As always a fun, laugh out loud read. These books are just lovely, I pick one up, race through it and laugh out loud along the way. This one had an extra helping of festivities which I just loved.

I did not enjoy this story as much as some of MacIntosh’s other novels, simply because I grew frustrated by how many lies the protagonist tells, just to spare her dignity.

With an endearing narrative voice, I quickly warmed to Dani’s character, who is upfront and honest about her circumstances. Having split up with her boss, Tom, life in the office is strained and awkward – even more so as he moves to demote Dani and basically push her out of the office. For the “good of the company”, of course. Dani knows she needs a change and when an unpredicted, random kiss with one of her colleagues leads to a fake romance, Dani recognises the opportunity to leave London and her failed love life behind.

So yes, once again we are delving into the theme of a fake romance, something that seems increasingly popular in the novels I have picked this year. However, because I liked Dani’s character so much, I warmed to the budding relationship between her and Rex. In fact, when they part ways early in the novel, I was disappointed that MacIntosh puts a distance with this potential romance because I loved seeing the chemistry between the two of them.

Instead, Dani returns home to find her parents are away for Christmas. Trying to save face, Dani tells a series of lies which presents a successful life, a blossoming career and, bizarrely, a Christmas party. It’s all a bit lack-lustre and this is where I found the novel less enjoyable than other MacIntosh stories. Dani’s desperation to prove herself to her old town just means she finds herself in deeper water. Rex is reachable, just by video calls, and I was so keen to see their relationship grow that I was frustrated when this did not happen very quickly.

This is a pleasant Christmas story with plenty of snow. I particularly loved the Christmas burger that was described – it sounded divine! The competitiveness between Dani’s father and neighbour over Christmas lights was entertaining and added to the lovable monologue that Dani presents. However, I think I was hoping for more romance between Dani and Rex, rather than this display of dishonesty and fear of being found out as single, unhappy and alone for Christmas.

With thanks to Boldwood books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Dani decided to celebrate Christmas with her family, something that she have not been doing all this while. She was dumped by her secret relationship with her boss and being demoted. Faced with the prospect alone, she decided to go back home only to find out that her parent went for a holiday in France. As she tries to cover up the fact she is all alone, there are stories about neighbour rivalry, long lost friends reconnect and flirtation with her teen crush.

It is a light and easy read for me. The story line is engaging and hilarious interactions with plenty of twist in this fun festive romance.

*schedule post to be published on 30/9/2022*

A fun and highly entertaining holiday book I could not put down! This is my second book by this author and I loved the previous book, so I did not hesitate to pick this one up. I was not disappointed!
Dani has had a rough time of it lately. She has been demoted at work and has just been dumped by her long-term boyfriend, and she really needs her spirits lifted. She decides to finally travel back home to her family after missing so many holidays in the past. Only when she arrives, she finds out her parents have already made plans and are not home. Not willing to let anyone know of her pathetic holiday plans, she gives everyone the impression she is using her parent's empty home for a holiday party. As the lies start snowballing, so do the laughs as this charming story just pulled me right in. The story was full of fun and heart, filled with many humorous moments and left me with a smile on my face. The characters were well-defined with realistic qualities which made them relatable and I couldn't help but fall in love with them. There was no question about the strong chemistry between them, and their banter and interactions were heart fluttering and swoon-worthy. Glad to have had the opportunity to read this one!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

3.5 stars!

Finally getting around to putting out my ARC reviews!!

The book was good yet a little cliched. For some reason I got some major The Holiday vibes from it, don't ask why.

But in certain areas, it felt bland and kinda basic. And even a little underwhelming.

Otherwise, it was decent. Not too shabby!

Yet again Portia MacIntosh produces another brilliant piece of work. I am an avid reader of this author and a part of me starts each new book with a touch of trepidation that her latest offering might not be as good as the previous. However, Single all the way is fabulous!

The book centres around Dani, she has been cheated on and dumped, she has been demoted and the worst part of the situation is that her boss is her ex (the dumping cheater!!)

Dani enters a mutually convenient agreement with Rex, a charming, all-American ladies man from work. Dani has pre-judged him. The story takes us on a journey of getting to know people for who they really are.

Dani returns to her family home in the north east, and reconnects with childhood friends. The story moves at an enjoyable pace and characters are well described and introduced meaningfully.

I absolutely loved the friendship and relationship between Dani and Rex. I also enjoyed the potential that Ben threw into the mix. The author kept me guessing until the final chunk of the story as to which way Dani would go.

Highly recommended for a lovely Christmas-feels romantic comedy!!

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

Very cute Christmas read. I think this should be a movie. It gave me all those warm christmas vibes that i was looking for. Overall I think I would suggest this one.

Favorite Quotes:

I’m definitely over him– and baffled why I was ever under him...

Also, and I know this sounds ridiculous for a thirty-something woman to say, but it felt so wonderfully naughty, to be breaking the rules. I got a real kick out of it. In a similar vein, I also got a kick out of drinking from my mum’s favourite mug, sitting in my dad’s chair, and listening to his records that no one is allowed to touch. I even allowed myself a cheeky five minutes to touch my mum’s collection of crystal ornaments– basically, all the things I’ve been discouraged from doing my entire life, that I can only do today because no one is here to tell me off for it. To be honest, I’m sure neither of my parents would care about any of these things now that I’m an adult (allegedly), but just let me have this.

I dash to the downstairs loo and check myself over in the mirror quickly. I was eating cheese puffs about half an hour ago and I still feel like I’m covered in orange stuff. I know, I know, it’s unfathomable how sexy I am. How is Rex resisting me?

I tell you what, one thing I didn’t need to worry about, being here alone this past week, was running out of the important stuff like toilet roll or shower gel. There’s a cupboard full of tinned food and bottles of water– something my dad has lovingly dubbed her ‘zombie supplies’– which is supposed to be for worst-case, unlikely scenarios like extreme weather or wars or wars or God knows what– but you better believe she’s ready for them.

My Review:

This was a lively and fun read, laced together with breezy and amusing humor and witty observations. It didn’t matter one whit to me that I was reading a British story occurring in heavy snow during the Christmas holidays while I was experiencing a humid August day in the tropics. The engaging storylines were pleasantly entertaining, easy to follow, delightfully original, refreshingly unpredictable, shrewdly paced, and held my interest throughout. I enjoy this crafty author’s sense of humor and I plan to weave more of her work into my bloated TBR.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! Halloween and spooky reads? Nah! Let’s jump straight into the Christmas stories! What comes out when putting together my favorite holiday and one of my favorite romance authors? A super entertaining and unputdownable story that will have you yearning for a hot chocolate (even though it’s 40ºC outside) and Mariah Carey and her All I Want For Christmas Is You on a loop (well, maybe not that one).

After her boyfriend dumps her for a younger girl, Dani’s Christmas looks like it’s gonna be a lonely one so she decides to surprise her parents and goes to her hometown to celebrate the holidays with them. But oh, surprise! Her parents have gone away on holiday too! A fake party, a couple of love interests and a lot of Christmas spirit will determine if Dani will spend the holidays single all the way.

If you’ve previously read a Portia MacIntosh novel you know what you’re in for, and if not…what are your waiting for? Her heroines are always so relatable I wanna be friends with all of them. Dani feels unseen both in her love life and professional life, and I think everyone can relate to some extent with that. Her relationship with Rex, the office flirt, was so much fun! I love how there was more to him than what initially met the eye. He was a serial flirt, ok, but he was also charming, generous and willing to help Dani no matter what (and their Zoom meetings were hilarious), so that made him such an appealing character.

We’re back in Marram Bay and it was great to come back to that gorgeous location and meeting back some old friends. The tidal island always make for such a great setting!

The narrative style is so engaging that it’s hard to stop reading once you’ve started. I loved how Dani and Rex’s friendship developed, full of humor, witty banter, compassion and playfulness, devoid of all the toxic elements we sometimes have to read in romances.

Witty, cute and warm story with a fantastic set of characters that made of Single All The Way the perfect Christmas rom-com.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Danny watches her coworker Rex hit on the new girl Madeline and when he gets rejected he insinuates that he was inviting her out to be with him and his girlfriend “Danny!“ She is still reeling from the break up from her boss and boyfriend Tom. Bing put on the spot though she agrees and smiles after all her face is still hot from where he kissed her cheek they even wand up at the Christmas work party together and she starting to like how it feels to be with him but because she decided to go home for the holidays their fake relationship isn’t interrupted but they keep in touch over Skype due to a potential job he can help her get. While home she runs into childhood friends and instead of saying she spending Christmas alone she intense a fake party that she claims to be throwing for the whole town. This book was so much fun I love the Danny and I love that Rex seemed like a real world person with his childhood stories and how much they had in common this is just a great book it’s so funny! If you love romantic comedies you will definitely love this but I could definitely see this being a movie. This is a book I highly recommend and loved! I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Gosh I adored this story and flew through it so quickly!

After Lexi is dumped and demoted at work she decides its time to go home and visit her parents for Christmas. Only to find that they have gone away for the Christmas holidays and so she is home alone.

This book has everything that I love in books its funny its sweet and it has a little bit of fake dating thrown in which is so fun to read!

I must also give a special mention to the rivalry with the neighbour with the Christmas lights. I loved how petty they both were about it all!

Highly recommend if you're looking for a romantic fun festive story!

Oh my world, I listened to the Audible, so so good, so funny. Love that Karen Cass narrates it.
Great story and characters.

Dani's life had all the symptoms of a train wreck. In Portia MacIntosh's 'Single All the Way' with laughter and light her life is sorted to a joyous conclusion, no matter how unlikely it seemed. After a disastrous break-up with her boss/boyfriend, unappreciated Dani decides to surprise her parents and go home for Christmas. As she arrives to an empty house a chain of events that is hilarious and filled with pathos unfolds. I loved being transported to a locale that was so foreign to me and learning about the culture in Great Britain. I highly recommend this to all who want to laugh, and maybe cry a little, but to overall have a good time.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Every Portia Macintosh story resonates with me, each in a different way. She really captures the essence of what makes a rom com terrific with well drawn and interesting characters and settings that I can see so clearly from her descriptions. Well done!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion. I love Portia MacIntosh's books, and this is no exception. What a great lesson that things are not always what they seem, and this definitely shines through in "Single All The Way". I loved reading about Dani and her interactions with Tom Jones (NOT the musician), Ben and Rex. I felt like I was right there with them. This one kept me up late because I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read her next book!

Portia writes something and I will try everything in my power to read it, because the way that she makes her stories so easy to read and so addictive, we have our main character going through a Christmas adventure and i couldn't stop read it, because i really wanted to know how it would end.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Wow I think I found my new favorite author. If you are a fan of Sophie Kinsella and then you will love this author! Such a great Christmas story. I read it in a day. Ha! Highly recommend.

The perfect romantic comedy read for Christmas! Just getting over a breakup with her cheating boyfriend, Dani agrees to pose as co-worker Rex’s girlfriend, but things soon become complicated when she develops real feelings for him. Dani is eager to escape London over Christmas and heads home to surprise her parents….only they’ve gone to France for a holiday! Not willing to admit she’s got it all wrong, she decides to throw a party on Christmas Eve. Lots of humour and a lovely, sweet romance.

A really fun feel good book for the festive season. When Dani is dumped by her boyfriend who is also her boss she decides to surprise her parents and go home for Christmas. However it is not that simple as they have decided to go on holiday so she finds herself home alone, and in an attempt to stop interference from well meaning friends and neighbours she invents an imaginary party. This leads to a tangled web of lies and misunderstanding involving Dani and two handsome eligible men, which one will she choose?

Well, this was a wonderful book to kick off my Christmas reading for this year.

From the beginning, I found myself rooting for Dani - I felt sorry for her relationship-wise and also work-wise. It made me really hope she gets a very happy ending.

I loved all of the descriptions of the island where her parents live. I think it sounds pretty cool to be isolated by the tides twice a day! The little village and it’s community sound pretty cool as well - the Christmas light showdown and sabotage attempts had me giggling.

A lovely little Christmas story!