3.5-4 stars

I’ve been looking forward to the next book in the Long Acre crew and this was an enjoyable, if somewhat lighter offering from the interconnected characters in this series.

Rebecca is still guilt-ridden over Long Acre and she’s lived a quiet, yet ambitious life pursuing law. She remains intermittently traumatised by her experiences and meets Wes through a situation that is traumatic and triggering. Wes was from the opposite side of the tracks to Bec and her non-issue with this was a bonus to the read. I really enjoyed Wes’ background more than Bec’s. In fact, in general, he was a more interesting character. Bec fluctuated between a weak and strong personality, which could be understood under the circumstances.

The chemistry between these two was well written, with a tangible feel. Wes and Bec just worked, despite everything. The kids, the bus and Knight were lovely extras to the story and I could definitely handled more Knight in the book.

I felt there was a lot less involvement of the Long Acre friends in this book and to be honest, I missed that, having expected them to be more prominent. There was also a less intense feel to this story, but not every story is going to be the same in terms of the level of emotions.

I remain invested in this series and I’ll be anticipating the next when it comes.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Reviewed for Jo&IsaLoveBooks Blog.

The One You Can't Forget, by Roni Loren is a contemporary romance that features tragically heart-breaking themes, while also still being sweetly romantic.

Rebecca Lindt is one of the students who got away and survived after a horrific shooting during their high school prom. This tragedy drastically changed her life, especially since she was shot and is still dealing with the ramifications from that night. Twelve years later, Rebecca (along with her classmates) returned to her hometown to assist with a special project, and she reconnected with three friends.

Rebecca is focused on her job as an attorney, and she strives to win the cases for her clients. After suffering from the viciously intense divorce, Wes Garrett is struggling after losing his dream restaurant. However, Wes re-encounters his ex's attorney, when he helps save her from a mugging. This incident leads to various complications and interactions, including Wes and Rebecca acting on their mutual attraction.

Since it's the second book in The Ones Who Got Away series, it's ideal to start reading at the beginning of the series to follow the overarching story. However, after reading the first book, I was slightly anti-Rebecca, which caused hesitancy to start this book even though I was highly intrigued to continue this amazing book series. Of course, I adored reading from Rebecca's point-of-view.

The One You Can't Forget is recommended and geared towards those who are interested in modern romances, despite the tragically heart-breaking underlying issues, yet still hopeful storyline. And I'm definitely looking forward to reading future books in the series!


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is only my second read from Roni Loren, and I'm jumping into a series already in progress. The One You Can't Forget is the second installment of The Ones Who Got Away. I haven't read the first book, and I felt like this one worked okay as a standalone. The series focuses on a group of heroines (and the hero of the first book), who are survivors of a mass shooting at Long Acre High School. The stories take place 10-15 years later, and our heroines are a close group of professional women living in Texas.

The heroine in this installment is Rebecca Lindt, a high-priced, ball-busting, cheater-hating divorce attorney. She was also highly unethical. We got off on the wrong foot, and we couldn't ever get back on the right one. See, the book starts off with Rebecca doing something highly unethical for an attorney. Because it happens in the first few pages, I'm gonna discuss it as I don't think its a spoiler. (If you disagree with that - stop reading now.) See, Rebecca is in a mediation session for a contentious divorce and the wife and her attorney step out of the room to confer. Rebecca walks over and opens opposing counsel's files and looks through them... then uses the information she learned to force a favorable settlement for her client. WTF??? As an attorney myself, I was agog. This is absolutely horrid. She has violated attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine. I understand that you hate cheaters and they deserve everything karma has coming to them... but you should not violate your own professional ethics woman! Man, this just bothered me through the whole story and so I was predisposed to find Rebecca's every fault and flaw and not give her the benefit of the doubt. Given some of her other behavior, I just had an overall feeling that she was not a good person. And that really wasn't the case. She was a tragic heroine, a school shooting survivor that did something incredibly mean and stupid when she was a kid... but I wouldn't wish a violent act on anyone I just had a really had a hard time sympathizing with her character.

Wes Garret is our hero, who was also a somewhat tragic dude. Wes lost everything in a messy divorce, where Rebecca represented his wife and helped to ruin his life. So now he is an aspiring culinary artist without much direction, having gone from the limelight into a downward spiral that resulted in alcoholism and rehab. The recovering alcoholic aspect is not a characteristic that I really care to have in my heroes. As someone who does not have an addictive personality, I just can't relate to that battle. But it wasn't a deal breaker and I ended up liking Wes despite his faults. I totally would like to shake the spit out his ex-wife as she sounds truly vile. I liked his work with the disadvantaged students at the high school; he really seemed to be a great teacher even if that position was very far from his original ambition. Notwithstanding his recovery, I felt like his character needed less personal growth than our heroine.

The story as a whole was not bad. I liked the plot and how everything was laid out. I liked the Burnt Cheeseball and the kids. I liked the girl posse of survivors. I was glad that this book wasn't trying to bash me over the head with gun control arguments. I was very conflicted about the mugger and his potential apprehension, or lack thereof. But man, I am still just grumbling over that ethical violation in the beginning. I feel like I need to put it in my next ethics training presentation. This is why it's an occupational hazard for me to read books that delve into the legal arena - I tend to pick those aspects apart. I just can't help it.

I am interested in some of the other characters, and am curious about their stories. (Though I didn't care for Rebecca's father, and had some iffy moment's with Wes' brother.) But I may give one of the other books in this series a shot (as long as there are no more attorneys).

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca.

4.5 STARS

In The Ones Who Got Away we learned about the vicious shooting that happened twelve years ago at a high school, that changed the life over everyone who was either a student or teacher and their loved ones. Rebecca Lindt is a survivor. You should think she has endured enough but when she walks home from her work as a divorce attorney one evening all her memories about that horrific day come rushing back when she is being mugged at gun point. A brave dog and a courageous man save her and this actually has the making of a great friendship. If it weren't for the fact that her savior's ex-wife was Rebecca's client and robbed him blind with her lies.

Wesley Garrett is a survivor of a different kind. He loves food and to cook and was close to fulfilling his dream of opening his own restaurant when everything was taken away from him after his divorce. It left him reeling and he fell into a hole that was filled with lots 'n lots of booze. Today he is sober, teaching culinary arts at an after-school program for teenagers who have gotten into trouble in the past. It's not what he dreamed of but it leaves him with pride to do something useful and helps those kids. When he walks home from a catering gig he is instantly attracted to the woman he saves from being robbed but...

Sorry. It’s just, I’m always busy and you’re… not my type.

Push the knife in deeper, why don't you?

But soon Bec offers Wes an irresistible opportunity, that will change the path he's on and maybe helps him finally fulfilling his dream.

I adored Rebecca in the first book of this series and I was very much looking forward to reading her story and I'm so happy to report that she didn't disappoint But not only she was a winner, so was Chef G! Ahhh these two, all the swoons!

Rebecca is a tough woman when it comes to work. Her work as a divorce lawyer shows her every day anew that love is a passing feeling and a working marriage a fluke. Yeah, she's quite the romantic. It's sexy, tattooed Wes who draws her out of that particular funk. He offers her friendship with the potential of more. And this was my most favorite thing about this story. Bec and Wes had such an easy connection, there was nothing forced or over the top. They just got along really well, had fun in each other's company and a sweet, sizzling chemistry. I loved their friendship so much and their banter was just cute. *sigh* They lifted each other's burden and just lived in the now.

I was a little scared in the beginning that Rebecca would be too stand-offish, simply because of her job and how disillusioned she was with love, which led her to be a little judgmental in the beginning but she had such a soft heart. She didn't consider herself special that she survived a tragedy and carried a lot of guilt about that day. Sharing her troubles with somebody is something she longs for but never allows herself because of that guilt. I ached a little for her - it wasn't just survivor guilt she felt, it was something she'd done before the shooting that we all have done at one point in our life. Rebecca was giving, generous, kind, simply sweet and not the tough lawyer chick I expected at all. She felt often overwhelmed with the load she'd taken on...she just felt real.

Wes was offering himself without caveats. Taking a risk he’d decided he wouldn’t take again. Telling her she was worth that risk.

Wes was perfect for her. A whole lot of mischievous, a little obsessed with her, a little troubled but all in the perfect amount. The focus with him wasn't so much on his addiction which I appreciated this time - while it was always clear that the guy struggled with it, it never distracted from the real story. We see his growth in hindsight - he'd come a long way to end up where he was now. Wes was wonderful, with the teenagers, his passion for cooking and food, the way he treated Rebecca, and with his playful attitude. He gave me the tingles with his sweetness and adoration for Rebecca.

“You are the best part of my day, Bec. I’m so glad you’re home.”

The One You Can't Forget was even better than the first in this series. We don't see as much of the other characters from the first book which is a little sad. Roni Loren's writing is beautiful, it's got a modern and descriptive tone I enjoy very much. I want more! Now I'm really curious who the next installment will be about!

Easy read with very little drama. Emotionally charged, passionate, tinged with humor and hope. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

When I read the first book in this series, I knew it was going to be a special series. I knew that in time the four girls (now women) who formed a bond during therapy after a high school tragedy all had their own demons to wrestle. I knew that for each one of them putting their past behind them was near impossible, but finding someone they trusted enough to share the load would hopefully lead them to a happier adulthood. I knew I would shed some tears and I also knew that I trusted author Roni Loren enough to know that while the journey these women take might be difficult where they end up would be spectacular and she hasn’t disappointed me yet. The One You Can’t Forget features Rebecca Lindt, the overachieving “brain” of the group, the one who excelled, the one who followed all the rules and the one who has been hiding a terrible secret that has dogged her for 10 years. This book has a powerful message that life isn’t always black and white and that everyone no matter their social class everyone makes mistakes, has regrets, and welcomes a second chance. I loved every emotional, sweet, heart pounding, life affirming, sexy moment of this book.

All her life Rebecca Lindt has done her best to make her father proud and now as she is getting closer to making partner at her father’s firm she feels it might actually happen, but walking home an incident changes her whole life in the blink of an eye.

As if a messy divorce, losing his business, and a stint in rehab weren’t bad enough now Wes Garrett feels he sunk even lower as he prepares to help out his friend as entertainment for a bachelorette party as a Shirtless Chef teaching tipsy women how to make Big, Meaty Balls and other interesting treats. On his way home he sees a mugging in process and hears a gun firing and knows that he has to do something, he just doesn’t realize that one thing is going to change his life.

This was such a multi faceted story and I love the way it all the sides fit together. On paper Rebecca and Wes are polar opposites, their backgrounds and upbringings couldn’t be more different yet there is an intensity between them, a connection that they are both quick to describe as lust but it is evident it goes much deeper. It was interesting watching them peel back each other’s layers and realize that they were way more than their outside appearance. I loved that Wes wanted Rebecca to find her passion something that made her happy and feel fulfilled like cooking did for him. I loved that Rebecca was big enough to admit there was more to Wes than what little she knew and she admired him for the work he was doing. I appreciated that Rebecca began to realize how important second chances are and how that changed her entire outlook on life. These were complicated people with so much baggage and yet this book was not filled with a lot of angst or problems contrived to make a plot work, this book was driven by these characters and the passion they had for one another and a project that meant something to both of them.

The pacing of this book was perfect and I loved everything from the way they met, to the problems they faced, and the lovely ending; The One You Can’t Forget was simply sublime.

Rebecca is a successful divorce lawyer. She’s also one of the survivors of a mass high school shooting – one she blames herself for. She keeps her guilt and secret to herself, however. The only person who knows is her father. When Rebecca is mugged one night on her way home from work she freezes when the attacker puts a gun to her head. Luckily she’s saved by a stray dog and a man who happened to be passing by.

The man, Wes Garrett, is someone that she’s incredibly attracted to, until she finds out his name and realizes that she fought against him in court when she represented his ex-wife in their divorce. She knows his story and wants nothing to do with him. Except…when she gets to know him and his story, and the truth about his ex-wife and the lies she told, Rebecca can’t help but admire him.

Wes is just getting by in life. He teaches cooking at an after-school program but that wasn’t always his life. He was opening a restaurant and the world was in the palm of his hand – until his ex-wife took it all away from him. Yes, he’s bitter but he manages to hide that bitterness from Rebecca. He sees in her someone that is kind, giving and someone he wants to emulate. The more time he spends with her the harder he starts to fall, but Rebecca doesn’t plan on ever getting into a serious relationship and Wes is no different, or is he?

I’ve loved every Roni Loren book that I’ve read, and this was no different. She has a way with characters that makes me want to get to know them better. They’re three dimensional and very real – I love that. In this story Wes and Rebecca lived imperfect lives and each had some serious issues. Working through those issues together changed both of them for the better and made this romance that much more intense.

I loved both Wes and Rebecca even though they were flawed. I felt so badly for Rebecca that she’d carried the guilt of the shooting with her all those years. She didn’t do anything worse than be a teenager – the shooting wasn’t her fault at all. Wes had to deal with his anger toward the world and see that while his life might not look how he wanted it to look, it still looked good.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read the next story in the series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This will post as a guest review on Book Binge.
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Roni Loren is one of my go to authors and thus book did not disappoint at all! This is the second book in The Ones Who Got Away Series. It follows survivors of a high school shooting. Rebecca is a very success lawyer who is about to make partner. She is working crazy hours and one night she is walking home fro, work. She comes across a dog that is hungry and she starts to feed it some of her dinner. Next thing she knows someone is demanding her purse with a gun. She starts to have flashbacks to the shooting and she freezes. The dog she was feeding attacks the mugger and the mugger shots the dog. Wes comes to their aid and takes the dog to the vet. Rebecca realized right away that Wes was one of her clinets cheating husbands and she helped take away everything he worked so hard for. When Wes founds out who she really is he is very upset and doesn't want anything to do with her. They work together to put aside their differences. Wes works with at risk youth. He is a chef. Rebecca helps him get a food truck. Rebecca and Wes fall in love. I can't wait for the next book to come out. Thanks Netgalley SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for an advance reader copy!

Rebecca is a successful lawyer hoping to make partner soon. She has a reputation for being the go to the divorce attorney. She is doing all she can to help her father with his campaign. Her being a survivor of a school shooting 10 years ago is a platform her father wants her to capitalize on, but no one knows what really happened and she feels like an imposter. Wes knows how it feels to lose everything. They meet the night she is mugged. Wes is outside her comfort zone and she likes it, but holds him at arms length. He teaches at risk kids to cook and his project of renovating a food truck is just the project Rebecca wants to support. They navigate their attraction and just may be what each other needs. This is book two in the series and while it does stand alone well, the first book helps this story.

that tells the stories of some of the students who survived a school shooting. I absolutely loved the first book and I enjoyed this second book a lot as well. I love the complexity of the characters and the stories. Yet, I wasn’t as blown away by this one as I was with the first. I think it was partly because I felt there was some set up in the first book for Rebecca’s character but that was mostly ignored until the end of the book. This meant it didn’t really feel as big an issue as I thought it would be. There were also some little inconsistencies that annoyed me. But it was still a very good read and I’m looking forward to book #3.

I've come to expect great things from any book by Roni Loren. She always has a strong plot with great characters who have amazing chemistry!

I was interested in learning about Rebecca's story after meeting her in The Ones Who Got Away. She had a chance to become a nuisance to Liv and Finn but she didn't. Instead, she was there to support them.

In The One You Can't Forget, Rebecca is still working long hours and helping her father with his campaign. She's a divorce lawyer who has plenty of clients and who has a good track record of winning. A decade after she became one of the survivors during the Long Acre High school shooting, she's still dealing with guilt, PTSD, and flashbacks. Getting mugged is not the way to overcome any of it. Thankfully, she is rescued by a stray dog and by Wes.

Wes Garrett is remaking his life. He lost his dream of becoming the chef in his own restaurant and all his money in an ugly divorce. This leads him to drown his sorrows in the bottle which made everything much worse for him. Now sober, he has taken a teaching job for a group of at-risk teenagers. He feels like he can make a difference in their lives and provide them with a choice to become someone productive after graduation. Meeting Rebecca wakes up a desire for a relationship. Convincing her is another matter.

I liked Rebecca and Wess together. They both had suffered losses and they were trying to move on which was hard for them. Rebecca worked too much and had no personal life but Wes was able to show her that there was more to life than spending it on the job. On the other hand, she was able to support him in his new dream. Rebecca could be feisty when it was needed but she could also be vulnerable too. Wes had learned from his past mistakes and was trying to help himself and others less lucky than him.

The One You Can't Forget is an easy read with very little drama. I liked it but I didn't love it which is a first for this author. This won't deter me from reading the next two.

Cliffhanger: No

3/5 Fangs



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

Much better than the first book, since the subplot of who attacked the heroine is organically integrated in the overall romantic plot, and it's not over the top and distracting. Full review and links to come.

This is my second book I have read by Roni Loren, first was the book before this one. Which I adored, I really loved. I wish, I really do wish I could say the same about this one. In this book we are with Rebecca, she is a fantastic divorce lawyer and works long hours, and for her fathers company. She is a Long Acre High shooting survivor. She is dealing with really bad PTSD and still has flashbacks.

Wes Garrett, is one Fiiiine male, I really liked him. I liked him a lot. He is a chef, who is divorced and has lost everything, a recovering alcoholic and he is now sober and has taken a teaching job for a group of kids who need help.

I liked Wes more then I liked Rebecca, I was glad to see it play out and how they over come there losses and moving forward. it is a fairly easy story, with hardly any drama. No cliffy, and I am eagerly waiting for the next book.

but overall something was missing for me to give it a bigger star rating, I think for it was dragged on a fair bit. like it was a decent size book. 3.85 stars

I fell in love with the first book in this series and this one just cemented that love. This author can do emotional, funny and sexy all in one story. I cannot wait to read whatever else she writes! I need MORE!

Roni Loren you brilliant author! I didn't read the first book in this series and thought this book read well as a standalone, I didn't feel like I missed out on any side stories or background. This story was brilliant.

Rebecca Lindt is a survivor dealing with survivor guilt and shutting herself off from love and relationships. Her life consists of work and sleep. Until Wes Garrett this sexy, tattooed man who enters her life. I loveeeeeeed Wes his flawed and downtrodden after losing his restaurant and money in a divorce.

They both grow so much in this book, I cried and laughed and made Wes my latest book boyfriend.

This book might have a lot of triggers to people in regards to PTSD and other aspects but as it's not mentioned in the synopsis I don't want to put any spoilers.

Highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a well written, contemporary, new adult romance.

Wow, just amazing. I could not put it down, well written, wonderful. I don't have the words to describe how I feel

The One You Can't Forget was another good book by Roni Loren. The story keeps following the survivors of the high school shooting that forever changed their lives. It has everything that you need in a good book. It has suspense, romance, likeable characters, and a good plot. I'm anxiously awaiting the next book.

If you’ve listened to our We Look Ahead to 2018 podcast episode, you might have heard me fumbling for words over how much I enjoyed The Ones Who Got Away. I want to issue a warning that the book focuses on the survivors of a school shooting. It’s a touchy subject to tackle, especially in romance, but it was also one of the main reasons why I picked up the book. However, if you’re sensitive to depictions of gun violence, I’d recommend your skipping this one.

The premise of the book is that these survivors – dubbed in the media as “the ones who got away” – are returning to their hometown to film a documentary. The shooting occurred twelve years prior on prom night. The proceeds of the documentary benefit the victims’ families and organizations that fight against gun violence.

The hero and heroine are both survivors of the shooting. Olivia Arias was a “goth Latina” in high school, a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Finn Dorsey was a golden boy from an affluent family. The two of them had a secret relationship, smooching beneath bleachers and whatnot. Finn takes a girl named Rebecca to prom. She’s popular and pretty. You know how this story goes. While Liv and Finn have snuck off to argue and angrily kiss in a janitor’s closet on prom night, the shooting starts. Finn leaves Liv to go check on Rebecca and winds up taking a bullet for his prom date. All three of them survive. Finn is heralded as a hero. But while he was gone, one of the shooters finds Liv in the closet and points his gun at her. He winds up not shooting her, but the incident causes some serious PTSD in Liv.

Cut to the present day where everyone has somewhat reunited. There isn’t a deluge of names and faces to remember, as the book centers firmly on Finn and Liv, but other characters do make an appearance, including Rebecca.

Both Liv and Finn realize that they aren’t the people they used to be and haven’t exactly lived life in the “seize the day by the balls” way they had wanted to after the shooting. Finn is an undercover FBI agent who just got done with a two year cover. He plans on taking a break and engaging in some solitude at a lake house. He invites Liv to join him one weekend. He thinks being around an old friend will help him readjust to civilian life and the weekend would give Liv an opportunity to recapture her passion of photography. She always dreamed of making it a career, rather than being a nine-to-five web designer.

So there’s a second chance romance, some forced proximity, and plenty of angst.

My first concern with picking up this book was whether the “shooting” element would be a gimmick. It isn’t. As time goes on, I think it’s going to become more and more difficult not to meet a person affected by gun violence. It also provides the backdrop for examining how each survivor has been affected by that one moment in time, and I’m really looking forward to learning more about the other characters. We get enough glimpses of them to make you want more, but not enough that you think you know their whole story. There are “flashback” scenes, where characters remember what happened on prom night and of course, many of the characters have lingering issues stemming from the shooting – PTSD, nightmares, lasting injuries and disabilities. It makes every page tense and heavy. It’s a tough book to read at times and I found myself taking significant breaks just for a breather. I don’t mean this in a bad way, as it made for a unique reading experience.

There are also some great female friendships. I was concerned that Rebecca and Liv would be pitted against one another, but after the shooting, four women from that night (Liv and Rebecca included) created a little mini support group. They met in grief counseling and though they lost contact as adults, it was really nice to see them together and reunited. There’s a great scene where one of the other women refuses to let Liv “get busy” with Finn because she’s had a bit to drink. She walks Liv back up to her room and it really warmed my heart. Not that Finn was a danger to Liv, but that making out while inebriated could lead to some regretful decisions.

Liv and Finn do share a bit of a drunken make out session early on in the book, but they both realize it’s probably a bad idea. What I liked about this was that there wasn’t any back and forth. Sometimes in romances, there’s a pervading insistence on “we shouldn’t” but that doesn’t stop the hero and heroine from sucking face at every opportunity and then having a guilt boner afterward. Liv has no problem calling Finn out when he’s using flirtation to avoid talking about serious subjects. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s a fantastic slow burn. They realize that first and foremost they want their old friendship back rather than taking advantage of pants feelings. Another thing I enjoyed about Liv was that she had no problem mentioning that she’d had previous relationships, both romantic and sexual, while Finn had been celibate for the past two years. Heck yeah for a heroine with a sex life!

My biggest complaint is that sometimes if felt like ten pounds of plot in a five pound bag. The emotional turmoil and friends to lovers elements were enough to keep the book going. However, there’s Finn’s undercover nonsense that didn’t seem necessary. He was undercover for two years. To “get out” of his cover, the FBI helped him fake his own death. Throughout the book, he’s paranoid about his image getting out. During the documentary, he asks not to be shown on camera. He thinks the bad guys he infiltrated could come after him at any moment. Additionally, his main motivation for his undercover job is that he wants to find the people responsible for putting guns in the hands of his school shooters. That seemed like a stretch and I doubted he’d ever really find an answer. The shooting is twelve years old by now, and tracking down those responsible for providing those specific guns seemed rather farfetched.

I cannot express how much I enjoyed Liv as a heroine. She’s a complex character who felt incredibly real and had so much depth. Though she survived a tragic and frightening experience, the book doesn’t get bogged down in what I call “tragedy porn,” where one horrible thing after another seems to happen to a character. She has moments of happiness, regret, can make silly jokes, and enjoy a good margarita, while dealing with PTSD and night terrors.

As the first book I finished in 2018, I think it’s a great sign of my reading to come. Hopefully. The second book, The One You Can’t Forget, focuses on Rebecca and I think I may be even more excited for that one. If the subject matter doesn’t scare you off and your catnip is friends to lovers, slow burn-y goodness, The Ones Who Got Away is highly worth the read.

I love Wes's quick whit. He's really good at making Rebecca laugh, even when it's hard. And that's just what she needs, is a good reason to laugh. Rebecca made a big mistake about her impression of Wes. When she takes a second look, she felt pretty awful. What she does to try and make things a little better is perfect.

***ARC received for an honest review***

My biggest issue with contemporary romances is that the problems tend to arise in two arenas - either the family or all in the characters' heads. I'm not even being facetious as I ask this question - you're busy and lonely and in a dating slump. You meet a gorgeous man with whom you have amazing sex (it really is important in a relationship), whom you admire, with whom you love spending time, and you evolve this healthy respectful relationship. Good, right? But in a contemporary romance this isn't good. Some complete mindfuck of the heroine's comes along to throw a monkey-wrench in the works (between 72 and 75%) and you have to watch an otherwise sane person sabotage a relationship and then desperately repair it. And then you're expected to rejoice that this twatwaffle is happy. Ugh.

ANYHOW.

Rebecca (from the last book) is a miserable, uptight, lonely lawyer (I swear to god we are not all freakin like this). Wes is a recovering alcoholic who has blown up his own life. They meet. Their fears intrude. Their hideous families intrude (seriously, I loathed these people). And they stumble their way to happily ever after through a garden of landmines (that they'd planted themselves).

I keep saying I'm not going to read any more contemporaries, but then an amazing one comes along. (I'm looking at you Brooklynaire) So I never give up. Maybe I'm becoming as tedious as the heroines I've come to loathe...nahhhhhhhh.

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