If you’ve been looking forward to your next destination wedding, then consider this your invitation to The Plus-One List by Amy Ewing! This adult contemporary romance is told in two points of view: Eloise, the bride’s best friend and maid of honor, and Agustín, a charming journalist who desperately needs an invitation to the wedding of the century.
Eloise has no room for romance in her life: she’s too busy taking care of her senior rescue dogs. So she sees this plus-one arrangement as purely transactional. On the other hand, Agustín doesn’t feel the need to tell Eloise his real motives. But the more time they spend preparing for the wedding in Mexico City, the closer they get.
Before long, Eloise and Agustín’s agreement turns into something deeper than either of them planned. Here are three reasons why we love Amy Ewing’s The Plus-One List!
Book Overview: The Plus-One List
Content warnings: anxiety, panic attacks, mentions of family death and cheating
Summary: Eloise, who struggles with anxiety, strongly prefers the company of her senior rescue dogs to people. But when her best friend announces she’s getting married in Mexico City and every guest must have a date, the pressure is on. Using an exclusive “plus-one list,” Eloise winds up with Agustín, a charming journalist and immigrant who recently moved to New York City from Mexico.
Agustín is on a mission to write the article of his career, but to do that, he’ll need to snag an interview with a man who’s proven impossible to track down. His only chance is to catch the source unaware at the upcoming “wedding of the century.” At first, being Eloise’s plus-one seems like the perfect solution, a purely transactional arrangement. Eloise is not looking for romance, and Agustín sees no need to tell her about his true motives for coming to the wedding.
As they play tourists in Agustín’s hometown, sampling smoky cocktails and delicious street food and meeting his family, Eloise slowly comes out of her shell. Suddenly, her blossoming trust in Agustín starts to grow into something deeper. But if Agustín wants to keep that trust, he’ll need to come clean—before their fragile connection is broken forever.
Eloise’s Personal Growth
To start, Eloise struggles with general anxiety disorder. She has suffered trauma from losing her parents at a very young age. And she often overanalyzes social situations to the point where she can’t speak or react quickly enough. We loved seeing Eloise’s personal development as she starts getting to know her neighbors, mostly thanks to Agustín’s guidance. She learns to let other people in, and by the end, she has gained so much confidence. It was so, so relatable and such a pleasure to read.
Agustín’s Compassion
Next, Agustín is our favorite type of love interest. That’s it; that’s the tweet. He’s a man who is not only compassionate and understanding, but also incredibly competent. Even though he has ulterior motives for going to the wedding, his personality more than makes up for it. From caring for Eloise and her dogs to reaching out to her neighbors in a time of need, Agustín jumps into action without having to be told what to do. And when he visits his family in Mexico, it made him even more endearing.
The Food & Culture
Finally, we have to highlight the Mexican food and culture woven throughout The Plus-One List. Agustín happily introduces Eloise to sopesitos and aguachile ahead of the trip. He lists some of his favorite spots to go in Mexico City, along with their history. Best of all, he tells her about Mexican wedding traditions so she doesn’t have to go in unaware. The sights around Mexico City were as breathtaking as Agustín made them seem. And his multi-generational family home is brimming with love and chaos in equal measure.
Amy Ewing’s The Plus-One List takes us to the destination wedding of our dreams. From the swoony romance to the Mexican cuisine and culture, we couldn’t help but fall in love!
The Plus-One List by Amy Ewing comes out October 20th, and you can order a copy of it here!
What do you think of Amy Ewing’s contemporary romance? Are you adding The Plus-One List to your TBR? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
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