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From an Australian TV scriptwriter comes a sparkling debut novel where the quest for love will surprise you.
Three women searching for love – one hit TV show.
Kaneana May’s wonderful debut novel opens with Bonnie Yates, a photographer, auditioning for the hottest reality TV series in the country – The One. It’s a great introduction to this truly likable character. She feels a little awkward in front of the camera rather than behind it. She’s gorgeous, vulnerable and looking for love. Problem is, she keeps choosing the wrong guys. She’s fallen back in love with her high school boyfriend Ollie, who now has a fiancée in tow. A fiancée who wants Bonnie to photograph their wedding. She needs to get out of town and being on a reality show is the perfect opportunity to disappear for a few weeks.
Working behind the scenes, Darcy Reed is a driven young producer dealing with a tyrant of a boss. Despite being surrounded by love at work, her own love-life with long-term boyfriend Drew is floundering. He’s a teacher, hates working at his Sydney school, and takes up a temporary position back in the home town he misses, and that Darcy is happy to have escaped. The last thing she wants to do is move back home with him, so they trial a long-distance relationship. This gives Darcy time to focus on the show. Producing a flawless season is her best chance at a promotion. But that’s tougher than expected when she realises the show’s star, gorgeous bachelor Ty isn’t really looking for new love but rather mourning one he lost.
Penelope Baker has relocated to a small seaside town to hide away with her secrets and nurse a broken heart. She is alone, somewhere new, and quietly trying to rebuild her life. But with the latest series of The One beaming across the nation’s televisions, she can’t seem to quite escape the life she left behind…
Will any of these three women find The One? Before cameras roll on the final ceremony, all three women will discover just what they’re willing to do in pursuit of love.
Set against the backdrop of a Bachelor-style TV set, The One is fast-paced, with polished writing and zippy dialogue. Even those readers who aren’t fans of reality TV (hands up me) will be fans of this book. May worked in television for years, and here she exposes the absurdity of these reality shows without stooping to ridicule. It would be easy to make fun of the contestants but she doesn’t, which makes the book a much more rewarding read. All the characters are well written and well-rounded. You’ll not only fall for the three fabulous main characters, but the whole cast; especially Ed, Darcy’s best friend and Ben, the show’s camera man.
Kaneana May is an author to watch. This is an excellent debut. If you love a Happily Ever After, you’ll love this. The One is fun. A highly entertaining read.
Kaneana May studied television production at university, graduating with first-class honours in screenwriting. She went on to work in television, including roles as a script assistant on All Saints, a storyliner on Headland and a scriptwriter on Home and Away. Since becoming a mother, Kaneana has turned her attention to fiction writing. Kaneana loves to read—mostly YA, romance and women’s fiction—and also loves watching TV and films. Writing, boot camp, coffee, chocolate and champagne are just some of her favourite things. Kaneana lives on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales with her husband and three children.For more about Kaneana, check out www.kaneanamay.com or join her over on Facebook or Instagram where you’ll see her sharing loads of her life, loves, and writing.
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