This was the most beautiful m/m love story and how great that it is packaged commercially and doesn't shy away from sex scenes. Just what is needed to bring gay romance to the mainstream.

This wasn’t quite what I expected as I went in thinking it’s going to be a bit of a soppy romance story. It’s certainly not that. It’s more a coming of age story of two very different men, Danny Baxter and Guy Faulkner, and the story of their lives as queer men, from their schooldays to adulthood in their early 40’s. Danny grew up in Barrow, single mother, teased throughout his schooldays for being gay. Whereas Guys parents were wealthy and Guy hid his gayness (is that even a word?) as his parent would most definitely not approve! Written in multiple timeframes and dual POV’s but concentrating on 2002, when they first meet at Manchester University, and 2022 when they meet up again for Manchester Pride. Even before I read the authors notes it was clear that some of this was from personal experience as it was so heartfelt.

Briefly, Danny fell for Guy as soon as he saw him but his love was unrequited. Guy was good looking and was attracted to good looking men who were ostensibly masculine. Guy tended towards long term relationships and to hide his feelings Danny played the field, picking up men for clubs and relationship apps, often one night stands. For years Danny tried to hide his feelings but with both of them single he decided 2022 was his year and he was going to tell Guy how he felt.

A lot of this resonates with me in that I know someone who went through some similar experiences in the 1970/80’s. It’s heartbreaking that in the 2000’s people were still feeling the need to hide their sexuality for various reasons. I didn’t love either of the main characters, I found Danny too needy and his feeling for Guy bordered on obsession. Guy on the other hand seemed to be dangling Danny on a string as he must have been aware of his feelings. I found it all quite sad as neither of them seemed really happy and I was left wondering how things might have been had they had a physical relationship when they first met. A thought provoking and emotional read. 3.5⭐️

I managed about 4 chapters of this one before I got bored and DNFd, it sounded so good but it just wasn't for - I have heard good things and have his previous book so hope I enjoy that!

I read this at the start of the year and it was okay. I enjoyed the storylines going backwards and forwards in time, building up the space we lost between the characters. But twenty years is a long time for Danny to have wanted Guy for so long. What a waste. The relationship felt toxic in places and did make me wince. I did enjoy the flashback to early 2000s.

It's very rare that I rate a book 1 star - the last time was about eight years ago - but this might have been the worst thing I've ever read. I'm not a big fan of writing negative reviews, so this is going to be short, but these are the key takeaways:

- All of the characters felt extremely two dimensional, almost like caricatures.
- The pacing was all over the place.
- The parallels between the two timelines were too on the nose. Literally every scene from the present would have a scene directly comparable - and sometimes quoted verbatim - in the past.
- There's pretty much no character growth for the entire thing. For context, the scenes set in the 'present' take place over 4 days. The rest of the book takes place over 20 years. Worse than that, for the first half of the book it looks like they're both pining over each other but too afraid to 'ruin the friendship', and then when Danny confesses his feelings Guy says he's never loved him the same way and we're just supposed to roll with that as if he's given any indication that that's how he feels during his POV chapters???

I can see that a lot of people have rated this very highly, so I have to believe that the finished copy of the book must be marginally improved otherwise genuinely what is going on? Am I tripping? how did so many of you like this? Genuinely asking.

The real kicker was the acknowledgements where the author says he's been working on this for four and a half years?????? Please say sike. The writing is so bad you could have told me the whole thing was written in a week with no edits and I'd have believed it. Matt Cain, if you're reading this, I'm sorry and I'm not trying to be mean. But also I had to read this whole thing so I'm not that sorry.

TLDR: this might have been so bad that it's pushed me into a reading slump. TBC

I wanted to read this as the author comes from my home town and I have read and enjoyed his other books.

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this one as mush as his others and I think this is a personal thing. I enjoyed the older characters in his other books more, as an older person myself I sometimes find it difficult to connect with younger characters, finding them a bit whiney and this was the problem here.

I enjoyed the story overall but just found some of the actions of the characters questionable at times.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced readers copy in return for an honest review.

We join Guy and Danny as best friends on their first trip to Manchester Pride, the city where they met 20 years ago at university.
The book then easily flits between the different stages of their friendship as they move through various jobs, partners and family drama.

This was such a lovely read, both uplifting and enlightening. I’ve never given much thought to the various aspects of the life of a gay man growing up in Britain but it was so thought provoking to hear about their different experiences, and how they were treated not only by their friends and relatives but also the prejudice that Danny faced from the gay community itself.

Would highly recommend and thank you to Matt for writing such a wonderful book

An interesting premise that didn’t quite work out for me. While I usually enjoy Matt Cain‘s work, One Love just wasn’t for me.

A gorgeous, nostalgic read by Matt Cain, as he explores unspoken love and the pains of adulthood in this compelling novel that took me right back to nights out in Manchester. Cain has an eye for well drawn characters in familiar situations, and One Love is no exception

Such a lovely heartwarming story about two men starting university and their lives openly gay and their friendship through the years. Lovely book

Ok, I have been sitting in front of the screen for longer than I’d like to admit, and, after a few false starts, I still don’t know how to review this book. So, let’s start with the basics: I loved it. Which is however too simplistic and doesn’t even start to describe the rollercoaster of emotions that I went through while reading.

Alternating between 2002 and 2022, and between the points of view of Danny and Guy, we learn how the two met at Manchester University and immediately became best friends. Both gay and, respectively, fresh out of the closet and still in the closet, they help each other navigate the world of gay clubs, comings out and first boyfriends.

Fast forward twenty years and, both single for the first time, they travel to Manchester to attend Pride and walk down memory lane. They are both aware of the connection that’s always been there between them, but neither of them can foresee how their weekend together will end… and, in a way, neither of them really knows how they want it to go.

Is this a love story? A friendship story? A you-can’t-quite-pigeonhole -love story? Whatever story this is, it is beautifully written. It is funny, evocative, emotional, thought-provoking and, for some (ok, for me!), perhaps even nostalgic. I have never been to Manchester and now I can’t wait to retrace Danny’s and Guy’s steps… although I might skip an underground sex club or two!

Matt Cain is one of my go-to authors now, and I am happy I had the chance to hear him talk about this book at Kemptown Bookshop in Brighton last month. It made my reading experience even better!

This was a miss from me unfortunately it just didn’t connect with me and I’m unsure why. I think I didn’t like the constant switch from past tense and present. I didn’t really like the characters. I will always read a Matt cain book as his other book was amazing.

A really beautiful and moving book, I found myself feeling emotional throughout. I enjoyed the dual timelines, letting us explore both the history of the two main characters while also seeing the present culmination of those years. Once I started reading I couldn't stop, I had to see where this story led. Seeing that each of the main characters has similar insecurities about themselves and lack of feeling good enough and the different ways in which that shaped their decisions was interesting and heart-breaking. I found myself both wanting them to be together, but also for Danny to find someone to love him. But one of the greatest messages of the book is that really you have to love yourself first. And how it looks at the definition of love and what a relationship 'should' be, is something I hadn't read before but it was very fitting for these characters. While the ending may have been quite open, it was very hopeful, and that's something that's always good to see. Really enjoyed the book. Solid 4 stars.

Thanks netgalley for the arc!

I have given this book 3 stars because, because while I enjoyed the story, I struggled to understand how the characters made the various decisions which they did.

The switching back and forth in time and between different character perspectives added a layer of depth to the story, and it was a great way to show the reader a bit more about each character.

I struggled with trying to like the characters, which is, unfortunately why I’ve marked this down from 4 stars to 3.

Overall though, a good read with a story that really highlights the difficulties facing gay people, not even that long ago.

2.5

One Love was a bit of a disappointment for me and I'm a bit gutted because I absolutely loved The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle. I found this very drawn out and honestly, I didn't find Guy and Danny very likeable. Danny was very whingey and Guy just wasn't very nice. Loved Eileen though. She was an absolute star.
I will say that Matt has a great way of writing about how hard it is for gay people to come and and the fear of not being accepted. It's absolutely heartbreaking to think of anybody being afraid to do so and potentially being judged or worse. That part of his storytelling I did find interesting but overall, One Love fell quite flat for me.

I really enjoyed reading this book, I loved the characters and enjoyed read about how their friendship develops over the years.
It was a joyful and enjoyable read. I am looking forward to reading the next book by Matt Cain, having enjoyed his earlier books too.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful and thought-provoking read! From the very first page, I was captivated. Matt has a talent for crafting characters that come alive from the outset, evoking a range of emotions within me. I particularly adored Danny and Guy! Without a doubt, I'll be recommending this book to everyone I know!

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

3.5/5.

Really enjoy Matt Cain's books, always carefully and knowledgeably written, this is no exception, a story of two friends, their lives, their different coming out journeys at university where they first meet. We go between the two timelines from 2002 when they first met and 2022 when they are at Manchester Pride and one wants to be honest about his feelings, in amongst the partying! Cracking read.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The main reason I wanted to read another of Matt's books was because I loved The secret life of Albert Entwistle so much. Such a beautiful story about coming out in later life.
One love just didn't have the same feel. That's fair enough; it's not the same story or characters. But I just felt this was a bit boring to be honest. Two guys meet at uni, both fancy each other but do nothing about it. Meet again in 20 years later to go to Manchester pride and still fancy each other. Will they get together? That's really all there is to it.
I think for a gay man this will mean so much more and I would highly recommend it as a read. For me it just wasn't right but I'll definitely be buying more of Matt's books in the future..

Congratulations to Matt Cain, it must have been a big step to write such a personal and intimate story and he has done himself justice in how he has told his tale. Based on his own experiences of growing up gay in a time when it wasn't so accepted, and the internalised shame and dislike that can stem from not feeling accepted for who you are.

Dan and Guy have been best friends for 20 years; Dan has always been in love with Guy but buried it deep under layers of drink, casual sex, and rude jokes. Dan has always been open about being gay, and from the moment he starts university, embraces his new found freedom, living up to all of the gay stereotypes that are thrown at him. Guy is less open at first; his traditional middle class family and friends aren't very supportive of his sexuality, and he finds the gap between home and university is ever widening.

Over the years, the two friends fall in and out of relationships, Dan never being brave enough to risk telling Guy how he really feels. Until now, 20 years later, when the two of them go back for a weekend in Manchester and Dan resolves to show his true feelings in the hope of starting a long overdue romantic relationship.

I felt so emotional reading Dan and Guy's stories; it is hard to remember how different LGBT life was even 20 years ago with some sectors of society being more openly homophobic - it seems almost another world. But for people growing up at that time, the internalised feelings that are set in childhood and adolescence are so hard to navigate, and can affect decisions and actions for years to come.