This is the most queer of Matt's books to date - I have loved his very wholesome love stories, but One Love feels like it is closer to contemporary lit than his previous books. It is perhaps the most realistic friends-to-lovers narrative that I have read.

Mainly because, despite all marketing, it isn't a HEA romance novel. Instead, it is an exploration of how unrequited feelings can impact a long term friendship, the person that experiences them and the choices they make. Danny has unwittingly planned his whole life around a potential with Guy. It has led him to act in ways that don't feel like the real him and he doesn't know how to get out if the expectations he assumes others need from him.

I get that, I think most of us have been there in one way or another with someone. This is a very good look at the ways this can really affect a person.

Neither Danny or Guy felt particularly likeable to me - though, I do always love to see the northern-ness of Matt's characters. I actually think they would make a terrible couple, they are both selfish and bring out the worst in each other. This book feels to me more like Danny's experience of learning that he is allowed to demand more for and of himself.

The book is set over two pov and two timeliness which meet up over the course of the book. It is very well done - I just felt that the narrative voices of the pov didn't feel any different in maturity when 20 years apart. That said, I'm pretty sure that was a purposeful character decision exploring the way this friendship had kept Danny back in other areas of his life.

I can't believe I haven't heard of this author before! Matt Cain's writing is beautiful. You'll adore this book if you're a fan of friends-to-lovers stories. It tells the story of Guy and Danny, who have been friends for twenty years but have secretly fallen in love with each other. The book takes readers on a funny, sensitive, and light-hearted journey of will they, won't they? The dual timelines add a great concept to the story, allowing past events to intertwine with the present.

The book is set at Manchester Pride, and Cain's exquisite writing talents bring the vibrant atmosphere to life without readers having to attend the event. The language and setting are written perfectly to capture the essence of the event.

If you're looking for an easy-to-follow, absorbing, and light read, 'One Love' is the perfect book.

I'll definitely be looking for more books by this author in the future and highly recommend this new release.

I love Matt's books and this one is no exception. Quirky title and hoped it would as good as it sounded. In fact, it was amazing. A lovely read for those winter nights. Thank you for the ARC.

Fantastic uplifting story, one to cosy up with on a cold day in front of a fire, beautiful story about love, life and friendship.

“Positivity seeps from every page” - The Times
 
“A great big hug of a book” - Michael Ball
 
“Filled with joy and strength and optimism” - Russell T. Davies
 
I feel like we’ve read different books entirely.  Maybe I’m not the target audience, or maybe I missed the point entirely – I’m not sure.
 
One Love is based around two men, Guy and Danny, that met at Manchester Uni in 2002 – they formed a strong friendship and explored the good and bad of gay life in that time and place.  Fast forward 20 years and they’re back in Manchester for Pride to reminisce and figure out what they really mean to each other.
 
Someone pass me a thriller, stat!
 
Sadly, I wasn’t a huge fan of this book.  Whilst it had it’s moments, it felt cliched and I wasn’t really invested.  The repetitive use of words like “babe” and “princess” drove me mad after a while, as did the incessant fat shaming.
 
I didn’t care for either of the main characters. Both were flawed and not particularly likeable. Danny is clearly grappling with deep feelings of shame, but he comes across as petulant, insecure and self-destructive – and this doesn’t change.  Danny’s whole identity is his sexuality – there’s nothing more to him.  Guy, struggling with his internalised homophobia and obsession with appearing straight, treats Danny poorly, essentially keeping him around to boost his ego.  
 
There was NO character evolution between their time at university and them 20 years later. Without the year as a chapter heading, I would have sworn this was set across one year and not 20. This may have been the author demonstrating the cyclical nature of ingrained patterns and behaviours, but for me, it just sounded a little repetitive.
 
Then, 20 pages before the end they suddenly became these decent and enlightened people, miraculously now seeing the past 20 years with remarkable insight and clarity.  It felt like a RuPaul ‘if you can’t love yourself’ and Jerry Springer’s ‘Final Thought’ moment spliced together.
 
I hate being negative about a book; so I must say this is just my opinion. There are lots of four and five-star reviews for this here on NetGalley. It just didn’t work for me.
 
Thanks to One More Chapter and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.  All opinions are my own.

I have loved previous books by Matt Cain. Albert Entwhistle is one of my favourite ever characters in a book so was looking forward to reading this. However, it sadly disappointed me as it was so very different. I felt little empathy for either of the main characters, I disliked the frequent comparisons of male appendages and the explicit nature of some sections. Whilst I understand it was setting the Gay scene and student life in the 00’s it left me cold. The writing did not involve me at all and seemed tedious in places. I feel this was a very cathartic novel for the author and so he felt he had to paint the picture he did and to vent his disgust with the disgraceful homophobia of earlier times, to fat-shame a lot ( I disliked that emphasis too) and to demonstrate how times have changed with the various online hookup sites and their results. It was just not the cosy read, with empathetic characters that I was hoping for.

I absolutely flew through One Love, stopping to read it every chance I had: on the bus, in the bath, at my lunch break at work. I was hooked instantly and just wanted to hug Danny tight and tell him everything was going to be alright.

The story follows Danny and Guy through the ups and downs of their twenty year friendship; from their initial meeting at Manchester university and their coming out stories, to their life now when so much has transpired. What will happen when they go back to where they first met?

I loved this book and will be recommending it to everyone I know.

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy.

This wasn’t for me. I really like the writing, but the plot was non existent and the constant fat shaming was not needed. I read 114 pages of this book which is why I’m leaving a review.

Kicking off the new year with a book that celebrates Pride and explores different kinds of love. Platonic, romantic, familial, this book postulates they’re all equally valid and that some kinds of love defy definition.

The narration skips back and forth between the present day in 2022 as Danny and Guy revisit Manchester for Pride weekend, and chapters that chart the origins of their friendship at Manchester University in 2002. The different eras felt very grounded in authenticity, and it definitely sparked some nostalgia for the early aughts—but it also means there’s some outdated terminology that felt jarring to read. There should also be some warnings for disordered eating and general comments about weight that could be triggering for anyone with ED.

I feel like I should also warn that this isn’t a conventional ‘romance’. Whilst the ending feels quite realistic and hopeful, it’s not the typical ‘wrapped up in a happily ever after’ ending I would usually expect from a romance. This book feels more like an exploration of queer culture and how things have changed (largely for the better) between 2002 and 2022.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I’m excited to read more of Matt Cain’s books, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I knew where it was headed and had been braced for the ending.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a lovely though thought provoking read this was! I loved it from the first page! Matt has a lovely way of bringing his characters to life from the start. This has left me feeling a mixture of emotions. I loved Danny and Guy! I will be recommending this book to everyone!
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this fantastic book! 4⭐

I havent read any Matt Cain books before and I enojoyed this although it didnt blow my socks off. I felt it was a little cliche in places and whilst it is a good read the dialogue wasnt really my style.

I really enjoyed this book and struggled to put it down. I loved the character Danny so much, I just wanted to cuddle him. He reminded me of the way I feel. Im glad he felt better about himself. I want to know what happens next, feel there could be a follow up( fingers crossed). This book is defo worth a read gave me all the feels! Thank you

I read this in one sitting so it must be doing something right but I'm not totally sure how I feel about it. It follows gay friends Danny and Guy who return to their old haunts in Manchester to celebrate 20 years of friendship. But all of these years Danny has been in love with Guy and he's ready to spill the secret. Much of the story is told in flashbacks of their relationship which gives us a rich view of them. It also speaks well about Manchester Pride, it's clear the author cares deeply about pride.

I enjoyed reading about Danny in particular. He's a very sweet protagonist and I found myself really caring about him. I'm just not sure I agree it goes to the healthiest place, I supported a very different outcome for Danny. It also speaks to many issues in the gay community like body dysmorphia, drug use and casual sex. But it ignores some and feels like it goes for a very simplistic solution to others.

Even though the resolution wasn't for me, it's a sweet story at times and I'd read others by Matt Cain.

DNF at 23%

This one just didn’t work for me at all. The writing style felt very stilted, like I was just being told a series of events instead of experiencing them with the characters. I felt no emotion and no sense of engagement whatsoever.

The characters didn’t really appeal to me either, and they honestly seemed indistinguishable between the past and present, like they’d not changed at all since uni.

Thank you Netgalley and Headline for this advanced copy for an honest review.

About the book: 2002. Danny arrives at Manchester University determined not to hide from the world any longer. This is the year his life will begin.

He locks eyes with a handsome stranger across the hall at the Freshers' Fair. It starts with a wink and soon Danny and Guy are best friends.

2022. Now, both single for the first time in years, Danny and Guy return to the confetti-covered streets of the Gay Village for Manchester Pride.

After years of shared adventures and lost dreams, Danny finally plans to share the secret he has been keeping for two decades. He has always been in love with Guy.

Could this weekend be the end of a twenty-year friendship . . . or the start of something new and even more beautiful?

MY THOUGHTS

My first book of 2024 and the first book I've read of Matt Cain and certainly not the last.

The story follows Danny and Guy from their first meeting as Manchester Uni students in 2002 up to present day as adults attending Manchester Pride. The story is mostly from Danny's POV but we do get Guys POV throughout as well.

We switch from present day and the pride weekend back to various points in their student and adult lives. The pacing was perfectly done and our main characters were not perfect and neither were their lives but that's what made them so real. Many of us will understand the self loathing the imposter syndrome as well as being children of the 90s and 00s and what that world was like even though it was seen as "progressive" makes you realise 2002 had nothing on 2023. I will say though Guy at one point I dismissed as an emotional vampire but with the closing act I felt differently (slightly)

I really enjoyed this book and it had me staying up late to finish. I almost wanted more but also feel Matt ended it perfectly. I'm now off to add his back catalogue to wishlist!

#bookreview #bookish #books #mattcain #queerstories #love #pride #selflove #onelove

As a teenager growing up in Manchester we had regular nights out in the Gay Village, as a group of straight friends we were always welcomed and had so many amazing nights in Via Fossa, Prague 5 and so many other places I forget now! So this was a really special story to read.

One Love tells the super sweet story (with a pinch of spice) of Guy and Danny, two gay men who met at University in Manchester but have never been together. Danny is from a single parent, working class Northern background, Guy from a wealthy family in the South, who went to boarding school. So on the surface they have little in common, but hit it off from the start and are insuperable best friends until life gets in the way.

They meet up 20 years later, back in Manchester for Pride, and for Danny the spark he's always felt for Guy is still there, but does he dare take the leap and tell him, risking their long term friendship?

The story is told at various points over their 20 years, between Manchester, London, Thailand and Brighton. The pair face discrimination (including from friends and family) despite being in a gay friendly city in the 21st century. At times this is heartbreaking, then funny. I raced through this in an evening, it's ultimately an uplifting and heartwarming read.

So this was my first book of 2024. And, well, you always want the first time to be special.So an uplifting, heartwarming tale of a will-they-won't-they 20 year friendship would be a nice way to start the year.

Having enjoyed Matt Cain's 'Albert Entwistle' I was looking forward to this, but sadly it didn't hit the mark for me. Just a few too many clichés, just a little too much stilted dialogue and too many 'babes' and 'princesses'. And not really enough character development - basically it's the same 2 people 20 years apart, and they are almost indistinguishable. Only at the end do we sense that they might find out who they really are.

The culture of growing up gay in Britain in a certain time is, however, well done, and it is important to remember how far society has come, and yet, sadly, how far it has still to go.

A decent enough read but without the genuine heart of 'Albert Entwistle', this just didn't quite do it for me. 3 stars.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

I absolutely love Matt Cain’s books so am delighted that I was sent a review copy of this, and even more delighted to be able to start 2024 with such a lovely, honest and uplifting book.
This is the tale of two friends, both arriving at Manchester university in 2002, both coming out when they arrive and spending their time starting to find out who they are. Danny and Guy are then reunited for Pride in Manchester in 2022, when the time finally feels right for Danny to tell Guy how he’s really felt about him for 20 years. But will this be the start of something or the end?
We see how the friends’ lives unfold in the intervening years, alongside those of their other student mates. What I really love about this book is the twists and turns and character development of Danny and Guy, and their journeys towards acceptance, from society, from friends and family, and of self-love. At times my heart bled for both men, especially Danny, as he struggled with his feelings of poor self-worth. I just wanted to reach into the book and give him a hug.
This is a book with all the feels.

Having really enjoyed two previous Matt Cain novels, I was very keen to read this. One Love sees Danny and Guy meeting as young men at Manchester Universoty, who explore their feelings and Manchester's Gay Village together. Twenty years later, they meet up to attend Manchester Pride - Danny is ready to reveal the secret he has kept ever since they met, but is Guy ready to hear it?

A beautiful story exploring hidden feelings, homophobia, self acceptance and, ultimately, friendship. Thought provoking and heartwarming, with wonderful scenic descriptions and a fabulous group of supporting characters,

Having previously enjoyed this authors previous books, I was looking forward to this one, and it didn't disappoint. The book follows Danny and Guy, who arrived at university in Manchester in 2002 and became firm friends. Alongside this, Danny and Guy meet up for Manchester Pride in 2022, with Danny planning to finally tell Guy how he feels after 20 years of being in love with his best friend. Through the use of this dual perspective and dual timeline, we follow Danny and Guy on their journey from university and the ups and downs of their friendship, their relationships, and their careers. Whilst Danny has hopes of transforming his relationship with Guy into a romantic one, this book is about so much more than this, exploring the meaning of friendship, love and self-love, and acceptance. This was an engagimg, thought provoking and enjoyable read, and the dual voice and dual timeline were particularly effective. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read.