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Book Information

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

From the author of Maybe in Another Life—named a People Magazine pick—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life.

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

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Discussion Questions

  1. How did you emotionally respond to Emma Blair’s primary romantic conflict? Which parts of Emma’s story were most surprising or engaging to you, and why?
  2. What other contemporary romance novels does One True Loves remind you of? What distinguishes this novel from others in the same genre?
  3. What did you find most inviting about Emma’s story? Which portions of her story were frustrating, and why?
  4. How did you respond to the revelation that Jesse Lerner is still alive? Would you have chosen to be with Sam Kemper instead of reuniting with Jesse as Emma does?
  5. How did you interpret Emma, Sam, and Jesse’s love triangle? What is the novel implying about soulmates, true love, and new relationships, and do you agree?
  6. Consider the ways that Emma changes after Jesse’s presumed death. Do you agree with the novel’s implication that heartbreak can facilitate healing?
  7. Sam and Jesse bring out different sides of Emma. Do you believe that different romantic partners can draw out different facets of a person’s identity?
  8. How do you understand Emma’s relationship with her sister, Marie Blair? Do sibling or family relationships inform how you see yourself the way they inform Emma’s self-perception?