Thank you so much for this beautiful story!! It had every emotion in it!!!

 

This review is long overdue and I'm incredibly regretful of that fact.  I was reading chapter 33 of The One for the umpteenth time today, when I was hit with the knowledge that I never took the time to review and express my appreciation for both you and the story. You illuminated a small part of my world with your story telling. I don't know how you did it, but you managed to create just the right atmosphere within the story...Just the right balance between the glamour of Hollywood, angst, romance and everyday life.  I loved the innocence of your female character, Becca or Rebecca to you, LOL.  I cheered for her when she excelled, and wept alongside her when she despaired.  You made me care about her.  God, the intimacy you created between Becca and Robert was scintillating.  Yes, he may have been movie star Robert Pattinson, but once they step foot within the doors of the book store, in their apartment above, all of that was left behind.  It became immaterial...he was simply her man and she was his girl.  Everything about that story drew me in.  I think it was one of the first stories that really hooked me on RPF's.  I adored the way you orchestrated their relationship.  It was almost like love at first sight, for the both of them.  Most stories usually focus on the initial meeting, only giving us glimpses into their future by way of future takes, or an epilogue set years into the future, but not The One!  You wrote the story in a way that made me feel as if I experienced an entire life time with them.  They met, lived together, joined their lives with one another, experienced the heartbreak of losing a child as well as losing each other, severed the connection between their souls, attempted to lead different lives, and finally came back together in the end.  The chapter where Robert walked away from Becca was very heartbreaking for me.  You made me feel the ache in her heart when he was gone.  I kept waiting for him to wake up and realize how much she loves him, waiting for the moment he'd go home to her. I felt her pain and desolation in every single chapter.  You also made me feel his confusion and fear.  Surprisingly enough, my love for him didn't waver.  Yes, he hurt her, but he hurt himself even more, and in the process, made the story that much better.  Believe it or not, this is one of the reasons why it; along with chapter 33 are my favorite chapters in the book.  "Unfortunately, yes.  I have been very lucky so far, but there was a point in my life where I did allow myself to miss out on something beautiful." Robert Pattinson, The One, Chapter 33.  This is my favorite line in the entire story, LOL.  OMG, and when he said leaving Becca was his biggest regret...Major goose bumps!    You did a masterful job with the interview.  Everything was handled beautifully, the inclusion or mentioning of Meredith Vieira as well as Al Roker, the awareness of those in attendance that something major was about to take place, all of the small nuances came together to make it magical.  I really wanted to read about the telephone call between Robert and his mother after the interview though!  I wanted to get her impression of the interview.

The next set of events on my favorites list had to be when Becca lost the baby.  I know, I know...this was a tragedy, so how can it possibly be listed amongst one of my favorite events right?  I don't know I just loved the small details that emerged within that chapter.  The way you highlighted the fact of Nick being #1 in Becca's speed dial really hit a cord with me.  I'm not one for speed dials per sey, but I know that I only need to press the #1 key in my Blackberry to reach my father.  At first, I wasn't bothered by the fact that Nick had the number one spot in Becca's telephone.  It didn't seem very important to me till Robert mentioned it.  That was when it hit me, and I realized we were in for some stormy weather.  You wrote the scene of Robert's subsequent breakdown upon hearing the news of the miscarriage beautifully.  He was emotional, steadfast and extremely relatable.  I couldn't even be angry with him over his harsh dismissal of Nick.  He was right.  Becca and the baby were his family, and his responsibility to care for.  It was the first time I realized how much Becca still counted on Nick...Counted on him to be there when she should have counted on Robert instead.  I know she didn't do it intentionally, but that played a huge part in everything that followed.  I don't mean to infer that Becca was responsible for his insecurities because she wasn't.  However, her continued reliance upon Nick was a contributing factor to it...Ultimately leading to Robert believing the only sane choice was to walk away. She fed his insecurities by not accepting her fate.  If I were given a choice to change anything in that chapter, with the exception of Becca losing the baby off course, then it would have to be Jane's reaction to the news.  Her reaction wasn't strong enough for someone who just found out that her only son has in essence lost a child.  Robert's reaction was absolutely perfect and heartbreaking.  Jane's should have been just as strong.  She shouldn't have asked Robert, whether or not her presence was required.  I thought that would have been a given.  I expected her to calm him down, all the while making travel plans to go to him.  He needed his mother, in the same manner that Becca needed hers.  I really believe that she should have been there.  As much as I detested Robert's actions in chapter 23, it was very much understandable.  He shouldn't have asked her to choose between himself and Nick, but she shouldn't have made him feel the need to even ask the question.  The fact that he felt the need to ask spoke volume and really ought to have been a clue to Becca that something was seriously lacking within their relationship.  You wrote that part so amazingly well, that you had me shedding tears for Robert even as he broke her heart.  I never doubted his love for her, but the fact that Robert wasn't automatically her first and only choice made me doubt the depth of her love for him.  That wasn't license for the events that followed the breakup though. All of the fun times with Kristen (though it boggles my mind how anyone can have fun times with that one) in full view of the media for the entire world to witness, was disrespectful to Becca.  The fact that he wasn't bothered by his actions until he saw Nick and realized the egregious error he committed didn't shed a very favorable light unto the character either.  He actually smirked when contemplating Nick and Becca finally being together romantically...That said, all of the time spent with Kristen was my least favorite aspect of the story, LOL.  She's not my favorite character and she never will be, so let's just leave it at that.

Moving on to the major relationships within the story... Robert and Becca's relationship was undoubtedly my favorite relationship in the story.  However, Nick and Becca‘s brother/sister relationship was a close second.  No matter what Robert believed, or what may have transpired in the past, I never got a real sense of any romantic feelings between the two.  I think they really came to view one another as a beloved sibling.  I love the chapter where Becca recalls the conversation she had with Nick.  The conversation in which he promised to find "The One" for her, and promised to always be there.  I do believe that Becca grew to see him as her security blanket, the one person who would never leave her.  In a roundabout way by leaving, Robert proved that assertion to be one hundred percent correct.  I was very angry with Nick when he chose to remain with Kelly over being there for Becca in her hour of need.  He promised to always be there and he simply wasn't.  He made the right choice.  He did what Becca should have done when faced with the same decision.  However, that knowledge didn't abate my anger towards him at all.  LOL, he may have chosen Kelly over Becca, I was gratified to see him chose Becca over Robert in the end.

This next relationship took me by surprise.  I did my best to hate it, but simply couldn't.  The relationship I'm talking about is Brian and Becca!  I was prepared to hate him because I perceived him to be a threat to the possible reconciliation of Robert and Becca. The truth of the matter is that he slowly grew on me, and I came to appreciate their friendship.  Becca was lost in a very dark place.  Brian served as that voice of reason there to remind her that the past is exactly that...the past.  He helped her realize that looking back and grieving over it, was only immobilizing her.  I loved the way he spoke of her writing.  My favorite line of Brian's was when he said "Remember, I want to ‘hear' you again, Rebecca Russell."  Brian helped Becca find her voice again, so how can anyone be against one such as him?  It's impossible.  Brian made Becca realize that she was at a crossroads in her life.  She had reached a critical moment...A moment where her choices had the potential to define the rest of her life.  The more I think about it, the more I realize just how brave Becca really was.  Most of us will turn around when faced with the unknown, or tasked with stepping out of our comfort zone.  Instead of withdrawing further into her shell, Becca accepted Brian's challenge and slowly began to write again....It is only when tested, do we realize who we really are, and who we have the potential to become.  Brian helped her in ways that both Nick and Robert failed to do.  Brian reminded me that we all need a little bit of help sometimes...someone to help us see all of the beauty the world has to offer.   In essence, Brian brought her back to life.  Who was it that said "Passion left undeveloped is a flame that burns to its own destruction?"

Now for the list of my least favorite characters.  Drum roll please...and the honor goes to Kelly and Kristen!  How apropos that both of their names would begin with the letter K!  You are probably scandalized that anyone could hate sweet, adorable Kelly right?  Well, I hate her for giving Nick an ultimatum and making him choose between herself and Becca!  It's extremely childish of me, but true nonetheless.  I also didn't like the fact that she happened to be a dead ringer of Rebecca.  That was, for lack of a better word, a tad bit cheesy.   I understood where you were going with that, but she didn't have to be Becca's lookalike in order to be considered Nick's soul mate.  She would have fared much better had she been given her own "identity" in the story.
Kristen, I hated for being foul mouthed, uncouth, and demanding.  In others words, I hated her for being herself.  I thought she was lacking in class and maturity.

Perfection or the idea of perfection has always fascinated me.  It's always been an impossibility that I believed in wholeheartedly...Something that I aspired to in every aspect of my life.  As crazy as it sounds, it took reading a wonderful story entitled Days Like This to cure me of that notion.  Perfection doesn't exist.  It is only a mirage.  In the words of Tyler Hawkins, "Only there to tease us" into wanting something we can never really achieve.  Perfection also has the ability to be a tad bit boring, if truth be told.  It's also intangible and based entirely on each individual's personal preference. My idea of perfection might just turn out to be another person's idea of hell and vice versa, LOL.  Not to mention the fact that imperfections have a tendency to be downright alluring at times. I felt the need to preface the next part of my review with the aforementioned statement because this might be your least favorite part of this review.  It is the part where I'm going to share my opinion on what I believe would have improved the story.   I'm not doing this out of some misguided desire for perfection, or because I secretly hate the story and/or want to hurt your feelings.  I really believe that it would be a disservice to the both of us, if I failed to be anything than 100% honest in my interpretation of the story, after having had the honor of reading your work.  What would be the point in that?  I may very well be incorrect in my estimations, but at least I'm honest in my beliefs. With that said, why were Robert's family so glaringly absent throughout the story?  Becca bumped into his sister outside of the premiere for Remember Me, and didn't even recognize her.   How is that possible?  Becca was very important to Robert.  The woman he loved and at one time, shared a life with.  She wasn't a one night stand.  She was also going to be the mother of his child, had it not been for the intervention of fate and bad luck.  Why didn't Robert insist upon introducing her to his family sooner?  I recognize the fact that they lived overseas, but that's what planes are for.  He could have easily flown them in, or flown her out to meet them.  The fact that he never did devalued their relationship and trivialized her role in his life.  Robert is the baby in his family...his mother and sisters would have made a point of meeting her.   They'd want to ascertain her moral character first hand, want to make certain of her real motivations... that she wasn't out to con and/or manipulate him.  It is my opinion that instead of writing about all of the Kristen entanglements or involvements in Roberts's life; the story would have been greatly improved had Robert's family played a more prominent role in his life. I know that they finally made plans to visit his family, but that was all the way in chapter 20 and I don't believe that it ever happened!  She should have met them long before she miscarried Aidan.

"I don't think I can face the woman the whole world thinks you should be with, just yet." Rebecca Russell chapter 20.  I had a major WTF moment after reading that line.  It made Becca appear to be insecure, almost as if she felt inferior to Kristen.  Why in the world would she feel inferior?  She had the guy, was a kick ass writer, ran a successful business, beautiful in her own right, and had fantastic fashion sense!  Becca was class personified...She had absolutely NOTHING to be insecure about.  Who cares what the rest of the world thinks?  When it comes down to it, the choices we make for ourselves and those that we love are what are really important.

The last thing I'd like to bitch about was Robert's stunt of the voice over's at the Remember Me premier.  Yes, it was incredibly romantic, and I swooned right along with everybody else.  However, after the euphoria wore off, I became unsure as to what the phrase "Be mine forever, Rebeccca?" truly meant.  What would it have meant to her had she been in attendance?  Was it a marriage proposal?  Was he asking her to marry him?  If that was indeed the case, was he insane?  He walked out on her, publicly embarrassed her through his shenanigans with Kristen, and had yet to make any kind of reparations to her.  Why in the world would he put her in such of an uncomfortable situation?  I think the story would have been a bit better had Robert and Becca made up prior to the Remember Me premier.  At that point, pulling the voice over stunt would have had a greater impact.  She would have been in the audience.  The lights could've penned to her awaiting her response...he could've walked over to her, got down on one knee and repeat the question.  Cheesy I know, but the voice over was already cheesy so why not add onto it?  Lastly, Becca and Robert always thought of the baby they lost as Aidan.  Why would they name another child by that name?

In conclusion, I hope you realize that you have a gift.  A real gift...Don't let the world take it away from you.  I'd also like you to remember that constructive criticism is never a "bad" thing when it is offered with the best of intentions.  You should definitely continue to share your talent with us.  I'm really looking forward to reading many more great stories from you.

Till Next Time,

Kari

 

Lol, Lizzy the fangirl...You changed the sheets right? On to the date <3

Hmmm, she wants to please Nick...moving on!

I'm anxious to dig in and learn more. I think this is going to be good! (A shout out to holdmeransom for the rec) Also we (you and I)began following each other on Twitter today too...I'm Jude0522 on twitter btw. (On here I'm RPattz Freak...which I TOTALLY am!) Anyway, enough of me blabbering...on to chapter two!  

Whohoooooo!!!

Author's Response:

Thank you for going on.  I do hope you enjoy this all the way to the end.  Thank you again.

I understand that they have to lern a lot abut themselves, but c'mooon!! I don't know if i like this that much u know...... let's just wait and see right?

Author's Response:

Hi there!  Welcome to The One.  It excites me when I see new reviews on this story.  I hope you keep going to see!  

That was a perfect ending!!! :-)

Author's Response:

Thank you so much for spending the past two days catching up.  I really do appreciate it.  I am glad you enjoyed The One.  If you're up to it, I have a new story that was just validated.  Care to join Rob on a "royal" adventure?

Seriously, thank you so much for allowing me to entertain you.

Gah!!! Cliffie!!!

 

One perk of being behind is not having to wait.. lol

Good on Robert!!!

 

Damn Jim...

Kinda feel bad for Kristen...

Awesome, as always!!!

I am embarrasingly behind on reading....

 

BAD!!!

 

So, I am now catching up. :-)