Book Review: One True Loves

One True Loves

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
From the author of Maybe in Another Life—named a PeopleMagazine pick and a "Best Book of the Summer" by Glamour and USA Today—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life.

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

My Review:

Am I missing something?

I went into this book with fairly high romantic expectations.  This book has tons of high reviews from readers I respect.  I have definitely been in the romantic spirit lately, so it seemed like the perfect time for me to pick this one up.  I honestly think that if I hadn't been reading it on a flight (therefore, contained to one seat with no internet and thus limited ways to distract myself), that I would have DNF'd the book. 

***There may be a few spoilers below, so only continue reading if you are OK with that!***

On the plus side, I enjoyed the love story/ies.  Sam, Jesse, and Emma are all suck like-able characters.  I did have a hard time believing Jesse and Emma's story - that they fell in love in high school and remained so totally absorbed in each other years later when they were married.  Maybe that is because (in my experience) people change so dramatically between the start of high school and end of college.  I simply couldn't picture this couple surviving so well after so many life experiences.  So, this was the first time I suspended my belief on the plot in order to continue reading. 

Enter Sam (round 2).  Again, quite the coincidence that she runs into Sam, but I was quite pleased with their relationship.  This time, the love felt a bit more realistic and I enjoyed reading about these characters. 

Now (again a bit of a spoiler, although its introduced early in the book), re-enter Jesse.  Okay...this was the hardest part for me.  There is NO way this story-line is possible.  None.  It all felt very Castle of Water to me, which I had the HARDEST time enjoying because I simply did not believe that any of the plot could have happened.  Don't get me wrong - I'm all about suspending belief for books that require it - I love fantasy and can tolerate sleuths figuring things out a bit too easily.  But I HATE when authors think they can make such unbelievable plots for love stories or for novels that are written as if they are realistic.  So, I basically whined nonstop to my husband about getting stranded for YEARS alone and miraculously getting found again - alive and ready to go back to life and your marriage.  No.

In the end, I think this rates at 2.5 stars for me, but I rounded up to 3 because I did finish the book and was pleased overall with how Taylor Jenkins Reid chose to wrap the novel up.  In the future, I need ample warning of novels like this...they simply aren't for me (but I understand are for others out there!).