The Plus One by Natasha West

The Plus One by Natasha West

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the first book that I’ve read by this author. I’ve had books by them on my maybe pile for a while now, not sure how long. Both because the books looked somewhat interesting, but more importantly (and I think the reason I first noticed them), they were available through the Kindle Unlimited program.

This book is one of those relationship of convenience type books. The main character (though the POV shifts around), Charlie, has a sister who will be having a wedding shortly. After proudly, and loudly, informing her family at a brunch about her latest girlfriend, who definitely ‘is the one’, Charlie leaves the brunch to spot that her 2 month girlfriend had contacted her. She contacts Lucy and finds out that Charlie’s been dumped. And this is after very loudly proclaiming that she did not in fact jump in and out of relationships quickly, and that Lucy would definitely be coming to Maddie’s wedding (the sister).

So, Charlie’s kind of stuck. What to do? What to do? Days away from the wedding (or was it a week?), Charlie has run out of ideas and is just about to inform Maddie about how Lucy won’t, in fact, be attending the wedding. But is stopped when Maddie moves rapidly from happy lovey-dovey to boiling inferno of rage when she’s informed that one of her bridesmaid’s, Jane, has to sadly announce that her boyfriend won’t actually be attending the wedding. Charlie promptly stops herself from informing the Bride-Zilla about her own lack of a plus one.

Sooo. Charlie spends the night searching the internet for an answer. Coming across several thinly veiled prostitute/escort services when she starts googling things like ‘renting a date’. Then she sees an ad for ‘Rent a Date’. She fills out a form and, after much work (including an in person visit to an office), Charlie has arranged for a lovely gorgeous olive skinned woman named Yasmin to attend the wedding as her plus one. Going under the name Lucy, of course. Oh, I should mention, the Rent a Date place is in fact not a thinly veiled escort service (well, in the sense that escort services say that . . right, let’s not argue this here) – but struggling actors willing to act out parts, in person. Without sex being involved (somewhere in the book there’s a mention that there is a pre-arrangement about where hands can be placed, and where kisses might be allowed, and when, etc.).

Charlie feels a certain amount of relief to find such a good stand-in and looks forward to the wedding . . . or at least is less stressed about it. Right before the wedding, though, Charlie gets a call from the agency informing her that Yasmin won’t actually be able to attend. Medical emergency. But another woman will be there at the church. Charlie is now nervous again but will try to struggle through this very trying time of being forced to go to her sister’s wedding while pretending to have a date.

Pretend date and Charlie meet. And . . . oopsie, it’s Amy Sinclair. Teenage love interest from afar (at least at school - they went to the same school and stuff). Amy had, eleven years ago, ripped Charlie’s heart into tiny pieces (don't worry, dear reader, you'll be able to experience their tragic love affair in person, so to speak, in flashback form; including how she could 'rip it into tiny pieces' from 'afar' - I'm trying to not be spoiler-y here, you know). Both are shocked to see the other standing there. Charlie becomes enraged when Amy acts as if she doesn’t know who Charlie is (as in, that they’d meet before). Before fisticuffs could erupt (not that there was actual danger of that), Charlie and ‘Lucy’ are dragged into the church so the wedding could actually occur and stuff.

Amy acts professional. Charlie acts like Charlie. And I, the reader, come to the conclusion that I’d not want anything to do with either Amy or Charlie (as a love interest or as a friend), but that they seem decent enough people, really, just . . . hmms. Really really young.

Interesting and enjoyable ‘free’ read (at some point, if you read enough Kindle Unlimited books in a month, the costs go down and down per book read until it’s like pennies per book . . . or something, still not actually free but whatever).

Sex: I don’t actually remember. No?

Humor: good bits of humor.

ETA:
Boobs: I forgot that I wanted to make a separate little note about boobs. For reasons. Heh, it amuses me that it took seeing a 'this is how men write women in romances' for me to remember to write this particular note.

Amy, the pretend Lucy, has - it would appear, to have very massive breasts. I mention only because the bloody fact was mentioned about 800,000 times. Not actual quote: 'I may have huge breasts, and have blonde hair, but my father wanted me to also have a brain, so he made sure I studied' *I'm sure you had huge breasts at the time he first indicated his desire for you to be smart* (actual quote went more like: "Amy was also a natural blonde with a fantastic set of breasts. -- But Amy's father, who was not about to let his daughter turn into some vapid fool, had made sure that his daughter knew that she needed to be good at everything to have half a shot at a superlative life." ('breast' actually only comes up 6 times as a word, 'boob' once. oh dang. I was going to mention how at least 'tits' wasn't used, but it was. Well, it's hard to get an accurate count as I'd need to try every word to see if it is used and how often. ("'Oh, you mean that I'm the blonde girl with the big tits that goes to every party?' Amy said, a little defensively."))

Both Amy and Charlie really spend a lot more time focused on thinking about Amy's breasts than I think I've seen in fiction before. So much time that I wouldn't have been too surprised if they suddenly had a POV of their own. I mean . . . shesh.

Rating: 3.75

August 16 2017



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