This book was so much more than just a love story. It flicked between the present and the past tense, which did leave it a bit choppy at times, but I did enjoy it none-the-less. This was an enjoyable book, which made me smile, and cry, all at the same time. I couldn't put this book down, I just had to know how it ended.

Thank you NetGalley for the early release in exchange for my opinion.

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Extraordinary in the ordinary. This is not a cheerful second-chance rom-com, but it's a thoroughly enjoyable read that make me laugh and cry, whilst also tapping into nostalgia and longing.

Big thank you to netgalley and Aria & Aries for the eArc of this book.

DNF at 40%

This book is not for me. I feel no connection with any characters, and actually really dislike both main characters. I also am not at all invested in the story and don't care to know what happens. If you're looking for a light romance this is not it, but if you're in the mood for something heavier it might be for you.

I couldn’t put this down. I read this in 2 sittings because I just had to know how it ended. There should definitely be more hype around this because it totally deserves it. Charlotte Rixon makes it onto favourite authors list.

Where is the hype around this book? It sucked my soul out of my body as I was reading and I can not recommend this book enough. It gave Nicholas Sparks and Elin Hilderbrand vibes.

I didn't love this. It seems like a second chance at first love story but in reality it's quite heavy and there are a lot of TWs
needed. That said I thought it was well written and I enjoyed the chapters being split between Clara & Ben. Unfortunately Clara is really not very likeable (even her name is a bit irritating tbh) and I found myself getting quite frustrated with her actions. If you're looking for a grittier less romantic read this may be more up your street.

With thanks to Aria & Aries/Netgalley for the ARC

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon.
Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. The story begins with a suicide bomber and gets the reader hooked right into the story, but does not follow through. Rixon tells the story alternating between several time frames. The One That Got Away is the story of two people who fall in love during university, but are separated due to circumstances. Twenty years later, their lives once again cross and they are forced to remember the past. This story is slow and the main character, Clara is whiny, mean, and pathetic. Rixon pulls the reader along with several plot questions, but does not offer any unexpected surprises.

The beauty of this story was it was hard to put it down! Despite my feelings about the characters' relationship, I needed to know if they would be okay. The writing was very well done which helped build suspense and successfully tie in heavy topics. While this book can feel dark at times, and I wasn't super invested to the characters as a couple, I would still recommend this book. After finishing the book last night, I could not stop talking to my partner about it. This is definitely a book I will think about in the future!

This book is very unique, and quite different from your typical romance novel, which honestly caught me off guard. While I appreciate interrupting the status quo and trying something new, this book dealt with a lot (A LOT) of very heavy topics that took an emotional toll. While I really wanted to dive into Ben and Clara's story, it just wasn't quite what I needed. If you're looking for a emotional but lighthearted romance, this is not for you.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

Thank you Aria & Aries Publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others. Initially, the description was the reason why I wanted to read this book in the first place. Described as a "gripping and powerful story about first love defying all odds, for fans of One Day and The Paper Palace", this seemed like my ideal plot. However, I couldn't get through it and had to DNF it at 31%.

Compared to other reader's reviews, my review is based off personal preference so I suggest you pick it up and see for yourself if this is your kind of book.🤍

What a beautiful, heartfelt and gorgeous book!!! This has been addictive since page one. I devoured this book in just one sitting.

I have laughed and cried reading this. I became completely invested in this one from the beginning.

This book has taken me on a rollercoaster of emotions. My attention has been captured instantly.

The characters in this book are stunning. Flawed but completely loveable. I have devoured page after page wanting more from them.

This is a brilliant read and one that I cannot recommend more highly.

When this book was compared to THE PAPER PALACE, I can see how that connection was made. It's emotional, gutting, and can take you to a pretty dark place if you're not vigilant. But what this book lacked that the latter did not is a sense of maturity in style and direction. I would compare this book more to those of the Colleen Hoover variety - not bad by any stretch, but written in a way that feels a bit melodramatic and histrionic. The emotions felt stretched out in a theatrical way, which lends to the "gutting" description I gave earlier, but when examined under a critical light I'm not quite sure if it holds up to other giants on the shelves.

Beautifully written and highly emotive. Not your average romance, this book brings a lot of heart. I will be reading any further titles in this genre from Charlotte. Highly recommended.

I thought this was a very cute story between two college lovers and their journey. I found it particularly interesting because my partner and I met and feel in love in college and it brought back my own memories from this time period.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

The One that Got Away is an emotional story about Benjamin and Clara. They dated in college, but split up after an incident led to Benjamin being incarcerated. However, years later, Clara hears about an explosion at a soccer stadium; one that she knows Benjamin went to for every single home game. She can't get Benjamin out of her head, so she leaves to try to find him and make sure he's ok.

The story is dual timeline, and dual POV; past and present, so we hear the story of their relationship and the current situation with the explosion. Additionally we get the story from both Benjamin and Clara's viewpoints.

I was pretty engaged at the beginning, and was trying to figure out what happened between them in the past, and also who exactly caused the explosion at the stadium. But the more I read, the more I wanted to just skip to the end. It's emotionally taxing, but still fell a bit flat for me.

Sorry but this wasn’t for me - it felt like so many others I’d read before, but didn’t quite measure up.
I wanted to love it but just didn’t.

Such a good book, this one was hard to put down. A bittersweet story set between present day and flash backs to uni life. Well worth a read.

I am a big fan of a second chance romance where the timeline flashes back from past to present. It helps me get to know the characters better and allows me to delve deeper into their love story. I was very interested in watching Clara and Benjamin's unfold and I was invested in the future in hopes that everything turned out well after the bombing (!!). Unfortunately, what I learned about the characters is that they were both supremely immature, which made the 2000 flashbacks cringe.

However, the final part of the book had its redeeming moments. I didn’t see moments of great love between Benjamin and Clara but I did love Ben’s relationship with his son (and with his father). Very deep, distressing subjects interspersed with the 20 year journey back to first love.

This book won't be for everyone.
If you're looking for a light, fluffy read with likeable characters, this is not it. I don't usually point out trigger warnings, but this book deals with many difficult topics, so you might want to check the list, so you can read it when you're in the right mindset.


The story follows along with its two main characters, Clara and Benjamin, and the course of their relationship over 23 years. We get to see snippets of their past, beginning in 2000 when they first met at uni, followed by their break-up two years later, and everything that happened after.

Where other authors might focus on making their characters likeable or relatable, Charlotte Rixon seems to plunge into the more flawed and problematic sides of life.
That's why, for the first half of the book, I found myself being constantly irritated or annoyed by the characters. By how they behaved, their miscommunications and arguments seemingly plucked out of thin air. You just want to reach through the pages and shake them.
But halfway through, I think my annoyance turned into sympathy. And probably because of their character developments that just felt so real! It was inconsistent, nonlinear, sometimes with setbacks, and sometimes expedited forward. The characters made mistakes, had to deal with the consequences, and overall felt three-dimensional.
One of those consequences is dangled in front of the reader for a long time, and that's the reason for Clara and Ben's brake-up in the first place. And it definitely wasn't one of the reasons I anticipated.
I'm not gonna lie, I liked Ben much better than Clara and was impressed by the depth of the side characters.
Also, the ending was deeply satisfying for me. I was hoping that the main characters wouldn't just jump into a relationship when they finally saw each other again, and the solution to it was beautiful.


I still struggle to decide how to rate this book, I want to give it two stars because it annoyed me so much, but at the same time, I want to give it four stars for its brilliance. I might settle for three.