Blurb:

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?

Review:

Becoming Ted was one of my favourite books of last year, so I was really keen to start reading One Love and I absolutely was not disappointed. I’ve never been to a Pride festival before, so I loved that Matt Cain took us straight to it so that I almost felt as if I was joining in with the fun! The author’s local knowledge is brilliant too so it was very easy to picture the locations and what was happening there, even though my own knowledge of Manchester is patchy!

One Love switches between past and present with each chapter. We begin in 2002 when Danny, Guy and their friends are starting university and follow them over 20 years, with highlights on certain moments over that time. This approach is really effective as it helps us to see how the characters reached the stage they are at in the present day, whilst also digging much deeper into their lives, which makes them really rounded characters that I could empathise with throughout the novel. I was particularly drawn to Danny and I really hoped that things would work out for him, although I must admit that I sometimes struggled to warm to Guy as much.

In One Love, Matt Cain explores several themes such as love, sexuality, homophobia, friendship and self esteem. He does this in a really engaging way that gave me a lot to think about as I was reading. 

I found the ending particularly satisfying and I will bear Danny and Guy, and the messages they gave me, in mind for a long time to come.

One Love is available from Amazon.