Thank you so much Aria & Aries and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of The One That Got Away.

This isn't the type of book I normally gravitate towards, but I wanted to shake up my routine a little bit. So I was delighted to get stuck into this book. Much like the title suggests it's about a couple who didn't end up together and realising that their life would have been so much better if they had stuck it out.

We follow them through college in this dual timeline which also sees them 20 years on in their very different but similarly unhappy lives.

I really enjoyed the book and it was beautifully written. But I do wish it came with some trigger warnings personally.

"The one that got away" was not quite what I expected, which is not at all a bad thing. There were a lot of serious and tough topics in the story that I enjoyed reading about, although I first thought this would be a lighter novel. The way in which the author dealt with taboo subjects was really nice and thoughtful. Although I thought the end was a bit rushed. There could have been at least three more chapters, wrapping things up.

Well, when I was so intrigued to read some heart wrenching, angsty love story of soul mates who meet after twenty years in the middle of bomb explosion!

I am a big fan of second chance romances. But I had hard time to get into the story because of so many time lines and I was false informed. Ben and Clara who were high school sweethearts parted their ways but it didn’t take 20 years long for them to meet each other!
I think I had also hard time connect with both of the characters and their intimate love story.

There are so many triggering subjects included: suicide bomber, rape, alcoholism, mental health issues, parent death, cancer, IVF, manslaughter. The bombardment of those heavy stuffs gave me hard time digest everything I read.

I personally hated the guts of Clara from the beginning. So I can honestly say this book is more a mid life crisis than heartwarming second chance love story between so much flawed and dislikable characters.

So I’m giving three solid stars and getting out of here.

Initially I thought this was going to be a bit of a light hearted, predictable romance and it was far from that. It was well thought out and delivered and a thought provoking and enjoyable read. At one point in the novel I really wanted to plead with the author not to make my worst fears come true for one of the more likeable characters. One of the things I enjoyed about this was the fact there were twists and turns that weren’t overplayed for dramatic effect but kept you guessing. One of my big bug-bearers, however, is when there are these huge hints that something has happened but you’re not going to be given the details until later. It’s like having a conversation with a friend who assumes you know everything about their life before you met them and you feel awkward to ask. I hate it when novels say things like “and of course, nothing was ever the same since that great big thing happened and changed everything”, and then blithely skip on. I’m sure there is a better way! So the drip feeding of information kind of bugged me. I also found the two lead characters not exactly likeable and couldn’t quite understand their all consuming, time eclipsing love, however, who does understand other people’s romantic affairs? And the author sort of touched on this at a writers group which made me think this was conscious. The only other thing was the strange inclusion of Newcastle City which had me perplexed for a short time, but I’m assuming it was to avoid confusion with any elements being factual.
These are only minor things in an otherwise captivating and original story.

'The One That Got Away' is a beautifully crafted love story which I devoured in just a couple of sittings. Rixon has created two complex and luminous protagonists in Clara and Benjamin who totally captured my heart, not because they are perfect, attractive or romanticised but because they are raw, real and flawed. The author skilfully shows how two young people, although deeply in love, can flounder in a relationship through lack of self esteem, fear, or bad communication. This book tears the readers heart apart, then gently patches it back together. With some unexpected twists and turns, I absolutely loved this book.

This wasa a cute book, a story about how the life happens and you even didn't notice.
For me, it was like realize that I have to act if I want something because there will be a day and I would look back and I can regret what I did or let happen.

An interesting read about first love.
This book addresses many hard topics so isn't the light and fluffy romance you might expect.
An engaging read with a multilayered plot.
4 stars.

Clara and Benjamin meet while both are at university. Their backgrounds are completely different, but they fall in love. One night, Clara makes a decision that will have lasting repercussions and follow both of them for years. Twenty years later, there’s a bombing, bringing Clara to look for Benjamin, worried that he was affected. Can they forgive or has too much time passed?

I loved this story. It kept me guessing, which I always love. Watching the relationship between Clara and Benjamin unfold and deepen, reminded me of being young and in love and how ridiculous we really can be! Watching both of them weather the consequences of that fateful night, over the years, was sad. One decision can change everything. Definitely recommend!

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles. I really not the opportunity!

I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

Loved this book so much. Thrillers tend to be my usual read, so this was a departure from my usual genre, but so worth it! I fell completely in love with Benjamin and Clara and was absolutely desperate for them to get back together by the end of the story. The book is so evocative and beautifully written. Poignant and moving, I defy anyone who has experienced the heartbreak of first love not to cry when they read it. Definite 5 star read.

I had such High hopes for this book based on the description....but that quickly ended. This book just wasn't for me at all. The entire story, spanning more than 20 years, is built upon a thinly-written, underdeveloped relationship and a connection that I just didn't believe. The characters were flat, the story not engaging. Unfortunately. I would not recommend this book

Thank. you to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital arc

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book will not be for everyone. There are significant subjects in this book which definitely require trigger warnings. These were not included in the description on Netgalley when requesting the book. I would recommend it being included at the beginning of the book to make all readers aware.

The story is based around our two main characters and their 2nd chance romance.

Unfortunately, I just didn't like the characters and found them irritating. I understand they are meant to be flawed, but it felt more grating than flawed.

Just not the book for me.

I think the synopsis of "The One That Got Away" made me expect more and differently than I should for this story. It was my first encounter with the author's writing and I really enjoyed it, but the story I hoped would be a Second Chance Trope like "You Deserve Each Other" involved many subplots that I found gory and, at times, unnecessary. I think there are better ways to deal with a romance between two characters who are finally giving each other a second chance than putting them through the various bad situations they've had to go through in this book.


3,0 stars

huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

i was really looking forward to reading & liking this, but unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. usually, i have no problem with staying engaged to a story even if i find the main characters unlikable, but i particularly struggled with this one. i didn't like either of them for different reasons and it made hard to root for them and stay interested in seeing how their story ends. the writing felt a bit clunky to me, and i found myself often skimming to reach the end, just to be further disappointed by it. i don't really like open endings, especially when they're abrupt.
so many things didn't work for me with this book, but i'll definitely give the author a second chance in future books.
once again, many thanks!!

4.5 stars

The One That Got Away was just great! I love the present and past timelines and the anticipation of what happened to pull apart the main characters while trying to reunite them in present time.

There were many times I wanted shake Benjamin & Clara, but then I had to remember they were college age and young. And we all do and say, silly things when we’re younger. It overall I loved reading about their story and the many tragedies that made them into the adults they were.

Overall I really liked this book. I’m always a sucker for relationships that don’t initially work out and have a second go of it.

I really don't know what to truly say about this novel. This review will be a little light because, you'll want to go into it with little to no information. I went into this book thinking it was going to be this one thing, and it turned out to be the complete opposite.
When it comes to the plot there is almost nothing I can say about it. I hope everyone will do the same to keep things from getting spoiled. The story is an emotional roller coaster from start to finish. But really, give this book a chance. I thought it was excellent.

ARC kindly provided by Aria & Aries via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The One That Got Away utterly blew me away. It was the kind of book that makes me want to stand on a rooftop and shout how amazing it is to the whole world! I laughed a lot- I cried a lot. It was emotional and intense, it moved me. It was as close to perfection as you can get and a story I will never ever forget.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Benjamin and Clara start dating in university and fall in love. They are made for each other. Until one night and one horrible mistake ruins everything. 20 years later a bombing in their university town will send Clara back to a town she hasn’t been to in 20 years to look for the man she once loved.
This book was not quite what I thought it was going to be but it was better. Clara is a flawed character and she is allowed to be flawed and work through her flaws, as is Benjamin. It’s not often authors let their characters be less then perfect. Dealing with a lot of hard truths and a lot of complicated issues that are handled as such. The characters and situations in this book sit in a grey area, there are no easy black and white parts. I enjoyed this book a lot. I like books that don’t have simple problems and solutions.
Thank you to Net Gallery and Charlotte Rixon for providing me a copy of this book for review.

Family and friends...love and romance. I liked this book. It is a cannot put down story that is fiction...reads like nonfiction. The characters come alive on the pages...the one thing that was distracting...the years...the different times...I prefer linear timelines...and maybe going back to one time...but this book has so many different years that it was difficult to keep up. That being said, I really liked this book. This is a unique story in that everything that should happen does not happen...there are sad instances along with the happy ones. This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher for the electronic copy. I look forward to more books by this author. There are some frightening acts in this book.

This wasn't the light hearted read that I had anticipated. But I struggled to put it down none the less.
Ben and Clara have an unsettled relationship from the get go and very early on Clara seems clingy and disapproves of Ben wanting part of his life to be separate from her.
An incident changes the path in which they were both heading and I feel that this should have been the jolt that they needed to get their lives on track but this doesn't happen.
They dip in and out of each others life's via email and reunite in person later on unfortunately because of a bomb explosion.
The ending leaves the reader wanting to know if they do rekindle their relationship but unfortunately is not given.