If you like books with constant sexual innuendo's followed by very descriptive steamy scenes, then you should pick up this book. I wish books were rated like movies, so you knew if it had a lot of violence, sexual scenes, etc.

So, why did I keep reading - the story around the steamy parts was actually a good one. There was abuse, cheating and other issues dealt with and resolved.

I want to than Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I was able to find the audio version through my local library.
I don't honestly know why this book got such great reviews. I didn't like any of the characters. It also had some very strong sexual content and I can't believe her best friend who she said is like a sister to her is getting married to someone that the main female had a one night stand with and didn't say anything. How embarrassing and extremely uncomfortable I was just reading that. The main character was very selfish and self centered. And how in the world did she fall so fast in love for the best man just literally meeting him. They just met and he was making sexual statements to her and she was so turned on by it. Just no thank you. Hard pass for me.

This is a romance book that has it all. It begins with Rose escaping from her dysfunctional family only to return years later to be Maid of Honor at her best friend’s wedding. The book highlights best friends sticking up for one another, romance, wedding plans that are failing and so very much more. It keeps your interest from the very beginning and holds it to the very end. You just wonder where is it all going to end? You will like all the characters and want the best for each of them. The villains are what they are supposed to be. Every girl dreams of meeting such men in her own life. Sigh! If I had to dig deep enough to complain I would say that the romance of Rose and Gray should have developed a little slower to be believable would also say that Rose would not have been able to repair the damage her father did to their family by simply saying they now can get on with their life. Recovery from abuse is a much slower process. All in all I would recommend this book to readers of romance novels. I did read it in one day and that says it all.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Harper Voyager for providing me with this book for review.

This book did have the interesting twist of a maid of honor realizing, upon meeting, that she already knew the bride's groom-to-be quite well. Add to that the many tidbits that come to light, coupled with increasingly odd behavior, makes for some intriguing plot.

That being said, the storyline concerning a second love story was so corny, it took me out of being able to enjoy the story. A love story where two people, never having met, fall so deeply in love within seconds is just too much. Coupled with over-the-top and unrealistic cringe dirty talk and descriptions of sex, this storyline truly made this book hard to enjoy.

This is my first time reading something by this author and it definitely won't be my last. The story flowed nicely and the characters were lovely. I was pulled in from the start and remained engaged till the end. The characters were well-developed and endearing with realistic qualities which made them very relatable and you can't help but fall in love with them. The author did a really nice job of bringing the story and characters to life with her vivid descriptions and attention to details.
Rose goes back home for her best friend's wedding, and when she finally meets the groom- to-be, Marc, she is shocked. Marc is the same man she had a one-night stand with a year ago. To make matters worse, Rose meets the best man Gray and instantly connects with him. Keeping this secret from her friend and Gray weighs heavily on her, but she risks losing them both if she tells them. But she can't in good conscience let her friend marry someone like Marc, either, and possibly make the biggest mistake of her life.
This was a story about honesty and past mistakes, and full of emotion and heart. The story was nicely written and very entertaining. I would definitely like to read more by this author. Overall, this was an enjoyable and entertaining book and I am glad to have had the opportunity to read it.
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review.

To be honest, I received an advanced copy of this book last year. I wasn't able to get into it, so I didn't finish it. I was needing a light read to balance out the other books I was reading, so I picked this one back up. I am glad I finished it, however it will not make my list of favorites for this year.

I enjoyed the best friend characters, and felt that story was pretty well developed, however the "romances" were pretty undeveloped and underwhelming.

If you are looking for a fun, light beach read, this might be an alright choice.

I've never been a fan of instant love, and this book is definitely very guilty of that. Rose and Gray are already supposedly "in love" with each other after only a couple of days and one single brunch date. They became official boyfriend and girlfriend after just that, and it just felt really immature to me, like they were some love sick teenagers and not adults in their late twenties/early thirties. Their chemistry appeared to just be a bunch of cringy lines to each other. They also have sex for the first time on a public beach. Maybe I'm just a prude, but wtf.

I only continued on with reading because I was interested to see where things were going to go with Maggie and her wedding. I was also intrigued by the whole thing with Joel, although he just seemed to end up being a carbon copy of Gray in the end. Gray was guilty of continually referring to Rose as "sweetheart", and then Joel uses the exact same term of endearment towards Maggie multiple times.

Overall, a real disappointment that I probably wouldn't recommend unless you don't mind the instant love stuff. It just really wasn't for me.

You can’t go home again. Or can you? Rose left home for college and consciously stayed away. Home was not a happy, safe or good place to be. She needed to cleanse herself of the years of horrendous abuse, work on her mental health and live her own life. Rose finally returns home when for her best friend Maggies wedding. Her father is dead and her mother and sister are mere shadows of their former selves. Her mother so beaten down by life and her sister is filled with anger that Rose left and their fathers anger and abuse was now directed at her. Rose is happy to see Maggie while trying to reconcile with her sister. Then she meets Maggies fiancé. Turns out he is not what or who he professes to be and things go all kinds of wonky. This is happening while Rose has met Gray, Marcs (the fiancé) cousin and fallen into insta-love. When all of the lies and secrets come to light things go from bad to worse. As with all Jennifer Ryan books there is a lot of heavy emotion, family drama, friendships, trauma, reconciliations all wrapped up in fabulous stories. This was exactly that with a wonderful HEA.

Rose grew up in a home with an abusive father. She had a best friend, Maggie, who spent lots of time to get away from that home life. All she wanted to do when she graduated from high school was get away and never come back. Now Maggie is getting married and she wants Rose to be her maid of honor. By saying yes, Rose has to return home. Her dad died years ago and her relationship with her mother and sister are still very frayed. When Rose meets Maggie's fiancé, she is horrified to find out that Marc is a one-night stand. Rose has no interest in Marc, but the sparks fly instantly between the Rose and the best man, Gray. Hard decisions have to be made as to whether Rose comes clean about previously knowing Marc. That decision can cost her the only real friend she has ever had, and the possible relationship with the best man. I love, love, love, Jennifer Ryan's writing style and how she touches on hard subjects. Thanks to Ms. Ryan, Avon Books, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

This was a good read about a woman who comes back to town after leaving her family to attend her best friend's wedding only to realize she has many family and relationship problems that are coming back. I enjoyed the themes of this book and how both family and romance was well balanced in this read. The author did such an amazing job with brining together the main character past relationships into current time to see how she developed and for readers to relate to. I do have to say that the author's writing was okay. The pacing was too fast and the povs were kind of messy. The storyline, themes and characters were all great but some parts of the writing could have been better.

The main character is Rose in this story. She has been abused by her father and left her mom and sister behind only to come back years later after he is dead and for her best friend's wedding. I really enjoyed her character and she is an easy character to relate to. Her story was amazing to learn from and she had a great character development. There were also many side characters in this book who were very involved with the story and the MC's life. I enjoyed the fact that they too also had a character development in this book with how their past life used to be till now. The romance I have to say was kind of bad... as it was very well rushed and an instant love trope. It was just not it for me and could have been so much better as this is also a romance book.

The ending was well done but I have to say that this book missed out on the romance though the family dynamics was great. I'm a huge romance sucker so when I read the summary to learn that it was kind of a maid of honor and a best man trope, I was excited. I also did have some writing problems with the book but then again that was just me. From what I learned, Ryan is a popular author so I will check out their author books but this was an okay for me.

*this e-arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

Really enjoyed this emotional journey! Heartwarming romance involving heartbreaking family dynamics, lifetime friends and it is just filled with engaging charters, intriguing story line, witty banter, heart racing twists and undeniable passion.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of The One You Want by Jennifer Ryan from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. Loved the cover and couldn't wait to read this! Absolutely loved Jennifer's style of writing and was sad to finish this book. After reading this book I wanted to be friends with Rose! Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book ahead of time! Loved it!

I loved this book! From the very beginning, I was hooked on the story and really loved the characters.

When Rose returns back home where she left years ago, she will be the maid of honor in her forever friend's wedding and hopefully repair her relationship with her mother and sister. Weddings have the ability to bring out all sides of people and this wedding is no different. When Rose meets her best friend's fiance, she is shocked to find out that he is the man she spent a night with a year ago.

Filled with friendship, family and secrets that sometimes shouldn't be shared, I couldn't stop reading to find out what was going to happen. And I found myself effortlessly connecting to Rose.

This is the first book I have read by Jennifer Ryan and I will definitely be reading more!

A great story with some surprises. When Rose left her family home to get away from a dangerous and abusive father she vowed to never return. But her best friend Maggie is getting married and Rose will be her maid of honor. This will be an opportunity for Rose to rebuild her relationship with her mother and sister. But when she meets the groom-to-be, Marc, she is shocked to discover that she knows him after having a one-night stand with him a year earlier..

Rose and Maggie have always shared everything. And to make things even more complicated there is an instant attraction between her and the best man, Gray, who happens to be Marc's cousin. Now Rose is faced with the dilemma of telling Maggie and Gray about her past with Marc.

Once Rose comes clean will this end their friendship and the growing attraction with Gray?

CW: Trauma, Domestic Abuse, Grief, Anger

I received a reviewer copy of The One You Want by Jennifer Ryan from the publisher Avon from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Rose is returning to her hometown for the first time since escaping from abusive father for her best friend Maggie's wedding. While her father is dead, his shadow still looms large. Her sister Poppy blames Rose for leaving and not taking her with her and is furious with her. To make things worse, it turns out that Rose has slept with Maggie's fiance. And oh yeah, his best man and cousin, Gray is hot and there is immediate chemistry.

What I Loved: I think this book was a good read for what it was. I thought that Ryan really captured the trauma and fear that occurs for victims of domestic violence. I really thought this part was well done and compelling (though at times I felt Rose was minimizing but also right?). I also really loved the celebration of female friendship it was a special part of the book. I also loved hating Maggie's fiance.

What I didn’t like so much: This is a hallmark movie in a book in a lot of ways and so some of the things that annoyed me are expected to an extent. Here's my biggest gripe, we have an instant love story and I didn't buy the chemistry or why the guy was so special. This can make reading a romance book challenging.

Who Should Read It: People who like a bit of drama in their romances and love an insta love.

Summary: A young woman returns home for the first time for a friend's wedding.

I think was a me problem. I just wasn’t in the mood for this story and powered through to finish it. I think had I been in the mood I would’ve liked this more!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Have been unable to review due to illness, but greatly looking forward to this novel! It seems to have the perfect blend of romance and a great plot. It should satisfy should satisfy any romance fan

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to leave an honest review. This is my first visit to the writing style of Jennifer Ryan but I was very intrigued by the description of this book. Overall Ryan has a very good writing style; the book flows smoothly and I wasn't lost. Overall a very good book if a bit unrealistic with how fast Gray and Rose fell for each other. It was instantaneous which I do like sometimes but this one was a bit harder to take for some reason.

So a quick synopsis of the book. This follows Rose who is back in her hometown for her best friends wedding. This is her first time home since leaving for college years ago. Rose had a difficult childhood growing up and while being back in town wants to reconnect with her mother and younger sister. To make matters more complicated, the first time she meets her best friend's fiancée (Marc), she realizes it is someone she had a one night stand with before he started dating her best friend. She doesn't trust Marc as he seems to be playing her friend and Rose but sometimes he seems sincere. Enter Marc's best man and cousin, Gray who is very successful and Marc has always somewhat resented. Gray and Rose have an instant connection. But can Gray and Maggie (Rose's best friend) overlook that Marc and Rose slept together? Is Marc sincere? Can Rose overcome her childhood past to trust Gray with her heart?

A lot of drama! I loved that! I don't want to spoil the characters but you are going to love some and hate some. It is really a tumultuous book. That being said I did enjoy it but I can't say that it was a favorite book overall for me. I'm giving it 4 stars but feel it is more of 3.5 star book.

The One You Want by Jennifer Ryan is a romance although it takes a while to get to it. First there are things from the past that must be sorted out for Rose Howell, her best friend, Maggie, and Maggie’s fiance, Marc. Rose Howell had come home for the first time since she had left for college, almost 10 years ealrlier. Her childhood had been a nightmare: a drunken abuser for a father. A sister and mother who could never stand up to him. She had to leave them to fend for themselves or lose herself. Now she was going to have to face them. With her mother she saw some forward progress, but her sister was a mess. What could she do? Right now, though, she had to meet Maggie and her fiance. The wedding was at the end of the week and she was the maid of honor. Maggie turned to greet the most handsome man Rose had ever seen, and then behind him, Marc. She knew Marc. She had had a one night stand with him a year ago, but had rushed out of the room when she saw his phone and realized he was cheating on his girlfriend, making her the other woman. Now he was marrying Maggie! The fabulously handsome man turned out to be his cousin, Gray, and he and Rose hit it off. The only question was: who was Rose going to tell first?

This is dysfunction at its best. Lies upon lies. Could it possibly all get sorted out? Gray was the perfect man, perfect for Rose at any rate, but could he forgive? How about Marc? Could as spoiled a man as he ever step up? Rose had sent Marc a bunch of texts begging him to take her back. But, wait, she hadn’t sent them. Marc’s father was furious at him. Why? Gray’s parents loved Rose. They had never seen Gray so happy. Was it all about to be spoiled based on Marc’s lies? This whole thing went from bad to worse as the week wore on. It was at the rehearsal dinner that things finally came to a head with Rose in handcuffs and Marc heading to the hospital, bleeding. What a mess. This was a tough book to read as it looks like Marc is going to pull it off. Good read.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The One You Want by Harper Collins, through Negalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #netgalley #harpercollins #jenniferryan #theoneyouwant

Super bummed about this. I was looking forward to reading this and while I loved the idea of the plot, Ultimately the writing did not grab me. It came across as monotone and flat, with no easy connection to any of the characters. Overall I didn't care for anyone or any events in the book.