Book Review – One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

One True Loves: A Novel
<— The ultimate of love-triangles, my friends and oh boy what an emotional, heartfelt conundrum it was!

This author is an absolute must-read-everything-she-writes author for me, so you can bet, when I received an early review copy of THIS one (paperback format!!!). I was ALL over it.

Maryse: You guys!!!! I’m reading a paper book. *gasp* 

Amy: what paper book are reading, Maryse?

Grey: yes Maryse, what Paper book?

Maryse: Okay… you guys are gonna be mad. LOL! It’s the upcoming one by Taylor Jenkins Reid (One True Loves)… and it’s only coming out in June so I am WAY early with reading this, but I can’t help it. I CAN’T. THIS is what I’m in the mood for.  !!!!

Amy:  A new Taylor Jenkins Reid book??? *SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!*

Fabi: Maryse, June? June?! Really? Ugh. lol Enjoy! I am totally the same when I’m in the mood for a particular book, nothing else will do.

Amy: Oh, and Maryse? Yeah, I think I have “book burn” on my nose from where you rubbed your shiny new TJR book in my face. So thank you for that. *pblllllttttttt!!!!*

Maryse: *rubs ointment on Amy’s nose* Amy… I know you have an awesome concealer for that. 

Amy: Oooooh Maryse, I do! Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless concealer. It’s AMAZING. Not cakey at all but gives great coverage. And lookie here… *holds out iPad with both hands and wiggles it* I’m reading a TJR book too so nanny-nanny-boo-boo!!! By the way, it’s Maybe in Another Life. 

R. Renee: I don’t hardly ever give 5 stars unless the writer’s name starts with Taylor and ends with Reid.

Dana: I love Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Lisa: Maryse I love a good old school paperback read….kindle’s just don’t smell the same *winks*.

I KNOW IT!! Even though y’all know I’m not a huge “paper book” reader, anymore. I was… once upon a time. And then the awesomeness of e-books was invented, and I could pretty much read, hands-free, highlight my favorite parts with the magic of my own finger, make notes all throughout the book without marring it, and of course, pick up where I left off without loosing my “bookmark” (which I seem to do regularly with a paperback, especially when the book and I snuggle all night when I’ve accidentally fallen asleep with it, still open in my hands… and then it inevitably closes, to get more comfortable ). Tee hee!

And yet, I did it. I went “old-school” and read a book, tearing up post-it notes to highlight my favorite parts, and yes… snuggled with it, by accident.

It’s a really amazing exploration of… What if…?

What if you found the love of your life? What if… after years and years together, you still knew you were the only ones for the other? What if you get married and have the perfect life together. That successful life, that both of you have dreamed of together. What if one of you dies in a plane crash? What if it almost kills you to lose the only one you think you could ever love like that?

The world seemed so dark and bleak and meaningless. Life seemed so pointless, so cruel.

I thought of how Jesse took care of me and how he held me. I thought of how he felt when he ran his hands down my back, how his breath smelled sweet and human.

I lost hope and love and all of my kindness.

I told my mom that  wanted to die.

I said it even though I knew it would hurt her to hear it. I had to say it because of how much it hurt to feel it.

She winced and closed her eyes and then she said, “I know. But you can’t. You have to live. You have to find a way to live.”

What if the other mourns for years, and finally begins picking up the pieces and slowly but surely begins living again, maybe… even falling in love again.

After Sam and I started dating, I noticed my laugh lines were getting deeper. This is most likely because I am growing older, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s because I’m laughing more than I ever have. What else could you want in a person, other than kindness and humor. I’m not sure anything else really matters to me.

And what if the dead spouse comes back… because he was never dead at all?

The man I loved since I was seventeen years old. The man that left me a widow when his helicopter had gone down somewhere over the Pacific ad he was gone without a trace.

Jesse.

“Emma,” Jesse says. “It’s me. I’m alive. I’m coming home.”

Just… lost.

And now you’re both lost. Actually… all three of you are lost. What if?

Yep. This is THAT book. Because NOBODY is the bad guy here. She loves them both, and they love her. Deeply. How can one be committed to two people? Of course, it’s understandable that she’s moved on (and with someone she’s known for ages and has always been close to),

Sam is my new life. My new, beautiful, wonderful, magical life.

but what can one do when the past collides with the future? When the past was SUPPOSED to be the future?

I feel awful for giving up on Jesse. For thinking he was dead. For moving on. For falling in love with someone else. I’m actually furious at myself for that.

But I’m also really angry at myself for not being loyal to Sam, for not remaining steadfast and true in my devotion, like I have promised him I would be. I am mad at myself for being unsure, for not being the sort of woman that can tell him he’s the only one, for not giving him the kind of love he deserves.

I’m mad at myself for a lot of things.

OMG YES. It was believably gut-churning. Heart-wrenching, and deeply moving. Trying to find herself in her old life, while trying to reconcile it all with her new life. HER. LIFE.

“Don’t stay with me if you want to be with him,” he says. “Don’t do that to me.”

My dreams, the rope, and the knots, I know exactly what they mean.

You don’t tie yourself to something unless you’re scared you might float away.

And that’s really as much as I can tell you, my angst-loving romance reading friends.

The rest if for you to explore, because yes… she definitely chooses. This heartbreaking love story is complete, and the reality of that choice is front row and center. Somebody loses. Maybe even her. I guess it depends on how you experience this book. But the “feeling” is in experiencing it for yourselves. Piece by piece. Moment by moment. Thought after thought. Heartbreak after heartbreak. Relief after elation.

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s signature heartfelt, intrinsic, realistic writing is in full force on this journey. And what a journey it is. In fact, it got so intense on BOTH sides of the fence, so SURE, so absolute, that I was a mess by the end. The heroine honestly exhausted me, but how could I possibly blame her? I had NO idea what I wanted, let alone what she wanted. Holy moly, please never ever put me in that position. That’s all.

4 stars <— Oh lemme tell you. To many, and maybe even to me, this is a 5-star read. Yes. But I am SO hooked on her first two books, that it’s hard to compare anything else to them. *sigh* I know. It seems unfair to compare her current works with her past (and what I consider, reality-love-story masterpieces). But such is life. Trust me… 4 stars is on a 5-star level for this author.

READ IT! It’s awesome, and you’ll be into it. It’s her unique brand of “love story” in all of it’s angsty glory.

P.S. Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy! I’ll take EVERYTHING and ANYTHING she writes.

Tagged as: 4 stars, angst, contemporary romance, love triangle, Taylor Jenkins Reid