The One You Can't Forget is the second book in this latest series by Roni Loren and I didn't know what to expect, but from the ending of The One Who got Away, I just knew that I wanted Rebecca's story so badly. And I can't believe I am going to say this but The One You Can't Forget is SO much better than the first book. Not that I didn't get a fun time with The One Who Got Away, however this book was so much more engaging for me and the pace was way more steady. I read this all in one sitting, and I just didn't want to put it down. There was something about this story that resonated a bit more with me.

Our story begins with our heroine, Rebecca, who is a divorce lawyer who works for her father's firm. Ever since high school and that fateful day where her life was in shambles from the shooting, she lost a big part of herself, including her belief in love and marriage. Rebecca once wanted it all including the boy she loved, marriage, kids and the white picket fence...but the boy she loved was in love with someone else. But now Rebecca has become stronger and more confident. She became a lawyer, and in the beginning scene we see how badass she is when it comes to her career.

Our hero enters the story, Wes Garrett, who is a chef but then he lost his dream resturaunt when he went through a rough divorce and he pretty much lost everything he had. And now he is starting over, teaching kids how to cook and wanting to start again with a food truck business to start and the ocassional stripping session of cooking lessons for bachelorette parties.

On Rebecca's way home from work, she is mugged and she has flashbacks to the high school shooting and she freezes up, but then a dog comes out of nowhere and attacks her attackers who shoot the dog and Rebecca is heartbroken when the dog saved her life and then Wes arrives on the scene and helps her get some medical help for the dog that helped her and including medical attention she may need. When Wes volunteers to take her home to make sure its safe from those that robbed her, she is reluctant but agrees since she has no money on her for a cab or her house key. Even though there is apowerful chemistry between Wes and Rebecca, Rebecca wants to act on what she is feeling for this man but she recognizes him as one of the ex's of her past client and she is part of the reason he lost everyhing. And she knows that he will never forgive or forget what she did to him.

But when she learns what Wes is doing for his kids that he is teaching, teenagers that are struggling, she wants to help him out and these kids that need a helping hand. And at the same time she wants something more with Wes, and once the truth comes out between them, Wes may be angry at first, but he understands that Rebecca was just doing her job which she apparently is great at. And even though he doesn't want to do the casual fling with her, he also doesn't want to give up on what could be the start to a great relationship. He knows of Rebecca's past and that she needs it very slow, but soon Rebecca will have to face up to her past and also the love she is feeling for Wes and decide if she is willing to fight for him as he does for her....

The One You Can't Forget was such a fantastic installment and I am so glad that I was able to pick this one up. I honestly didn't know what to expect from this one, because we suspect that Rebecca is hiding a painful secret about the shooting, which we are teased about in the first book. And yeah once you learn what this secret it, you heart just breaks for Rebecca because you can see how much she has tormented herself over the years. But being with Wes, and falling in love with him, she begins to change in certain ways, especially in her belief that some relationships can make it. It is really rough at times in their relationship as Rebecca comes to this conclusion, but Wes is just wonderful, he never gives up on Rebecca and always has faith in her.

We also have a twist with one of the kids and finding out who the muggers are and Rebecca really impressed me here when we find out the identity. She is so gracious and forgiving and you see her change here. Where she decides that even though she is great at being a divorce lawyer, she wants to do more to help kids out and seeing her come to this realization is pretty epic!! I just loved seeing her growth in this book and seeing her overcome the ghosts of her past and fight for what she wants in her present and her future.

Their sexy times are pretty fantastic and Roni Loren is such a talented author when it comes to the sex scenes. I just loved into these moments I was able to become immersed in. They are very sexy and hot at times, but at the same time you easily get lost in these moments and man....the way that this hero is so focused on the heroine and her pleasure being first is my favorite thing to see and Wes is so devoted to Rebecca...especially in the bedroom.

There is such a strong focus on the development of the romance here and Roni Loren does a real great job of balancing all the great elements out just right. Seeing the depth of emotion that comes bursting out of this book is breathtaking at times and pulls the reader instantly in. I can guarantee you will fall in love with Wes and Rebecca as much as I did. These two are fantastic together and I am sad that the book is over....I will definitely be doing a re read in the future. :)

Another steamy one by Roni Loren, though this one was also reliant on the mugging of the main character, Rebecca, and subsequent relationships with a group of delinquents.
Rebecca finds parallels with her life and the life of one misfit, in particular, though I’m not so sure I would be so philanthropic, given the circumstances.

This story brought on too many problems in my mind for the current shootings at school. I couldn't get into it without having problems, so I have decided to not read this series any more. The writer does a great job at putting emotions in a story, but it hits too many problem buttons.

I enjoyed the first in Roni Loren’s series “The Ones Who Got Away”, centred on a group of school-shooting survivors as they heal from the past and find love, twelve years after the shooting. I thought the first was great and looked forward to the second, the here named The One You Can’t Forget. Though heroine Rebecca Lindt is the high school shooting survivor, the hero is a survivor of a sort too: from loss, financial ruin, divorce, and alcoholism. Between the two of them, you’d think Loren’s novel’d be a misery-fest. While it’s a serious novel about serious things, it’s also funny, hopeful, and sexy.

We met Rebecca Lindt in the series début, The Ones Who Got Away, as the stiff, cool prom queen to the heroine’s sexy wild child persona. But Rebecca was Liv Arias’s great love’s prom date: Finn may have put Rebecca on his arm, but he was kissing Liv in the supply closet … when tragedy struck. In the first book, Finn and Liv are reunited lovers and Rebecca is the rejected girl next door. Loren more than makes up for Rebecca’s losses by giving her Wes Garrett, tattooed chef extraordinaire. I thought, from Loren’s spectacular start, that I would love The One You Can’t Forget more than The Ones Who Got Away … but nope, the latter still edges out the former, but the former came very very close. Part of that was thanks to a spectacular “meet-cute”, which wasn’t so cute, but definitely memorable.

After a tough day at her law firm, Rebecca Lindt is wending her way home with a bag of chicken marsala (which I’m convinced is Loren’s nod to Crusie) and a bottle of wine when two teen muggers hold a gun to her head and take her purse. In flies the stray dog she moments ago shared garlic bread with, the soon-to-be-named Knight, to tackle the teens, but the gun goes off and Knight is injured. Knight II comes to the rescue: Mister Tall, Blonde, and Handsome, Wes Garrett. Cops are called, statements made, and, at Rebecca’s insistence, Dog-Knight goes to the vet, who happens to be Wes’s brother. Stranded without house or car keys, Wes drives Rebecca home and stays with her while the locksmith does his thing.

Post-mugging-vet-locksmith, Rebecca and Wes share a visceral physical attraction. I credit Loren for not making me think “insta-lust!” by writing great banter/convos and previous-to-this celibate lives for her protagonists. Rebecca’s whole focus has been her career and dedication to helping her dad’s law firm and political career. Wes has clawed his way back from a wild past: teen delinquency, divorce, alcoholism, the loss of what would’ve been a star restaurant, and financial ruin. Neither is looking for serious, both may be up for fun, friendship, and added benefits – until Wes realizes that Rebecca was the divorce lawyer who helped Wes’s ex ruin his life and Rebecca realizes Wes is the cheating negligent bad boy who glared at her across the divorce proceedings table.

Wes and Rebecca part not terribly amicable ways. Loren cleverly employs the tried, true, and beloved romance convention of “pride and prejudice” to bring these two back together. Before we know it, Wes and Rebecca are working together on a charity project. After his acrimonious divorce, Wes remade himself by becoming a cooking teacher at the Brant Street Youth Program, teaching at-risk teens to cook and possibly make a life for themselves with viable careers that require business acumen and kitchen mojo. Loren shows how Wes and Rebecca grow to like, respect, and understand each other so much better in wonderful exchanges comprised of delightful banter, hot kissing, and a mutual cause. When they finally burn up the sheets, it feels right and honest.

But Wes and Rebecca’s snarling wolves of the past come scratching at their door to disturb their no-strings peace. Loren’s character growth focusses particularly on Rebecca. The night of the Long Acre HS prom shooting haunts Rebecca and the mugging brings on what has been latent PTSD. But Rebecca’s trauma isn’t only made of bad memories, it’s made of terrible, crippling guilt. Wes, on the other hand, is a man whose reticent heart has been engaged by Rebecca’s openness to helping his teens, her commitment to doing the right thing, her humour, intelligence, and red-headed charm. Though he’d vowed to keep it sealed, his heart is full-throttle engaged. When he confesses as such, Rebecca runs because all that guilt and fear have come home to roost.

Loren does a great job of showing us how two vulnerable, likeable people cannot treat their friendship and affection as throwaways to sexual compatibility. I thought that Loren’s melodramatic reckoning for her likeable protagonists stretched my immersion and belief in her story. But I also realized, in thinking about how I was pulled out of the story when the sentimentality became too much, that romance often does that. It uses contrived circumstances to bring the hero’s and heroine’s unguarded emotional exposure in light of their love for each other and, in this case, of unresolved past trauma, to make their way to the HEA. We all too often condemn the genre for the convention without sufficiently crediting it for the resolution of psychic wounds, the healing of traumas, and the vision of commitment, love, and fidelity.

In the end, I thought that the reunited lovers of Loren’s The Ones Who Got Away were a modicum more successful than her no-way-friends-with-benefits in The One You Can’t Forget. Nevertheless, this is a wonderfully conceived and developped series and I’m already looking forward to number three, The One You Fight For. Suffice to say, for now, that Miss Austen and I would say that The One You Can’t Forget offers “real comfort,” Emma.

Roni Loren’s The One You Can’t Forget is published by Sourcebooks Casablanca. It was released on June 5th and may be found at your preferred vendor. I received an e-ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca, via Netgalley.

After falling wildly in love with the first book in The Ones Who Got Away series, The One You Can't Forget became my most anticipated read for the summer. I wanted the dive headfirst into the emotional romance the second it hit my Kindle. Let me tell you, it took strong willpower to not drop everything to immediately start reading this book.

Funny story... My friend Ezrah from (I Heart Romance & YA) and I went to celebrate The Ripped Bodice's 2nd birthday back in March. We both got lucky and snagged 2 tote bags filled with books and other goodies. What coveted print arc did Ezrah get? Yep... She's lucky I don't know where she lives or I'd go steal it. One day, Ezrah. One day...

Okay, back to the review...

Oh, my God. I knew The One You Can't Forget was going to be an emotional romance to the nth degree, but I had no clue it would be that freaking amazing. Wes and Rebecca are survivors. Twelve years ago, Rebecca was one of the few survivors of the Lone Acres school shooting. You would think surviving a tragic event when so many of your classmates didn't would be a heavy enough burden for Bec to carry. When we learn that she's been carrying a heartbreaking secret, readers learn that her survivor guilt runs so much deeper. When recent events threaten to pull her back under, it's Wes and the unconditional love of the stray dog that help Rebecca recover. After a brutal divorce that cost him everything, Wes went into a tailspin. He got lucky, though, and now he's on the bumpy rode to recovery with a new dream. A dream that he's working his ass off to hopefully achieve.

I fell hard for Rebecca and Wes. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical of Bec's love-ability as a heroine. After meeting her in the first book, readers don't really get the best first impression. As I got to know her more in this book, it's clear that she's greatly misunderstood. She's only known heartbreak and that weighs heavily on some of her actions. She's closed off because she's scared. When her secret is revealed, I wanted to hug her. It broke her and I ugly cried right along with her. Wes, on the other hand, I loved from the get-go. That man is gold. A chef that works with kids? Uh, yum. And he's sexy as hell. It was the two of them together that really sealed the deal for me. I loved their banter. I loved that it was their hilarious verbal foreplay that healed them. It gave both of them the freedom to express themselves differently. It brought light into what was a dark situation. I friggin' adored it.

I cannot rave more about The One You Can't Forget. Readers get more insight on what happened during the shooting, more specifically what led up to it. I think that's one of the reasons why this one was also far more emotional than the first book in the series, but in a way, it was also lighthearted. I loved that mixture. I hate that the wait for Taryn's book is so long, but it is already my most anticipated book for 2019.

Roni Loren has fast become a favorite author for me. Her book The Ones Who Got Away struck a chord with me and I was eagerly anticipating the follow-up companion novel, The One You Can't Forget. While slightly different in tone from the first book, The One You Can't Forget was another stellar read from Roni Loren. This is definitely a book that's going to my re-read pile.

Years after the horrific Long Acre High School shooting that killed Rebecca's classmates, she is a successful divorce attorney. On the surface, she is a woman who is thriving, but underneath, she is still suffering from PTSD in the aftermath of the shooting. Rebecca is forced to relive the nightmare that was that day when she is robbed at gunpoint while walking home one night. Thankfully, a stray furry friend and Wes, come to her rescue and what begins is a journey towards healing. Roni Loren did a fantastic job in The One You Can't Forget with Rebecca's characterization. In the first book, she wasn't always the most likable, but here the author digs into the depths of her character which allows you to understand the atrocities that have haunted this woman. Rebecca's emotions were so tangible throughout the book. My heart ached for her and I found myself rooting for her happiness. It wasn't an easy route for her, but when she began to take the steps needed to heal herself with the help of Wes, I was incredibly proud of her.

Roni Loren writes some of the best heroes and Wes was no different. I fell easily for this kind, generous and sweet guy. A nasty divorce leaves Wes' dreams of owning a restaurant shattered, but he is trying to make ends meet through teaching cooking skills at an after-school program. It's not where he envisioned his life to be, but he still gives his fullest to the kids. I loved Wes and everything about him, but mostly what stuck with me was his resilience and his ability to push Rebecca to see the best in her. Their romance could easily have been messy - Rebecca was the attorney that represented his cruel, manipulative ex-wife in the divorce - but Roni Loren made their relationship believable and so shipworthy. My goodness did I love these two together. They complemented each other in the best possible ways by bringing out the best in each other. There were so many emotional moments between them and ahhhh! They were just so so good together.

I am so hyped that The One You Can't Forget was so memorable for me. It had everything that I love in a good romance book - strong characters, a swoony romance and a touch of angst that was the cherry on the cake. If you haven't read Roni Loren, I strongly recommend that you try her books out. She is honestly a romance queen.

Great second novel of the series. Loren does a fabulous job writing about a very tough event and showing how her characters learn and grow with a shared tragic past. So worth the read.

Do I even have to say it? Okay. Yes, of course, I enjoyed The One You Can’t Forget! I was eager to get Rebecca’s story for two reasons: 1) I wanted to know what she was hiding and why she felt so much guilt, and 2) I had major love for the way she handled the awkward situation in the previous book with Olivia and Finn.

Rebecca and Wes are opposites in many ways, yet they are a perfect fit. There was definitely a recipe for disaster because of the role Rebecca played in Wes losing everything. It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing at first, but they definitely worked it out. Bow chicka wow wow! 😀 Seriously though, they balanced each other out really well, and Wes was such an amazing support for her. I was also happy with the growth Rebecca went through because she deserved her HEA!

This could easily be read as a standalone, but I do suggest reading in order because the first book sets everything in motion and makes certain things a little more clear.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆
As someone who doesn't read much mainstream contemporary romance, I was hooked by the blurb for The Ones Who Got Away. This series features the survivors of a school shooting, more than a decade later, learning to deal with survivor's guilt and move forward in their lives. While I suggest reading the first installment in the series, The One You Can't Forget could easily be read as a standalone.

First and foremost, I need point out how this is not fluffy but it's also not nail-biting emotional stress, either. While Rebecca is suffering from PTSD, survivor's guilt, and shame for her behavior back in high school. The emotional gut-punch rides just beneath the surface. Not too light. Not too heavy. Perfect for a wide array of romance readers who need a realistic portrayal.

Rebecca is a divorce layer, more than jaded and pessimistic after growing up from being a believe-in-fairy-tales teenage girl. She was the good girl. The girl next door. The girl who had an unrequited crush on her best friend. The girl everyone assumed had it all. But that is not Rebecca at all.

The novel starts out during another traumatic time, one that freezes Rebecca. To the rescue comes a stray dog and a down-on-his-luck chef. Wes brings that delicious angst that romance readers eat by the spoonful. Brooding, wounded, yet a man driven to make his dream reality... and Rebecca is the lawyer who single-handedly took his dream away.

Wes and Rebecca shine the most bantering during the getting-to-know-you stage of their friendship. They're drawn together, even with this being their second chance after a not-so great first impressions. Another layer of angst is Rebecca's perfectionist, controlling, smothering politically minded father.

Wes teaches underprivileged kids how to cook, and this draws a dark and gritty reality at how many youths who are forced into crime to survive.

With many layers, what reads as a mainstream contemporary romance is much deeper than the surface. The romance is warm and sweet, yet intimately realistic as the pair moves from friendship to more. But there is heavier subject matter that gives just enough to develop a well-rounded, realistic, and enjoyable novel.

Why 4 instead of 5 stars? When I compare the first book to the second, my feverish need to click the pages wasn't there. I wasn't as emotionally invested in Rebecca and Wes. The first felt inspired, and this felt as if it was Rebecca's turn for a book but there was something missing – a flatness, fill-in-the-blanks feel. The specific characters, the angst, and newness of the first installment hooked me more, resonated with me. I did have a difficult time connecting to Rebecca or Wes. While realistic, I didn't think Rebecca self-sabotaging or spineless, so the conflict that arises didn't fit the character. I was satisfied and happy at the 60% mark of the story, and felt it meandered and created manufactured conflict to rush toward an ending.

Since this book was more focused on the narrators, there was little to no scene-time featuring the fellow Long Acre survivors, which took away from that need to know what happens next sensation I absolutely adore.

Highly recommend, I'm more than eager to read the next installment.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in the series, and I would highly recommend that you read them in order. I have a feeling that if you read this as a standalone, you would still think it a really good story, but miss quite a bit of the context.

Both Wes and Rebecca have tumultuous pasts, and in fact, whilst the shooting had a huge impact on Rebecca, it is not the only difficulty that she faced as a teenager. Her mother left for another man, and her father piled on the pressure of expectation. She has, however, been harbouring a secret about the shooting that never really leaves her and has affected her life and relationships ever since. She is now back in contact with a group of survivors, thanks to the documentary, which features in book one. We learned a little there of the guilt that she still felt.

Wes also has a checkered past but is finally coming out the other side. He has lost the trust of his family and is determined not to make any more mistakes. As we get to know him better, it is easy to fall for him, as life has not been kind.

Somehow these two very different people provide a friendship to each other which is even more important than the chemistry, although they can't deny that for long either. There is no doubt that the romance builds in a bit of a whirlwind, and one cannot help but worry about their state of mind or heart. However, Roni Loren has plotted this book with great skill, and ensured that we feel the passage of time to fit their emotions, rather than the other way around. It is always believable and very desirable.

By the time you have thrown in an injured stray dog, an abused teen who needs support, and a bright yellow bus, this is a very enjoyable and uplifting book to read.

This is the second installment for the series, and this time around we have two new characters and their stories. This time we have Rebecca and Wes’ story who meet after all the these years after school.

Wes’ life is a mess, he is spiraling down hill with all the drinking, the divorce, you name it. I felt just awful for him. He feels something that he hasn’t felt in years when Rebecca walks back into this life. And it was great to see Rebecca from the first book, especially for Wes. Rebecca has become a little jaded when it comes to love, but I guess being a divorce attorney can do that to you, seeing the bad mostly when it comes to marriage. I really liked her, and was hoping that maybe Wes’ would be able to change her outlook on love again and maybe be what he needs as well.

I enjoyed this one, it had it raw and emotional moments when they were having to relive that day just the same as Liv and Finn had to. But the second chance at love was such a great addition, making me both cry and smile too. I know that the third installment has a little bit of a wait to it, but Loren has done such an amazing job with sucking me in, I know it will be well worth the wait.

This is book two in The One’s Who Got Away series and it features Wes and Rebecca. I loved the romance between these two. Wes was amazingly sexy and he and Rebecca made magic together. I loved the job Wes had working with the kids. I just couldn’t get in to the Long Acre part of the story line. It felt a little out of place to me in this beautiful romance.

The characters were fantastic! I look forward to reading more from this author.

Second volume in The Ones Who Got Away series which is about four friends who survived a shooting in their highschool several years before. The first volume exposed more what happened at the time when the series protagonists got together for the filming of a documentary, but there are enough references in this one to nunderstand even if we haven’t read the previous one.

Rebecca keeps a deep guilt for something she did and that she thinks led to the shooting. She took refuge in her work but we can feel in her a need for liberty, evasion. Since the filming of the documentary she suffers from unexpected flashbacks, as when she’s mugged by an armed man one night near her house and she’s unable to move, her mind mixing the past and the present. She’s strong in spite of some hidden cracks which will be revealed in the book.

Wes feels he’s a failure because with his divorce he didn’t realised his dream to open a restaurant and then he tried to find comfort in alcohol. He works as a cooking professor in a special programm for students in a disadvantage highschool. He’s a nice hero, attentive, and courageous as he saved the heroine the day she was mugged.

I must confess I didn’t read the synopsys when I requested this book on Netgalley because I really liked the previous one. So when I read how the heroes already met before, that is during Wes’ divorce where Rebacca was his ex-wife lawyer, I was afraid that would too much be at the center of the story. I liked that it was note the case, they argue when he discovers ot (she recognized him immediately but not him), they have an explanation once and for all, and they put that behind them.

The attraction between them is immediate, but they need some time before going further first because of how they met, and also because they are not ready to be in a relationship. When finally they decide to have a friends-with-benefits relationship, I liked seeing them getting closer then falling for the other without daring to say it to each other. The relationship is really cute, and we see them evolve sentimetally but also in their everyday life. I just regret that the author felt the need to have one of them (I won’t tell you which one lol) doubting and breaking their relationship, even if it’s not for very long fortunately.

On the secondary characters side, we first have the heroes’ respective families. Wes’ cousin/brother (he was adopted by his uncle and aunt) on one side is going to ba a little hard with him, under the pretense he supported him in his difficult time and he’s afraid for him to do it again. And on the other side there’s the heroine’s father who is at several time really hard with her, almost mean, and doesn’t hesitate to belittle her feelings or blackmailing her “get her head straight”. Even if it’s done out of love it’s still not really pleasant for the characters.
I had the feeling the other surviving friends were less present in this volume, which is explained a little by the fact the heroine is very solitary in her private life.
Then there are the teens in Wes’ lessons who allow some lighter moments and show the heroes’ attentive and playfull sides. There’s even a sad and moving story for one of the teens that will allow the heroine to realise what she really wants in life, and for the couple to get definitively together at the end (but frankly poor kid! I wold easily have done without this incident).

To conclude I finished this novel on a positive feeling, I thought the couple and their story really cute, and I’m happy not to have read the synopsis first as I would probably not have tried it. Can’t wait for the next!

***ARC Provided by the Author and NetGalley***

This is the second book in a series that follows a group of people who went to school together, and who survived a school shooting. It deals with how they deal with it, whether they focus on it, or deny that it impacts their lives...and the ways in which their past shapes their lives.

Rebecca is the survivor, and she has put her life together and became a successful attorney. But in her drive, and her focus, to make sure her life means something, she also loses sight of nuance, and is unwilling to bend and see the other side of most situations.

Wes saves Rebecca from a mugging, and he doesn't recognize her as the attorney who represented his ex wife in their divorce. He's dealing with the damage, and is angry at the fact that the settlement wasn't exactly fair...but that the attorney in the case managed to suppress evidence of the truth.

Rebecca and Wes were compelling. Their connection was interesting, and watching them try to see how they worked, how they could get over their past, both hers and the one that they share, was interesting.

I enjoyed this title, and I enjoyed that, while it was focused on one of the survivors, it was removed from the high school world.

I recommend this title.

I admit that I was intrigued by the premise of The One You Can’t Forget by Roni Loren. I mean, I wondered how a relationship between the hero’s ex-wife’s divorce attorney would pan out. I was not disappointed! This was an emotional read and had all the #feels. Also, there is food involved and scruffy black dog, so A++ on that!

The One You Can’t Forget is the second book in The Ones Who Got Away series. If you haven’t read the first book, The Ones Who Got Away, I recommend that you do. It is not necessary to read it, but it does give some perspective and backstory for Rebecca and what happened to her in high school.

The One You Can’t Forget is a story about to broken people who healed each other, and I couldn’t help but root for them. To be honest, I didn’t know how the plot would go but Roni Loren did a good job with it. Wes and Rebecca meet a few years after the divorce. The chemistry between Wes and Rebecca was off the charts and I really loved how their relationship developed between the two.

The best thing about The One You Can’t Forget is that the hero is one who wants commitment while the heroine is the one who only wants a hookup. It’s pretty rare to see this in romance and I was a bit surprised that I read two books in a week that featured this. Both Wes and Becca have ugly baggage in their past, but ultimately it took the hero quite a while to win his heroine.

Another thing about this book that I absolutely love is the food! Wes is a chef and was on the brink of opening his own high-end restaurant when the divorce happened. Ultimately, Wes lost everything during those dark years, but he has since bounced back and is now teaching at a high school. There is definitely food mentioned here and of course, food trucks!

I always love it when a book focuses on character development and I was not disappointed. I loved how a side story was weaved into this story to help Becca come to terms with her role in the high school shooting over 10 years ago. That scene was heartbreaking to read and I thought it was done really well. In fact, I am hoping that character gets his own HEA!

The One You Can’t Forget was an emotional read for me and ultimately was better than the first one! I can’t wait to read about Taryn’s book and I have a feeling that I would love that romance as well.

Rebecca Lindt is a successful divorce attorney and a survivor of the Long Acre school shooting which has left her with a lot of baggage. Right after the shooting Rebecca was determined to live her life to the fullest in honor of the ones that didn’t make it, but things haven’t turned out exactly as planned. Her life takes a turn when she’s rescued and cared for by Wes Garrett after a mugging-gone-wrong.

Wes Garrett’s dreams were derailed when his lying ex-wife swindled him out of his restaurant by misrepresenting him in court, and with the help of Rebecca skewering him in the divorce settlement. Even though Wes is a hero and comes to the rescue, once they figure out each other’s identities things aren’t all rainbows and sunshine…

Both Wes and Rebecca have emotional struggles, Wes has feelings of inadequacy after almost pissing his life away over a bad divorce. Rebecca grapples with being one of the “lucky” ones who survived, and harbors guilt over a secret from the shooting feeling like she doesn’t quite deserve to be happy. Their problems felt real and relatable. After the initial bumps Wes and Rebecca form a friendship and help each other see the big picture, recognize their worth to the world and each other. They grow closer attraction building and simmering along the way until they just about burn up the sheets as lovers! I love the slow hot sexual tension Roni Loren built between these two!

After not being blow away by The One Who Got Away I was pleasantly surprised by The One You Can’t Forget. Roni Loren’s talented writing brought Wes and Rebecca to life, made me care about them, and I desperately wanted a happy ending for these two together! Loved their romantic journey!

A copy was kindly provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this one was a DNF for me. The moment, the heroine, who is a lawyer, took a peek at an opposing counsel's notes in order to get an upper hand in the divorce case she was handling, I was done. I could not get back into the story anymore. I tried picking it up again but all good will I felt about Rebecca in the previous book, evaporated right at that moment and never recovered.

Review Scheduled to go live on blog on July 2nd @ Naomi’s Reading Palace—http://nomisparanormalpalace.blogspot.com.au

I actually haven’t read anything by Roni Loren before, and when I came across a review of this book I thought I had to give it a try! It was intense at times, as the characters face dangers both in the present and the past, but it was beautiful to see these troubled characters find love.

Rebecca is basically a workaholic; the only time she has off she spends it with her friends or at home. Her past was holding her back a lot, I thought, as well as her father, pushing her to succeed. When Wes reappears in her life, she tried to keep him at arms length, but soon it became hard to deny their connection.

I really liked Wes, and I was sad that he'd lost so much, all due to a misunderstanding. I liked that he had somewhat, found his feet, and had plans to achieve his goals. He really was a sweet guy and treated Rebecca well, and encouraged her to do more outside of work.

The One You Can't Forget was a good read, but didn't blow me away as I'd hoped. I found it hard to connect with Rebecca, and I couldn't comprehend why a 31 year old adult would allow her father to control her life like he did. She seemed to see the world too black and white, which really frustrated me. I did enjoy the alternating perspectives though, so I could understand each characters hesitations and the troubles they went through. For my first Roni Loren read, it was ok.

After reading the first book in this series, The Ones Who Got Away, and absolutely loving it I was excited to start Rebecca's journey. However, that excitement kind of died quickly. I find I am in the minority here but there was something about this book that didn't quite work for me. I can't pinpoint it but it took me well close to two weeks to finish this one.

I can say there wasn't any one thing that glaringly stuck out. It was a well written story, I just didn't feel any connection with Bec and Wes. That spark that other readers had and obviously loved wasn't there for me. Which made me kind of sad, actually. The story line in this book is a tough one, school shooting and the aftermath of its survivors left behind. While this is a love story, it is also one that should pull feelings that make you want to dive back in. Unfortunately, the thought of going back to TOYCF had me dragging my feet. I didn't really care if I knew what happened in the end. I pretty much finished it though so I could read the future books in this series.

I don't know maybe it was me, the timing, or the universe. Which is why I am giving this three stars instead of 2.5. If you decide to pick this up, I hope that you find this book to be something special. That read that you have been looking for.

I am anxiously awaiting Kincaid's story! She has to be my favorite character by far in this group of friends and we've only gotten glimpses of her.

Admittedly, I was not a fan of Rebecca in the first book. As a high schooler, she came across as a spoiled girl who thought things should always go her way. As an adult, it was obvious that things did NOT always go her way. I was looking forward to this book just to be able to see who she really was and how she was dealing with what happened to her and her friends.

What we see is a woman jaded by love, due mostly to her work as a divorce lawyer but also a little bit to love that isn’t returned by the people she most wants it from. She’s a woman dealing with PTSD because of what happened to her, which is only exacerbated when she is mugged at gunpoint one late night.

Coming to her rescue was Wes, a man who is also dealing with the demons of his past and the anger he feels at not having any control over the blows he’s been dealt. The last thing he expects is to fall for the woman who played a part in ripping away what he had hoped would be his future.

While this story wasn’t as emotional as the first book and I wish there had been more of an appearance of the rest of the Long-Acre gang this was still a great read. The chemistry between Wes and Rebecca was fantastic. The tension between Rebecca and her father was frustrating but felt authentic and necessary to her story. I loved the aspect of the cooking classes with the troubled teens and the idea of the school bus turned food truck. It all added up to me being more excited to see more of all of these characters in Kincaid’s book.

*Although this book could be read as a standalone, I think that it would absolute benefit readers to read the first book in the series as it goes more in-depth about the trauma that Becca and her friends endured in high school.

I wasn't sure after The One Who Got Away that I would like Rebecca, however I enjoyed hers and Wes' book! She's still straight as an arrow things are only black and white until Wes helps her learn there can be a grey area. Rebecca is the friend we all want to have, caring and loyal. Wes, oh I love him! From the first page he had me swooning and rooting for his HEA. When their paths are thrown together their chemistry leapt off my ereader. Both broken and looking for redemption they're the perfect pair to help each other to mend.
If you're looking for a great romance with a cuddly dog defender then I highly recommend reading The One You Can't Forget!