[Updated April 2021]
Author Portia MacIntosh writes lighthearted, modern chick lit. I only came across her books earlier this year, but as I’ve read six already, I decided to do one of my author spotlights on her. I love her style of writing and I’m sure that I’m going to read many more.
The vast majority of her books are around a 4-5 hour read, so they are easy to devour on a lazy weekend, or even in one sitting. They are written in the first person in a really embracing way, it’s almost like a fun friend is talking directly to you.
Have a read of my reviews and check out her extensive bibliography as she has written so many fun rom coms.
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This post includes reviews of books by Portia MacIntosh:
Faking It
Stuck on You
The Plus One Pact
My Great Ex-Scape
Honeymoon for One
Make or Break at the Lighthouse B&B
Home Alone on Hope Island – Single All the Way
One Way or Another
Life’s a Beach
Portia MacIntosh Book Reviews
Faking It by Portia MacIntosh
Faking It is the latest, and probably my favourite book from Portia MacIntosh so far (and I’ve read many of them).
In this fictional story Emma seeks helps from her estranged twin Ella. Emma is the twin who seemingly has it all, whilst Ella is single and has just lost her job and home.
The plan is that Ella will pretend to be Emma for a few weeks with only her husband knowing the truth. Ella/Emma will have to navigate being a mum, wife and the yummy mummies on the school run.
I found this so funny and read most of it in a day. It was so good I don’t want to put it down. The ending is a bit of a surprise but leaves you with a warm feeling. Highly recommended.
Released January 2021
Stuck on You by Portia MacIntosh
Stuck on You is about Sadie, a lover of eclectic vintage fashion with a passion for charity shops. She works as a personal assistant to a narcissistic portrait photographer called Damian. Her work entails running his personal life as much as his work life, which even includes finishing relationships for him.
Sadie’s one saving grace is her friendship with Adam, the employee she shares a hot desk with. They’ve never met but have built up a great relationship via the post-it notes they leave for each other.
This story ticks the tripfiction box too as it includes a wedding on a fort near Portsmouth with a serial killer (!), and a trip to Sadie’s home for Christmas on an island off the Yorkshire coast.
Stuck on You is full of likable characters. It’s a fun and light-hearted book where the humour is very much tongue in cheek with a touch of innuendo. It’s a good short read (about 5 hours) with a twist at the end. I feel this book should have been marketed more as a festive Christmas love story. I really enjoyed it.
Published by Boldwoodbooks September 2020
The Plus One Pact by Portia MacIntosh
Self confessed puzzle nerd, Cara Brooks has the fascinating job of designing escape rooms (such a novel idea as so many women in chick lit books are bakers, PAs or work in media).
She’s successful at work but sadly, she’s not quite so lucky in love. After a series of disastrous dates from the Matcher app, Cara is befriended by a single guy called Joe Mills (Millsey) and the pair agree to be each other’s ‘plus one’ for upcoming family weddings and events.
On each ‘date’ the pair get themselves in (and out) of a few scrapes. There’s lots of fun and some heartwarming moments too. Another really enjoyable read that features some of the characters from her previous book Truth or Dare.
I must add that I loved the description of Cara’s parents’ home. It brought back happy memories of watching the film mentioned for me.
My Great Ex-Scape by Portia MacIntosh
My Great Ex-Scape is a very funny, well written light-hearted read.
Rosie is a journalist who gets dumped on live tv which then, of course, goes viral on the internet. She abandons all social media and quits her job to escape the embarrassment. She then finds flowers on her doorstep from an ex saying they want her back. Rosie then sets off on a quest to find out which ex sent them.
This needs to be on your list of definite holiday reads.
Honeymoon for One by Portia MacIntosh
Author Lila Rose finds out that her fiance Daniel has been cheating on her moments before they are about to get married. (Ironically, her book writing genre is wedding-related rom coms!)
Understandably, she is feeling upset and betrayed, and decides to head off on her honeymoon alone to use it as a writing retreat.
She travels to Valentine Island off the coast of Italy to a private resort that specialises in romantic breaks for couples. The description makes it sound exquisite. I love how Portia not only describes what everywhere looks like, but she goes into detail about what Lila can hear and smell too.
Lila doesn’t get much of a chance to concentrate on writing with the arrival of some welcome and not so welcome guests. This book is fun, sexy and quite original as a plot, especially with Lila’s novel being interwoven. It is full of great characters and I absolutely loved it.
Make or Break at the Lighthouse B & B by Portia MacIntosh
Make or Break at the LIghthouse B & B is another warm, amusing book by Portia Macintosh. Here we see the main character Lola return to the family home to be cared for after breaking her leg.
As she has been deserted by her boyfriend, friends, and colleagues, her well-meaning mum puts a job advert up announcing her skills as a relationship guru. Lola then guides her little group into finding new love.
A perfect quick read for holidays and lazy Sunday afternoons.
Home Alone on Hope Island – Single All the Way
Home Alone on Hope Island is a standalone story that is part of the Marram Bay/Hope Island series.
After being dumped by her ex, who also happens to be her boss, Lexi heads home for Christmas only to find that her parents have gone on holiday. Not wanting to admit the truth to her old neighbours and school friends, Lexi prepares a Christmas party for everyone to attend so they don’t see her as a failure.
This was a cute little festive read and reminds us of family Christmas traditions, childhood memories and keepsakes that returning home gives. I loved the importance of supporting local businesses throughout, and there was a good Christmas playlist to accompany the celebrations too.
At just over an hour’s read it is perfect for Christmas reading when everyone is so busy.
It also showcases the first four chapters of the next book in the series Make a Break at the Lighthouse B & B. I had already read that book but it doesn’t matter what order you read them in as they all focus on different characters.
One Way or Another by Portia MacIntosh
One Way or Another is a short story that acts as a prequel to If we Ever Meet Again. This is an hour’s romp where music journalist Nicole tries to trace rockstar Dylan down after a gig. A slapstick comedy to the extreme. A fun, easy read if you don’t take it seriously.
Life’s a Beach by Portia MacIntosh
I’ve read many of Portia’s books before and they’ve pretty much all been 5 star reads. I enjoy her style of writing, it’s almost like listening to a friend talk. At 3 or 4 hours reading, they’re the perfect length for me too.
I just loved the settings of this book, from luxury wedding venues and hotels in the UK to private resorts in Italy. They provided a much needed bit of escapism.
I enjoyed most of the characters in this book, although I felt their personalities all waived a bit too much. There were a few too many secret relationships in the story too that made me feel a bit uncomfortable. It left me thinking the sisters were not as close as they thought.
On the whole though, I enjoyed it. It was an easy, fun read. 3.5 stars.
Published by Boldwood Books May 2021
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Portia MacIntosh Bibliography
Life’s A Beach (2021)
Faking It (2021)
Stuck on You (2020)
The Plus One Pact (2020)
The Great Ex-Scape (2020)
Make or Break at the Lighthouse B&B (2020)
Home Alone on Hope Island – Single All the Way (2019)
Honeymoon for One (2019)
The Time of our Lives (2019)
Love and Lies at the Village Christmas Shop (2018)
Summer Secrets at the Blossom Deli (2018)
You Can’t Hurry Love (2017)
The Accidental Honeymoon (2017)
It’s Not You, It’s Them (2016)
Truth or Date (2016)
Drive Me Crazy (2015)
Bad Bridesmaid (2014)
If We Ever Meet Again (2014)
One Way or Another (2014)
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Have you read any books by Portia MacIntosh?
Which ones have been your favourites?
You may also like to read some of my other author spotlight features or other themed book posts:
* Lindsey Kelk – Author Spotlight
* More Festive Christmas Reads
Portia MacIntosh is published at Boldwood Books and Harper Impulse. You can find out more at her website here.
Tea & Cake For The Soul 
This was a nice distraction from my lesson prep,
How timely, you must have known – thank you! I’m planning on delving into Kindle territory soonish so look forward to scouring your recommendations when the time comes!
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It’s dangerous, I have over 300 TBR on Kindle 😮 !
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