One True Loves: A Novel

I have found that I really enjoy TJR’s style of writing so I’ve been trying to read through her list of books. This one doesn’t disappoint. It starts off telling you the story from a teenage point of view when she meets and falls in love with her eventual husband. Then you read about their marriage and how he eventually goes missing on a work trip. He’s gone for 3+ years and you hear a lot about her grief and how she tried to get through it. Eventually she takes a chance on an old dorky highschoool friend and ends up getting engaged to him. Then the husband miraculously comes back and she’s faced with deciding between the two., The good stuff:, 1. The writing about grief was excellent, even if you haven’t lived through a loved one dying or going missing, most people have experienced grief and the description was spot on., 2. The love story of how she met her husband was sweet and it immediately transported me back to highschool crushes and best friends that you think matter more than family., 3. The relationship with her parents was great – they were supportive even when they didn’t understand her choices and welcomed her back when she needed them., The not so good stuff:, 1. She had a strained relationship with her sister for seemingly no real reason which was a recurring theme but didn’t have much substance., 2. The husbands survival story was so ridiculous and implausible it was comical. They also only discussed what he actually went through for like 1 paragraph…. This was the major pivotal moment… wish it had been better thought out and described. Wish we could have heard his point of view., 3. The book focuses heavily on how a person can fundamentally change after a tragedy.. but I seriously doubt a girl who was desperate to travel the world, moved across the country, and married a trouble making jock, would suddenly decide she wants to move back home permanently, run a small family store, and marry the band geek from her highschool. That sounds like a rebound move while picking up the pieces… not how she would permanently shape the rest of her life., 4. I personally think she picked the wrong guy in the end (don’t come for me on this). I think her decision will leave her unhappy and bored in the long run. To be fair, I think the best ending of all would have been her picking herself and starting her life fresh over going back to traveling and writing. I loved the sister telling her it wasn’t about the men, she had to figure out herself. Wish they had stuck to that theme!, In sum, it’s the typical good read by TJR but I wish the ending had been better with the main tragedy better thought out and addressed. Maybe one day she will write a book from Jesse’s POV or Marie’s POV and I would love to read those!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I recently brought this book with me on my vacation. It’s the perfect book to read by the beach or pool. The whole time you’re kept wondering whether she’ll pick Jesse, her adventurous high school sweetheart, or Sam, the new reliable fiancé. The ending is just beautiful as only TJR can do. It makes you feel all the emotions as if you were living it.

Read this for a book club. It was a quick read and I enjoyed it.