One True Love
Grade : A-

Some readers love books that are emotionally intense. I am not one of them, but if I were, Barbara Freethy would be on the top of my list. One True Love is a beautifully written book about two people who have been through an experience that any parent who loves his or her newborn has had nightmares about, and are able to pull it together and (of course) live happily ever after.

Lisa and Nick married young, and were as close as a couple can be when they lost their two-month-old daughter. Being as young as they were, they each coped by not coping – Nick started drinking, and Lisa closed up, packed up, and moved on. Eight years later they are again brought together, and begin the long process of dealing with the past. Lisa has indeed gone on with her life – moving away from her home town to LA and building up her career with an ad agency. She has a life in which she does not allow herself to give anything emotionally to anyone, including her boss, an older man whom she is engaged to. Nick has moved on as well, but instead of doing so by denying the past, he sobered up and began a woodworking business in which his primary products are handmade baby cradles. He feels that the best way to deal with their baby’s death is to live with it every day.

Maggie, Lisa’s best friend and Nick’s sister, calls Lisa in desperation to come and watch her three children. Being a widow of one year, Maggie finds herself loosing it and needing a break. She also has an ulterior motive – her husband received a letter in the mail recently from a mysterious woman, and Maggie has been fixating on this, wondering if her marriage was indeed what she remembered. Lisa rushes to help, deciding to be there for Maggie for the first time since she lost her baby. One of the children calls Uncle Nick right after Maggie leaves, and thus Nick and Lisa are thrown together. Eight years is long enough for them to be able to finally discuss what happened to Robin (the baby), and realize that what they shared can be reawakened into something even better, since they have both grown up.

This book is one emotionally packed moment after another. Nick and Lisa reacted like two, three-dimensional people – with a mixture of weaknesses and strengths. Their interaction is very passionate, from the initial hatred (almost) to the ultimate forgiveness and acceptance. They each thought that the other held them responsible for Robin’s death, when truly they held themselves responsible. The way they gradually opened up, especially Lisa, was handled perfectly. The chemistry between them was magic, and it was worth all of the emotional upheaval I felt as a reader to experience all the positive, heartwarming emotion at the end.

Two nitpicky things. I think the book would have involved me more if I didn’t spend the first two-thirds of it wondering what happened to the baby. The reader learns through bits of memories from both Nick and Lisa, and it takes too long, in my mind, to find out how the baby died. Second, the secondary romances weren’t nearly as believable, and didn’t leave me with as much of a warm feeling at the end. Not enough to make me want to put down this book, however.

If you like a book that makes you reach for a hanky or two, One True Love would be a great choice. A slight warning though. If you are pregnant, or have a young baby, I’d put this one on your TBR shelf for awhile. My baby is over a year, and I checked her breathing several times while reading this.

Reviewed by Rebecca Ekmark
Grade : A-

Sensuality: Hot

Review Date : July 22, 1998

Publication Date: 1998

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Rebecca Ekmark

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