This was a joy to read. Lana, the FMC was a good character, trying to keep her life on track, while trying to prove to her "posh" family that she can be whoever she wants to be.

Ethan was an adorable MMC, I fell in love with him right at the start when he started recreating Yes Man on the first date.

Their energy was electric, and kept me coming back for more. I've enjoyed everything I've read by Portia Macintosh, but this is definitely a firm favourite.

I’m a big fan of Portia MacIntosh. This wasn’t my favorite as I didn’t like how Lana kept talking about how things always were cursed with Ethan. It seemed redundant and not that many terrible things had happened. It was cute, and I like how her family came around. The situation with Beau seemed sort of random and then fizzled quickly.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc!

I’d have to rate this a 2.5. This didn’t really do it for me. There was some Witt and funny bits which I liked but on the other hand….For a book on the shorter side it felt kind of jarring. I didn’t like the FMC she’s pretty much childish, chaotic and irritating for some reason I just really didn’t like her. Ethan (MMC) was a lil lovely, but he also was abit irritating in certain situations in my opinion lol.
I didn’t like the whole outlandish family situation. And the fact that Lana just wasn’t really into Ethan yet they’re together? I don’t know I just felt like this book lacked quite abit and probably could’ve been better if the execution was better.

I’d definitely try this author again maybe this was just a one off.

Lana’s sister is getting married in Australia. This happens on her 30th birthday. Lana is also invited to a lunch which is actually an intervention for her to behave during the wedding. So as revenge, Lana plans to misbehave, cause chaos and take a date that her family won’t approve of.

Lana goes out on several dates, looking for a horrible date for the wedding. All her dates end in disaster and she has no one to go with her to the wedding. Then she sees Ethan at work again.

Ethan and Lana met at work a few years ago and went out on a date. All their dates ended in chaos and disaster. They decided that they weren’t good for each other.
But Ethan was the perfect date to take to the wedding. So Lana decided to take Ethan to the wedding. The plan was to misbehave and cause chaos but she quickly changes her plans after meeting a handsome earl.

What will Lana do and who will she choose? Will Lana go for the boring and stable earl? Or will she go for the chaotic and fun Ethan?

I never read anything from this author but I was very intrigued. This book was a funny and cute romance. I loved the reference to TikTok and memes. I also loved the jokes.
In the beginning I didn’t really like Lana but as she kept growing in the book I started to like her more and more. Her character development was great.
I wish there was more chemistry between the two main characters. I also wish they were together earlier in this book. I thought the love triangle at the end was a bit much and I feel like it would be better if it was left out.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the beginning where Ethan & Lana met and their relationship dynamics really sounded unique but everything went downhill after the two year time skip. <spoiler> Lana & Ethan broke up because apparently whenever they were together, something catastrophic happened. Then Lana immediately jumped into dating her co-worker and broke up with him too. But he "seemed genuine enough" so when she was in need of a place to stay, she went to live with the douche ex and even after knowing that he only did that because he was hoping to get back together with her, she still stays with him. As if all this wasn't enough, her family is extremely toxic and the way her dad, step mum and sister spoke to her and constantly demeaned her, I was expecting that she would somehow stand up for herself but that also did not happen. She just kept on taking their insults and did not once berate them. On top of that, I went in thinking that Ethan is going to be the highlight during the wedding, but it felt like he was a side character in the second half, while Lana was off flirting with a shady Earl she just met. Honestly, her pov was very confusing and she was so flighty (her going on multiple dates and discarding Ethan in a second when she saw someone attractive just didn't sit well with me). I just couldn't understand her at all and the way she pushed Ethan away in the end was so frustrating. It felt like she used him and he definitely deserved so much better than her. I just really disliked Lana and there were so many times that I wanted to DNF the book but I wanted to see if she finally gives it back to her family but it unfortunately did not happen and all of a sudden, everyone that was awful to her was being nice, which was so shocking. </spoiler> The entire part after the first few chapters was just off putting and I feel like I wasted my time on this book. I've enjoyed some of the author's previous books so I was expecting something good, but this book was definitely not my cup of tea.

<i> I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review</i>

Laugh out loud funny and a quick, cute read which is something I have found of all of Portia's books. They are always worth picking up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the advanced reader copy. This is set to be published January 8th.

This is my 3rd Portia MacIntosh arc that I've received, and this is very similar to her others.
The first that I read is still my favorite (That Suite Life), but this is definitely a cute quick read.
Wish You Weren't Here is about Lana. Her half sister is having a destination wedding… and has set the date for Lana's 30th birthday.
After her family sits down to give her some rules on dress code and expected behaviour Lana sets out to find an embarassing wedding date to prove her family right.

All of her books have a similar vibe and I will describe her as an old school Sophie Kinsella vibe.
Quirky characters, light and fast read, funny and a touch of romance.
I will go back to this author as a pallet cleanser after reading something heavier.

3.75 stars from me.

This is a new author for me, and I will definitely be reading more. This was a fun, quick read and filled with lots of British humour. I really liked both Lana and Ethan, though I feel like Ethan's storyline was mysterious for most of the book then summarized in a chapter, and I wanted more. Honestly, I wanted more from a couple of the storylines - I don't know if that's because I liked the writing that much, or if they were underdeveloped, but I'm going to go with the first on this and round up my 3.5 stars to a 4.

This was a quick and cute read. I'm not sure I read it at the perfect time since it's cold and December right now, but it did offer a bit of escapism for me. The main characters were ok, not super likeable but I didn't hate them either. There were lots of good characters though and I enjoyed it enough to finish it but probably won't be one I remember for very long. I would recommend it though. Maybe just wait for a good beach read day.

This one was cute. Fade to black romance. It was light, reminded me of the Wedding Date. The premise of why it didn't really work for the couple was kind of weak and a bit repetitive. Slow going in the beginning but it picked up.

There was a lot going on in this book, it often felt like it was doing too much with the extreme roster of characters. Keeping track of Molly, Faye, Steve, Tiggy, Beau, Chester, Seph, Bea, Eleanor, etc was a lot that didn't always feel like it was progressing the plot. Much of the conflict felt unresolved, both with Beau but also with Lana's parents.

I enjoyed the dynamic and hijinx with Ethan and Lana, but even their HFN felt very rushed and unresolved.

I had a hard time getting through this book. While the plot was interesting, I did not like the way it was written. It was very stream of consciousness, there was a lot of (unnecessary) word repetition, and I had a hard time getting through it.

There were also several inconsistencies in the couple’s stories, and it was hard to follow.

This was the first book I’ve read by this author, and I’m sorry to say I don’t think I will be reading any anytime soon! I gave this book three stars solely because I forced myself to finish it because I needed to know the end, and also I did kind of like Ethan (the MMC).

Now, before I give you my opinions and thoughts, let me tell you a bit about the plot.

It starts with Lana and Ethan meeting and creating chaos in their wake. They decide to go their separate ways (after two nights, but I'll get to that) because it's the safest for everyone if they aren't together.

Fast forward two years, and Lana needs a date for her sister's wedding holiday in Australia (which is on the same day as her 30th birthday, boohoo for Lana). Oh, and did I mention Lana’s family is filthy rich, but she has an evil stepmother and a half-sister who doesn’t like her?

Anyway! She looks around for an inappropriate wedding date in an attempt to unapologetically be herself to her snooty family. (Think: if they think I'm irresponsible, I'll show them irresponsible.) Ultimately, she ends up bringing Ethan, and there's longing, some chaos, and Ethan keeps really stepping up and showing Lana why she was interested in him in the first place. Except, he's supposed to be helping her create chaos, not being amazing?????????

First of all, I think the blurb is pretty misleading because I thought I was reading a second-chance romance about EXES, and wouldn’t you know, Lana and Ethan only met twice TWO YEARS AGO.

It was also very insta-lovey for me—like, what do you mean you love him??????? What does he do for a living??????

I love a work of fiction as much as anyone else, but this was just very out of it and exaggerated for me. I felt like, throughout the 400 pages, I didn’t even know anything about either of the two main characters, except that she has zero ambitions and he… what? I learned more about Beau (the earl) than about Ethan.

This book tries to sell the idea of "finding ourselves at the age we need to," but this woman was thirty years old acting like she was 21. In fact, I know 15-year-olds with more substance and depth.

She only thought about herself. Your family hates you and doesn’t want to give you money—boohooooo.

Two-year separation after two nights together? Wow, the love story of a lifetime.
I didn’t know how to rate this book, but then I caught myself taking notes of a lot of things I didn’t like, more than I did like, and so my final rating rounded up to three stars. Because I did make myself finish it instead of skimming the pages.
There were some moments that were very funny—like when Seph (the half-sister and bride) expects the food to just appear on the hike. She was very funny but at the same time very annoying. Honestly, her entire family was extremely annoying except for Tiggy.

BUT LANA!!!
LANA.
LANA LANA LANA LANA.

The worst female character I’ve ever read. She had zero depth, zero ambition.

Thats it, thats my review.

I really wanted to like this book. I thought both of the main characters were fine, but there was so little relationship building on page that I didn’t really believe they loved each other by the end. I found the whole thing sort of chaotic. The reason for their breakup was weak and then two years pass by before they run into each other again. Even though it was a very short read, a second potential love interest is introduced just to add something that wasn’t even necessary. The tension from her family would have been enough and the extra guy was just strange.
2.5 stars overall, rounded up because it was a super quick read.

A bit of light hearted fun that had me laughing out loud. I really enjoyed this bit of silly escapism on a wet and windy day.

Lana isn't very happy as her "perfect" sister is getting married in Australia on her 30th birthday. Her (wealthy) family have their concerns about her behaviour so she gets a do and don't list. So she tries to find the most inappropriate date to the wedding.
And what could be better than the man she spend a few passionate, crazy days with in the wild... Which ended very badly?

I must say I didn't feel the vibe of Ethan and Lana. I do love fake dating stories, but this one didn't do it for me. The characters were so immature and I couldn't get myself to like them. The dialogues weren't it for me either. Normally you'd like the wealthy family to be wrong about the black sheep FMC... But she did seem as irresponsible and trashy as they said the is.


Thanks to Portia McIntosh, Boldwood Books and Netgalley for entrusting me to write an honest review in exchange for this ARC

Wish You Weren't Here, by Portia MacKintosh, starts as a funny meet-cute and grabbed my attention right away. The story, however, lagged a bit in the middle and I found myself skimming the text to get to the more interesting parts.  It did come around and ended up being a fun entertaining read! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

Lana and Ethan meet on Valentines Day, instantly connect, hook up and then go their separate ways. Fast forward to a couple of years later, Lana's half sister is getting married in Australia and Lana needs a plus one. After a few unsuccessful dates in order to find someone, Ethan re-enters Lana's life and steps in as the plus one.

Lana's father's side is astronomically rich, whereas Lana, who grew up with her mother, is not. The story could have done with more character development when it came to her family - I wish they'd treated Lana better as they seemed to have no redeeming qualities.

I loved how Lana and Ethan first met and I liked Ethan's character. Lana however, just seemed a little lost.

The story was far-fetched and the ending felt quite rushed, but overall it was a fun and entertaining read.

This was just not the book for me. I cannot relate to the characters nor did I find them interesting.

I really enjoy Portia's novels so I was delighted to have received an early copy of this novel.
This story starts out funny, strong and attention grabbing - it does wane a little in the middle - however pulls it together for the end. I like the characters, the story was a bit zany but if you treat it as fun then you'll enjoy it.