Review: One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

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**

 
  

Review: The Ballad by Ashley Pullo

Disclaimer—This is a work of fiction intended for a mature audience. The lack of violence, virgins, love triangles, tragedies and alpha-stalking males may not be suitable for all readers. The Ballad is a Modern Romance designed to involve the reader in the authenticity of life, love and all things in between.

Chloe LeGrange is a singer/songwriter guided by her internal rhythm and raw emotions. Adam Ford is a sexy attorney, disciplined and emotionally guarded. Her impulsive behavior is counter-balanced by his calm composure but a stable relationship can often divert one’s own path to self-discovery.

The Ballad is written in the unique narrative style of Chloe’s lyrical approach to life, with unpredictable crescendos and intimate verses.
How does love start?
When does love end?
Or maybe it’s the middle of the story that really counts, the part when life happens, either propelling the relationship into a beautiful romance or dissolving into a predictable wasteland. Join Chloe and Adam on their journey through the picturesque streets of Brooklyn, so passionate and intense that a simple love story becomes a romantic ballad.

So, this book completely took me by surprise.  I stumbled across it through a post on Facebook of all places and figured why not give it a shot.  

I couldn't put it down.

The story starts in the summer of 2013 and works its way backwards, telling the story of the immense love between Chloe and Adam.  I wasn't sure how that was going to work really, knowing results before the set up.  I love a good Happy Ever After, but this is a Happy Ever Beginning and I'll admit to being a bit confused.  But holy cow, by the third chapter I was loving the concept.

It was like taking a jigsaw puzzle apart slowly piece by piece.  Instead of seeing a bunch of jumbled parts in the beginning, we see how each individual moment fits with the others to create the bigger picture.  We see how seemingly insignificant words, phrases, actions become so much more to Chloe and Adam, but not in a glaring "a-ha!" way.  And that's what I really loved.  Don't get me wrong, I am a sucker for Lloyd Dobbler moments, but I also love the little things.  The pinky touches, the silly words, the stories told in secret whispers that only they know.  I love layers.

Ms. Pullo writes beautifully.  Her words and the composition of the story have almost a lyrical quality that make The Ballad seem more than just the title of the story.  The ebbs and flows of the relationship between Adam and Chloe read like song and it is one that I want to listen to over and over.

This review was really difficult to write and Im hoping that when I reread it later, it will make more sense.  But if you take one thing away from my ramblings, it is this - please please please go check this story out.  I finished it 3 days ago and I haven't been able to get it out of my head.

 

Review: Covet by Tracey Garvis Graves

If you follow me on Goodreads, you would have seen that I finished this book last week and gave it "ALL THE STARS I CAN GIVE".  I wasn't kidding.

I've been sitting on this review for a week now because I was convinced that anything I could possibly put in this space would only lead to massive embarrassment because of my inability to convert my thoughts about this book into words.  I mean, how in the world am I supposed to do it justice?

It is no secret that I loved the two other works I've read by this author - On the Island and the follow up novella, Uncharted, so Covet has been on my radar since I first heard that it was in the works.  Then came the magical day when I saw it on Netgalley and when I got the email saying I was approved...let me just put it this way:

Covet is Claire's story.  And Chris's story.  And Daniel's.  It is the story of how appearances aren't always what they seem.  We pick up after Claire and Chris have been married for several years, have two children, and after Chris has recently been hired after being unemployed for a year.

"We're the Cantons.  Sun-kissed, all-American, picture-perfect.  By all appearances, we're the ideal suburban family.  As long as you don't look too closely."

On the outside, things look great.  But with Chris's new job that requires traveling five days a week, not to mention the stress of being unemployed for a year and all the stresses that come along with that, life in the Canton household is far from perfect.

Claire does everything she can to keep the hopes and emotions of her family buoyed - but that comes at a cost.  With her husband gone so often, she gets the leftovers - the scraps - of what little is left of his time after the ridiculous demands of his boss and after he spends time with his his kids.  "As he should" she says.  But after all that - simply put - Claire is lonely.

Enter Daniel. 

Now, this story is not what you think.  It is not a story of adultery or betrayal.  It is a story of loneliness and devotion and vulnerability and faith.  It is a story of friendship and love and connections between people.  It is a story of clinging to whatever you have to to cope and survive.

Covet is written from three different points of view - Claire, Chris and Daniel.  We get glimpses into their past, into their present, and not only into their lives, but the lives of their friends and neighbors.  Glimpses that go beyond the outer layers until you see just how vulnerable these characters are, no matter how things appear from a distance.  I was pulling for Claire and Chris.  I loved the friendship between Claire and Daniel - is it even possible for a man and a woman to be just friends?

And when tough decisions had to be made, I felt the heartbreak.  But beyond that heartbreak, I also found hope.  And faith.  And my heart was completely full of FEELS! 

This book blew me away.  From the very first page until the very last word, I couldn't put it down and Tracey Garvis Graves secured her spot at the very top of my "I'll read anything and everything they ever write" list.  I didn't eat.  I stayed up way too late.  I even went ahead and pre-ordered it because just having it on my Kindle isn't enough.  I need to hold it and love it and read it over and over and over again.

Simply put, books like this one are why I read.  

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 Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Covet.