Reviews with content warning for Vomit - One True Loves

The impact of a 3rd act conflict is lost when it's so formulaic. It just becomes annoying to me.

The beginning of the book was parading a four for me, but from the three quarter onward...a big no. The only thing I appreciated after the conflict was the talk Lenore and her parents had but even that ends up fall flat for me, for a similar reason why the resolve falls flat for in the first book of this series, Happily Ever Afters.

One True Loves feels quite short with how the book is paced. The beginning drags some, then she is finally on vacation and things start to move. Alex and Lenore meet and to avoid giving away too much, I'll say I loved their snark with e/o. Then, they get together and although I'm happy they do; it just starts moving all too fast. Their snark turns into syruppy, sticky, overwhelming sweetness at the flip of a switch and I wanted to gag. (Lol, that's a me problem though). That drastic change wasn't making any sense to me until I realised they needed to be real close and 'in love' for the 3rd act conflict to hit more. But when you rush a couple just so that they can be in a stupid problem for exactly the 75% mark, you've fucked your own book. That's just my opinion though. And that's my main, and really only gripe with this book I was really enjoying and wanting to give five stars. That 3rd act perfectly serves someone and I'm happy for them and since I've liked Elise Bryant's work so far, I know something she puts out in the future will perfectly serve me too...i hope.

(This is me coming in some hours later, but I remembered another gripe. It's mentioned in the blurb so I'll just go out with it. It's repetivite with explanations. Lenore explains over and over that she is stressed because of her parent's expectation: often saying she isn't the black excellence that they want in a child. But I just feel like if that's said once or even twice, it doesn't need to be constantly reiterated. Everytime she has an argument with her parents about or is just feeling down, the whole soap-box speech doesn't need to be restated. We understand, and we understood from the first time.)

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sgzable's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring slow-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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aromarrie's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

i loved seeing lenore in all her complicated, messy glory as she still got to go on this stunning trip across the mediterranean, meeting a boy who grew to love her for her flaws and desires. the courage she slowly builds in trusting that the structured life her parents wish for her simply isn’t right, and that she can still pursue her love for the arts (fashion, photography, mixed media) at her own pace without fear of messing up was a slow journey but it was captivating all the more. because even though there is guaranteed to be some mistakes made along, it makes it even easier if you have someone who sees that to just cheer you on a little more.

i loved the relationship depicted between lenore and her family, a majority of the humor of this book coming from how dorky her parents are as they bond over the silliest things on this huge trip. the relationship specifically between lenore and her brother, wally, while mostly tense for a majority of this story was one of my most favorites as they were clearly both struggling with their own high expectations and didn’t know how to reach out in their own ways. to see them find their way back together as brother & sister was really sweet, all the way up to the last page.

just as sweet as alex, who as much as he has his life plans figured out, he has no idea what the hell to do when it comes to romance, and yet in all his imperfections, he makes lenore the happiest girl on this trip, something she never thought she deserved so for him to show otherwise gave him huge bonus points.

i’m happy for lenore, that’s all.

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sometimes_samantha_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

4.75

I don't really tend to go for straigh up romance but I seem to be on the fluffy train lately, and One True Loves did not disappoint! The cover was so pretty and it was all shiny in the "new" section of the library. I picked it up, saw Black romance and immediately checked it out. It had a lot in there about Black identify, living life to the fullest, adventuring, and loving while Black. I loved that I could relate and finally see myself mirrored in the love interest perspective. I haven read Happily Ever Afters yet, but after this, I can pretty safely say I'm a new Elise Bryant fan!

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alaylagrace's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

lenore is soo insufferable. i can't stand her. i loved her and alex's love story, though. and wally was amazing, stan wally for clear skin.

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samone2's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I love this book as much as I love Elise Bryant's other books. I love how she talks about universities and how to deal with the pressure of choosing a university with black parents. As a black kid soon to be choosing a university this really helps me think about my future.

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