The One

by C.A. Popovich

Jody Acosta’s life was turned upside down the day her father died in a work-related accident. Struggling with her grief, all she can do is immerse herself in her work at the local animal shelter and help her mother while they wait for the settlement from the wrongful death lawsuit.

Nicole Bergeron, the company's representative, is conducting an internal investigation into the accident. She understands the Acosta family’s grief, but that doesn’t mean the company her father built is automatically responsible for the tragedy.

Jody doesn’t know what makes her more furious, that the wealthy Bergeron family refuses to pay for what they did, or that she can’t ignore her knee-weakening attraction to Nicole. But she’ll need to push aside her anger to work with Nicole to find the truth, about the company, about her father, and about her own heart.

Genres: LGBT, Lesbian

252 pages, Paperback

Published February 14, 2023

About the author

C.A. Popovich, a Michigan native, has worked in the automotive industry for most of her life. During the many layoffs in the unpredictable field, she earned a certificate in dog grooming, an associate’s degree in veterinary technology, and worked in maintenance at a condominium complex. She’s been working as an AutoCAD operator since 2009 and looks forward to retiring to be able to write full-time. She believes her passion for writing began at birth and has maintained a journal since high school.
Since discovering Bold Strokes Books, and her love of lesbian romance, she’s written numerous short stories with happily-ever-after endings. In 2012, she had an article titled “The Choice” published in Sinister Wisdom. It describes her experience on a flight aboard the tiny plane into Provincetown, MA.
She hates spiders, loves to read, write, spend time with her family, and travel to as many BSB events as finances allow.

Reviews

[Della B · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has been a year since Jody lost her father to an industrial accident and she is still struggling to understand how it happened. Nicole, the warehouse manager is willing to let Jody join her in the final investigation into the accident so that she can close the insurance file. Jody and Nicole are surprised by the mutual attraction which grows stronger after meeting.

Where would we be without the classic lesbian U Haul story? The One definitely fits this iconic story style. Unfortunately, there are a few bumps in the telling which made me start skimming through sections.
The plotting of the story is see through and predictable to its detriment. There is a missed opportunity with the gossip reporter. She could have been used to add greater angst by disclosing the why behind Jody and Nicole’s meetings but was unfortunately removed quickly and quietly as an adversary. The writing is in a staccato style which I find jarring to my reading head voice. This is purely a personal non preference.

The concept of this story is original and caught my interest. It is enjoyable to see the tight family connections both Jody and Nicole share. While I did not enjoy this read as much as I would have liked, I am sure others will find it thoroughly enjoyable.

I received a free advance review copy from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jo reece · Rating 3 out of 5]

An original story which was a good read. The characters are ok, the storyline ok and but could have had more romance tho and sparks.

All in all, cute story, been done before, but nothing really special.

I've given The one a 3 out of 5

[Kaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tedious. I feel like there is a story here but it never develops. Jody and her mother have a potential wrongful death lawsuit against the company where her father worked. He died in an accident and the preliminary findings show he is at fault. Nicole is the manager of the company her father owns. She is conscientious and wants to get the family to sign off on the company not being liable. In a spirit of transparency she invites Jody to visit the worksite and review any of the investigation. The two also bond over the fact they both volunteer at the local animal shelter.

The main story is weak It is ridiculous to me that Jody is somehow going to see something to solve a company mishap by visiting a full year after the fact. The only real puzzle piece is the final medical examiners report. Which oddly hasn’t been sent out a year later. I understand Nicole wants the company to be released from liability but it is up to Jody and her mom to prove there is some way the company is at fault and no one seems to be investigating except the company itself. So not clear on how they thought they were going to win a law suit.

Plot-wise the investigation is an excuse for the two to spend time together but the storyline becomes monotonous in details. I remember the same thing from the author’s previous book. I don’t need to know how every day is spent. If you agree to meet again on Wednesday, skip to that day. I don’t need to know all the details of what each person did at work, or volunteering at the shelter or what you ate every time you show up at your mother’s or brother’s respectively. I would have traded it all for real conversations between the MC’s. Talk about the book you’re reading or past relationships of which Jody only has one. Small details were perplexing too. Jody is the maid of honor for her best friend. She speculates the couple may be waiting for the wedding to be intimate. What? If the person is my BF and I’m the MOH, I would already know that. The reporter and Nicole’s relationship with her mom are potential plot points that seemingly fizzle and go nowhere.

The best thing I can say is the main characters are likable and attracted to each other. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. (2.5 Stars)

[Aleana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Jody and her mother are very close they are still mourning her father and waiting to learn whether there was any negligence at his job where the accident occurred that cause his death for their lawsuit. Jody meets Nicole when she goes fundraiser they meet again when Nicole is the representative for her father company to see if her father company had anything to do with wrongful death of Jody father. They get to know each other as they work to learn the truth. Pleasant read with low on angst which I enjoy because I really thought the lawsuit would’ve been the angst that kept them at odd but it’s was resolved and it’s just about two people finding each other.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star. Jody Acosta's father died in a work related accident. To deal with her grief, she gets involved in the local shelter. She meets Nicole Bergeron, who is attractive and seems to be into her. They both feel sparks right away, that is until Jody realizes that Nicole works for the company that she is suing about father's death. Jody only wants answers and wants some money to help her mother, Jody is convinced that the company is at fault.

I would give this book zero stars if I could. This was not a good book, it was repetitive and all the conversations were the same. I could only read it until the 30% mark, and I feel like nothing happened and I just kept reading the same thing again and again. There seemed to be almost no plot in the book and the all the conversations just went around in circles. There was not one thing in this book that I liked. I would never recommend this book at all, This book should be skipped.

[Nathalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Following up on the death of her father Jody and her mother are sueing his former workplace for his death. They feel like they were at fault and want a settlement so her mother is financially stable in her old days. Nicole is the representative for her father's firm where Jody's dad worked.

This story seemed to be going nowhere. There was not a lot going on at all. I read countless of times where Nicole and Jody stood up, had tea, went to work, did volunteer work at the same shelter for some reason but having never met there and then going to bed after reading a book. The lawsuit seemed like a plot to get them to meet even though they met for the first time at a fundraiser for the shelter they both volunteer at but have never met each other before but now they keep on running into each other there as well.

At the end I didn't even care anymore how the lawsuit would be resolved.

An ARC was provided to me via Netgalley in return of an honest review.

[Patty Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but could have been better. The main characters were interesting. I felt at times that Jody was a bit uptight and unlikable at times throughout this story especially when interacting with Nicole who's supposed to be her love interest. Nicole was likeable, but I felt that the dialogue between the two main characters was a bit repetitive, and the drama between them was kind of thrown in. I didn't like how Jody blamed Nicole for her fathers death when it clearly was an accident. The supporting characters helped in some way to move this story along, and I can honestly say that I liked the character of Jodys mother the best, because she seemed to be the only rational one of the two. If you don't mind the repetitive nature of this story then I suggest you give it a read. But, I would like to see what this author does next, before recommending this book to my friends and family.

[Alice M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of food on offer. Every time Jody visited her mother there was a lunch or a dinner mentioned. At the very least coffee and cake. It’s nice to visit your mother, especially in these circumstances but there seemed to be an awful lot of emphasis on eating. I was interested in the proposed lawsuit and how it would turn out and how it would affect the relationship between Jody and Nicole. When the coroner’s report was finally obtained the finding was not a surprise in view of what Nicole had come across earlier in the story. There was no angst, just a story of two women getting to know each other, although Jody did get a bit obnoxious towards Nicole at one point for, to my mind, no good reason. Quite a pleasant story.

[Jessica Rush · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a lovely romance, considering the way they met and what they had to do, but I found it quite repetitive. It, unfortunately, dampened the experience for me.

I really wanted to get into it, considering I am a health and safety officer and work on investigations. I found it a bit shocking that it took a year for everything to happen.

I did like the chemistry between the two though, and it definitely warmed my heart that they found each other. Tiny was the cutest.

[MJSam · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not 'the one' for me. This features Jody, whose father died in a workplace accident, and Nicole, whose family owns the company that Jody's father worked for. The two meet at a charity event and are interested in each other, but then learn who the other is. Nicole decides to help Jody work out what happened to her father, which is how the two start to spend time together.

This was a weird contrivance, as I couldn't believe Nicole's lawyer would even permit this, or the many trips to the accident site to work out what had happened. There was a LOT of repetition in the book, and way too much time spent on minute details that the reader didn't need to know, so I was bored well before we got the answer to the 'mystery'. They are also missing a rather large piece of the puzzle for most of the book, and I didn't buy the reasons for the delay there either.

The characters were ok individually, but didn't have great chemistry together. I didn't really buy into their relationship, and given what they had to overcome, it seemed unrealistic at best, meaning the HEA fell flat for me. 2 stars.

[Haley Bungay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book! I tried so hard but I just couldn’t get into it. There’s definitely a story here but nothing ever develops. It just goes through the motions.

I like the characters but nothing happens. It’s the same scenes over and over and over again. There’s so much potential but I think the story itself needs to be reworked and more in-depth. I’m intrigued but it couldn’t keep my attention.