Review: In the Same Boat by Portia MacIntosh

In the Same Boat by Portia MacIntosh

Blurb from Goodreads:

Sammie’s life is all about work, routine and stability. She needs to get back out there and start having fun, but then her mum turns up needing somewhere to live, and it’s seriously harming Sammie’s dating game. So, in a moment of desperation, Sammie takes her to an over-fifties singles night, hoping a little romance might encourage her to move out and move on.

There, Chrissy meets Hank. Unfortunately, he also comes with Nico: his sarcastic, frustratingly attractive son, who Sammie clashes with instantly.

Sammie assumes she’ll never see either man again. Until her mum surprises her with a luxury holiday to Monaco… aboard Hank’s yacht, with him and Nico. Trapped at sea with two loved-up parents and a man who gets under her skin, Sammie agrees to a ridiculous plan: she and Nico will pretend to be a couple so their over-the-top affectionate parents will back off.

But somewhere between fake flirting, forced proximity, and sun-soaked days at sea, pretending starts to feel dangerously real. And when the truth finally comes out, Sammie has to decide whether she’s ready to stop steering away from the things she really wants.

 This was very silly.  Perfect for a light summer/beach read if you like UK romances but definitely silly.  I was surprised by the "twist" although I kept thinking why don't these characters just be honest with each other?!  Still, fast, fun, and flirty, which I think is all that is required if you're reading on holiday.

In the Same Boat comes out next week on August 12, 2026 and you can purchase HERE.  

Dad knows me better than anyone else.  The thing about parents is they get to know versions of you that no one else does. Not because they are especially insightful, though some of them are, but because they were there before you started editing. Before you refined yourself into the version that functions best at work, among friends, in public. They remember the first drafts. Even if they don't always understand them, they could see the outline of what you were going to become, and Dad knows that there's no way I'm going to ruin this for him.