Thanks to Boldwood Books for allowing me access to an ARC via NetGalley.

I really tried to finish this book, because it's an ARC, but I gave up and DNF'd at 50%. I just could NOT get into this book - t feels like a rought draft and not an actually finished book that's about to be published (and other reviewers apparently agree). The writing is lacking, a lot; the story jumps all over the place, and since this is a closed door romance, it jumps even more; and the premise doesn't really match up with what I was reading. MMC and MFC go on TWO dates, have a bit of a bad time (I would NOT call that "chaos", especially since half of it was their own damn fault for playing that game), and immediately call it quits "for the best"... and then 2 years later (and halfway through the book), they run into each other again. This is the point at which I stopped reading. I was expecting an intro to the MFC, then she runs into MMC again, and we get history mixed into the story as the plot proceeds.... Not this. Also, every single male character in this book is an a-hole or super immature apparently? And the MFC has no friends until she befriends her 2 coworkers, and no goals so she sticks with this terrible job with Jennifer? I just couldn't read anymore, sorry.

Lena and Ethan. Yes please for a happy ever after for these two.
I really enjoyed thise witty,charming and feel good book.
Portia had a way of charming me from the start. Her very way of writing made me feel lighter and giggly, sometimes even when there wasn't a comedic line. She has a spirit to her storytelling and a lightness.
Which was just aswell given how much I wanted lena to just leave her family in the dust! Toxic yes yes and yes.
And yes I did want the clichéd hero to come save her from them or tell them what's what.
If you read one of Portias books I have a feeling you'll want to read more.

When Lana and Ethan mix, things happen!

As a result, Lana tries keeping Ethan in the "friends category".

I really enjoyed Wish You Weren't Here, and especially liked Ethan.

Lana's privileged step-sister is getting married on Lana's 30th birthday in Australia. Lana's dad's new family is a little over the top and Lana wants to have the right date (to spice up) the wedding. Getting to spend some time seeing a bit of Australia is a bonus with this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read the advance review copy of Wish You Weren't Here in exchange for an honest review. Aprox 292 pages, publication date is Jan 8, 2025.

This was my first book by Portia MacIntosh, and it certainly won’t be my last! "Wish You Weren’t Here" is a hilarious and lighthearted rom-com that had me laughing from the prologue to the very end.

The story follows Lana, who first meets Ethan on Valentine’s Day 2023. They share incredible chemistry and have a lot of fun together, but their time always seems to end in chaos and disaster. Ultimately, they decide to part ways. Fast forward two years: Lana is still living with her ex (from after her time with Ethan) and scrambling to find a date for her sister's wedding in Australia. Her toxic family has made it clear that they expect her to behave, but Lana has other plans—she's determined to bring a date who can stir up trouble at the wedding.

Cue a series of comically disastrous dates as Lana tries to find the perfect troublemaker. When Ethan unexpectedly reappears in her life, bringing his usual brand of mischief, Lana realizes he might be the ideal person to join her in her scheme. However, as the sparks between them reignite, will they stick to their plan, or will they be distracted by their undeniable connection?
Portia MacIntosh's humour shines throughout the book, particularly during Lana's laugh-out-loud dating misadventures. One standout moment involves a date who tries his hardest to appear wild and rebellious, only for circumstances to hilariously undermine his efforts. The comedic timing is impeccable, and the scenes are as chaotic as they are endearing.

While Lana and Ethan's romance has steamy undertones, the book maintains a light tone, with only subtle hints of intimacy. Readers who prefer their romance on the no-spice side will appreciate this approach.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I felt it was missing something crucial—a satisfying epilogue. Most rom-coms leave readers with a glimpse into the couple’s future, offering a heartwarming sense of closure. This book ends a bit abruptly, leaving me wishing for a few more pages to see how Lana and Ethan navigate their happily ever after.

Another aspect worth noting is Lana’s internal struggle with her family’s toxic expectations. Her plan to disrupt the wedding takes a surprising turn when she questions whether conforming to their world might earn her acceptance. However, the story makes it clear that Lana’s individuality is what truly makes her shine, and no amount of fitting in will ever change her family’s flawed perspective.
If you’re in the mood for a funny, feel-good rom-com that will have you laughing out loud, "Wish You Weren’t Here" is the perfect choice. I gave it five stars and can’t wait to explore more of Portia MacIntosh’s books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and Portia MacIntosh for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. "Wish You Weren’t Here" releases on January 8, 2025—mark your calendars!

As with every book of Portia's I've read this one is equally as brilliant. It's funny, it's sexy, it's fast paced and just so easy to read. Portia's books are so well written and there are so many laugh out loud moments.

I'm excited when Portia releases a new book, I always know I'm on to a winner.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 ⭐️

A fun and easy read! I really liked the premise of the plot and thought that the book started off strong. However, the pacing felt off after the halfway point of the book. I found it hard to connect with the FMC and MMC as there wasn’t much chemistry between them, and the love triangle fell flat because of this. Felt like this could have been executed better, but still enjoyed reading it.

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy!

Absolutely brilliant book!
I am a big fan of this author and love the writing style!
I cant wait to read more!

I really enjoyed this book, it’s easy reading with a great plot. Lana is about to celebrate her 39th birthday, but her sister has took the day over with her wedding in Australia. Lana needs a date for the wedding and what’s to cause a bit of chaos at the wedding. Ethan who she knew a few years ago just happens to be at her office and agrees to go, the fun begins.
A great read that will leave you smiling and laughing at bits. Perfect reading for a dull January day.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

This book is a mess. The plot meanders and skips, the main character spends almost no on-page time with the love interest, and every single person is terrible. I'm just very glad it's over.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I just loved this book! It has such a good story and such good characters and just made me laugh out loud.

I would highly recommend reading this book if you love a rom—com and a good book.

I would like to thank Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book early.

I really struggled to get into this one, I normally love this author’s books, but this particular storyline wasn’t for me.
I still love Portia’s writing style but I personally wouldn’t want to read this one again.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in change for a honest review.

I’ve read a few of this authors books before and as usual I really enjoyed this one!
It had a great rom com feel which added British humour too it which I loved.
Definitely recommend this book!!

This was a quick and fun read that kept me engaged from start to finish. One of the highlights of the story for me was the male main character (MMC). He truly brought the book to life with his charisma, charm, and depth. His presence really made the story shine and elevated it in a way that was hard to ignore. On the other hand, while I did like the female main character (FMC), I couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated with her at times. I wish she would have stood up to her family and called them out for their poor treatment of her. It felt like a missed opportunity for her character to assert herself and take control of her own narrative, which could have added more depth to her journey.

Despite this, the book as a whole was an enjoyable read. The romance was sweet, the pacing was just right, and it delivered on the things I love about a good romance story. It’s a perfect read for anyone who enjoys light-hearted, feel-good romance novels with endearing characters.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to fellow romance lovers!

I had already had the opportunity to appreciate some of Portia MacIntosh's books and I must say that this publication also won me over. Cheerful, funny, with a good pace and not predictable. I appreciated how the author managed to deal in a light-hearted way with the not always simple topics that concern relationships and unhealthy family dynamics both family and couple. Obviously then there are the meetings, friendship and love expertly mixed in the plot. The story captured me from the first pages. A must read for all fans of the rom com genre

This was a confusing plot. Two messy people getting together for fun of it and never thinking about others, which ironically is the main description for any character in this out of proportion story.

From the description of the book you already get the suspicion that Lana’s character was going to be selfish and petty but then you see her whole entourage is pretty similar to her.
The other main character in the story is Liam who was sweet and contradictory at the same time.

In spite of all, I enjoy the book. Found some hilarious moments and others that I felt embarrassed for them, but in general, I don’t think I wasted my time by having a relaxing time reading this book. 3.5 star!

“Well, you know what they say: Don’f BER mad, get Ethan”

This book was so much fun !!! And also the perfect romcom for the holiday season !!! Imagine strangers to one Valentine’s Day stand to strangers to lovers. Imagine forced proximity and he is gonna help her out for her sister’s wedding cause she needs a date. Only when they are together messes always happen and she doesn’t want to cause a mess this time around. But he is irresistible and they can’t stay away from one another. Ethan and Lana’s story was crazy and messy and of course so engaging and frustrating. I loved it. The tension between them was so sweet and sine this author never makers her book completely spicy, there’s only the hint of something happening but never too many details. It’s more of a fade to black romance which, to be fair I really appreciated because spicy times are good but not everything and this author always manages to intrigue me deeply so that I can’t put the book down !!! I had such a fun time as per usual and I can’t wait to read another book like this !!!

“Have you ever woken up from a bad dream and felt that relief when you realised that it was actually just a dream, and everything is fine? Yeah, well, I just did that in reverse”

This is everything I expect from a Portia MacIntosh book.
We had witty banter, a will-they-won’t-they situation, and a fun romance. Ethan and Lana always seem to create havoc whenever they get together, and it always ends up being so ridiculous the amount of chaos they cause.

I do feel like we could have had more Ethan and Lana. It felt like we got more of everything else around them and not enough of their romance. It felt like it was over before it even began.

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood and the author for allowing me to read this as an ARC. This is my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Portia MacIntosh for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.25⭐️
Lana and Ethan meet while at Lana’s work and hit it off - on Valentines Day. They go on an adventure of saying yes to everything. It leads to sparks and disasters. After nearly burning down a building they agree to part ways since they create chaos together.

Two years later, Lana is desperate for a date to bring to her younger half-sisters wedding since she’s not close with the family and they’re very critical of her. She’s ready to bring the craziness her family assumes she always is. She finds some outrageous options but just in the nick of time Ethan shows back up in the office and offers to join her. Lana realizes he might be just the right kind of chaos she’s looking to bring on this holiday.

Tropes:
Fake dating (sort of)
Forced proximity/only one bed
Closed door

Lana meets Ethan on Valentine's Day 2023 and whilst they do have fun, and they have lots of fun when they are together, unfortunately they cause havoc and disastrous things happen so they decide to break it off. Jump to two years later, and she still needs a date for her sister's wedding in Australia, and she is still living with her Ex who she dated after her and Ethan broke up.

Her toxic family has told her to behave herself at the wedding and now Lana wants to find a date to take to the wedding, so she starts trawling for someone who can disrupt the wedding. And bad date after bad date happens, and she still hasn't found someone to take to Australia. When Ethan, her ex, shows up at her work and a more disastrous time together, Lana realises that Ethan is perfect for her because you don't get mad, You get Ethan. But can they remember their plan, or will they get distracted by each other?

Having read some of the Author's previous books and enjoyed them this one had me laughing at numerous points including the prologue and when Lana went on her various dates to find someone who could cause trouble at the wedding and one poor man tried his best to prove he was someone wild, but circumstances would disprove that in hilarious ways.

And whilst there are parts where things get steamy between Ethan and Lana, but none of that happens in the book we only get hints of sex that has occurred and people who want romance books that like no spice will definitely enjoy reading this book.

Even though I still loved reading the book personally, I think it still lacks something and most other books have a Happy Ending. Where we see a glimpse of their future lives, but this book just stops suddenly. And personally, I would have loved an epilogue to get that happy ending.

Whilst Lana was planning on going to her sister's wedding and cause trouble because of her families' expectation of her and because she thought there was someone else that may have liked her she decided to change her plan and at times fighting what Ethan was trying to do thinking her toxic family would change their views of her with someone from their world but even if she did end up with Beau I still doubt she would of been accepted as one of them and she would always be a commoner.

If you want a funny Romcom and see what Lana gets up to that will have you laughing then you should buy "Wish You Weren't Here" I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I have given it five stars.

And thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Portia MacIntosh for giving me an eARC to review and above are my honest opinions.

I have to say I really enjoyed this. The main character's quest to find just the "perfect" wedding date was funny, her internal struggles were well written, and the pace was just right.

Ok, there are some things that don't make much sense, and some things are oversimplified in the name of comedy, but all in all it was a fun read, and I had a good time. I will definitely keep reading things by this author.