
Member Reviews

If I had read the synopsis more clearly for this book, I probably would not have picked it up. A bombing is one of the things that can trigger me, and that is a large plot point in this book.
Further more, I didn’t really get the chemistry between the main characters and the lack of communication really grated on me.

3.5 stars for me. I liked this book, but I definitely wouldn't categorize it as a romance. It's actually pretty dark at times, and while there is a love story, that's only part of what this book is about. It is, in my opinion, a realistic depiction of how complicated relationships (of all kinds) can be, and that complexity is what I enjoyed most about it. I will admit that the last 20% or so took a turn I didn't expect, and I'm still mulling over how I feel about it. But overall, I enjoyed the book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

This was not for me. I ended up giving up around the twenty percent mart. It didn’t feel like a romance, and I hated Clara!

I...am not entirely sure what compelled me to pick this book up. Second chance love stories set so many years apart rarely work for me. They are often heavier than I like my mind to carry and so I tend to shy away from them.
And that is exactly what I found in The One that Got Away. Honestly, the writing is compelling. I was drawn in immediately by the prologue and connected with the writing style immediately. But this is not a light, happy love story. And my world weary heart can't take on the heaviness that this story wants to impart. So - ultimately I'm not going to go on this journey and I apologize for the DNF. I do sincerely appreciate the opportunity!

I had to skim this book because there really wasn't much to like about it. First off, there needed to be a trigger warning (or, many!) with this book. You have a bombing, death of a family member, mental illness, alcoholism, etc. It's just one thing after another and as a reader, you can't seem to catch a break. At one point, it truly feels like a burden having all these heavy topics thrown at you.
I hated Clara as a character. She's a mess. She needs help. She never really grew as a person which made reading her perspective especially painful. Benjamin was... Benjamin. He was a terrible communicator but as the story progressed, at least he tried. The side characters were also just there.
The writing was average, at best. I liked the concept of the book, but the execution was lacking.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an eARC of The One that Got Away by Charlotte Rixon. This is my honest review.
The One That Got Away follows the relationship of Clara and Benjamin from their college love story to their relationships untimely demise, and to the tragic event that could bring them back together. This is not a second chance romance but rather a story of two lives interwoven over the course of twenty years.
While it is well-written and had many of the qualities that I love in a story, dual POV and timeline jumps, the characters and the nature of their toxic relationship held me back from really loving this story.
Clara is toxic. She has a past childhood trauma that keeps her from communicating and makes her very needy and jealous and self-destructive. She's unlikable because she does nothing to improve herself, even when she goes to therapy she thinks that she's smarter than her therapist.
Benjamin is an idealization of a good guy from the wrong side of the tracks for Clara. He also is a terrible communicator but he achieves far more character growth. His character arc was the reason I continued with the book.
Together, they are toxic and Clara is emotionally abusive. They are in charge of their own downfall.
The One that Got Away had a slow start but it did pull me in as I became more invested in Benjamin's story. This one was three stars for me, overall.

The first 20% of the book was interesting. But then it couldn’t keep my attention and I got a little bit impatient with the story. It has potential, tbh. But the characters were annoying. I couldn’t connect to her and Benjamin. I couldn’t feel the spark.
I hate to skim an ARC and I wanted so badly to like this book, but I don’t think it’s for me.
It has a lot of trigger warnings, so please make yourself aware of them before reading it through.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing me an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Things I liked:
- Dual POV
- Alternating timelines
- The build up to the event that has kept Clara and Benjamin apart
- Full circle moment
Although the characters seem realistic, I didn’t feel connected to either of them. I was especially frustrated with Clara. I don’t mind reading about unlikable or frustrating characters, but I have to feel a connection to them in order to truly enjoy the book.
I don’t know if I’d really categorize this as contemporary romance. It think it sets the wrong expectation - I was expecting a second chance romance, and that’s not really what I got.
I liked the overall message and resolution of the book, but it overall felt a bit detached. This book was heavy at times, but the life-altering events didn’t have the emotional pull that I look for in a book. I think this goes back to the fact that I didn’t feel connected to these characters.
Overall, I think the idea behind this book is great, but the execution wasn't quite there. Although it wasn’t for me, I think others may enjoy this!
Content warnings: suicide, bombing, violence, alcoholism, death
Thank you so much NetGalley for my eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this book. I started it and was immediately hooked.
I enjoyed how the perspective changes between the two main characters and jumps between the past and current day. It was genius to have short chapters. There were many times I told myself just one more chapter and then it was 30 minutes and 5-7 chapters later.
It was also clever to break the book into six different parts and move through the different life phases and challenges the characters were facing. What I found most captivating was hinting to the pivotal event that lead to the characters heartbreak early, but not officially revealing the actual event until closer to the end of the book.
This book reminded me of The Light We Lost and In Five Years and I would highly recommend it for fans of these books.
Thank you St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

I'm a sucker for stories about lost or unrequited love, so this one immediately appealed to me. Benjamin and Clara meet in 2000 while attending university in Newcastle. They have an instant attraction and connection. Twenty years later, they're no longer together, but Clara feels drawn to find Benjamin, worrying for his safety after a terrorist attack occurs at the stadium of his favorite team. I loved the dual timeline, in the early 00s when they were together and 2022, when Clara goes to search for him. The characters are very sweet and charming. It highlights those loves we have in our lives that we never lose affection for. I listened to the audiobook, which was wonderfully narrated by Carl Prekopp and Katherine Press. They brought wonderful life into the story.
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook / audiobook ARCs. All thoughts are my own.

This book was so so good! I could barely make myself put it down! So romantic and heartwarming, and it gives me hope

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

The One That Got Away
Charlotte Rixon
4⭐️
Two years together.
Twenty years apart.
One day to change their story.
This was not at all what I expected, but in a good way. The One That Got Away was a well written, emotional love story about first loves, mistakes, and second chances. It’s a slow burn story that will both break and warm your heart.
The subject matter is heavy and intense (check TW!) however Rixon handles it all with grace and sensitivity.
What I enjoyed;
✨ Second Chance Romance
✨ Dual Timelines/POV
✨ Flawed & Complex Characters
✨ First Love
Pub Date: 8/15/23
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was fantastic! I was caught up in these characters points of view. I liked how it flipped back and forth in time. I feel like we really got a well rounded story with that.

I really wanted to LOVE this book but sadly I only liked it. I don’t LOVE books where the main character goes searching for their lost love at the expense of the existing marriage. While the two in the marriage were unfaithful and uncommitted, it doesn’t help that storyline for me. I loved the back and forth but felt like the characters were truly terrible and selfish.

NDF at 15%
I really wanted to love The One that Got Away, but unfortunately it really didn’t work for me. I was expecting a light second chance romance and instead I got a very slow very heavy novel. I have seen other people really love this book and give it great feedback, but I think I am just not currently in the headspace for a book that has so many heavy themes to it. Plus I had a really hard time connecting to the main characters in the book. It all just didn't mesh for me - sadly.

Thank you, St Martin's Press and Net Galley, for the advanced copy of The One That Got Away.
I saw some reviews of this book that said it wasn't a romance, and I don't agree. I really liked it. I thought it was a fresh spin on the second-chance romance trope. This was an emotional story about characters who were practically still kids when they met, and while their lives have changed drastically and they've had so much growth as we all do over twenty years, they try to give it another go. It's not your average romance, but it's every bit as gripping, heart-wrenching, and heart-warming as any other romance novel out there.
In 2000, two college students meet at a club, and their lives are forever changed. Clara is from a well-off family in the city, and Benjamin is from the wrong side of her tracks. While their love story is fast and furious, they are torn apart by a devastating accident on their last night of school. Flash to twenty years later, Clara has a good job and a handsome husband who adores her, but that's not the life she envisioned for herself all those years ago. When a bomb is reported at the soccer stadium that she knows he goes to for every home game, she finds herself rushing to try to find him. This novel takes us on the ride of present day and flashbacks of their early relationship while being told from both characters' POVs in third-person narration.

I had a hard time with this book. I think others will enjoy it, but it’s not for me. It was very heavy and challenging for me to read. I usually prefer lighter reads and this was definitely out of my comfort zone.

I had no idea what to expect when I first started reading this book, but I like to go in blind sometimes. This book was perfectly written with a great plot, which make the book a wonderful read. I can see this flying off the shelf at my library. Highly recommend this book!!!

Definitely more "Normal People" vibes than Colleen Hoover. Definitely had intense mental health content including self harm and suicidal ideation. I didn't ever connect with the characters enough to really feel the depth of their trauma, etc.