The Plus-One List: A Novel

by Amy Ewing

Genres: Romance

336 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 20, 2026

About the author

As the daughter of a librarian, books were a crucial part of Amy Ewing's childhood.
She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School, and her young adult fantasy novel The Jewel became a New York Times and international bestseller.
She is the author of The Jewel triology, The Cerulean, and The Irish Goodbye, her debut novel for adults. Her next adult romance, The Plus-One List, will be published in October 2026.

Reviews

[Linda Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

They both need dates to a wedding that is happening in Mexico City. Eloise needs one because if she doesn’t have a date, it means bad luck to the new bride (her best friend). And Augustin needs one to try to get an interview from a man that will be attending. The bride-to-be sets up a bunch of different dates for Eloise, but there’s only one guy she hits it off with – Augustine. So they both get what they want- maybe.
They plan on spending time together to get Eloise more comfortable. She suffers from anxiety/panic attacks. Before the wedding, he cooks for, takes care of her when she’s sick and walks her dogs. They are both attracted to each other, but Eloise is not interested in a relationship. She prefer to only leave her apartment for grocery runs and to walk her dogs. But, she can’t keep from stealing glances at him and he actually has her daydreaming of them together. Before the wedding he also is slowly breaking down her walls, taking her out to dinner. She feels and looks better.
Then they go to Mexico City for the wedding and they not only give into their feelings, but she meets his family, goes out with him without the wedding party. Just when she thinks everything could not be any better, she finds out why Augustine really came to the wedding, and it wasn’t for her. It takes a bit for her to realize no one is perfect, not even Augustine. So, the question is will she forgive him and live her best life or go back to the way she was living?
This is a must read if you like opposites attract, taking chances, getting out of your comfort zone, mental health rep, and of course a happily ever after.

[Joni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eloise's best friend is getting married and she has to have a date to the big event. Augustin needs to get to that wedding to get a quote for the article he's writing about his grandfather for The New Yorker. They meet through the Plus One list and despite Eloise's severe anxiety come to an agreement about the wedding. However she doesn't know about his reason for wanting to attend and it all comes out in the middle of the reception.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Eloise and Augustin. There was nothing rushed about it, while they get to know each other over several months, Amy Ewing keeps a steady pace with her story telling and doesn't let things drag on. I both understood Eloise's reluctance for social interactions and found her frustrating at times but Augustin was so patient with her. I loved how he helped her understand what to expect while in Mexico in a way that wouldn't overwhelm her.
Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC.

[Sarah Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘴-𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵 by Amy Ewing

This was a pretty decent book, though I didn’t like how emotions felt through by both main characters throughout the book were suddenly, neatly resolved within the last twenty or so pages.

DISLIKES:
- Joe Rogan reference 😒 Stop making things political - this wasn’t even necessary to advance the story or description of Eloise’s mindset. Take it out.
- Didn’t appreciate Augustín’s irreverence toward the church and especially toward God


I have included some cautions below this line, which could be considered spoilers. Please do not read further if you wish for your reading experience to be completely unspoiled.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••





CAUTIONS: POTENTIALLY UPSETTING OCCURRENCES IN THIS BOOK:

opening sequence refers to pet euthanasia, death of a pet just prior to start of book offpage

•𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.•

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eloise no necesita aventuras. Está convencida de que su vida en Nueva York, rodeada de perros rescatados y lejos de cualquier drama es más que suficiente. Por eso, cuando es invitada a una boda en la Ciudad de México se ve obliga a buscar un acompañante.

Agustín tiene una meta importante: terminar una investigación que podría impulsar su carrera periodística. Para lograrlo necesita acceso a un exclusivo evento lleno de personas influyentes y una invitación inesperada parece ser la solución perfecta.

Lo que ninguno de los dos anticipa es que un acuerdo sencillo puede complicarse cuando las conversaciones dejan de sentirse obligatorias y la compañía de la otra persona empieza a convertirse en algo que esperan con ganas.


..................


No me gusto como se justifico lo que hizo el abuelo.

[Tanmeet Samra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! I would give this book 4 stars rounded up. It was a very pleasant read and I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did! The characters were so lovely, including the background characters and everyone was so wholesome and lovely. I did like that situations weren’t drawn out and this book had a very healthy pace to the story (unlike how some books have dramatic breakups and it takes a few chapters to resolve - which is annoying for me). This book also made me want to travel to Mexico and made me very hungry lol. Overall, I thought this book was very well done and I would read more books by this author! Grab a margarita, err, shall I say a mezcal and a taco and read this book!

[☆Laura☆]

Me sentí mal por Eloíse cuando iba a dar el discurso, pero no puede vivir su vida dependiendo de Agustín. Tenía que aprender a hacer las cosas por sí sola.

Entiendo que tiene ansiedad, pero aquí me enojo porque huyó y dejó sola a su amiga, esa misma amiga que la ha apoyado en todo y que jamás la ha avergonzado. Y lo único que tenía que hacer era estar con ella en su boda. O sea, Rachel tuvo que ir a buscarla para ver cómo estaba al día siguiente de su boda, en lugar de disfrutar su momento. Ni siquiera fue Eloíse quien le envió un mensaje para explicarle lo sucedido, fue Rachel quien intentó comunicarse con ella.

[R Seykora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun quick and romantic read. A maid of honor requires a plus one date, but is uncomfortable around people. Some how she finds the right plus one to bring her out of her comfort zone and changes her life. I loved how the author provides readers with dual perspectives.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute romance. I loved the anxiety representation, and how it was such a key aspect of the book without being the character's only personality trait. The found family aspect was also amazing, as well as the dogs.