I really loved this cute and fresh take on the classic will they, won’t they romcom.

This book is set in Leeds and straight away I really liked the character of Cara. She has the super cool and interesting job of designing escape rooms and I loved her geekiness and sense of humour. It was hilarious and cringe worthy to read her suffer through some awful dates that she found while using the dating app ‘Matcher’. I’m sure anyone who has used dating apps will be able to relate to the dates she endures.

It’s after a no show from her last hope match that she meets Millsy - Joe Mills and we get to discover how their friendship develops when they make a pact to be each others Plus Ones at all the events they have coming up. We get to meet their family, friends and some unwanted faces from the past that lead to a series of mishaps and entertaining scenarios.

One of my favourite characters is Joe’s 85 yr old gran Iona she is just the coolest and such an adorable lady. I loved the references to music and tv shows scattered throughout this book. It’s what gives it a much more current and fun vibe compared to other books from the same kind of genre.

This is the perfect uplifting summer read.

This is a very funny book! I laugh out lout many times during my read! And that is so refreshing! This is about a girl that is looking for love on dating apps and who is meeting a guy who just like her, needs a plus one to go with him to different family and friends gathering throughout the next months. They seal a pact together. This book never gets boring, there is always something happening, and usally something fun. I really recommend this book to all of you! 4 stars out of 5 for me!

Really good read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review which I am happy to give.

The Plus One Pact was such a fun, witty, uplifting and relatable romantic read. I must say that it is your typical chic lit romance book, where boy meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after but that is totally understandable of a book of this genre and you are looking for that lighthearted read.

You can’t help but feel drawn to the story and the characters are easy to love.

This book is worth the read.

I loved this book! It was funny, cute, and sweet. I absolutely adored the two main characters. It was a cute storyline and the flow worked really well in my opinion. I recommend giving it try. :)

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the ebook. I’m voluntarily leaving a review. My opinions are my own.

I really liked this one. Such a fun and easy read, I will definitely recommend this book to some of my friends.

What a wonderful book to cheer you up! It's a great rom-com, fast-paced and furiously funny. Cara has run out of men on her dodgy dating apps, and Millsy is fed up with people not taking him seriously. When the two meet, they become firm friends, and each other's plus one to take to family events.

However nothing ever runs smoothly where these two are concerned - especially when Cara realises she is starting to have real feelings for Millsy - but he's a mate, and she can't risk losing his friendship - can she? After all, he makes it obvious he has no romantic feelings at all for her...

I love Portia's books; they are relatable, have hot men, strong women, ridiculous but believable situations, and they are bloody hilarious. The Plus One Pact is no exception - in fact I think it's her best yet.

Pure escapism at its best.

A light fluffy read that's just the thing on a hot summers night - accompanied by a glass of something bubbly, naturally :)

I received a free copy from netgalley on exchange for an honest review. While this book does comedy and friendship well the romance is lacking in my opinion. After Cara is stood up for a date through a dating app she decides to create a pact with Millsy to be each others plus ones to all of their family and friends obligations over the summer. While Cara and Millsy were a great friendship, I just didnt see and romantic tension or feelings develop. Cara encourages Millsy to flirt with other women and Millsy while earning Cara about his stepbrother doesn't seem to really care about stopping things. The beginning of the book also felt awkward and weird with Millsy randomly offering a free makeover to a girl he just met and all of a sudden every guy now wants to hit on her. The story was good overall it was just lacking in the romance. 3.5 stars

The Plus One Pact by Portia Macintosh

What if your plus one was really THE one?

If that line doesn't get you to read this book I don't know what will. The story of two people needing each other as plus ones will have you pulling at your heartstrings. Warm, funny and witty.
Great character development from beginning to end. Highly recommend and a must addition to your bookshelf!

Thank you #NetGalley and #boldwoodbooks for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As I am a huge fan of Portia MacIntosh, I was delighted to see she had a new release.
We meet Cara, who has had her share of bad luck with dating. Her last few dates had gone from bad to worse and she thinks she will never find anyone especially in time for her cousins wedding where her ex will be attending. While on another failed date, Cara meets Joe mills or Millsy as his friends call him. What first strikes up as a friendship then turns into a deal to help each other out and become plus ones for upcoming events for both Cara and Millsy.
Its hard not to fall in love with Millsy and I was rooting for them throughout the story just to get it on. Watching their relationship develop in the story was so heartwarming and funny at times.
Will Cara get her happy ever after or is this just a mutual arrangment for the time being to help each other out!?.
Once again Portia delivers a story that leaves you wanting more, I always feel as if I know the charactors just as if they were my own friends. Lots of laughs along the way and a few twists and turns make this an ideal read especially during our time of lockdown.
Looking forward to the next book from Portia MacIntosh.

There was something so peaceful about this book that really took me by a bit out of my element and I didn’t know what to do with it when it happened.

I got used to the unnecessary drama and the complete meanness of it all that I forgot that contemporary romance can be also so chill and feel good.

This story came and went with a full ass smile on my face. It was all about feeling confident in your own skin and be confident enough to love and be loved. That’s it. And that was beautiful.

I really think the characters are a bit unrealistic (but maybe that’s just my cynical ass talking because I know there are truly good hearted people out there) but they are also so lovable and kind and funny in a completely British way that I thought I was not going to get (since I am not, well, British) but they really crossed cultural barrels and were so much fun!

Overall this is a very good sitting on your couch, a cup of tea a having a good heart warming laugh kind of book, and that’s just neat.

A really fun energetic read.
We start with Cara, who lives in Leeds City centre. Busy working as the maker of escape rooms so she can pick herself out of any situations with a lock. She's online dating and has met enough idiots to forget the whole dating scenario.
On her last date, he doesnt turn up but she meets a new friend, Milsy. The two get on really well like best friends. They decide to be each other plus one at party events but everytime they're together, one of them accidentally does something stupid. It has funny scenarios ypu couldnt imagine. They're rwlatiknship grow but Milsy is a sexy actor who likes sexy women, cara isn't that she's just her then they hook up in bed and although cara fancies him she knows she's only then 100th women in his bed and tries to find diaatmce bettwen them so he goes to LA.
Upon that, caras ex is on the scene at a family wedding and the two men fight for her attention and of course there's a slap and an unfortunate event at the wedding. I loved how it ended. Just brilliant.
We have it set in Leeds and the Scottish Highlands. Brilliant characters.

I'm devastated.  

I'm devastated that this wonderful novel had to end - I honestly could read about Cara and Joe all day and I'm seriously hoping there is another novel in the pipeline containing these two.  I'm equally devastated that I have never come across Portia's novels before but also excited to have a found a new author who I think I have fallen in love with. 

I started this book last night before I went to sleep thinking I would read a few chapters. Yeah right!  1:00am and 30% in and I had to force myself to put it down. It was the first thing I picked up this morning and didn't stop until I'd finished.  I was smitten from the very first pages.

I loved the whole plot of this novel, two people who need dates for events but had run out of suitors.  Each event brought with it some tale of disaster and each event brought Cara and Joe closer together.  I rooted for them throughout the whole book.

Cara is such a real and relatable character.  I love that she is a strong character on her own but isn't afraid to admit that she'd like to find a man to connect with.  she's confident intelligent and I just adored her.  Joe was the perfect book boyfriend.  I loved his cheeky sense of humour and his confident but not cocky attitude to life. 

The writing is seamless and grounded in reality.  The pages turned themselves and I found myself wanting more and more once I got to the end.  This is a perfect romance novel to sit and escape into but I warn you - you'll not want to put it down until it's finished.  A completely adorable novel that I cannot gush over enough.

Cara has officially run out of men on her dating app. When she meets Millsy in a bar they come up with the perfect idea. They take each other to all their summer events as their plus one, just as friends… you can imagine how that work out.

I really enjoy Portia Macintosh’s novels, they are always so fun and heartwarming. This is no exception.

This was a cute story, a good summer read. Lighthearted fun.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

Since I read my first Portia’s book I realized I have just found out the queen of the chick lit, since then I’m interesting in any work of her. This one doesn’t let me down like the previous ones, I like so much her personal writing style, witty and funny, and I always emphasize with main female character for one or another thing.
It has been the perfect book to joy my lockdown

I loved this book. Its hilarious and had me laughing out loud. It gives a humourous insight into todays dating game. Totally engaging from the start and leaves you feeling really uplifted.

I received The Plus One Pact in exchange for an honest review. I loved it. It's a good slow burn with some giggles thrown in. I will be looking for more by this author!!

Girl meets boy, and she has body image/confidence issues. She uses a dating app but never finds The One.

The plot didn't really grab me, but the synopsis sounded better so that's why I requested it. Of the visuals, I thought the ones describing the nightclub, Hades, were the best in the book.

I found it hard to gauge the characters' ages, and there wasn't enough backstory and I found I wasn't invested in the story.

The language seemed too "teenagery" to make me excited about what was going on, another reason I wasn't as hooked as I had hoped to be. The makeup look and dress was mentioned twice but not detailed enough- for someone who loves shopping as much as the main character Cara does, I was hoping for great descriptions of those.

I did feel like I could identify with Cara's experiences of family gatherings and self confidence issues (in my case when I was much younger than she seems here). I also felt like fleshing them out more would have really made me feel more for her.


The jokes felt kind of flat and I felt a lot of the plot was predictable.

Cara's mum did seem to do what she could for the family and I liked that. Something else that was good was hearty food always abounds in the house (the roast beef sounded delicious).

Sadly, The Plus One Pact didn't grab me as I thought. It might interest those who prefer this style of writing, I just didn't find it as engaging as I had hoped.


Thanks to Portia MacIntosh and publisher for my ARC in exchange for a honest and voluntary review.

2 stars.