Book Review: One Plus One



Author: Jojo Moyes
Published: 2014
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Number of Pages: 368
My Rating: 4


One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You.
Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages... maybe ever.



So, first off, I'm going to say that I went into this book very biased as I read Me Before You and had absolutely loved it. While I did not like this book nearly as much as that one, Jojo Moyes did not disappoint at all.

The book is told from several points of view (which I love) and allows you to get to know each character's personality, thoughts, and reasons behind certain decisions. The main characters are Jess, single mother who works mutliple jobs trying to scrape by, her teenage stepson who is constantly getting bullied, her daughter who is eccentric and loves math more than anything else in the world, and Ed, a millionaire tech guy whose house Jess cleans.

Jess's daughter gets an opportunity to compete in a Math Olympiad where she could win a huge sum of money but the family stumbles from one piece of bad luck to another and it seems this won't be possible. Ed's path crosses with theirs and just like that- the real story begins. I loved how real the characters seemed as well as their problems. Everyone is dealing with some sort of issue but it was all relevant to things that can happen to anyone.

Just like her other novels, One Plus One made me feel so many things. I felt such a connection to the characters and their lives and I often found myself laughing out loud, gasping, and even crying with them. Not gonna lie there were also a couple of moments I had to yell at a few of their (dumb) decisions or actions, but I loved every second of it. Moyes left you guessing until the very end and there were many turns that left you wondering what was going to happen.

Overall, I was extremely pleased by my second book from this author. She did not disappoint and has made me want to pick up more of her books and continue to spread the word. Her writing is wonderful and her characters are so rich and real, always saying or doing things to which you can relate. It has romance without being cheesy, emotions without being too dramatic, and twists without being confusing. Give this one a read- you won't forget it!



-Busy Brunette



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