I adored Helly’s debut novel The Shelf last year, and this, her second novel is absolutely fantastic too!

In The Couple we meet Millie, a happy and successful woman working at a big technology firm for an app called Slide, who is on track to be promoted to her dream role of Chief Creative Officer. With her perfectionist nature, the last thing she wants or needs is any kind of romance changing her organised world. And everyone knows that normal people just don’t have romantic relationships and being in a couple is just a bit odd! Therefore, when Millie is given a project at work to help launch a new pill, Oxytoxin, which prevents you from falling in love at all, it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. And it could even lead to that dream CCO role! But, when new guy Ben is asked to work alongside Millie on the project, things are no longer as straightforward. He is charming, funny, kind and Millie feels an instant connection to him causing her to question everything she believes in, and has done for so many years...

I loved how unique this book is in terms of flipping our current society norms of being in a couple as ‘the thing to do’ because instead here, being single is what is expected. Those in a couple are almost seen as being other/strange and the Government impose many financial penalties on those people who do choose to be in a couple, like charging more for rent and health insurance! I really liked reading Helly’s author note at the beginning of the book setting out the background for why she wanted to write this story too and found The Couple to be a really empowering and a thought provoking read.

Millie is a brilliant main character and I loved getting to follow her journey as the story progressed. She has fabulous friends in Ruth, June and Al and they have so many hilarious interactions throughout the book and there are some great one liners! Millie’s Mum is also a really funny lady and I loved it when Millie and June would spend time with her. She absolutely says what she thinks and I loved that!

I also adored all of Millie’s interactions with new colleague Ben. He was just so lovely, kind, thoughtful and funny and with that Welsh accent, I am sure I would have been hooked on him too! I liked all of the little puzzle messages he would send to Millie too! He is 100% the kind of person who would brighten any office!

There were so many clever details throughout this story, like the Slide app, the Oxytoxin pill, the venture Ruth embarks on (I don’t want to give anything away about this, but I really loved it and the name) and even St Bridget’s Day on 2nd February to celebrate single people everywhere! It’s such a brilliant and clever book although I am very glad it’s fiction as something so permanent as the Oxytoxin pill is kind of scary (but amazing to have in a story)!

I didn’t want this book to end as I enjoyed it so much and the ending brought the biggest smile to my face. I will be recommending The Couple to everyone and cannot wait to see what Helly writes next!

Helly Acton you’ve done it again! 👏🏼 Last year I took part in a readalong for The Shelf on audiobook, it was my first ever audiobook and I loved it! So much so that I bought the hardback edition to keep too because I know I’ll want to be re-reading that in the future. Helly’s created another 5 star read for me that is nothing like I’ve read before in her new book The Couple! It is such an original, one of a kind story, nothing like I’ve read before!

I ADORED THIS! In this world, being single is the norm, and if you’re in a couple, you’re looked at as though you’ve made the worst decision of your life. Nobody wants to see their best friend in a couple, where you get charged more for rent, get charge ‘couples climate tax’ and you won’t be able to celebrate St. Bridget’s Day (genius) if you’re in a couple! It’s such a funny way to look at the reverse of some single people’s experiences. Genius! 👌🏼

I couldn’t put this book down, I read it in 2 days, and that’s only because I had to parent and stuff 😂 otherwise I have a feeling it would’ve been an ‘in one sitting’ book! I loved the characters in this, Millie showed such growth in her character which I love to see in a book. And Ben, oh I loved Ben! And he was Welsh so even more perfect! The chemistry between them was so good to read, I loved reading scenes with the two of them. And the fact that they went to one of my all time favourite places, Tenby! I spent every weekend of my childhood in Tenby so I could picture just exactly the steps they would be taking and the views they’d be seeing, and Helly described them perfectly!

I can’t wait for my preorder to arrive!

I absolutely ADORED this novel. Completely brilliant premise set in a world where singles are seen as the absolute social norm & being in a couple is seen as abnormal, it’s clever, funny and makes you think so much at how your perceive relationship status vs happiness!

I absolutely loved this book. Having read the description, I believed it to be a classic rom-com... but the whole concept of this book was amazing, and had me thinking throughout.

Thank you to Netgalley and Zaffre for the early viewing of this book. I will be encouraging anyone and everyone to buy it when it is released!!

This is GLORIOUS. I loved it just as much as I loved The Shelf, if not more. Helly Acton writes characters that make women feel seen, and I LOVE that. Another beautifully fresh concept and executed SO well. The writing is fantastic and I laughed out loud at this one as much as I did whilst reading The Shelf.

The overwhelming message in this book is about learning to be happy within yourself and your own decisions, regardless of what society tells you that you should be doing. The anti-relationship minded society is this novel just highlights the ridiculousness of the weight the society we live in puts on being in a relationship and the anti-being-single mindset that's present. This mindset is challenged throughout this book and this, in combination with the message of doing what's right for YOU, not what the people around you think you should do, the humour, and the fantastic characters, makes for a wonderful read. I loved it.

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'The Couple' by Helly Acton is an adorable romance wrapped up in an original and intriguing premise. In a world where being single is the norm and being in a couple is taboo, feelings of love, commitment and monogamy are considered controversial. Acton opens the book with an explanation of her putting a twist on her previous feelings as a single woman. Aspects like finances, changing relationships with friends and family due to a partner and the pain of February 2nd (St Bridget's Day) provide an apt parody of Acton's experiences - a comedic take balanced expertly with some fitting reflections on societal expectations.

Our protagonist is lovely Millie. Her life is in control, perfectly scheduled and ordered. She has worked at Slide, a popular hook-up app, for 8 years and is happy in her singledom (even if she hasn't had a slide in a while). Enter Ben, a handsome and precocious new transfer to the office. When the two of them are put on a marketing project together, for the 'love-cure' Oxytoxin', sparks fly and suddenly Millie's ordered existence is thrown into chaos. Would she ever really consider being part of a couple?

This book is my first experience of Acton's work. Her style is genuinely laugh out loud and she creates a heartwarming, adorable pairing in Millie and Ben. The morally questionable nature of Oxytoxin is well explored perhaps but I wanted further resolution on it. The side characters were also well developed - I loved June, Ruth and Millie's hilarious mother Vivian. Even awful Sasha had her moments.

If you are a Hangman genius, you may have already worked out 'I loved this book!'. I have already downloaded Helly Acton's earlier novel 'The Shelf' which I am off to read straight away. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Helly Acton does it again. I absolutely adored The Shelf and so when I saw that she was writing another book I knew that I would have to get my hands on it as soon as I could. And I am so glad I did; this was really the book I needed after some less than stellar books. It felt like a breathe of fresh air. Helly's plots and writings feel so unique and intriguing; a pill to stop you falling in love and a world where couples are the abnormal and single people are the normal? Sign me up to read that.

Helly somehow manages to balance making her stories serious with an edge of comedy that is done so well that once you pick the book up you just won't be able to put it down. I loved all the anecdotes the people in couples *gasp those terrible people* told about how much more difficult their lives were; the meals aimed at single people, the rent increases, the judgement... and my favourite, Bridget's Day - a day to celebrate the single people. No joke I feel like we actually need one of these in real life... it felt refreshing, comedic, but also really well-written. It didn't come off as cheesy or corny but I actually found myself imagining what this sort of world would be like and really sinking into the story.

I loved our main characters of Millie and Ben; such a comedic duo together with a balance of heart and sarcasm. Millie is such a fab main character; you can see the development she goes on throughout the book and it was really enjoyable to just watch her grow as a person. I also felt there was a good balance of side characters who were well developed as individuals but also in their friendships and relationships with Millie.

I found this to be delightfully refreshing and I can't wait to see what Helly comes up with next!

Out 27 May 2021 for you to make your own decision!