The One Plus One – another enjoyable read from JoJo Moyes!

The One Plus One - coverI LOVED Me Before You, another of JoJo Moyes’ books, and though I don’t feel The One Plus One is quite as brilliant as that fantastic novel, it’s still very good! It’s also a completely different type of story really to Me Before You but the characters are just as loveable which makes the story for me really.
Synopsis:
One single mum
With two jobs and two children, Jess Thomas does her best day after day. But it’s hard on your own. And sometimes you take risks you shouldn’t. Because you have to . . .

One chaotic family
Jess’s gifted, quirky daughter Tanzie is brilliant with numbers, but without a helping hand she’ll never get the chance to shine. And Nicky, Jess’s teenage stepson, can’t fight the bullies alone.
Sometimes Jess feels like they’re sinking . . .
One handsome stranger
Into their lives comes Ed Nicholls, a man whose life is in chaos, and who is running from a deeply uncertain future. But he has time on his hands. He knows what it’s like to be lonely. And he wants to help . . .
One unexpected love story
The One Plus One is a captivating and unconventional romance from Jojo Moyes about two lost souls meeting in the most unlikely circumstances.
As I said before, JoJo Moyes is so great at creating characters that you fall in love with. For example, Ed is an ideal male ‘love interest’ and seems to have it all – he’s kind, sweet, understanding and interesting and he’s also got the whole ‘brooding’ thing that women often seem to love (apologies for the generalisation…)! Plus it is mentioned a few times that he is good looking and has a good body, so it was no surprise that him and Jess end up attracted to each other. Jess is honest, determined and usually very upbeat and positive, so she is shown very positively and Nicky and Tanzie, the two kids, are really sweet. Tanzie really reminded me of the little girl in Little Miss Sunshine – anyone seen that film..? – and I thought she was a great character! And then there’s Norman the massive dog of course! Each one of them was pretty likeable and interesting in their own ways and they help to make the story really enjoyable to read.
I was pleased that Jess and Ed’s romance isn’t cheesy or played up too much and, considering there was some romance in there, it didn’t really make me cringe at all- achievement! Sometimes you can almost feel the tension on the pages there between Jess and Ed, and it kept me reading on to see if they would properly get together. I almost wish there was more about their romance in the storyline, but Moyes doesn’t rely on this to keep the narrative going. Instead the romantic storyline almost takes a backseat in some ways to the many other amusing incidents throughout the novel.
The storyline is definitely fun to read and is quite realistic overall. It’s certainly not as predictable or clichéd as other ‘chick-lit’ novels (though I don’t really class this as chick-lit, I feel like it’s got something more to it!) and addresses a range of issues in a well-handled way. It’s not all light-hearted, fluffy stuff but the story really made me laugh at points. Told from four perspectives- Jess, Nicky, Tanzie and Ed- you get a sense of how each person is feeling and see different parts of the story from different views. The four narrative strands all added to the story in their own way, though I preferred reading Jess and Ed’s perspectives personally.
I do feel that some parts of The One Plus One were a little unrealistic, particularly Ed’s sister’s reaction when Ed tells her why he and Jess have broken up. To me it is quite unbelievable- I don’t feel she would have been as encouraging of their relationship as she was in that situation, but hey, I realise it’ll be to advance the plot so it’s no massive deal to me. I won’t give any more away, just give this book a go if you fancy a light-hearted, entertaining read.
I was quite sad when it ended as I really loved the characters and wanted to read more about them!
Rating: 4/5
Have you read The One Plus One or any other of JoJo Moyes’ books? What did you think?

One Plus One

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