Rachel´s Random Resources: A Shore Thing by Portia Macintosh

Cleo and Lockie are on set turning a very special show, Welcome to Singletom. As it was not hard enough to work on a reality show, they have also their own issues, as it looks nothing really can be agreed upon between them. And the cherry on the cake: a tropical storm shy before 24 hours of the show start, delaying many participants and turning the official opening into a fiasco.

A Shore Thing by Portia Macintosh, an author I´ve featured before on my blog, is a summer, warming kind of read, with very diverse characters, and enough fun to spice the romanic sparkle. The entertaining pace matches very well the ambiance of a TV show set, with characters suited for their job description. Both the story and the characters are fun, bubbling of good humour and hilarious moments. 

Portia Macintosh wrote in the past books with similar dynamics, with enemies felling for each other and it´s just getting better. My only regret is that I am not lucky enough to read this book while sipping a cocktail in a warm destination. Maybe will read her next book in a better setting though.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: Enemies to Lovers by Portia MacIntosh

Lara and Sonny are former university colleagues, nowadays forced to compete each other as work colleagues. Kind of enemies, in fact. Journalists working for gendered magazines of the same media company, their pathways often cross, often with sparkling effects. Not the good kind of sparkles, anyway. 

For the sake of their job though, they are forced to play the couple, as they are sent on assignment in an exotic unnamed destination, with a clear mission: to gather gossips about a famous couple, short-term residents on Eden ´the world´s best couples´ therapy and wellness retreat´. A posh retreat that looks sometimes as a sadistic prison, with dietary restrictions and useless ridiculous exercises. As they are becoming friends with the other couples on the island, Lara and Sonny are becoming more and more aware of the toxic game of the journalism practiced by their magazines. And there is more than an awakening they are getting through, as at the end of the way, they may turn from fierce enemies to...(not) surprisingly lovers.

Enemies to Lovers by romcom author Portia MacIntosh is both romantic and hilarious, not shy from creating characters as human as anyone of us: making mistakes, trying to change, fighting unsuccessfully against their ego bigger than life. Told by Lara, the story is not lacking some surprising twists, that may help us change the perspective on many of the characters. Indirectly, it is also a critique towards the yellow world of the British boulevard media, keen to destroy destinies for the sake of the audiences.

I enjoy following the story, and given the high degree of relatability of the characters, would have been more than curious to see what happened with Sonny and Lara after their return from Eden. A good sign that the story was able to convene empathy and a juicy slice of everyday life. 

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: You Had Me at Château by Portia MacIntosh

As the dark hours are getting longer and I am longing for the rays of sun, my best comfort is offered by the beautiful books I am reading and reviewing. And what can warm more your soul and life than a cute romantic comedy.

I had the chance to read and review Portia Macintosh only few months before, also in the middle of the neverending winter, and was delighted about it, therefore I just couldn´t resist to meet her characters again. This time, I upgraded my literary stay with at a castel. 

The bestseller You Had Me at Château is a delicious comedy, which involves a writer looking for some spicy inspiration, a dangerously handsome love triangle and...of course, a castle. As Amber Page is faced with a slow down in her literary career, a retreat at a castle may bring her more quiet inspiration that may bring back her literary success. But instead of enjoying her stay in the French Alps, she may become the spicy story she was looking for. 

I loved her writing and the turn of situations, that are sweet yet unexpected. Amber Page is a charming and charismatic character, and very hilarious situations. Indeed, writers can be a lot of fun in addition to romance. I liked that the main characters are also writers, which makes the story even funnier, as one may think about how someone living for the words may behave as a real person in a real life setting.

If you are looking to read something completely uplifting, this book is a recommended read. It will spice your life up and will keep the smile on your face for many hours to come.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: Wed or Alive by Portia MacIntosh

For the (almost) middle of the last week of April, a funny romcom by the one and only Portia Macintosh is the right antidote to the blue feeling that maybe the times runs too fast and we are heading already towards the middle of the year.

Wed or Alive is a funny romcom, where people with complex life stories and professional and personal challenges meet. But what is really happening out of those encounters no one, but fate, can tell about it. 

Take Whitney, for instance, stuck professionally and in love with a roommate who is back from an extended vacation with a fiancée on his side. Or Jake, a cowboy with a lot of issues and under the pressure of high family expectations. But both of them have a plan that, as usual, may or may not work as initially expected. 

Although the stories of fake dating I´ve read to date are very much predictable, I still keep being surprised by the ways in which the fake is turning into a real, eventful love story.

I loved both the humour and the romance, with Whitney as my most relatable character in the story. As usual in the case of Macintosh´s novels, once I started the book it was quite difficult to give it up, but it was clearly a very good time investment.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own