To be fair I am a little bit fed up of books that start out with a celebrity and a scandal, fouth one in the last 3 months. At least with this book the characters are believable, well written and likable. It all goes wrong for Emmy when she is killed off from her long running TV show unexpectedly, a story leaked to the newspaper and a death in the family sends her back home. Back to family, old friends and a jack of all trades builder. Enjoyable book with plenty to keep you hooked

This is a light hearted romantic comedy with touches of humor and family. The main character, actress Emmy, is relatable. She has drama in personal life and career which everyone can understand at some point. Emmy has an Aunt Vee brings along the comedy and expands on the family drama.

I enjoyed the small town British romance and the drama in the personal and professional lives of all the characters. I did enjoy the humor as it broke the book up. I could see this being a Netflix movie.

I seriously love all Portia Macintosh books! That said, I didn’t love this one as much as previous ones; it took a while to figure out who end game was going to be and the synopsis is quite misleading. However, the mistakes were comical and I could definitely see this being made into a movie. But I loved the ending; it’s nice to have some realism!

This is a delightful romantic comedy with the author's signature light touches of humor and complicated family relationships. The main character, actress Emmy, is relatable, and her dilemmas in love and in her career drive the story forward in an enjoyable way. Emmy's Aunt Vee adds comic relief, and the troubled relationships with her sisters, her father, and his new family add depth to the narrative. Some of the secondary characters get their own love stories, and the witty portrayal of theatre people, both professional and amateur, adds to the fun. The writing is skillful and the novel flows well, making Will They, Won't They an appealing light read.

When personal tragedy and professional scandal hit at the same time, actress Emmy escapes London for her seaside hometown in Yorkshire. There, old and new love interests vie for her attention as she joins the local theatre group, deals with family drama and renovates a house, all while wondering if she'll ever get her acting career back on track again.

I'm always down for a paint-by-number romance, and <i>Will They, Won't They</i> had a promising beginning as Emmy flees her non-friends in London for the comforts of home, but ultimately its cast of characters let it down. The biggest problem was Emmy herself: a thirty-six year old woman who is an internationally famous actress but is apparently incapable of saying no to anyone and is constantly taken advantage of by friends and family as a result, and who can't go five minutes without reminding the reader that she was uncool in high school. But the minor characters didn't help: Emmy's old friends are underdeveloped and Emmy has no more interest in them than we do; her flirtatious aunt is more cringeworthy than funny; and former crush Scott doesn't seem to have anything going for him except for the fact that Emmy had a crush on him twenty years ago.

I picked up this book hoping for the happy ending that it gave me - Emmy ends up with the right guy, and everything works out - but it was ultimately unsatisfying, as I had no real reason to root for any of the characters. Nor was it a convincing ending; one lifelong, and very understandable, trauma of Emmy's was resolved in a single apology.

I will be checking out more of this author's work as I liked the plot overall, but I can't recommend this particular title.

An ARC was generously provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

A Whiff Of Scandal…
Glamour and fame, being the star of a hugely successful television fantasy show, come easily to Emmy but a whiff of scandal brings disastrous consequences and not only changes her day to day life but brings her back into contact with a former boyfriend. Enjoyable, lighthearted romcom coming from all the right places. A fun and uncomplicated read for some entertaining escapism.

Another really brilliant book. I don’t feel the book description is very accurate about Emmy’s reasons for returning home which are due to bereavement rather than a scandal and show Emmy therefore is a much more compassionate light.. The author writes so well and brings all the characters to life brilliantly. The humour shines through and brings a smile to your face. . I raced through the story and cannot recommend it highly enough. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a preview copy of this book.

Portia MacIntosh is one of my go to authors. Her books are romantic, funny and perfect for some light hearted reading. This latest novel is no exception, I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.
Emmy is a famous actress in a popular fantasy TV programme. Following a few rumours, she has been given the chop (quite literally – her character was beheaded!) and finds herself at a loose end. Following a family tragedy, she returns home to the Yorkshire village she grew up in. Soon immersed in the lives of her crazy family, she finds herself getting roped into a local production as well as renovating a house!
Her agent thinks a local pantomime may just save her career and encourages Emmy to take part, although not everyone is happy, she is about to star in the show. She also revisits past relationships and friendships, realising some are happier to see her than she is to see them.
With the truth always managing to come out, can Emmy repair her career, or does she realise her priorities are now elsewhere?
A crazy bunch of characters, I liked them, although randy Aunty Vee may have been a bit much for me, I felt that I knew each one and they all played a specific part in the story. Plenty of laugh out loud moments in this one and although for once I wasn’t sure who the romantic interest would be, there is plenty of romance too.
Highly recommended for a great summer read.

I don’t generally read British rom coms but Portia MacIntosh is the exception and I have loved all her previous books. Whilst this one isn’t my favourite,, it’s still a very good read. For me the best bits are the small town setting, the quirky secondary characters and the gentle humour. The only thing I struggled with was the lack of romance - the relationship really only got started towards the end of the book and there wasn’t an obvious sense of chemistry. It’s more a women’s fiction title than a rom com in my view.

Sometimes you need something that feels frothy and light, where the stakes are low and the characters are charming. Portia Macintosh is a go-to read for smaller town, British contemporary romances, and her latest book, “Will They, Won’t They?” releasing on 9/7 follows the same, successful format. Many thanks to @netgalley and @bookandtonic for the ARC.

Emmy is a television actress on a successful fantasy show (think: Game of Thrones). She gets killed off on the show, and decides to temporarily leave her London life to move back to her hometown, where she purchases her recently deceased grandfather’s home and renovates it. While there, she is asked to participate in a charity play to support rehabbing the local theater, and she runs into a cast of secondary characters, including her high school crush, her 17-year old half siblings with major attitude, her estranged dad, and her sexy general contractor working on the house.

Read this book if you love:
💕small town British romances (that feel more like women’s fiction), with a heavy emphasis on a small-town feel and an eccentric family
💕 characters at a crossroads in life, struggling to choose the next step in their career
💕 a (small, tiny) love triangle, with low angst and low stakes

There are some funny moments in the book where I cackled, but the book might not be for all readers. The end does feel a bit rushed and too neatly tied-up, and the hero seems a little too perfect. Additionally, the cast of characters is not diverse, it’s a closed door romance, and there is a definite narrative supporting small town living over a big city life. However, the low-angst, magical ending is part of what makes this book a delightful one to spend some time in. We know this isn’t the real world, and sometimes that’s just the escape we need. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a low-key escape, who loves a British turn of phrase.

(3.5 stars rounded up to a 4)

I found this book to bit a bit slow to get going. The main character’s took too long to connect, and I felt like giving up on it at times. It’s an okay read to take to the beach.

Portia MacIntosh is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. Her books have romance and also a touch of comedy, just perfect for some light-hearted reading. Portia’s latest novel is no different and hits the mark perfectly.

Emmy Palmer is an actress who stars as a lead in a long-running fantasy TV show. A rumoured affair with a show runner has led to her filming her final episode and she is at a loss as to what her plans for the future are.

When a family tragedy strikes, Emmy heads back to her Yorkshire hometown to spend time with her somewhat dysfunctional family - her mum, step dad, sister and family, twin half-siblings, two aunts and her estranged dad and his family.

While there she ends up being roped into helping to save and restore the local theatre by starring in a pantomime something she swore she would never do. However, her agent thinks it’s a great idea and the upside is that she will be starting alongside her teenage crush. So many wasted chances could this now be fate.

You will love this book, so many laugh out loud moments (most of which involve Aunt Vee!). Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Boldwood Books and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Will They, Won’t They is the latest from Portia MacIntosh. I’ll be honest this one left me wanting more, not in a good way necessarily. It was a touch lacking, I didn’t find it as likable as others by Portia MacIntosh.

This was just okay for me. I generally like Portia MacIntosh even though it's a little on the fluffy side because of her humor and her sharp observations. This really fell short on those counts and the central romance takes way too long to get going. I know not to expect a lot of sex from her books, but this book has literally none and no chemistry between the leads. The book is still funny and entertaining but I doubt I'll remember it at all.

I received an advance copy of, Will, They, Won't They, by Portia MacIntosh. I found this book uncomfortable to read at times, the characters are so awkward.

Love Portia Macintosh’s books, and was excited to read this latest one, it did not disappoint. Could not put it down once I had started. Brilliant. Definitely worth reading

This is my first opportunity to read a Portia MacIntosh book and was glad that netgalley gave me that chance. I have read so many amazing reviews on her previous books and jumped at the chance to read Will they won’t they?

I thoroughly enjoyed following the adventures of Emmy Palmer and her misadventures when returning to her home town from London. I found Emmy highly relatable with a family of misfits, old friends and obligations what’s not to love. I found her relationship with her dad, one that lots of us know and understand and how that trust is easily lost as a child and the struggle to rebuild it as an adult. The bond between siblings full and half was nicely negotiated and explored showing the modern take on family life.

Overall I absolutely blooming loved this book and will be on the hunt for more Portia MacIntosh books as her writing is entertaining and characters that feel real and tangible. I highly recommend Will they Won’t they.

*I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Honestly, I was kind of disappointed with this one! I recently read another book by Portia MacIntosh and loved it. But this one fell kind of flat for me. I felt like the love interests just weren't dynamic enough. It said they were spending all this time together, but we didn't get to read about most of it. So they hung out and developed feelings and then we just were told "hey, they love each other now". The supporting characters were all kind of awful people too - from the aunties to the friends to the sister. I don't know.. it was okay, but it wasn't my favorite.

Portia MacIntosh has become an auto-buy author for me, and this book only added to that feeling. Her writing is just so, so good. It’s clever, it’s witty, and it just feels so real. Emmy quickly became one of my favourite characters I’ve ever read about. I loved seeing everything from her POV, and seeing how her personality developed throughout the story.

I’m giving this a 4/5 instead of a 5/5 for a couple reasons. The first is because there was a lot of mystery behind who actually was going to be the love interest for Emmy, and with how long that uncertainty lasted, I didn’t feel as deep of a connection by the end as I would have liked. It seemed like a lot of things were told but not shown, just simply because the actual romance began so late in the book.

The second reason is because I feel like the description of the book is quite misleading. There will be some spoilers in the next paragraph so I can explain why I’m giving this reason, so I want to give a heads up about that to skip this next little bit if you want to avoid that.
Based on the description I thought it would be a second chance romance with her ex-boyfriend, but it’s not. Scott and Emmy never actually dated, and the description says she goes to her hometown after a scandal, but the story was so much more than that. I actually would have been more likely to pick up this book (if I wasn’t already doing so because of the author) if the author had mentioned family as the reason she was going home, because I absolutely loved the strong familial inclusion in this book. Also, a hot handyman neighbour being mentioned in the description would have made me need to dive into this book even more.

There were quite a few characters, but they were all so well defined that it never got confusing, which is honestly truly impressive. As mentioned before, I adored Emmy. I really enjoyed reading about her family as well; I loved that her step-dad was so involved in the story because he was wonderful, as was her mom. I had hesitations about Tal at first, but he really grew on me. As did Felix; I ended up really loving his story, and meeting Anita because of him.

Potential spoiler to end my review, because I’d like to wrap up my thoughts about how it ended:
This felt more like a HFN as opposed to a HEA, and I think that that was an appropriate ending. The last chapter was only 6 months later, and it’s refreshing to just read about a woman happily dating someone, bonding with her family, and working a new job as opposed to needing to get married & have kids as soon as she falls in love. I do wish there had been an update on Gracie; her & Emmy’s sister relationship was so nice to read about and I feel like her storyline with her family was unfinished. But I adored that the book ended with Emmy together with her family, watching the show, and her having such a happy moment in her ‘new’ life and home.

This got really long, so I’m going to finally wrap this up by saying that ‘Will They, Won’t They?’ is another win by Portia MacIntosh. I will continue to pick up her books as soon as they come out, and will strongly recommend this & her others to basically anyone who will listen to me. Thank you to Boldwood Books & NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!