One True Loves

Hello Lovelies, as per usual I am no better than last year and I have been swamped, enduring chronic pain flair ups and burying my nose in more books then I possibly have the time to write about. So doing a little catch up...

These are not in order, because my brain is tired and whichever one from the pile strikes my fancy is the one that gets the next review. It's organized...organized chaos probably....

Anyway rambling aside, I found another author that I absolutely love. You'll remember her from my last post, because yes, I did give in and go order the sequel to "Happily Ever Afters". No shame, I made it maybe a day haha. Zero regrets because I could read this series forever. 

The second novel "One True Loves" follows Tessa's best friend Lenore who we met in "Happily Ever Afters". The sassy, afraid of nothing, never lets anything get her down, crazy stylish Lenore. It's been a couple of years, they are graduating high school, Lenore is taking a European cruise with her family before heading off to NYU. Tessa is convinced Lenore is going to find love, Lenore thinks that's a bunch of "hocus pocus" yet also wishes she could find love. What follows is a whirlwind 11 days where Lenore comes to terms with her truth, opens up honestly with her family and goes on the perfect after graduation adventure. 

I loved this book, maybe even more than the first one. The struggles Lenore goes through with her family, her friends, her internal struggle to be herself. I remember feeling shy and feeling like everyone didn't really want me around. Yet while Lenore is brave enough to make the conscious decision every to put on a brave face and act like she's outgoing and that everything is okay; I personally shrank. While neither of these paths is particularly healthy, I completely understood how Lenore ended up on one, hell I wished I'd managed to go down the one she did, it seems much more beneficial than mine. 

I digress...

I love how pragmatic Lenore is, while Tessa would have been galivanting across Europe, in complete rapture at every fountain, gushing about love and romance. Tessa is cynical, annoyed by the heat and completely not enveloped in the "romance" of the places she's visiting. While yes I would be happily galivanting along Tessa I also enjoy walking alongside Lenore as she grumbles and sweats, because girl, I feel ya. 

It was cute, hit home but also kept things mostly lighthearted and had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe at some parts. 

Trigger warnings for infidelity and parental expectations.