One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You
Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever.
One Plus One is Jojo Moyes at her astounding best. You’ll laugh, you’ll weep, and when you flip the last page, you’ll want to start all over again.
Annnnnd she does it again.
I've made no secret of my love of all things written by Jojo Moyes. She is at the very top of my must-read-author list and I recommend her books every chance I get. Her stories are well-written, her characters are magnetic, but I think one of my favorite things about Jojo Moyes is that all of her books are different. Me Before You is nothing like The Girl You Left Behind which is different from The Last Letter From Your Lover which is different from One Plus One.
I had the opportunity to hear her speak at an author event back in September where she read from what was then her latest project, One Plus One. Now, keep in mind that I had recently finished reading Me Before You and still reeling from that incredibly emotional ride, so I wasn't sure how I felt when she said that her newest title was going to be different. Why mess with a good thing, right? I think she had managed to read three or four paragraphs before I fell in love. BOOM. That fast.
Three or four paragraphs. That was all it took for me to connect with Jess. Now, Jess and I have very very few things in common. I'm a happily married, college-educated, Volvo-driving SAHM living in NC. Jess barely finished high school, has a deadbeat absentee husband, works 2 low-paying jobs, and lives in a tiny coastal village in England. But Jojo Moyes knew what she was doing when she was standing behind that podium reading...the passage she read took those differences and obliterated them and all I knew was that Jess and I were both mothers who would do anything for our children. Even if the choice before us is a bit sketchy.
I absolutely loved this book. Loved it. This book has everything I look for in a good read. I laughed. I got angry. I sympathized. I smiled. I wanted go junk-punch Jess's husband and I wanted to hug Ed. I wanted to take care of her two kids like they belonged to me. I wanted to tell Jess that everything was going to be okay. I wanted these characters to be real and when I turned the last page, I wanted more. Not because I felt like the ending was missing something, but because I was just THAT connected.
Definitely add One Plus One to your to-read list if you haven't already. You won't be disappointed.
**Many many thanks to Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for providing the arc of One Plus One in exchange for an honest review**
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