Date and Switch: A fun, flirty, love triangle romcom

by Portia MacIntosh

A summer to remember – or maybe one to forget…

Moving back home is the last thing Leah wants to do but, sadly, it’s the only option left on the list.

She had a great life in London – at least she thought she did, until it all went wrong – so now she’s back home, in the seaside town where she grew up, living with her parents again. Yey!

It's amazing how quickly (albeit reluctantly) she slips back into old ways, going out with her old friends, drinking in the local pub, and it’s just all so boring… until she gets locked in a pub toilet with a handsome yet mysterious man. But then he disappears, leaving Leah wondering who he was, where he went, and if she’ll ever see him again.

It's only a small town, so he’s bound to turn up eventually, right? The only problem is, other familiar faces might turn up too…

A fun, flirty novella from the million-copy bestselling romcom author.

220 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 9, 2024

About the author

Portia MacIntosh is the bestselling author of over 30 romantic comedy novels.

From disastrous dates to destination weddings, Portia’s romcoms are the perfect way to escape from day to day life, visiting sunny beaches in the summer and snowy villages at Christmas time. Whether it’s southern Italy or the Yorkshire coast, Portia’s stories are the holiday you’re craving, conveniently packed in between the pages.

Formerly a journalist, Portia has left the city, swapping the music biz for the moors, to live the (not so) quiet life with her husband and her dog in Yorkshire.

Find out more at www.portiamacintosh.com

Reviews

[Kirsten Schlewitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my fave

The MC seems really...not smart. Everything felt obvious and any mixed signals could've been cleared up with her simply thinking through the situation. In addition, I just didn't get that much of her personality shining through.

[Raelene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored this. I’ve read many books by Portia MacIntosh, so I already knew that her writing just worked for me and it certainly didn’t disappoint this time either. Honestly her writing may even be more my taste now than it used to be, I couldn’t put this down.

The characters were great, the humour was perfect, and of course I wish it was longer because of how much I enjoyed it, but overall it didn’t really feel rushed even with the shorter length. I didn’t love some of the jealousy stuff and age gap related comments, which is why I’m giving this a 4 instead of a 5, but still a great read.

Definitely a quick read, but one I’d highly recommend! I think it would be a great intro into Portia MacIntosh’s writing if you’re new to her, or one you’d really enjoy if you already like her books because it felt pretty typical for one of her stories.

[Liana · Rating 1 out of 5]

What an unlikable, immature and unintelligent protagonist with no depth or background, and a love interest (two!) that were exactly the same. The book had so many typos as if rushed out without a good edit.

[Alicia Kirkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Portia MacIntosh is my go-to author when I want to read something fun and lighthearted. This wasn’t my favorite of hers, but it was still enjoyable for a quick read. Some of her other books that I’ve read have had more depth to the storylines and more personality to the characters. A few others I’ve read by her have been quicker and not as detailed like this one. I just prefer the more detailed storylines and deeper characters as a personal preference.

[Talia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy light read. I like the story line but I just feel like we miss so much in the story, they like each other obviously but I don’t really know why because there’s not any crazy cute moment together, I feel like there is no real romance present at all?. Added a bonus star for the titanic lore but the big gesture was too cheesy 😭 also annoyed me her friend’s husband just repeatedly hit on her and she never said anything?and also said friend was always kind of rude to her and she never said anything about that either? I would’ve enjoyed a switching POV between the three of them. Also the boys mom pissed me OFF. Overall cute story, good brother love triangle dynamic but just felt like I was missing bits and pieces at some points.

[Jonny_Jinx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one from Portia Macintosh

I enjoyed all of the usual hilarious situations, one-liners, and overall humour that is trademark Portia's writing style and the way that she delineated Leah's parents' traits in such a laugh-out-loud manner.
This is the first time that the MFC has had two brothers as the MMCs, and it was handled in a very good and funny way whilst leaving enough angst for all three characters' to be depicted as real people in an often awkward but still amusing manner.
The book was a bit cramped by being shorter than usual, and I wish that it had an epilogue long enough to make up for the brevity.
However, my biggest bugbear was with the number of doubled-up and missing words that made it feel that the book was rushed into print without a really decent proofreading exercise. It almost cost the book a star in my rating...

[Nalisa Pouliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute read that kept me flipping pages…well swiping on my kindle

We all know the storylines and the endings, however it’s the details of how we get there that suck you in.
Portia MacIntosh really did a fantastic job with details to make this story different. It was funny and captivating and I just wanted to keep reading. The characters were well developed and the scene fun. I was laughing the whole book. Definitely worth reading.

[Lisa House · Rating 3 out of 5]

P MacIntosh is always good

This was good, but not as great as her other books. I do admit I’m not a fan of the love triangle with siblings trope to begin with, so that probably has a lot to do with why I didn’t love it. It was funny in parts but I found the characters to be too over-the-top in this one, except maybe Leah and Adam. Many of their flaws came off as more cringe than funny.

I’d say if you like the love triangle with brothers trope you’ll probably like this one.

[lynda kosnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute

Fun, quick read. There were some grammatical errors early on so the editors may need another read. Anyway, we all love a love story and Portia MacIntosh definitely writes some fun ones!

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thoughts:

Liked Si better than Adam
He had a point about all the drinking/hangovers, it did seem excessive for people in their 30s/40s
I dislike brother love triangles, it feels icky

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

great romcom read

This booked pulls you in from the start, good characters and story, a great lighthearted read and it is well written

[Eileen Rubinstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cuppa

I found the plot a bit cringe-worthy, involved and living with two brothers, especially after what happened to Leah in London.

[Sarah Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good easy read

[Faye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute read

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book

[Jules Arata · Rating 1 out of 5]

terrible typos everywhere, storyline not good enough for me to forgive them

[Aldyn Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ . It was decent, but ended too soon. I would’ve like to see them date, and fall in love more. It was really rushed and abrupt.

[Allee D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Portia is always a go to for something cute. And this was, but it seemed shorter than her usual and not as developed.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very easy to read. Started and finished in 24 hours.
Nice story. A little corny in places. Spotted afew spelling mistakes!

[Rach Pritchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping

I read this book in a day because i was so excited to see where we would end up!
Really enjoyed it.

[Paula Gomes · Rating 2 out of 5]

the writting really annoyed me, on top os the main character being completly lost and having no opinion letting everyone manipulate her to do whatever they wanted.... adam seemed cute though

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, predictable and probably on point on the drinking culture we have all been part of. I have not read Portia MacIntosh before, will maybe give another of her books a try and see where it goes!

[Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ooooof I mean no offense at all when I say this but this is read like a bad Wattpad book that should have stayed in the drafts in all honesty. It follows Leah who returns home to her parent's home in a seaside town after a failed career and relationship. Leah quickly slips into old habits and starts going out drinking which is where she meets a handsome and mysterious man (Adam). Leah then meets her brother's old best friend(Si) and they hit it off, turns out he has a spare room and offers it to Leah to live in, when Leah moves in she finds out Si and Adam are brothers and a love triangle starts.

I had not heard anything about this book, I had only picked it up because I needed a short easy read as I was on a time crunch and extremely behind on my reading goal this year. Between spelling errors and the predictableness of this book I did enjoy a somewhat easy romance read that wasn't my usual dark romance and it was quite refreshing in that sense but other than that this was not my vibe.

[Charanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down because the author writes a lot better than this but still it wasn't half bad.
It was rushed, Leah, Si and Adam form the love triangle. It's not really a triangle. We know the end game very early. So the chapters focusing on the wrong pair seems to just drag on without any real give.
The cheating part of the side character was just brushed off, which was weird. Overall the lead pair and one of the friends Mel seemed ok and the cute moments made me add an additional star. So will wait for her better books