4.5⭐

Enemies to Lovers by Portia MacIntosh

Thank you to Netgalley, Portia MacIntosh, and Boldwood Books for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Lara is an uptight yet hardworking showbiz journalist for Stylife - a magazine exclusively for women. The sister - more appropriately, the brother magazine of the company is called Mach. Sonny, who is like a human Golden Retriever, holds the same position as Lara in Mach.

However, they are rivals, trying to one-up each other at every point. But when their bosses decide to send them to a remote couple therapy center named Eden, to get the inside scoop on a very famous Hollywood couple, they are flabbergasted - as they have to pretend to be a couple whose relationship is failing.

At the beginning, I found both Lara and Sonny to be quite annoying. Their actions frustrated me until they somewhat reconciled in the middle of the story. The story's setting was excellent! Explaining Eden, how it functioned, creating the other characters and their backgrounds - it was all so fantastic.

The novel was written in the first-person point of view and explained Lara's perspective. I loved the fact that there was character development not only with Lara and Sonny, but also with the other couples in that therapy group. I also enjoyed the occasional deep conversations Lara and Sonny had about their choice of career and how it isn't exactly ethical what some other journalists do.

But I did notice that the story never went too deep. There was little to no information about the protagonists' childhood, education, and how they actually met.

Yet, the book is fun. I'd recommend it if you enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope, fake relationship trope with funny banter, and a lighthearted romcom.

Rival journalists Lara and Sonny go undercover at a celebrity couples retreat. While they work together searching for industry secrets, their animosity slowly transforms to attraction. Can they heal past hurts and work toward a happy ending?

This hilarious romantic comedy is fun and fast-paced. The main characters are relatable, getting into all kinds of scrapes because they keep trying to one-up each other. The side characters are charming, and the tropical setting alluring. Karen Cass does a wonderful job with the audiobook narration as always.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Enemies to Lovers is Portia MacIntosh’s latest enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy.

Lara and Sonny are both celebrity journalists working for magazines owned by the same media conglomerate in London. Since their magazines target different audiences, they aren’t direct rivals. However they both tend to write stories about the same people and events, so they are challenged to come up with different angles. Lara considers Sonny to be her sworn enemy due to his ability to sabotage her leads and his golden-boy personality.

Lara sees a different side of Sonny when he coaches an IT guy through a blind date; Lara comes with her best friend, Lauren, for moral support. Then their bosses give them an assignment to go undercover at an exclusive celebrity retreat on a tropical island for a week. They will have to pretend to be in couples therapy to get their story. Of course there is forced proximity with only one bed. The big question is if their fake romance will turn into a real one.

Enemies to Lovers is not the author’s best work. Lara is the grumpy character to Sonny’s sunshine, but the reader isn’t told what Sonny did to incur Lara’s hate. Lara is so rude to Sonny that she’s not a likable heroine. They just didn’t seem to have good chemistry between them, and so a romance seems unlikely. I feel like parts of this story needs to be re-written so that it will seem more believable. The author has written some funny romances that I have given 5-stars.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Boldwood Books for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, fast-paced and I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

A delightful journey through the realms of unexpected love, this enemies-to-lovers closed-door romance brilliantly weaves the tapestry of two characters discovering an undeniable connection despite their initial animosity.

The humor infused in the narrative adds a refreshing touch, making the journey not only romantically charged but also immensely entertaining. The gradual unraveling of their feelings, piece by piece, creates a suspenseful allure that keeps readers eagerly turning pages.

What sets this romance apart is the authenticity of the characters' emotions. The development of their relationship feels natural, and the genuine moments of vulnerability add depth to the story. The exploration of a fake relationship evolving into something real is masterfully executed, making it a standout in the genre.

This tale is a testament to the author's storytelling prowess, capturing the essence of enemies discovering their meant-to-be connection with finesse and leaving readers enchanted by the magic of love blooming in unexpected places. Highly recommended for those seeking a heartwarming and amusing romance that transcends the typical tropes.

the enemies to lovers trope is very good here. very funny and reasonable reasons on why the FMC declares the MMC her rival. the journey from enemies to more are done exceptionally and I loved the ending.

Read from December 26th, 2023 to December 31st, 2023. Written on January 4th, 2023

~3.5~

First review of 2024 for the last book of 2023!

Initial thoughts: I think the title could be better. Though it is appealing, the book is filled with such an interesting storyline that I believe the author could have given it such an original title. Cover is cute nevertheless!

Now onto the actual book: characters were interesting to get to know, love me some background stories between them and overall a very cute story. Now, here's what I wished had happened: more focus on the actual goal the characters had on their "mission" (will not reveal because spoilers), I felt like it wasn't part of the story at times, which was a bit confusing.

I loved that the characters actually built a good relationship before becoming romantic with each other. I loved the slow burn and the friendship that blossomed. Genuinely enjoyed reading the adventures they had at the retreat plus the characters they met, it made the story much more rich.

Good book to end the year overall, it's definitely a fun read!

Signing off.
B.
(Free ARC from NetGalley) and Boldwood Books that I chose to review after reading)

Portia MacIntosh has become one of my comfort authors. I always enjoy her books and this one is no exception. I love the enemies to lovers troupe, so this was highly anticipated. Sonny and Lara were the perfect balance of grumpy/sunshine. I loved the idea of being undercover and being forced to pretend to like each other. The activities and antics at the resort were perfection. I knew there had to be a twist with the resort but I totally did not see the specific twist coming! I hope we get another book filled with their new adventures!!

Book with this formula - enemies-to-lovers fake dating on vacation, usually really hit for me. But this one... didn't.

First of all, something that always breaks this kind of storyline is the characters being genuinely mean to each other. The main catalyst of the events of the story is Lara lying about Sonny sexually harassing her resulting in him being physically assaulted, which just isn't quirky or funny. Their banter is also less playful banter and more just straight insults. And they never actually address a lot of the things they do to each other. I was never convinced that these two should be together, yet somehow all of the characters in the book were convinced they were already in love??

I also could tell you nothing about these two characters besides that they are journalists and they hate each other. There was no personal growth and they barely even talked to each other. There were none of the chemistry building moments a fake dating romance usually has. It turns out they had a history with each other, which informed their attitudes toward each other, but this wasn't revealed until over halfway through the book. I knew more about the side characters than the protagonists, and frankly they were more interesting anyways.

I enjoyed the "White Lotus" elements of the story, but the writing overall felt not too creative or polished. Almost every chapter ended with "Interesting..." or some variation and the story had no real resolution.

One star.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Lara and Sonny are both show biz journalists on rival magazines but within the same publisher and they don't like each other with a passion. Their bosses send them on an undercover mission to dish the dirt on a celebrity couple, unfortunately it means them having to attend a couples retreat as a couple! Will they be able to finish their assignment without blowing their cover or killing each other!

It has been a while since I have read a Portia MacIntosh book and I had forgotten how good they are. She has great characters that you can relate to.

*3.5 stars *

I am a fan of the Enemies to Lovers trope but this one seemed to miss the mark for me. The Enemies to Lovers seemed to be more of journalistic rivals and was more one sided. I enjoyed many parts of this book and the comical situations that Lara and Sonny got into. However, I did not see Lara and Sonny as a couple. There seemed to be no romance between the two until close to the end of the book and even after, the romance seemed rushed. Although this book wasn't my favorite, it seems that based on the reviews posted for this book, there are many books from Portia MacIntosh that I will enjoy. I am hoping to give this author a second chance read soon.

Enemies to Lovers is out today.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to review Enemies to Lovers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this. But I felt no spark between these characters and didn’t care at all about the plot. Why was there so much focus on Hope? With some alcohol and adrenaline there were some steamy moments, but I wanted to believe it. And I didn’t. I also feel like there was a missed opportunity with the title, but that’s my own opinion. I received an advance review copy for free via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

this was a fun, light read and author Portia MacIntosh hits all the beats you’d expect (and I definitely did enjoy it), something about this one just felt a little off compared to a number of her previous books. And the vexing thing is I can’t say exactly what. I still enjoyed it though, and I’m sure most fans will as well. 4 out of 5 stars.

Lara is a celebrity writer but so is Sonny, her arch nemesis from university days. When their jabs and rivalry goes too far, the two of them find themselves on a secret mission which ultimately leads them somewhere they never thought they'd go.

This is a slow burner; it took a while for me to get into the characters and for the story to get going but once it did I found myself really enjoying the story. There is nothing hard hitting in it but the description is great, the setting is dreamy and it's definitely entertaining. The ending is very satisfying and the pace improves from about halfway through.

It lacked some tension for me, it was very predictable and nothing new. Of course they are rivals and find each other in a task that they have to solve together and in the meantime they fall in love. I really liked the style of writing, it was a fun and fast-paced book and I would definitely read something of MacIntosh again.

It took me a while to be able to connect to the characters, it wasn't until I was half way through that I loved the setting and the situation the characters were in, the tittle was what caught my interest but it can be a little bit misleading cause you can't feel that relationship between the characters.
Even at the very beginning the male main character does so many things for the girl that you can't think why the book is called like that. I liked that later we see why she is mad at him but I felt like we are missing something like the ending I felt it was a little bit too abrupt and we don't really get to see a happily ever after it just kind of ends and we don't see how the things they did at the Eden changed how they are in the UK.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author and publisher for sharing this book with me in exchange of a honest review

I always enjoy enemies to lovers plot and this added to it. It was fun and full of drama. Entertaining Rom-Com for sure!

Following the lives of Lara and Sonny, who’ve be given the job to go undercover as a couple on a new story, a secret mission which becomes more challenging in more ways than even they’d anticipated…

An easy, standalone overall good read.

A fun sweet classic enemies to lovers romance that is aptly named, I love a good workplace drama romance. This one is full of all the classic tropes

The title of this one totally pulled me in! Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes, so I figured this book by Portia Macintosh would be right up my alley. In Enemies to Lovers, Lara and Sonny are working the same reporting job at two different magazines, forcing them to frequently cross paths professionally. The problem? Ever since a betrayal between the two while in college, they hate each other and try to sabotage the other at every turn. Their magazines end up sending them to pose as a couple at a super exclusive and secretive retreat, forcing them to work closer together than ever before with their jobs on the line.

I loved the premise of this story. The workplace rivals angle was fun, especially when their work sent them on such a strange and twisted adventure together (with ONLY ONE BED!!!). The retreat portion of the story started to give me some Nine Perfect Strangers vibes, but it definitely didn’t play into the mystery/thriller genre too much. I unfortunately did not love Lara as a main character. The book was entirely in her perspective and I found a lot of her internal dialogue grating. I wish we had some chapters in Sonny’s perspective. Maybe that would have helped balance the story for me a bit more. I also was a bit disappointed with the amount of romance present in the story overall. The title definitely led me to expect one type of book, but let’s just say that the “enemies” part overwhelmingly overshadowed the “lovers” section. It made it hard to buy into the romance between Lara and Sonny at all for me. Overall, I thought Enemies to Lovers had some fun moments and interesting ideas, but I wasn’t super invested in the story or the characters.

Thank you to @netgalley and Boldwood Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.