I'm...confused. Either this book went right over my head, or it was just not executed well because I really don't understand who this book is for or what it was trying to say. I don't watch The Bachelor or any other dating shows, and this book wasn't for me. But I doubt any fans of the series or dating reality shows will enjoy this one, either. From the blurb I thought the tone was going to be satirical, with a tongue-in-cheek, wink-wink vibe, tackling some of the big issues behind reality TV shows like The Bachelor, while still being entertaining, in a darkly funny way. Reader, that was not the vibe. Issues of performance, expectations of women in romance/society at large, the commodification of love for entertainment, etc, etc, were barely delved into. The writing style didn't really work for me, and I didn't care about a single character, or what happened to any of them. Perhaps this would have worked better at a multi-POV, really diving into several characters (including the "Bachelor" himself) and their motivations for being on the show. Just focusing on Emily (and a bit on her handler) was a slog, and the religious guilt aspect of her narrative wasn't something I particularly cared to read, especially in this context. Not for me, unfortunately.

Oh wow! The One caught me by surprise. I finished reading the book late last night and have been ruminating on my thoughts all day. Between a very. hectic beginning to our assessment window, at work, I found my mind wandering to Julia Argy's book. I walked into this expecting a light romcom, but it was far more layered than I anticipated. I would go as far as to say that some of it is quite dark.

Emily decides to join the of The One, because she's been let go from work and has nothing else to do. From the beginning, she takes the experience as it comes. She enjoys the all expenses paid travel, but doesn't particularly love the close quarters, late night filming, and incessant visits from her handler, Miranda. However, as the show progresses, Emily realizes she enjoys the camaraderie of being surrounded by other women. Although they are vying for the same guy, there is a lot of time for the women to bond, despite the intense filming schedule.

I used to be a fan of the bachelor and books like this always intrigue me, because I want to know what it's like being the one produced by a show. The book highlights some of the darkest corners of reality tv, while pairing it with a lot of fun scenes. Mental health is addressed quite frequently, as well as family upbringings, and familial obligations and expectations to the norm. There are elements of religion also explored in this book.

This book boils down to, who are you and what are you willing to do to live your most authentic life? At what cost?

I read this one very closely to reading Not Here To Stay Friends (YA Novel) and wow are these different and what a welcomed change of pace!

Emily is freshly fired from her office admin job and is approached on the street by a casting agent for The One (it's like The Bachelor, but with more travel. And instead of roses, contestants received necklaces). She has nothing better to do, so accepts the offer even though she has not even seen one episode.

She is coached by Miranda, the woman who approached her on the show, on how to win Dylan's heart. Apparently she was clearly cast as the front runner and is dubbed The Wife amongst production staff. At first, Emily goes along with everything since she was trained to obey authority, be polite. And she really wants to fall in love because she's never been in love before. But being surrounded by the other contestants unleashes something new in her.

Though I enjoyed this book, I really wanted it to go a bit deeper into social commentary regarding gender politics, religion, and race. And that could be fun and twisty with the background of a reality dating show (though it has been done well, see Season 1 of UnReal).

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC for my honest review.

I am not sure how I feel about this one. I might not have been in the right headspace for it. It dragged and I wasn’t motivated to pick it up. I did enjoy seeing the interactions between the contestants.

I finally was able to finish the last 40% via audiobook (thx PRH audio).

Overall it was fine? This is an awful review but I guess that shows how impactful the book was on me…

If you watch any of the dating reality shows, like the Bachelor etc, this book will expose just how "un-reality" these shows are. I don't know if the author has inside information about how these shows work but if she is right, everything is staged. And there is an awful lot of hurry up and wait. How anyone could fall in love under those circumstances is simply baffling. The story made for a very interesting read and confirmed my position of not watching any of these kinds of shows.

This is really a spoof on the Bachelor TV show. It's a behind the scenes look at what happens to make the show. Each contestant is assigned to a producer who really manages that person and encourages them on what to say and what to wear.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

As a major Bachelor fan, I could not wait to read this story. It felt like a behind the scenes look at the filming process of this show, complete with insight from producers and contestants.

The story follows the taping of the new season of “The One” where Dylan is searching for his wife. We meet most of the girls competing for his heart, and their producers. But the story mainly focuses on one contestant Emily, and her journey to love.

I will say I couldn’t put the book down, I wanted to continue reading to see who would be eliminated and kept at each weeks “necklace ceremony”. However, as I got to week eight it felt like everything happened too quickly. Decisions were made, and I felt like even at the end of the story we weren’t given answers. As much as I enjoyed the story the ending just wasn’t enjoyable for me because it just kind of ended without any type of resolution. Would also like to add some of the traditional “gender roles” discussed in this book had me rolling my eyes.

The One by Julia Argy is a fun take on a “Bachelor-ish” reality dating tv show and is not to be missed!

This debut novel is about Emily who is fired from her job and that same day meets a producer for the reality show The One. Emily auditions for the show and is placed on the season starting to film immediately.

Through some (surprising!) twists and turns The One follows Emily and her friendships with the other contestants and relationships with the producers as she tries to win the heart of Dylan.

If you can’t get enough of reality dating shows The One is entertaining! While the chapters are on the longer side, they read very quickly, with each chapter covering a week of the show.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm very confused what this book is trying to be or try to do.

The One by Julia Argy is being billed as a modern take on a Bachelor-type program and one of it's contestants. Emily has recently been fired from her job and has nothing else going on, so she auditions and is cast on The One. She's one of many women, competing for Dylan's attention.

A second storyline, of the producer Miranda, who is career driven and will do anything she needs to get what she wants. And here's where it's confusing.

Both of these people are .... boring? Sure, overall, I'm not a fan of these types of shows so I already went into this with a negative view. But I was hoping that at least the characters would help move it along. But....not a single bit. I didn't care about either woman or their progress.

ALSO, there was a weird...religious/God angle that I just couldn't get past. There are two things that I hate with book plots:
1. Religion/God plots.
2. Reliance on 9/11

This just is NOT for me. I should know better by now.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The novel is based around a group of women competing for a necklace in a Batchelor-like reality show. The main character, Emily, has an epiphany towards the end of the novel that changes the expected ending.

This book just didn't click for me. The premise seemed fun, but ultimately the execution was disjointed and left me skimming through large portions. The book touches on several big topics, but doesn't go deep enough into any of them or the development of the characters to make me care about any of them. Glad to see others enjoyed it more than I did! Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I liked but didn’t love this book about a Bachelor-type reality show. Appreciated the feminist bent, but, it just didn’t quite pack a memorable punch.

Let me start by saying right up front that I hate reality TV AND know someone (an individual I quite respect, who shocked us all by going on the show) who was on The Bachelor. So i came into this one from strange perspectives that are probably unlike many other readers. I expected a bit of a send-up of the format, given the description, as well as some sweetness, some provocation, and some girl power. What I found was more simplistic than that, and I must confess it didn't hold my attention very well for large swathes of the book. Emily is very bland and it was tough to feel anything for her - and in a fairly character-driven book, that's a tough spot to be in. I forced my way through to see where the ending would take things, but it was fairly unsatisfying for all that. This one wasn't for me...

In all honesty, based on the subject matter I didn’t think this book would be for me but I was very pleasantly surprised by how thoughtfully the author approached both the world and the characters. Yes, it was a juicy page turner, but this book also interrogates the cultural reasons a woman may want to participate in this type of show and most importantly how the fishbowl environment would force her to in turn interrogate herself. I like as well that the author chose to portray supportive female relationships which actually adds to the artifice of what the producers create on the screen. And I also liked the portrayal of Miranda, the producer, who has become so trapped in this world of artifice that she can no longer find her way out.

This book is like an episode of "The Bachelor" until it isn't,

Emily has just lost her job when she's approached by Miranda about becoming a contestant on a reality tv dating show. She doesn't have anything else to do at the time, so she agrees. It's a fun behind the scenes look at the contestants and their lives at the mansion on a daily basis. Emily is so uninterested in the male character and it's funny to see things from her point of view.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

I always hate to give bad reviews, but this book was just not very well written. The word that comes to mind is "abrupt" - the beginning, the end, and several places in the middle. I don't feel like we got to truly know any of the characters, I didn't feel like we got much of anything of the relationship between Emily and Dylan, and even the relationship between Sam and Emily seemed to come out of nowhere. I feel like this book needed a LOT more detail to make it make sense. The concept is good, but the execution needed work.

I think this one read better as a concept than it was to actually read. Not horrendous, but I don't think its a must purchase.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Publication: April 18, 2023

I had a feeling right off the bat that this book and I would not get along. I didn't watch many dating shows in high school like the Bachelor but I was willing to give this book a try. Unfortunately, we didn't match. I found this book boring and so slow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Three days of my life I won’t get back. 😢😂 The premise of this book? Awesome. I absolutely loved watching The Bachelor with my mom when I was in high school, and this is the third book I’ve read featuring a television show of the same concept. But the execution of this book? Terrible. I unfortunately was bored for the majority of it. The main character, Emily, was super uninteresting. She does not apply to The One to find love, but rather was approached by a producer on the street and asked to join because she might fit the show’s image. She agrees to the offer because she “just got fired and has nothing better to do.” Huh? The author glossed over a lot, and I didn’t find myself rooting for any of the characters at any point. There was even a passage in which she tried to convey that women control society with sex. A very weird attempt at a feminist(?) book that I would not recommend. Good thing it was only 300 pages. Found one good quote, though!

“‘I had better things to do because I had my person to go home to. Don’t you want that for yourself, to have your person? Don’t you want to have a better place to be?’”

The book talks about Emily, who lost her job, and a producer, Miranda, finds her and encourages her to sign up for a show titled "The One". The show is like "The Bachelor" and other dating shows.

It's an excellent read and inside there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes with the cast and production team.

Thanks to the publishers at PENGUIN GROUP and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review.