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nicolecurlsuptoread's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [5/5]
Feels 😭😭😭😭 [4/5]
📌 You’ll dig this if you like
» Second chances
» Friends to lovers
» Love triangles
Emma and Jesse were high school sweethearts, all the firsts! They build a life together away from their families and the day before their first wedding anniversary, Jesse takes a work trip and is assumed dead when his helicopter crashes in the Pacific.
Almost four years later, he calls Emma to tell her he’s alive and he’s coming home to her. Except, she’s engaged now to the guy who’s loved her since high school.
This book ruined me. I haven’t had a good book hangover in a while and One True Loves did it. It was devastating and tragic and beautiful and all the adjectives that can be used to describe a book that will stay with you.
The romance was secondary to the themes of loss, grief, and how to move forward. Then, how to choose between the loves of your life. What do you do when you’ve always believed in one true love, but you have two?
📌 What stood out
» I loved that the book is divided into aptly titled sections, but otherwise didn’t have chapter numbers.
» The chapter when Emma goes back home. Moving from the story being in the first person, then as if it’s being narrated from above, like an out of body experience, helped me connect to the grief piece. That’s what it feels like, and it was perfectly captured.
» In the prologue, Emma talks about everyone’s life having a moment that splits it into before and after, pre and post. The poignancy of that concept was visceral for me. I know my moment and can recall it with stunning clarity. I was hooked by and connected with One True Loves from page 6.
📌 Moments
» Emma and her sister Marie start out as enemies, or at least, not really having anything to do with each other as teenagers. They have a moment toward the end of the book that is balm for their hurt and misunderstood souls.
Let me leave you with this moral of the story quote:
"There is nothing more romantic than this. Holding the very person that you thought you lost, and knowing you'll never lose them again. I don't think that true love means your only love. I think true love means loving truly. Loving purely. Loving wholly."
🚫Contains some heavy themes. Please check warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
chelle22's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
rd77's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It was a quick and easy read. My main qualms are that it’s predictable and a bit rushed. I saw the ending from a mile away, though to be fair, it’s not so much about what she chooses. I just feel like we didn’t have much time to get to know Sam and Jesse individually so I wasn’t particularly invested in either of them since I just kind of had to take Emma’s word for it that she loved them instead of being shown why.
It was still interesting and a good read.
It was still interesting and a good read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief
saraavowlerr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is so beautiful and everything it could have been and more
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Medical content, and Grief
amandaparmo's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
“I don’t think that true love means your only love.
I think true love means loving truly.
Loving purely. Loving wholly.
Maybe, if you’re the kind of person who’s willing to give all of yourself, the kind of person who is willing to love with all of your heart even though you’ve experienced just how much it can hurt . . . maybe you get lots of true loves, then.”
I think true love means loving truly.
Loving purely. Loving wholly.
Maybe, if you’re the kind of person who’s willing to give all of yourself, the kind of person who is willing to love with all of your heart even though you’ve experienced just how much it can hurt . . . maybe you get lots of true loves, then.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief
datskira's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It was a mostly enjoyable, easy read. At times, it veered on the boring side as there wasn't a lot of action. It was mostly angst slapped on angst, but it all resolved in a way I was pleased with.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
meixymei's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cancer
tiffanymmf's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gore, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
ksamaine95's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was both sad & angry with this one. I wanted so bad for this to be my first 5 star of 2024 based on the plot alone.
Loved majority of the writing but it left me smh.I felt like Emma knew her choice immediately and was too childish to simply ask for/give closure to Jesse. The author almost made a villain of Jesse & an angel of Sam randomly to make the choice more obvious. There were several times I wanted to DNF because it was predictable. I held out hope to be disappointed.
Other than my dislike for the direction she took the story in, TJR still gave me the love bug.
Loved majority of the writing but it left me smh.
Other than my dislike for the direction she took the story in, TJR still gave me the love bug.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
tristinrose's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief