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The Only One #1
The Only One
Sparks fly when Piper Vaughn, a Manhattan real estate agent, meets Richard Spencer, a wealthy English businessman in New York for a year on an extended project and looking for a place to live. She's blonde and beautiful, with a sweet smile and bubbly personality, while he's tall and lean, with bright blue eyes and a laidback demeanor, and also nearly 20 years her senior. Though the attraction is mutual and instantaneous, they try to keep their relationship strictly professional, but as soon as they close on Richard's new apartment, they can't resist each other any longer.
A sweet and passionate romance develops between the two, but before they know it, Richard's project is over and he must return to London. This abrupt wake-up call is compounded by the return of Piper's ex-boyfriend, and she is faced with a life changing decision. Should she stay in New York, the city she never thought she would want to leave, or give everything up to start a new life in London with the man she loves?
A romance that's both sweet and steamy, suitable for readers 18 and older, with a happily-ever-after ending.
A sweet and passionate romance develops between the two, but before they know it, Richard's project is over and he must return to London. This abrupt wake-up call is compounded by the return of Piper's ex-boyfriend, and she is faced with a life changing decision. Should she stay in New York, the city she never thought she would want to leave, or give everything up to start a new life in London with the man she loves?
A romance that's both sweet and steamy, suitable for readers 18 and older, with a happily-ever-after ending.
494 pages, Paperback
First published August 24, 2015
55 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Mary Head
5 books19 followersMary has been writing since the spring of 1999, but only just published her first book, The Only One, in August 2015. She is a 2008 graduate of Florida State University, and currently lives in Tallahassee, Florida. When not writing, she is a voracious consumer of visual media, particularly her favorite TV shows.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 14, 2015
There are a million different novels in the romance genre, at least, and sometimes it’s hard to separate the substandard from the great. I can’t claim to have read all of them, or even a great deal of them, but I do know the difference between good and bad romance novels. Mary Head’s debut novel The Only One? It’s a good one. Very good.
It has a lot of the things we read romance novels for: hot love scenes, wish fulfillment, attractive people with attractive lives doing attractive things and oh, did I mention the hot as hell love scenes? There are plenty of them! This isn’t a story where our couple pines after each other for 300 pages before they get together. This is a story where they deal with obstacles like adults and it only makes them both stronger which is refreshing.
What is also refreshing is how important and fleshed out the supporting characters are, particularly Richard’s best friend Jill and Piper’s best Katie. They have fully developed back stories that not only inform who they are, but their friendships with our leads. They aren’t just there so Richard and Piper will have people to complain or gush to, they exist as full characters in the narrative.
The Only One is longer than a lot of books in this genre, but it is well paced and still a quick, easy read. The extra pages just give you that much more to love. It’s clear from the writing that Mary Head loves these characters, and that just made me care about them even more.
Some other notable things:
1. May/December. If you love May/December romance, well, hello. (And it is never played to be icky, it’s just an aspect of their relationship that neither Richard or Piper think is a huge deal.)
2. Lady friendships! No ladies being unrealistically catty or trying to tear each other down, just women being supportive and caring.
3. A really great male/female friendship in Richard and Jill. It’s never used as an issue of jealousy with Piper, or seen as a threat to their romance. It’s just a solid and beautiful friendship.
4. Just damn good writing from an indie author! Support good writing! Support independent authors!
It has a lot of the things we read romance novels for: hot love scenes, wish fulfillment, attractive people with attractive lives doing attractive things and oh, did I mention the hot as hell love scenes? There are plenty of them! This isn’t a story where our couple pines after each other for 300 pages before they get together. This is a story where they deal with obstacles like adults and it only makes them both stronger which is refreshing.
What is also refreshing is how important and fleshed out the supporting characters are, particularly Richard’s best friend Jill and Piper’s best Katie. They have fully developed back stories that not only inform who they are, but their friendships with our leads. They aren’t just there so Richard and Piper will have people to complain or gush to, they exist as full characters in the narrative.
The Only One is longer than a lot of books in this genre, but it is well paced and still a quick, easy read. The extra pages just give you that much more to love. It’s clear from the writing that Mary Head loves these characters, and that just made me care about them even more.
Some other notable things:
1. May/December. If you love May/December romance, well, hello. (And it is never played to be icky, it’s just an aspect of their relationship that neither Richard or Piper think is a huge deal.)
2. Lady friendships! No ladies being unrealistically catty or trying to tear each other down, just women being supportive and caring.
3. A really great male/female friendship in Richard and Jill. It’s never used as an issue of jealousy with Piper, or seen as a threat to their romance. It’s just a solid and beautiful friendship.
4. Just damn good writing from an indie author! Support good writing! Support independent authors!
October 14, 2015
Review of The Only One by Mary Head
The story revolves around a beautiful, almost thirty, real estate agent from New York and a handsome, nearly fifty, businessman from London. They meet, she finds him the most perfect, expensive apartment and they almost have sex. Soon after, they do have casual, unprotected sex. He then moves in to the apartment and they have more sex. She moves a few things in too and they have more sex. We are a ¼ way through the book and so far, this is all that has happened.
I realize that this is a romance, spiced up with fairly graphic sex although cleverly, no mention is made of genitalia apart from the use of the word, clit. When you are describing in detail the frequent bouts of intercourse and or oral sex without recourse to such vocabulary you have managed a rare achievement. He is constantly guiding his penis, sorry, hardness, inside of her, when simply guiding his penis/hardness inside her would suffice.
I look for a beginning, a middle and an ending in every book I read. Sadly, apart from their meeting at her office, the beginning, there is no realistic middle and no definitive end. The book is about 50 thousand words too long, in my opinion, with a lot of padding; detailed descriptions of getting dressed, making coffee, journeying to work, gazing at the views and preparing and eating endless meals. We are led around bits of New York and parts of Paris with a brief visit to London’s underground near the conclusion.
There is a whole chapter where the happy couple break dinner dates four times and when Piper finally gets to his apartment for dinner and sex, she ends up going home alone because of a computer crash at his office! I found myself asking; how exciting was that? They went shopping and took lots of pictures and had a bath together and had sex and went to sleep. More excitement! They had dinner and had more sex, a blow job this time and a bit of doggy style.
It is one long sexual odyssey, about twenty seven if I counted right, with bouts of eating and shopping and a bit of work intertwined in a narrative that could well have been written by a fantasist binging on the romance section of Netflix. There is a chapter describing in agonizing detail, a meal between Piper and Jill, the Boss’s assistant. The whole chapter could be deleted and the story would barely notice the loss.
We also have one very long chapter of back story, past life histories of the main characters, all of which could be deleted which would add a lot to the story; it would move it along a bit faster. Another chapter describes yet another meal and how Kitty gets to know Richard better and they talk about houses and décor and stuff.
They eat a lot; chicken, bagels, muffins, chicken, pizza, bread, chicken, turkey, tortillas, chicken, and cakes and chicken. Then they ate at Thanksgiving and then ate macaroni and cheese and ate again at home, at the deli, at the diner, at the restaurant and at home again, after sex and before sex and during sex sometimes. They ate a lot. They had parties with their friends and ate a lot and consumed an unhealthy amount of poisonous diet sodas.
Later we get Katie’s back story once again which, once again, we could have deleted and not noticed the loss. It adds nothing to the story apart from a few thousand words. Then we got Jill and her friend’s back story and again, we didn’t need them but they padded out the book by a few thousand more words. Then they had more sex, holding his head and with her fingers in his hair and her head drops back a lot, all the time in fact. Then they had more to eat and then went to Paris for Christmas and ate a lot and had sex some more.
Piper took a lot more pictures and they both looked at them as she described them, then they went to eat and came back to the hotel and showered, they do a lot of showering, then they had sex and then he went to work and she went to a spa and then they had sex and then they went to a party and then they had sex, again. The whole book is written in a breathless, and then, manner, with episodes linked by the word ‘and’ (5525 times in fact!) until it becomes more of a list than a story and then something else happens and then they have sex and then he makes dinner and they eat it together and it’s delicious. And then they have sex, again. It reads like the script of a reality TV show. Nothing actually happens, until…
The old boyfriend turns up just as Richard asks her to go to London to live with him, after a year of riotously fantastic sex and spending several days each week together for almost a year, all he does is ask her to come to London with him! Seems reasonable, doesn’t it? But no! For dramatic effect and to prolong the agony, she says no. Of course, without spoiling anything of the story because it is inevitable, three or four months later, she goes back to him and repeats the whole story that we have recently read of what happened during the intervening months after he left and how she went out with a guy and almost had sex with him but she felt, well, she felt stupid but just had to repeat the whole story again to add to the word count. Then they had sex and went shopping and had lunch and a shower and had dinner and lived happily ever after. But wait…
After the book ended we have a detailed tour of the house in London, some shopping, some more sex and a redesign of his bedroom to contend with, not to mention more sex. We have to endure the detailed preparations for a wedding, more food and more sex until eventually, the story ends with the happy couple, not them, another happy couple, getting spliced, at 13 weeks pregnant. Nothing new there then.
I am afraid I began to care less and less about Piper and her infantile behavior, her moods, her temper, her ignorance of reality, almost as much as I cared for Richard, who should have known better. She is 28 for heaven’s sake! What can such a young woman possibly know about love, life and emotion? She is barely out of school. She has no consideration for her actions as far as Richard is concerned; she is a selfish, childish brat who behaves like a schoolgirl who has not been asked to the Prom.
The writing style is the open mouthed, golly, gosh, wow, amazing so beloved of teenage picture stories. If the sex had been omitted I would have assumed the author was about fourteen or so. There is no real story line other than the interminable series of events, all similar and all insignificant in the great scheme of things. Sadly, for me anyway, this type of novel has been done a thousand times and to stand out from the crowd it needs to be a lot more polished and have a definite plot line other than the meandering story of these two getting to know each other. All things considered, that is all that happens; two people get to know each other and after a slight and very predictable hiccough, live happily ever after, eventually.
2.5 stars is the most I can award, I'm afraid.
The story revolves around a beautiful, almost thirty, real estate agent from New York and a handsome, nearly fifty, businessman from London. They meet, she finds him the most perfect, expensive apartment and they almost have sex. Soon after, they do have casual, unprotected sex. He then moves in to the apartment and they have more sex. She moves a few things in too and they have more sex. We are a ¼ way through the book and so far, this is all that has happened.
I realize that this is a romance, spiced up with fairly graphic sex although cleverly, no mention is made of genitalia apart from the use of the word, clit. When you are describing in detail the frequent bouts of intercourse and or oral sex without recourse to such vocabulary you have managed a rare achievement. He is constantly guiding his penis, sorry, hardness, inside of her, when simply guiding his penis/hardness inside her would suffice.
I look for a beginning, a middle and an ending in every book I read. Sadly, apart from their meeting at her office, the beginning, there is no realistic middle and no definitive end. The book is about 50 thousand words too long, in my opinion, with a lot of padding; detailed descriptions of getting dressed, making coffee, journeying to work, gazing at the views and preparing and eating endless meals. We are led around bits of New York and parts of Paris with a brief visit to London’s underground near the conclusion.
There is a whole chapter where the happy couple break dinner dates four times and when Piper finally gets to his apartment for dinner and sex, she ends up going home alone because of a computer crash at his office! I found myself asking; how exciting was that? They went shopping and took lots of pictures and had a bath together and had sex and went to sleep. More excitement! They had dinner and had more sex, a blow job this time and a bit of doggy style.
It is one long sexual odyssey, about twenty seven if I counted right, with bouts of eating and shopping and a bit of work intertwined in a narrative that could well have been written by a fantasist binging on the romance section of Netflix. There is a chapter describing in agonizing detail, a meal between Piper and Jill, the Boss’s assistant. The whole chapter could be deleted and the story would barely notice the loss.
We also have one very long chapter of back story, past life histories of the main characters, all of which could be deleted which would add a lot to the story; it would move it along a bit faster. Another chapter describes yet another meal and how Kitty gets to know Richard better and they talk about houses and décor and stuff.
They eat a lot; chicken, bagels, muffins, chicken, pizza, bread, chicken, turkey, tortillas, chicken, and cakes and chicken. Then they ate at Thanksgiving and then ate macaroni and cheese and ate again at home, at the deli, at the diner, at the restaurant and at home again, after sex and before sex and during sex sometimes. They ate a lot. They had parties with their friends and ate a lot and consumed an unhealthy amount of poisonous diet sodas.
Later we get Katie’s back story once again which, once again, we could have deleted and not noticed the loss. It adds nothing to the story apart from a few thousand words. Then we got Jill and her friend’s back story and again, we didn’t need them but they padded out the book by a few thousand more words. Then they had more sex, holding his head and with her fingers in his hair and her head drops back a lot, all the time in fact. Then they had more to eat and then went to Paris for Christmas and ate a lot and had sex some more.
Piper took a lot more pictures and they both looked at them as she described them, then they went to eat and came back to the hotel and showered, they do a lot of showering, then they had sex and then he went to work and she went to a spa and then they had sex and then they went to a party and then they had sex, again. The whole book is written in a breathless, and then, manner, with episodes linked by the word ‘and’ (5525 times in fact!) until it becomes more of a list than a story and then something else happens and then they have sex and then he makes dinner and they eat it together and it’s delicious. And then they have sex, again. It reads like the script of a reality TV show. Nothing actually happens, until…
The old boyfriend turns up just as Richard asks her to go to London to live with him, after a year of riotously fantastic sex and spending several days each week together for almost a year, all he does is ask her to come to London with him! Seems reasonable, doesn’t it? But no! For dramatic effect and to prolong the agony, she says no. Of course, without spoiling anything of the story because it is inevitable, three or four months later, she goes back to him and repeats the whole story that we have recently read of what happened during the intervening months after he left and how she went out with a guy and almost had sex with him but she felt, well, she felt stupid but just had to repeat the whole story again to add to the word count. Then they had sex and went shopping and had lunch and a shower and had dinner and lived happily ever after. But wait…
After the book ended we have a detailed tour of the house in London, some shopping, some more sex and a redesign of his bedroom to contend with, not to mention more sex. We have to endure the detailed preparations for a wedding, more food and more sex until eventually, the story ends with the happy couple, not them, another happy couple, getting spliced, at 13 weeks pregnant. Nothing new there then.
I am afraid I began to care less and less about Piper and her infantile behavior, her moods, her temper, her ignorance of reality, almost as much as I cared for Richard, who should have known better. She is 28 for heaven’s sake! What can such a young woman possibly know about love, life and emotion? She is barely out of school. She has no consideration for her actions as far as Richard is concerned; she is a selfish, childish brat who behaves like a schoolgirl who has not been asked to the Prom.
The writing style is the open mouthed, golly, gosh, wow, amazing so beloved of teenage picture stories. If the sex had been omitted I would have assumed the author was about fourteen or so. There is no real story line other than the interminable series of events, all similar and all insignificant in the great scheme of things. Sadly, for me anyway, this type of novel has been done a thousand times and to stand out from the crowd it needs to be a lot more polished and have a definite plot line other than the meandering story of these two getting to know each other. All things considered, that is all that happens; two people get to know each other and after a slight and very predictable hiccough, live happily ever after, eventually.
2.5 stars is the most I can award, I'm afraid.
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October 23, 2019🎁 FREE on Amazon today (10/23/2019)! 🎁
April 6, 2017
A little long, but such a true love story. The attraction, courtship and the struggle at the end is what love is all about. Thanks for the bonus book! It is great to see when a couple relationship is so much stronger❤Simple storyline but a beautiful story❤❤❤❤
September 5, 2015
I suppose a disclaimer is in order here: I'm not generally a fan of romance novels.
They're just not my thing.
However, The Only One is the exception, because in her debut novel, Mary Head has made the characters relatable and easy to root for. As romance novels go, TOO is a quick read -- don't let the size of the paperback fool you. The chapters are short, the pacing is excellent, and before you know it, you'll be almost as invested in Richard and Piper's relationship as they are.
The author also makes each of the supporting characters easy to identify with, and they add to the overall fabric of the narrative. Richard and Piper do not exist in a vacuum, and it's nice to see that while the story is clearly about them, everyone else is given a chance to breathe and find their voice. Jill, in particular, was a personal favorite.
Another of this book's many strengths is its representation. While it is, at its heart, the story of a heterosexual relationship between two white people, the overall cast is more diverse than a lot of books. In addition, the relationship itself between Richard and Piper defies certain societal expectations in low-key, blink-and-you-might-miss-them ways. In my mind, these attributes really add to the story.
Long and short of it, if you're a fan of the genre, The Only One is highly recommended. Even if you're not, this is still a well-written book that tells an entertaining story.
They're just not my thing.
However, The Only One is the exception, because in her debut novel, Mary Head has made the characters relatable and easy to root for. As romance novels go, TOO is a quick read -- don't let the size of the paperback fool you. The chapters are short, the pacing is excellent, and before you know it, you'll be almost as invested in Richard and Piper's relationship as they are.
The author also makes each of the supporting characters easy to identify with, and they add to the overall fabric of the narrative. Richard and Piper do not exist in a vacuum, and it's nice to see that while the story is clearly about them, everyone else is given a chance to breathe and find their voice. Jill, in particular, was a personal favorite.
Another of this book's many strengths is its representation. While it is, at its heart, the story of a heterosexual relationship between two white people, the overall cast is more diverse than a lot of books. In addition, the relationship itself between Richard and Piper defies certain societal expectations in low-key, blink-and-you-might-miss-them ways. In my mind, these attributes really add to the story.
Long and short of it, if you're a fan of the genre, The Only One is highly recommended. Even if you're not, this is still a well-written book that tells an entertaining story.
October 13, 2015
The Only One is a fast-paced romance set in New York City that is both hot and steamy as well as being emotionally satisfying.
Although the story primarily focuses on the romance between a 28 year old, beautiful woman and a fiftyish successful businessman, this story brings all of its characters to life. There are no 'cardboard' cutouts; everyone is fully drawn, believable and real.
With a deft touch, the author uses well-timed back stories to explain motivations, desires and emotions, making all of the character’s actions very plausible. Throughout its pages, we go from scenes that bring tears to the eyes to scenes describing the physical romance of the main characters, the latter told with enough detail to be hot, exciting and tempting, but not overboard at all.
I recommend this novel to anyone who wants more than just a typical romance, but one in which the inner lives of the characters - including past successes and past misfortunes – quickly propels the story along.
Although the story primarily focuses on the romance between a 28 year old, beautiful woman and a fiftyish successful businessman, this story brings all of its characters to life. There are no 'cardboard' cutouts; everyone is fully drawn, believable and real.
With a deft touch, the author uses well-timed back stories to explain motivations, desires and emotions, making all of the character’s actions very plausible. Throughout its pages, we go from scenes that bring tears to the eyes to scenes describing the physical romance of the main characters, the latter told with enough detail to be hot, exciting and tempting, but not overboard at all.
I recommend this novel to anyone who wants more than just a typical romance, but one in which the inner lives of the characters - including past successes and past misfortunes – quickly propels the story along.
January 23, 2023
3 1/2 stars. This a very sweet romance with a side of friendships, and my absolute favourite thing about it is that I've now read an actual romance without the man being a raging misogynist. I feel like I never thought that would happen. It's a very warm and tender romance, and that's basically the whole book, which doesn't bother me because those tend to be what I like anyway, but it might feel slow to people who expect side plots.
However, I gave it a bit off because I found the end to be a little too dragged out for my tastes--I expected another conflict--and I'm generally not a huge fan of the 'moves to another country/continent to live with lover' thing, although it was handled nicely in this.
However, I gave it a bit off because I found the end to be a little too dragged out for my tastes--I expected another conflict--and I'm generally not a huge fan of the 'moves to another country/continent to live with lover' thing, although it was handled nicely in this.
October 14, 2015
I love this book! Yes, my best friend wrote it, but I wouldn't have let her publish it if I didn't think it was worthy of showing the world. Her talent amazes and inspires me. The characters are relatable, well written, and allowed to be imperfect. They screw up, they fight, they have issues. The plot is engaging but the real story is about the relationships between all the characters, the friendships and the romances. It's a great read that doesn't follow the usual romantic formula. There is no will they/won't they, the story is about their relationship, not just the path to getting them together.
May 16, 2017
Sweet romance with characters I'd like to hang out with. The story is about friendships as well as love.
December 5, 2015
This book is well-written and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy a sweet, enjoyable love story. The characters are well-developed and believable. I liked the themes of friendship, and definitely the New York City setting. Why then, did I not rate it higher? Because I feel that it flowed too sweetly, emphasizing the small details, and not offering enough tension. There were countless beautiful sex scenes, but no tension until near the end. In a love story, there must be ongoing conflict between the “must have” and the “cannot have.” This tension provides the suspense that keeps you glued to the book. It may have been interesting if “the evil sister” had made an appearance and threatened the new relationship, or if the old boyfriend had been woven more persistently into the story. The conflict comes late in this story, and it was too little for me as a reader. I did, however, enjoy the book and recommend it.
I received a copy of this book to review as part of a Goodreads review group. I did not receive a reciprocal review or renumeration of any kind.
I received a copy of this book to review as part of a Goodreads review group. I did not receive a reciprocal review or renumeration of any kind.
January 10, 2016
This was one of those reads that takes energy out of me for no reason.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews