Rose has been friends with Maggie since they were both in Kindergarten. They always tell each other every thing. Rose even told Maggie about a date she went on about a year ago where the guy slept with her only for her to find out that he had a girlfriend he was cheating on. But Rose never told her his name.

Now Rose is in town for Maggie's wedding and to meet Maggie's fiance whom she has never seen a picture of him. Maggie said that he wanted his privacy so she couldn't post pictures of him on the net.

This book was really good and I loved it. I loved all the characters except I was not a fan of Marc's. I have not read any of Jennifer Ryan's books before but I will now.

THE ONE YOU WANT – Jennifer Ryan
Avon
ISBN: 978-0-063-09411-6
July 5, 2022
Contemporary Romance

Carmel, California – Present Day

Rose is returning to her hometown of Carmel after being gone for several years. She is there to be the maid of honor for her best friend, Maggie, and will be in town for a week for the wedding preparations. Rose hasn’t yet met the groom, so imagine her surprise to discover that the groom is Marc, the man with whom Rose had a one-night stand a year ago. He pretends to not recognize her, and while Rose is recovering from her shock at seeing him, she is introduced to the best man, Gray, who is Marc’s cousin. The sparks fly between Gray and Rose, which normally would be a good thing, but how can she concentrate on Gray when she knows she needs to tell Maggie that she once bedded Marc—and that he is a known cheater? Plus, how will Gray feel knowing about her and Marc?

THE ONE YOU WANT is an emotional tale from the talented Jennifer Ryan. Rose grew up with an abusive father and left as soon as she turned eighteen. She has a successful career in business and has avoided returning home—until now. Maggie and Rose were the best of friends growing up and kept in touch as adults. Rose is happy for Maggie and honored to be her maid of honor. However, Rose’s joy turns to horror when she realizes Marc is the groom. It was only a one-night stand, but it is forever branded in her mind as she discovered the following morning that he was using her to cheat on his then girlfriend, Andrea. Rose grapples with how to tell Maggie. She doesn’t want to break them up, just to clear the air. How will Rose navigate this sticky situation?

Maggie suspects something is off between Rose and Marc, yet she can’t quite put her finger on it. She believes Marc is “the one” after her last big romance broke up because he wouldn’t commit to having children with her. Marc wants the same thing she does, a family. Meanwhile, Maggie is overjoyed to watch Rose and Gray fall in love. They are perfect for each other and can barely keep their hands off each other. Marc, however, is not too happy about the romance. He keeps putting down Gray or Rose in front of each other. What’s going on? Then, there are the sightings of Maggie’s ex-boyfriend in town. Why is he there?

Readers will fall in love with Rose and Maggie, wishing them the best. Rose’s father is now deceased but his effect on her family still exists. Her sister, Poppy, is angry and keeps to herself. Can Rose rebuild their relationship? Their mother appears to be doing better, though she has regrets that she didn’t stop the abuse. Will these three find their way back to being a family again? Maggie is full speed ahead on her wedding, though things are about to change if she learns that Marc is a cad.

Grab a hanky as you smile, laugh, and cry while reading the emotional journey of Rose and Maggie in THE ONE YOU WANT. You won’t want to miss this.

Patti Fischer

Another great story from Jennifer Ryan.

This story dealt with Domestic Violence, and Child Abuse in one family and how changing your mind set from what he would think to what do I want to happen can heal the soul. Rose and Poppy grew up in a home where their father was always angry at them (for no reason) and would verbally, and physically abuse them. Their mom was too afraid if she stepped in between the arguing she would make it worse. Rose escaped the abuse and went to college and changed the way she thought about her life. Poppy was left behind, where once Rose took all the abuse, now Poppy receives it nightly. Poppy comes to resent her sister's freedom,

Rose has returned to her childhood home be the maid of honor at her best friend's wedding. To her surprise she finds her friend's future husband is the man she had a one night stand with a year ago ( the man used to her to cheat on his then girlfriend). She struggles with telling her friend the truth - does she tell her and risk ruining her friend's relationship? or does she keep it a secret. Maggie (the bride to be) appears to be so in love with her future husband, but is starting to question Marc's behavior. He spends too much time on his phone and then attempts to distract her from asking any questions by making love to her.

Marc has hated the controlling ways of his father, and being forced to spend the summers with his uncle, aunt, and cousin. He fells that he is always been micromanaged by everyone., and is marrying to gain control of his father's company.

Gray is Marc's successful cousin., and the his best man for the wedding. Gray and Rose meet each other and spark fly (romance is in the air). Marc though does not want his cousin to be happy - he attempts to break Rose and Gray up throughout the week before the wedding.

I don't want to give out the ending - it is a must read.

The genre of Women’s Fiction is always a mixed bag for me. I went into this story thinking it was women’s fiction because of the way it was marketed, with the words “a novel” on the cover. I love Jennifer Ryan so decided I would give it a go, even though I wasn’t really in the headspace to not have an HEA. I’m please to say that I actually think this story is contemporary romance and it did have an HEA. Although Rose had a lot to unpack when she arrived back at her childhood home, the central story really felt like it was the Rose/Gray story.

While I do love this author, she has a tendency to have a “big secret” in many of her books. And that is something I cannot stand. For the most part, she’s been pretty good with not having that secret drag through an entire story. Just when I was about over the secret here, Rose finally revealed it to those that needed to know.

If you, like me, read the blurb of this book and wondered how the heck Rose never met her best friend’s fiancé yet, never fear. The author handles that issue in a way that is realistic and makes sense for two busy young women. What I like about that other than not having to do the whole suspending my disbelief thing is it also helped to show how manipulative an abuser can be. Whether it’s physical, emotional, mental, or any other type of abuse, the abuser is always a master at manipulating.

Gray is wonderful. So is Rose, for that matter. I wasn’t crazy about Gray keeping things about Marc from Rose, but I understood. And he really tried to give her as much information as possible. Rose really tried to give Marc the benefit of the doubt throughout everything that happened. Her main goal was to protect her best friend, she also just wanted Maggie to be happy. Rose knew that just because she wouldn’t be happy with a particular person or situation it didn’t mean that wasn’t what Maggie wanted and needed.

The story with Rose’s family was almost a side story although it is very heavy. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, I think the author did the right thing of not having the family issues drag the rest of the story too low. The reader gets the emotions, the woe, and the pay-off without having every disturbing detail.

Heartwarming story of friendship and second chances. Family values and recovering from bad situations. Loved this book. Has to be one of my favorite books this year!!

I enjoyed the love story between Gray and Rose. I thought Rose handled all of the hurdles that were thrown her way really well and loved that Gray was there to support her even when Marc tried to make it difficult for them to be together. Gray was by far my favorite character in this book! Loved the ending except for the update on Marc, which I think is a little unbelievable based on his history.

Rose is back home trying to reconnect with her mom and her sister after a tumultuous childhood. At the same time, her best friend Maggie is getting married, so Rose is working to help her have the best wedding day. When she is introduced to her best friend’s fiancé, she realizes he is a man she had a one night stand with a long time ago, but he acts as though they have never met. Rose is conflicted as to how to handle it because she doesn’t want to hide anything from her best friend, but she also doesn’t want to upset her right before the wedding. To top it off, Rose falls for Gray, who is the cousin of her bestie’s fiancé and they have always had a rivalry. When Marc (the fiancé) finds out that Gray and Rose are a thing, he goes out of his way to sabotage their relationship because he never got over that Rose wasn’t into him after that one night. Maggie is left trying to decide if she really wants to marry Marc, or if she still loves her ex, Joel.
As Rose works on her relationship with her mom and sister, she finds out there was even more to the story than she thought. Rose’s sister Poppy is super depressed still after all these years and holds Rose responsible for all that is wrong with her life and Rose works to mend her heart and help her find her way out of the darkness.
There’s a lot going on in this book. There’s several triggers and I’m not usually a fan of the insta-love trope, but I actually didn’t really mind how this played out between Rose and Gray. It was kind of a “when you know, you know” type of a deal and it kinda worked for me. I just wished there was more character development in some of the supporting characters.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

This is a story about friendship, family, family drama and abuse, the test of friendship, relationships (the highs & lows), and it's also a story about redemption. Gray absolutely melted my heart and his tender loving care with Rose will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Rose returns to her hometown to participate in her best friend's wedding. All the stories and characters involved in her returning are the best part of this story. Her relationships with her Mother and her sister are so heartfelt. Her past 1 night with her best friend's future husband; you know right from the start that he is no good. A new relationship with the best man at the wedding. Now that relationship was steamy, but the conversations between them were forced and definitely got a little more hard to believe as the story progressed. Loved the ending of this story.

This is a complex story with lots of pieces. Rose meets Gray at a time, when she has to deal with other relationships in her life. This is not just a love story, it’s also about healing. I also really liked Joel and Maggie. HEA.

I have read a couple other books by Jennifer Ryan and enjoyed them. I jumped at the chance to read this one when I saw it available. JR wrote well with a good storyline and characters that I became invested in. It was a more somber read. My heart ached often throughout this book. We actually had two romance relationships going in this storyline. It was unexpected, but I enjoyed it. It left for fewer details though. A beautiful HEA left me smiling when I finished the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for this ARC. This is my voluntary and honest review.

Rose is back home for the first time in years. She escaped her alcoholic abusive father after high school, not even returning for his funeral. But with her best friend, Maggie, getting married, Rose thinks it's time to mend relationships with her mother and younger sister, Poppy.

Not surprisingly, things are rocky with her mom and sis, but Rose doesn't anticipate that the wedding will have complications. She immediately realizes she knows Maggie's fiance, Marc, from a one-night stand a year ago. That would be bad enough, but she learned the next day he was cheating on his girlfriend. Plus, her immediate attraction to Marc's best man and cousin, Gray, is impossible to ignore. Marc is determined to keep Maggie from finding out about him and Rose, but equally determined to sabotage the budding relationship between Rose and Gray.

Fans of twentysomething romances will love this book. I've aged out of the genre. I still mostly enjoyed the book, though the angsty beginning was a bit much and the too easily resolved HEA seemed unlikely. While I can find fault, I also couldn't put it down. #TheOneYouWant #NetGalley

I am a reader of Jennifer Ryan. I generally love her books…however, this one really wasn’t my cup of tea. I love her writing style, but the love “triangle” part, I wasn’t a fan of. I honestly don’t care for that type of read. So that one is on me. There were a couple of reasons this isn’t a 5 star read for me…the characters were ok, but I couldn’t connect with or like Rose. She seemed immature and didn’t seem to be able to make a decision. Another reason, there was just way too much going on in this one for me! LOL. With the child abuse, the returning home, the “I slept with your fiancé before you did”, etc…it was just a little too much. With that said…I always love a wedding romance! I was glad she met Gray. I like a coming home story. I really like Jennifer Ryan’s writing style. So, I guess I will give this a 3.75 star review. Rounding it up to 4. I could see someone who really loves the love triangle romance would absolutely love this.

Definitely a tangled web and musical beds.  Rose is meeting her best friend Maggie's fiancé for the first time a week before the wedding.  As it turns out, she's met him before at a bar followed by a wild one-night stand. It's clear he wants to pretend they're strangers, so she plays along for now.  This is just one of the curved balls they're going to have to dodge in the leadup to the wedding. 
Rose grew up in an abusive household that she left behind when she went away to college. Now successful having dealt with her past she's back for the first time. Even though her alcoholic abusive father is dead, he still casts a huge shadow over her mom and sister who were left behind when Rose escaped. Her sister is definitely not ready to forgive and forget and seems to be still lost in the past.  Will Rose be able to forge a relationship that will free her mom and sister and help them find resolution and contentment?
In the meantime, the main story is Maggie's wedding, her fiancé Marc's relationship with Rose and Rose's immediate hot attraction to Marc's cousin and best man Gray. Oh, and if that is not enough drama, Maggie's ex-boyfriend is back on the scene and wants her to forgive him and come back to him. With all this emotional angst, stuff like the bakery that's doing the wedding cake burning down and a cake emergency just seems like no big deal. 
What will Maggie decide? Will Gray and Rose act upon their intense chemistry and find a way to be together despite Marc's interference in their affairs? Will Rose forge a relationship with her sister? So many questions, the answers to which are all waiting in the book.  A good story with all the right ingredients but not a great story that gripped my attention and kept it despite all the threads.

Rose returns to her hometown to be the Maid of Honor in her childhood best friend’s wedding. Rose has never met Maggie’s fiancé before but when she does, everything changes. The week leading up to the wedding is full of love, lust, secrets, lies…. will they make it to the altar after all?

I was really excited to be approved for this title after reading the book description. But based on that, I was expecting more thrills and suspense. It was more of a romance with a little erotica and domestic suspense. I’m not sure if the description accurately markets it. I found myself skimming over the smutty scenes and Rose’s backstory with her abusive father wanting to get to more of the wedding plot. It was still a good idea for a plot and had cute scenes for romance lovers, but it didn’t have me gripped like I’d hoped!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and the author for the advance reader’s proof!

Rose Howell has returned to her home town years after escaping her troubled home. She fled from her abusive father, her mother that enabled him and a younger sister that she had tried to protect. Unfortunately, her leaving turned her father’s wrath towards her sister, Poppy. Returning as maid of honor for her best friend’s wedding, she is shocked when she recognizes that the man Maggie is marrying is her intimate one-night from a year ago, Marc. Should she tell Maggie or keep quiet? She has an immediate attraction to Gray Pearson, Marc’s best man and cousin, but the situation just keeps getting more complicated. Her mother is still living in the past and her sister is angry at Rose for leaving. As Marc begins to act irrational about her presence, it becomes obvious that he is more a spoiled child than man. Is he trying to ruin her relationship with Maggie and Gray, but if so, why? I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

A highly emotional tale covering multiple complexities of life!

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book and the authors ability to walk us through the lives of so many different characters! While I felt like the book focused on Rose's story, we also got the supporting characters stories as well and it was everything I needed from the book! Coming from a traumatic childhood, fighting to find herself and her place in the world, Rose comes home to the place she fled years ago to play maid of honor in her best friend's wedding. Little did she know that the groom would be someone from her past, a blip on the radar but significant in every way. She also didn't know the immediate flame that would ignite between herself and the best man, Gray.
I absolutely loved Rose's redemption story, she got everything she wanted and deserved from life! Gray and Rose were full of chemistry and Gray treated Rose the way she should be treated! I loved seeing Rose's family crawl out from under the rubble to live a happy and fulfilled life! Truly a great story, I would absolutley read this author again!

There's a lot going on in this complex tale.

Rose is ready for a time of healing and reconnecting with her family. Her friend's wedding is just the excuse she needed to head back home and face what remains of her relationships. She hadn't counted on knowing the guy that Maggie is marrying, though, nor was she prepared to meet the groom's cousin, Gray.

There are a lot of moving parts here - Rose's secret about Marc, her relationship with her sister, Poppy, Maggie's relationship with Marc, Marc's relationship with his cousin, and Gray's instant attraction to Rose. Not to mention that Rose has been trying to get an interview for a job with Gray's company.

The writing will keep you engaged throughout, and the characters run the gamut from honorable and relatable to cringy and despicable. The fun is in figuring out where each character lies on the spectrum.

By the end, everyone gets an HEA, even if it's not the one they thought they wanted. If you're looking for a roller coaster ride through several relationships, this is the book for you. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

This book is ok, and my expectations were a little higher due to the blurb build-up. However, the story is emotional, dealing with family and the friendships that are tested. This reader also feels the book falls more into the women’s fiction than the romance genre.

Rose is returning home after eight years for her best friend’s wedding. While reconnecting with family and friends, Rose realizes a secret. But does she reveal what she has discovered? Rose and her family begin to heal. At the same time, she develops feelings for another, a little too fast for this reader, creating drama. While this is not the book for me, others may enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyage, Avon, for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.

The One You Want is a high drama, all the feels romance with a big emphasis on family, friendship, and the importance of being honest regardless of the cost.

I am unabashedly a fangirl when it comes to Jennifer Ryan; I’ve made no secret of this. I go into every book of hers with high expectations and am rarely disappointed. And while I wasn’t disappointed here, I am finding it harder to review and rate than some of her previous offerings. On the surface, I truly enjoyed this story. I’m not typically one for any kind of triangle (or rectangle, I guess, in this case), but I appreciate the way it was handled here: with honesty and maturity. Well, by some people, in any case. Moreover, the relationship between Rose and Maggie is a lovely example of female friendship, the power of the past, and knowing someone to their very core.

As for the relationship between Rose and Gray—I liked it. Instalove isn’t a new trope for Ryan, and if you love her as I do, you know that part of her charm is love that is found fast, holds strong despite obstacles, and remains true. Now, the course of true love never did run smooth, and this story doesn’t exactly lend itself an untroubled path. Are they a good couple? Yes, but their conversations were occasionally a little stiff, and their love scenes didn’t read as seamlessly as I would have hoped. I’ve read better from this author—but I have also read far, far worse from others, so it about evens out in the end.

Ultimately, I was invested in their HEA. And in Rose’s platonic HEA with Maggie. After all, that’s what’s on the line here. I wanted these characters to find forever, to find and keep the one they want, and I can’t fault the ending. It was satisfying in a way that made my heart happy, and so, The One I Want goes down as another good read from one of my favorite authors.