I really enjoyed this one. It was a pleasant read and got me out of a slump! I would definitely reccomend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for and honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book was not for me. I should start by saying that I do think that enemies to lovers is one of the harder tropes to successfully pull off well and that is because the author needs to successfully convince me that these people have real (and good) reason to hate each other and that they actually do hate each other verses just not know each other very well and then also successfully make me believe that the thing that was a real issue before is no longer a problem and then also convince me that they actually like/ love e/o when presumably not so long ago they hated e/o. There are times when one of these steps works out a lot better than the others and there are times when none work out. Either way, if you can't pull it all off, I will usually feel a bit of a lack.
I do think its a bit of a risk titling your book after this trope because automatically, a major part of my judgement is going to be based off of how well this trope was ultimately pulled off and unfortunately for me this one, I was not on board. From the get go the "enemies" part of this felt very off and unnatural. I did not find it very believable or like anything that would actually happen in real life. Somehow it also feels very in the female protagonist's head as opposed to anything that should actually be "enemies" inducing. I also really could not get my head around the set up of these two characters being thrown together on this trip. The fact that ONLY these two people can do this job when they proved themselves by knowing the most basic knowledge about this celebrity couple felt incredibly lazy.
I also really hated the dialog in this book. For people who make their living in journalism (even if it is focused on celebrity culture) they sure do say a lot of nothing and there are multiple times when people just repeat what the other person just said as a response.
The fact that I was rolling my eyes every few minutes definitely did not help in getting me invested in their relationship. Ultimately, it felt like this was trying to be the British Hating Game but ultimately fell flat.

A sweet will they wont they kinda book. It didn't grip me but its an ok read. Would be good to take on summer holidays to read by the pool. An easy read for sunny days when you want to relax and not think too much. Not an unputdownable book but sweet and nice

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

Loved the cover. Loved the verbal warfare. Loved the community of seemingly different people on the island, coming together. This book just felt long. Truly loved the concept. Just felt like there were so. many. words to get to the next part of the story.

This book was a really quick read but wasn't the romance I was expecting! It felt much more like a drama/mystery throughout.

It was enjoyable and I loved the tropes! The main character annoyed me a little but was much better towards the end!

Highlights
- forced proximity
- grumpy/sunshine
- rivals-to-lovers
- 2nd chance romance

Lara and Sonny, sworn enemies and rival showbiz journalists, are perpetually locked in a fierce competition to outdo each other in the world of celebrity gossip. When their bosses unexpectedly team them up for an undercover assignment at an exclusive celebrity retreat, their worst nightmare becomes a reality. To blend in, they must pretend to be a couple undergoing couples therapy.

While a tropical island might sound like paradise, for Lara and Sonny, it's anything but. Forced to spend a week together, navigating showbiz secrets, can the sun and sea soften the edges of their rivalry? And once they return home and the facade is over, will it leave room for a real relationship to blossom?

"Trouble in Paradise" promises to be a hilarious enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy from bestselling author Portia MacIntosh. The engaging premise of sworn enemies forced into an undercover couple's therapy situation on a tropical island sets the stage for a potentially entertaining and witty narrative. Fans of romantic comedies, enemies-to-lovers tropes, and showbiz intrigue may find this book to be a delightful escape into a world of sun-drenched rivalry and unexpected romance.

This was an entertaining and well-written enemies to lovers, or more specifically, workplace rivals romance and I had a great time reading it. Lara and Sonny are showbiz journalists and are constantly competing with each for the next hot story. But now instead of working against each other, they are forced to work together when their bosses ask them to go undercover where they have to pretend to be a couple, on a tropical island, no less. They have no choice but to join forces and somewhere along the way, their rivalry begins to fizzle out and a newfound romance begins to blossom and grow.
Such a fun read! Really enjoyed this and glad I had the opportunity to read it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing a complimentary copy. This is my honest and voluntary review.

normally not a fan of the enemies to lovers trope but this was a quick and breezy read! probably won't think about it again but the vibes were good lol

please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
HEA: yes
spice: a couple closed-door steamy scenes
TWs: cheating (not MCs), assault
standalone: yes
final thoughts: this book was a quick read but wasn’t fully what I expected. It was much more of a mystery (almost thriller at times) than I expected. Not bad, just unexpected. That being said, the story itself had a lot going on but was ultimately engaging and the writing was good and easy to read. This was a fun story about workplace rivals, a forced proximity work assignment, and some wacky situations.

read this book if you love

🏝️ forced proximity
😡 grumpy/sunshine
🤜 rivals-to-lovers
2️⃣ 2nd chance romance
💌 clean romance
💼 workplace romance
🔎 adventure
❓ mystery
🤫 hidden secrets

The plot was of course not something unfamiliar, someone you kinda find annoying just shows up everywhere you are, being even more annoying, but getting sent to a retreat together was the twist and the protagonist's suspicious character made everything funnier. I very much enjoyed the story!

😬😬😬 okay... this emoji represents how I felt as soon as I finished the book... 😬😬😬

I won't say the book is bad. It's just that I was expecting romance and there was no romance and I couldn't really feel the connection between the characters. Lara and Sonny didn't feel in love at all. I needed more romance, if you'll promote a book as romance then give romance to the readers.

The whole story of Eden, the island, felt weird. Usually yeah romance books aren't that realistic but this was excessive. Give me a bit of realism please. Just a bit. A tiny bit is okay. But give me some.

Portia MacIntosh is an amazing writer, always with fun and sweet stories, but this one was a miss for me. It took me long time to finish it as I wasn't really interested and the lack of romance and fun made it a bit boring. Sorry.

And hey Lara, can you be a bit less annoying? No? She is such a pessimistic, rude, insufferable character and I really disliked her!!! All the trouble was inside her head so I really think the enemies thing was one-sided.

Thank you netgalley, Portia MacIntosh and publisher for my arc!!!

Portia MacIntosh never fails to make me laugh. This book had a fun filled premise with a gorgeous backdrop. I also always appreciate a secret stash of tea and a contraband burger! However, the main love interests, Sonny and Lara, didn't quite live up to my romantic expectations and the ending was anticlimactic. This was a fast, fun read, but it was not my favorite of Portia MacIntosh's books.

However, I did love the reference to Bragadon Forrest and Lara's borrowed Birkin Bag!

A very weird? romance book, I have to say. This story focuses on two workplace rivals and very loose "enemies" that have to fake date on a work assignment. With tension from the beginning, the two have to fight their attraction for no reason other than to drive the pointless plot. While some moments were cute, It all felt a little low-stakes for me,

This book is a perfect blend of humor, tension, and heartwarming moments. If you're in the mood for a charming enemies-to-lovers tale that will leave you with a smile, Portia MacIntosh delivers a delightful experience with this one! I received a complimentary copy of this book from Boldwood Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you so much!

Wasn’t a huge fan of this book. I ended up rushing through just to see the ending.

Thank you for letting me read the book!

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 expected this to be a quick light read, and even though it was a quick read, I’m not sure about the “light” part. Sometimes it’s like the book couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a romantic comedy or a thriller!

The rivalry seemed to mostly be in the FMC's head.

Unfortunately, this was not a good read for me. There was so much flip flopping between the characters, one minute they're on the same page, the next minute they're fighting - it never had a good flow.

I ended up skimming from about 40% onwards to just see how it all ended.

✔️ Work Vacation
✔️ Forced Proximity
✔️ Rival Journalists
✔️ Grumpy X Sunshine

This was a fun and enchanting book full of beautiful banter and amazing world-building. The atmosphere pulled you into the book in a way that you could perfectly see what was going on. The island was so mysterious and I couldn’t stop reading to find out what was going to happen and what the whole mystery behind all of it was. The banter between the two main characters was so fun. We had a bit of a grumpy X sunshine going on and I just wanted more of them! The overall story of the book was beautiful and by the end, I really respected and loved the characters for what they went through and how they grew in the end. I highly recommend reading this book!

I enjoy this book, it’s funny.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book 💕