I love portia macintosh books and this Christmas romcom was no exception- a delightful Christmasy read full of humour, enjoyable characters and a great story

I will start this review as I always do for all Portia MacIntosh books I have read, by saying that I absolutely adore this author.

You Had Me At Chateau was an interesting concept. Romance author, Amber, has been told to spice her writing up by her agent. She is sent to France for inspiration and networking with other established authors.

Two good love interests, Henri and Caleb. All characters were so well written. I loved Caleb and the building chemistry between them. I itched at Henri’s cheesy flirting. I was defensive at fellow author Mandy’s bitchiness. However, Amber’s brother Tom was my favourite character!

Great story, awesome writing and a recommended read.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 📚

Hilarious Wintery Romcom!

Lots of tropes to keep us engaged with the added bonus of an author struggling to write those spicy scenes for her book whilst accidentally ending up in some of the scenes she should be writing!

Had me absolutely cackling at certain points!

I really love the funny, romantic and sincere feeling of this authors books.

Parts of the book had me laughing out loud and parts had me cringing (in a good way).

I would love to visit the French Alps and the descriptions of the scenery and surroundings is just brilliant.

I can totally relate to Amber as I think I would struggle to write spicy scenes. The way she tries to do them is really funny and the situation she got herself into by accident (mostly) were 'laugh out loud funny'. I absolutely loved this book!

A fun read. Think beach read but with tons of snow! This book follows Amber — a rom com writer — to a writers retreat in France. I enjoyed the atmospheric descriptions of the French alps and of course the French food. Amber has a tough time choosing between 2 men who are both pursuing her. The book details her dates with each. What makes the book fun is her mission to start including sex scenes in her books (her editor’s idea). And Amber is out of her element. Which makes the book hilarious.

What a fun and lovely read!!! I am so happy to have picked this book up! I loved everything about this book! The setting (the French alps and a castle and a very cool and luxurious ski resort), the fun characters and the storyline. I also loved the fact that it was quite a funny book, I caught myself laughing out loud several times during my read and I absolutely loved that!! And last but not least, there is a lovely slow building romance in this book! I am giving a 4 stars out of 5 for that read! I really recommend you this book! It’s a perfect and cozy winter read!

I needed more of the romance between the two main characters in this book because I don't believe they fell in love. There was no build up, no tension, no long, lingering gazes. She spent more time flirting with another dude than she did with the guy she ended up with. Portia MacIntosh is normally a huge win for me, but this one fell flat and I needed more.

Portia MacIntosh is an auto-read for me, I love her rom coms that strike the perfect balance of romance and comedy. I enjoyed "You Had me at Chateau" for its semi-meta theme of a romance writer who specialized in romcoms being told she needed to "spice it up". Our heroine was kind and easy to empathize with, and the side characters were well written, which it how I judge if a rom com is good or not. I particularly liked how the brother was written, and the warm sibling relationship.

Utterly hilarious as you have come to expect from Portia MacIntosh.

So many memorable and funny moments and the whole writer's retreat was certainly different to what I would have thought! Makes me wonder which authors the author was modelling the participants on.

From moments with lingerie, massage oils, a bathroom and a whole lot more, this is just brilliant. Especially with Amber being a rom-com writer, who would love to swivel genre slightly, but instead her editor is insisting on spice - and it is very clear that Amber can't write spice, but she does want to include dead bodies!

That's before you take into account a chapter that I can only imagine was in part modelled on the three Christmas dinner episode of Vicar of Dibley. Amber loves her food, but her bottomless pit may have have met its match with all the amazing food mentioned this story.

With an absolutely stunning backdrop - the French Alps, this a fabulous wintery book, with plenty of com and some rom, that I enjoyed every last second of.

Already can't wait for the next book from this author (luckily I don't have to wait for too long as she is a writing machine!).

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

After so many Everest climbs in a row (ok, only two), I thought it was a good idea to stick to the snow/winter theme but warm it up a little with a cozy romance. I saw this book on Netgalley, and decided to give it a go, only to find out afterwards that I had read an earlier book from the same author that was just average. Portia MacIntosh is a serial romance writer, who focus on rom-com set in quaint and exotic locations, and this was no exception.

So, I decided to go ahead with this book, and it was a good thing that I did. We follow Amber Page, romance writer who is asked by her editor to spice up her books and start including some sex scenes. But Amber just wants to change direction and write cozy romance mysteries. However, she needs to comply with her contract, and she is sent to a writer’s retreat, in the hopes that bonding with other romance writers might help her unblock. This retreat is in a fancy sky resort in the French Alps, and it might be just the right opportunity. If she picks the right love interest, that is.

This was a light and fun book, some funny moments in an idyllic setting. Her characters feel like real people, and we do not have endless chapters of ridiculous miscommunications that could be easily solved with an adult conversation. Surprisingly, I also liked the fact that it was a closed doors kind of romance, with zero spice. It was refreshing. All in all, it was a good book, and I will definitely keep an eye out for more books from this author.

It was a lovely Christmas season read. It was full of cosy, lighthearted moments with a bunch of likeable characters. I would definitely recommend it. My first Portia Macintosh novel, and I am sure I will be seeking out more.

ARC Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️:

Amber has successfully released three romantic comedies. While she has found a following, her editor is unhappy with her current project. Encouraging her to up the spice they offer up a writing retreat to the French Alps. Will the trip provide creative inspiration, or will it remind her of who she is as an author?

You Had Me At Chateau is the latest release by best-selling author, Portia MacIntosh. As with all of her books, MacIntosh will have you entertained with her signature laugh out loud humor. I couldn’t put the book down as I read about all of the compromising situations Amber found herself in.

This a terrific book to read if you are looking for an escape. It features a number of popular tropes, Christmas scenes, and sweet love story.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Boldwood Books, and Portia MacIntosh for allowing me to read the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Engaging Romcom..
Amber Page, romcom writer, is stuck in a rut. Being told to spice up your writing is probably a sure fire way of dampening it down. So, when an opportunity of a writers retreat comes along, Amber isn’t too keen to sign up -but, an exclusive chateau in France can’t be that bad, right? An engaging romcom with a frothy plot populated with an eclectic and eccentric cast of characters and a pacy, lively narrative laced with plenty of humour.

This review is being posted as part of the You Had Me at Chateau blog tour hosted by Rachel’s Random Resources.

You Had Me at Chateau is the latest romantic comedy from bestselling author Portia MacIntosh. This is the perfect cosy wintery read packed full of all of your favourite romance tropes and a bookish theme.

This was my first time reading anything from Portia MacIntosh, despite many of her books being on my TBR, but I was instantly hooked by her engaging writing style. This novel is a really easy and quick read thanks to its perfectly paced narrative and really cosy feel.

The vivid setting descriptions made the beautiful settings of the French Alps ski resort and cosy château come alive on the page. I really felt like I was curled up in front of the roaring fire in Amber’s room with the beautiful snowy landscape just outside.

Portia MacIntosh has created a brilliant protagonist in Amber, who felt really real and relatable. The subplot with her family issues added a really interesting layer to her character which I wasn’t initially expecting but thought was really well written. Some of the situations she found herself in created perfect comedic moments which had me giggling away.

Amber finds herself in a love triangle with reality star turned influencer Caleb and the charming French Henri who works at the hotel. She had brilliant chemistry with both love interests and I loved the flirting and banter we saw in their interactions. Through these romantic plots we see many of the romance tropes Amber has previously written about in her books playing out in real life. This includes fake dating, only one bed, meet cutes, forced proximity, miscommunication and friends to lovers. Although the topic of spice in romance books is at the forefront of the plot, and there are regular references to things of this nature, this is a closed-door romance.

I often find myself torn between both MMCs in a love triangle scenario but in this case it was the swoon worthy Caleb who had my heart from his very first appearance. I loved that his character was really fleshed out beyond him being the stereotypical reality star turned influencer sort, giving him real substance. But similarly to him, all of the supporting characters were well written and added so much to the story.

Overall, You Had Me at Chateau is the perfect easy-read romantic comedy to cosy up with this winter.

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice Level: 🌶️ 🌶️ / 5 (Closed Door)

I have posted my extended review on my blog www.yourschloe.co.uk

*Thank you to NetGalley, Portia MacIntosh, Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood Books.

A rom com about rom coms set in the French Alps…what more could you want?! A hilarious main protagonist, beautiful wintry scenery, a romantic spark and lots of book talk. I loved this book!

Amber Page is an author who is having trouble writing her current book. She’s just not feeling it and is desperate to move away from the romance genre and into more of the comedy murder mystery with a sprinkling of romance genre. But her editor is adamant this cannot happen, and sends her away to inject some more ‘spice’ into her book. The thought alone makes Amber cringe, and matters are made even worse when her editor sends her off to the French Alps just days away from Christmas to work on the book. Leaving her ‘pre divorcing’ parents behind was hard enough but being stuck with three fellow writers who are not very friendly is even worse.

Luckily for Amber, she’s faced with a few distractions in the form on reality star turned author Caleb and housekeeper Henri. With a little love triangle forming, might Amber find her inspiration for her book after all?

I loved Amber, she was hilarious without even realising it. She was the type of character that I felt like I could be friends with, so lovely and down to earth. I did feel for her being surrounded by the unfriendly authors, I would have felt so uncomfortable! The banter between Amber and Caleb flowed so naturally, their relationship was refreshing and I liked how we got to see Caleb’s deeper side. I loved Amber’s relationship with brother Tom, their parents had me chuckling 🤭 This was a fun, heartwarming read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I also really want to go to the French Alps now!!

Let me preface by saying 1) I love this author and 2) one plot detail can leave such a bad taste in my mouth that I have to Dnf the book. Unfortunately the latter happened in this scenario,

A romance writer is stuck in a rut but finds not one but two potential leading men on a writers retreat.

Unfortunately I didn’t even get to the retreat because this long drawn out scene of her parents getting a pre-divorce (what???) threw me off and I just couldn’t regain the desire to finish.

I think this is a strong case of it’s not you it’s me

A fun filled frothy reads with lots of laughs and a dash of romance. Plenty of twists that kept this seasoned romance reader guessing as to how the story would unfold and I wasn’t disappointed. The story is set in gorgeous surroundings you can just lose yourself in. Great read.

Thank you Netgalley

Very cute and funny romance! I really liked the writing and enjoyed reading it all. :)

Thank you NetGalley and Portia MacIntosh!

This was the perfect book to get cosy on the sofa with a cuppa and get lost. And one morning I read 40% before I even got up. Love lazy mornings with a great book that makes you laugh. This was that!

Amber page is a writer and having issues writing her next book. So she gets sent on a pre Christmas writers retreat in the French Alps. Where she meets two very different men and the fun really starts.

I adored the wonderful location, wintry setting and how it was written. I would love to jump in this book and be part of. It was dreamy. So glad I kicked off my autumn/winter reads with this. It made me really want to go to a ski resort in the French Alps and enjoy the fun and the cosy vibes of the château with the roaring fire places.

I liked Amber, her family and Caleb. The sibling love was really endearing. But I will say oh how much I disliked Mandy, her attitude and little comments. Mean girls at its finest, but an older version😂

Amber was funny I was thinking at some scenes; what is she doing but it added to the humour of the book. She did make me laugh.

The French maid scene was hilarious.
That pizza place sounded insane and cold coke from a glass bottle is the best.

A fun book, with bookish vibes, an easy read and in a great location. What more could you want!

Overall I really loved it. I raced through it and would definitely recommend reading this. Escapism at its finest.

Thank you @rachelsrandomresources @portiamacintoshauthor @theboldbookclub for letting me be on the tour 🩷

‘You Had Me At Château’ by Portia Macintosh is a mild dose of fun and romance. However, I feel like it missed the mark for me. The story is about an author, Amber, and an influencer and TV reality star (trying to be an author!) Caleb and how their lives get tangled together.
Amber is experiencing writer’s block, and she tries to write a novel that her editor is not happy with. Her editor sends her to a luxury retreat with some fellow writers in the French Alps for inspiration… but she doesn’t count a weird love triangle in this mix.
Caleb, who is recently going through a breakup, finds Amber (who weirdly looks like his ex!)., and they collaborate to make sure his influencer career doesn’t get hit. In between all this, there is a spark between them, and their romance takes off.
While I enjoyed some parts of the story, it wasn’t really something that got me intrigued. I felt like some parts of the story were rushed while the others were way too descriptive. It was entertaining in some parts, however the romance between the characters was messy and unclear.
The plot meanders between entertaining moments and chaotic sequences, lacking the cohesive flow needed to fully engage readers. While the absence of spice isn't an issue, the romantic scenes feel abrupt and disconnected from the overall narrative.
All in all, I would give this book 2 stars out of 5. With its uneven pacing and underdeveloped character dynamics, it's best suited for a one-time, casual read. I would recommend this book to someone who wants a lighthearted and a bit funny Christmassy book.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for this honest opinion.