The One & Only

The only other Emily Griffin books I've read are Something Borrowed and Something Blue, both of which I read years ago, and while I found them entertaining enough, I didn't love them. While I was looking for a few new summer reads at Barnes & Noble a couple of weeks ago, I found this on clearance and decided to give it a go.

I really did not like this book at all. While it did keep me engaged enough to finish it in just three days, I really did not enjoy the story at all. My reasons are the same as almost everyone else has mentioned in earlier reviews: the unresolved NCAA investigation, the underdeveloped characters (particularly the completely unlikable protagonist), the inappropriate relationship between the protagonist and the coach, the oversaturation of football, and the complete 180 of Ryan James - who was easily the most well-written character in the story.

This story could have been so much better if it had been about a girl leaving her small town behind and starting over somewhere else, letting her truly grow and making for some interesting character development. As it is, there was no forward movement to the story. The protagonist quite literally took one step forward and two steps back at every turn. And the most interesting part of the story - the NCAA investigation - was completely swept aside with no further development or resolution. I was disappointed with the outcome of the story and glad I didn't pay full price for this book.

I cannot begin to say how much I despised this book. I am a diehard football fan who lives in a small city that lives and breathes for their one professional sports (football) team, so I was so excited to read a fictional book—by a female author for once—that I might be able to relate to. However, by the fifth chapter I knew what was going to happen (and maybe even before then). I pleaded to Emily: “No! Don't go there! Please! Take another route with your plot.” But, alas, she went there.

The entire book made me feel wildly uncomfortable though this isn't the reason why I wished I had never wasted time on this book. I felt the writing was weak, along with the story lines in general. I would have thought this was Giffin's first novel since it came across rather amateur. I didn't enjoy her last two novels either so I am officially breaking up with Emily Giffin... at least for a while.

Also, are people being bribed to give this book more than two stars? I simply can't believe that the average rating for this novel is a little over three stars.