It's Not You, It's Them

By: Portia MacIntosh

Narrated by: Karen Cass

Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

An irresistible, feel-good romance, perfect for fans of Rosie Blake, Sophie Kinsella and Lindsey Kelk.

First comes love. Then comes family…

After a lifetime of kissing frogs, Roxie Pratt has given up on finding her own fairytale romance. That is, until she meets her very own Prince Charming, Mark Wright, and he sweeps Roxie off her feet!

So when Mark finally gets down on one knee and pops the question, there’s only one thing left to do: meet the family! And when everything has been picture-perfect so far, what could possibly go wrong…?

©2016 Portia MacIntosh (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

A little disappointed…

I love Portia MacIntosh’s books. They’re so lighthearted with happy endings…it’s a nice, little pick-me-up. This book, though, was a tough one. While Karen Cass did an excellent job narrating and bringing the story to life, the characters were such a challenge. Roxie, the main character, is incredibly difficult to like. While I wouldn’t say she’s a bad person, she is incredibly needy, she doesn’t necessarily consider her partner’s feelings when writing her articles and despite denying it, she comes off almost as a desperate sex pest. If my fiancé kept making advances toward me at my parent’s house while my whole family was there, after I explained to them how conservative they are, I would feel really unheard and kind of like they were being disrespectful to me and my family. Just because it’s a woman acting this way, it doesn’t make the behavior acceptable. Then you have the mom and Bea and they are just rude to the point where it becomes tedious and annoying that no one ever calls them out. Love Portia MacIntosh, will always be up to reading/listening to her books, but I could’ve given this one a miss.

Love this book!

What a great read (or listen)! Fantastic plot and twists with fun loving characters. We all have similar folks in our own families :)

Too painful to sum it up in 2 minutes.

While this book had well developed characters, there were too many enemies. The main character was forced to deal with malignant personality types with only her boyfriend for support, and he was not supportive. While the book ended on a high note, it wasn't enough for me to feel satisfied, so I am left feeling sad. I am headed to the kitchen for some cookies to wash the sad away..

Not my favorite

I usually love Portia Macintosh’s books, but this one was harder to get into. Roxy wasn’t the easiest character to love. Still the narration was fantastic—as always by Karen Cass—and there was a happily ever after, which I always appreciate.

Enjoyable but not her best

Normally I really enjoy this author’s stories but this one wasn’t my favorite. It took a while to get to the main conflict and despite the characters poor communication the conflict resolved itself a little too quickly. The narrator always does a great job with these books so she kept me in the story until the end. I would say if your like this author, skip this one because she’s got so many other better ones.

Such a cute lighthearted romance

I adored this novel - great, real characters perfectly demonstrated how life is not always how it appears at first glance.

The characters are so mean!

I had a hard time listening to this book. I love Portia Macintosh and Karen Cass. The book just wasn’t for me. I get emotionally involved with characters and Roxie was treated so poorly. And Mark is a dick. And the ending is a bit rushed. Overall, a miss.

Hard to listen

I’ve listened to several Portia McIntosh books and typically enjoy them. This book did not meet expectations. The narrator made the main character sound petulant and whiney. I skipped chapters just to get it done.

Not funny

I am a huge Portia fan, but this book was terrible. Her editor must have forced her to emphasize sex scenes instead of witty dialogue. This was a big disappointment. Much lower quality than her previous work.

Uncomfortable

That the whole book- cheesy and uncomfortable. Where’s all the humor of her other books? Also all the weird sex stuff.. it’s uncomfortable because it’s not a “dirty” book. It’s like she partially commits to that so the whole thing is weird