From the USA Today bestselling author who is a “master of witty banter” (Entertainment Weekly) come a “perfect rom-com” (Refinery29) that proves when opposites attract, sparks fly. With her bridezilla friend on a DIY project rampage, bridesmaid Jane Denning will do anything to escape – even if it means babysitting the groom’s troublemaker brother before the wedding. It should be a piece of … the wedding. It should be a piece of cake, except the “cake” is a sarcastic former soldier who is 100% wicked hotness and absolutely off-limits.
Cameron MacKinnon is ready to let loose after returning from his deployment. But first he’ll have to sweet talk the ultra-responsible Jane into taking a walk on the wild side. Turns out, riling her up is the best time he’s had in years. But what happens when the fun and games start to turn into something real?
“Delightfully sexy and sweet.” — Lauren Layne, New York Times bestselling author
“Fantastic! Compelling characters, tons of heat, loads of heart. I highly recommend!” — M. O’Keefe, USA Today bestselling author
“When it comes to creating unputdownable contemporary romances, Holiday is in it to win it.” — Booklist
“Satisfying.” —The New York Times Book Review
What readers are saying about One and Only: “A fun, fast-paced, satisfying read.”
“Cam is my new book boyfriend….This book is going on my keeper shelf.”
“This book was SO ENJOYABLE. Every single page gave me all the feels. I loved the characters, the plot, the writing – everything.”
“A sweet, hilarious and powerful romance story that will warm your heart.”
I highly recommend!” — M. O’Keefe, USA Today bestselling author
“When it comes to creating unputdownable contemporary romances, Holiday is in it to win it.” — Booklist
“Satisfying.” —The New York Times Book Review
What readers are saying about One and Only: “A fun, fast-paced, satisfying read.”
“Cam is my new book boyfriend….This book is going on my keeper shelf.”
“This book was SO ENJOYABLE. Every single page gave me all the feels. I loved the characters, the plot, the writing – everything.”
“A sweet, hilarious and powerful romance story that will warm your heart.”I highly recommend!” — M. O’Keefe, USA Today bestselling author
“When it comes to creating unputdownable contemporary romances, Holiday is in it to win it.” — Booklist
“Satisfying.” —The New York Times Book Review
What readers are saying about One and Only: “A fun, fast-paced, satisfying read.”
“Cam is my new book boyfriend….This book is going on my keeper shelf.”
“This book was SO ENJOYABLE. Every single page gave me all the feels. I loved the characters, the plot, the writing – everything.”
“A sweet, hilarious and powerful romance story that will warm your heart.”I highly recommend!” — M. O’Keefe, USA Today bestselling author
“When it comes to creating unputdownable contemporary romances, Holiday is in it to win it.” — Booklist
“Satisfying.” —The New York Times Book Review
What readers are saying about One and Only: “A fun, fast-paced, satisfying read.”
“Cam is my new book boyfriend….This book is going on my keeper shelf.”
“This book was SO ENJOYABLE. Every single page gave me all the feels. I loved the characters, the plot, the writing – everything.”
“A sweet, hilarious and powerful romance story that will warm your heart.”d….This book is going on my keeper shelf.”
“This book was SO ENJOYABLE. Every single page gave me all the feels. I loved the characters, the plot, the writing – everything.”
“A sweet, hilarious and powerful romance story that will warm your heart.”more
Five and only stars! This book is a challenge to love.
Holy sweetness! One and Only by Jenny Holiday is the kind of book that I needed in order to break the book spell I had over the weekend. The funny and light writing enlightened my heart with the force of thousand fireflies! I spent the greatest time while reading this book. Each page was a refreshing breeze of sparkling love and sizzling attraction. My heart was warmed and bewitched by the beautiful romance story that Jenny Holiday created.
The pacing is fast and the plot is haunting and too addictive for its own good. This is a unique and wonderful book that pours love, discovering and redemption. The characters are extraordinary complex and wonderfully human. Jane and Cameron is a perfect match. They are two souls searching something meaningful in life. Their insecurities made them build walls to protect their heart. Both suffered disappointments that made them keep their emotions at bay.
One and Only is a challenge to love. The intensity is exquisite. It has the right amount of drama, funny moments and all-consuming and steamy moments. Jenny Holiday penned a story that sings to your heart and seduces it like a mermaid’s song. Her writing is clean and haunting. I can’t believe I haven’t read her books before. This was my first time reading her books and to be honest it won’t be the last time. Her writing has left a lovely mark in my heart and soul.
This book is not only about romance and weddings (well it is a lot). It is about exposing some of the strongest human feelings. What makes you soft and strong? What are your limits and fears? Could a person set you free of your own chains? There are many questions and few answers. Jane and Cameron’s story is a beautiful tale where love and trust find its way to smooth their lives. Who will think that babysitting will end in a deep romance between two different souls?
I really enjoyed that the heroine of this book is a strong and independent woman. Jane is in my favourite heroines list. She is determined and centred. I really find myself pretty identified with her. Being her best friend’s bridesmaid is getting the best of her. She is the clever one, the nerdy of the pack. She is full of contradictions: scared and brave. That is she. She accepted to babysitting the groom’s brother in order to save her best friend’s wedding. He is the bad boy who will melt her heart and will worship her body. Cameron will be her ruin and freedom. That sounded quite poetic, didn’t it? He will shake her world in the best way possible.
Cameron is sexy AF! He is the type of book boyfriend I drool over. He is the bad boy whole package with a golden heart and a touch of fallen angel. Just the way I like my book boyfriends! He is a complex man, loyal, dedicated and hot possessiveness go through his veins. He is imperfectly perfect. His broken heart will beat again because of beautiful pixie. His Jane will smooth his fears. She will change him. The attraction and chemistry between them is deep and hard to be denied. Falling is the sweetest journey!
I absolutely recommend you this book. It is a must read no one should miss. It is a sweet, hilarious and powerful romance story that will warm your heart and soul.
Favorite Quotes:
She was talking fast and ending declarative statements with question marks— sure signs she was stressed. Elise always sounded like an auctioneer on uppers when she was upset.
The words job list practically gave Jane hives. Elise had turned into a total bridezilla… But, oh, the job list. The job list was like the Hydra, a serpentine monster you could never get on top of. You crossed off a job, and two more sprouted to take its place.
He was having trouble imagining Jane as a girl. She seemed like the kind of person who had been born thirty years old.
Gia was gorgeous. Jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Jane was used to it— it was like she’d had exposure therapy or something— but when you were meeting Gia for the first time? Well, just hope you weren’t simultaneously operating any heavy machinery.
Gia started humming the wedding march but morphed it into the theme from Jaws as Elise approached the bar.
My Review:
I greatly enjoyed this humorous and sexy tale but it wasn’t all cotton candy and marshmallow fluff as the author skillfully wove in some insightful and thoughtful observations about the military, family drama, the cruelty of gossip, self-concept, anxiety, addictions, and PTSD. I adored her complicated and quirky characters with my favorite being the geeky yet staid and responsible Jane who was a devotee of cosplay, Comicon, and all things Xena. The storylines were adroitly paced, consistently engaging, pleasantly entertaining, and cleverly amusing with sizzling hot licks of sensuality between the two main characters. This was my first Jenny Holiday read, an experience I plan to habituate.
**I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher**
One and Only was my first Jenny Holiday book, but I can assure you it will not be my last! I highly enjoyed this fun, entertaining wedding romance.
Jane Denning is part of the “bride squad” for one of her best friends Elise, who has turned into somewhat of a bridezilla. Her DIY projects are off the charts and all of the bridesmaids are growing weary. Jane has always been known as the responsible friend and so when it comes time to divvy out the role of babysitter to the grooms “wild” brother, Jane jumps at the chance realizing this will be better than any arts and crafts project that the rest of the group will be working on.
Cameron MacKinnon has just returned from deployment overseas and it didn’t end at all the way he expected it to. Not with the service and not with his girlfriend, or now ex-girlfriend, when he returned home and caught her with someone else. Getting home early meant he’d be able to attend his brother’s wedding, but the plans he had for himself to get drunk, have sex and just enjoy himself are thwarted when Jane shows up at the airport to pick him up. Or as he quickly realizes to babysit him.
Jane and Cameron totally get off on the wrong foot. She’s trying to make sure he doesn’t do anything reckless and he wants to just live. What was great about these two characters is in the end they really balanced one another out and brought out the best qualities in each other. Cam made Jane be more adventurous and Jane made Cam realize that kindness abounds. When the sparks flew, they flew and it was a pleasure to witness. Together they ended up being one another’s missing piece.
Another thing I really loved about this book was the friendships between the girls. They held each other up, encouraged one another and were there for one another when they needed it. It was empowering and I loved it. I can’t wait to see what these bridesmaids get into next!
Loved this book! Jane and Cameron were so great together. I liked how they fell for each other slow enough that they didn’t realize they were doing it. Even though it wasn’t technically slow since they were only together for a short time but it seemed to sneak up on them. Jane was basically a babysitter for Cameron in that she was keeping him occupied so he wouldn’t disrupt her friend’s wedding. According to Cameron’s brother Jay, the groom, Cameron was a loose cannon and could cause troubles but he was basing that off of the kid Cameron was or acted like and not the real man. Jane and Cameron became friends while they were together and were comfortable enough with each other that they were able to be real and tell the real story of their pasts. The sex between these two is HOT and intense. These two are so great together that you are just rooting for their happiness. I can’t wait for Wendy and Noah’s story.
I picked this book up on the heels of back to back DNFs. One and Only is my first book by this author, and I wasn’t sure what to expect – so I went into it feeling a little afraid that I was careening into a book slump. And then – I was so incredibly pleasantly surprised. Truly, it is one of my favorite things to pick up a book by a new-to-me author and find myself blown away by it. That’s exactly what happened here.
This book was so much more than I expected it to be. On its face it looks like it should be a lighthearted romcom – and there are definitely elements of that present here. However, it digs a bit deeper than that and there are some serious emotional elements threaded through this storyline. Jane and Cameron are both richly layered, complicated characters – and that’s what made them feel so real to me. I connected so easily with them and was so invested in their happily ever after.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing, to me, was the chemistry between Cameron and Jane. It was so intense – a nearly palpable thing, sparking and fizzing all over my Kindle. By the time their story really started heating up, I felt it like I was a part of their story – an ache in my chest, the longing for them to love each other as real to me as it was to them.
I also loved the dynamic of the friendships between the four women – which also felt very authentic to me. I loved how they supported one another, even as they drove each other crazy. I loved the family dynamic – as complicated as the characters themselves and how the author sort of carefully unraveled all that conflict over the course of this book.
In all, One and Only is smartly written, sexy, sweet, and fun. It was more emotional than I was expecting, but in a way that hit all the right sweet spots in all the right ways for me. I loved every moment of this book and am thrilled to have discovered a new author to watch out for. I will definitely be back for more!
Weddings, bridesmaids and love. Jenny Holiday takes the best aspects of romance and creates a comedic masterpiece. Jane is no rule breaker. In her mind there’s a time and place for everything. Cameron has never met a rule he won’t break. After a stressful deployment, this playboy is on the prowl. What happens when uptight meets footloose? Uncontrollable fun. Let the good times roll with this laugh out loud funfest.
Courtesy of Night Owl Reviews