The concept of a rivalry between the hens and stags is both amusing and filled with potential for drama, and MacIntosh nails it. As the competition heats up, so do the sparks between Molly and Travis, one of the stags. Though Molly is adamant that she cannot fall for the enemy, the chemistry between them makes it impossible to ignore. The banter, tension, and gradual development of their relationship provide the perfect blend of sweet and spicy romance that keeps you hooked.

A fun, lighthearted rom-com full of great banter and fun moments. The double-booked villa was a recipe for chaos (and chemistry), and the rivalry competitions kept things entertaining! While the romance between Molly and Travis was totally predictable, I loved every second of it!! A perfect feel-good read!

Thank you to Netgalley and BoldwoodEverAfter for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review was posted (Instagram, Goodreads, bookishlytara blog, Storygraph) on March 28, 2025. An additional post (with a reposted review) will be posted on Instagram on the publication day as well as an Amazon Canada review. (links below once available)

Molly is over the moon when her best friend gets engaged. And when her boyfriend breaks up with her on the night she thought he was going to propose she’s really looking forward to the wedding and hen do in sunny Spain.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

But when the bridesmaids and bride arrive and find out the luxury villa they are staying at has been double booked, with none other than a group of stags here for their own wedding it’s game on.

The two groups decide to battle it out for a week to decide who gets to keep the villa for the second week of their holiday. Splitting the villa in half, with the girls getting the bedrooms and bathrooms and the boys getting the living room and kitchens, the two groups figure out that it’s not the luxury they all signed up for…

Who doesn’t love a forced proximity, sun drenched romance with just a hint of spice? I really loved Too Hot To Handle, and although the storyline was simple, I thought it was just great! A fun, quick and exciting read. Which had just a few twists that I never would have guessed at the end!

Thank you again Portia MacIntosh, Netgalley and Boldwood books for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review! I always love your books and they are definitely always worth a read to anyone who loves a romance!

This is a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about Molly, who, after being dumped by her longtime boyfriend, joins her best friend Lou’s hen do in Spain. Upon arriving at their luxury villa, the group discovers it has been double-booked with three guys, including the charming Travis. Instead of leaving, both groups agree to compete in games, with the losers forced to vacate. Initially skeptical of the childish arrangement, Molly goes along for Lou’s sake, all while unexpectedly falling for one of the guys.Filled with humor, playful banter, and entertaining challenges, the book captures the fun and chaos of an unexpected vacation romance. The ending delivers a sweet and satisfying conclusion, reminiscent of classic ’80s rom-coms.

This was such a wholesome read! It was nice to just have a feel good story with a happy ending! Really happy I was picked for the ARC!

Funny, light-hearted romance. Perfect for a day at the beach

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

Let’s start with what I liked about this book.

I loved the premise and I’m a HUGE sucker for a competition/forced proximity. I also love all things weddings and cute, fun romcoms.

What didn’t work, there was a lot of instances where I felt myself thinking “well that was convenient” or “what was the point of that/that doesn’t make sense” but I think the biggest thing keeping me from rating higher was I did not enjoy the friend group. They seemed borderline mean girls and the friendships didn’t seem very deep.. For someone who loves friend group dynamics as much as romantic dynamics, not having that was a bummer.

This was an entertaining premise for a book, although I like to think I would handle the dilemma the men and women found themselves in with a bit more maturity! The not sharing the kitchen was ridiculous (and a bit unrealistic- I'm not convinced they survived on crisps, warm olives and biscuits for that many days. I thought the characters were likeable but not hugely memorable, I just finished it last night and I wouldn't be able to describe the differences between the characters apart from Molly and Travis. There were some light hearted and funny moments within the book though and I liked Molly and was pleased things worked out for her.

Rated 4.5/5

The writing was entertaining and I made short work of it. There was always something happening, and with the help of the characters' personalities, you never quite knew what was going to happen next.

The overall story was just the right length, with a good balance of description and action, all tied together well with a satisfactory ending.

The chapters were fairly long so you got a good chunk of the story before moving on. Some of the chapters were dated which gave the story a good grounding and also moved the story on well without adding any unnecessary details.

There was a good pace to the book. Despite the length of the chapters, the story kept moving forward well. This was helped by a good flow between the chapters and the jumps in the timeline.

The characters were excellent. I liked how they all had different layers and how the reader went from dislike to like and back again throughout the story. You never quite knew who to trust as there was a lot of gameplay between the two groups of friends. I liked reading about the support and loyalty within the individual friendship groups during this interesting time (although with the girls there was some tension). The different personalities of all of the characters made for an interesting read.

Lastly the settings. There was a good balance between describing where the characters were and what they were doing. Whilst it was mainly a character focused story, the description that was there gave a good grounding. Where it was necessary for the story, there was slightly more detail added, which was good. It added to the story without being overbearing on the reader.

Overall a light, fun read with some surprises along the way.

A fun light hearted romance with plenty of laugh out loud moments and enough romance and drama to keep the pages turning. Although it took a while to get into it was definitely worth it as the book is a thoroughly enjoyable escapist romance perfect for fans of Sophia money-coutts, Phoebe Macleod and Maxine Morrey.

I love so much of what Portia MacIntosh writes.
She writes funny, witty and lighthearted romances. This one was no expectation.
The characters were lovable, and the story was lighthearted and a lot of fun.

Too Hot To Handle by Portia McIntosh, after Molly‘s best friend Lou gets engaged she sadly, on that very same night gets broken up with by longtime boyfriend Dean. She does her best to keep a stiff upper lip and is pretty much over it when they head to Spain on lose Hindu. they’re so excited to be there Willow Anita and the bride Lou strip their clothes off and run to jump in their private villa pool. It’s too bad they didn’t see the three lads having a hold your breath contest under the pools surface. Molly thankfully was dressed when Travis walked out of her bathroom in the bedroom she had picked for her own. This is when they realize both the guys and the girls have a problem. They rented the villa out to both of them and so one of them had to go but who? they decide to pick territories and unfortunately none of the ladies thought to pick the kitchen or to ask for the use of it. So at first they’re stuck up in their room eating chips and cookies with lukewarm coffee and drinks but then they decide with agreement from the guys that they’ll play games and at the end of week one the loser had to leave. Molly finds all of this childish but wants her friend to have the Hindu in the place she wanted and it doesn’t help matters when Molly starts falling for one of them. when they first meet the guys in the villa I absolutely didn’t like them at all except for Travis but as the book goes on their attitude changed and they seemed likable but you should always go with the worst part of someone, once they show you because it lets you know that is always a possibility. Having said that this book totally reminded me of the silly laugh out loud books in the beginning of my love affair with Portia McIntosh’s romance novels. She really seems like the type of person I would love to hang out with I laugh so much during the truth and dare game my back hurt when that chapter was over. I loved this book and definitely recommended if you love Porsches early books then you should definitely read this one it is so funny and the ending is sweet and so many ways. It totally reminded me of the way stories ended in the 80s and I couldn’t love it more.#NetGalley, #BoldWoodBooks, #TheBlondeReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #PorscheMcIntosh, #TooHotToHandle,

If you are a Love Island fan then you will get the vibes from this book. It was funny, it was entertaining, it was the perfect summer read.

This will also appear on my blog, in the next few weeks.

https://peixinhodepratablog.wordpress.com/

“Too Hot to Handle” is a rom-com by Portia Macintosh. This book started off slow, but around the half-way point, the pacing picked up. I liked how the author differentiated the characters, though a few were underused. Cute idea, cute beach read book. A 3.5 read, rounded up to 4 stars.

This was probably my least favorite of Portia MacIntosh's books. That said, it was still enjoyable. It was a bit tough to get into and took until almost half the book before I was pulled in. I really enjoyed the characters, and not knowing what would happen. Who would come out on top of the shenanigans on vacation? Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

While I enjoyed this book, it wasn’t one of my favorites. The wedding party’s constant arguing and competing over the double-booked villa made it difficult to keep track of all the characters. The focus leaned more toward the comedic chaos and pranks—something you can always count on in Portia’s books—rather than Travis and Molly’s love story. Their budding relationship felt more like a subplot, taking a backseat to the battle over the villa. Overall, it was a fun, humor-filled read, but I would have loved more emphasis on the romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is not my favorite book by Portia MacIntosh.

Until past the middle of the novel, I was waiting for the fun and the romance.
I may be a little to empathetic but the beginning with the boys was really painful, and I wanted to cry more than I wanted to laugh. It was just mean and unconfortable to me.

I loved the friendship vibe that grows between the characters and Portia MacIntosh remains one of the funnies authors I know.

The end seemed a bit rushed while it was so much more compelling. There wasn't that much romance but in the end, it wasn't so important. It's a great summer read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh Portia is just hilarious. I have loved every single book I've been fortunate to read and this one was just as good.

The writing makes you feel like you are there and I was laughing so much at certain points throughout this book.

Portia is an instant read author to me and if you have never read anything by her, you 100% need to. You won't regret it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Too Hot to Handle by Portia MacIntosh is a lighthearted and comedic rom-com that kept me entertained. The story follows Molly, who, fresh off a breakup, is determined to help her friend Lou plan the perfect wedding. Lou has always dreamed of a specific venue, and they manage to secure a house for their "hen" party—only to discover it's been double-booked. What follows is a hilarious, reality TV-style competition between the bridal party and a group of bachelors, leading to plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. While some of the situations felt a bit over the top, the book delivered exactly what it promised—pure fun. I do wish there had been more exploration of the surrounding area, but the villa provided plenty of excitement on its own. Will the rival groups find common ground? Will love bloom amidst the chaos? You’ll have to read to find out!

Thank you, NetGalley, for my ARC!

I wish I watched the reality dating game show instead of reading this romcom of a double booked villa turns to a not so friendly competition.

What to expect:
☀️ holiday romance
☀️ forced proximity
☀️ miscommunication
☀️ romcom
☀️ 1st person POV
☀️ 223 pages

My thoughts:
Although, I did catch myself laughing out loud at some parts, I was mostly turned off from the incoherent writing, inconsistent pacing, immature plot, and two miscommunications. With there being too many clunky parentheses usage, the writing should have been thoroughly edited before publication. Here are some examples:

"Worse still, it's too late in the day to request it via the usual system (where it would be a pop-up that rejected me) which means I'm going to have to ask my boss, Iwan, if I can have the time (and he will have to reject me to my face)."

Why are there two parenthesis in one sentence? After keeping one, italics would've looked better.

"Working would also be good, but I can't work, because I don't have wi-fi, and I can't imagine the boys agreeing to let me use theirs, because they won't even let us use the fridge."

This run-on sentence alone made me believe I could make it as an author.

Without spoilers, the third-act situation irritated me to no end. It seemed like the author thought "quick, what's a cheap plot twist could I use to make this exciting?" I was Cardi B screaming "WHAT WAS THE REASON?!" while reading.

To any smut readers: from the description, "sweet and spicy" is a lie. The spice was nowhere to be seen.

Overall, I was not impressed due to Too Hot to Handle being my introduction to this author. I will not be reading her other works nor will I be recommending this to anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and Portia MacIntosh for this ARC!