The One You Really Want by Jill Mansell

{I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.}

Review and Curated Soundtrack

Every time I read women’s fiction I remember how much I love the genre. I may hate that it’s called women’s fiction (honestly, chick lit wasn’t any better), but I adore the essence of the books. I stop short of saying I don’t need a HEA though, that would be going too far in my world. Women’s fiction is about as far out of my comfort zone as I’m willing to travel since there is some suspense in the sense that you are never 100% sure what the outcome will be. The books are usually a pretty safe bet, but they are a slight risk; the comfort of a HEA within the romance genre is just so very satisfying! All that being said, when I picked up The One You Really Want by Jill Mansell I was in a place where I was ready for the unknown. Well...the unknown delivered and I thoroughly enjoyed The One You Really Want.

The Good

• I suspected the book would have strong romantic elements based on the title, but I was unprepared for the huge role romantic relationships played in this book. In so many ways this book read like a few little mini-romances all sharing the same space.
• So many friendships. F/F friendships, F/M friendships, Cross-generational friendship...they were all represented. Rose and Rennie’s scenes were particularly funny and enjoyable.

The Bad

• Rennie and Biba. I totally didn’t get this storyline. Was it only to delay the inevitable with Rennie and Carmen?
• Oh Mia...I can deal with the Sadie purse thing and probably even the Zac’s Dad thing, but the naked on a lion thing? Nope, I can’t go there. IRL should would have been in so much trouble, a warning would have only been the start of her legal problems. I just couldn’t suspend belief for this and it really didn’t seem to serve the greater interest of the book or the plot.

The Unique

• The pace of this book seemed a little slower than things I normally read. Something about Mansell’s writing style had me reading the book a bit more lethargically. The reward at the end, therefore, seemed even more satisfying since it had been drawn out over the course of a whole week (gasp). This book was truly a study in delayed gratification for me.

The Playlist

• This book was original published in 2004. So...the obvious thing to do was create a playlist of #1 hits in Britain for 2004, right?

I rate this book:

What did you think of The One You Really Want? Do any songs remind you of the book?

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