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imaginingly's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
this is the book that has made me cry the most, i think, EVER in my life
the beginning was very odd and the writing style was kind of ~meh~ but the actual story was very good. the book captured grief very well
the beginning was very odd and the writing style was kind of ~meh~ but the actual story was very good. the book captured grief very well
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia, Body shaming, Mental illness, and Pregnancy
kayleejanes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
lindasoderlundd's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Death, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer and Suicidal thoughts
kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition
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
Moderate: Infidelity and Grief
Minor: Death, Sexual content, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
cady_sass's review against another edition
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 🤣
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
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Ocean trauma, deep water, animal attackkayaisreading's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
ange_reads18's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Biphobia
annasbooks00's review against another edition
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
conspystery's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book is pretty good. It’s casually written and easy to read but not overbearing, which I think is the point. The premise is interesting, and its execution is well-done; none of the characters felt too shallow for its well-rounded plotpoints and the conflict at its heart. I liked what it had to say about loss and change, and I felt like it gave the characters a decent amount of space to explore its themes in depth. It was a solid contemporary romance with a fresh, healing take on moving on.
I didn’t really love it, though. I didn’t feel strongly about it at all. Mostly I was underwhelmed. I’ve read three of TJR’s other books-- Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo-- and I adored them all. I consider them to be some of my favorite books of all time. I think what drew me to them was their more literary and historical aspects, the extent of the worldbuilding in them, and the deeply compelling characters and plotlines that interweave with each other throughout them. One True Loves is not that, and maybe I shouldn’t have expected it to be, but I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. I’ve never liked reading romance, so maybe I should’ve predicted that I wouldn’t adore this book, but I thought the fact that TJR wrote it would save it for me.
To its credit, I didn’t actively dislike this book, which is a feat knowing how difficult I tend to be with romance novels-- I actually quite enjoyed the nuance with which it approached grief and the idea of moving on and how its scope was philosophically broad enough to be applied outside of just romance, and a few moments stood out to me in the writing as particularly striking (the comparison Emma makes of Jesse’s expectations for her to Penelope waiting for Odysseus was outstanding; it complemented her intelligence as a character and her background growing up around literature as well as thoughtfully communicating the themes of the novel, and also I really like Penelope so maybe I’m biased)-- but I think I just expected it to be more special than it was to me. The fact that I didn’t absolutely hate it is a testament to its merit in this genre. As I wrote, it’s a solid contemporary romance. It’s a pretty good book. I just wish it had been as exceptional as TJR’s more literary works, which is maybe not a fair expectation, but I have it nonetheless. It just wasn’t for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol
A major part of this book's premise is a helicopter crash and then desertion on a remote island, which might be upsetting to some readers.kaitlynnnng's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Wow. This story broke my heart, put it back together, broke it again, and put it back together again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail