You’re The One That I Want by Giovanna Fletcher has such a beautiful cover. I mean, I am a fan of covers with pinks and blues that are illustrated. It kind of looks like a lot of covers of British contemporary romance books. Let’s just say that I AM HERE FOR THIS. It is too bad that’s not also a cover trend with American contemporary romances, but ah, what can you do? Anyways, this was the first book that I read by Fletcher, but given her backlist, it won’t be the last. This was such a sweet, moving book that really does play the long game when it comes to romance.
Fletcher’s You’re The One That I Want opens up for like six hot seconds at a wedding, that of Maddy to Ben’s best friend, Robert. Maddy is wondering if Ben will stop the wedding and actually fight for her. The book then sort of stops right there and brings us all the way back to elementary school. Maddy has just moved to Peaswood from London, if I remember correctly. She has a tough time making friends with the girls but is immediately brought into the friendship group of Ben and Robert. The three consider themselves a tripod and they are best friends basically forever.
Then, in high school, they all take a trip to Paris for school. Ben plays to confess his love to Maddy. Alas, Robert gets there first and well, the two become an item. So then we spend the rest of the book wondering if Maddy and Ben will ever get their chance. However, we do see that the feelings between Maddy and Robert are actually pretty legitimate.
Maddy is obviously one of the central characters in You’re The One That I Want. She’s pretty average. Anyways, she ends up going to college for photography. It is kind of interesting to see her love for photography grow. Where this book gets interesting is in her reactions to a situation involving Robert and their relationship. Then we see her relationships with other people — like her college roommates, but also Ben. I liked how it was sort of a push-pull and then there’s some real drama that goes down. I am here for the drama, after all.
As for Ben. I think he’s more interesting than Maddy. He goes to school for graphic design and ends up really doing well for himself. To the point that he goes traveling in South America for like a year. Anyways, Ben makes some big mistakes. A lot of the book found me sitting there thinking, bro just grow a set and speak your feelings. Like, so many of the issues between Maddy and Ben could have been avoided if he had just opened his mouth and fricken said something. Still, he’s nice and you do kind of root for him.
You’re The One That I Want by Giovanna Fletcher is a sweet, quick read to gobble up. I would say that it is pretty British with the slang, but that’s not all that hard to figure out. The chapters alternate between Maddy and Ben. There’s a few parts that have like some paragraphs between the chapters in a different font that are narrated by Robert. I liked that this book had an ending that I did not expect. I thought from page one I could predict who Maddy was going to end up with but delightfully, I was wrong. And now, I will definitely be seeking out more from Fletcher.
Other reviews of You’re The One That I Want by Giovanna Fletcher:
- Book Mood Reviews – “This book was not my cup of tea“
- Novelicious – “this brought nothing new“
- Bookish Rebels – “This book was perfectly paced“
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