This was a very cute and enjoyable rom com. The author employs the fake relationship to real relationship trope well and nothing is too cloying. Enjoyed the antics of Jessa and Brody. If I make one complaint it’s that in the beginning Jessa does come off as quite a drunken lush, continually making bad decisions and drinking more until she suffers the consequences but doesn’t seem to learn anything. She does grow a bit as a character though so it works out.

Portia MacIntosh’s Going Overboard is a sparkling, hilariously entertaining summer romance that deftly blends the classic rom-com tropes of forced proximity, fake dating, and enemies-to-lovers with a fresh, modern voice. Set against the sun-soaked backdrop of a cruise to Sicily, the story follows Jessa and Brody, two recently dumped individuals who find themselves entangled in an unexpected revenge pact against their exes. What begins as a clever, playful scheme quickly evolves into a deeper, undeniable connection, keeping readers hooked from the first page.

MacIntosh excels at crafting witty, emotionally resonant characters whose chemistry is electric. Jessa is relatable and endearing, navigating heartbreak with humor and vulnerability, while Brody’s charm and charisma complement her perfectly. The dialogue is sharp, often laugh-out-loud funny, and the narrative strikes a balance between lighthearted fun and genuinely tender moments. The cruise setting enhances the tension and humor, creating ample opportunities for mishaps, awkward encounters, and memorable romantic moments that will make readers swoon.

Beyond the laughs and swoons, the novel explores themes of resilience, self-discovery, and the courage to embrace new beginnings, making it more than just a lighthearted romance. MacIntosh’s pacing is spot-on, and the plot twists are satisfying without ever feeling forced.

Going Overboard is the perfect summer read: funny, heartwarming, and utterly addictive. Fans of Emily Henry, B.K. Borison, and contemporary rom-coms will find themselves fully immersed in this story of love, laughter, and navigating the choppy waters of the heart.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – A witty, romantic, and joyfully escapist rom-com that sails straight into the reader’s heart.

Huge thankyou to the publishers,

I know it's the end of summer but this is so worth the read .so much fun and totally fun characters . There was little moments little slower but didn't stop me enjoying the read

The writing is wonderful and I loved the humar that the author brought to this book

4 summer loving stars

A fun filled book that is a great summer read. Focusing on weddings and the relationships around them, this is an amusing tale of getting revenge on your ex and having fun at the same time.

While the development of the main characters’ romance is fun, there’s not much development of their inner thoughts or emotions.

A fun book 3.5*

Going Overboard by Portia MacIntosh is a fun, easy-to-read romantic comedy that’s perfect for a holiday. Set on a cruise ship, the story follows a fake-dating plot that naturally evolves into real feelings, with a good balance of light romance and humour.

The cruise setting adds a refreshing twist to the genre, and the confined space allows for some entertaining situations, such as the pair being accidentally locked out on a balcony overnight. The characters have solid chemistry, and the story moves along at a relaxed but engaging pace.

While the plot is fairly predictable, it is satisfying and well executed. This is a feel-good read that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is ideal for those looking to unwind with something fun and uplifting.

Another brilliant travel fling romcom from Portia MacIntosh - I just can’t get enough of her novels! She writes them so well with humour and wit and they just speak to me. She’s the best to get me out of reading slumps - I can always count on her to lighten my mood.

Going Overboard is one of her best works! Cruises are my favourite way to travel, so having this as the main setting for the book was perfect for me. There’s a wedding happening and the majority of the party is heading there by ship (someone doesn’t like to fly so they decided to cruise. Other guests are flying). The best part is how the main characters, Jessa and Todd, wind up in a fake relationship and wind up sharing a room when they both are dumped… and also have to travel with their terrible exes.

I truly loved this entire storyline and definitely plan to re-read someday soon. It was just a fantastic read - I highly recommend it to all!

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the early reader copy. This is my honest feedback.

This book was so fun to read and 3 stars is a positive review from me!! I love the setting and the two main characters had brilliant chemistry from start to finish, I absolutely adored their relationship!

This book is absolutely delightful! It’s so easy to pick up and read, the writing immediately draws you into a captivating scene. I was so engrossed that I almost missed my train stop! I absolutely loved this light-hearted romance. The book features beautiful settings, a diverse cast of characters, and a fun and entertaining plot. It’s the perfect escape from reality!

Thank you Netgalley

I LOVE a romantic comedy that takes place on a cruise ship.

Jessa got dumped by her boyfriend (Todd) and then is forced to spend time around Todd and his new girlfriend (Nikki) and Nikki's exboyfriend Brody while on a cruise celebrating another friends wedding. You know this is going to be messy.

This book hits most of my favorite tropes: forced proximity, enemies to lovers, fake dating.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

In this spicy and humorous new romance novel, readers follow recently dumped Jessa as she prepares to spend her best friend’s destination wedding and cruise bachelorette on the same boat as her ex Todd and his new girlfriend, who happens to be cricket star Brody’s ex Nikki. Stuck sharing a suite with Todd and Nikki, Brody and Jessa decide to move on from the awkwardness by fake dating a steamy romantic happy ending of their own. However, the more they fake it for everyone on board, the more intense their chemistry gets, and the carefully drawn line they set up is disappearing all too quickly. Entertaining, spicy, and wild, readers will love Jessa and Brody’s evolving relationship and the tropey situations they end up in on the cruise. Their interactions with Todd and Nikki are also entertaining, and the drama in this book will keep readers on their toes. The different tropes and situations they end up in really build up the story, their chemistry, and the larger plot, and the characters are definitely the stars of this entertaining and tropey romance novel. With so many great characters and fun details, romance readers will definitely enjoy this new book from Portia MacIntosh.

Huge thanks to Boldwood Books for the gifted ARC of this charming romance!

Going Overboard was lighthearted, fun and exactly the kind of book you can breeze through on a beach day or a cozy summer evening. It had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and I loved stepping into the world of Jessa and Brody. This is my third Portia MacIntosh book and at this point she’s become a go-to author whenever I need a feel-good romantic escape.

Tropes? This one has them all: enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, fake dating, only one bed, revenge pact—you name it. And of course, the happily ever after tied it all together in the sweetest way.

If you’re in the mood for an easy, romantic and funny read, this is one to add to your list !

Going Overboard is a quick and fun read. After being dumped by her boyfriend (have to be honest, no idea what she saw in him) Jessa still has to be around him as all of her friends are getting married. If that wasn't bad enough, he's already seeing someone else and it looks as though Jessa might have to share a cabin with him on the cruise they are all taking on the way to her best friends wedding.
Jessa joins forces with Brody, the ex-boyfriend of Jessa's ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend. They pretend to be a couple, to try and get their own back. (I think that my description is perhaps a little more complicated than what actually goes on!)
I loved this read. Jessa is a highly relatable character and Brody is a great book boyfriend. He might not take himself too seriously, but he is a great match for Jessa. Ireally enjoyed this book and read it really quickly because I was enjoying it so much. It would make a great summer holiday read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

This was fun, lighthearted and the perfect beach read!

Some of my absolute favorite tropes were in this one:

Fake dating
Forced proximity
One bed

I adored the mmc Brody. I love how easily he pulled the real person out of Jessa.

The setting was fun, weddings, cruise ship, Italy. Say less.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood books for the gifted copy.

I found this not as good as her others but, it was funny in places. I didn't like the characters much as they seemed too shallow and false for my liking. Some parts of it were fine but,nat times this book irritated me. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This is SUCH a good fake dating book. I absolutely adored Brody and Jessa’s chemistry and banter together. This book also had the perfect amount of drama, which I loved.

Don’t you love when books were so enjoyable you just have nothing to say 😂

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood books for this ARC!

I loved every page of this book. The plot is fun and full of love, laughter and sadness as well. There are no big twists but none are needed. The characters are great, their friendships really come across and they were nice people to spend time with.
I truly had a great time reading this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy.

Jessa is in her early thirties, has a job she likes and a boyfriend and a good relationship. At least she assumed to have a good relationship with Toss till he dumps her on the dance for of a weeding they are attending.
Only some days later she attends the next wedding of friends and Todd also attends but with his new girl friend Nikki! This calls for drinks to get over this event. The only downside the hotel is fully booked but luckily a nice guy is offering here to sleep in the Jacuzzi belonging to his room. What a coincident when it turns out that Brody is Nikki´s ex!
It is getting even more complicated as all of them attend the wedding of Jessa´s best friend where Brody is the best man. The group is taking a cruise to the wedding location and so short notice re arranging the sleeping arrangements turn out to be tricky. All four of them end up in a two-bed suite together.
To make the best of this Jessa and Brody decide to get back on their exes and to pretend to be a happy couple.


I really liked this book as it has my humor!
Yes, a story about fake dating is not new, but this one really entertained me, I liked the hilarious situations, laughed while reading it so for a perfect book!
For me the story is well written with the perfect mix of friendship, love and falling in love. For me the humor was perfect as it was not over the top, I liked the funny bunter and laughed quite a lot when unplanned things turned out so well in the story.

I like that we also have a book about friendship as this is the connection between the couples we have on the cruise. I really like how they interact with each other, how they have each other backs. But also the setting on the ship and also then on wedding location had the perfect holiday vibes and to ready what they were doing during the cruise was fun.

Jessa I liked right from the start and how she got dumped was tough. I liked how she wanted revenge but in the end it was not about getting back at her ex, instead it was how she got to know Brody, how she brought out the best in her.
Brody is a funny guy and I liked how down to earth he is even so he is a know cricket player and doesn´t want to end up in the tabloids. He is funny, teasing, such a wonderful character.
I really liked how both of them fake their relationship but while getting to know each other better they start to see the other person for real. I really enjoyed reading their story.

So I highly recommend this book, as I had so much fun reading it!

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood books for the chance to read this book. I liked it , it’s a good lighthearted summer easy read. This book follows Jessica just as she dumped by her boyfriend during a wedding .
Jessica meets another dumped person and life continues. A good beach book .

I just finished Going Overboard and I absolutely loved it! This summer romcom is hilarious, flirty, and full of feel-good vibes.

Story:
The story follows Jessa and Brody, who are thrown together in a forced proximity situation on a summer trip. Sparks fly, misunderstandings ensue, and the banter is nonstop, making for a fun and addictive read.

What I loved:
• Humor: I laughed out loud multiple times—Portia MacIntosh has a knack for witty, playful dialogue.
• Chemistry: The slow-building romance is sweet and steamy, and the forced proximity trope is executed perfectly.
• Summer vibes: The sunny setting and playful situations make this the perfect escapist read for a lazy afternoon or vacation.


Conclusion:
Overall, Going Overboard is a fun, flirty, and utterly entertaining romance. I’m giving it four stars—perfect for fans of forced proximity, laugh-out-loud romance, and summer escapism.

I absolutely adore everything by Portia MacIntosh and knew this wouldn't be any different. A classic light-hearted funny rom com, a couple you're rooting for, and a tug on the heartstrings along the way. Portia has her formula nailed to a tee.