samlaovsboouks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
3.75
maron123's review
5.0
As always TJR’s writing never disappoints! This is my fourth read of hers, as I am working my way through her backlist. Dare I say it, this may be my favorite so far! I could not put this down! I also love Sam so much! This is most definitely going to be one of my top reads of 2022!
mrags's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
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
4.5
dubvanna's review
4.0
****4Stars****
One true loves is a story about past love, current love and how to deal with lost love once it comes back. Emma and Jesse meet in high school and fall madly in love with each other. They get married and share a short but beautiful life together. Then tragedy strikes and Jesse goes missing and is presumed dead. This sends Emma into an tailspin of depression and emotion and sort of sets the tone for her mind set going forward.
Emma goes through so much heartache, I'm talking like Twilight heartache, when Bella was aching after Edward left. Her pain was palpable and you could feel every ounce of it pour out through the pages. Poor girl, I felt so bad for her. Her parents and her friend Olivia stand by her and she even mends her relationship with with her sister Marie, and finds forgiveness in her most desperate moments.
Emma decides to move back home, and away from her home that she shared with Jesse. And this is when she runs into Sam, who she's also known since high school. She had a nice friendship with Sam but Jesse was always number one, so her relationship with Sam never went beyond that. This is the part of the book that gained some speed for me. I absolutely love what the Author did with the character development in regards to Emma, and I absolutely fell in love Sam and how she incorporates him into Emma's new life. Sam is seriously like dream man material!
Just when Emma and Sam seem perfectly happy and settled into their new life, Emma gets a phone call that Jesse is alive. And there's no spoilers here I promise, it states this in the blurb. But this is when my heart dropped, because at this point I was so invested in Sam, and I just knew there was a chance that she would go back to Jesse. I can't imagine what it must feel like to love two people at once, let alone have them desperately love you back. And then you have to CHOOSE, oh my, no thanks!
Emma seems to be in an impossible situation, and this is probably the ONLY part that I didn't really enjoy. I won't say what happened but I just felt Emma was being slightly selfish with the emotions of both men. Granted, if I were in her shoes there's no telling what I would do, so I will hold my judgement. I wasn't pissed or anything, I just felt somewhat unsettled.
With that being said, the writing was truly fantastic, slow at times, but very well thought out and extremely meaningful, and the Author's analogies about love and the effects of that love were amazing and some of the best I've ever read. I want to add them to my review so badly, but I'm almost positive they would be too spoilery.
I really love the message behind the story, it really is a beautiful thing to discover yourself and realize that true love doesn't have to be defined by one person or one moment in time, true love is defined by how you take charge of your own life and those choices that you make throughout that help you grow up and evolve. And I want to thank the Author for conveying that message because I really felt it deeply, and I didn't necessarily get it during the reading of this book, but I definitely got it by the end. So just like the characters in the story, I too evolved while reading it, and that's pretty amazing.
One true loves is a story about past love, current love and how to deal with lost love once it comes back. Emma and Jesse meet in high school and fall madly in love with each other. They get married and share a short but beautiful life together. Then tragedy strikes and Jesse goes missing and is presumed dead. This sends Emma into an tailspin of depression and emotion and sort of sets the tone for her mind set going forward.
Emma goes through so much heartache, I'm talking like Twilight heartache, when Bella was aching after Edward left. Her pain was palpable and you could feel every ounce of it pour out through the pages. Poor girl, I felt so bad for her. Her parents and her friend Olivia stand by her and she even mends her relationship with with her sister Marie, and finds forgiveness in her most desperate moments.
Emma decides to move back home, and away from her home that she shared with Jesse. And this is when she runs into Sam, who she's also known since high school. She had a nice friendship with Sam but Jesse was always number one, so her relationship with Sam never went beyond that. This is the part of the book that gained some speed for me. I absolutely love what the Author did with the character development in regards to Emma, and I absolutely fell in love Sam and how she incorporates him into Emma's new life. Sam is seriously like dream man material!
Just when Emma and Sam seem perfectly happy and settled into their new life, Emma gets a phone call that Jesse is alive. And there's no spoilers here I promise, it states this in the blurb. But this is when my heart dropped, because at this point I was so invested in Sam, and I just knew there was a chance that she would go back to Jesse. I can't imagine what it must feel like to love two people at once, let alone have them desperately love you back. And then you have to CHOOSE, oh my, no thanks!
Emma seems to be in an impossible situation, and this is probably the ONLY part that I didn't really enjoy. I won't say what happened but I just felt Emma was being slightly selfish with the emotions of both men. Granted, if I were in her shoes there's no telling what I would do, so I will hold my judgement. I wasn't pissed or anything, I just felt somewhat unsettled.
With that being said, the writing was truly fantastic, slow at times, but very well thought out and extremely meaningful, and the Author's analogies about love and the effects of that love were amazing and some of the best I've ever read. I want to add them to my review so badly, but I'm almost positive they would be too spoilery.
I really love the message behind the story, it really is a beautiful thing to discover yourself and realize that true love doesn't have to be defined by one person or one moment in time, true love is defined by how you take charge of your own life and those choices that you make throughout that help you grow up and evolve. And I want to thank the Author for conveying that message because I really felt it deeply, and I didn't necessarily get it during the reading of this book, but I definitely got it by the end. So just like the characters in the story, I too evolved while reading it, and that's pretty amazing.
liloccobalt's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.0
ashlynamsden's review
4.0
just seconds ago finished this. I am ugly crying. Can’t wait for the movie
epistolary's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
tmhopson's review
5.0
Gut wrenching and surprisingly great story!
I am shocked that this book literally has me in tears....so emotional that i can't find words to describe just how good it is. It is sad but hits home if you have ever been in love. Worthy of all 5+ stars!
I am shocked that this book literally has me in tears....so emotional that i can't find words to describe just how good it is. It is sad but hits home if you have ever been in love. Worthy of all 5+ stars!
katiebug512's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0