Book Review: One and Only by Maurene Goo

May 29, 2026

We follow the story of Cassia Park on the cusp of her fortieth birthday; still unmarried, still childless. Cassia belongs to a family a matchmakers, going back centuries, but these aren’t just any old matchmakers. She and the women in her family are able to see into a persons past life and see who they are fated to be with, just by reading their faces. And they have been right. Every. Single. Time. So when Cassia gets her face read by her halmoni when she turned 30 and decided she was ready to find him, she knew she was going to meet her match and someone who she knew she would be happy with. Now, almost ten years later, and he hasn’t shown up, Cassia is getting more than a little impatient. The family magic rests on her shoulders. Her mother passed away when she was 8, her great aunt only had boys (who do not carry the family gift) and her aunt never had children. So it is all on her. So when she has a meet cute with a young man who is not her fated, she’s not too worried about it and ends up really connecting with him, only to meet his boss: her fated. What is she going to do? Will this be her great love? Why can’t she stop thinking about the young man she had a meet cute with? Are we in charge of our own fate or is it in charge of us?

I love a story about star crossed lovers. I love it so much. And this was a fresh take on it. I loved the friendship and family dynamics in this book and a soft view into a Korean household. Goo didn’t shy away from trauma and messiness, which I also loved. Overall, I recommend. Very minimal spice but still very sweet. My only complaint is that some sections were kind of glossed over.