The One & Only

The only other Emily Griffin books I've read are Something Borrowed and Something Blue, both of which I read years ago, and while I found them entertaining enough, I didn't love them. While I was looking for a few new summer reads at Barnes & Noble a couple of weeks ago, I found this on clearance and decided to give it a go.

I really did not like this book at all. While it did keep me engaged enough to finish it in just three days, I really did not enjoy the story at all. My reasons are the same as almost everyone else has mentioned in earlier reviews: the unresolved NCAA investigation, the underdeveloped characters (particularly the completely unlikable protagonist), the inappropriate relationship between the protagonist and the coach, the oversaturation of football, and the complete 180 of Ryan James - who was easily the most well-written character in the story.

This story could have been so much better if it had been about a girl leaving her small town behind and starting over somewhere else, letting her truly grow and making for some interesting character development. As it is, there was no forward movement to the story. The protagonist quite literally took one step forward and two steps back at every turn. And the most interesting part of the story - the NCAA investigation - was completely swept aside with no further development or resolution. I was disappointed with the outcome of the story and glad I didn't pay full price for this book.