One Plus One in Our Shared Shelf

Jun 12, 2018 Erin Martin rated it really liked it

Could not put down! So cute!

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Nov 11, 2014 treehugger rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, britain-uk, women, chicklit, myfaves, popular_lit, online-chpl, read_2015

So, I just recently watched that movie "Chef", about that chef who went from a fancy shmancy chef at a fancy pants restaurant to a food truck owner and a better dad and a Twitter user...anyway, the point here is that I found that movie to be REALLY heartwarming and charming. And since it is a movie almost entirely composed of male characters (and lots of fart jokes), this was not something that I was expecting! (But....Sofia Vergara...).

Long story short, something about this story hit the same So, I just recently watched that movie "Chef", about that chef who went from a fancy shmancy chef at a fancy pants restaurant to a food truck owner and a better dad and a Twitter user...anyway, the point here is that I found that movie to be REALLY heartwarming and charming. And since it is a movie almost entirely composed of male characters (and lots of fart jokes), this was not something that I was expecting! (But....Sofia Vergara...).

Long story short, something about this story hit the same sort of chord with me...while the plot of almost any romance is typically pretty cut and dry (from a 30,000 foot view, anyway), this one was just suspenseful enough and...sweet. And there was so much "overcoming" and "reprioritizing" that it was refreshing and surprisingly not treacly or saccharine.

Maybe my favorite Jojo Moyes book so far...if you can suspend your disbelief for over 300 pages and are looking for a quick romp from one end of the UK to the other with a band of tragically misfitted young people and a giant, smelly, drooling dog named Norman, this might be a book that belongs on your 'to-read' shelf.

Some good quotes:

"Rich is paying every single bill on time without thinking about it. Rich is being able to have a holiday or get through Christmas without having to borrow against January and February. Actually, rich would be just not thinking about money all the bloody time."
-good to remember and be grateful for being able to support ourselves.

"Everyone I've ever met who was worth knowing was a bit different in school. You just need to find your people..Your tribe. You know, you spend your whole life feeling like you don't quite fit in anywhere. And then you walk into a room one day, whether it's at university or an office or some kind of club, and you just go, 'Ah. There they are.' And suddenly you feel at home."

"Because she knew that something happened to you when your mother didn't hold you close, or tell you all the time that you were the best thing ever, or even notice when you were home: a little part of you sealed over. You didn't need her. You didn't need anyone. And without even knowing you were doing it, you waited. You waited for anyone who got close to you to see something they didn't like in you, something they hadn't seen initially, and to grow cold and disappear too, like so much sea mist. Because there had to be something wrong, didn't there, if even your own mother didn't really love you?...Because even if the whole world was throwing rocks at you, if you had your mother at your back, you'd be okay. Some deep-rooted part of you would know you were loved. That you deserved to be loved."

"Sometimes, she told herself, life was a series of obstacles that just had to be negotiated, possibly through sheer act of will. She stared out at the muddy blue of the endless sea, gulped in the air, lifted her chin, and decided that she could survive this. She could survive most things. It was nobody's right to be happy, after all."

"The law of probability combined with the law of large numbers states that to beat the odds, sometimes you have to repeat an event an increasing number of times in order to get you to the outcome you desire. The more you do, the closer you get. Or, as I explain it to Mum, basically, sometimes you just have to keep going.
I've taken Norman into the garden and thrown the ball for him eighty-six times this week. He still never brings it back.
But I think we'll get there."

...more

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Jul 04, 2014 Jen Donnelly rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, read2014

I love Jojo Moyes. This wasn't my favorite of her books that I've read (Me Before You & The Girl You Left Behind were simply amazing)...but I liked it a whole lot. I love a good love story. And I adore her writing. I need more Jojo in my life. :)

...more

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Feb 17, 2015 Jessica Schwartz rated it it was amazing

This is not the deepest book in the history of books. It is however, witty, honest and fun. Love it!

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Jun 13, 2015 Stacey rated it liked it

Cute story. 3.5 stars.

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Apr 14, 2015 Ina rated it liked it

3.5 stars

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Apr 30, 2018 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Another Jojo Moyes novel I really enjoyed: she writes awkward characters so well. And because we’re all slightly awkward, this makes her stories believable and relatable. While I tend not to enjoy stories that switch points-of-view, a few authors do it right, with Moyes being one of them (Maeve Binchy being another)!

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