This series has been captivating from the beginning. This book asks the question of how much is s perpetrators family responsible for their actions. It also asks when and how can the families of victims move through their grief. Taryn who lost her sister in the shooting falls for Shaw whose brother was the shooter. They are both still trying to move on with their lives. They have to fight others views as well as their own guilt to let themselves fall in love. All the characters are so well written and it’s a compelling story from start to end.

In The One You Fight For, Roni Loren takes one of the most gut-wrenching issues of the day — school shootings — and makes it the backdrop for a romance that asks whether the brother of an infamous mass murderer can possibly find or deserve happily ever after — especially with the sister of one of the victims?

Taryn Landry has a lot going for her: She's a psychology professor on track for tenure and her program to identify and counsel potential mass shooters is about to be voted on by the local school board. The mission is personal; she herself is the survivor of a school shooting which claimed the life of her younger sister. Shaw Miller is a survivor of same shooting — so to speak. He was an Olympic-caliber gymnast when his younger brother shot up prom night. In the aftermath, he had to abandon his Olympic dreams, change his name, alter his appearance and never, ever let anyone get close.

There is so much to love in this romance: sexy, sporty, highly competent characters having a sexy, sweaty, complicated relationship. But in a novel so much about preventing mass shootings, it's startling that Loren doesn't even mention gun control measures. That would take some of the onus off individuals to stop the violence, and it would go some way to absolving people like Shaw and Taryn of the burden of needing to protect everyone, even at the expense of their own happiness.

In “The One You Fight For,” the third book in “The Ones Who Got Away” series, author Roni Loren digs deeper in the psyche of the survivors while also expanding the number of people who had been directly affected by the event.

Readers meet Shaw Miller, brother of Joseph Miller, the shooter. He might not have pulled the trigger, but he had to hide who he was because of his sibling’s notoriety.

And there is Taryn Landry, a student at Long Acre when the shooting happened. She survived, but her younger sister did not.

Fate connected Shaw and Taryn, though they did not know it at that time. Both lost a sibling, both are survivors of the school shooting, but they were coming from the opposite sides.

And by a twist of fate, they met and fell in love! Can their love survive? Do they even have a happily ever after?

To quote Entertainment Weekly, “The Ones Who Got Away” series is "a crackling, heartfelt love story." This statement describes “The One You Fight For” to a T. If the first two books made you cry, this one will have you bawling. So, when you read this, make sure you have Kleenex tissue by your side.

On a personal note, this book reminded me of the 2016 shooting of Dallas Police Officers. One of the officers who was killed attended the church I go to. So, though I did not know him personally, our congregation was very much affected.

Everyday, for almost a month, Father Jonathan Austin, the priest at St. Jude Chapel will light 5 candles, one each for the police officers who were killed, 8 candles for those who were injured, one candle for all the family members that had been affected and one candle for the shooter.

Explaining on the pulpit why he also lit a candle for the shooter, Fr. Jonathan said, “He needs our prayers, too.”

Not to sound religious, but I agree with Father Jonathan. Everyone needs our prayers – the victims, the perpetrators and their families.

Going back to the book, author Roni Loren once again touched my heart and chances are, I am not alone in feeling that way. By creating the character of Shaw Miller, Loren showed that Joseph Miller, the shooter did not exist in a vacuum. He was a son and a brother, a member of a family unit. Joseph’s victims were not only the people who died. His own family suffered because of what he did.

Loren opened our eyes on how families deal with tragedies such as this. Another book came to mind when I was writing this review. “Ask Him Why” by Catherine Hyde tells the story of how a family coped while the event was still in the headlines and beyond.

“The One You Fight For” is Rated T for Teens. Parental guidance is strongly advised.

Okay, lemme put it on record that I LOVED Rebecca and Wes' book so, so much but damn if this one didn't blow that one out of the water. Roni Loren has outdone herself.

The One You Fight For is about Taryn who lost her sister in the Long Acre shooting, and Shaw who happens to be one of the shooter's elder brother. This story shows the way a tragedy impacts people: Taryn devotes her entire life to working towards a solution for school shooting, while Shaw changes everything from his name to his lifestyle in order to avoid the press and basically lives in isolation. They both carries guilt from the shooting, and the story also shows how they both deal with that as well as regret, grief and loss.

The romance between Taryn and Shaw is my most favourite thing about this book. Their relationship is so pure! I love their meet-cute and all the meets after. I love how Shaw helps Taryn loosen up and have fun outside her research work and professor identity, and I love how Taryn helps Shaw realize that he might have his HEA after all. They just have a lot of chemistry with each other, and they are both protective of the other.

For those of you who are wondering about the whole identity change/possible conflict thing: Taryn knows early on that Shaw is Joseph's brother. He tells her immediately when he realizes who she is, apologizes, and even prepares to leave her alone--which I'm glad about because I would have disliked reading a conflict that stems from Taryn not knowing about Shaw's identity. I love that they put that tragic fact of their connection out of the way before starting their relationship, and how Taryn didn't judge Shaw for his brother's actions like the rest of the media/world.

Overall, this book is the best in the series (so far; we still have Kincaid's book!) for me. The Shaw-Taryn reuniting scene reduced me to tears, and so did the epilogue.

Evocative. Emotive. Realistic. The One You Fight For tells the story of Taryn and Shaw, two victims of a school shooting. These awful tragedies leave many victims behind. Brothers, sisters, parents, and friends. Anyone close to those gone or alive will never be the same. Roni Loren does a great job approaching this subject in a hopeful and romantic way. A must-read!

This was a truly great read. This is the third book in this series, but each can be read in a standalone. Every book in this series is great. You can’t go wrong picking up a book by Roni Loren.

The One You Fight For is the third installment in Roni Loren's The Ones Who Got Away series about survivors of a high school shooting. The series follows four survivors (Liv, Rebecca, Taryn and Kincaid) many years later as they navigate adulthood and reconnect on the anniversary of the school shooting.

Taryn is a successful Professor who has dedicated her life to researching school shootings in order to discover preventive measures for at-risk kids who might resort to violence. Taryn also has to deal with her overbearing parents who have never recovered from loosing their other daughter Nia in the school shooting.

Taryn meets Lucas one night in a random bar and there is instant chemistry between them. Taryn doesn't know that Lucas is really Shaw Miller, who also has ties to the high school, but is running from his past.

Roni Loren takes you on an incredible journey as Taryn and Shaw discover each other's connection to the shooting and their decision to stay together until his past becomes public knowledge and shocks Taryn's family and friends making Taryn choose to fight for her relationship.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.5

Reading a book in this series is never an easy experience. These are all broken and damaged people hopefully getting a little peace and love to help soothe their souls. They’ve been through so much and they deserve it. Taryn is one that deserves it the most. She lost her sister the night of the school shooting and she’s dedicated her life to helping make that right. There’s a secret she’s kept close and a guilt she’s been carrying. Her family has also made it her mission to help create a program that will identify problem kids and get them the help they need. So basically her whole life has revolved around that incident, that guilt. Every day, she’s put her wants and dreams aside. She bottled up that teenager she was and she became this new and subdued Taryn.

It seems ironic that the person that helps her reconnect with who she really was and helps her break out from that shell and free her spirit is the ONE person she shouldn’t be around. As the blurb already mentions it, the hero Shaw is the brother of the shooter. His brother killed her sister. He’s been living with the guilt about what happened and how he felt he played a part in it. He’s been living with the constant media circus and scrutiny because everyone associated with him must’ve been bad too. At first, and for a while, I had a hard time wrapping my head around how they could work in the long term. Chemistry and love is one thing but having to face the world with all that baggage between them is not going to be an easy thing.

I think one of the issues I liked the most was the fact that Ms. Loren shows us the other side of the coin. The victims and survivors are not only the ones that survived the attacked. What about the family of the shooter? What experiences and guilt they carry? I was glad to see this explored and the fact that we have this HEA pushes us to think of acceptance, forgiveness and love.

All that being said… Shaw Miller is just deliciously sexy and the chemistry he has with Taryn is undeniable. This one is probably right up there with the first one in how intense it was, but emotional and gut-wrenching. I devoured this story and I can’t wait for the next one.

I read this book because I wanted to see how this extremely challenging story would be written. While I did feel the story was handled well, it was the characters who did not resonate with me. I wanted to like them, I truly did. Taryn just held herself hostage, as did Shaw. To me it seemed as if they were frozen in time, and could not evolve from their past. There was just too much stuff that pulled you away from the characters. Rivers was the most interesting character in the whole book, and there was not enough of him. I felt like I was reading a ya novel instead of about 30 somethings.

Received as an ARC from Netgalley.

Roni Loren is one of my best new finds in 2018 with the beginning of this series The Ones Who Got Away impressing me so tremendously, I made huge inroads into her backlist.

The premise of having the main characters be survivors of a school shooting will always lend angst to the storylines. In the hands of a lesser author, these books would have gone extremely political and maudlin instead of the hopeful, love-filled, evocative, five-star reads that they are.

From the time I found out who Taryn's partner is going to be, with her sister being one of the victims and Shaw the brother of one of the shooters, I knew this would be the toughest pairing yet. But, Roni Loren already earned my trust and I believed from the start that she would deliver a compelling story between these two. She absolutely surpassed my expectation.

Taryn and Shaw, though from opposite ends of the spectrum in the eyes of the world--she's a survivor working to ensure such tragedies are prevented; he's a villain, sharing the same bad blood as a mass murderer--gravitated towards one another and eventually fell in love with the full knowledge of each other's identity. The heavy burden of their guilt, intrusion of the media, and disapproval of Taryn's parents all conspired to tear them apart. Break they did, but only for a short while. This is romance, after all. Without that guarantee, let me tell you that I wouldn't go on this rollercoaster ride because, oh boy, did Roni make Taryn and Shaw work for their happily-ever-after.

As is probably now evident, I am a huge fan of this book and this series. I love the fact that this is an interracial romance, but that is not heralded. The pairing of Taryn and Shaw is so natural, their ethnicity didn't even matter. I absolutely adore the female friendship. Those four ladies are sisters, they're chosen family. I love this aspect of this series as much as the romance. I love the music, the diversity and inclusion, the balance of emotional triggers with lighthearted, uplifting moments, and the steamy sexytimes.

I cried, I laughed, I loved. Five shining stars.

The One You Fight For, by Roni Loren is a contemporary romance that features tragically heart-breaking themes, while also still being sweetly romantic.

Taryn Landry 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 her sister didn't survive and she blames herself. Twelve years after the school shooting, Taryn reconnects with three high school friends. Today, she is focused on her job as an psychology professor, as well as focusing on ways to prevent tragedies, such as school shootings.

Shaw Miller has spent years dealing with his brother's horrifying choices that night at prom. He changed his name and appearance to start a new life, yet Shaw is now back in his hometown to build a new business with a friend. However, he's determined to keep a low profile and his identity secret, yet Shaw meets Taryn. They are attracted to each other, yet their tragic pasts affect their future together.

Since it's the third 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. It can be read as a standalone; however, it's a highly recommended book series.

The One You Fight For is geared towards those who are interested in modern romances, despite the tragically heart-breaking underlying issues, yet still hopeful storyline. As always, 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.

I love this series. I am hoping there should be one more... but the contrast between steamy love stories and overcoming the trauma of a school shooting is one that will keep readers coming back!

The One You Fight For is the third book in Roni Loren's series about survivors of a high school shooting. In this book, we finally get to find out Taryn's story and she gets a romance with the most complicated person to get involve with, Shaw MIller. Who also happens to be the brother of one of the shooters in Long Acre. So right of the bat, this story has all sorts of potential obstacles but the way Taryn and Shaw's developing relationship was well done, from the first meeting, the deepening attraction and from full on lover status. It also tackles the fall out of school shootings especially from family members affected. This is probably my favorite of the three but they are all great so definitely worth reading.

Taryn had dedicated her career to developing a program to use in schools to recognize at risk kids. Especially those that could become school shooters. She lost a sister in a school shooting. She is frustrated that she can't get funding and has to figure out a different angle. Lucas is back in town opening a gym with a good friend. Taryn's friend signs her up to participate in a class at the gym. They are both attracted to each other, but Lucas has a secret. He is the brother of the school shooter and has changed his name. He lets Taryn know right away (which I appreciated). She struggles with how her family and friends will react even though she can separate him from his brother's actions. Can they work through how they are connected?

The one you fight for is the third book in The ones who got away series and is not completely a stand-alone, though it can be read as such. This is also another book where the MC's carry a lot of guilt for something that wasn't on their hand. Shaw is not responsible for this brother and his actions. No one forced him to go and shoot those kids. Writing these words made me realize that I want to see what was on the shooters heads when they went into that gym. I don't remember if it was explained on book #1, but I don't think that for the past two books there was something in-depth about the shooting, even though a lot of people think that they are responsible for what went down when they weren't. We have one more book in the series and I would like to see more of that. Even Taryn's search didn't give me enough satisfaction.

I still have a complaint about Kincaid and Marc. I want to know what happened or didn't happen between them. Her book is next and I will finally get some answers. I feel like the series has lost direction. Book 1 was so emotional and the other two books did nothing for me. Writing the review made me realize that I am not so happy with the book. Honestly, if it wasn't related to the Long Acre shooting I would have liked it more because it wouldn't have made me build so many expectations. Taryn and Shaw had a good romance and I liked that part of the story. I also liked how Taryn finally stood up for herself and her growth as a character.

I really cannot say enough about this series!! With each new book, we learn new pieces of the puzzle from that fateful day over twelve years ago at Long Acre High School.

This time around we get to experience of that awful day through Taryn's point of view. I didn't recall a lot about Taryn and didn't really have any expectations for her story because I didn't know what I was in for but I knew that Roni Loren wouldn't let me down. She did not.

Taryn lost her sister in the school shooting. She's spent the 14 years researching the backgrounds of school shooters and looking for the signs that people might have missed and is dedicated to implementing a program in schools to help prevent more tragedies from happening in the future. She also so busy helping her mother and father try to get through her sister's death that she hasn't really lived for anything other than honoring her sister's memory. When her friend Kincaid convinces her that she needs to make some time for herself, she stumbles upon a bar and sexy stranger with a man-bun who helps her see things from a whole new angle. What follows this fateful meeting was a wild and emotional ride that had me reeling but unable to stop reading!!

That's the thing about this series, it makes me think about the situation from the many different sides of those who were affected in a way that I never really let myself. It really hits home just how many people are affected by these tragedies that those who haven't been affected don't even think about. It also explores the what-if's that seem to plague the victims for years and years and continues to affect their lives forever. This whole series is very emotional but also tells the stories that need to be told and Roni Loren does it in a way that seems honest but also respectful to the very sad and awful reality of school shootings.

The next book is Kincaid's story and, if I'm being honest, I haven't really connected to her in a way that has me excited for her story but  I expect that I will fall in love with her just as much as I did Liv, Rebecca, and Taryn because Roni Loren is just that good.

*Although this book could be read as a standalone, I think that it would absolutely benefit readers to read the other as well. The first book goes into more detail of what happened to each of the four friends in high-school and each story so far has revealed a secret that each character has held onto for the past 12 years so it probably makes for a better read to know all the secrets as they are revealed.

The One You Fight For is the third book in the latest series by Roni Loren and I admit that I am really enjoying these books. With each book, they only get better. But I have to say that this book was PHENOMENAL....there are NO words and I don't think that my review could ever give this book the justice that it deserves. This book will make you cry, make you think, make you want to be better and will give you all the feels upside and down and sideways. It has everything that suckers punch a reader in all the best of ways and The One You Fight For is a powerfully packed romance that is guaranteed to satisfy you from head to toe!! 

Our beautiful love story begins with one fateful night on prom night, where there was a high school shooting by two boys who left behind a trail of bodies and trauma and grief in their wake. Our heroine, Taryn Laundry, has made a promise to her sister who was killed in the high school shooting. That her death wouldn't be in vain, that she would go into research and develop a way to prevent future shootings. And so she has worked hard to get a plan in motion, that will be a preventive measure for future school programs to get to the children before they get to the point when they make a disastrous decision to kill. That love and guidance and confidence and attention are what they need, but she needs to get the school board to approve her plan. She has hardly any life because of her sacrifice in her research and is left to blind dates being set up by friends. But when walking home she walks into a bar, gives into temptation and sings her heart out in a way she has never done on stage and bumps into Shaw Miller.

There are sparks that fly between them but then she is shocked when she sees him again at a fundraiser for children and before she knows it she is doing a workout at his new gym and kisses and passion explode. But Shaw is hiding a great secret....who he really is. He has hidden away for years, doing everything he can to not let the press know of his location or his new name. But when he ends up kissing Taryn he knows that she deserves the truth....he refuses to take any woman to his bed unless they know his true identity....that he is the brother of one of the boys that shot out the high school on prom. He never expected that Taryn, a woman who family his brother hurt unimaginably, accepts him as he is and sees him for the good man he has become and not what his brother did. They have a secret fling, hidden away and learning each other. But the past comes back to haunt them and they will have to make a difficult decision either to embrace the love they have or run away from each other and keep what they have a secret....

The One You Fight For is a story that I didn't expect to be so emotional. This book TORE ME TO SHREDS....yep I was sobbing in many parts of this book. I haven't felt so torn in a book in a long time and this book really is heartbreaking in many ways but I honestly loved every moment I was reading this book. It does begin a bit slow at times, but overall it just captures you in a way you don't expect. I was cheering these two on from the first moment. This book is my favorite of the series so far, I really am grateful that Roni Loren approached this book in such a way. I really liked seeing that grief when a crime like this happens is that it happens on both sides....families of the criminal feel pain and sorrow too and it shows so well in this book. The hero has hidden away from the press and his family and hasn't had hardly any friendships or relationships except for his best friend. He blames himself for his brother's actions but we see his pain and torment in this book and how much he has grieved with everyone else. Then we have the heroine who has devoted so much of her energy and time to this cause and her research that she hasn't really lived her life and once she meets Shaw, she begins to do things for herself and builds her own happiness. 

I have to say I really enjoyed the way that this romance is built....so slowly and carefully and with great attention. It is more of a fling type set up, but not your typical fling romance at all. We see the chemistry that these two have with each other but we also see that unless they are both willing to go forward to their families, friends and the press with their relationship that it can only go one way and they just want to enjoy being together. Their fun bantering is charming and their connection is powerful. They have so much in common and seeing them fight for each other was truly beautiful to see. The ending is EPIC and so worth the read, even if I was crying my eyes out. One of the BEST endings that I have ever read, it was so perfectly written and really speaks to the heart of the reader. 

Overall I found The One You Fight For is a passionate story of the pain of grief, of sole purpose of striving to be better and a tale that will tug at your heartstrings..... A TRUE TREASURE TROVE.

This is the third novel in The Ones Who Got Away series which is about four friends who survived a shooting in their high school several years before. You can find my review of the second volume here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2447449335?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1 and even if I didn’t review the first you should know it’s as good.

We meet here Taryn who, just like the heroine in the second volume, reproaches herself for something concerning the shooting, especially as her little sister was killed the night in question. Since then she devoted her life and her career to find solutions to prevent other massacres, as a psychologist professor and by creating a program that should allow detection of troubles in young people. Her mother has developed a kid of paranoia that makes her panic for each unusual event concerning her surviving daughter and she needs a lot of attention, so between her work and her parents Taryn doesn’t have time for herself. She’s very matter-of-fact, doesn’t dwell on supposition, and I liked her determination in everything she does. When her program falls through she doesn’t throw the sponge but picks up on another idea to have it put in practice.

But if I liked the heroine I really loved the hero. Shaw is the big brother of one of the high school shooters, and he lost everything too after this event: his family – he doesn’t have contact with his parents who divorced -, his selection in the gymnastic Olympic team, and even his girlfriend left him after he beat up a journalist who was harassing them permanently. He reproaches himself his brother’s actions because of an argument they had several months before the shooting, and he seems decided to atone his fault and his brother’s, living alone under a false name. Frankly he’s an adorable character who touched me a lot, he’s kind, considerable, humble, and very attentive not to be noticed in order not to awake painful feelings in survivors.

Both are quickly attracted to each other, and if at the beginning they decide to just have an affair we see their feelings for the other evolve slowly. Shaw lets himself feel happy but regularly he reminds himself that won’t last. What I like too in this series is the fact the author doesn’t put potentially anxiety-provoking unsaid things in the middle of the couple’s relationship. In the previous volume the heroine explained who she is to the hero before beginning their relationship, here Shaw confesses to Taryn who he is before anything happens between them – and he’s quite stupefied when she doesn’t run away!

Of course his identity stays a reason for potential problems with the heroine’s family and friends, and it turns out to be exact when Shaw is unmasked. That leads to the same reflexion first by Taryn’s father then later by one of her friends, about which I cringed. Both, thinking the hero hided his identity from the heroine, say that not knowing who he is when they slept together is amount to a rape. I understand the choc they feel but in my opinion the word is totally disproportionate and irrelevant.

A positive point to compensate: the space of friendship. Shaw has a friend from university who always supported him, and Taryn has her three friends survivors we follow in the series. All of them have an important place and really support the main characters no matter their choices. However we can’t say the same about Taryn’ parents who are too preoccupied by her mother’s paranoiac troubles.

To conclude I’d say it’s a very good novel that had me think about the fact there are victims among culprits’ families too. I tended at best to think “poor people!” before forgetting them, and most of the time not thinking about them at all, but some people don’t hesitate to accuse them of being accomplice or having the same twisted mind, and I appreciated that the author took a look at this case. I highly recommend this series and I can’t wait to read the next volume concerning the last of the four friends. See you soon!

In the reality of our world today, “The One You Fight For” rings especially true and poignant. It’s an emotional story of two adults who experienced a horrific event in high school, each on opposite sides of the tragedy in many ways yet both carries the mantle of that school shooting for the remainder of their lives.

One woman whose sister was a victim of the shooters and one man whose brother was one of the shooters will discover an almost instant attraction between them before they know of their shared pasts. My heart broke for both Taryn and Shaw. They each carry different guilt from that moment in time and it has shaped their current lives completely.

“The One You Fight For” is deeply emotional, gives us a glimpse into the reality for the families of both the one who lost her life and the one who took it. I find that I don’t want to go into much detail, this is a story that you should experience firsthand from Taryn and Shaw as it unfolds.

This couple’s past and their possible future will touch your emotions, make you think a bit and rejoice as some healing happens for them as their love takes hold. I would highly recommend not only this story but the entire series to any reader no matter your preferred genre. You will be affected, and you will see both sides differently.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

The thing I enjoyed most about this novel was the way it avoided so many clichés. The potential is there – man with a deep dark secret, a woman whose parents would not approve of the relationship, plus a few others – and it is predictable to a certain extent. Yet, instead of falling into the simple, easy, all-out-angst trap, this book tackles each issue with maturity and care, and mostly succeeds in leaving the unnecessary drama behind.

That’s not to say there isn’t any drama or angst. There’s plenty enough of both, and all of it emotional. You can’t avoid it in a series that tackles the long term affects of a high school shooting. Shaw’s own story is so very different to everyone else’s, but it asks interesting questions about sympathy and perception and how very few people think about the families of the perpetrators alongside the victims.

Shaw has really been through it, thanks to his brother’s actions. He’s wary and secretive and exceedingly cautious, spending his whole life paying penance for something he didn’t do, so I loved seeing him relax with Taryn. They’re so good for each other, and I really appreciated that they were capable of talking instead of giving into their hormones. They acted their age, which was lovely. I really liked Taryn too, despite her occasional sharp streak. She’s smart and compassionate and able to see Shaw for who he was, not who others had made him out to be. I also adored Rivers. He’s wonderful and his gym sounds amazing.

Whether you’ve read other books in the series or not, there’s plenty to appreciate here, especially if you like your romances to come with strong emotions, mature actions and great friendships. As with the last book, I wish the ending hadn’t felt quite so rushed, as there’s a lot still to be sorted out for these two (both together and in their individual lives), but overall this was a moving read with a satisfying ending. I can’t wait to see how it all ends in the final book.