It's never a good sign when the beginning of the book is the main character being defensive about being judged by her college woke brother. Just call him a mansplaner to end the conversation.

Cara needs a date to her cousin's wedding. In a very magical way, she meets Millsy who after knowing her for one night gets her a free makeover, becomes roommates in his perfect apartment with her, and becomes a plus one for all of her and his family events. Millsy is too good to believe that I was waiting for him to be part of a prank. But no, this magic godmother of a man is real. The only problem with him is that his reputation isn't clean regarding women.

Millsy is a big problem I had with this book. He's too good. Too perfect. Cara and he are cute as friends but there wasn't a spark for them to be more.

Review based on a ARC from Netgalley I received to make an honest review

****The Plus One Pact is a humorous story about two people who band together to get through several months of respective obligations as each other’s plus one. It was supposed to be as friends, but can a man and woman really ignore budding awareness? Fat chance even with all the obstacles placed in their way. This American reader enjoyed the exposure to British slang and humor. The characters are defined and the story moves along nicely. This book was cute and fun and worth a read. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley.

Just look at the beautiful cover of this book. It instantly grabs your attention and screams "read me". The story inside is just as gorgeous.
Now it's absolutely no secret, I am a huge fan of Portia's books, they never fail to disappoint and I am always gripped from the very beginning. This book has been no different, after my little happy dance when receiving the advanced copy of the book. I got stuck straight in, I feel as tough I have been awaiting this one for a while.
Wow! Not only I have I started this one today, I've finished it. I have devoured this as though watching a movie play out in front of me. Portia is amazing at making you feel as though you are right there with the characters. I have loved Cara, she is a fantastic main character, likeable and realistic. However, we find that she is unhappy her cousin has invited the ex boyfriend to the family wedding.
I have a slight crush on Joe from this one (I imagine him as a cross between Jamie Dornan and Nicky Byrne) he is outgoing, confident and exactly what Cara needs. As they "date" I've wanted to shake them to open up their true feelings. I have literally been rooting for them from the very beginning.
This book will make you laugh and cringe, especially when Joe tries to chat up Cara's boss on her wedding day. This will also make you want to cry at times but overall this is an absolutely magical read which has been a great escape. I would say that this is my favourite of Portia's books- but I say that about all of them. This is without a doubt a five star read by a hugely talented author.

******Public links to follow on blog tour**********

A fun, fast-paced read. The perfect escapism! One of my favorite tropes has always been, "Please be my plus one oh, oops, now I'm in love with you," and this book serves up that delicious trope alongside a great helping of comedy and swoony romance. Five stars!

Are you single, with a never ending series of family and friends events where you have been told you can bring a plus one? Ever get sick and tired of the expectation that you will have someone to drag to these events?

If so then you should be able to easily identify with both Cara and Millsy's situation and the pact they make as new friends to accompany each other to a whole host of gatherings.

I loved how they were both adamant they weren't even pretending to be fake dates, and just purely a respectable plus one for each other, and how a real friendship built up between them.

With each event this pair goes to, something appears to go wrong, and it was great fun seeing how they got themselves out of various situations. I also loved both Millsy and Cara's jobs - both quite different and in the case of Cara's especially not one I've come across in books before.

This is a really amusing story that entertained me greatly in my garden in lockdown. Another joyous read from the always enjoyable Portia MacIntosh.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.