Ex In The City by Portia Macintosh is about Nic, she lives in a small village with her partner and his two sons. As far as everyone is concerned, they are a very happy, wholesome family living the good life. But appearances can be deceiving, because that’s not what’s happening at all… they are most certainly not a happy couple and Nic is most certainly not madly in love and happy with Rowan. She’s sticking around and is moving on very soon.
Then a blast from the past arrives at her door with no warning, and suddenly life has meaning again. Dylan is a best friend she had when writing about his band back in the day, but they haven’t spoken for years. How will this pan out?
Oh boy! I really soaked this book up! I thoroughly lived and breathed it!!! I loved Nic and Dylan’s dynamic and how that worked in the story. Of course Portia adds her special bit of magic with a twist to make it that bit more fantastic!!
A masterpiece as always!!!
Many thanks to Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this arc copy via Netgalley. My opinion is my own.
#Netgalley, #TheBoldBookClub, #PortiaMacintoshAuthor.

Nicole Wilde's relationship is over. She loves her step-children, but not their father. She is still living in the house, but not sharing a bed with Rowan. He is an instagram influencer and is more worried about the best picture of video than what is going on in life. Nicole used to be a music journalist and was in love with rock star Dylan, but when the band broke up and there was animosity, that ended. Imagine her surprise when he shows up at her door to ask for her help. She is now in Public Relations and he wants her to help clean up his image. While doing her job, they reconnect, have a lot of fun, and Nicole realizes what she has been missing while living in suburbia.

I enjoyed this story, but not as much as her others. I am not a fan of infidelity and that was a huge plotline in this story. I loved the boys, they were cute, realistic and I just wanted to reach into the book and pluck them out to give them huge hugs. I thought the reactions Nicole had toward some of the mothers at the school were hilarious. Those perfect moms in their lulu lemons always make me roll my eyes. I enjoyed seeing Dylan work with the kids as well. He was a natural and loved encouraging them. I think the funniest scenes were when they had the celebrity themed ball. This was not as funny as some of her other books and had a few more serious issues, but overall, I enjoyed this one.

Portia MacIntosh rom-coms are enjoyable and Ex in the City was an easy to read novel.

The novel took us into the life and glamour people portray on the outside, especially in the music industry, and the second-chance romance had interesting characters and was more serious than MacIntosh's previous works.

I enjoyed the premise but the execution of the story left me wondering a bit. The story, I found, was a bit lacking. I think I would’ve loved it more if it was a bit more tangible.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was very different than what I've read from Portia before, it was more chick lit women's fiction than pure romance with the intrigue of the rock star lifestyle. I didn't love it to be honest, but my tastes run farther away from chick lit and closed to pure romance so I'm not surprised by that. The couple was definitely one to root for though, even if they did have problems - it was a solid friends to lovers, second chance romance.

Couldn't help but find this one boring, with no real impetus to read through. What Rowan had done kept being alluded to, and at the xth mention without giving us a clue, it got tedious. Nicole pulling her memorabilia to start telling us about Luke felt like something...but then, it turns out the love of her life was Dylan, so why the misdirection which brought nothing to the plot?
All the alluding got unnerving instead of suspenseful and making me want to read, so this book got hard before it ever got interesting for me, sadly.

I enjoyed this second chance romance. Nicole and Dylan have changed so much since their wild touring days but when they are brough back together it is like no time has passed at all.
Nicole is tasked with helping Dylan overhaul his public image and she can’t resist the chance to spend time with her old friend, even when it brings to light some of the parts of her own life that could do with changing too.
Portia Macintosh knows how to get you invested in a love story and this is no exception.

Nicole and Dylan are meant to be together and you know they love each other in a way only each other understands from the second they meet. I liked how you could see how Dylan had grown up into being a man.


I thought too much happened in a short book and the end was rushed. They had a third act break up to make everything magically go back to normal.

“Ex in the City” was a cute read. While I don’t feel that is was a good as previous Portia MacIntosh books, it was still fun nonetheless. It did feel a little too predictable.

Thank you NetGalley, Portia MacIntosh, and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

Portia's books are really great. They are really funny and enjoyable. They are easy to read and great escapism. If you love romance and chick lit make sure you read this one.

I absolutely loved this one and will be reading more from MacIntosh in the future! This was easy to read and hard to put down.

This was a lovely and charming read with delightful characters and a really fun premise. I really enjoyed Portia's style of writing and the humour she provided on the pages.

Ooof! What a thriller. I loved the fast pace of this one and the use of WhatsApp to create intrigue of which of the group was going to be next. It’s also an alarming look into stalking and crime. A new author for me -great!

Ex in the City by Portia MacIntosh

Nicole Wilde, had a life of travel, late nights, partying until dawn with the top rock bands as a music journalist. Now she's living the life of a suburban mom, living with her social media influencer partner while raising his two children. Unexpectedly, out of the blue, a blast from her past shows up on her doorstep and rents out the house across the street.

Dylan King lived his life as a rockstar. This led to him making some not-so-great choices over the years. With his band reuniting he needs to change his 'bad-boy' image into something more 'grownup', more respectable. Who is he to turn to? His good friend, Nicole. Agreeing to work with Dylan, their friendship flourishes and old feelings re-ignite.

I enjoyed the story about Nicole and Dylan and how meeting many years later they were able to pick up where they left off in their friendship. One character that I could have done without is Nicole's partner. Rowan! haha I did not like him at all!

I enjoyed the humor, and how Dylan fit seamlessly into Nicole's life, with the children and their school.

This was a fun read for second-chance romances!

Have read and enjoyed other books by Portia. However this was at best ok, but left me feeling rather meh.

Thank you to the publisher a d Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Lovely romantic book that keeps you turning the pages. I really enjoyed the book and the insight into the music business.

Slightly disappointing read. I’ve enjoyed all the authors previous books but this felt a bit lacklustre and fragmented. I found it difficult to like the characters. I found the book did improve about 75% of the way through and it won’t put me off reading any future books by this author.

Thank you Netgalley

It was a good book, it was a nice rom com, I liked the second chance aspect. I thought the characters were alright could have more growth but overall a good book.

Nicole lived a wild and carefree life back in the day as a music journalist when she hung out with bands and spent her time touring around. But then when scandal broke out around her best friend, Dylan, who was a rockstar, she decided it was time for a fresh start. She is now living a pretty ho hum life. So when Dylan comes back into her life, asking for help with restoring his image, she feels her old life pulling her back in, and wants to give her old life one last go. Spending time with Dylan again, Nicole finds herself being the person she truly is in her heart, but she has a different life now, and when the two begin to collide, Nicole has to decide what she really wants in life and who it is she really wants to be with.
A lovely story written with a lot of heart and emotion. Dylan and Nicole were both great characters and I enjoyed seeing them navigating their present situations and find their way back to each other. The book definitely left me with a smile on my face and happy feeling afterwards. Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing a complimentary copy. This is my voluntary review.