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...?
A brand new romantic comedy from bestseller Portia MacIntosh, perfect for fans of Zara Stoneley, Sophie Ranald and Mhairi McFarlane.
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...?
A brand new romantic comedy from bestseller Portia MacIntosh, perfect for fans of Zara Stoneley, Sophie Ranald and Mhairi McFarlane.
Cara has run out of men, she has literally swiped on the last one in her area, and expanding to further afield really hadn't worked out any better results when a date turns into babysitting. So even though she is adamant she isnt going to find another date, what is one more chance?
Cara is stood up and left alone at a swanky roof top bar in Leeds, there she meets Millsy, who despite his handsome looks is just trying to cheer her up and doesn't want her sat alone. Taking her under his wing, he needs a new best friend and Cara just needs a bit of romance help. Seen as Millsy is a ladies man and can help her improve her technique the pair form an unlikely friendship.
When they both realise they have a summer of events ahead of them, neither with a plus one they decide to support each other through them and commit to been each others plus one.
I loved this book, it was just a joy to read. Cara is slightly dorky but with a bit of a confidence boost from Millsy she flourishes. She is funny and awkwardly clumsy, between the two of them - its a disaster waiting to happen. Millsy is meant to be this smooth ladies man who is always on the pull but despite his reputation as a reader we certainly see a softer side to him.
Cara and Millsy just work together, as friends they have each others backs, they create mayhem wherever they visit but are the first to laugh it off and find a solution. The chemistry between them is delightful. The plus one pact is just a wholesome lovely read. It warmed my soul and it was a real case of friends to more. A troupe i haven't read in a while but gosh did it work so well. I loved watching the relationship between the pair develop as they discovered more about each other and quickly became best friends.
The writing is vivid and engaging, i just felt like i was alongside the pair at these events they were attending, i could really picture it all. It was well paced and i actually read this really quickly because its just that sort of read that you can sit down and devour. It wasn't too heavy instead it just the right dose of escapism for a while.
The plus one pact is a wholesome, light hearted and sweet romance that really does focus on the importance of friendship and support within a relationship as well as humor. It places high value on these and you can really sense how important Portia believes they are. A great pick me up read.
If you fancy a peek at this, i have an exclusive excerpt of the first chapter below and you can pick it up here
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/2HJQnC2
I was gifted the e-arc for this review but it does not influence my review.
Chapter One
You can’t
put a price on finding love. If you could, it wouldn’t be £10.
I’ve
been playing the dating game for a while now but I just can’t
seem to complete it – and I’m usually
so good at games. No matter which level I try, there’s
always a hole to fall down or a monster to eat me – metaphorically
speaking, of course, although with dating apps you only ever feel a
few bad decisions away from ending up in someone’s
freezer.
Recently I have
been using an app called Matcher. You know the drill, swipe left or
right on singles in your area, all the while hoping not to get
connected with a murderer or, worse, someone who doesn’t know what
punctuation is. All of my dates so far have ranged from pretty
rubbish to monumentally awful. It’s safe
to say that the date I’m on right now is
one of the worst ones.
I look down at the
£10 note. Holding it out in front of me, gently waggling it to try
and encourage me to take it, is Matt. After chatting with Matt on
Matcher for over a week, tonight we had our first date. I’ve
had some bad first dates recently but this is the first time there
has been any discussion of money changing hands.
Matt, a
twenty-eight-year-old from Huddersfield (who I matched with while he
was in Leeds for the day), caught my eye with his fun-loving profile.
Well, he was someone a little different from the young professionals
who take themselves too seriously and brag about their latest
holidays – it gets a bit tiresome when there’s
no chemistry to make it worth looking at that photo of them hugging a
clearly sedated tiger in Thailand.
I agreed to meet
Matt on his turf, which was a little out of my comfort zone, but
you’ve got to be willing to meet people
in the middle (or Huddersfield) if you want to find love. Everything
about dating involves stepping out of your comfort zone. But when I
turned up at the address he gave me it wasn’t
a bar or a restaurant, it was a house. His house, I assumed as I
hovered outside on the pavement, so relieved I had decided to wear
black jeans and a nice top, rather than a dress, because I would have
been so annoyed if I’d shaved my legs for
this. Naturally I wanted to scarper but the front door opened before
I had a chance and a woman in her late fifties stepped out.
‘You must be
Cara,' she said warmly, spotting me on the
pavement, all smiles as she hurried down the short garden path to
give me a big hug. I froze in her arms as my brain tried to fit the
pieces of the puzzle together. She was much shorter than me so her
face pressed awkwardly into my chest. She was all dressed up as if
she was heading out on a date. Her perfume was overwhelmingly strong,
and definitely the scent of a more mature lady. A heavy, floral scent
that reminded me of my grandma’s usual
go-to perfume.
Then it hit me.
This woman was dolled-up to go out, she said my name, she hugged me
as if she knew me… had it finally happened? Had I finally been
catfished? I’d been caught out by guys
who were much shorter, heavier or older than their pictures or
profiles let on before. As deceptive as it felt, I got it, we all
want to show our good side, I’d put
filters on my photos and never upload anything where I didn’t
look my best, but there’s a difference
between being a different height and being a different everything.
‘Matt?’
I said slowly as the horror set in.
‘Yes, let me show
you inside,’ she replied, ushering me up
the steps. ‘I’m
Lizzie, his mum.’
Author Bio –
Portia MacIntosh is a bestselling romantic
comedy author of 12 novels, including It's
Not You, It's Them and
Honeymoon For One. Previously a
music journalist, Portia writes hilarious stories, drawing on her
real life experiences.
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