Plus One

Written by: Elizabeth Fama

Crack these pages open while gobbling up a rich chocolate cake laced with spice. 

If you’re a solid romance buff like me, but also enjoy alternate reality adventures, this is the book for you. 

Sol Le Coeur is part time hot-headed sass master and part time devoted caretaker. She keeps her heart closed off to everyone but her Poppu, who she is fiercely devoted to, so much so that she is willing to risk her freedom so he may hold his great-grandchild in his arms before his dying day. When she accidentally swipes the wrong baby from the hospital, Sol is caught up in a whirlwind of intrigue and confusion that all lead back to her estranged brother, Ciel, and the fractured society they must live in. Sol must navigate her way through the mysteries while conforming to a rigid day-night schedule. She is only allowed out under the cover of darkness. And she manages to handle (we hope) this all while braving the emotional roller coaster of true love.

I really liked this book. It’s no Jane Austen, and there are a few hiccups in the plot, but it has a fun and faced paced style that is truly enticing. It’s the kind of book that reaches out to you and drags you in right there next to the characters. I ran along side Sol as she battled time and fate, and those lesser foes (or friends?) like the ferocious Noma rebels. I watched in delight as Sol fell madly in love with D’Arcy Benoit, and I felt the weight of Sol’s despair when she faced her dying Poppu. All this was written with the style of one who understands the short attention span of a busy high schooler with a packed schedule. In other words, despite my other duties calling to me from the outside world, I found it very difficult to put this book down. The action was too exciting! I had to read it in one sitting, or else I would have missed it too much as I went about my mundane, un-curfewed life.

I was a little wary at first with the story line, unsure why a girl would risk her life to give her grandfather 45 minutes with a baby, and also why Sol’s mysterious desk partner was intruding on Sol and D’Arcy’s budding relationship (that one was fairly simple to figure out). It all seemed a tad cheesy and unrealistic.

Not to fear! By the third chapter, I was hooked, and none of the weird plot points seemed implausible, because I knew exactly what Sol was thinking. I loved her by the end (hopefully not the very end!), and I loved the way she thought. I had a great time with Plus One. 

This book is interesting, packed with adventure, brimming with adorable romance, and seriously just fun to read.

3.75/5 stars!