I was really impressed with the alternate world that Acton has set for this book. In this world, being in a relationship is not the norm (it’s even stigmatised by some!) and there’s some serious disadvantages for those who decide to go steady with their true love. Acton has managed to weave into this story humour, a bit of that slow build romance (and the associated will they/won’t they?) and of course a bit of drama. I loved the slow build of Millie and Ben’s relationship - can we just take a moment to reflect on how amazing he is! This is a definite recommended read.

After reading The Shelf I was immediately converted into a big Helly Acton fan. And...she's done it again! I've been left, once more, thinking hard about society and the treatment of others. It had me questioning my own morals, actions and outlook on relationships vs singledom and the way groups of people are represented.

The whole uniqie concept of this story, the almost 'alternative reality' of the world and the instantly likeable characters had me yearning for more. With a great combination of friendship, humour and romance...what's not to like about this!

This book had such a brilliant, clever concept: a world in which singledom is the norm and couples are the oddity. It was cleverly executed and the plot around the pill which would stop people from falling in love really gave one a lot to think about.

The most enjoyable part of the story for me was the way in which Helly Acton subverted some of the norms in our own society, such as having a St Bridget’s day instead of St Valentine's day - so much fun.

Acton’s debut novel ‘The Shelf’ has been on MY to be read shelf for a while now and the fun of this book has really encouraged me to get on and read that book too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Zaffre books for kindly giving me this e-ARC. I really enjoyed it and recommend it for all fans of thoughtful, clever, romcoms.

I read this after I read the Shelf, which I adored. I also loved this - what an incredibly unique concept. I’ve never read anything like this and the happily single me ate it up! It raised some amazing points about how people who are in a couple (would transfer to single people in the world we live in) and I related to almost every page. It was such an easy read that raisede such good points whilst you laughed along with the characters. One of my favourite things was St Bridgets day instead of Valentine’s Day - a stroke of genius!

If you enjoy a rom com then you will love this, single or not! Helly - you knocked it out the park again!

The Couple is such a great story - based in an almost alternative reality where singledom is the norm, this funny and refreshing take on life is fabulous. Millie is a fantastic main character - focussed and determined, she loves her single life with her friends but then meets Ben, who manages to turn her life upside down. This book will make you question the norm and make you laugh out loud.

I loved this book! Was a big fan of her first book but this blew it out the water for me.

Acton is fantastic at writing feminist, subversive “women’s fiction” and setting up an ending where you know what’s going to happen and are excited to get there with her.

The society pictured in The Couple is really well done and I enjoyed the way she took all of the expectations of couple-hood and did a full 180. All her characters are fleshed out enough so you know their flaws, but good people that you root for to have the ending that she expertly sets you up for. Will definitely be watching out for what she writes in future.

I read Helly Acton's previous book and enjoyed it, so was looking forward to reading this one.
The premise of this book felt really original, and I was super intrigued to read. I had heard great things from some online 'influencers' too.

However I didn't really enjoy this book. I found the pacing really slow, and it took me a long time to get into the swing of it. I found all of the characters at the beginning far too similar and that made it hard for me to keep track of what was going on, and to who. Because of this the whole book just felt a bit of a struggle. I don't think it knew exactly what it was... was it a romantic comedy? Was it thriller/mystery? The book just didn't work for me. I didn't like the characters, and therefore didn't route for the relationships within the book either. I wasn't sure what i was supposed to think?

Not for me - but based on the reviews on here, looks like i'm in the minority!

Love, love, love!
This is a book that I absolutely raced through, I loved the storyline, the characters and the style of writing. Great book

Helly Acton has done it again! I was a huge fan of her debut novel, 'The Shelf', so was delighted to be approved to read an ARC of her latest book, 'The Couple'.

'The Couple' follows the somewhat mundane life of 28 year old Millie, who prefers to not take risks at all, follow the same routine and has her eyes firmly fixed on her career path, in a world where being single is the norm and society questions anyone in a couple. Her life is changed when the arrival of newcomer Ben and a new work project (to come up with a campaign to promote a new pill, which prevents people from ever falling in love) causes conflicting emotions for Millie.

This idea of this pill would be controversial enough. However, the author cleverly adds a new twist by setting it in an anti-couple society, in which societal norms are flipped upside down. I love that Acton explores this sensitive topic in a thoughtful, yet humourous way,and it definitely made me giggle when all the questions that single people get asked were suddenly reversed and directed to couples. It lost half a star for me in terms of ratings because I found this (and constantly judgemental characters) too repetitive at times.

To summarise, this was a fantastic read with relatable characters (none were perfect or over-the-too villains, which always makes me cringe), and I loved the overall message that it's okay to be single or in a couple, as long as you're happy (and screw societal expectations).

The only negative is that I now have to wait forever to read Helly's next book!

I couldn’t gel with this one sadly. The concept was incredibly interesting and reminded me a bit of books like ‘The One’. But the execution fell short for me. I don’t know if it was because it didn’t feel ‘natural’ but then I’ve read lots of dystopia and fantasy so I don’t think it was that. Maybe it was that it just felt ‘forced’ like people’s attitudes towards couples was disgust and shock whereas I don’t feel that’s how couples see single people. I really loved The Shelf which I read last year so I’m sad that this one fell short for me.

Headlines:
The war of singledom versus coupledom
Banter for days
A question of ethics

If you asked me what genre The Couple was, I'd describe it like this: rom-com/women's fiction with side serving of dystopia. Have I read anything quite like it before? No. Did it deliver? Oh, yes.

Unusually, I'd recommend that you read the blurb before you start, otherwise you might not find your footing with the context easily because of that smattering of dystopia. I loved the context, the flipping on reality of singles and couples. I thought it was so clever to question the grand ethics of the world in this story and the idea of oxytocin. This was definitely a more feminist world than we live in.

Love is an illness. Love can make you miserable. Love can push you over the edge.

All that aside, the two characters at the fore, Millie and Ben brought a light and funny narrative. Ben especially was all the good guy you might need, alongside Millie's cautious nature. Their friendship was fun and genuine and it was enjoyable to see changes happen. They had a natural chemistry and they had banter. The texting dialogue was amusing.

Helly Acton has a signature style of writing and is really good at telling an innovative story you can buy into. Fans of The Shelf won't be disappointed with her second book.

I loke The Couple (not a typo).

I absolutely loved the author's previous book #TheShelf, totally relating to so many of the refreshingly real, contemporary, feminist and hilarious view points and life lessons of a single woman in her early thirties “trying to find someone to do life with” whilst wondering if that's even what she wants. So, I was really excited to read this especially as in her introductory note Helly explains she wrote this imaging a society that doesn't question why women are single but why aren't they. I guess it was that with main character Millie more than happy with her conventional single life in a world where normal people just don't have romantic relationships, St Bridget's Day is celebrated, double occupancy fees exist and popular songs such as "I Will Always Love Me". But instead of a celebration of single life it seemed like a bit of a mickey take with its alternate society and extremes - kind of like being anti-men as opposed to feminist/pro-women. And, for me that feeling overshadowed everything to the detriment of the fabulous writing, wit, characters and romcom (which is the reason why I've rounded up from a 3.5 rather than down).

This is one of those books that just makes you smile. I read the majority of it with a massive grin on my face, I loved the friendships between the characters, the friendly banter & chat all came across as realistic and left me longing for a night out with friends. Ben is an absolute delight & totally charming without being smarmy or cringey, I would fall in love with him.

You know what you're getting from this book, the trope isn't new but the way this one is told is a brilliant & refreshing twist on a rom-com. In a world where couples are strange, penalised financially & regarded as different, simple things like changes in song titles were really effective at subtly setting this new world up.

If you want a read that will make you grin like a fool then pick this one up.

Incredible!

I smiled, happy squealed and tried to savour this book instead of flying through it. A absolute 5 star read.

Some book info!

Millie doesn’t want a relationship, why would she? Evidence suggests that single people live longer, are happier and more likely to succeed in life. Working browsers a top creative for a large company which promotes single lives, she’s happily set in her safe, solid routine.

Ben turns up at Slide just as their biggest ever project is announced, a pill which prevents people from falling in love.

Ben is pro couple
Millie is pro single.

They get put in a team together to create the pitch for the Oxytoxin pill, a pitch that could lead Millie to her lifelong ambitions, but her new friendship with Ben makes her start to feel unsure about her initial thoughts.....

.

Interesting to read other reviews where people didnt really warm to the style of the book - I wasnt rushing to get back to it which is really unusual for me, and I couldnt really keep up with who is who. I understood the premise of it but i felt too old for the whole concept of a love-free hook up website - and the idea of getting rid of love as a money making scheme made me feel uneasy.

Im glad I got to give it aa try, but Im not the target audience, sorry

DNF at 30% I tried to pick up this book 3 times.
Is not for me. I did not like much the writing and I was getting confused who is who.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this.

I really really tried on this. I kept picking up and putting down hoping I would get drawn in but I never did. Sorry but not one for me, I had to DNF at 30%.

Switching society and making being single the norm is a great concept.
Millie our protagonist is content with her life and reaching her career goals and having great friends makes her happy. That is until she meets Ben.
This book is entertaining and thought provoking how we treat single women and the expectations we put on them.
Easy to read and entertaining as expected.
My only niggle is the ending, I would have preferred her to remain single!,
Thank you Bonnier Books for this copy to read and review

What’s not to like about this book?

Helly Acton, author of ‘The Shelf’, has written on quite an interesting premise.

It’s basically a thought experiment that flips the “poor thing, she’s single” stereotype on its head. Instead of being concerned about the lonely and desperate singleton, society is alarmed by attached at the hip couples and are worried about their well-being. Thus, there is no surprise that there are talks of a pill being introduced to suppress this distressing emotion people call love.

The characters are quite likeable and the story flows quite well. One thing that I did notice is that the climax comes quite late in the story and that the falling action and resolution occur quite quickly in the last 20-30% of the book. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just something to think about if you like a story with a balanced rising and falling action.

Shoutout to NetGalley & Zaffre books for the e-ARC. I quite enjoyed this work! It works well as a romance novel and I imagine it would work well as a film too!

The concept of this book was incredible. I loved the idea of giving power to the singletons - finally we're not the ones who have to pay extra for everything. It was super clever and what really drew me into this book, and what made me down everything and want to read.

Ben was my favourite character, he was loveable and immediately so endearing. I was drawn into him as a character from the moment he was introduced which is so important with a story like this.

I did find that the editorial lagged in places, Millie was a little too caricature, and her romance with Ben was clear from the very first moment - but it took until 80% for anything to actually happen, which made their interactions quite repetitive by the 3rd quarter of the book. From the moment we meet Millie, it was clear that she didn't want the life that she'd been living, she was so type-A yet didn't seem to have the gumption to pull off the idea of her being this ambitious career woman with such a strict way to live her life.

I also wanted to see more from her friendships, June is quite present but Ruth and Ali get lost on the page. I'd have loved to see different layers to this group, and further conversations around their lives rather than just about couples and singletons.

The idea of this story, and the clever way that Slide was used throughout the book, makes me give this five stars, but overall the romance needed to come alive a little more and I wanted to see some more layers between the characters.

I'll continue to read more from Helly Acton though, she's made it clear that she's a star on the rise, with genius concepts and ideas.