Reviews with content warning for Grief - One True Loves

This is the first of Reid's books that I have read and I have to admit that I checked this audiobook out of the library because I saw the movie on sale on Apple TV and wanted to watch it, but I have this desire to read the book before seeing the movie/TV show.

Synopsis: In High School Emma Blair dreamed of a life as far away from her hometown as possible. And when she goes to a party in her junior year of high school she encounters the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with, Jesse. After almost a decade of dating and a single year of marriage though fate intervenes and the only man Emma has ever loved is gone forever.

As Emma tries to put her life back together she has to challenge everything she thought she knew about herself. As she begins to forage a new identity for herself she also wants to love again and her high school friend Sam might be just the man to teach her that she can.

Thoughts:

I was very invested in Emma as a character. My favourite part of the book was the growth in her relationship with her sister. It was a truly lovely arch throughout the narrative. I also appreciated the connection that Emma developed with her nieces although I do wish that had been explored a little more.

I also wish that Sam had made more of an appearance in the story. Reid did an excellent job of conveying how much Emma loves and cares for Sam, but I would have liked to see them interact a little more throughout the story.

I absolutely did not like Jesse at all. Start to finish. Did I feel bad for him because of the horrific things he endured, sure did. Did it make me like him any better? Sure didn't.

This is an interesting work of literature that held my attention and I was really invested in the outcome. Although it did feel that the cultural standards of domesticity were the driving force of some of Emma's decisions rather than a shifting of her priorities. Overall, not a bad read.

Content Warnings

lindasoderlundd's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

const_elle_ations's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Content Warnings

kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

Content Warnings

jaidenmarie11's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book is good, it’s great even! But this year I’m dead set on rating fiction books based on enjoyment and only giving them five stars when I genuinely had the best time. That being said good god this book made me furious. I understand her dilemma and the emotions all of that would come with and it wasn’t even the indecisiveness that made me angry it was going from one polar end to another. One moment she’s like “this is it I’m going to pick this character I can’t believe I was so stupid to think I would ever choose the other” to “oh man but I really love this other guy I’m actually gonna chose him instead” AND WHEN SHE

FUCKS JESSE RIGHT AFTER SHES DECIDED ON SAM LIKE SHE HAD TOLD JESSE SHE HAD CHOSEN SAM AND THEN PROCEEDED TO HAVE SEX WITH JESSE. Like please tell me how that makes any logical sense and if I were Sam and Emma come up to me with some “we went to the cabin together… alone” I’d say alright then bye! Like please have some self respect my man

anyways, she made the right decision imo but the way she went about it pissed me off. I actually cried a bit while reading because it was pretty well written but I am not the same as I was in 2020 and just because a book makes me cry does not mean it gets 5 stars! (I’ve done that an embarrassing amount of times) I really liked this book in the beginning despite feeling some gaps in the story. The grief was really well explored and I thought was handled in a tasteful way. Again the end just kind of soured the whole thing for me. And there’s some quotes that hit like they actually took me aback how much I liked them. But alas, it just really wasn’t my jam those last 130 pages.

Content Warnings

imaginationindex's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

“In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?”

This is the first book of TJR that I’ve read outside of the famous multiverse of the likes of Evelyn Hugo (💚) and Mick Riva (🤢). It reads differently, but it’s still the classic TJR I’ve come to enjoy.

My one true loves of this book:

Emma’s mom and dad are my favourite characters! So supportive and understanding and they made me cry twice even with everything else going on
How Acton, MA was written. It holds a very special place for TJR and you can tell
On the total opposite end, how Emma’s grief was written was just… 🤯
On top of the family themes… Sisterly themes
Bookstore vibes!! I wanna be the Bookkeepers’ Daughter 🥲😭

But not my soulmate:

Jesse. It’s awful what this fictional man went through but my red-flag-alert was going OFF. Teenage Jesse, Twenty-something Jesse, Survivor Jesse… I didn’t like him. AND he left for a trip on their one year anniversary, no sir, that doesn’t fly.
I knew she wouldn’t end up with him.
… also Sam… at times. It helped I was picturing Simu Liu from the adaption but the way he acted at times
technically kicking her out, “don’t call me”… yikes
I’m not a fan of this type of love triangle trope with a side of dead partners. Honest to god stressed me out thinking of these two men guilting Emma.
And this specific moment near the end
it took 3 days for Jesse and Emma to realize they wouldn’t be together but even after that decision… they still slept together… and Sam was okay with this??!?

All this along with my rating might make you think I didn’t enjoy this book. However first and foremost, I read this in two days. Secondly and most importantly, there is a great message here:

People change. You are not the same person in your twenties than you are in your thirties. Which means you get love boldly, bravely and unconditionally and find your true love(s).

Content Warnings

val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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