You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a lovely and witty romance with a unique twist. The chemistry felt real, the characters were likeable and realistic, and the world provided interesting commentary on single-dom. Also, the audiobook was one of the best narrations I've listened to.
Reading the author's note was strange, because I felt like the book still showed a couple as being the best scenario. It ended with the main character in a happy relationship, and showed single people in a negative light. It also didn't explore polyamorous relationships at all, which I felt was a missed opportunity.
Reading the author's note was strange, because I felt like the book still showed a couple as being the best scenario. It ended with the main character in a happy relationship, and showed single people in a negative light. It also didn't explore polyamorous relationships at all, which I felt was a missed opportunity.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Genre: Adult Fiction | Romance | General Fiction
Release Date: 27th May 2021
Millie Jones in on track. She's so close to being promoted, working on the worlds leading hook-up app, she's surrounded by an amazing group of friends and a very cute but very grumpy cat to keep her company. Blissfully single, Millie knows there is no lonliness in being alone.
Now the opportunity of a lifetime has fallen in her lap and she's working on something that's going to change the world - Oxytoxin. A pill scientifically proven to block your brain from falling in love. It sounds perfect, this could be the key to her success - until she starts working with Ben. In a world where romantic relationships are viewing as not only inconvenient but shameful and just odd - can Millie seperate her heart and her head and figure out if love could ever be worth it?
The universe that Helly Acton has created here is just amazing - throwing our world in the trash and showing us one where not being single is just weird - relationships are not normal. It's harder to rent a flat, you're not welcome in single spaces, your financial security is always at risk along with almost everything else in your life. After all, why would anybody want to be so dependent on another person? To be so restricted in your sexual and social life? To risk distraction from your own wants and needs? Or to ever let yourself feel heartbreak?
In a world where people ask, "Are you single yet?", and tell you, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find yourself and break up soon!" - this was a dynamic, refreshing take on the the societal views of singledom, and how relationships should be an addition to life and never a requirement. Stripping away the shame single or sexually explorative people are expected to feel, fetishes are a normal part of a life and to explore sexual partners is just a normal part of being a liberated adult.
I fell in love with Millie right away and felt every confused moment of this story right alongside her. Witty, engaging and the actual definition of a page-turner.
Also, any book that contains the words "Goose Springsteen" is absolute gold - you're just going to have the read the book yourself to find out why!
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to Helly Acton and Bonnier Books UK for an ARC in return for an honest review.
Release Date: 27th May 2021
Millie Jones in on track. She's so close to being promoted, working on the worlds leading hook-up app, she's surrounded by an amazing group of friends and a very cute but very grumpy cat to keep her company. Blissfully single, Millie knows there is no lonliness in being alone.
Now the opportunity of a lifetime has fallen in her lap and she's working on something that's going to change the world - Oxytoxin. A pill scientifically proven to block your brain from falling in love. It sounds perfect, this could be the key to her success - until she starts working with Ben. In a world where romantic relationships are viewing as not only inconvenient but shameful and just odd - can Millie seperate her heart and her head and figure out if love could ever be worth it?
The universe that Helly Acton has created here is just amazing - throwing our world in the trash and showing us one where not being single is just weird - relationships are not normal. It's harder to rent a flat, you're not welcome in single spaces, your financial security is always at risk along with almost everything else in your life. After all, why would anybody want to be so dependent on another person? To be so restricted in your sexual and social life? To risk distraction from your own wants and needs? Or to ever let yourself feel heartbreak?
In a world where people ask, "Are you single yet?", and tell you, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find yourself and break up soon!" - this was a dynamic, refreshing take on the the societal views of singledom, and how relationships should be an addition to life and never a requirement. Stripping away the shame single or sexually explorative people are expected to feel, fetishes are a normal part of a life and to explore sexual partners is just a normal part of being a liberated adult.
I fell in love with Millie right away and felt every confused moment of this story right alongside her. Witty, engaging and the actual definition of a page-turner.
Also, any book that contains the words "Goose Springsteen" is absolute gold - you're just going to have the read the book yourself to find out why!
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to Helly Acton and Bonnier Books UK for an ARC in return for an honest review.
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have seen so many rave reviews for this book and I don’t know why it took me so long to get round to reading it but I finally did on a buddy read with
This is a Beth O’Leary-esk hug in a book. Is the ending a bit predictable? Yes of course. Was it still really enjoyable to read? You’re damn right! Do we all need a Ben in our lives? Ab-so-blooming-lutely (maybe minus a pointy tooth though?!).
I loved the slightly alternative reality where being single is the norm and being in a couple is weird. There’s some great nods to how single people are treated in society that really do hammer home the discrimination e.g. the table at the wedding, single occupancy fees etc
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and had ‘one more chapter’ syndrome repeatedly. The pages just slip away making it an easy and quick read.
Is this on your TBR??? READ IT NOW - you won’t regret it, I promise!
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Told in a kind of alternative universe where falling in love and being in a couple is frowned upon, Millie is a high flyer, on track to become chief creative officer at Slide, an online app that encourages single people to meet for dates and sex. She has a great group of friends, a controlling mother who wants her to succeed at work and is good at her job.
Society is set up for single people – children are born using sperm donors and raised in single parent households, convenience meals are for one, tax and rent are cheaper for singletons and anyone in a couple is considered to be some sort of freak. Ruth her manager at work and good friend, is in a new romantic relationship with another woman called Sam and Millie can’t quite get her head around how anyone would fall in love and why anyone would want to be in a couple, seeing only the negatives.
Millie along with new creative Ben, is tasked with creating a marketing campaign for a new drug, Oxytoxin created by the scientists at Slide. Just two tablets of Oxytoxin, stops the glands from releasing the blend of hormones that create the sensation of falling in love. The way the company sees it, Oxytoxin protects you from having your heart broken by preventing you falling in love in the first place. And if you already have a broken heart, it mends it. As part of their research, Ben and Millie speak to prospective users of Oxytoxin who say why they think it would be good for them. And as they spend more time together, Millie starts to question what she has always thought about single life.
I found the premise of The Couple quite thought provoking. My instinct on reading the blurb was that a tablet to stop someone falling in love is a terrible idea – I can’t imagine not being able to fall in love and spend my life in a couple with my partner. But the book makes several convincing arguments why single life is perhaps better – less distractions, not having to take anyone else into consideration, avoiding the heartbreak that can come with being in love. While taking tablets is a pretty extreme way to stop it happening maybe there is something in it?
I read and enjoyed The Shelf last year so was really keen to read The Couple. Not too heavy, but written well addressing lots of issues, The Couple is a fun and enjoyable read that I very much enjoyed.
Society is set up for single people – children are born using sperm donors and raised in single parent households, convenience meals are for one, tax and rent are cheaper for singletons and anyone in a couple is considered to be some sort of freak. Ruth her manager at work and good friend, is in a new romantic relationship with another woman called Sam and Millie can’t quite get her head around how anyone would fall in love and why anyone would want to be in a couple, seeing only the negatives.
Millie along with new creative Ben, is tasked with creating a marketing campaign for a new drug, Oxytoxin created by the scientists at Slide. Just two tablets of Oxytoxin, stops the glands from releasing the blend of hormones that create the sensation of falling in love. The way the company sees it, Oxytoxin protects you from having your heart broken by preventing you falling in love in the first place. And if you already have a broken heart, it mends it. As part of their research, Ben and Millie speak to prospective users of Oxytoxin who say why they think it would be good for them. And as they spend more time together, Millie starts to question what she has always thought about single life.
I found the premise of The Couple quite thought provoking. My instinct on reading the blurb was that a tablet to stop someone falling in love is a terrible idea – I can’t imagine not being able to fall in love and spend my life in a couple with my partner. But the book makes several convincing arguments why single life is perhaps better – less distractions, not having to take anyone else into consideration, avoiding the heartbreak that can come with being in love. While taking tablets is a pretty extreme way to stop it happening maybe there is something in it?
I read and enjoyed The Shelf last year so was really keen to read The Couple. Not too heavy, but written well addressing lots of issues, The Couple is a fun and enjoyable read that I very much enjoyed.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes