Title: + One
Author: Brian Baleno
Publisher: Brian Baleno
ISBN: 978-0615524320
Pages: 356, Paperback/Kindle
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Lisa Brown-Gilbert, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
To some people a successful career means everything and for others a successful relationship means just as much. But what happens when you strive to have both? Can a perfect balance between the two be maintained? When given the choice between having a successful career that you enjoy or a deep loving relationship which would you choose? In order to have a successful career a great deal of time and effort needs to be devoted to your career in order to climb that corporate ladder. On the other hand maintaining a loving relationship also requires devoted time and effort in order to build a loving and secure relationship. Such is the dilemma of a loving couple Jake and Kara in author Brian Baleno’s fictional book, + One.Jake is a lucky man he achieved something with his career that most of us strive for, he loves his job and is paid well for it. Jake is also in his thirties, handsome and very much in love with the very comely Kara. Jake’s profound success as an investment banker is due to his constant devotion of time and effort and is also due to the fact that he deeply enjoys the challenges of his job. Jake feels that he loves and needs his job but at the same time he also loves and needs Kara in his life. Although the relationship between Jake and Kara is still relatively fresh he feels Kara is the love of his life, his soul mate and his best friend. However, the relationship is being severely hampered by his devotion to his job; the constant meetings and the continuous necessity to travel are a tremendous stressor on his relationship with Kara.
Kara on the other hand is a youthful, beautiful, loving and charitable woman. Kara teaches and heads many charitable efforts. Kara is able to balance and manage her career, her hobbies and her relationship with Jake. Kara is also becoming increasingly disappointed with the relationship with Jake; he is always late for their dates, sometimes missing them altogether he travels a great deal and is becoming to her dismay an absentee boyfriend. She finds herself constantly trying to mend the building rift between them but it is hard to garner Jake’s attention when it comes to the relationship issues because the matter is frequently a topic of discussion and Jake is growing tired and frustrated with the topic. Jake and Kara love each other but is the strength of their love enough to endure the stress that Jake’s devotion to his career is creating.
+ One, takes an in depth look at the conundrum that affects many relationships – Love or Money. This book aptly demonstrates both sides of the coin when it comes to careers and relationships and the effect that an imbalance in the devotion to each can cause. The story is told from Jake’s perspective but both sides of the emotional coin are well visited so that the reader does understand where each person is at in the relationship. Without revealing too much more of the story, Jake does encounter the stark realization that he may not be able to have both his career and love without making some sacrifices to his career. This is a realistic and well written story that holds the reader’s interest with the well defined characters and detailed scenes that allows the reader to vividly see the story as it unfolds. I definitely recommend this book as it is a good read that makes you think.
