Review: The Plus One

The Plus One by Sophia Money-Coutts
 
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romantic Comedy
Page Length: 384 Pages
Publication Date: 9 August 2018
Publisher: HQ
 
Stars:  4 out of 5
 
Link: AMAZON (UK)
 
ABOUT THE PLUS ONE
 
The Plus One [n] informal a person who accompanies an invited person to a wedding or a reminder of being single, alone and absolutely plus none
 
Polly’s not looking for ‘the one’, just the plus one…
 
Polly Spencer is fine. She’s single, turning thirty and only managed to have sex twice last year (both times with a Swedish banker called Fred), but seriously, she’s fine. Even if she’s still stuck at Posh! magazine writing about royal babies and the chances of finding a plus one to her best friend’s summer wedding are looking worryingly slim.
 
But it’s a New Year, a new leaf and all that. Polly’s determined that over the next 365 days she’ll remember to shave her legs, drink less wine and generally get her s**t together. Her latest piece is on the infamous Jasper, Marquess of Milton, undoubtedly neither a plus one nor ‘the one’. She’s heard the stories, there’s no way she’ll succumb to his charms…

My Review:

I started to read this at the beginning of a 200km journey from Kampala to Hoima squished between two locals on a matatu taxibus. Unfortunately early on a sentence caught the eye of my new travel neighbour: 'Can men just Uber at – I looked at my phone – 2.54a.m. after a blow job, having not returned the favour and think it's acceptable?'  Although I couldn't be sure my fellow passenger had read the sentence, it was enough to make my cheeks blush and read something less risqué for the rest of the journey.
 
This is the third book I've read this summer concerning weddings, and in particular the impromptu engagements of best friends, so there was a presumptive here-we-go-again… but I was very pleasantly surprised.
 
Jasper "Jaz" Marquess of Milton, is a cad, but when he turns on the charm and gives more than just a hint of vulnerability one can't help falling for the charismatic rogue. What possibly could go wrong? Everything it seems!
 
The will-they won't-they romance merry-go-round was kept grounded by the news that Polly's mother has breast cancer. Polly tries to juggle a new love life, her mother's health, her maid of honour duties, and her insufferable place of work.
 
The writing was fresh and the story was absorbing. The dialogue was contemporary and the descriptive narrative was engaging –when Polly goes to interview Jasper in the country, I felt like a fly-on-the-wall at the family dinner. The modern dating was realistic as were the sex scenes to the point of awkward and yet not a truism in sight.
 
I happily say I Do to The Plus One.
 
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
 
Thank you so much the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary electronic copy in return for an honest review.