The One You Really Want

This book was a hot mess. There are far too many characters to do a good job with any of them. Some parts of the story could have been developed into a good book on their own, but there wasn't enough space to devote to any one because there is just too much going on. The book begins with Nancy finding out that her husband has been cheating on her. She leaves and goes to stay with her best friend Carmen who is rich and the widow of a rock star who died of an overdose three years before. Carmen's brother-in-law comes to stay with her as well. He is also a rock star but doesn't do drugs. Nancy's mother, Rose, comes to visit and basically takes care of them by cooking, cleaning, and giving advice to them as well as the neighborhood. Throw show more in neighbor Connor whose 16-year-old daughter Mia comes to live with him unannounced, Zac who is a fashion designer who is out of the closet with everyone but his father, Joe the money hungry plumber, Nick and Annie who volunteer with Carmen at a homeless shelter/soup kitchen, the mysterious and grumpy next-door neighbors, Sadie the fitness guru after Connor, Tabitha - also after Connor, some quirky homeless characters, a dog, and Nancy's clueless ex Jonathan......you get the picture. I read the whole thing mainly to find out who ends up with who, but in the end I was underwhelmed. This was my first Jill Mansell book, I may try another one, but it will probably not be any time soon. show less

Some books are comforting diversions from reality.

Recently I spotted Jill Mansell's 'The One You Really Want' on my ereader and remembered that I used to enjoy her books sufficiently to have purchased several. Despite this not featuring on my current TBR list, it jumped to the top of my Actually Reading list due to its easy-read format.

What's it about?

Finding love. When Christmas arrives, Nancy is stunned to receive a ride-on lawnmower from her husband. After all, if that's her gift, who got the expensive jewellery she knows he's been buying? I think we can all guess the answer to that.

Soon Nancy's on her way to London to stay with long-term friend Carmen, who has a gorgeous new neighbour, Connor. Unfortunately for Nancy, Connor already show more has a fit girlfriend; fortunately (?!) his teenage daughter, Mia, hates Cyanide Sadie and thinks Nancy would make a much better partner. If only Connor agreed.

Meanwhile, Carmen is finally moving out of the fug of widowhood after meeting handsome plumber Joe. But is he being completely honest with her? And why does her brother-in-law Rennie care so much about her dating again?

What's it like?

Classic chick-lit: this story basically involves upper middle class women encountering a few seemingly pleasant men who turn out to be rakes and ending up getting together with genuinely nice men who initially appeared to be rakes. Most women are very similar - they might have different jobs but they mostly like shopping and chatting to other women about their love life - but there are one or two bitches we're meant to dislike and who will ultimately lose out.

It's the kind of novel in which every character with a significant part to play will be given a happy ending, be they under twenty or over sixty (unless, of course, they are one of the rakes or bitches, in which case they'll just end up sad and alone). Speaking of characters, Nancy and Carmen share top billing but other female characters are also given a share of the spotlight so the third person narration regularly shifts focus to follow their differing dilemmas. This is smoothly handled and you're never disappointed to leave one character to find out what is happening to another. Plot lines are easy to guess and if you spent a few moments thinking about it you could probably plot out the whole novel from about a third of the way through.

This is all sounding rather critical, but really it just makes it easy reading: this is a novel you'll read on a beach to relax - or maybe on your mobile phone in a darkened room while rocking a sobbing baby to sleep... Either way, you won't necessarily need to give it your full attention to enjoy it and it's a pretty good example of the genre.

Will I like it?

Mmm. Depends how you feel about the stereotypical portrayal of male-female relationships in contemporary fiction. My minor quibbles include:

- the way unhappy marriages disintegrates in, basically, seconds and, after a few minor concerns, characters just move on, relieved and freed to love again (surely real life isn't like this? Though I suppose if you're in an unhappy marriage, maybe it is...and of course, this is feelgood fiction, not a memoir;)

- similarly, the way characters fall head-over-heels in love in seconds (though this is definitely a typical feature of the genre so perhaps not a reasonable quibble!)

- the way that male characters repeatedly sleep with at least one of their partners throughout the book but the female characters are only allowed flirtations and groping until they meet The One (although...see point in brackets above;)

- the fact that one major male character blames women for being too emotionally and sexually available to allow him sufficient time and opportunity to get to love them. (Um, okay, nothing to do with the shallow man who's happy enough to boink them and move on then? Nope? All the women's fault. Right. And that's okay because he'll be redeemed by loving the one woman who hasn't let him boink her. Yet. So, remember ladies, if you put out 'too soon' he'll never respect you. Not that 'too soon' has any kind of useful definition, even if you were prepared to abide by such gendered dating divisions, but never forget that those are The Rules.*)

Final thoughts

If you like nothing-too-serious-happens, everything-ends-well chick lit then you'll likely enjoy this, especially if you've previously enjoyed reading any of Jill Mansell's other books. From what I remember, this is very similar in content, style and focus.

Just remember: the one you really want won't ever be the one you initially think it is. You've always got to kiss a frog or two first, put in the leg work, then hope to find a bloke nice enough to stop sleeping with everyone else long enough to realise that you're The One. Because that will change him. Simple.

* Harmless fictional fun or potentially damaging instruction manual for dating? You decide. show less

I want to kick something. This book didn't work at all, and the ending just cobbles together happy endings, that make zero sense when you read what has come before. I am all for happy endings in my romance books, but not with partners who come out of nowhere and or partners that have zero chemistry with the objects of their affection. I kept hoping Mansell would switch things up a bit and have Carmen and Nancy not do what is typical for these types of books, it just doesn't work.

"The One You Really Want" has best friends Nancy and Carmen dealing with Christmas and changes to their lives. Nancy expected that her husband was buying her some fancy jewelry, instead she gets the surprise of her life when she finds out he has been having an show more affair. Carmen is still grieving the death of her rock star husband, three years later. When her brother-in-law comes to visit (and stay) for the holidays, she finds she is not going to be able to shut the world away anymore.

I wish that Mansell had actually shown Nancy and Carmen hanging out solo more than she did. Instead we have Nancy working, dealing with her mother Rose, and crushing on Carmen's next door neighbor. I wish I had gotten a better sense of her character. She doesn't even care that her husband is cheating on her. She just pops smoke from Edinburgh to go and live with Carmen in her mansion in Chelsea. I don't know if I wanted her sobbing throughout the book, but she's not even grief stricken. And her mother and Carmen tell her how they never liked her husband anyway.

Carmen's story jumped all over the place. She has three love interests in this book and the first one fails miserably and the second is ruined because she lies about her history and how much money she has. It made no sense to me, and I felt annoyed about it. The worst for me is that Mansell has you rooting on one of these guys for most of the book, and throws a third person in the ring for her and it didn't work at all.

Carmen's brother-in-law Reenie did not read as realistic to me at all. He's a rockstar and has a new girl every day it seems, but it stretched realism that he was living with Carmen, Nancy, and Nancy's mom Rose and has zero friends it seems.

Nancy's mother Rose was okay, but not that exciting a character.

We also get the next door neighbor Conner and his 16 year old daughter Mia. I didn't really like Conner and thought him not actually standing up for his daughter more due to his BS relationship was eye-roll inducing. I didn't get why Nancy even liked this guy.

The setting of this book take place over Christmas. What's weird though is it doesn't read like a typical Christmas romance book. Also the book jumps ahead a few months here and there so I don't even know what month things ended on. It was summer I think.

The ending was a bit of a mess. We have Carmen deciding to start a relationship I didn't root for at all and then she fades away from the book. We switch to Nancy and she gets her totally not realistic happy ending too. show less

In The One You Really Want, author Jill Mansell weaves a lighthearted and witty British romantic tale of friendship and second chances.

Set in Edinburgh, Scotland and London, and told in alternating third person narratives, the reader is easily drawn into this witty and caring story as they follow a group of friends who help each other navigate the trials and tribulations in life and love.

Nancy Adams unexpectedly finds out on Christmas Day that her husband Jonathan has been cheating on her. Nancy's best friend Carmen Todd invites her to move into her posh Chelsea townhouse in London.

Carmen's husband Spike was a member of a famous rock band, who died three years ago. She has never gotten over her loss, and she spends her time volunteering show more at a local shelter. Carmen's rock star brother-in-law Rennie Todd steps in to try to help Carmen move on with her life. Carmen tries to move forward in her life, especially when a charity worker named Joe comes around, but she unexpectedly finds herself falling for Rennie.

Shortly after moving in with Carmen and Rennie, Nancy meets next door neighbor Connor O'Shea, a fitness club owner, and his cheeky sixteen year old daughter Mia, who decides to play matchmaker between Nancy and Connor.

The One You Really Want is a fast paced and humorous story that will keep the reader engaged and guessing as they follow Nancy and Carmen's journey to finding a second chance at love. I really enjoyed following the journey of these two best friends as they struggled to overcome life issues, both were determined to move forward with their lives. And when you add in a handsome next door neighbor, a cheeky teenage matchmaker, a caring mother, and a hot rock star brother-in-law, life certainly starts to get interesting when love is in the air for these two lovely ladies.

The One You Really Want is a lighthearted and sweet story that has enough emotional depth, drama, romance, and witty banter, that makes it a delightfully entertaining tale that is a must read for chick lit and romance fans.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour hosted by Sourcebooks.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-one-you-really-want-by-jil... show less

Just a touch of light reading, in a comfy, chair with a cup of tea, for this type of story.
Started off, really well, but tended to jump all over the place. Just when you were getting into one character, then the
story abruptly changes in another direction.

The One You Really Want by [Mansell, Jill]I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a fun book to read.

Nancy received a red, riding lawnmower from her husband for Christmas. This was not the present she thought she was gong to get. She had seen some very nice jewelry however, she realizes, that must be for someone else. When she tells her best friend Carmen, Carmen isn't surprised at all, but then again Jonathan was not one of her favorite people. She talks Nancy into leaving Edinburgh and coming to London where she could live in her flat. While there Nancy meets Connor O'Shea, Carmen's neighbor, along with his daughter Mia, who is trying to bring these two together. Nancy is not sure this would show more be the best move.

As I said I had fun reading it from the first page. All about finding a companion, Jill Mansell was able to create lovable characters who show their humanity throughout the book. I felt like I was a part of this book and was a fly on the wall. Jill Mansell is a wonderful writer. show less

Another entertaining and easy read. Although most of Ms Mansell's books have multiple main characters, usually there is one main protagonist. In this novel the storyline is really divided pretty equally among the various people. As usual, everyone ends up happy - mostly - but maybe the lack of a real main character contributed to the fact that the novel just seemed to end, instead of having that satisfying wrap up.