Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of “Going Overboard” by Portia MacIntosh.

I’ll admit I was really only attracted to this book initially because it takes place partially on a cruise ship - a setting I wish more books used. I wasn’t familiar with the author at all. To my delight, she has a fresh, funny writing style that kept me entertained from start to finish. This is a perfect read for fans of Emily Henry, Abbie Jimenez and Sophie Kinsella. I really enjoyed it and am now looking forward to exploring Portia MacIntosh’s other books - of which there are many.

Jessa's long-time boyfriend, Todd, dumps her in the middle of the dance floor during a mutual friend's wedding, shortly before Jessa's best friend's week-long, extravagant wedding celebration. Todd brings his new girlfriend, Nikki, to the wedding since technically she had already RSVP'd with her ex, Brody. Jessa and Brody decide to fake date to show that they're absolute fine with seeing their significant others moving on so quickly.

Brody is a decent guy who looks out for Jessa, despite the many embarrassing situations she manages to find. Nikki is a monster with zero social awareness. I couldn't really understand Brody's relationship with her. I wish Todd and Nikki had been gray characters to cause some emotional tension. And I wish we had found out more details about Todd and Nikki moving on so quickly together.

I've read several of MacIntosh's books and they're just right when you're looking for a light and fun read. This was a great summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Portia Macintosh is the queen of fun, beachy rom-coms, and this one totally delivered! I’m always here for a good fake dating trope, and this story had all the laughs and lovable moments I was hoping for. The characters were super charming, but Brody totally stole the show for me—such a sweet, humble guy for being a famous cricket player. His dynamic with Jessa was adorable, and they made the perfect match.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC! I’m happy to leave this review voluntarily.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Portia does it again! I absolutely love her writing style—it’s so immersive, you feel like you’re right there, part of the story, as if the characters are speaking directly to you.

This one was quick and fun to read. It didn’t quite grip me in the same way as some of Portia’s other books, and I did find parts of it a little predictable. I wasn’t a fan of Nikki’s character, but I was definitely rooting for Jessa and Brody throughout.

This was such a fun read. It's the perfect beach read. I love the fake dating troupe and the author did it well. I loved the author's writing style and the great mix of characters. I highly recommend it to other readers and I look forward to reading more by the author.
💝 Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my arc copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Going overboard by Portia McIntosh Is such a funny story. Jessa gets dumped while dancing at her friends wedding and unbeknownst to her a girl named Nikki is breaking up with her boyfriend Brody on the same dance floor at the same time. Needless to say Jessa is devastated she really saw herself with Todd But when she shows up for another friends wedding two weeks later she is shocked to see Todd is there with the date who turns out to be Nikki. In an even funnier meet cute Brody becomes Jessa’s guardian annoying Angel especially when she gets drunk falls in the fountain And has to leave the wedding only to return wearing the grooms dress shirt. Trust me it really is funny and it only gets funnier. Next up is her BFFs wedding where she is a bridesmaid and Brody is going to be the best man the only problem is it’s on a cruise ship and Jessa and Todd supposed to share a room so when they try to move things around she winds up sharing a room with Brody and Todd and Nikki share a room the only issue is it’s in the same suite. Brody and Jessa have already decided to play as if they’re dating and not only dating but truly falling for each other and soon pretend becomes reality but with a whole bunch of lol moments. When he tried to move the bed I didn’t think anything of it but the next day at breakfast when they discussed that I couldn’t stop laughing Sometimes Porsche McIntosh really delivers and that is why whenever I see her book I requested because even if it isn’t the best it’s still going to be better than most and this one was the absolute greatest I really really loved this book. When it first started I thought OMG this has been done And hold the phone didn’t miss McIntosh do it herself with these tropes and themes but trust me when I say she’s never done it like this. This was truly a funny book that made me laugh out loud so many times and I definitely want to recommend it. Brody is my absolute book boyfriend And can definitely see why Jessa fell for him but don’t understand why Nikki left him either way a great book and one I highly recommend. #NetGalley, #BoldwoodBooks,#TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #PorscheMcIntosh, #GoingOverboard,

Thank you

📖 Book Review 📖 Summer is still in full swing and Portia MacIntosh is here with another hot read. Here are five reasons to grab your swimsuit, towel, and Going Overboard:
You’re never too old to get into mischief with your bestie.
Heartbreak happens in real life and there is just something so cathartic about reading about it in a good book 💔
A vacation is always the answer, really.
Fake dating on a cruise ship…sign me up!
An all around sweeping summer rom com that hits all the right notes!

3.5 ★
This was a very nice and cute read, but I feel like it’s missing something like everything happened so fast towards the ending. But it was easy to get through.

A cute, flirty summer read which makes you feel like you're on holiday with them too! I really enjoyed this read, especially as the main characters were slightly petty with their revenge which made it all the more amusing. Ideal for lovers of the fake to real romance trope!

I absolutely LOVE and ADORE all of Portia MacIntosh’s romcoms! I know I can always count on her for relatable characters, hilarious situations, charming banter, and the perfect happily ever after.

And this one? It did not disappoint! I was completely enamored with Jessa and Brody—their friendship was so natural and seamless, it felt like it was just waiting to blossom into something more. 💛

You truly can’t go wrong with a Portia MacIntosh book, and this FOUR STAR read was all things summer and sunshine—the perfect feel-good escape.

Set to release July 26th, 2025—thank you NetGalley, Portia MacIntosh, and Boldwood Books for the ARC! It’s always a breeze writing an honest review for one of Portia’s delightful books!

Going Overboard tells the story of Jessa, a young woman whose seemingly perfectly-curated life comes crashing down when her boyfriend Todd breaks up with her at their friends’ wedding. At the same wedding, Brody-a hot and famous cricket player-gets dumped by his girlfriend Nikki. A couple weeks later, Jessa has to face Todd at yet another mutual friend’s wedding and quickly discovers that Todd has moved on with Nikki; luckily for Jessa, Brody is there to save the day. As the two are thrown together in a third wedding situation-this one includes a 5-day Mediterranean cruise leading up to the wedding- Jessa and Brody decide that the best solution is a fake dating plot, but their attraction quickly blurs the lines of what is real and what is not.

I thought the premise of this book was so fun, but I was left a bit underwhelmed. I would have loved more moments of true connection between Jessa and Brody, but it was just one group outing-turn-competition after another. I wanted to see the small moments where their friendship and attraction grew; it would have made their sudden realization that they were in love with each other more believable. Also, I loved the interaction between Brody and Jessa at the bar before she knew who he was, but I felt like it would have worked better if she was the one to realize it instead of him having to tell her. That could have been a nice moment of juxtaposition for her to realize what a tool Todd had been from the beginning but I thought it was more just thrown in there without much purpose.
Overall, while there were moments of witty banter and funny situations, this was just an okay read for me.
Thank you to Boldwood and Net Galley for this ARC.

You know what you’ll get from a Portia MacIntosh romance novel. The couple will be from Yorkshire and part of a great friend group. I think the great group of co-ed friends is what I like most about her books.

The totally unbelievable plot here is that Jessa has been coldly dumped by her long-time boyfriend, Todd. And she has to go on a week-long wedding cruise to Sicily for her best-friend’s wedding. BTW how many people want to give up a week for a friend’s wedding? Although, that cruise sounded great.

As happens with romance novels, Jessa has to share a suite with her yucky former boyfriend and his witchy new girlfriend and the new GF’s former boyfriend, Brody, a star cricket player. So, of course, Jessa and Brody have to share a room with only one bed. Obviously. And they decide to fake a romance to get back at their former romantic partner.

And, predictably, they fall for each other during their playacting at a romance. Brody doesn’t mind that Jessa knows nothing about cricket. So after a week, they are both in love with each other and their former partners are bitter, jealous, and unhappy.

If you’ve liked other MacIntosh novels, you’ll enjoy this one.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This romance is a great, short summertime read. It is a single POV romance that I think could have benefitted from being dual POV. The conflict in the book is catching enough to draw you in, and the setting of a Mediterranean cruise is good for a nice beach read. The book is closed-door, and the escalation from fake dating to actually being interested in one another felt a little rushed to me. It was an enjoyable time overall.
I was grateful to be able to read an early copy of this courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley.

A fun forced proximity romance novel with troupes including one bed and fake dating. At times both hilarious and emotional with entertaining characters and an endearing main character.

📚ARC Review 📚

Going Overboard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Jessa and Brody are both dump by their partners at a mutual friend’s wedding, they figure out pretty quick that their ex’s are seeing each other. Now they are on a destination cruise for their other friends’s wedding and find out they have to share a two-bed suite with their ex’s, Todd and Nikki. With no choice but to ride out the awkwardness, Jessa and Brody hatch a plan. If they can’t win their exes back, they’ll get them back by faking a red-hot romance of their own. But the better they get at faking it, the blurrier the line becomes. Either way, there’s going to be trouble at sea because true love is never smooth sailing!


What a fun summer read! I enjoyed this forced proximity, revenge on the ex’s, one room trope. The situation the main characters got themselves into made for some funny moments and their witty banter added to it. Their chemistry was great with the enemies to lovers trope. I loved the cruise ship, summer vibes for this time of the year. It was a light, easy to binge read.


This book will publish on July 26, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my advanced readers copy This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

For Jessa her life is going in an upwards trajectory she has the perfect job and the perfect boyfriend with plans to bill their dream home. They are off to a friends wedding and Jessa hopes Todd is going to propose soon.

When at the wedding she hears a girl crying in the toilets she gives her some advice, dump her boyfriend if he isn't making her happy as she is worth more than mediocre.

Then at the wedding during the first dance Todd dumps her she is shocked, they have two weddings of other friends to go to this summer and when Todd announces he has a new partner Nicki Jessa is left on the back foot.

Body has just been dumped at a wedding, and he too has two weddings this summer to go to. When Jessa and Brody discover their ex partners are together, they come up with a plan to pretend to be together and not come over as the heartbroken exes but when it starts to feel real it gets complicated.

This was an amazing book, great characters and situations, their ex partners are so evilly written. Definitely a must read for the summer

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how the main characters met at first and how they had no idea who each other was. This whole book was wonderful and I loved the story.

You absolutely need to get your hands on Portia MacIntosh's Going Overboard! If you're anything like me, you live for a romance that serves up delicious banter, and let me tell you, Jessa and Brody deliver it in spades. Their back-and-forth, especially given their hilariously awkward predicament, is pure gold. I found myself grinning like a fool through so many of their interactions.
This book is a masterclass in all my favorite tropes – fake dating, forced proximity, and an enemies-to-lovers arc that will have you absolutely swooning. The "only one bed" situation? Chef's kiss! You just know that's going to lead to some seriously delightful moments. And the revenge pact? Oh, it's just as fun as it sounds!
MacIntosh has a real knack for creating characters you can't help but root for, even when they're making questionable decisions (looking at you, Jessa and Brody!). The chemistry between them is electric from the get-go, and watching it simmer and spark had me completely hooked. If you're a fan of Emily Henry or Alex Aster, you're going to adore this. It's the perfect blend of humor, heart, and just the right amount of steam for a truly unforgettable summer read. Seriously, dive into Going Overboard – you won't regret it!

Thank you to Boldwood Press for the advanced copy!

This book was the PERFECT summer read! It was addictive, funny and the characters were so lovable! I loved how the story linked together at the end. The perfect book to read while lying on the sunlounger by the pool. Thank you to Portia MacIntosh and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just couldn’t hold my attention. The pacing was so slow, and I kept waiting for something to happen—but it never really did. Eventually, I just lost interest and put it down for good.

Maybe it picks up later, but I didn’t have the patience to find out. Not for me.