4 stars! High school graduate Lenore is bound for NYU as an art history major, but when her parents overhear her say she wasn’t sure about the choice, they put pressure on her to be more decisive. That and a bad breakup with the boy she’s been seeing at her prom, Lenore is bound for a Mediterranean cruise with her family feeling less than celebratory. While on the cruise she meets Alex, and does not click with him. But then the two of them are together more often than not, and sparks begin to f

“So that’s how I end up with pictures of me in a pink boa, with smudged mascara and the fakest smile there ever was. My two best friends, their one true loves, and me. Alone.”Lenore Bennett is a talented artist with plans to go to NYU in the fall. The only problem is, she is becoming less and less sure that that’s what she wants, despite her parents reminding her that Black kids don’t have the luxury of not having a plan. Then, on a family cruise through Europe, she meets Alex Lee, who seems det...

4 ⭐️ Oh my gooodddd!!!! I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting!! It was so cute, I couldn’t help myself from binging 😳 I’ll write a review when it isn’t so late, but I just wanted to share that it was a good book!!

3.5⭐️I liked this one a little more than Happily Ever Afters and I thought it was a solid, good read overall!

Full Review on The Candid CoverOne True Loves by Elise Bryant is a charming contemporary about self-discovery. As a fan of any book about travel, I adored the cruise ship setting, and the main character and her doubts about the future are relatable. With earnest discussions about expectations of Black excellence and picturesque descriptions of Europe, this is a great read for those looking for a heartfelt story about travel. In her family of geniuses, Lenore feels pressured to have her entire li...

5 stars Elise Bryant is becoming one of my true loves in the wonderful world of YA romance. After reading and loving her debut novel last year, I was thrilled to dive into this one and was not disappointed. Readers meet Lenore, Bryant's m.c., during the final weeks of her senior year of high school, and while we only get to follow her for a few weeks, we get to know her well because of the volume of pivotal moments and realizations she's having during this short window. While Lenore faces what I...

✨Book Review✨One True Loves by Elise Bryant⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫.I love love loved this book. I think I might have even liked it more than Happily Ever Afters, but I truly can't decide. The fact that parts of it took place in my two favorite cities on the planet (Long Beach and Rome) sealed the deal for me. I also LOVED the cruise ship setting. .This book follows Lenore, one of Tessa's best friends from Happily Ever Afters. Lenore is such a gem of a character. Bryant did such a wonderful job writing her as

Well, I didn't know what I was expecting but I expected something better than this .. This is the second book to Happily Ever Afters and here we will follow Lenore, who is struggling to know her true passion and what is she planning to do for the rest of her life, so her parents pressure her to choose a major before the end of their vacation which they will spend on a cruise, no internet and going to different countries in Europe.. on the ship she will meet Alex who is the complete opposite of h...

Companion novel to Happily Ever Afters, a touching YA contemporary romance that claimed my heart earlier this year. In this book, we are following an artist named Lenore who hails from a family of geniuses. Unlike her family, she has no answers for what she wants from the future, but a European cruise and a handsome boy changes all of that.Loved: Anxiety rep/how it can manifest in Black boys and what it may look like for Black masculine folkThe conversations about the crushing expectations of Bl...

Ah, okay! I have a lot of feelings about this one. I ultimately feel like... sort of angry that publishing has so many more diverse titles right now because if this had been published in like 2015 or like at the height of contemporary romance I think it would've been talked about a lot more.This was pretty funny. Not at first, but I think once they're on the boat and all of the parents together, I laughed a lot. It definitely felt like the parents were there for the adults that might be reading

After really enjoying Happily Ever Afters, this was again so fun, and so full of heart. I loved the discussions on what the pressure of the expectation of Black excellence did with Lenore, and I loved seeing how she felt like she had to perform around pretty much everyone ever, except for around the love interest. I do have to say I found the third-act breakup to be very forced and overly dramatic, but other than that, this was really great!

4.25 starsrep: Black protagonist, biracial (Black, Korean) love interest, Black side characters, gay Black side character, biracial (Black, white) side character; (Black author)cw: vomiting (seasickness)omggggg this was so cute, I really liked it!!

3.5*Thank you Hcc Frenzy & Netgalley for this ARC! release date: jan 4th This was beyond cute! An all round feel good, YA romance, with POC & LGBTQIA+ rep! The plot itself was such a unique idea, I’ve never read a cruise romance and I was beyond intrigued by the idea! While it was rather fast paced, and I would have preferred it to be a bit longer, I enjoyed it nonetheless! The characters were equally as interesting. Our MC Lenore was both passionate but also lacked the confidence in herself tha...

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After enjoying the first book last year, I was so excited when this book came out and it did not disappoint. I loved this one so much, even more than the first! This YA book full of lovable characters, great friendships and lots of self discovery was so fun and well written! It also brought up so many important topics which blended into the story perfectly. Lenore is an amazing and truly relatable main character. After excelling in school, she is unsure of what she wants to do post graduation an...

This was such a cute YA summer vacation romance! Elise Bryant has improved so much in such a short time and I definitely believe that this book is miles ahead of her debut novel. Lenore was such a relatable main character and I found myself connecting to her when she describes putting on a front even with close friends and building such walls that the people around you don’t even know the real you. I loved watching her grow and realize that she can’t keep living like this. LENORE AND ALEX WERE S...

With my application deadline at the end of the week and my major choice still undecided, I read this book at the perfect time.Sometimes you just gotta read about someone going through the same thing as you to feel a bit less distressed."I guess I see it more as a placeholder, though, as I figure out what I really want to do."As I'm saying it, I hear how privileged I sound, talking about figuring it out while my parents are basically paying a whole-ass salary to send me to this prestigious school...

This was so cute and I will definitely be romanticizing my life severely now if I ever go on a cruise!

One True Loves follow Lenore, a side character in Bryant's first book Happily Ever After, who embarks on a two week cruise with her family after graduating from high school. After a breakup preceding the trip, and her parents ultimatum that she must choose a final career oath by the end of this cruise, Lenore is feeling stressed during what is supposed to be a vacation. That is until she meets Alex, who may just be her one true love, and the boy who will inspire her to follow her passions.One Tr...

3.75-4/5 the miscommunication trope,, wasn’t even the part that pissed me the hell off lmao it was what came after. I was about to give it 3 stars, but the familial relationships, the main internal conflict that lenore has when deciding her future - as she struggles to find a balance between her parents’ expectations, society’s expectations of her as a young black girl, and what makes her truly happy, was just *chef kiss*. the romantic relationship was genuinely adorable, like the banter was so