Author: Portia MacIntosh
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: January 2020
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy / Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: What if your future was somewhere in your past?
Rosie Jones has been dumped by every boyfriend she’s ever had - most recently by Dinosaur Dave, live on TV, during the ‘phone-a-friend’ segment of a quiz show.
After the footage goes viral Rosie receives a bunch of flowers with a message:
I love you, I should have never let you go, I want you back x
But who sent them?
At a loose end and with £50,000 prize money in her back pocket, Rosie decides to take a trip down memory lane, visiting each of her ex-boyfriends to see not just if they are the one who sent the flowers but if they are the one.
Her journey takes her back to the house she grew up in and on a transatlantic cruise to New York, but can Rosie figure out which ex-boyfriend is the love of her life, or should the past stay in the past?
My Thoughts: Considering the subject matter of broken hearts and broken relationships and the utter humiliation of being dumped on live television, this story was a lot of fun.
I really liked Rosie and loved tagging along with her on her journey to reconnect with her ex-boyfriends. Primarily, her quest is to discover who sent the flowers and the note, but by the end of the journey, it seemed like she was on a quest more for self-discovery, forgiveness and moving forward.
The sender of the flowers doesn’t come as a surprise to me as I suspected quite early on, but Rosie’s journey to getting there was thoroughly entertaining on its own. My favorite of the exes was Eli. They dated a long time ago and have known each other most of their lives. When Rosie catches up to him, she discovers he’s an image consultant (Rosie could definitely use his help) and is gay. They reconnect and become the best of friends which I absolutely loved. He encourages her to go on a cruise where one of her exes works which will take them to New York to meet up with the final ex.
Rosie finds herself going on a cruise from Liverpool to New York with Eli and her parents. I thought this was a bit strange at first; I mean who wants their parents tagging along on a quest to reconnect with exes to see if they are the one? It worked and it brought Rosie and her parents closer together. I also enjoyed the various reasons why Rosie and each ex didn’t work and loved that Rosie wasn’t bitter about it.
Portia MacIntosh does a fantastic job here creating characters the reader can fall in love with also and situations that will have the reader laughing to tears. I would love to see Eli get his own story, even though it’s assumed there’s a happily ever after in this story for him already. The cruise ship setting was also fun and makes me want to book a cruise myself.
My Final Verdict: Though not everyone would react the same way Rosie did upon receiving the mystery bouquet, the trip she takes down memory lane was a great success, in my opinion. It brought her closer to her parents, brought Eli back into her life as the best friend anyone could ask for, a wonderful vacation trip on a cruise to New York (I’m still undecided on their choice for the best pizza in New York City) and giving Rosie’s confidence and self-esteem a giant boost.
I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy contemporary romance, romantic comedies and women’s fiction as well as stories that feature fun locations and amazing characters.
Thank you to the publisher, Boldwood Books, who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
No comments:
Post a Comment