Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - One True Loves

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

19 reviews

drjoannehill's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Bridges Book Club

If the wife/girlfriend of Tom Hanks' character in 'Castaway' told her story, this is kind of it.

Rating is mainly that this is not my sort of book really. It's a very 'tell not show' sort of book - lots of dialogue and internal monologue unpacking all the ins and outs of the feelings that the characters have. I didn't feel like I saw enough of the two men to understand Emma's feelings for them, especially Jesse, who turned into a jerk later in the book and CW

actually I was worried he was going to get violent.

The only thing holding me in the book was, which one is she going to choose? Kind of a flimsy reason to read a story.

Content Warnings

hmatt's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional fast-paced

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

2.5

I've been getting around to more of my "author completionism" reads this year. I read Maybe in another life near when it was released, but hadn't yet dipped into the rest of TJR's romance backlist until now. This one is, well, a bit too messy for me.

I'd say the main character is morally pretty grey, but this doesn't seem to be acknowledged with as much weight as I think it deserves.

She has a lot of sex with her ex(?)-husband, and that isn't really discussed as like, a pain point that might possibly interfere with her current relationship.

On the whole, I can tell it's less sophisticated writing than the author's newer work, and I think it's really interesting to compare her earlier writing in a very different genre to the (quite frankly) masterpieces she's been putting out more recently.

Content Warnings

lindcherry's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.5

Content Warnings

nicolecurlsuptoread's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

chelle22's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective

5.0

Content Warnings

saraavowlerr's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

itsartemis's review against another edition

Go to review page

inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

3.5

Content Warnings

plueschi77's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

cady_sass's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

Ow, my heart 🥹🥹🥹🥹 I am not well. You know going in that the ending is going to break your heart one way or another, but it’s still such a gut punch. I cried multiple times. 5 stars

Side note: the entire premise of this book is borderline unbelievable but the least believable part is that book store manager and a music teacher can afford to live in Cambridge. And she commutes to Acton? And gets there with time to spare to have breakfast dates? Does she leave the house at 4am? Massachusetts people will get it, everyone else just live in blissful ignorance believing this is possible 🤣

Content Warnings

More...