It isn't your classical romance novel, and certainly not something I was used to from Portia MacIntosh.

But I loved it anyway.

Ethan and Lana have such a great chemistry that I really wondered how they could've split up.

During almost two years after that, Lana tries and fails to find someone to take to her half-sister's wedding in Australia.
The dating part is quite detailed and that's what I wasn't expecting (it takes some time for Ethan to come back into the story).

BUT he's perfect in every way and saves the day (or the days... as this wedding and Lana will need more than one save).

Ethan is kind and respectful and fun... precisely the kind of man Lana wants and deserves. He stands up for her in front of her family and it's spot on.

It all ends well even if I would have liked her dad to have an epiphany and stand up for her (he's paying for this gigantic weeklong wedding in Australia for his second daughter and can't give his first one a loan for a deposit ? It seems to me that it's not Bea (his wife) that has the money but him, so how can he refuse her? She's done nothing wrong, for what we know... That was a bit off, for me.

As always a laugh at loud story, cute, with fantastic scenery.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very lighthearted and fun! I enjoyed the meet cute in the beginning and their first date. However, I didn’t feel so connected to the characters. I tend to connect with stories that have more of a “show, dont tell” in the writing and I feel like that was missing and it could’ve strengthened the story so much. But the plot ideas and story itself truly has a lot of promise.

Thank you NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and Portia MacIntosh for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very fun, quick read! It starts with Lana and Ethan meeting and creating chaos in their wake. They decide to go their separate ways 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 coincides with her 30th birthday). She looks around for an inappropriate wedding date in an attempt to unapologetically herself to her snooty family. 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.

As much as this book is about Lana and Ethan's relationship, it's also about Lana growing as a person and learning to spend time with her family (who she usually avoids at all costs). She matured a ton during the holiday and became someone (IMO) that was worthy of Ethan.

I love a second chance romance and this one had a healthy dose of forced proximity (hello one bed) and lots of longingly looking into each other's eyes. There were some laugh out loud moments, which are my favorite. Closed door.

This story just didn’t hit for me. It follows Lana while she tries to stick it to her posh family (she didn’t grow up with them), who want her to act posh at her half-sisters wedding, by bringing an unsuitable date and wearing unsuitable clothes. The part that misses is Lana is not super likable and one minute is all anti-posh people and the next, she’s cozying up to a noble. Ethan is okay, but there is no depth or backstory to him. He’s just there, flip flopping on his attitude too. The pacing is a bit off. Once the climax hits, the ending is very soon after. Not sure how we got from point A to point B in the romance story after the climax. Given that this is an ARC, I hope there’s still time for some edits.

Thank you Boldwood Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Lana’s sister is getting married in Australia and Lana needs to find a date. What follows are some hilarious and disastrous dates which had me laughing out loud in some parts and cringing in others.
Ethan her ex comes back into her life and goes to Australia with her to help her get revenge on her awful sister and family. However things don’t go to plan.
I enjoyed the book and loved Ethan as a character however I didn’t like how Lana’s family treated her and that this wasn’t dealt with before the end of the book. I’m hoping for a sequel so this can be resolved and we can find out how Lana’s life continues.
Thanks for NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Portia MacIntosh for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

This book really felt all over the place at times, but then again so does the protagonist's life, so it works out for helping to set the stage for the reader. With a string of men presented throughout the book, it's hard to say at times what's going to happen in the end (although you're pretty sure), and so when some of the male protagonist's backstory comes to light (and some of our supporting cast's as well), it makes for a sweet ending. This is a quick feel-good read to curl up with on a lazy day!

I loved Wish You Weren’t Here! I knew I would enjoy it because I love MacIntosh’s books. I thought it was going to be one of those fake romance books, but it was really so much more than that. I wasn’t a fan of Lana through most of the book, and I didn’t know what to think of Ethan. By the end of the book I loved them both. I highly recommend this book. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

3.5 stars rounded up. At times this felt like two different books smashed together (the and then the fake dating/vacation portion of the book), but I loved both books, so who is complaining? Not me. It was funny and clever and very entertaining. Did end a bit abruptly, and sometimes felt it was written as scenes in a movie rather than a book (which made some things hard to catch onto) but also felt unique because of it.

This book was such a fun, quick and easy read!
I really enjoyed the writing style, it’s simple and modern.
Reading this felt like having a real life conversation with someone, the dialogue just felt like how I would talk to my best friends and tell them a story.
I’m not the biggest fan of humour/comedy in my romances as sometimes I find the humour a little corny, but this was just perfect. I highlighted several lines on my Kindle that I just found absolutely hilarious and so witty and clever!
Absolutely would recommend this book to any lovers of a fun and easy romance.

One of my favourite authors. I love all Portias books and this was no exception.
A funny story with lots of com. Usually scattering if easter eggs which i enjoyed.
Would have liked to see a bit more australia for some escapism - it was a lovely setting.
The characters and their exploits were amusing throughout.

thank you to boldwood books and netgalley for this ARC!

this was probably 3.5 out of 5 stars for me. the book was a really fast read, so the characters didn’t feel terribly developed. it was light and funny, even if things weren’t 100% believable. lana and ethan were definitely sweet, i was happy it worked out with them.

This was a cute and quick read! It reminded me a lot of the movie, anyone but you, especially with the Australian wedding setting. My only feedback would be that it took a lot of time and build up to get to the wedding portion and I would have had more emphasis on that part rather than the filler of her job being soul-sucking and trying to find a date for the wedding. Otherwise I think this is a good book to escape to into the colder weather months!

thank you to netgalley for the e-arc. i don't think i'll ever enjoy or understand british humor and slang. it was a cute lil romcom with god writing but i think a different reader would enjoy it more.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Lana has always been treated poorly by her father‘s second family. Now her sister is getting married in Australia on Lana‘s 30th birthday and Lana is instructed not to embarass the family by dressing to sexy or bringing the wrong date. Of course Lana now seeks for the perfect „bad date“ for the wedding in order to stand up to her family. At the last minute she has the opportunity to take Ethan, a man she had a two-night-stand with that could have been more if they hadn‘t caused chaos and destruction whenever they got together - but in this instance chaos could be a good thing…

I liked reading the book but I felt there were some parts missing. We read about the beginning of Lana‘s and Ethan‘s relationship but then suddenly it‘s five years later and we don‘t really learn why it ended. Also the love story did not really convince me as Lana tries to start a relationship with Beau literally hours before she suddely decides the feelings she has for Ethan must be love. I also would have liked to have Lana stand up for herself to her family and not let them keep on treating her this bad. All in all the ending felt a bit rushed and anti-climatic.
Still an entertaining read because the first half where Lana seeks a date for the wedding is completely hilarious at times.

A good, rom-com read; Lana is approaching 30 and has no relationship, a job she's not sure she likes and a family who she's not sure like her. Then one day she meets Ethan and the charge between them is electric, but dangerous.

It's an easy read, a very quick one too. The plot has enough twists and turns to make it interesting and not immediately predictable. The characters are well written and I really enjoyed the story as a whole. I think the ending is a little quick and that's my reason for it not being 5 stars, I feel like there's a little more to be resolved in it! If you like Macintosh's other books, you'll like this!!

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for sending me an advanced reader copy of the book Wish You Weren't Here, in exchange for an honest review of the book.

I wanted to like this book, but it didn't work for me. The writing fell off, the pacing uneven and not well plotted, with extensive amount of "show and tell" style of writing which threw me off-guard. It was hard for me to stay engaged, even though the storyline was entertaining. The dynamic between the main characters, Lana and Ethan's, lacked authenticity which made their connection seemed forced, with bad correspondence to insta-love. The fake-dating trope fell flat without real angst or chemistry.

Lana's own family dynamic too was beyond miserable, and her own discretion to add fuel to the miserableness, led things astray. Even the heroine's characterisation (her outlook on her life and work, a mixture of bratty yet responsible) was promising, but it was underdeveloped.. It tried to be a lot of things, but fell short. Ethan didn't appeal to me, and many chapters felt like fillers, without a connection to the pacing of the story. Sadly, there wasn't a single likeable character, with the plot being scattered.

SIDE NOTE: Please give romance heroines good friends. They need them!

I loved how they met. How so many people can probably relate to both of their stories. I loved the beginning when they played the “yes game” because it was so goofy and had me giggling. I would have loved for her family/boss/coworkers to have gotten told off when it comes to the disrespect. But love that Ethan didn’t care about her family being so rich, and did what he would do like a normal human. The ending was so cute. So many “girl what are you doing?!” moments! Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for allowing me to read the arch in exchange for my honest review!!

Thank you, Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In the name of being honest, I really disliked this book. Nearly every character was unbearable, and none of them were relatable. The dialogue and interactions were very unbelievable.

A lot of this book kind of gave the vibe that the author is disconnected with the every day reader. I don't want to be too harsh, so I'll keep it short, but this book really missed for me.

I could not get behind any of it. I really wish I had been able to. The author needs to work on polishing her works and making the characters more relatable (or likeable, even.)

I had a wonderful time reading this book! I enjoyed getting to know Lana and Ethan and their will they/won't they story. Lana's family are certainly interesting and I could not help but get frustrated on Lana's behalf.
The plot moves quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly at times but it was pacy, entertaining and humorous. As always with MacIntosh's books this is a feel good read that had me laughing out loud. This is simply a great read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy.

Great premise but the transitions were very abrupt. I liked the story and the characters but the flow was off for me.