One Plus One
Pages: 384
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Ever since her husband left two years ago for a "break" Jess Thomas has had her hands full. She is working two jobs and is still struggling to make ends meet. Her teenage step-son, Nicky, is catching a lot of grief from some local boys for being "different" and her young daughter's unique intelligence is causing more financial strain for Jess. But she deals with it all on her own because she does not want to add more stress to her husband. She just wants him to get better so he can come home to his family.
On one of her cleaning gigs Tess encounters wealthy businessman, Ed, who is dealing with his own kind of financial crisis. Through a series of unfortunate events Ed ends up taking the Thomas family on a long road-trip to Scotland so that Tanzie can attend a Math Olympiad and because Tanzie gets carsick they can't go over 40 MPH. It is on this road-trip that Tess actually starts to relax and the kids start acting like kids instead of the mini-adults they have been acting like for the last two years. But when they make a detour to see the kids' dad Tess realizes that she has been played for a fool all this time. And if that news doesn't shatter her world enough, what will she do when Ed realizes that she has kept something pretty important from him? Will Tess ever catch a break and get caught up on her bills? But more important, will she ever find the happiness she clearly deserves?
One Plus One is one of those novels that you will just devour in one sitting. I sure did! Jess is a great character because she is so darn easy to like. It is obvious how much she loves her kids and will do just about anything for them. Anybody who has struggled to make ends meet (and really, who hasn't) will be able to relate to Jess and her struggles. Ed is an interesting character to throw into the mix. I enjoyed the way his walls dropped the further they got into the road trip. Even though I could see both sides of the story, I felt so horrible for Jess when things went bad and was hoping for her to get her happy ending. I found myself laughing out loud more than once and then there is Norman the dog. Holy cow, have your tissues ready for that scene. You will know it when you get to it and NO it is not what you are thinking.
Bottom line, JoJo Moyes knows how to tell a story with the best of them. She crafts her characters in such a way that it feels as if they are your new friends and Jess is no exception. I fully expect you to find yourself sucked into the story and unable to put the book down until you are done. Let me know if I am wrong.
One Plus One is on sale tomorrow, be sure to pick up a copy for your beach bag.
Loved, loved, loved this book. Finished ship of brides a few weeks ago....I think Moyes is my new favorite author!
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