"Will They, Won't They?" by Portia MacIntosh is a delightful and heartwarming tale that combines elements of romance, humor, and a touch of nostalgia. Emmy Palmer, the star of the popular fantasy series "Bragadon Forest," finds herself at the center of a scandal, prompting her to retreat from the glitzy life in London to her seaside hometown. The story unfolds as Emmy navigates the challenges of lying low, starring in a community Christmas pantomime, and unexpectedly reuniting with her ex-boyfriend, who happens to be her leading man.

MacIntosh's writing style is engaging and infused with humor, making the book a thoroughly enjoyable read. The blend of the glamorous world of television with the charm of a seaside town creates a vibrant backdrop for the unfolding drama. The plot, revolving around the community Christmas pantomime, adds a festive touch, making it a perfect read for the holiday season.

Emmy's journey of self-discovery and the exploration of past relationships contribute to the depth of the narrative. The author skillfully explores themes of love, friendship, and the unpredictability of life. The "will they, won't they" tension between Emmy and her ex-boyfriend adds a layer of romantic intrigue that keeps readers invested in the outcome.

The supporting characters in the seaside town bring the story to life, creating a sense of community and warmth. The dynamics between the characters, both old and new, contribute to the overall charm of the narrative. The pacing is well-executed, with the anticipation building up to the Christmas pantomime, creating a satisfying and heartwarming conclusion.

"Will They, Won't They?" earns a solid four stars for its engaging plot, well-developed characters, and the seamless blend of romance and humor. Portia MacIntosh delivers a feel-good story that captures the essence of small-town charm and the magic of the holiday season. Whether you're a fan of romance, Christmas tales, or a combination of both, this book is sure to leave you with a smile.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Entertaining & funny
I'd expect nothing less for MacIntosh!
Feel good, heartwarming & filled with Christmassy vibes.
What more could you want?

A really easy read. Wasn't too sure to begin with but in a few chapters I was hooked. Read this in a day, super sweet storyline, filled with family joy and interesting characters. Recommend for a day with no plans

Good mixture of family issues, grief, divorce, etc. Enjoyed the will we won’t we vibe. Life changing decisions handled well. I love how her books aren't quite as predictable as a lot of rom-coms. She spends a lot of time developing her main character before you get into all the relationship stuff.

Portia never fails to bring such heart-warming, fun romances to all of her readers. All of the characters were incredible and very entertaining.

I have read all of Portia MacIntosh's books and absolutely adore them all. This one was no different. What a super fun romance! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review. Throughout the book, the question of "Will they or won't they" resonate, with a deeply satisfying ending. I can't wait to read my next book by Ms MacIntosh!

Another 5 star book deserving a 5 star review

I absolutely loved the character Tel, he made me chuckle and he made me swoon!
The story was well written and had plenty of humour in there but it was also about families.... there was divorced parents and step parents, half siblings and it shows how families are now.
Really enjoyed and all I'll say is... I would love to go see Cinderella!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review

The main character, Emmy, is likeable, which makes her easy to root for. The accompanying cast are an amusing mixed bag, especially auntie Vee, who needs some bromide in her tea! The story is well researched and believable, and there are plenty of fun twists along the way. An easy five star.

Thoroughly enjoyable read! Loved every minute from start to finish. I could not wait to pick this book up every time I had a chance - the true testament to what I consider a page turner. Entertaining and funny with romance thrown in for good measure. Emmys journey is a joy to witness. Great read.

Thank you Netgalley

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

I absolutely adore this author, so jumped at the chance to request Will They, Won’t They?

I loved the spin of the main character, Emmy, being a star in a ‘game of thrones’ type tv show.

I was quite confused with Emmy’s love interest - seriously didn’t see the link with Tel coming. For some reason I believed Tel was in his 60s (lesson here…don’t read late at night when you’re tired!!)

Many books state they are ‘laugh out loud’ when they’re not. But this book really made me giggle. There’s many funny moments and I devoured the whole thing within 48 hours.

The other thing I loved about this book is that the author didn’t go down the ‘nasty, jealous sister’ and ‘selfish, unloving mum’ route. Emmy’s family loved and supported her. This was so refreshing to read!

Portia MacIntosh is fast becoming a firm favourite of mine. An author whose work consistently delivers.

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

Despite this book featuring a pantomine, there's actually very few references to Christmas in this book. It's a good read year round.

I usually love Portia's books but I didn't really gel with this one well. I found Emmy a little immature for her actual age, often acting more early 20s than early 30s. The scandal at the beginning of the book was rather unbelievable, and I didn't like Emmy's aunties at all.

I also struggled to see any chemistry between Emmy and either of the love interests.

Emmy is an incredibly famous actress living in London but when scandal hits Emmy returns home to wait for the storm to pass.

When presented with the idea to star in a local pantomime she is reluctant but her agent decides it would be great publicity. However, her leading man is none other than her ex-boyfriend who she left behind when she moved to London. Someone in the cast doesn’t want her to be there and tries to throw a spanner in the works at every opportunity. So the question arises will they, or won’t they?

This was a really cute easy to read Christmas book.

This book was just not it for me. I can't remember the last time I cringed this much reading a book and not because the author was trying to make the reader uncomfortable but rather, because the situation I was reading was just so awkward or uncomfortable but the MC just kept on going along with it. The charicters are really unbelievable and unrealistic and probably my biggest pet peeve, DO NOT ACT IN A MANNER THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THEIR AGE. Like there are actual full blown adults acting like teenagers or literal children left and right. I just could not take any of this seriously or get invested. I also wasn't really into any of the romantic interests and was overall annoyed by like half the cast of characters 75% of the time.
I thought the concept was good and had a lot of potential but the execution was just not it.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book by this prolific author that I have read and I have heard great things about her other novels.

It's a story about a young woman who has been axed unfairly from a top TV show and comes home to her town in the North of England to be with her family and mourn the loss of a beloved family member. While she is there she's roped in to star in an amateur Christmas Panto, which is basically where TV careers go to die.

There are some wonderful characters in this story, like Emmy, her mother and step-father. They are incredibly nice, good people. Some of the other characters sharply contrast to Emmy - even her sister is a little grating. Her half siblings are simply awful, not to mention some of her panto buddies. In the end, all of their bad behaviour seemed to be annoyingly glossed over.

The title is a little misleading as the story-line, which takes a little while to get going, doesn't really align with "Will they, Won't they".

And, I know it's a small thing, but in England people don't say 'ketchup'. While readers in the US would probably not notice the difference, it threw me off a bit.

I did enjoy parts of the novel, but given the author's popularity, I think I was expecting the characters to be more authentic and for the romance to be more prominent.

Emmy is a famous actress who has just been killed off in the TV show she works on, and also lost her beloved grandad. So she heads back home to Yorkshire to escape and to see her family.
She ends up getting dragged in to a project to help save the local theatre, but someone doesn't want her there, and others have their own agenda completely, so will she find love?

Loved the side character, particularly her Aunt Vee!

A great read

Laugh out loud moments galore. Portia Macintosh is an instant buy author for me. I love her books. They are relatable, easy and funny.
I've been so fortunate to be able to read and review a number of her books now and this one didnt disappoint. It was such a good read.

Her characters are always well developed and likeable and this one just had so many laugh out loud moments.

This book was read thanks to NetGalley.


This is a book for those who love second chance romance, it's a quick read and the characters develop nicely through the story, it's hard to find a good story when the female has a nice personal grow, and this book was one of the few books that had it, so give this book a chance, you won't be disappointed .

The premise of this book caught my eye and I thought, "Yes! I love a good will they won't they!" While I did enjoy the book and the journey that Emmy Palmer embarks after scandal rocks her big city job sending her back home to a slower pace of life, the tension between her and the love interest was barely there - at least not enough in my opinion to title the book around it. I found the majority of the story to be centered around Emmy's development and getting reacquainted with her home town.

Will They, Won't They walks through relationships of all kinds: parent/child, past friendships, new friendships. It is a light read and a cute one to pick up to read around the Christmas holidays!