DNF at 56%

This is moving way too slow for me. I’m this far along and still no romance. I want a bit of chemistry within the first few chapters I order for me to get that “feel good romance” vibes.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the E-Arc for this book. I am sorry to say that this story did not do it for me, and it saddens me because I have prev read another book by Portia MacIntosh and enjoyed it and I will continue to read books by her. I felt like the story dragged and the MC kept repeating past things that as a reader we were clearly aware of. Also the lies I could not. I did enjoy then ending as I felt like the storyline was good it just needed to be a more swift delivery of it.

Funny and heartwarming. Portia Macintosh is a superstar. She busts out these fantastic novels like it’s nothing. What a superstar.

I have enjoyed two other books by this author, so was definitely interested in this holiday romance. And while the story itself was not bad, there were a lot of issues I had with the writing or the way the story was told. It read a lot like maybe it was one of the author’s first novels maybe? It had so many info dumps, a ton of the whole telling instead of showing. For instance, the first chapter was a ton of telling. It actually reminded me a lot of the first novel I started writing and how my first chapter was like that until someone pointed it out to me. (Not that it was easy for me to go back and change it, that story of mine still isn’t finished.) And then every time a new character was introduced we got quite a bit of back story at that moment and it kind of took me out of the story each time. And a lot of repetition of the main character thinking the same things over and over about who she should like or shouldn’t like.

However I ended up when it got to those kind of points just skimming and skipping to where I could see dialogue or something actually happening, and by doing that I was able to enjoy the story enough to finish it. From the synopsis above it mentions that this was originally a novella, so maybe it was when the author filled it out to make a full length story that all the info dump sections got added, I don’t know.

In the end, I still enjoyed the story enough that I will continue to look to read more by this author in the future.

this was such an interesting book! i am so thankful to netgalley for letting me read this one early! such an amazing plot and characters!! blew me away!!!

I really enjoyed this holiday read! It was a quick read and written well. Only as much detail as needed. The story was the perfect length, with nothing over-the-top extra to add unneeded pages to the story. It always bothers me when things get dragged out. There were fun elements in the book like Dani's (the main character) neighborhood she grew up in and the Christmas light rivalry between neighbors. I also found the setting of Hope Island to be interesting. A tidal island that gets cut off from the mainland during high tide! A great plot point!

As far as the relationship part, I also enjoyed Rex and Dani's fake "relationship" and the twist of Dani's childhood crush, Ben, as an added wrinkle to the whole story.

Overall, if you like a cute rom-com (with no spice) and a good story of a woman trying to figure out what she wants in life, this is one for you!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an early reviewer copy of this book. It is greatly appreciated.

Single all the way is a romcom about a woman recently out of a relationship and her life is not going as planned. It has some twists and turns, quite a bit of white lies all over and a bit of a fake relationship trope. The characters were just ok to me, I didn’t connect with them and unfortunately the male lead just started off so negative to me that it was hard to overcome that. Not a bad Christmas read but not my most fave.

A perfect read that I have been pulled into and unable to put down.
This is a gem to read and one that’s taken me on a rollercoaster.

Dani has been dating her boss for a couple of years and is ready to settle down, instead, she is dumped for a younger woman. Not only that, but she is demoted at work. She decides to take the opportunity to go home for Christmas for the first time in a few years. She is also determined to save her job. There is a new writer's position in the new office close to her family home that is available, but she has to convince Rex, the office flirt to give her the position. He is heading to the new office to do interviews, so offers her a ride to her parent's home and an interview. When Dani arrives to surprise her parents, she finds out that they have gone to France for Christmas. Being alone was not what Dani had planned, but things have a habit of working out with a little Christmas Magic.

Single All The Way is a Christmas romance, but it is also a story that deals with misogyny, putting your best self forward, not judging others, friendship, and going after what you want. I really liked Dani, but I didn't always like her decisions. She is always worried about what others will think about her and her actions, so she often tells untruths instead of just being honest. At one time, I thought this book was going to have a love triangle (not my favourite trope) but luckily it didn't. She grows a lot in this story, and finally comes into her own. Her self-deprecating behaviour decreases as the story progresses. I really liked Rex, although he seemed a bit of a sleeze at the beginning. He was an American living in a new country with his family all across the pond. He was raised in an affluent home and had an air of privilege around him, but as he began to reveal pieces of himself to Dani, he became more down to earth. The conversations and banter between them was fun and realistic. There is a lot of humor in this story and Dani is often the cause of it. Throw in a fake Christmas Party, old boyfriends, a decorating competition and some Christmas baking and you have a romance full of holiday cheer and great characters. I enjoyed the easy style the author has with this being a quick and enjoyable read. If you are looking for a fun Christmas romance, I suggest you pick up Single All the Way.

There’s a lot of festive fun in ‘Single all the way’. Dani returns home to Marram Bay only to discover her family is gone, and she can’t tell her neighbours the truth, of course what happens when one little white lie piles on top of another? This book is fun and a good romp, thoigh at times I found it really dragged at the start, I think too much inner monologue and not enough action. But as always this is a a consistently fun MacIntosh novel that should be on your festive reading list,

One of the funniest, feel-good stories I’ve read in some time.
Set at Christmas-time this book features the ups & (lots of) downs in the private, work & love life of the main character, Dani. There are sprinkles of humour throughout this book, many of which had me giggling so hard at one point my bouncing shoulders & smothered giggles woke my husband while I read in bed.
A thoroughly enjoyable read, full of festivities and fun as we follow Dani’s budding romance and her attempts to get her life back on track. A perfect Christmas read.

I was recommended this book by a friend. I loved this book. I remember the time where I was single on the holidays. It was tough. I loved the funny spin placed on this. It is hard to write a great christmas book. MacIntosh did a good job.

I loved this fun holiday romance novel. It's funny has some great festive scenes and a bit of romance. All in all it was a joy to read.

After her boyfriend dumps her Dani decides to go home for Christmas to her parents but when she arrives they are not there. They have gone away so she decides to throw a Christmas party with fun neighbours it turns out to be quite a lot of funny shenanigans. Thank you netgalley and boldwood for this ARC all opinions are solely my own.

I do love a good Christmas book and this one fitted the bill perfectly. Thoroughly enjoyable and funny, this provided a perfect escape for a couple of hours. Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

After her boyfriend (and boss) dumps her just before Christmas, Dani surprises her family by going home for Christmas. Except she is the one who gets a surprise. Her parents have decided to go away for Christmas this year and the family home is empty.

Determined not to look like a loser in front of old friends and neighbours Dani claims she is back to throw a Christmas party for the whole town.

Hilarious festive fun.

Portia MacIntosh always knows how to have fun with her stories! This was a fast paced, fun Christmas tale full of snowflakes and snowmance! 

I loved the setting and the description of the village. So quaint at Christmastime! At first, I didn’t ship Rex and Dani, mostly because Rex seemed as shallow and annoying as Dani described him to be. However, he slowly won me over, but I have to admit, I was still rooting for Ben! Tom was obnoxious and I have no clue what Dani saw in him for 2 years. Well done for getting out from under his thumb and finding a new job closer to home and family!

The Christmas light fight between the neighbors was a fun side story, especially the snow woman boobs drawn in eyeliner!

This book was incredibly funny and sweet! Dani is a writer who just got out of a long term relationship with her editor. Yeah, yeah, not her best life choices… She finds herself in a fake dating relationship with another coworker that she doesn’t like in the slightest, so you can gather how that will go. The story follows her dating through the holidays, and all that goes with it.
I absolutely love who she ends up with! He is a typical cinnamon roll with golden retriever energy, which is the perfect ending to a Christmas themed book. After the crazy things she went through, she deserves someone who will make her laugh and is just as into her as she is him.

Single All The Way was my first festive read of 2022 and it was a great one to start with. This was also my first Portia MacIntosh book and it for sure won’t be my last. The whole way through the story was easy going and I liked how laid back everything was, which sounds bad but trust me it’s not. I got through the book pretty quickly considering I read it way out of the festive season.

Dani, our main character, was secretly quite funny. I love that she would sometimes make her ex(who she unfortunately still works for) a coffee with a random used spoon from the communal sink. That’s a level of petty I am completely on board with. Unfortunately outside of this, she was a complete pushover, but don’t worry she won’t remain this way forever.

Her main flaw was that she was quite a hypocrite at times. She started out hating Rex and his serial dating ways but suddenly changed her tune when he started taking notice of her. This didn’t make me dislike her character but it’s that classic trope of hating the popular boy until he notices you, the invisible shy girl.

Sadly, this made the story very predictable, but often I don’t mind that with romances. I like knowing there will be a happy ending.

The chemistry between the two of them, when they were ‘fake dating’, was so good. They had a lot of banter and you could slowly see them opening up to each other.

Watching Dani scramble to try and organise this fake party was both hilarious but cringeworthy. Having her repeatedly lie to everyone got a bit boring after a while and I was secretly hoping she would let someone in on the secret so they could work together. Potentially Rex as that would have been a way to bring them together.

There was a sprinkling of Home Aloneness in this story which I loved. There were quite a few references throughout and as that is one of my favourite Christmas films it made certain areas of the story have a nostalgic feel to them. Obviously, it's not exactly the same as this isn’t a child left alone for days, but the essence of it is there.

If you’re looking for a fun festive romance then you should definitely check out Single All The Way.

As a huge fan of Portia MacIntosh I have to say it was very good to be back in Marram Bay and Hope Island for Christmas. I love this setting, and it's always a pleasure to read a new book set there.

And this one was you I have come to expect from the author incredibly funny too, plenty of moments to giggle away at, and many layers of almost farcical deception too.

Arguably you shouldn't find yourself liking someone who lies as much as Dani did in this story, but she really has backed herself into a corner and can't help herself to the extent she sounds relieved when she is able to tell even partial truths!

I loved all the Christmas lights, the zoom chats, the fun little games that Dani plays with Rex, and also seeing her re-connect with people from her past. It's all incredibly entertaining and I was loving every moment of the book.

Not only is there a brief fake boyfriend in this story there even a fake party taking it up a notch further, and there are home alone vibes going on too.

It's just so enjoyable and another book from this author that I was filled with joy to read.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This book was previously published as a novella, which was really good, and the author has turned it into a fully fledged novel.
After problems at work, Dani decides to visit her parents over Christmas, only to find they are away, to cover up the fact that she is alone, she decided to throw a party on Christmas eve.
Cue fun and frivolity, neighbourhood rivalry and plenty of flirting with an old school crush. Relatable characters and fun events with a dash of a twist and turn make this a funny, warm and enjoyable read.
I shall read more of the authors work as I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this novel.