Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the e-ARC of The One That Got Away, which will be hitting bookshelves this coming August!

This book was INTENSE right out of the gate. The start of the book was so intriguing that it propelled me through the first half the book.

However, then the story started to drag.

This is a dual timeline book switching between when the MCs were in college and present day.
60% of the way through I’d had enough of the flashbacks and wanted more present day story. I found Clara, the FMC, rather annoying. I didn’t think it was necessary to include, what felt like, every thought Clara had along with increasingly repetitive details of her relationship struggles.

I also didn’t *love* the way that the author handled the topic of child sexual assault especially since it was a catalyst for mass murder. IMO, more time should have been spent addressing the CSA and subsequent violence than just wrapping everything up to conclude the story.

Overall, this book started off captivating but slowly lost my interest.

I was so excited to read The One That Got Away! This was my first book by Charlotte Rixon and I’m a sucker for star-crossed love stories - especially those that span across decades.

While I thought The One That Got Away was very well written, it was not quite what I expected. I was expecting some warm + fuzzy elements, but there were a lot of dark triggering parts to the story.

The character development was very well done, however, I had issues forming any attachment to any of the characters - even the two main characters. I actually quite disliked Clara, to be honest.

The only other negative that I had was that the story jumped around quite a bit. While I’m a fan of alternating timelines and character POV’s, there were a couple parts thrown in the middle that messed with the flow and could be slightly confusing if you’re not paying attention to the exact time of the chapter.

Aside from some issues, the book did hold my attention and the ending, while surprising, left no loose ends. While the The One That Got Away wasn’t my favorite book, I’m glad I got the chance to read it and I hope to check out more by Charlotte Rixon, as I enjoyed her writing style.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

In the author's Acknowledgments she notes, "this is not a love story, it's a story about first love." Spot on. This is a gut-wrenching, deeply moving, multi-perspective story that touches on a lot of difficult issues. It is full of raw and real emotions. I found this story to be both difficult to read and difficult to put down. I became so deeply invested in these characters and couldn't help but reflect on my own past and path- how could you not? Moving past your past - first loves and the events that have both scarred and changed you - it's important to remember and think about those; they've helped shape you. Overall, this story is incredibly beautiful and I am thankful for the ruminating it pushed me to do.

Special thanks to Charlotte Rixon, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

What a fabulous story this was. Charlotte Rixon produced two beautiful characters with huge anxiety issues. Clara loved passionately, and strove for perfection and an idea of how her life was supposed to look. Benjamin was just trying to get through each day. They brought out the best in each other and the worst and that all came crashing down in one crazy night. The consequences of that night have haunted them both since.
I have anxiety but not to the level of Clara. Her neediness and constant looping thoughts would be a challenge for friends and partners alike. I don’t know if Rixon was deliberate with her character arcs but Clara was the only one who never grew up. I couldn’t decide if Rixon had chosen to have her stuck in the personality of that tragic night or if that was unintentional.
The dialogue was superb, the story gripping and Rixon has a knack at dropping little juicy plot lines at just the right moment. I am off to the bookshop to purchase her previous novels written under Charlotte Duckworth. This would be the story I wish I could write.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC, I loved reading this!

ARC Ebook provided through NetGalley

I enjoyed the suspense of this drama/romance novel! I was kind of expecting it to be a little lighter, a little more fluffy but I did enjoy how close to reality it seemed to be. There are a lot of instances where life just got in the way of the central relationship, and I appreciated that the author took into account these kinds of real life mitigating factors. It's not often that there's a romance that balances drama in such a realistic way and I appreciated that about the story. The pacing was a little stilted given the time jumps happening throughout the story and the story touched on themes that definitely should have had trigger warnings.
Overall, I enjoyed reading it but I don't think I'll be coming back to this story when it comes out.

great book and such great characters. I enjoyed the mystery and some romance. I also enjoyed the journey of the characters. I didn't know what to expect with this book but I enjoyed it .

This was so good. Surprisingly good! I enjoyed the characters and the entire story line. It was not a feel good story. But it was very well written and made you feel good at points

Disclaimer: I was given a free ARC of this book by St. Martin’s Press in exchange for a review.

The One That Got Away had me at hello. I am a sucker for a good second chance romance and that title promised just that. The One That Got Away covers 20 years, during which Benjamin and Clara fall in love while at university, break up, and go their separate ways, until one day a catastrophe sends Clara looking for Benjamin again, against her better judgment.

There is a lot here that I really liked about this book. Rixon does really interesting things with the timeline, telling the story in a non-linear way that reveals information in little bits that what can feel like grief in a second chance romance turns into the inevitable momentum of fate. Weaving the story like this allows for surprise and character twists that I think wouldn’t have been as interesting if you had reordered the story in chronological order.

Unfortunately, story structure couldn’t make me root for the main characters’ relationship. As much as this book seems to want the reader to truly believe in fate and destined love, I didn’t buy it. I never truly understood why Benjamin and Clara were so wild about each other, except for they saw each other at two clubs on different nights, and maybe their sexual chemistry. Certainly not enough to understand why after two decades Clara was willing to take such measures to find Benjamin again. Honestly, they both treated each other fairly poorly; there is a part where Benjamin’s friend describes Clara as psycho, and by that point I had seen enough of their relationship that I honestly was willing to agree with the friend. It felt like a relationship that you would look back on as an adult with a mingling of fondness and regret, but not a great love that ruined you for love ever after.

The book is honestly at it’s best when it is plumbing the problems in Benjamin and Clara’s relationship. There are the beginnings of what could have been some truly great scenes and discussions around class and grief and sporting culture, but it felt like each time it stopped short of really getting at the meat of the issue.

As far as I can tell, this is Charlotte Rixon’s first novel, and, despite this novel not really being for me, I look forward to her next works; she is a lovely writer with a great sense of structure and pacing and detail. I hope in her next novels she will allow herself more space to dig deeper into the grittier issues that are on the periphery of Benjamin and Clara’s love story.

The One That Got Away will be out August 15, 2023

A heartwrenching and deeply moving read. Such a profound and nuanced take on first love and first loss and the bonds that we carry with us through life. Two college students, Clara and Benjamin meet and share a passionate romance before a life-altering event separates them for decades. Told in dual POV in alternating timelines, The One That Got Away is an intimate look at the people that shape our lives.

I had really high hopes for this book, especially having read the first chapter that completely caught my attention. Unfortunately, it quickly unraveled; the writing style of this book, was not for me. It jumped around every chapter between timelines/years and different characters; I was so unfocused and lost by the chaos of the writing, I can't even tell you what ultimately happened in the book.

The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon is an emotional, yet heart-warming story about two people who were meant to be together but had their paths diverted by a devastating mistake.

I've read a few "the one that got away" stories recently, or so it feels. The back and forth between new, first love and then the present day. Coming of age stories that meld into life as it is now - and the memory of first love. They are all somehow familiar and satisfying, but they never rock my world. This book was different. It avoided common tropes of this type of story, it went in deep. I felt I knew the characters because the author didn't sacrifice this for the story. It's set in northern England, and if I were to be a little critical, I'm from there, and I'd have loved if Benjamin hadn't been quite the "lager lout" that he is; it feels like a well-worn stereotype. I also didn't care for the "incident" that was the catalyst for the story - and how that panned out in the end but I won't elaborate and give any spoilers. But if you want a touching read about people who feel very real to you, and a well-crafted story about love, choices, and the mistakes we make that we have to try not to let define us, then I think you will be very satisfied with this terrific book. I certainly was!

For full disclosure, I stopped reading this book at the 50% mark.

After a chance meeting in a bar, Benjamin and Clara are college sweethearts in Northern England who cannot get enough of each other. He's a quiet and contemplative young man from a small village outside Newcastle, while she is a driven and sometimes anxious Londoner who comes from wealth. Unforeseen circumstances cause a strain in their relationship that tears them apart.

Now, 20 years later, a tragic event has occurred that will have consequences neither could anticipate and leaves both of them looking back on their love story to see where it all went wrong.

What I liked: the mysterious aspect of the story, the dual POV, and the timelines from 2000 to 2022.

What I didn't like: the characters, especially Clara.

I really didn't like Clara while she was in school and it made it hard for me to empathize with her regarding the trauma she experienced. I didn't connect with either of the main characters and I found myself not caring enough about how their relationship ended.

This book was not for me for the reasons above, however, if you liked the movie One Day, I would say give this a try!

While I wanted to really like this, the actual story fell short for me. I love the idea of a second chance romance after a couple experiences many years apart, but this plotline felt wholly unromantic.
The structure of this book was a bit confusing to follow, lapsing between alternating timelines between the two protagonists at different time intervals. There were a number of important details that would come up, disappear, and suddenly reappear and it was difficult to track the number of plotlines, and it deterred from the main themes of the book that could have been fleshed out more.

I really enjoyed reading about Benjamin’s relationship with Aiden and George, and felt that this was a great storyline for his redemption arc. I think the examination of sports culture was also unique, and something I haven’t seen in many other books. Challenging toxic masculinity can be polarizing, and using Aiden’s character as a lens into the consequences of it on young people was something I wish had been explored more with Benjamin. I would have liked to have read a bit more of his past in the soccer world and how it shaped him in his early life.

I disliked Clara’s character and found their early relationship to be toxic and emotionally abusive, so it felt hard to root for them as a couple.

Overall, this story had some redeeming elements, but felt incomplete at times. Trigger warnings should also be included as a number of sensitive events are used as devices to move the plot forward.

A story spanning two decades - part love story part exploration of self - the book includes mystery and the what if of the past. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Well. A simple "love story" this is not. Granted - Clara and Benjamin DO love one another - but that's only one part of the book!!! Insecurity, unsurity and lack of communication - which is part of every young person's first great love. If it were simply a comedy of errors that kept these two apart - it would be a light hearted tome. BUT - it had loss of a parent, unrealistic expectations, sexual abuse, infedelity, prison, death, alcoholism, infertility - and a freaking bomb for crying out loud!!!! THis is NOT for the faint of heart nor those easily triggered by some super big things - because this book is bursting at the seems with them!!! It honestly was a "can't put down" book for me though. I couldn't really stand Clara at first - although I did eventually warm to her (a very tiny bit) because I could finally see how she became the adult that she did.. I was provided a digital copy of The One That Got Away by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Engaging novel that forces you to question your past in a butterfly effect kind of way. Clara and Ben's story is contemplative and understated. The One That Got Away is a page turner for sure.

The story kept my interest right away and I loved the journey it took me on. I loved having the perspective of each charecter from college to current day. The story was well-written and gripping. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this book!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Aug. 15, 2023
“The One That Got Away” is the debut novel by author Charlotte Rixon. Centred on once-upon-a-time lovers, Clara and Benjamin, whose lives went separate ways although their memories of each other were fond and lasting. Twenty years later, a tragedy brings them back together but is twenty years too long to rekindle what once was?
This story is narrated through the alternate POV’s of Benjamin and Clara, and is told in both the past and the present, during the relationship and the many years following, when both are trying to move on while still clinging to their past romance. It is, in every way, a “second chance romance”, but it is not light hearted. The subject material is intense and emotional, including sexual and physical assault, addiction and a violent bombing (to name a few).
Benjamin and Clara are only mildly likable, but neither of them are unlikable at the same time, which helps. I connected with Clara in certain aspects (even when I didn’t want to), but Ben’s plight was hard to ignore, as well. Add to that the naivete and complete innocence of young love, and both characters are tolerable. If nothing else, Ben and Clara (and their developing relationship, with its crash-and-burn ending) are innately human and honest.
I expected a saccharine, over-the-top romantic gesture to pepper the last few pages, but I was surprisingly pleased by Rixon’s ending. Putting a satisfying bow on all of the outstanding plot points, while still leaving a few strings that allow readers to draw their own conclusions made for a believable and enjoyable ending.
“The One” is charming and yet somehow still thought-provoking. Rixon takes the second chance romance genre into the modern era and I look forward to her future works.

Clara and Benjamin meet during their first year of college. It’s instant sparks, the kind of love you will never forget. Unfortunately, this is not a love story. This is rather a story about love and how it makes and breaks you. You travel through 22 years of Clara and Benjamin’s relationship: passionate young love, a traumatic event that separates them, their individual lives, and all the broken hearts between. When an explosion happens in the city they fell in love in, Clara is convinced that she must go and find him.
💭Thoughts💭
I really did love this book, it was written so well and definitely kept my interest. I just wanted to shake both of these characters though! They were clearly very young which was part of their issue, but they just seemed not right for each other at all. Benjamin also seemed like such a dud- he could not get out of his own way.
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⌛️Favorite Moment⌛️
My favorite moments were any with Benjamin, his son, and his dad. They all got along so well and it was so sweet to imagine these three generations together.
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🎉 Theme Ideas 🎉
English football ( soccer ⚽️) played a huge role in this book. Watch a game with a pint of beer and some chips- whether they’re American potato chips or UK French fries!