Publisher: Penguin
Release: 22nd May 2014
Genre: Fiction, Chick-Lit, Romance, Friendship
Source: Won via Goodreads
Synopsis:
"Maddy, dressed in white, stands at the back of the church. At the end of the aisle is Rob - the man she's about to marry. Next to Rob is Ben - best man and the best friend any two people ever had. And that's the problem.
Because if it wasn't Rob waiting for her at the altar, there's a strong chance it would be Ben. Loyal and sensitive Ben has always kept his feelings to himself, but if he turned round and told Maddy she was making a mistake, would she listen? And would he be right?
Best friends since childhood, Maddy, Ben and Rob thought their bond was unbreakable. But love changes everything. Maddy has a choice to make but will she choose wisely? Her heart, and the hearts of the two best men she knows, depend on it..."
Review
Straight off the bat I want to put it out there that I am not a fan of love triangles. A story where one girl is in love with two guys and messes everybody around as she tries to decide which one she wants to be with has a tendency to rub me the wrong way. But once in a while a book comes along featuring the kind of love triangle that I adore, one where love runs not just between the girl and each man but between the two guys also. The love story in You’re The One That I Want is between three best friends and this anti-love triangle girl loved every minute of it!
The book follows Maddy, Ben and Rob from childhood right up to their early twenties on Maddy’s wedding day. From days of tree climbing and scraped knees the three best friends have been inseparable. Ben has loved Maddy for as long as he can remember but has worried what confessing his love might do to their friendship and so has kept his feelings bottled up for years.
On a school trip to Paris Maddy and Robert’s friendship blossoms into first love leaving Ben in a world of pain. Falling in unrequited love with your best friend is bad enough but watching her fall in love with your other mutual best friend? That is on a whole other level of hurt.
Right from the beginning Ben stole my heart and I just knew that he was the guy I wanted Maddy to end up with. He’s kind, selfless and loyal and my heart broke for his awful situation. Being such a Ben fan you’d think that I wouldn’t like Rob but I loved him and Maddy together too! They’re all such wonderful characters and friends that you quickly see why the situation is so messy and impossible.
The book is told between Ben and Maddy but I would really have liked Rob’s point of view in there as well. I’d constantly wonder what Robert thought of things and if he ever had an inkling as to Ben’s feelings.
The ending was hands down my favourite thing about this book. It’s not an ending I saw coming but afterwards you can’t imagine it ending any other way. It was perfect and bittersweet and the last couple of chapters and epilogue made me cry.
Overall I’d say that I enjoyed You’re The One That I Want even more than Giovanna’s debut Billy and Me. I was emotionally invested from start to finish and fell in love with all three characters and their beautiful friendship. Giovanna Fletcher is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
