I always enjoy a Portia MacIntosh rom-com and this was no exception.

I was vaguely aware before I started it that this was a follow on, to a book release many years ago that I have sitting unread on my kindle, and thus it took me a bit longer than normal to settle into properly enjoying this, as my mind kept wondering what I was possibly meant to know already.

i can safely though say it does work as a standalone and once I settled into the characters and had a grip on what was going on, I absolutely loved it.

Both of Nicole's two worlds are so exceptionally described. I felt as though I was there in the small competitive village that she lives in, but also was totally on board with the rockstar (or groupie) life once Dylan had got back in touch with her.

And I loved Dylan an Nicole's friendship, re-ignite and grow, and I was just hoping they would get the ending I was hoping for. But since Nicole had started the book in a relationship she was trying to leave, with a man she can no longer trust and that she is only still hanging around for her fabulous step kids... well I was never completely sure which pull on her life would win.

It's such an enjoyable story and I was just loving everything about it. A really fun book to read.

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

Publication Date; February 27th, 2024
-Second Chance Romance
-Celebrity Romance
-Music Lovers
-Emotional Rollercoaster

A huge thanks to Portia MacIntosh, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for providing me an Advanced Readers Copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I think many of us dreamed of being plunked from obscurity by our favorite band, joining them on tour, and getting to know the frontman intimately. Nicole Wilde also had this dream, but she made a career of it by becoming a music journalist and joining the popular band The Burnouts on tour. Nicole becomes best friends with the popular frontman Dylan King and after an untrue scandal rocks their friendship, she returns to obscurity.
Ten years later, Nicole is dating and living with social media influencer Rowan while she assists him in parenting his young children, Ned and Archie. She’s left her career as a music journalist and is now a fixer (think a smaller-scale Olivia Pope). However, now her life needs fixing, and right when she’s getting close to her matter being fixed, Dylan shows up, reigniting the flame she previously had for her.
This book was sooooo much fun to read. As a music lover, I really enjoyed getting the inside perspective of life as a rock star/close friend of a rock star. The characters are pretty relatable and easy to love. I even found myself trying to find excuses/love for Rowan until the end of the book, but then he redeemed himself. I loved Nicole and Dylan together. They really gave off the OTP vibes, and it was beautiful to watch them fall back in love with each other and bring the best out of one another. It was also incredible to see characters loving and treating kids who were not their own so great. Ned and Archie got two bonus parents and there was never a time where it was forced or something Nicole or Dylan had to do, they just had great love for the boys. This book does a great job of keeping the reader interested. There was never a lull in reading or moments that felt like fodder until the next big event happened.
This was my first Portia MacIntosh, and it definitely won’t be the last.

Ex in the City by Portia Macintosh

4.5 ⭐

Nicole Wilde was a former music journalist 10 years ago, who enjoyed her life by touring with bands, attending their wild parties, and going to gigs. But after a scandal with her rockstar best friend, she decided to leave behind her party girl self and start anew. She now lives with her new boyfriend of 3 years, along with his kids from a previous relationship. She hadn't imagined her life would be this boring. However, everything becomes bright and colorful when a certain rockstar ex turns up on her doorstep.

It was a cute, lively, and fun novel. The story was built up gradually and nicely, providing pieces of Nicole's past along with the present events. I admired Nicole's character a lot for what she was doing for the kids. Rowan just annoyed the hell out of me. I felt she was being a pushover when Rowan was around. She didn't exactly communicate her intentions properly, possibly avoiding a confrontation.

In some scenes, I felt the important parts were cut out, like- <spoiler>how did she break the news to Rowan that she wanted to be with Dylan? Rowan was acting very stubborn even before Dylan came when she said she wanted to leave him, so this might have been an important scene to show. It might have shown the character development in Rowan, but the epilogue made it seem like he was a totally different person because of how understanding he was being. He wasn't understanding at all before that</spoiler>. So I felt that scene was necessary. Similarly, there were some more places where I felt an additional scene would have made the story smoother.

Dylan's character was very cool. The changes in his personality were constantly shown through Nicole's memory of him from a decade ago. Since the story was entirely in her perspective, it gave an idea of how she felt about the positive changes in contrast with the mess he was previously.

Also, the cover is very pretty!

Aside from Rowan and a few spelling mistakes in between, I felt the story was portrayed very well. I'd recommend it if you are into rockstar, small luxurious town romcoms.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a few unexpected turns, a little dram but still light hearted. I really liked Nicole and Dylan and learning the little bits from the past too.

Here you will find:
- Special connections
- Unexpected neighbors secrets
- A love of music

Really cute contemporary romance.

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me this ARC book in exchange for an honest review. Ex in the City is the second book by the author that I have read. This was a 3 star read that took me three days to read. This romantic comedy is about growth, life changes, and the main characters finding themselves. This was such a cute story and i adored Nicole & Dylan's journey.

I love Portia's books and this didn't disappoint either.

As with all of Portia's books there are some real laugh out loud moments. I really liked Dylan's reformed bad boy character and he was just so lovely.

Nicole faces up to some of her past memories and her journey is one that plenty of readers with be familiar with and it really makes her character shine.

Another wonderful read from Portia ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my second Portia MacIntosh book. The first one, I didn't really care for, so I almost bypassed this one even after I was approved. However, it turned out to be a really fun read! The glimpse into a rock star's life was fun, and I enjoyed both the banter and sweet moments between the two main characters. I do think MacIntosh has a tendency to infodump, and I found myself skimming long swaths of text, but other than that, I enjoyed the book.

I’m really enjoying everything I’ve read by this author. She blends humour, characters with real depth and a pinch of heart perfectly to create fantastic, quick reads. This would be perfect for holidays, or for these cozy winter evenings. Highly enjoyable.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Ex In The City is a story about a girl Nicole getting a second chance at living her former lifestyle of rock and roll along with reconnecting with her estranged best friend rockstar, Dylan.

I found this book to be funny and engaging and I couldn’t put it down. It’s a wonderful story of a second change at love, friendship and healing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would highly recommend.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early!

So for starters, this was a very interesting read for me considering my ex was a pretty well known musician. The big difference is that I couldn’t care less if I got a second chance with him haha! But on the other hand, I’m so happy this couple got their second chance! I was rooting for them the whole way through! Such a cute book! It was fun to learn some British lingo along the way! It was crazy how relatable of a book this was for me! I can’t wait till it comes out so I can recommend it to my friends! I gave this 4.5 stars rounded to 5.

I really enjoyed this book. It was such a cozy easy read with characters and a plot that were well developed. No hesitation recommending Ex in the city By Portia Macintosh 4Stars

This was a very sweet second chance romance book. The relationships between Nicole and, Rowan as well as Nicole and Dylan were both very tangled and messy. I wasn't sure which way this book was going to go with them but I felt that it was good at exploring both of them and enjoyed this story a lot. I also felt that it was wrapped up nicely.

Perfect Rom Com for people who tick the over 30s box! Nostalgic, cosy and a good read.
Nicole has swapped her former rock and roll lifestyle (and rockstar ex) for the life of a middle class step mum of 2 young boys. Instead of battling newspaper headlines, Nicole battles with playground politics. Everything is dull until Dylan, rock star and ex comes knocking on her door.
I loved the witty banter and how the book took me back down memory lane. I would have loved to read a stronger ending though. What happened to the band mates (when you read it you'll know why I'm asking!)
Personally, I like a lot more spice. This book mentions sex but does not have graphic scenes. Which some readers would prefer. Overall, I'd recommend this book for a Sunday read.

Instinctively, I would never opt for a novel where one of the main characters is already more or less in a relationship, but it's written by Portia MacIntosh, and she teased this story so well a few weeks ago that I dove into it without even reading the pitch !

Nicole is probably too nice to be true (someone deserves a good one in the b....) but what a sweet and surprising story!

Nicole and Dylan have undeniable chemistry even if it's all about restraint (oh how I would have liked to read his POV too !). Their friendship is so strong that it slips naturally into love as if it had always been there and burst into the open (which it probably had !).

This novel is not only a love story, it's about forgiveness, growing older but certainly not growing cold ;) , what it means to be a step parent when the couple dies, how to deal with little town nosyness...

Thank to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

The last couple of books that I’ve read from Portia MacIntosh were good, but not as great as some of her previous work. This novel however was superb. Funny, a plot that zipped along and interesting characters. Some of it seemed a little far-fetched and yet that all added to the charm. I can’t wait for her next novel.


Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

thankyou netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. all opinions are my own!

OHMYGOD IT'S THE WAY I ATE THIS SHIT UP AND LEFT NO CRUMBS!! PURRR LESSGOO

what a blast way to start my 2024 arc reading. second chance romance?? romcom?? emotional rollercoaster?? you name it and this book has it.

this was such a reminiscent to my adolescent times. seriously writing this review, i'm feeling nostalgic as fuck (and a little teary eyed. dramatic ik). but that's how this book made me feel .

this was so cute, so adorable and so thought provoking. you know what they say, some reviews can't be written. you can only feel my emotions once you read this book yourself!!
PLEASE GIVE THIS A TRY.

This book had it all for me and that was it. I had to read this to see what it was all about. I was not disappointed and enjoyed the content. Enjoyed this book. I want to find more of her books. Love me Portia Macintosh books. all great.

I loved reading this book, it definitely felt relatable at points which added to its charm for me. I will be reading more by Portia soon.

This is simply a book you won’t want to leave behind. I adored Nicole and really wanted her to get her happy ever after, she is so downtrodden at the start of the story, she really is stuck in life and isn’t able to be the Wilde woman she once was, and what a woman she was, it can be difficult when you get older and mature and have to leave the crazy behind. I adore how this story is a little deeper than we sometimes get from this author, but I love it, if you have lived a certain number of years then you will really identify with how crazy those things we used to get up to where, I wouldn’t dream of doing half of what we got up to in the 90s and early noughties, as how I didn’t get murdered I don’t know. I really struggled with her relationship with Rowan, but then when you get to know her and see how she reacts to the other mummies, you can’t help but smile, she will rock your world.

I loved this second-chance rom-com with Nicole - who is at a point in her life I can identify with. I can appreciate the appeal of getting another opportunity to escape your suburban life and take a trip down memory lane; to revisit your teenage years, with your older self’s knowledge and experience - what a great opportunity! As Nicole reminisces, it is easy to recall so so many life situations and observations which resonate with me and my memories of being a YA: Living like there was no tomorrow, ridiculous fashion choices, teen dramas - plus things that were seen as normal in the day, but would be huge red flags today - it all makes me feel happily nostalgic. The characters are likeable and relatable and it is amusing to see the different sides of suburban Nicole and partying Nicole. Overall, this light-hearted, fun read is a real winner for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for allowing me to get an early copy of this book. Expected publication is on February 27, 2024 and I highly recommend picking up a copy then.