This just wasn't the book for me. I did not finish this book and what I read was just ok. It was super flat for me.

A lighthearted romantic comedy, featuring two work rivals who just might have a thing for each other.. not that they'd ever tell each other that.

'Just when you think things can't get any weirder, you find yourself pretending to be an otter, with no idea what continent you're even on, cosying up with your workplace rival'

Lara and Sonny are journalist work rivals, ever since Sonny stole a position from Lara back when they were at University. Now, working at the same place with sister magazines, their passive aggressive behaviour toward each other has cost them - they both have to pretend to be a couple and attend a couples retreat to get intel. The question is, can they pull this act off?

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
My first thought is that the main characters aren't really enemies, they're work rivals. However, I still enjoyed the back and forth banter.. but I didn't feel like there was any chemistry between them. The ending was very abrupt too, and I felt like there was a lack of connection to even consider what Sonny asked of Lara.

I did enjoy the friendships that Lara formed with the girls on the retreat, and the inner turmoil she felt with having to write about their secrets.. either discover their secrets and exploit them, or be jobless. I recently watched 'Nine Perfect Strangers' and this is what the retreat setting of Eden reminded me of, so I did enjoy the fun of it all!

Overall though, this book is a really lighthearted read and it did make me laugh, however I just didn't feel there was a lot of chemistry between the two main characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this copy. This review is voluntary.

Super cute, super quick read. I think "enemies to lovers" is pushing it, when she is essentially drooling over him when describing him by page 3, but I get the idea and I'm down to let it slide :). I think the people who said there wasn't any backstory didn't read it, she lays out their jobs, history, and motives all pretty quickly, and I really enjoyed the banter back and forth. There is some... odd.. comradery between the two, but really it's a super cute book and I would recommend it if you wanted a quick romcom tropical island read in early January.

I am in between 2 and 3 stars for this one. There is fun moments and some interesting jokes, but the main plot didn’t catch me. I think it was not very believable and a little cliche. It’s a shame, because the writing is good, and it had great potential!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read this ARC in return for an honest review. At first, this book sounded like my cup of tea, especially with my favourite trope, enemies to lovers. The way the story started immediately didn't sit right with me, as I was expecting a backstory and how they got into the current situation. I was very disappointed when it opened up with them unlocking the hotel door. I wasn't a fan of the romance at all, but I loved the new friends and how the author portrayed their friendship. This book has so much potential, but overall, I was disappointed by the end.
Final rating: 2/5

Lots of grammatical errors
Keep referring to something in the past but it’s super vague
10-1 Sonny is the friend on the double date with Lauren
The angst between Sonny and Lara is a bit much
Also Lara and Lauren? Did we run out of names?
Lara needs to calm down with the dramatics.
Lying about sexual harassment is NEVER okay
Also, he “didn’t do it first” - he didn’t lie to get the better interview
Lara is dramatic to the point of it being overkill
I don’t get the angst between Lara and Sonny
I wish we had Sonny’s perspective
I’m finding it REALLY hard to like Lara. She sounds like a petulant child.
A good drinking game would be to take a shot every time Lara laments that Sonny thinks he’s better than she is - which I’ve yet to see actual proof of.
I’m with Sonny - Lara has some serious anger issues
And yet another Laura - do we not know other names?
Are you ever going to tell us what happened in college?
I’m 71% in and Sonny and Lara still don’t like each other…
For a journalist, Lara sure is inept at recognizing when she’s being played
What’s up with the sex thing? That was out of left field for sure…
Lara is infuriating - just when I start to like her, she’s a brat again
I’m calling BS on Sonny and Lara confronting their issues
Called it - she still doesn’t trust Sonny.
Sonny deserves better than Lara.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick office place enemies to lovers read. The setting for getting these two together was definitely a different type of setting and I appreciated that. It's cute, but wasn't ooozing chemistry.

Perfect Portia!!
As always, Portia’s books hit every sweet spot you could want. Easy to read, easy to fall in love with, hard to put down!

First, Lara & Sonny are work rivals with a past, not enemies to lovers. Sonny is uninteresting and the way Lara is written she just came across as irritating. I couldn't feel any chemistry between them which made their relationship fall a bit flat, even their 'banter' felt forced.

"I can't help but frown at how alike we can be sometimes" because they both turned up late to a mandatory sexual harassment course, it just feels forced and very 'oh look how similar we are but we still hate each other'.

Based on the premise, I went into this with hopes it would be a quick, cute read (because I'm a sucker for a cheesy romance book), but unfortunately this just didn't hit the mark. It was definitely a quick read but overall it just felt a bit bland.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Enemies To Lovers by Portia MacIntosh is a contemporary romance about two journalists, Lara and Sony, who were sent undercover to the Exclusive Couple Retreat to get scoop about the hottest celebrity couple in the industry.

Things I liked about the book: Eden was the exclusive couple retreat. The whole Eden thing was the most interesting part of the book. Lara’s friendship and bond with other women in Eden were beautiful; they talked about their relationships with their partners and shared their insecurities.

This book’s title is Enemies to Lovers, but they are not enemies; they are rivals who are working in different magazines under the same parent company. The title was misleading.

The author wanted to make Sony funny, but he wasn’t most of the time. Lara was not a fun character and one time she acted unprofessional when she set up Sonny during an interview with an actress by bitching about him, which resulted in Sonny getting slapped by the actress.

There was no chemistry between Lara and Sonny, the romance was bland, and there was no development in their relationship. There were glimpses of their backstory, but the proper backstory was lacking. Out of nowhere, there was a random revelation about their past.

This book was a quick read, but unfortunately, it didn’t work for me.

An unfortunate event at an interview for their respective magazines led Lara and Sonny on a journey to Eden where they were forced to work together as a faked couple whom were trying to sort out their issues. However, once the facade faded away, they both realized that they had far more in common and truly wanted the best for each other and those other couples joined together on this mysterious island. Uncovering dirt on Brittany and Duane is not the outcome they each wanted to see once they realized that they are truly just two people in love that just want to live what can be qualified as a normal life together. Therefore it was easy for them to sea otter together and leap off the cliff. This book is heartwarming and made me smile throughout especially as they fell for each other and became closer to the other couples through the obstacles that Hope prepared. I loved the ending as they took the next steps as instructed by Heath and Kellee to create a new life together. A sequel would be great!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advance E-book copy of Enemies to Lovers by Portia McIntosh in exchange of an honest review.

"Enemies to Lovers by Portia Mcintosh is a captivating book that offers a perfect blend of lightheartedness, mystery, and secrets. The toxic relationship between Sonny and Lara adds a fascinating dynamic to the story, which keeps readers engaged from start to finish. The funny moments at the beginning effectively highlight the toxicity between the characters. The plot takes an intriguing turn when Sonny and Lara are sent to the mysterious couples retreat at Eden, where they have to pretend to be a couple. The peculiarities of Eden, such as its bizarre drills, lack of food, and a seemingly unhinged woman in charge, create an additional layer of curiosity. However, despite the engrossing storyline, some readers may find a lack of chemistry between the two leads, which might hinder their enjoyment of the romantic aspect of the book. Overall, Enemies to Lovers is a quick and enjoyable read that delivers on its promises of mystery and gossip, while showcasing the growth and transformation of its main characters." I rated 3 1/2 Stars.

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this!
I really enjoy MacIntosh's books: but this just wasn't it for me. The concept was great: two reporters who have a workplace -to -lovers or enemies-to-lovers trope circling them head off to a top secret romance/relationship retreat to get the details on an up and coming tv couple. It sounds like it should really work.
I think it was trying way too hard to be "Nine Perfect Strangers" by Lianne Moriarty. The "is it bad or is it real" part of the retreat was a bit off putting and jarring, and the way in which the couples reacted (and then unreacted) to the treatment had me a bit dizzy. The side couples were actually pretty good characters, but also sometimes just creeps?
As for the main relationship: I just didn't buy it. The chemistry didn't feel real. Maybe it was because they had hooked up before, or they fell back into bed too fast? I'm honestly not all that sure.
This was just ok to me.

I will always pick up a Portia Macinstosh book! She writes all the funny bits of life that we can all relate to (the good, silly, and embarrassing!) This was a fun enemies to lovers book. Not my fave of hers (because I just couldn't feel the chemistry between Sonny and Lara as much as I wanted to and the journalist thing seems overdone) However, a fun beach read that will have you smiling!

3.5 ⭐️

Rival journalists from sister companies, they always want the upper hand on each other.
With a job like that, there is so much forced proximity in this book, and there's so much more once they arrive at a tropical island for work.

I really liked the British take on this as most books are American based.
Lara had me giggling to myself in many different parts of the book.

Although I read this book in 2 days, it took me a little longer to read than something with a little spice would've.
It was a nice little refresh for my brain.


Lovers of forced proximity and one bed tropes are going to love this book.

I was gifted this book in return for an honest review via NetGalley

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood, for this ARC.

The title of the book seemed a bit random, but I thought it was a ‘What you see is what you get’, or something. It is my favourite trope in Romance novels, so I was really excited about this one….but I was wrong.
This does not have an enemies-to-lovers trope…probably more a kind of second chance or work rivals or fake dating or…well I can go on…almost every trope except the enemies-to-lovers trope. Moving on…..
Lara is supposed to be in her late twenties but behaves like a 16-year-old. There were some funny moments in the book that made me laugh, but then all of a sudden the Romantic novel turned into a kind of Mystery Thriller. I missed the backstory of what actually happened between Lara and Sonny. And then we had the horrific ‘Sexual Harassment Course’….it wasn't funny at all! Both characters felt flat and there was zero chemistry between them. The ending felt rushed and an epilogue might have helped here. I did like the connection between the girls in the retreat. The story idea was really good and I think it could have been a great story if it was better executed. That said I do believe the author has great talent, it just didn't came out in this book. I liked her writing style, but this book just wasn't for me.

Enemies to Lovers was just ok for me. I didn't really get into the plot of this one. I also didn't really feel the love for the main characters or really feel that they were falling in love.

Enemies to lovers is about two colleagues that don’t get along, Lara and Sonny. They work at opposing magazines, until one day they have to embark on a super exclusive and secretive retreat where they have to pose as a couple to try and get a big scoop about a super prominent Hollywood couple.

I was called to this book because of the plot as it sounded super fun, however it was a bit disappointing. Lara and sonny were never enemies, which makes sense in a contemporary romance; however I didn’t like Lara attitude to always say they were enemies when they never were. Also it felt like it was just a mix of all the possible tropes. It was about overwhelming.

The retreat was fun to read about, but the rest was a bit difficult to read at times.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood books for giving me an arc

This story was a ton of fun. There were elements that reminded me a lot of Portia MacIntosh’s previous books, but there were also elements that seemed really unique. It was a really quick and enjoyable read.

I really liked all of the characters. There were quite a few prominent side characters, and I felt like we really got to know them all well in addition to both Lara and Sonny. I didn’t really get a true ‘enemies’ vibe from them, but I do think it was shown well why they had tension, and I appreciated the way that was handled and that their backstory was shown too.

Everything was tied up nicely with this story, but I can’t help but wish for a little follow up novella or bonus chapter one day with the way it ended. I really did like the ending, and I just think it would be fun to revisit the characters again.

Thank you to Boldwood Books & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m really enjoying Macintosh’s books, and this one was no different.

It is light hearted and an easy read. A good array of characters and solid dialogue.

That said, this is possibly one of her weaker books thus far. It is wholly predictable (not a bad thing in this genre, but no surprises at all) and some of the language was a turn off for me - if I read that a character “clapped back” again I may have put the book down forever.

A good, holiday read.