to actually get into the meat of the story, the characters are not that interesting and tbh the secret was not that big of a deal.

Ex in the City is a second chance, sweet romance (closed door steamy scenes), friends-to-lovers tale that I throughly enjoyed reading. The writing was good, the characters were likeable (except where they aren't meant to be, and those ones I loved to hate!), and the plot hooked me from the start. I'll definitely be on the look out for more by Portia Macintosh!

Nicole is in a failing relationship, only staying for the same of her partner's two boys, when someone from the past turns up at her door looking for help.
This story involves two lifestyles totally alien to me; living in an exclusive suburb, with all its associated drama, and the life of a rock band. It is, however, still a human story with people struggling with relationships. I did feel for Nicole and her problems, but have little in common with Dylan, not being a mega star recognised everywhere he goes, but this story shows that this isn't everything. This is a slow burner, with past history gradually being revealed, so not for those who prefer faster paced books, but is enjoyable all the same.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.