An emotional tale of tragedy, loss, and redemption.

After a high school shooting shattered their adolescence, Liv and Finn (among others) go back to their old school twelve years later to give interviews for a special about the incident and rediscover old friendships and lost loves.

I enjoyed this title a lot, and look forward to picking up other books in this series.

Wow this book just sucks you in & has you gripped from the very beginning. I laughed, I cried, I swooned - this book just has it all with some fabulous characters. I really hope there is more to come in this series

Three stars: A book that has the potential to be amazing, but it lacked emotion and the romance was predictable.

It has been twelve years since a senseless school shooting rocked the lives of the senior class of Long Acre High School. Since that time, those who survived tried to move on and live their lives the best they could, but none of them escaped the terror and trauma of that night. Now on the twelfth anniversary, some of the survivors are coming back to participate in a documentary. When Liv reunites unexpectedly with Finn, her secret high school boyfriend, sparks fly. One smoking hot kiss is all it takes for them to realize they still have chemistry, but will they have the courage to act on their feelings?
What I Liked:
*To be perfectly honest, I went into The Ones Who Got Away with high expectations after reading so many positive reviews. I liked this book, but wasn’t in love with it like other reviewers. Still there is plenty to like. I appreciated that this was a book about hope and courage as survivors learned to cope with their grief and move beyond the tragedy that shattered their lives. It is a reminder that there can be light after darkness.
*The romance is smoking hot, there is plenty of heat and sizzle and lots of sex for all of you who like passion in your romance reads. You won’t be disappointed in this one. I also liked that it was more than just sex. There is friendship, history, respect and compassion between them. The romance is also a way to heal and steal back something that was lost all those years ago.
*Liv is a fierce character. She had a reputation back in the day as being a bit of an outsider since she came from the poor side of town and she rocked purple hair. She never cared what others thought of her, and as an adult she is driven, kind and determined. I loved her strength and courage, and her tenacity, especially when it came to her overbearing boss.
*I was delighted by the friend relationships. After the tragedy, Liv bonded with four other girls who also survived that night. Before the shooting, they ran in different circles and had practically nothing in common. Afterwards, they bonded and became friends. There was a time or two when I thought that one of the girls would be angry and jealous with Liv, but I was wrong. I loved the way the girls were there for each, and how they didn’t judge. There was so much love and respect between the four of them. It was a bright spot. Some of the best moments in the books stemmed from discussions between friends, especially the one between Finn and Rebecca.
*The ending was just right. There were a few loose ends that will be followed up in the next book, which is Rebecca’s story, but all in all Liv’s and Finn’s story ended rather neatly.
And The Not So Much:
*When I learned that this book was all about survivors of a school shooting, I expected it to pack an emotional punch. The details on the shooting are scarce which I think lessened the impact. I didn’t need all the gory details, but I would have liked to know more about that night and the immediate aftermath so I could feel the emotions.
The romance was nice but it got to a point where it felt like it was all about the sex. The are *numerous, detailed sex scenes that overtake the story. I felt it got old after awhile.
*Finn’s big hang up about getting involved stems from his job as an undercover FBI agent. It was annoying and frustrating the way he handled everything.

The Ones Who Got Away is a book many loved, but for me it was a bit of a fizzle. I thought the book lacked the emotional punch I was expecting, especially since it dealt with a school shooting. The romance was fine, but the sex scenes got to be a little much. Still I liked the characters, and I especially enjoyed the friendships. I liked this enough to read the next book which is Rebecca’s story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

This book sounded so good when I read the synopsis.

I fell for the characters so quickly. Maybe because of the crazy tragedy that starts the book out or what. But I just felt myself being drawn into these characters. And I wanted more of their story. Wanted to see all the best parts of them and see how they all fit together (Ohh boy. That may not sound quite how I intended haha)

But seriously, I loved Liv and Finn. The two just had so much chemistry coming from them. And I loved seeing how their romance bloomed again and how they leaned on each other. It was just sweet and you could see just how well Roni wrote them and the plot in general from it all.

I found myself wrapped up so much in this book that I went hours before coming up for air at a time, and can admit I may have had at least one half sleepless night trying to finish it.

I just adored every part of this book, and give it 5 stars. And suggest you pick up a copy as soon as possible

I can count on two hands the number of new-to-me authors that left me speechless. I've seen Roni Loren's books before, but I hadn't picked one up until now. And I have to say, I'm kind of glad because this was one hell of a book to start off with. The Ones Who Got Away took me on the emotional ride of a lifetime. Roni's writing is beautiful and haunting. I loved the mixture of sorrow and happiness. Watching Liv and Finn learn to love and trust again warmed my heart. Watching them flirt, laugh, and fall in love made me smile so hard. I think I had equal amounts of tears and giggles while reading this book.

Underneath her shell, Liv Arias is an incredibly strong woman. On the outside, she's stuck in a rut that she uses to keep her safe. When she reconnects with Finn and her friends, Liv takes the brave first step to reclaim her life.

The guilt from his actions on prom night have stayed with Finn Dorsey for the last 12 years. Painted as the hero, only he and Liv know the truth. Because of this, he's stayed away from his loved ones while going undercover in some of the most dangerous cases to find the biggest lowlifes on the planet. It's not until he reconnects with Liv that he realizes that he's not living.

The characters were amazing. I can't say how much I wanted to know them personally. All of them, not just Finn and Liv, but their circle of friends as well. I hope that as we get to know Kincaid, Taryn, and Rebecca in future books, we also get more glimpses into what happened prom night. And I hope we find out what they were doing and if there are other survivors.

I'm actually surprised this book didn't send me into a book hangover. It was that good.

I was so excited to read this book, unfortunately I couldn't quite connect with the characters and the story. I can absolutely see where I love of readers would love this book. I think this was just an outlier book for me, and perhaps I wasn't in the right headspace to read it and love it.

Gah! This book I can't even imagine what these characters how did live through after the school shooting. Even just thinking about school shooting makes my heart hurt, and the fact that it's an actual reality especially in the states breaks my heart and hurts my soul.


~ Love never ends. But fear could.~


Having a book that focuses on the survivors is a great idea, and as usual Roni Loren did an amazing job portraying this story with a whole bunch of added sizzle as well.


Finn Dorsey and Olivia (Liv) Arias were once a thing, a hidden thing, because they were from opposite worlds. But they were everything to each other when they were young until the shooting changed everything.


"Meaning I'm back in town that thinks I'm a hero when I wasn't, talking to some reporter about stuff I wish I could forget, and standing here with the girl I almost got killed-and I still don't know what to say to her."


We all have our demons and sometimes we are only able to survive not thrive, and for Liv and Finn they weren't thriving. However, reuniting opened up so much more for these two. Not just healing but also a second chance.


The banter between these two was great. I loved that they brought out each others quirkiness, yet balanced it out with loads of steam.


"I know. You can be Oddly Hot. I'll be Weirdly Sexy. We'll be a crime-fighting duo."


Both are trying to make something out of their tragedy but realize they have a better chance of doing it together than separate.


"But it's two sides of the same coin. You don't get to have only one side or the other. You have to put the whole thing in your pocket and take both, or you get nothing at all. I don't want to live with empty pockets anymore."


Roni Loren is one of my favorite authors and here again she has done it with a start to another great series.


Can't wait for more from this series, where we get to find out more from Kincaid, Rebecca and Taryn.

The first 3 chapters of this story captivated my attention. Liv and Finn have not seen each other since that tragic day 12 years ago, but when they meet again the evening of their interviews, the rekindled romance ignites...that is until Kincaid and Bec walk outside. This is unfortunately where my ecopy left off but I’d love to read the entire novel.

I’m leaving a reivew of 4 stars instead of 5 because I don’t know the needing.

This was a 3.5 star read for me.
It was a case of starting off well, establishing the main plot and the history of Olivia, Rebecca, Taryn, and Kincaid and their high school shooting experience. Olivia and Finn have a history all their own, that ties into the school as well. Then things kind of slow down, pacing wise, almost too much for me. I contemplated putting this book down several times. But, being that this was the first book, I chose to keep reading.

While this book was a bit of a mixed bag for me, I'm glad finished it and I'm planning on reading more in this series. Loren established the other women's backstories enough for me to want to see how their HEAs play out.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series about the survivors of the Long Acre High shooting. Liv and Finn have a secret past they have been hiding that comes to light when they attend a reunion for the classmates of the Long Acre High School shooting. All of their old feelings re-surface and they find themselves doubting if they are truly meant to be together or not. I can't wait for the next series in this book - I really enjoyed all of the side characters and am excited to see several of them will get their own book!

I only received a sample of this story. However, what I did read I truly loved. Roni has a way of just pulling you into the story from the very beginning. I look forward to reading the balance of this one, seems to me its going to be an emotional ride.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately I didn't connect to this story and didn't finish. As I didn't finish the book I won't be publishing a review. Thank you again for the chance to read this book. I've loved this authors previous titles and will continue to purchase her books.

Had a hard time with this book. It was a great second chance romance. But with what’s going on lately with school shootings it was hard to read some parts!

"The Ones That Got Away," is an intense romance that courageously brings to life the aftermath of two characters Finn and Liv who are both one of the few remaining survivors of a grizzly shooting massacre at their local high school. I will point out that I felt a little uneasy going into my reading of this novel due to all of the recent media coverage regarding similar tragedies. Still, I admired the author's bravery in enabling a successful attempt at bringing this very real reality into a work of fiction for the characters themselves. Shootings are not a topic that I see in a romance novel that often and so I thought that I would keep an open mind and read this book.

Overall I found this romance to be successful in the sense that the story itself was built on a solid foundation of vibrate, heartwrenching images that eventually blossomed into hope and into love between both Fin and Liv. I was a little surprised by the fact that Liv turned out to be the strongest of the two characters. Liv was emotionally scarred from the events but I felt like she was determined to survive. On the hand, Finn really needed a boast, a lift in order to push through the aftermath and Liv really enabled him to do so. Both of these characters were reluctant to forget their past, but together they were able to find a true meaning within the lives of one another.

As for the romance, this story is a bit of a second chance with Finn and Liv reconnecting with one another, but I also felt like the romance was a bit of a letdown. The attraction between the duo was intense from the start but those same sparks were only ignited by lust. In other words, there is a great deal of sex in this story but not much open romance.

The story did have faults but I still liked this book. I doubt I will want to read any future books within the series but that could change with time, but I did enjoy this book if nothing more then the author's own way to invent a creative, deeply moving story.

*I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

5 Stars!

For this being my first Roni Loren novel I can say without a doubt, this will not be my last. The Ones Who Got Away surprised me, it wasn't at all what I was expecting. And I say that, not in a bad way, but in a very good way. After reading the blurb I wondered how a story with a heartbreaking topic could weave romance within its pages. And I wasn't discouraged because Roni did an exceptional job. I knew after reading the first chapter I wasn't going to be able to put my kindle down. I was consumed with the writing and the MC's stole my heart. I was overwhelmed with emotions and found myself catching my breath. To say I knew what I was getting myself into while reading The Ones Who Got Away would be a lie. Because it was nothing what I was expecting, and it was everything I needed and couldn't get enough of.

Twelve years ago, the students of Long Acre High were enjoying a night of laughter, good company and dancing, when tragedy struck. What was supposed to be a night to remember their prom, they would remember that night for different reasons. A night that changed their lives forever. Now, some of the survivors of that fateful night are back to recount what happened for a documentary.

Olivia Arias was the girl from the other side of town. The landscapers daughter who had a crush on Finn, the star football player. She was rebellious and without a care at what people thought of her. She liked her secret encounters with Finn, but she wanted more and didn't want to be a secret anymore. And when she finally had courage to speak her truths, it was on the night where nothing would ever be the same.

Finn Dorsey has been plagued with memories of what happened on prom night. Deemed a hero for the actions he played apart of, but in his eyes he is anything but. He can't forget what he did that ultimately hurt the one person that he should've protected. And the one person he would've done anything for.

"He stepped closer, his gaze tracing over her face as if searching for something. Or maybe just cataloging all the differences time had given her."

Twelve years after a horrific tragedy, Liv and Finn come face-to-face. No matter how many years have passed, the spark is still there. That magnetic pull is stronger and one that is hard to fight. And one kiss is all it takes to light the flame that is obviously still there.

The Ones Who Got Away was riveting, addictive, consuming, heartfelt, beautiful and unputdownable. I was hit in the feels. I loved both Liv and Finn. Both still haunted, but needing each other to heal fully. And I absolutely loved the friendship between Olivia, Kincaid, Rebecca and Taryn! I'm looking forward to reading the rest of these characters stories. A new series that is sure to be on my favorites list.

I'll admit, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into when I first picked up The Ones Who Got Away. I have this habit of requesting or buying a book and then not reading the blurb or anything about it before I start reading. That's exactly what happened here, so I didn't this book was about the survivors of a school shooting. That's an emotional subject for me, but that didn't stop me from reading (and loving) this book. It was addictive and I couldn't read it fast enough. 

Olivia and Finn were everything. My heart broke for the tragedy they endured in high school. It broke nearly equally for the fact they were separated so long. I got it though. Things were complicated. One thing was for sure, however, there was absolutely still something between them. It didn't take long for both of them to realize it either. What ensued was a swoony and sexy second chance, amidst the memories of the classmates they lost and everything that led up to that fateful night. (And what came after, naturally.) 

The Ones Who Got Away could've very easily been an overwhelmingly emotional book. I'm glad it wasn't though. Don't get me wrong, the book wasn't without emotions, but I didn't feel like I was drowning in them either. I feel like there's a fine line between sensationalizing the events of a tragedy like the one the Long Acre students endured and paying respect to them and the impact they have on the survivors. Roni found the right balance here. There were sad moments, but there was more hope than fear or sadness. 

I'm so glad this book kicks off a new series. I was in no way shape or form ready to give up the Long Acre characters. I'm a greedy reader who wants ALL THEIR STORIES. (Or, at the very least, the stories of the women who are closest to Olivia.) 

FAVORITE QUOTES
"To the outside world, this was a tragedy. Something people discuss over dinner, shake their heads at, or get political about. To us, this was our life, our school, our friends." 

"It's been a long day and a lot of memories. I think we both just got carried away. We can't do that."
"Kiss?"
"No. Pretend we're the people we used to be. Those people don't exist anymore. They're ghosts."

Uncertain and with trepidation, I picked up Roni Loren’s The Ones Who Got Away. After watching the news reports about Margery Stoneman Douglas HS and its mass-shooting aftermath, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read a romance with this premise. But I ploughed ahead and read it because I thought: dammit, is that a niggling doubt that the genre can’t, shouldn’t, would botch, a premise so raw and horrific? Can romance do the subject justice? That little snooty inner judgement said “No, spinster-girl, you’re giving this genre a chance to tell this story.” What I discovered in it, as with any novelistic treatment, is that Loren got some things right and others, wrong. What Loren got right was situating the story twelve years after the school shooting. While her protagonists’ lives were marked by their experience, the initial horror/trauma has dulled. They have built lives as best they can, found some peace, but the shooting has dictated them too. The time lapse gives Loren some romance narrative wiggle-room: her hero and heroine are adults focussed on adult things, working, paying their bills, being responsible citizens. They achieved this by leaving their Texas town and what happened at Long Acre High.

When the novel opens, however, Special FBI Agent Finn Dorsey and Olivia “Liv” Arias are home, having agreed to be interviewed for a retrospective documentary about the shooting, filming in their former high school. There is nothing “cute” about their meet, yet there is still a glimmer of joy at seeing each other, a recognition of what they meant to each other, but the years, ah, the years … “Finn Dorsey had become a man. And a stranger” and ” … she could tell the moment he realized who she was. Something flickered over his face.” and ” … all they were to each other now were bad memories and even worse decisions.”

Finn and Liv share a beautiful and terrible history. They were friends and almost-lovers, close, intimate, and raging with teenage desire. But Finn was on the golden side of the tracks and Liv was on its garbage-dump. Olivia was Finn’s best-kept secret after his father threatened to take away his college fund if he kept seeing her. On her part, Liv was wild, eccentric, creative, smart, and headed as far from small-minded-small-town-Texas as she could get. As much as teens could be in love, Finn and Liv were. Then, the shooting, and they spiraled away from each other like spaceships in orbit. Now they’re back, though, all those feelings and desires, mixed with guilt and shame, resurface. As a romance, Finn and Liv worked for me; as a study of how some people may react to being in a school shooting, Loren achieves “I’ll-buy-ability”; as an examination of a mass-school-shooting’s provenance, nope, didn’t work.

I think Loren’s strategy to make Finn and Liv’s initial encounters fraught worked. Twelve years is a long time and they’re strangers to each other … and yet not. The “not”, memory’s onslaught, and the liking and compatibility they still feel thaws their sudden meeting’s strangeness. I loved this moment: ” … she was seeing the guy he used to be. And he was seeing the girl he used to know. This was a grab at the past … ” Famous last words. Finn and Liv have hurt, but also love in their past, friendship and liking and attraction. They also share a sense of humour and I loved their responses to a post-interview-hotel-veranda kissing-encounter: ” ‘It’s good that we were interrupted.’ ‘Yeah.’ She smirked and pushed away from the railing. ‘Saved you from my drunken mauling.’ Finn sniffed. ‘Saved you from mine.’ ” One of the most important and attractive authorly accomplishments is how Loren makes the hero and heroine’s verbal-sparring, as well as tenderness, equal, equally witty, equally likeable, equally smart.

Woven into Finn and Liv’s confusing feelings and sizzling attraction are the existential questions returning to the scene of the shooting bring up. First to experience the niggling doubts about the life she forged is Liv: “She’d survived when so many others at Long Acre hadn’t gotten that luxury, and this was what she was doing with her life. Doing a job she sort of liked, living in an apartment she’d never decorated, and just … marking time … She was lost. She didn’t know who she was anymore.” Of the two, Liv is the braver one, though it’s Finn who’ll put his life on the line daily to protect others. Liv listens to the questions and acts on the answers: she makes changes and she acknowledges her love for Finn.

Finn is a caring, giving man, but his life has been a mission of repentance for having survived, for having behaved in a way, that is, on the day of the shooting, that didn’t measure up with his notion of heroism. Putting his life on the life is a kind of bad faith in the end: always leaving on mission, telling Liv he doesn’t deserve happiness, or love, even as he admits his love for Liv. Like Liv, there’s a crisis of identity there, but the resignation, so much less attractive: ” … what was the point? In a few months, he’d be back on assignment. A ghost again. He didn’t know how to be anything else anymore.” I must say how much I loved Liv and Finn’s honesty: ” ‘I love you. And you will leave. And I will be okay.’ He put his lips to her ear. ‘I love you back. Guess we’re both screwed.’ Her eyes popped open, the words sparking through her like lightning.” This takes place about two-thirds in, so there’s a lot of working out to do, but I’m awfully glad Loren was good enough not to make it that boring push-pull of internal love avowals with external silence, internal love suffering with external seeming indifference.

The part of the romance that didn’t work for me is bound up with Finn’s FBI role, as a man in pursuit of the shooters’ guns’ origins. Without spoiler-indulgence, let me say that this is the “romantic suspense” part of the novel that didn’t ask the big, important questions about gun proliferation and control. And maybe there’s no room for it in a story that is first and foremost about Finn and Liv healing the past, acknowledging their love, and agreeing to a future together. Aside from this failure, Finn’s journey to love and commitment is wildly and beautifully romantic: I loved it.

In light of the gun control debate and recent one-of-many mass shootings, I’m not sure Loren’s novel did it all justice; maybe, it couldn’t. I don’t hold it against the novel and I’d urge you not to either, but to read The Ones Who Got Away. With Miss Austen, here’s a novel that says herein is “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma.

Roni Loren’s The Ones Who Got Away is published by Sourcebooks Casablanca. It was released on January 2nd and may be found at your preferred vendor. I received an e-ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca, via Netgalley.

Really unique back story in this book. I felt like I might have wanted more flashbacks, as the most important part of the plot happens before the majority of the book even begins.

This was a heartfelt, rollercoaster of a story that held me captive and will stick with me for a long time. Survivors of a horrible tragedy that is hard to even imagine, these characters young lives brutally changed and them still dealing with the aftermath years later. The author handles the sensitive topic and the characters coming to terms and dealing with their PTSD, but also finding comfort and understanding with each other. And the love story is full of flirty, witty and playful behavior that shows the human spirit to survivor and thrive even through times of tragedy and sorrow. A wonderful story that was hard to pick up but a compelling read that stuck with me for days after I finished it. I will be reading more in this series.

The topic drew me in to this book. I was not sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised.
Liv and Finn childhood sweethearts pulled apart by the high school shooting and driven by the need to survive.
Meeting again to record a documentary the sparks from teenage years fly and you are left wondering will they won’t they?
A good read 3.5 stars