The One You Can't Forget
The Ones Who Got Away series Book #2
Release Date: June 5, 2018
Review copy provided by the publisher

I love me some Roni Loren! Every book has been pretty damn incredible. The back story to this series is heart shredding tragic. It's the story of a group of friends who are survivors of a school shooting 10 years earlier. I went into this series wondering how Ms. Loren was going to handle the subject. I didn't need to be concerned; she handled it with complete sensitivity.

If I'm being completely honest, I disliked Rebecca in the first book. She was a bit snobbish and just rubbed me the wrong way. I have a different opinion of her now. I just didn't "know" her well enough before her story. She's struggling with lingering PTSD from the school shooting, but she puts on a good front.

Wes is putting his life back together after being taken to the cleaners by his ex wife. The crazy part in this romance is that Rebecca was the divorce lawyer that made it possible for his ex to break him. Again, I was left thinking, how in the world will the author make this work? I mean, how could love blossom from this situation! Well, she did it...again. Roni Loren made it work like magic.

Rebecca and Wes were just amazing together. They gave each other things that they didn't realize they needed. The chemistry was hot and the bedroom shenanigans were nothing short of delicious.

You get to witness a ton of growth for both of the characters. They're both strong people; They're just stronger together.

As always, Roni Loren's writing kept me enraptured from beginning to end. I read this book in just two sittings. I wanted to devour it.

This series is both tragic and beautiful. Something wonderful comes from the horrific tragedy that the characters had to face. They find their strength to move on, and most importantly, they find someone to love and be loved in return.

I am anxiously awaiting the next instalment in this series.

The second installment in a contemporary romance series about a group of four adult women who survived a school shooting and are still dealing with the aftermath. After the intro to them all in the first book, I was eager to get each of their stories and how they find a way to make it through and find romance. This was sized up to be a real lulu with Rebecca Lindt being the divorce lawyer representing the hero’s ex. Warily and curiously, I began the book.
Review

The One You Can’t Forget is book two in the The Ones Who Got Away series. I think it works best in order, but also would be okay if picked up standalone or out of order.

I went into this one prepared for a little more emotion on my part than would be expected from the book because the premise of the story- a high school shooting- is distressingly apropos at the moment for what is going on in the real world out there. I wasn’t worried that the author would handle the topic with respect because she did in the first book and this continued through into The One You Can’t Forget.

I thought it was interesting that liked, loved, or detested, the reader gets many aspects of the fall out from such an event even years later whether it is straight up survivor’s guilt and PTSD, a need to prove herself and over-achieve, unwarranted personal guilt, perpetrator’s parent shifting guilt, parents of survivors either stepping up or not as the case may be.

And, just in case the heroine’s background didn’t bring enough turmoil to the story, the hero has his own demons to conquer in the form of a not so great past, stupid mistakes, recovering from alcoholism, bankruptcy and well meaning, but wrong-headed family support.

This should have been one emotionally messy book for me. And, at times, I was feeling pretty stabby from anger, frustration, or deep pain for the characters I was connecting with. But, the personal realization and growth and the romance were brought along at a nice steady rate. I was impatient and wanted epiphanies to come faster, but I think in retrospect that flawed and hurting people would need more time to discover and grow. I liked both characters and really wanted them to heal and find their happiness together. I think I enjoyed best when they finally ignored their families’ advice and just went for it with each other. Wes really helped Rebecca learn the lesson that he learned about finding what makes you happy and doing it like his chef work.

So, all in all, this was another fantastic addition to the series. I am looking forward to what is to come with the next two gals. It’s a tough topic for the series premise, but its handled well and makes for a great story of triumph and a spicy contemporary romance that I can easily recommend.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting hero and heroine. Their dynamic is rather unique. Written with the trademark Roni Loren snark and spice.

I didn’t realize this was the second book of a series when I requested it from NetGalley, so I plan on reading the first book as well (The Ones Who Got Away). I loved the unique romance between Rebecca and Wes, but I had to question Rebecca’s ethics pertaining to her job as a lawyer. For being portrayed as a heroine, she didn’t capture my heart the way Wes did. Overall a great love story.

The One You Can’t Forget is the second book in your The Ones Who Got Away series. I reviewed the first book here in January. I think this book is stronger, partly because it did not have to do the heavy lifting of setting up the series, which is based around a group of women who survived a high school shooting. However, I ended up with the same grade because there were a couple things which I couldn’t let slide altogether (and for some may well be a dealbreaker).

Rebecca Lindt is a divorce attorney in Texas. She was shot in the leg during the shooting at the Long Acre High School and it is clear from the earlier book that she has some guilt over something to do with the shooting. (The book stands alone fairly well but more information about what happened is found in the first book and some knowledge is assumed. I don’t think it is absolutely essential to know it to enjoy or understand this book however.) She had an unrequited crush on her best friend, who was in love with someone else (they got their HEA in book one) and between that, her guilt over the shooting and her work which is all about the breakdown of relationships, she has sworn off any kind of commitment for herself. She is buttoned-up and controlled, but things are starting to slip a little. She is having flashbacks and panic attacks about the shooting, which have been occurring since a documentary about it was filmed and aired. One good thing came out of the documentary however, she reconnected with the group of women who were all in a support group in high school after the shooting and they keep in regular contact now.
Review continues here: http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/review-the-one-you-cant-forget-by-roni-loren/

I’ve been dying to get my hands on this book! I fell in love with the group of characters in this series with the first book and was compelled to read more. Itching to get my hands on it actually. This is the story of the high school girlfriend of the hero from the first book and yes one of the Long Acre survivors. She’s grown up to be a successful attorney and working for her father. done everything he thinks best for her without much complain. But she’s left behind actually living.

I’m not sure if Rebecca was the most emotionally damaged from the group, but she was certainly carrying a lot of baggage aside from the survivors guilt. It takes quite some time before the reader finds out what was weighing on her and it certainly broke my heart. It brings up a whole different side from the aftermath of the school shooting that we didn’t get to see in the first book. Rebecca is also a very different character and there’s both a strength and extreme vulnerability to her that I couldn’t look away from.

Then there’s Wes. First of all…. sexy, tatted chef with a tortured past. How can you not fall for him? The fact that these two had history and their relationship can start with some animosity they have to overcome was nice. But I couldn’t have been rooting for them more. Wes handles Rebecca in just the right way. Pushing just when needed and knowing when not to. There’s a lot of healing that has to happen in this book and I for one think that Wes was the perfect partner to help Rebecca through it.

While THE ONE YOU CAN’T FORGET felt a little less intense than the first book, it was no less compelling and heartbreaking. The romance is sexy, the story is consuming. I didn’t want to put it down. Roni Loren once again swept me off my feet and I got wrapped up in the beauty of her words and the emotions her characters convey. I experience this every time I crack open one of her books and I can’t wait for my next fix.

Like its predecessor, this one was a straight-up romance. There were no dead bodies, no villains (well, maybe her dad for a second toward the end), and no mysteries or investigations. Just two regular people, albeit with loads and loads of problems, issues, and inner demons, experiencing regular human drama and emotions.
And I liked it. I liked that I didn't have to "think" much during the story. It was straightforward, poignant, realistic and normal.

The characters were wonderful, well-developed, and nicely layered, the plot itself had some pretty heavy pondering moments, the romance might've felt a bit rushed, but it somehow worked giving both characters, and the conflicts were (thankfully) pretty quickly and easily resolved.
Though I found the heroine somewhat annoying in her rather self-centered guilt and her nobody-loves-me-and-those-who-might-don't-really-know-me-so-I-better-push-them-away-just-to-be-safe mentality. It started to really get old as the story progressed, but lucky for her (and the reader) there was her hero, Wes, to set her straight and make her see reason.

The pacing wasn't perfect, yet the story flew nicely, the writing was great, and the humor provided that needed levity.

This was a story of regular people going through normal human stuff and emotions, a story of (self)forgiveness, (self)discovery and growth, showing us everything clicks into place when the time is right and (if) you let it.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Five Stars!
I really liked this book. Loved the first one but even loved this one more. I would say you can read this book as a stand alone but it will make so much more sense to read the first one (The Ones Who Got Away). Definitely recommend reading this in the series.
This book follows Rebecca who is now an attorney who specializes in divorce law. She meets Wes after being mugged and hen begins to experience life with a different filter in place...the one where she gets to enjoy things and laugh and be just a little less serious. Wes has skeletons but Rebecca has her own too. Without giving too much away, this book includes a food truck, a dark furry rescuer, an after school program, some intense police negotiations, panic, gun violence and hot sex. Go read it.

While I enjoyed this one, I didn't love it was much as the first book. I definitely liked Liv's story more. For me, this one was a little slow to get going. While I did like the attraction between Rebecca and Wes, I kind of felt like they had a lot against them. I also felt like their family and friends could have been a little more supportive. Rebecca had major PTSD from years before, and I felt like she really needed to get more help. She seemed stuck. The ending was sweet and satisfying. I do recommend this one, even though it wasn't my favotire. I look forward to the next book in the series!

Another great story in the series where you learn what happens after a mass shooting at a school. This one starts different than the first as you're not reading about two survivors from the shooting; you're reading about one.

Rebecca survived the shooting and went on to become a divorce attorney at her father's firm. She represented a scorned wife who's husband cheated on her with one of her friends. She won the case and the man lost everything including the restaurant he was preparing to open. His life fell apart and the ex wife went away happily.

Wes and Rebecca meet up again by chance when she is mugged and he steps in to save her. They hit it off, neither of them initially recognizing the other person. Rebecca eventually remembers Wes from the case and ends things because of course who wants to date a cheater.

But that's when everything changes. Everything you thought you knew about the story changes; both in terms of Wes' story and Rebecca's as things come to light about the school shooting.

Looking forward to more in this series!

I can't give a completely accurate review because I never finished the book. It was just too boring. It started off fine but after reading half the book, I was just to bored with the storyline and especially the characters. Maybe the last quarter of the book was super good but I just couldn't keep reading.

Most days Rebecca Lindt feels like an imposter...
The world admires her as a survivor. But that impression would crumble if people knew her secret. She didn't deserve to be the one who got away. But nothing can change the past, so she's thrown herself into her work. She can't dwell if she never slows down.

Wes Garrett is trying to get back on his feet after losing his dream restaurant, his money, and half his damn mind in a vicious divorce. But when he intervenes in a mugging and saves Rebecca―the attorney who helped his ex ruin him―his simple life gets complicated.

Their attraction is inconvenient and neither wants more than a fling. But when Rebecca's secret is put at risk, both discover they could lose everything, including what they never realized they needed: each other

She laughed and kissed him. This morning she'd melted down. But somehow this man had her laughing and turned on only a few hours later. Everything inside her felt buoyed.

She felt...light.

She'd forgotten what that felt like.

Review:

This is the second book in the series and while they all tie together because of the main characters past experience, they can each be read as a stand alone title.

If you have read the first book you will know about Rebecca, who featured quite a bit in the last book. This is her story and of course the man who wins her heart, Wes. It is a very well written story, with a timely theme, school shootings and the aftermath of those who are left after. With Rebecca's story we learn more about the night of the shooting and her connection to the killers. There are lots of twists and turns in the love story for Wes and Rebecca that make it interesting and unique. Now, I did not find this story as emotional as the first book, but it had its moments and I really fell in love with this story. I also loved that Rebecca and Wes are more than they seem when we first meet them. I loved how they and the story evolved and we got to see all their insecurities and the real them not obvious from just looking at them. The ending made me so happy, perfect.

All in all a great story and a great compliment to the first book in the series. I will be awaiting the next book in the series.

4Stars

*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher.*

The first book in this series was SO GOOD and I was in love with the romance between two high school shooting survivors. I really enjoyed Rebecca's character and couldn't wait to see her have her own happy ending in this book!

Rebecca Lindt has always had a list of goals she had to accomplish to be the best. Now that she's a divorce attorney and working for her father, she's earned the job and the life she wanted. But it's been feeling a bit...lonely. Wes Garrett lost everything during his divorce, including his dream restaurant. Now, he's working as an instructor teaching cooking to kids in an underprivileged area. When he jumps in and saves Rebecca from getting mugged on the street, the two realize they are complete opposites, but that doesn't stop the feelings brewing between the two...

When this book started, I was all into this book. I really enjoyed Rebecca's character and how she was trying to remember what she loved so much about her job. I loved how she knew it was so wrong for her to like a guy like Wes, but how she couldn't help but be attracted to him. Watching Wes and Rebecca fall for each other was fun and I liked how Wes brought Rebecca out of her shell.

Once we hit the halfway part of this book, I kind of lost interest in the story. This started to move very slowly and I felt like we were just waiting for the drama to happen that would cause conflict for our plot. Some parts felt predictable and I wasn't a fan of the plot line between Rebecca and her father that was played out at the end. I just found it hard to feel connected to the romance by that point.

Overall, this book had a strong start but slowly began to lose my interest. I'm not sure if it's because Rebecca's character wasn't as engaging as I wanted her to be or the story focused less on the romance and more on what was going on in the characters lives, but I wasn't into the book in the end. While I loved the first book, this one was not everything I wanted it to be for Rebecca's story.

So I wasn't able to read the first book in this series that follows survivors of a school shooting after twelve years. I think it's safe to say that it can be read as a standalone. Here, Rebecca is the survivor and she's become a successful divorce attorney but when she gets mugged she suddenly has an epiphany that at that particular moment she was waiting to die as if she deserves too. Wes, on the other hand, is also a survivor of sorts. Because of a nasty divorce and his alcoholism, his literally left with nothing and has to start all over again. He helps Rebecca when she was being robbed but later on realizes she was his ex-wife's divorce lawyer. Talk about awkward! Rebecca is the more complex character of the two, mainly because she has secrets regarding the past that she has told no one and has continued to haunt her. There is for her part, a very strong sense of guilt, for surviving but mostly her feeling of not doing anything that could have stopped the shooting. There were a lot of instances that her backstory could have overpowered the book but instead, it just gives us a very credible character. Wes, is no two-dimensional character as well. He brings a lot to the table as well. Because these two are such complex characters but they are written in such a way that is believable, how their relationship progresses and develops is simply wonderful. This book could have been overly dramatic and angsty instead it speaks more about living and enjoying life and being human. I definitely loved reading this one and is invested in reading more books from the series.

Rebecca and Wes's story. She had a crush on Finn, her childhood friend, but he was never hers. Even worse, she harbors a secret, shame and guilt, so much guilt that festers just deeper than the surface.

Wes Garret is a dream in the kitchen and if mistakes were Benjamins, he'd be a millionaire. However, his life's resume makes him the perfect person to mentor at-risk youth with the kitchen as his medium.

With so many tragic school shooting in the rear view, Columbine, VA Tech, Sandy Hook, Parkland and god knows how many others, this romantic drama strikes a very relevant note.

I received an ARC of this book, from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. I loved the first one, The Ones Who Got Away, but this one was even better.
The characters are so well developed and likable. It will pull you in from the start and not let go. I can’t wait for the next book now.
You have to read this one.
I received my copy via #NetGalley

The one you can't forget is another connected stand alone story that is following the survivors of a tragic and deadly school shooting. This story follows Rebecca who is battling her own form of survivorsguilt and responsible for the shooting.
From the ashes of that horrible night Rebecca has vowed that she would marry her high school sweet heart, get a dog, and become a lawyer. Well the only thing from her survivors list she accomplished was become one of the best divorce attorneys. Since her high school sweetheart was in love with someone else not having the time for a dog.
All of that changes the night she is mugged and during that event a dog and a man comes to her rescue.
Author Roni has another great story with such deep and wonderful characters. Their trails and tribulations feel so real and organic. Nothing is rushed. My heart truly feel in love with these two beautiful and slightly broken characters I could not put this book down. It was just that good! Even thoughit is dealing with a situation that feels like it is happening every month.
To see these students grow up dealing with the after effects of that fateful night oh so many years ago.

I really enjoyed this tale of two people from different social worlds, at very different points in their lives, both carrying around their own Titanic-boat-load of baggage, somehow finding each other and love. It has serious issues at its heart – survivor’s guilt, alcoholism, teen crime – but it’s also full of heart, with a properly grown up relationship in which the characters actually talk to each other.

It helps a great deal that I liked both Rebecca and Wes. Rebecca is a smart, competent, extremely hard working woman who has spent her life trying to live up to her father’s expectations, while also hiding her own guilt and inadequacies. She can seem a bit abrupt at times, but she’s also kind and I loved the sides of her Wes managed to bring out. I also loved the way she believed in him, pushing him to achieve his dreams, even if they weren’t quite the ones he first envisaged.

I loved Wes. He’s sweet and charming and generous and gorgeous in many ways, from rushing to the rescue and taking care of Rebecca, to the way he worked with his kids. He’s great. He’s also not without his own issues, namely his alcoholism and his struggles to recover from his divorce. He’s pretty forgiving too and I loved the way he dragged Rebecca away from her staid and regimented routine.

I enjoyed the way the plot unfolded too, mostly focusing on their romance, but also weaving in hints of food, education and teenage crime. I do wish events towards the end had been given more time, though, because there’s a sudden rush of action with so many things changing, then it’s the epilogue and we’re six months down the line and details are glossed over. Which was a shame, because I could have read another whole book on these two and the way their lives progressed.

So, despite a little disappointment at the rushed ending, I thoroughly enjoyed this. The characters are great, the story is interesting and the romance was lovely. I can’t wait to see where the series heads next.

The Ones Who Got Away series by Roni Loren deals with survivors of a school shooting. Book 1 introduced us to the surviving students reunited for a documentary. The One You Can't Forget can be enjoyed as a stand a lone, but I enjoyed it more knowing the backstory. Roni Loren still brings plenty of steam with this story, but toned down from the erotic books in her Loving on the Edge series.

Rebecca Lindt's survivors guilt threw her into becoming a workaholic lawyer. She's on a path to partner. Her father is pressuring her to relive the shootings to further his political career. A walk home with take out after a long day at work changes her life. A mugger with a gun throws her back to high school. Her rescue comes from two unlikely heroes. A stray dog and a hot guy she took down in divorce court.

Wes Garrett's life has crashed and burned. He was a rising star Chef getting his shot, but now he uses his skills teaching at risk kids culinary arts. A bad private cooking gig has him walking home reliving his epic failures. A gunshot brings him to save a woman and a dog. Wes and Rebecca are from different worlds, but sparks fly. Each realize they have too many secrets and reasons not to act on the attraction.

It's a good book and I enjoyed Rebecca and Wes's rocky romance. I did enjoy book one a bit more since Liv and Finn were a second chance romance. It had more details on the shooting. I look forward to which survivor gets the next book. I received this book from Netgalley for an honest review. I am a fan of Roni Loren's books so very pleased to give my review.

I read the first book in this series and had given it five stars, but this second book is even better. The first book was mostly about the tragedy that took place when the characters were in high school, and how they all came together ten years later when a documentary was being filmed about the incident and its aftermath. I expected this second book in the series to be more of the same, but it was actually a whole other story in itself. The incidents that took place in Rebecca's past certainly affected her present, but this story was about so much more than that.

First of all, the main characters are a divorce lawyer and the ex-husband of one of her former clients. I don't want to spoil anything, but that should tell you that there's going to be some conflicting emotions! We already know about Rebecca's past, but we meet Wes and learn that he has had a difficult time of things, as well. These two characters have the odds stacked against them from the start. Will they overcome them and find a happily ever after?

I enjoy Ms. Loren's writing style very much; she keeps you on the edge of your seat and more than once makes you say "Wooooooooowwwwwwwwwww.....!" I am excited for the next two books in the series.