Thanks for a free ARC, this is a unique take on a Bachelor - style dating show. Main character Emily has such an unusual personality and I loved seeing her naive reaction to the "journey."
Producer Miranda's hard realism was a great contrast.

Author did a great job writing multiple women characters with actual personalities.

this was exactly what i had hoped Patricia Wants to Cuddle would be. (and what a disappointment that book was...)

emily was perfect, sam was perfect, winna and jazmin were perfect. miranda was not. i wish i had wanted to root for her even a little? it's hard to have any sympathy for her when she is always written "objectively" in the third person vs the rest of the novel being written from emily's pov.

shout out to wyatt for his star behavior at the end - iykyk. made me tear up a little bit.

thank you to penguin group putnam for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Dutton/Penguin Random House for Julia Argy's The One. This is a very thought provoking book, one filled with a new take on the behind the scenes of a reality show tropes; I was left with a lot of plot points and themes on feminism and identity and how much we do and do not control our own narratives. I chose this book for the reality show theme and got a lot more, in a good way, from this highly satisfying novel (I read this on an airplane and I was 100% drawn into the plot, helped me tune out the distractions of air travel!). I am still thinking a few days later about the parallel stories of a contestant, Emily, and her producer, Miranda; Emily and her self-growth. Miranda with an agenda of her own to have her contestant reflect a storyline. What does this book say about how we know ourselves and how very unreal reality TV is? it offers a lot, with thoughtful points about feminism woven in, and I think this will spark some interesting discussions.

Recommended for: fans of Holly James' Nothing but the Truth; fans of Evelyn Hugo (the ultimate public persona manipulator?); fans of One to Watch.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I didn’t put this one down. A quaint look at love in the modern era of reality tv.

Meet Emily. Emily is in her early 20's, not very sure of herself and want more than anything to blend in. Recently let go from her job, she grabs the opportunity to be on a reality dating show when recruited. Before long, Emily finds herself on "The One," a reality show that she has never watched. Matched with a strong producer, Emily finds herself regurgitating lines and thoughts that do not necessarily reflect her as a person. A big problem however, is Emily is not really sure who she is. When Emily does begin to feel the stirrings of love, the very fragile

This is a whip smart book that will enthrall you to the end! If you like reality shows, quick witted heroines and coming of age stories, The One is for you!
.#PenguinBooks

I liked "The One". This book took a more introspective approach to the reality dating scene verses a plot-based approach, which I do appreciate. I've read a good number of these books that are plot-based, so it was a refreshing take on the trope. However, I did find it a bit more difficult to connect with our main character, Emily. With that being said, I did love what the book stood for and how it highlighted the "realities" of reality dating. The book also had chapters from Miranda, Emily's producer, which was interesting, but I feel like I was missing some depth to her sections. My favorite part of the book was the friendships formed between all the girls, and Emily and Sam's in particular. Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read!

I had to sit on this one for awhile before I could write a review because it was just SO layered. Somehow just as satisfying as a light romance novel but as deep and challenging as my favorite literary fiction novels, The One manages to tackle so many topics in a concise package.

I have difficulty believing that Julia Argy has not been a contestant on the Bachelor, as her descriptions and insights of the show are insanely detailed and truly spot on. I'm a fan of the show, but this book will have me watching it in a different light from now on. The One explores the idea of performance, how we perform ourselves for each other, and how we perform love as an expectation, with the heightened reality of the fact that these characters are performing for cameras. Performance is inherently an interactive activity, and it was fascinating to see these "performers" attempting to interact with an audience that didn't exist yet, as they tried to fit themselves into familiar love story narratives and character archetypes, and do things that will earn them more screen time, and therefor more favor with the audience.
I'm going to keep thinking about this book for awhile. Make sure you add this to your 2023 reading list, you won't regret it.

I really really liked this one! At first I wasn't so sure because it just seemed like I was watching an episode of The Bachelor, but the story turned out to be much deeper than I thought it was going to be. The main character, Emily, really asks herself tough questions and ends up finally being truthful about what and who she really wants in life. The book really sheds light on how unreal reality tv is and how producers manipulate people and situations to be must-watch tv. I also liked that we did have chapters about Emily's producer so we can see her POV and the stress the job puts on her as well. For reality tv fans, especially dating reality tv fans, I think this one is sure to please. Great character development, good pace, touching themes.

I was an avid Bachelor Nation fan until right after Michelle's season. So The One was the dose of a reality dating show that I needed, wrapped in novel form.

The novel follows Emily, who gets recruited as a contestant on The One, a Bachelor-esque show after being fired from her administrative assistant job.

We alternate between her perspective and her producer Miranda for each week of the show…getting background info and more behind-the-scenes info from Miranda.

The book follows her through taping as she vies to win the heart of Dylan, a runner-up on a previous Bachelorette-style season. I enjoyed the way sexuality and gender roles are intertwined into the plot.

The last 30ish% of the book throws in the “big twist” and then moves really quickly. I wish there was a little more time and care spent wrapping everything up, but I still really enjoyed it overall.

Thank you very much to Putnam Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy via NetGalley.

As a fan of the behind the scenes machinations of shows like The Bachelor, I was excited to read this, but was left feeling "Meh". I didn't particularly connect with Emily as a character but loved the concept. I would recommend the show UNReal or the nonfiction Bachelor Nation for anyone interested in this type of book.

I recently read another book about queer folks doing a reality TV show (Patricia Wants to Cuddle) so I was intrigued by this one. From pretty early in the book, it's clear our narrator is experiencing comphet and is attracted to Sam and not Dylan, the love interest of the reality TV show. As a gay reader, this interests me! I enjoyed the queerness. I was glad to see some sex on the page. But I wished we had gotten to the narrator acting on her attraction sooner in the book and that we had spent more time understanding how Sam felt about what was happening; all of the scenes in Miranda's POV, imo, could have been replaced by Sam and we wouldn't have lost much in terms of the production. I enjoyed the ending vision of Emily being brave and driving through the night to see Sam but it didn't feel entirely earned yet to me; it's understandable why Emily is so invested in Sam, as it's her first experience with another woman, but it was not clear to me how deep Sam's attraction went or if she felt used or something more. This was a quick read, so I do recommend it to anyone who is interested by the overall concept, but I really wanted more overall.

I did not like The One. It was dull and it did not hold my attention. After the first chapter it was clear that it was going to be bad. But I soldiered on and it didn't get better. It was the story of Emily becoming a part of a reality show where a man,Dylan, was to choose one of 25 women to be the one.

There was one spark, when Emily kissed Samantha/Sam, that I thought it was going to get better. It didn't. Although I will say that this side story gave me hope and kept me going. Emily realized she was attracted to Sam, so anything with Dylan was a no go. Unfortunately, Dylan professed his love for Emily. She basically told him that she couldn't see herself married to him, even though she was in the final three. She was the one he was going to choose. So she left with Sam's phone number.

The ending was terrible! We never found out if Emily and Sam got together. We never found out which woman Dylan ended up with, although it didn't really matter. Actually, we never found out about anything pertaining to Emily. She'd been fired from her job just before going on the show, but who knows what happened to her after? Overall, this book was a loser, save the parts about Emily and Sam, which were few.

The One is about a popular style of reality tv show these days--the "bachelor" or "bachelorette" who must hang out with a bunch of strangers for a set period of time and choose a "soul mate" among them to marry.

I've never been a fan of this type of show, however, I am a fan of the behind the scenes humans who put them together and appear in them.. The machinations and emotions that drive the people who put on these shows as they attempt to garner high ratings run deep and The One is an excellent, well written book depicting both producers and contestants alike.

The growth and story arc of the main character, Emily, is especially charming and realistic. She's pretty, thin, and eager to please--exactly the way she was raised to be.. But her life is boring and she's struggling to find a place for herself in the world when a producer (Miranda) swoops in and signs her up to be a contestant. The way she views her qualities through the lens of the dude who's supposed to find his wife on the show is familiar for most any female. Which makes her ultimate realization about herself and her discovery and acceptance of it extremely satisfying.

Miranda the producer also measures her value against the men in her life--not her husband, but the male producers who surround her. The fact that she sensed something about Emily from the start and set the whole thing up to end exactly the way that it did was a bit of a stretch for me but it made for a satisfying ending. I do hope that Miranda goes a little easier on herself for the next go round of The One!
4.5 stars!

It’s a love reality show Bachelorette style but you get to read about what plays out behind the scenes with the producers orchestrating opportunities for the contestants to grab the attention of The One.

Emily, our main heroine, loses her job and gets picked up off street to be one of the contestants on the show The One the next week. The story of course goes through weeks of living in a house with the other contestants each trying to maintain their chances to stay and not get booted off. The necklace is significant because it allows one to be safe from being booted off that week.

I found the storyline interesting yet annoying, couldn’t keep track of all of the contestants since they all seemed superficial. The way the story jumped from scene to scene, no details, no clear build up on any real relationships built. I did finish reading this in a
day. It reminds me of all the reality shows where they make the guy seem like he is a real winner but there is no substance to his character. There is a theme on feminism sprinkled throughout the story but I disliked the way the story ended. It seems the author decided to have our feminist find herself. I think I would have liked it better if we had our usual fairy tale ending.

One part I enjoyed was the message about the soulmate derived from the Greek mythology about how we all had 4 legs,hands and 2 heads and because Zeus was upset he cut us in half and we all are yearning to find our soulmate.

Thanks to NetGalley, Julia Argy, and Penguin Group Putnam for this advanced reader copy! We have all been Emily at some point in our lives. If you love The Bachelor, you will fly through these pages! What you think about romance might differ once you finish this supreme book. Who is ready to want to fall in love or find out what love might actually mean to others.

How can a person find the one if she doesn't even know herself? Yes, I understand the dark side of reality tv that this book exposed in terms of physical deprivation and emotional falsehood; however, I do think some women (i.e. Winna) thought they were falling in love. A poignant term was that in physics, simply by observing one cam change its behavior. In all these women observing each other and their perception of what they thought Dylan liked, they changed themselves. I was so glad that Emily finally realized whom she wanted and was no longer apologetic for it. You can only hide yourself for so long. The ending if her driving to NC was pivotal.

The One starts out strong but fizzles at the end. I really
Enjoyed the novel right until about 75% when things started moving very fast. Argy shows a lot of promise with her writing (I read one review that said she was overly descriptive but I actually LOVED that early on) and I was definitely rooting for Emily the entire time. I loved her character development—-as a person who doesn’t watch any of the shows like The One, I really liked Emily as a lead.

The novel fell flat for me in the chapters about Miranda and about the behind the scenes process. Because of the narrative switch from first to third person, I thought we would get to see more, understand more, or generally just get something more than a generalized villain out of her character. Something that drives her. Knowing how it ended, these chapters provided a respite from Emily’s narration but little else.

Overall, I enjoyed the book though and would highly recommend it to fans of the Bachelor/Ette but who are also critical of media.


Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

If you like reality dating shows, but what you like even more are behind the scenes breakdowns of the artifice and manipulation involved in creating those shows, add The One to your reading list right away. The story follows a couple of characters: contestant Emily, an aimless 24 year old who's discovered on the street and has never actually watched the show, and Miranda, senior producer on the show, who discovered Emily and is tasked with managing her "romantic journey". As the story progresses, Julia Argy not only dives into the harsh world of reality TV production, she explores topics that the reality dating shows almost never discuss in meaningful ways, like religion, gender, and sexuality.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!

A fun read exploring love, societal expectations, and self-discovery. The One is a promising debut!

What does falling in love feel like? That is one question Emily is currently pondering. Emily is 24-years-old, white, and attractive. Other than that, she isn’t sure what she has going for her. She is currently jobless and a bit aimless. Reality TV producer Miranda spots Emily and instantly sees a malleable, screen-friendly presence America is sure to love on the Bachelor-esque show The One. Emily agrees to be on the show without ever having seen an episode as she has nothing else to do. She finds herself bonding with (most of) the contestants and thinking she could probably fall for the lead they are all competing to win over. Miranda has grand plans for Emily, as long as she sticks to the script…

The One is told from both Emily’s and Miranda’s points of view as we move from episode to episode of the show. There is drama and romance, and there are plenty of surprises, funny moments, and tender ones. I really liked the story and also think there could have been a deeper exploration of some of the themes. If you enjoy the show Unreal or any of the many reality TV dating/relationship shows, you will likely be charmed by The One.

Thank you very much to Putnam Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy via NetGalley.

A novel about wishing and hoping to find a true and lasting love while being a contestant in a reality dating show only this story has a twist.