Thank you to #NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. As a reality TV fan, I was excited to read the story of Emily, who is recruited as a contestant on The One, a Bachelor-style show after being fired from her administrative assistant job. The book follows her through taping as she vies to win the heart of Dylan, a runner-up on a previous Bachelorette-style season. She’s there on a whim, in search of her own purpose as much as love. The perspective shifts between Emily’s and that of Miranda, the casting assistant who recruited her and is assigned to her throughout production. I liked the nuances with with Julia Argy imbues both the contestants and the crew, and the book was both entertaining and sharp and incisive on topics like sexuality, gender roles and artifice. It reminds me of “Unreal” meets Nora Ephron, in the best way, with social commentary on the role women play both in front of and behind the camera.

I went into The One with certain expectations and while I can’t say if it exceeded them, it was a fast and entertaining read nonetheless. A big problem I had were its pacing issues, it was hard to decipher how much time had and hadn’t passed. Another gripe was that I felt like I was told rather than shown things, I noticed this especially with Emily’s relationship with Dylan and Sam. I think this is what made the climax of the book feel like it happened suddenly and why it threw me off guard a bit. I enjoyed how The One criticizes people who criticize media that has a large female audience solely because it does so. A thing I felt the novel did well was show Emily’s mental state as the show went on, whether that be good or bad. The novel also does good at portraying how women, especially, compare each other and base our reactions around those we’re surrounded by. I’d imagine someone who likes Bachelor-esque shows would enjoy this more than me.

A lot of things are stigmatized due to misogyny, and two of the biggest examples are reality TV shows and romance novels. Our society assumes that anything that is consumed and enjoyed mainly by women must be vapid, lacking depth. The One turns this idea on its head -- it's a romance novel about a reality TV show! -- in a really refreshing way. The cast of characters we meet in this novel are conventionally hot and they know it, but we get to meet them as the bright, complex, and storied individuals that they are. They have meaningful conversations that shows that the author trusts that, yes, even readers of romance novels have the capacity to entertain challenging ideas. The premise is really thoughtful and clever, and I found myself wanting to spend more time with the girls.

My one critique is that the ending felt a little abrupt, and the narration style made me feel a little detached from Emily. Her inner voice just didn't feel that distinct to me; I almost felt like I was reading it in the third-person rather than from inside her head at times. And after everything the story takes us through, we don't really see where anyone ends up! Especially with Miranda, I was expecting there to be some sort of arc with her, as we got glimpses of the story from her point of view.

Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it, but the ending was a bit unsatisfying.

I am a sucker for dating shows! The One by Julia Argy hit the mark in feeding my obsession.
Emily just lost her job and when recruited for a popular dating show, The One, she agrees with no questions. The book follows Emily and Miranda, her producer on the show, on her journey to finding “love”. It becomes clear that Miranda would do anything it takes to get Emily to win, but is that actually what Emily wants?
The reader gets a glimpse in what it takes to make a tv dating show and the toll it takes on the contestants.
I found The One easy to read and the characters extremely likable. If you’re a fan of dating shows or enjoy reading about friendship and finding oneself and you want a quick read, grab this book!
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance digital copy.

The One by Julia Argy is a light debut romance novel.
So this was actually pretty cute and delivered a good story.
Argy's writing was good I just wished their was more to it.
The characters were great and very interesting.
Still though it was a fun, entertaining and an enjoyable read and I enjoyed it.
I liked it and had fun reading this new authors work.
I believe other readers will also enjoy this one as much if not better than I did.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

G.P. Putnam's Sons,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my blog, platforms, BookBub, B&N, Kobo and Waterstone closer to pub date.

Thanks #NetGalley for an ARC of this book! I like the overall message but there are odd transitions and vocabulary. I think this book from Sam's POV would have been much more interesting but it was fun to see what the background of making a show like The Bachelor could entail. Not quite 3 stars but above 2.5. If you're a big fan of The Bachelor then I would recommend. #TheOne

Not a huge fan of the writing style, but that’s just my opinion and not a reflection on the story. Like half of the dialogue was explained in the prose and that felt more like listening to someone tell a story than actually reading a book. Something about the writing style just made the book feel slower and dimmer, which made it kind of a bummer experience for me.

This novel follows Emily as she is fired from her office job and then randomly chosen to appear on a reality show in which she competes against other women for the love of one man.

Similar to the long-standing popular reality show on television where cast eliminations lead to a final proposal, it maintained a breezy yet shallow experience throughout the book.
While I didn’t particularly enjoy the characters, and the dialogue lacked substance, it was still an addicting read. I needed something light after the many heavy stories I’ve been reading lately, so this fit the bill.

Overall, a cute and fun novel with an unabashedly superficial cast of characters.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.