Review: The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols

Title: The One That I Want

Author: Jennifer Echols

Pages: 290

Published: February 7, 2012

Source: purchased

Amazon Summary: Gemma can’t believe her luck when the star football player starts flirting with her. Max is totally swoon-worthy, and even gets her quirky sense of humor. So when he asks out her so-called best friend Addison, Gemma’s heartbroken.

Then Addison pressures Gemma to join the date with one of Max’s friends. But the more time they all spend together, the harder Gemma falls for Max. She can’t help thinking that Max likes her back—it’s just too bad he’s already dating Addison. How can Gemma get the guy she wants without going after her best friend’s boyfriend?

**REVIEW**

I’d been looking forward to reading this one by Echols since it’s her first romantic comedy in a while (and it was her romantic comedy that got me hooked on her writing in the first place.)

Since I only gave this book two stars, I can regretfully say, I was extremely underwhelmed by the story, as much as I wanted to love it! I’ve got to note that this didn’t have anything to do with Echols' writing.

I was skeptical about the plot which proved me right when you later learn is all trigged by the one misunderstanding. It was all so simple and underworked. I just found it to be silly. There was never anything exciting and I felt the story didn’t really take you with it but dropped you in various places.

None of the characters had any effect on me nor did I particularly find any liking in them. I do like that Echols usually try to create unlikely heros and heroines - which in this case rings true - but there was no build-up to Gemma and Max as a couple, it was crazy rushed (they loved each other pretty much by the second time they met..) to the point it was ridiculous. I just didn’t feel the intense chemistry that was supposedly there.

Gemma had a lot of potential to be a relatable character on many different levels (being punk, struggling with weight, being the underdog, etc) but it all ended up making a 180 for me. It was a little too forced and I ultimately didn’t connect with her at all.

I basically didn’t think there was a strong base to the story and that it lacked a good support. The story felt very young and silly. I will go ahead and say that I’ve so far only read wonderful reviews about ‘The One That I Want’ so either this just wasn’t my cup of tea or I’m insane.

My disinterest in the book had nothing to do with the author's writing skills.

(2/5)