“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!

A fun lighthearted read that made me wish I was lying by a swimming pool in the sun reading it. Molly has been dumped, messed up at work and is ready for a girls holiday to celebrate before her bestie’s wedding but a double booking at their villa has a stag party crashing their holiday. A sweet slow burn romance. I enjoyed the female friendships the most!

This was a fun, rompy romantic story!

Molly is planning her best friend's hen party at a fabulous villa, only there is a snag - the rental company also rented the villa to a group of guys for a stag party. They decide to split the location and continue on with their parties - but they have competitions to decide who gets to stay the week following the weddings. It's a mess but a fun when everyone starts to pair up - but there is a huge misunderstanding and it almost ruins everything. It's a fun story - the characters are incredible, the setting is beautiful and it's just a really great read!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Molly is going through it. Her best friend, Lou, is getting married.

What should be a fun, luxurious hen do for the bride, has turned into what feels like a reality TV show, when the bridal party shows up to the private villa to find that it was double booked, & that a bachelor party for a whole different wedding is also staying there.

Both parties are playing games, and are hoping to come out the victors.

Will the tension between the two parties become chemistry?

The book started out a slow burn, but about halfway in, it started moving like wildfire. Too Hot to Handle executed the forced proximity, enemies to lovers trope in a fun, unexpected way.

This book was an interesting read that offered both highlights and challenges. One of the things I truly appreciated was the heartfelt portrayal of friendship and the unfolding love story. These emotional connections felt genuine and added warmth to the narrative. The pacing, especially in the latter parts of the book, kept me engaged and turning pages.

However, I did find the beginning quite slow, which made it a bit difficult to get into the story at first. The prose tended to be overly descriptive at times, which occasionally pulled me out of the moment. Some of the dialogue felt unnatural and didn’t always make sense in context, which impacted the overall believability of certain scenes. Additionally, the characters, while likable in parts, sometimes came across as immature, making it harder to connect with them on a deeper level.

Overall, while the book had its flaws, it also had moments that were genuinely touching. I think readers who enjoy slow-burn relationships and character-driven stories might find something to enjoy here.

As with every book I have read by Portia, this book was LOL hilarious. What could possibly go wrong when a wedding villa is double booked? Battle of the sexes of course!

Too Hot to Handle by Portia MacIntosh is a lighthearted, sun-drenched beach read that is guaranteed to keep you smiling from beginning to end.

Molly has been dumped just as her best friend has become engaged. In no mood to celebrate love, but pulling herself together for the sake of friendship, Molly agrees to a hen do/wedding combo trip to a Spanish villa with the bride to be and two other friends, but their plans are scuppered when they learn that the villa has also been rented to four men who are planning to launch a stag week. With neither party willing to give up their plans, a battle of the sexes ensues and sexual tensions must be denied in favour of achieving victory.

Portia MacIntosh has once again crafted the perfect amount of fun, frivolous and feel good vibes. Pop this one in your beach bag this summer.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.

This was such a lovely, quick read! I loved every single one of the characters and enjoyed the fact that their personalities clash between the pairs. The descriptions and the settings are dreamy, perfect for a summer ready. The banter was mostly really fun, with very few exceptions where it felt a little off.

The only thing that threw me off was the ending. Everything seemed to go down very fast and what happened with Owen didn't make a lot of sense. I loved the way that Travis and Molly end up together but disliked that both the other couples ended up together as well. (Seems like too much of a coincidence). With that said, I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Thank you to Boldwood books, Portia MacIntosh and NetGalley for the ARC of Too Hot To Handle.

I really loved this book just as I have all Portia Macintosh books. It was fun. light, easy to read. The characters and plot were both great! That you for the opportunity ro read this arc.

'Too Hot To Handle' is a highly entertaining and fun read. I read this quickly as I was having such an enjoyable time reading it. The plot is humorous and entertaining, the characters are likable and easy to get to know and this has the added bonus of being set in sunny Spain, allowing the reader to transport themselves to sunnier climates.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy.

LOOOOVED IT SOOOO MUCH this was absolutely AMAZING!!! I literally could not put it down omg READ IT!!!!

3.5⭐️
I am so glad that I did I received this arc! This was the perfect summer time romance. It had everything I love in romance books, forbidden romance, slow burn, close encounters and kind of enemies to lovers. I did feel like it was a little bit slow in the beginning and took a minute to get into but once I got into it I loved it! I was on the edge of my seat the last couple of chapters because I didn’t know what was going to happen next but I am happy with how it turned out. Molly and Travis and their cute little moments on the side when all the chaos was happening, was perfect. I really enjoyed the writing, it was easy to follow along with and I felt like I haven’t really read a lot of books that had the idea of two groups being stuck in the same house all week. It was nice twist having two groups instead of two people. I highly recommend this cute little summer time light spice romance!!

This book follows, Molly as she helps her best friend, Lou plan for her bachelorette party with 2 other girlfriends, Willow and Nita. When they get to the villa, they realize they've been double booked with a bachelor party!! Nolan's the groom, and he has his 3 groomsmen Travis, Harry, and Owen. They are causing trouble from the start but as the week goes on things start to come to light! See what happens next on release day, April 8th!!
This book was a slow read to start. As it's a single POV, you don't get anywhere romantic until about 60% into the book. If I hadn't read the description, I wouldn't have ever realized who the main love interest was until about the same time too maybe later. It was a fade to black book and once the romance portion hit, they moved fast! This is all over the span of a week! I think the book had some fun twists but also some unnecessary parts. Willow didn't have to be rude if there was never a conflict with her, she was just a bitch to Molly for most of the book for no reason. Lou is pushing Molly to date again for NO REASON! Can a girl not be single and okay with it? Lou not telling Elis gave me anxiety because that was a double standard to the MAX! The ending was wild and while it was fun, it was confusing and I wasn't a fan of Owen's reasoning but alas everyone was happy in the end. I think the pairs were really fun and I enjoyed the epilogue the most!
Thank you to NetGalley and Portia MacIntosh for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love everything that Portia MacIntosh has published and this one was definitely one for the books. With one twist that I believed as much as the main character did. LOL