You know that movie, The Wedding Date? It’s horribly cliché and so very, very nillies – but I unabashedly love it. The Plus One Pact? Basically the same kind of thing – only way, way better. (that’s right, I said it – I liked this book better than a movie I’ve seen about 8 times)


The story
What if your plus one could be the one…?

Cara has officially run out of men. Her most recent dates have gone from bad to worse, and when her dating app informs her there is no one left in her area to choose from, she is at a dead end.

But with a summer of events ahead of her, she needs to find a solution, fast; someone to keep her company at the never-ending weddings, family gatherings and gender reveal parties that she can’t face going to alone.

So when she meets handsome, confident, Millsy on a night out she may be in luck. They could not be more different in personality, but he too has a summer of events ahead and is desperate to get his family off his back about finding a ‘nice girl’. What if they made a pact to help each other out and be a plus one for the summer? Just as friends of course…?

The opinion

Leeds is one of those cities I’ve never really felt any need to go visit – which is weird, admittedly, as there’s hardly any part of the UK I haven’t felt the need to go and visit. After this book, though? I really want to. The descriptions from Cara’s apartment, to the night life, to the abbeys and surrounding villages? Portia MacIntosh basically makes it sound like the most attractive location ever.

What surprised me more, though, was that – while, as I said, the plot of this story is fairly obvious from the get-go? The author managed to hit me with a couple of surprises along the way. Like Cara’s brother’s feminism. Or Millsy’s insistance on “not the face”. A make-over that was actually really positive and respectful of who Cara really was. Or even which characters actually managed to get their feelings out there – and I’m not even just talking about Cara and Millsy for this one.

Writing-wise, and this is a hugely personal thing, I know, I’m not the biggest fan of a first person-, or a present-day narrative. Even with those (huge, in my case) strikes against it, though? The Plus One Pact got me from the first page, and I thoroughly enjoyed making (racing) my way through it in just one breezy Sunday night!

The rating: 3.5/5
It was really just a huge coincidence that I read this book on a weekend, but honestly? It kind of feels like the perfect book for that setting. Get a cocktail, a snack, a blanket – and just settle in for a fun and fluffy read that will leave you smiling and feeling infinitely better than you did beforehand!

-Saar

Oh, this book was delightful. I truly enjoyed it. First, I'm a big 'ole geek, and a heroine who designs escape rooms made me happy. (Will be recommending to my friend who designs escape rooms.)

Watching Millsy and Cara grow closer after through one horribly embarrassing moment after another was really fun. This was the first book I've read by MacIntosh, but I definitely want to read more.

Sadly this book didn’t work for me. :( I ended up DNFing at 32%, it just wasn’t for me. I think it was a combination of the writing style and the characters, and those very things may be the reasons for other people to love this book.

Portia MacIntosh is the QUEEN of RomComs! I would love to see her books turned into movies or TV shows. I NEED some of these characters on the screen! I need more of them! I need to be able to escape into her books for longer periods of time. I'm not asking for too much, right?

The Plus One Pact shows us what happens when someone steps up to bat for a friend, and ends up being the "ONE" and I was HERE FOR IT.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I always enjoy a good friends-to-lovers story. This story follows friends, Cara and Millsy, as they come to realize what's always been in front of them.
This was a delightfully fun read and definitely one I will recommend.
Thank you Portia Macintosh, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

What a charming read! Delightful beach reading. I really enjoyed the banter. Such a fun read!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book!. The story of Cara and Millsy... well, it was just perfection.
I thought the story itself was wonderful. I have always been a lover of the 'friends to lovers' tales, and this one certainly didnt disappoint.
Full of laugh out loud moments, and also those moments that truly warm your heart, this was the perfect Rom-com!

The story of Cara and Millsy.

They meet when she has been stood up in a bar one night. They soon become friends and agree to be each other's plus one to events over the summer. As they spend more time together, and she ends up renting his spare room, she starts to fall for him. Everyone has warned her what he is like, so what does this mean for their friendship?

Overall and entertaining read.

From the start of this book I was in, as we meet the lead, Cara, as she starts a blind date. Of course the date doesn’t go as planned and I was kind of with her when she decided she should perhaps leave the online dating game. Of course it is always when this is said that someone appears who seems to be perfect, but here the snag is neither is interested in the other for anything except for friendship.

I loved that you weren’t beaten over the head with the chemistry, there were just subtle reminders that actually they probably did like each other. The settings were superb, as the two came up with a pact to accompany each other to various events- I really felt like I was at them, experiencing it all, wandering about, mesmerised by my location but also enthralled with the range of characters. As for the comedy factor, I had a few sudden snorts and more than a few smile moments and of course some nods too! I’ll be totally honest, I wished we heard more about her job, in fact when I heard it (wait til you hear what it is) I wanted most of the book to be set there, but saying that the idea alone was a nice touch and definitely gave rise to some of the kind of nerdy moments I secretly crave from rom coms.

Fantastic settings, a great range of characters and lovely, lovely romance- all in all a book I beyond enjoyed and very much recommend. Thanks so much to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the book in return for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5

3 ⋆

This book was a pleasantly surprise. I was hesitant at first because the main character Cara seemed a little bit annoying, but not so much that I didn't enjoy it. In the end, i finished the book in three days and seemed to be excited to continue reading even tho I was in a reading slump. Nonetheless i think it's important for me to say that even tho the cover and premise seem like a romance... well, it's not.

The novel is about Cara, a girl who is struggling to get his family and love life together after she broke up with her boyfriend and her cousin Flora started to hate her for not wanting to be her bridesmaid at her wedding.
One day, after getting stood up by her dating app date she meets Millsy, a handsome and very nice guy who takes pity in her sadness and takes her to a nightclub. They quickly become friends and after some talking come up with the Plus One Pact, which means that they are going to be going to each other's family and friends' events to not be so alone, strictly as friends.

Now, this would be the part that i would say "and then things happen" but they really don't? Overall the novel is great. I liked the pace and the narration style, even the plot. I've trying to figure out what was it because in paper it doesn't have either a romance (unless you like slow burn barely cooking the rice and then getting it done in 2 minutes kind of romance) nor thought out situations or plot. I guess that even if it had ended differently i would have been happy.
.
I liked the friendship between Cara and Millsy, they are a very cute couple indeed, and their families where cute too. There were some instances in which i didn't feel a romantic connection (honestly, most of the book) but when it happened i kind of believe it? i guess i like spice in books. i don't know. It's a nice chick flick to get through a bad time or to relax by the pool.

I would definitely read more books by the author; she's very good at having fast pace interesting stories, and of course, more of Cara and Millsy.

The Plus One Pact was exactly the kind of fun, whimsical and romantic summer read I needed in my life!

Cara's stuggles with dating were so funny and sad at the same time, I was so happy when Millsy arrived and just took care of her for a change - completely platonic of course. OF COURSE. Wink Wink.

Honestly is there anything better than a fake... I mean... it's sort of just a plus one but it does turn into a fake relationship occasionally and let me tell you guys something: THAT IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE TROPES.

So I couldn't be happier. The fact that Cara's voice was so funny and relatable, made the whole experience even better. And that Millsy was a complete dream? Perfect.

I loved this from beginning to end and wish I could start it all over again immediately.

I recommend this to everyone who is in need of a refreshing, sweet summer romance that will make you swoon!

A really enjoyable book, a little predictable at times as it follows the ‘fall in love with the fake date’ style of story, but overall this didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the story. Following the ups & downs in the life of Cara who is not looking forward to attending a variety of family events, including her cousin’s wedding. When she meets Joe (aka Millsey) it is a little unbelievable at times at the beginning. However, the embarrassing moments they share while attending weddings together and the developing friendship between them as the book progresses makes this a good read.
Well written and easy to read & get into the story.

Vacuous and insipid characters made me want to hurl my phone across the room just to escape them. Not a good start and I couldn't finish 50 pages.

What a heart -warming story this turns out to be! You kind of know from the start that Millsy is going to be a little different but I really enjoyed going through the different situations which Cara found she had to go through before she realised what was in front of her eyes. There are some witty moments along the way as Cara recognises what her true feelings are. I especially enjoyed the arch look which was taken on the fashionable types who Cara met.

Family is important in this story and making sure that you appreciate everyone in your family. I enjoyed the older members of the family and Millsy's reactions to them. Dogs seem to be pretty important as well and they seem able to sum up a character pretty quickly. There are plenty of touching moments and some sharp ones where the fashionable types give us plenty to smile about.

In short: Can friendship survive love?
Thanks to netgalley for a copy of the book.

you know when u pick up a book and get all excited cuz it kinda reminds u of bits and pieces of a few of ur favorite romcom movies? That's kinda how The Plus One Pact started off for me, I was totally imagining Justin Long's Alex and Ginnifer Goodwin's Gigi from He's Just Not That Into You... This novel is about Cara, a 29 year old Escape the Room engineer, who has run out of single friends and is just about to give up on dating altogether after having met the most terrible men through a dating app. Just when she thinks she's finally found a normal guy to meet up with, what she's actually found is a no show.
Seeing this poor woman being stood up, Joe Mills, "Millsy" as his friends call him, sidles over to cheer her up. Millsy doesn’t do relationships and insists he's not trying to pick her up, it just so happens to be his best girl friend is about to get married and he needs a new bestie to fill her spot. And so starts a whirlwind friendship, complete with his unsolicited advice, a makeover for Cara, and a pact to be each other's plus one to every event they're invited to all summer.

While this sounded like the recipe for a perfect romcom, unfortunately for me, the ingredients just mixed up a lackluster story instead. Usually, I can get on board with the unrealistic parts (a free full blown makeover, Julia Robert's in Pretty Woman style, for a complete stranger a day after meeting them??) and the predictability in a romance read (what can I say, I'm a sucker for a happy ending!), but it all just fell too flat for me to appreciate.
I never really felt any chemistry between the two even though I knew I was supposed to. I accepted it for the sake of the story, and it was a nice enough read, I just couldn't quite click with it. It's a light read so it could be just what ur looking for right now- if u pick it up let me know what u think, it just might work for u!

Hilarious read. I devoured this in 24 hours. Fun and frothy throughout. It has a sparkly sparky quality. Proper laugh out loud moments and very entertaining. I’d call this a complete tonic and pick me up of a book. Doesn’t disappoint at all. I was engaged from the very first page. Highly recommended.

Thank you Netgalley

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis was so much better than the book. Cara's pov was just an inner monologue. 10% into the book and it started to annoy the hell out of me.
There was no chemistry between the main characters. None. They could be good friends,but romance is an impossibly big shot for them.
Cara has no personality. The only thing I know about her is that she wants a man. That's it. That's all I know.. This doesn't change even at the end. There is no development in Cara. She doesn't think once that maybe my life shouldn't just revolve around men. If she thinks unavailability of men in a dating app is a crisis, she needs to do something else in life. I'm also very uncomfortable about the fact that Cara's mom invited her ex to live in her bedroom at their house without asking her daughter first. The way the book cleared it out as a humorous situation, something they slightly disagreed about was very wrong.
Joe Mills was an extremely unrealistic character. I wouldn't expect such a character in a "wattpad book" let alone a published one (talking about "wattpad book" as a brand). He appears out of the blue when Cara needs someone the most, gives her entry to an exclusive club and free makeover the very next day they meet. They don't even know each other, but he's doing all this because he felt "pity".
This book is promoted as "a hilarious summer read". I didn't find anything hilarious in it. Maybe it was just me, or my expectations were too high, but the jokes weren't "hilarious". I'm rating this book one star.

The book was an Ok read - 3.5 stars. I just felt like the story never really got going. I thought we were going to find something huge out about Millsy but we never did. It wasn’t predictable but it wasn’t super exciting. Having said that I wanted to keep reading to find out what the big secret was .... only there wasn’t. It seemed like Jay wasn’t really that awful and Cara’s ex neither abc then the author realised they were supposed to be awful and threw something in. I guess I just kept thinking how could so baby people have got him so wrong?

Very enjoyable read. It’s a good fun loving read. Good fun and have me some laughs. Great plot. Well written. Easy to read.

A brilliant first chapter, followed by the info that the main character designs escape rooms for a living (who knew such jobs existed??!!) yanked me straight into this quirky story.

The main character has a wry, dry sense of humour and a tongue in cheek delivery, which really appealed to me and she resonated with me instantly.

I love a friends to lovers romance and this one is a delight from start to finish. The scrapes they get into are laugh aloud funny, and the characters are extremely likeable; the ones who are meant to be, that is.

On a final note, Ms MacIntosh. please could you point Millsy in my direction - I badly need a make over!