One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid Review

Where do I begin with this one….

I was not prepared to be impressed by this one, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. I know, I’m usually a D1 hater and make it my mission to read popular books and discuss my honest thoughts which are usually less than impressed. However, maybe, just maybe, my first Reid is worthy of some praise! It's been too long since a genre fiction novel has been thoroughly enjoyable.

Basically the premise of this entire book is that a woman marries a guy and then he disappears because of a plane crash and she moves on after a year or two and gets engaged. But the plot thickens when the original husband is actually alive and comes back. She finds herself being pulled in both directions because it’s impossible for her to decide which guy to stay with. Because marriage is serious business, and she doesn't take it lightly that it is her literal husband who just came back. But she loves her current fiancé deeply, so what is a girl to do? There is a lot of push and pull and I really did sympathize and feel for this protagonist, it feels that there is no right decision and either way, she can't know for sure if she made the right choice. 

Some cons are that this was theatrical (the husband was apparently living on a deserted tiny island while out at sea and survived the few years alone, Cast Away style) and not very realistic. The writing was also more telling than showing, I didn’t find that the emotions jumped off the page, so I wasn't a huge fan of that aspect of the writing. But I found that the pros outweighed the cons, because the story resonated with me. So many love stories are told in a linear fashion and starts with the two characters meeting and then once they get together and the chase has fizzled, it ends, leaving the reader to assume they live happily ever after. But this was a breath of fresh air, it answers questions like do soulmates or the “one true love” theory exist? Is one ever really able to let go of their first love? Is one love better than the other? Maybe two people can love each other and the time they had together but not be the one for each other, and that’s okay. Maybe bad blood and messy breakups isn’t always the automatic result of one relationship ending and another one beginning. Maybe love isn’t as black or white as we are expected to believe. Maybe love is less about gut feelings and emotions and more about a collection of factors, experiences, and outside influences.