Oh wow, I did not read the synopsis of this book going in and so what happened within the first few pages took me completely off guard! This book reminded me of a classic Paige Toon novel wrapped up with the storytelling and heart of Miranda Dickinson. I adored every moment of it and I couldn’t wait to get in my car in the mornings and keep listening on my commute!


Lottie is a great character to spend this book with because she wears her heart on her sleeve. She is passionate about herself and her relationships, particularly her relationships with her sisters. It was such a pleasure to read about a character who is so passionate and about a character who actually has a good relationship with her family. It was a real treat. The other reason Lottie is so great to read about is because she is really relatable. She doesn’t have it all together and she doesn’t pretend to. She is fine with her job but it could be better; she is unlucky in love and she knows that she sometimes drinks too much and is guilty of the hangover fake sick call to work. I just loved this about her!



This book deals with death and this book deals with some baby loss and so you definitely need to use care and caution going in but I do think that these massive topics are dealt with as part of the story in a sensitive way and yet in a way that shows that these things are part of life and that beautiful things can also come out of them. It is rare to find a book that explores such passionate love in this way without that passion turning into pure lust and so I loved that about it. I laughed at points and I cried along with the audiobook. I loved all of the themes explored through these three sisters and I loved getting to know Lottie. She is definitely a character I would like to hear more from and I would love to know what happens to her in the future!

This is a beautiful book about love, grief, friendship and family. I really enjoyed the flashbacks at the beginning of the book, that showed the relationship blossoming between Leo and Lottie. I felt the story really needed these happier chapters to break up sadness of the book.

The way the book was written felt quite raw and full of emotion. I felt I really understood Lottie's grief and all the emotions she was struggling to deal with I felt with her. This book pulled on my heartstrings so much. The characters are so lovable everyone needs sisters like Em and Annie, they are there for Lottie to help her through the tough times, encouraging her to move on and find love somewhere else and they cheer her on to be the best person she can possibly be.

I enjoyed seeing the friendship between Ross and Lottie blossom, I found it quite comforting that they found a friendship in such a sad part of their lives. The fact that they both knew Leo in very different ways was nice so they could share their own stories to each other. This book was easy to read I found myself getting lost within the pages and loosing track of time. I would highly recommend this book.

THE ONE by CLAIRE FROST.

As Lottie begins to believe that her boyfriend Leo is a keeper and their relationship could be something special, she is floored by the unexpected news of his sudden death.
Lottie now has to come to terms with the fact that all their shared dreams for the future will now never happen.
Normally close to her two sisters, who both seem to have their lives sorted, Lottie now feels alone and unable to live up to their achievments.
As life has thrust Lottie onto an unexpected path, can she navigate her way through the darkness and back to a happier place?

The story is told in two timelines. The past, where we learn about Lottie and Leo’s heartwarming but all too brief love affair, and the present day, where Lottie is learning to live a new life without Leo by her side.

Claire Frost writes with effortless depth and feeling. Each page is full of emotion, some of which is quite raw.
As much as there is sadness in this book, there are also lighter moments, that will make you smile and balance the mood of the book.

This is an incredibly tender story of love, heartbreak, complex family dynamics and learning to live again.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to #Netgalley and #SimonAndShusterUk for a digital arc of #TheOne by #ClaireFrost.

After being convinced Lottie Brown has finally found the love of her life, she heard devastating news that her boyfriend Leo Sinclair has died. They have only been together three months, but both had declared their love for each other, and Lottie was sure she had found The One.
The novel is set in Oxford and begins with Lottie socializing with her sisters Annie and Emilia (Em). It then goes back in time to show her relationship with Leo (Before) and forward to the present day, as she comes to terms with his loss. It is easy to follow, and you get into the story straight away with there being such a huge shock in the first chapter.
After Leo’s death, Lottie meets his parents, aunt and uncle and re-meets Leo’s cousin Ross. It seems there were a few big, important parts of Leo’s life that he hadn’t told her. What will she think, once she finds out the truth?
The story is beautifully told and really well written. The characters all come across very well, the pacing is expertly done and it draws you in straight away. The three sisters are very authentic, you can easily see their conversations and how the family dynamic works between them.
Even though the novel deals with death and a broken heart, it is never a depressing or negative read. It is cleverly told so you see what Lottie is going through, but can also see how she changes as a person, learns from her experiences and – with the help of her sisters and friends – continues to live her life, even when at times, she felt like it was over.
8 out of 10

Thank you to Books and the City for my copy of this book. I have read Claire's two previous books and I really enjoyed them. This book was a lot sadder than her previous to but it was very poignant.

Lottie was such an easy character to like. She is very realistic and she's the sort of character you like warts and all. Seeing Lottie cope with her grief was very difficult to read. She really does struggle and it was lovely to see the characters talking about mental health and how important it is. This is a topic we all shy away from especially when dealing with grief. I think its very important to make this more normalised. Everyone has tough days and sometimes those turn into tough weeks, months, years but if we talk about our struggles then things do tend to feel better.

I really loved Leo's parents I thought they were so sweet and so brave. I was glad Lottie got to know them even if it wasn't in the circumstances she expected.

Claire explores some really tough topics but she deals with them all very tactfully and realistically. Grief is different for everyone and Claire shows us that too. I loved the sisters' bond. They were so close and their relationship was so real. All families have arguments but in the end, usually, you will make up.

This is a story about love, grief and really just living. Life isn't easy but we have to take the good when we can. I think that is a great moral to take from this story.

This is a tear jerker novel, which I was prepared for having read the synopsis. Claire's writing is full of warmth even though it has a tragedy. Beautifully written.

Wow! This book is incredible, I am almost lost for words it really is that good.
The One sounds like it will be a sad emotional read and that is the initial reaction I've had when I read the blurb or mention it to friends, but I can reassure you that it is far from that. I felt hopeful and so proud of Lottie and how far she had come from the start of the book to the end.
Lottie Brown is one of my all time favourite heroines. I loved her and found she was totally relatable. There was some really funny moments, romantic moments and emotional moments, Claire has really captured it all in this book and I was hooked. Lottie has fallen in love fast and hard and then has it is all suddenly taken away from her, this brings about so many emotions for her that lead her to question her relationship and her life. There are some difficult times ahead for Lottie but the love from her sisters and regular pub meet ups really help Lottie to talk through everything and make some choices on what she can do about things.
This is the heart warming moments that really shine through for me, the love story between Lottie and her sisters as well as the romantic love story that Lottie goes on.
This is by far Claire's best novel! I loved it! One of the best books of 2022 for sure!

A book about finding the one and falling deeply, irrevocably in love before … it’s all snatched away!

Lottie meets Leo and instantly falls in love .. she couldn’t be happier! However tragedy strikes when Leo dies and Lottie finds herself finding out more and more about him .. did she really know him well at all?

Perfect quick read for anyone! I really enjoyed this book and seeing how Lottie developed throughout.

The One is Claire Frost's third novel and in my opinion her best to date and as the blurb says it follows Lottie as she comes to terms with everything that has recently happened in her life. From the start of a new blossoming relationship with Leo to dealing with the maelstrom of emotions after the sudden and unexpected death of the person who could have been 'The One'.

We follow Lottie as she explores her relationships, struggles to come to terms with her loss and deal with the pain and grief she is feeling. But most of all the realisation that she didn't really know everything about Leo that she thought she did.

The story is told through chapters in the present day and as well as the days and months leading up to that fateful day. In the present we first meet Lottie as she is out with her sisters Em and Annie talking about her relationship with Leo and the fact that she had mentioned the L word already when she receives a call which will bring with it the devastating news.

Through flashbacks to before we get an insight into Lottie and Leo's relationship, from their meet-cute meeting in an M&S food hall and their subsequent dating life. The 3 months that they spent together really saw Lottie come alive and she's more than ready for him to meet her sisters when her world is turned upside down and it feels like nothing will ever be the same again.

My heart really felt for Lottie as it was clear she was floundering as to how to get through each day, to continue living her life without Leo in it especially when she finds herself alone at Leo's funeral and the realisation that other than his cousin Ross she didn't know anyone else in his life. As we follow Lottie's story we see her go through a journey of self discovery with her sisters, Ross and her friends Rachel and Guy by her side.

Lottie really was such a real and relatable character that you can't help but feel for and want to wrap her up and take away her pain. I know that some might think her imaginary conversations with Leo strange or morbid but they help her for a short time and in the end who is she hurting by wondering what life could have been like with Leo by having these conversations in her head. Having gone through grief myself, although not a partner, I could empathise when she was in low spirits but also wanted to tell her that there will be brighter days in the horizon.

The One is an emotional but uplifting story so don't be put off by the topic of grief and how you work your way through it as the author has done it in a sympathetic way and with her inevitable style of wit sprinkled throughout to lighten the mood.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I have loved reading the previous books by Claire. This one was just as good if not better.

I couldn’t put this hook down, and it’s one that will stay with me and the readers after finishing it fora long time.

The story showed that you never know what’s around the corner, and to live each day to the fullest.

There was also sensitive topics covered in a way readers could relate to, like grief and heart conditions, as well as others.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book by Claire.

The themes of love and loss are heavily intertwined in The One, which sees the protagonist Lottie navigate these conflicting emotions following the sudden death of her boyfriend Leo. I found it refreshing to see grief and the raw, comped emotions we associate with this feeling portrayed in such a realistic way, as Lottie tries to come to terms with her identity and that of the partner she thought she knew.

Overall, I found this to be a really heartwarming novel regardless the fact that it largely deals with the subject of grief, and would absolutely read more by Claire Frost in the future.

*Thanks to Simon & Schuster UK and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

A story that follows Lottie & how she deals with the unexpected loss of a new romance, the family dynamics between her & her sisters & how she learns to find herself again.

Great book, will look for more books from this author

Beautifully and sensitively written. Packed full of emotion and hope. This book
Is a truly stunning read.

I think I am starting to lose my thriller title!

Another romance book that I absolutely loved. I must be going soft in my old age.

In this book, the authors introduces us to Lottie, a lexicographer. I have to admit – I didn’t even know what this was – so thank you to the author for introducing me to this job!! Lottie has been somewhat unlucky in love. She is the middle of three sisters, Annie and Em, both of whom she is extremely close to.

Lottie is out shopping one lunchtime for a present for Annie's birthday and she literally bumps in to Leo. They exchange numbers and the rest is history. They start dating and fall in love, and everything is magical…until three months later. Lottie receives a phone call from Ross, Leo's cousin, informing her Leo has passed away.

My heart really went out to Lottie. I felt like I shared her grief with her, as the book was so beliveable.

Despite this book not being your typical happy rom com, there were parts throughout the book, where I found myself amused at Lottie's behaviour, knowing that I had done the same things as her at times in my life.

Lottie was a great character. I enjoyed being part of the journey where she found herself and learnt to live life without Leo.

I loved the sister's bond and loved the chapters where all three of them were bonding. Being an only child, I could only imagine what it would be like to have this bond with two sisters. Em was my favourite sister. I love how the author also dissected their life, to show that everything is not perfect, no matter how much it may seem.

I really enjoyed this book and will be ordering the author's previous book very soon.

I really enjoyed reading this book by Claire Frost. It begins with perhaps the "big scene" of the novel, where Lottie finds out that her boyfriend Leo has died unexpectedly. Lottie and Leo had been together for just 3 months but in that time Lottie felt that they had fallen in love.
The rest of the novel then goes on to explore how Lottie coped with the grief, her relationship with her sisters, her career, and discovering more about the man she was in love with.
In a way, the novel was a bit flat, having no huge twists or turns, but it was a lovely, comforting type of flat. It was great to read about a woman having a career, as that's something often missing in this genre of book. Overall I really enjoyed it. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this read but felt it was more about Lottie and her sisters, about her family, than it really was a love story. I expected it to be more about the love, I thought I would swoon from beginning to end and feel heartbreak and so on. I sympathised with Lottie and I don't want to say that 3 months isn't enough to feel that she lost the love of her life but still. I do love the progress she made in the end and although it was a little predictable how it would end as well, I did love that she came to the right conclusions and found her happiness again.

A tender story of love and loss. Lottie and Leo fell hard and fast for each other but three months later Leo is dead. With all her hopes and dreams in tatters, Lottie is struggling with her grief. But how much can you know about someone after three months? Lottie is about to discover she really didn’t know Leo at all.

This is is first book I've read from this author and will definitely be reading more of her books after reading this one. This is a story about love, loss, family and friendship. Its such a sad but also heartwarming stroy about Lottie and all she has to go through and the ending of the book is just perfect.

Wow. An emotional read, once I started reading I couldn't put it down. Thank you Claire for this fantastic story, I look forward to reading more

Books like this live or die with the main character, and Lottie is definitely the kind of person you will fall in love with. Although not faultless, she is such a real person and a very realistic portrayal of someone who has experienced grief and dealing with the fallout.