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judithdcollins's review against another edition
5.0
All you faithful fans of best-selling author, Emily Giffin— will be applauding her latest book, THE ONLY AND ONLY.
Yes, she knows how to write chick lit, as I am one of her biggest fans, as have read ALL her books. Yes, Something Borrowed and Something Blue and all the others, were totally awesome—yet she tackled a challenging and different type of relationship in THE ONE AND ONLY -pulling it off as a winning touchdown, with another five star bestseller winner!
THE ONE AND ONLY is her best novel yet, and sure to rise to the top of the charts quickly. Of course, there is much publicity about this book and the controversial nature, however, making it even sexier! (guys will love it)
Every author has to expand their writing; hey, not every book has to be about trendy and chic Manhattan. I thought it was brilliant—who knows go “big or go home, big hair, and football”, better than the South (Texas), and especially Dallas Cowboys? JR would have been proud!
This book will make you laugh out loud. Highly recommend the audiobook, as Sofia Willingham was the true Texan with her lazy southern accent and so sexy, pulling you into the story and drama. (Performer for The Stark Trilogy). I loved the part with Shea’s mom talking about her ex-husband’s small penis, and the day at the hair salon with gay guys–classic! going big or go home—blow out and spray tanning. I had to rewind several times, it was too good!
Who hasn't drooled over a good looking hunky football coach?
Giffin sets up every play with careful placement and precision. Would love to see a another movie based on her book--with George Clooney as Coach, Ruth Witerspoon (as she does southern so well) as Shea; maybe Channing Tatum, as Ryan and not sure about Lucy and the rest of the cast - may have to think a little more.
Think, funny, sexy, sarcastic, like Jennifer Weiner and controversial topics of sports and domestic abuse, with dynamic highly charged family dynamics of Jodi Picoult style, mixed with a little of football passion of The Blindside, and smart, and genuine Emily Giffin style ---and you have the unique version of The One and Only.
Thirty-three year old Shea Rigsby, a small-town Texan college girl from Walker, Texas who lives for football, especially college football. She works for the local university, which has a strong football team coached by Clive Carr, the father of Shea's best friend Lucy.
As the book opens, Lucy’s mom Connie dies, due to cancer and they are attending the funeral. Connie Carr is the matriarch of the family and the glue holding them all together.
Lucy is more on the conservative type - pearls, and classic Southern belle), married to Neil with daughter, brother, Lawton. Shea is beautiful but not a girls girl – she is more a sports freak and is turned on with football and stats.
Shea’s parents are divorced, so she grew up around the Carr family. . Coach Carr is her role model, as she lives and breathes football. (Literally). Shea is very loyal to her friend.
As she makes decisions about her career and her dating life, (wanting to escape her boring life to do something different). She breaks up with her boyfriend (he wants to maintain the friends with benefit status) NO thanks ----
Shea takes an exciting job working as a sports editor for The Dallas Post—as they are investigating Walker. She also begins dating the high profile Ryan, famous quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys – the guy any woman would fall for. Think Porsche, money, looks, abs, hot body– he has it all, and is in love with Shea . . .
A few minor problems: Ryan is violent, and controlling (his ex-wife has already warned her). And, Shea is in love with Coach Carr and cannot stop thinking about him!
As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most - and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.
First she has to see if Coach Carr returns the same feeling, and how she could possibly have a relationship with her best friend’s father? Could she? A very realistic situation – found myself pulling for Shea and Coach Carr – they deserve a little happiness and a match made in heaven!
There is a lot of substance and depth to this masterfully crafted novel, as football is such a highly competitive and loyal sport--with passion and love for the game, as well as obsession. An extraordinary story of love and loyalty, and an unconventional heroine struggling to reconcile both.
Emily tackled some highly charged subjects of abuse with dating relationships, sports, bribes, athletes, and relationships between coaches and players. What happened the night prior to the Cotton Bowl which could have changed lives and history?
The One and Only is a novel about finding your passion, your love, and following your heart. Only you, yourself can make your dreams come true and make life worth living – A star!
Being Emily graduated (undergraduate) at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC (my home town) before law school, and she was the men’s basketball manager at Wake, can see her writing this book. I can almost envision her playing Shea opposite George Clooney! (they would make quite the couple). Plus you got to love her living in Atlanta as she is a southern gal now- hence Football! (have lived in Atlanta most of my career before moving to West Palm Beach, so Atlanta is home for me…she joins the rest of the Atlanta group of my favorite authors!)
No, I am not a diehard football fan; however, having 2 sons playing football, basketball, golf, tennis, and wrestling from junior high, high school, and college, spending numerous hours on the football field, for every game, and yes, when you live in the south, it is a way of life, and life is like a game of football!
JDCMustReadBooks
Check out Emily's latest, First Comes Love , Coming June 28!
Yes, she knows how to write chick lit, as I am one of her biggest fans, as have read ALL her books. Yes, Something Borrowed and Something Blue and all the others, were totally awesome—yet she tackled a challenging and different type of relationship in THE ONE AND ONLY -pulling it off as a winning touchdown, with another five star bestseller winner!
THE ONE AND ONLY is her best novel yet, and sure to rise to the top of the charts quickly. Of course, there is much publicity about this book and the controversial nature, however, making it even sexier! (guys will love it)
Every author has to expand their writing; hey, not every book has to be about trendy and chic Manhattan. I thought it was brilliant—who knows go “big or go home, big hair, and football”, better than the South (Texas), and especially Dallas Cowboys? JR would have been proud!
This book will make you laugh out loud. Highly recommend the audiobook, as Sofia Willingham was the true Texan with her lazy southern accent and so sexy, pulling you into the story and drama. (Performer for The Stark Trilogy). I loved the part with Shea’s mom talking about her ex-husband’s small penis, and the day at the hair salon with gay guys–classic! going big or go home—blow out and spray tanning. I had to rewind several times, it was too good!
Who hasn't drooled over a good looking hunky football coach?
Giffin sets up every play with careful placement and precision. Would love to see a another movie based on her book--with George Clooney as Coach, Ruth Witerspoon (as she does southern so well) as Shea; maybe Channing Tatum, as Ryan and not sure about Lucy and the rest of the cast - may have to think a little more.
Think, funny, sexy, sarcastic, like Jennifer Weiner and controversial topics of sports and domestic abuse, with dynamic highly charged family dynamics of Jodi Picoult style, mixed with a little of football passion of The Blindside, and smart, and genuine Emily Giffin style ---and you have the unique version of The One and Only.
Thirty-three year old Shea Rigsby, a small-town Texan college girl from Walker, Texas who lives for football, especially college football. She works for the local university, which has a strong football team coached by Clive Carr, the father of Shea's best friend Lucy.
As the book opens, Lucy’s mom Connie dies, due to cancer and they are attending the funeral. Connie Carr is the matriarch of the family and the glue holding them all together.
Lucy is more on the conservative type - pearls, and classic Southern belle), married to Neil with daughter, brother, Lawton. Shea is beautiful but not a girls girl – she is more a sports freak and is turned on with football and stats.
Shea’s parents are divorced, so she grew up around the Carr family. . Coach Carr is her role model, as she lives and breathes football. (Literally). Shea is very loyal to her friend.
As she makes decisions about her career and her dating life, (wanting to escape her boring life to do something different). She breaks up with her boyfriend (he wants to maintain the friends with benefit status) NO thanks ----
Shea takes an exciting job working as a sports editor for The Dallas Post—as they are investigating Walker. She also begins dating the high profile Ryan, famous quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys – the guy any woman would fall for. Think Porsche, money, looks, abs, hot body– he has it all, and is in love with Shea . . .
A few minor problems: Ryan is violent, and controlling (his ex-wife has already warned her). And, Shea is in love with Coach Carr and cannot stop thinking about him!
As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most - and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.
First she has to see if Coach Carr returns the same feeling, and how she could possibly have a relationship with her best friend’s father? Could she? A very realistic situation – found myself pulling for Shea and Coach Carr – they deserve a little happiness and a match made in heaven!
There is a lot of substance and depth to this masterfully crafted novel, as football is such a highly competitive and loyal sport--with passion and love for the game, as well as obsession. An extraordinary story of love and loyalty, and an unconventional heroine struggling to reconcile both.
Emily tackled some highly charged subjects of abuse with dating relationships, sports, bribes, athletes, and relationships between coaches and players. What happened the night prior to the Cotton Bowl which could have changed lives and history?
The One and Only is a novel about finding your passion, your love, and following your heart. Only you, yourself can make your dreams come true and make life worth living – A star!
Being Emily graduated (undergraduate) at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC (my home town) before law school, and she was the men’s basketball manager at Wake, can see her writing this book. I can almost envision her playing Shea opposite George Clooney! (they would make quite the couple). Plus you got to love her living in Atlanta as she is a southern gal now- hence Football! (have lived in Atlanta most of my career before moving to West Palm Beach, so Atlanta is home for me…she joins the rest of the Atlanta group of my favorite authors!)
No, I am not a diehard football fan; however, having 2 sons playing football, basketball, golf, tennis, and wrestling from junior high, high school, and college, spending numerous hours on the football field, for every game, and yes, when you live in the south, it is a way of life, and life is like a game of football!
JDCMustReadBooks
Check out Emily's latest, First Comes Love , Coming June 28!
bethaturner87's review against another edition
1.0
If it were possible to give this book zero stars I would. I am a fan of Emily Giffin, but this book is a total miss. Just terrible. The story is awful, the characters all unsympathetic, the ending completely unsatisfying, the football jargon tedious, and the pop culture plugs annoying and never ending. There is just nothing good here, I'm sorry to report. Don't think that you'll like this book because you liked her other work. Everyone has a dud now and then, and this book is Giffin's
sarahrappaport13's review against another edition
2.0
It was well written and kept my attention, but the whole relationship between Shea and Coach Carr was really creepy and kind of ruined it for me.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
1.0
I've read a few of Emily Griffin's fun, chick-lit novels and enjoyed them, so this looked like just the thing to keep me company on a long flight. The story is about Shea, a girl who grew up in a small Texas town with a solid college football team. Her entire life is consumed with the team; she works for the athletic department, her best friend's father is the coach, and she is dating a guy who once played for the team. But when her best friend's mother dies, a woman she's known since infancy, she finds she needs to stretch herself. She takes a job writing for the sports section of a newspaper and even a new boyfriend -- a hot NFL player. Things are looking up, but despite her shiny new life, there's a man she can't get her mind off of.
And this is the beginning of what didn't work in this book. That guy is her best friend's father. A man she's looked up to as a father figure and known since she was a baby. It wasn't the age difference, but the near incest that tainted the relationship, not to mention the power disparity; Shea has worshipped the coach her entire life. So there was a significant ick factor that didn't work in what was intended as a light, entertaining read. The relationship was deeply troublesome throughout the book and had he not been "Coach," I suspect she would have been calling him Mr Carr even when they made out.
But that's not my big issue with this book, it's that Griffin used domestic violence as a convenient plot point. She is cheating on her boyfriend, but that's fine, because later he turns out to be a little bit grabby, jealous and almost-rapey. This is a serious thing. Not something to be added to allow Shea to remain a sympathetic character, even as she cheats and lies to the people around her. Griffin pulls her punches and has the boyfriend turn out to be a bad guy so that Shea doesn't have to be. Then, when his usefulness has ended, Griffin has the bad boyfriend fade away, leaving behind only a few grateful texts in which he apologizes and seeks treatment. Abusive, controlling guys don't politely bow out when a woman breaks up with them. Even when the woman acts all empowered. Making domestic violence an exciting, but temporary episode does a disservice to the women who have to deal with this. Just don't do this.
And this is the beginning of what didn't work in this book. That guy is her best friend's father. A man she's looked up to as a father figure and known since she was a baby. It wasn't the age difference, but the near incest that tainted the relationship, not to mention the power disparity; Shea has worshipped the coach her entire life. So there was a significant ick factor that didn't work in what was intended as a light, entertaining read. The relationship was deeply troublesome throughout the book and had he not been "Coach," I suspect she would have been calling him Mr Carr even when they made out.
But that's not my big issue with this book, it's that Griffin used domestic violence as a convenient plot point. She is cheating on her boyfriend, but that's fine, because later he turns out to be a little bit grabby, jealous and almost-rapey. This is a serious thing. Not something to be added to allow Shea to remain a sympathetic character, even as she cheats and lies to the people around her. Griffin pulls her punches and has the boyfriend turn out to be a bad guy so that Shea doesn't have to be. Then, when his usefulness has ended, Griffin has the bad boyfriend fade away, leaving behind only a few grateful texts in which he apologizes and seeks treatment. Abusive, controlling guys don't politely bow out when a woman breaks up with them. Even when the woman acts all empowered. Making domestic violence an exciting, but temporary episode does a disservice to the women who have to deal with this. Just don't do this.
jbarr5's review against another edition
4.0
The One and Only by Emily Giffin
This is a story about Lucy and she's lost her mother to cancer. Her dad is the high school football coach and her best friend is Shay.
Shay is so addicted with football. She works as a sport information spokesperson for the TX college team. Loved the references to the music of the time.
We find out why Shay lived with Lucy after her father left to go remarry his first wife and her mom had a nervous breakdown. We find out she declares her love for Lucy's father, the coach one night she's had a bit too much to drink and she's on a date with a Cowboy's football player.
Many real life things are talked about besides football, violence and ex wives.
The past comes back and they rationalize how they would've done things different...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
This is a story about Lucy and she's lost her mother to cancer. Her dad is the high school football coach and her best friend is Shay.
Shay is so addicted with football. She works as a sport information spokesperson for the TX college team. Loved the references to the music of the time.
We find out why Shay lived with Lucy after her father left to go remarry his first wife and her mom had a nervous breakdown. We find out she declares her love for Lucy's father, the coach one night she's had a bit too much to drink and she's on a date with a Cowboy's football player.
Many real life things are talked about besides football, violence and ex wives.
The past comes back and they rationalize how they would've done things different...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
kaitylou23's review against another edition
1.0
I tried to finish this book because I love all of Emily Giffin's books and waited so long for this one, but I just couldn't get into the characters and the plot was slow. Maybe if I had trudged through I might have liked the second half. Unfortunately I had to abandon this one!
twinkletoes422's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
vll295's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoy Emily's books. I heard that there will be 2 in 2016-can't wait!
casimoore's review against another edition
4.0
At first I was torn as to did I hate it or love it? The whole falling in love with your best friend's dad - even though she was now 30 (& he is in 50s!) was a bit weird and gross to me. But I did like the story and Emily Giffin is a great writer which made it an interesting & quick read for me.