I kind of took a chance on this book. For one thing, it’s a Persuasion retelling and I’ve never read the source material. For another, it’s an adult contemporary romance, a genre from which I’ve read exactly zero books. Oh, and on top of that, I’ve never read a second-chance romance. The One That Got Away is all of these things I’m inexperienced with, but the blurb sounded cute and the setting of a castle in England sounded great. And at the time, I was very eager for a lighthearted read. I mostly got what I was looking for, but there were a few glaring flaws that really brought this down for me.

First thing’s first, though: I want to talk about what I enjoy, because there was a bit. My favorite character by far was Ethan. In present day he’s extremely successful and famous for developing an app right when the technology was first created. He’s a tech pioneer and owns a very successful company. He’s on the covers of magazines, you get the idea. I was expecting a douche, let me tell you. From the way Ruby described him before he actually appeared on the page, I was ready to hate this guy and make him really work to earn my affection. Instead I found a humble, kind, and thoughtful love interest. He was friendly and caring and just an all-around good person. Smart and unexpected in the past sections as well. Honestly, I couldn’t figure out what he saw in Ruby.

Speaking of Ruby, she was pretty terrible. It’s clear that she loves the people around her, her sister, her father, her best friend. But that’s it. She shows little to no kindness or even a base amount of respect to anyone else – or should I say, any other woman. This book was rife with the girl hate I was used to seeing about 6 years ago in YA. I think the author missed the memo that it’s no longer okay to have your lead savagely attack the other female characters in the story based on appearance alone. She judged her stepmother on a few gained pounds! She took one look at her sister’s friends and automatically knew they were shallow, vapid and useless because they had nice hair. Ruby was a ball of jealousy and it came from nowhere! At no point in her past had she been cheated on or compared to other women, so I have no idea why it was such a huge part of her character. What made it worse was that she was showing a bit of growth and I was ready to praise the book on the character development, but on the very next page she “prayed to the metabolism gods” that her “rival” (who wasn’t actually a rival) would get fat one day. She was terrible.

The one thing that really kept me turning the pages was the tiny bit of mystery promised early on. Ruby is harboring a secret that she’s kept from Ethan for ten years. The real reason they broke up, the Thing that ruined it all. I wanted to know what happened, what kind of dark deed Ruby carried out in their past that was so bad she was still punishing herself for it. Honestly, I didn’t think it was AS BAD as it was made out to be, and that’s saying something since it’s something I absolutely do not tolerate in books anymore. I was really let down that they didn’t even really talk about it; Ethan just brushed it off the next day and suddenly they were back together. Without even discussing what “together” would even look like!

I really liked the way the author portrayed Ruby as a young adult, though. Ruby, fresh out of college, gets an entry level position for some firm in New York City and she and Jess move into a crappy little apartment together. Ruby always dreamed of moving to the city; her mother (who died when Ruby was young) lived there and Ruby was ready to follow in her footsteps. It was everything she had ever worked toward. But when she gets there, reality kicks in. New York is definitely not working out and it sends Ruby spiraling into depression and alcoholism. My only problem here is that it was glossed over! This would have made for such a compelling story line, especially given her breakup with Ethan. There was so much potential here for more, but I guess this was meant to be a lighthearted book, after all.

Other things bothered me, too, like the author’s use of some British words (“fug” was used at least 8 times that I counted, and vest was used instead of tank top, even though Ruby is American.) I didn’t like how the side characters except for Ethan and Piper were made into ridiculous caricatures, filling in every stereotype you could imagine. There was a lot of fat shaming and slut shaming and all around problematic language, like the use of “spirit animal.”

All done, it was not for me. Like I said, I greatly enjoyed Ethan, especially his relationship with his friends and his father, and his passion for design, his willingness to pursue his dreams. I loved the setting and definitely felt embraced by the atmosphere and topography. Sadly though, the rest just didn’t cut it for me, however there are a few other titles by this author that I might want to check out some other time.

If you like to read Jane Austen adaptations, I recommend this book. Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel, so I was particularly excited to read this book. It was an enjoyable read. It loosely follows the outline of Persuasion but with less interfering and scheming from others. Instead of Anne and Frederick, there is Ruby and Ethan. The story is told from Ruby and Ethan's point of view and alternates between the past when they met as 20 year olds and the present, which is ten years later. This keeps the story moving and made it hard to put down.

I will read any book that labels itself as a Jane Austen retelling - especially a retelling of Persuasion! So I was excited for this one and it really just fell flat. I suppose you could say the plot very loosely followed Persuasion but it was missing all of the emotion and spark from that book. To me, that book is about yearning more than anything. This book was about . . . pettiness and little bit of reminiscing. I didn't long for the characters to reignite, I was just bored while reading this one. The book is told between past and present and I don't think the author did a good job at those transitions. I found myself read for this to end rather than wanting to keep reading. Overall, I would skip this and re-read Persuasion.

The One that Got Away comes out next week on August 22, 2017, and you can purchase HERE. I think there are way better JA retellings out there than this one but, if you do read this, hopefully you will have a better time!

I hadn't had white toast since Bush was in office--I'd forgotten how completely, utterly perfect it is. Definitely squats tomorrow.

I liked this book because it didn't try to do too much or be more than it is. It's a chick lit romance novel, about exactly what the title suggests, when our heroine meets up with the ex-boyfriend who she broke up with ten years prior, as part of her sister's wedding festivities. (Her sister is marrying his best friend and they even double-dated back in the day.) In the meantime, he's gone from being a bartender to a tech mogul featured on magazine covers, while she's remained in New York City plodding along in her advertising career. Hijinks ensue when they're all in England because the sister wanted to get married in a castle, and the plot is a little predictable, but not beyond the bounds of being realistic. I enjoyed the read and think the author has a lot of potential if she wants to keep writing these kinds of books, which certainly still have a place amongst more serious literary works.

I received an advance copy of this book for free from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

In this modern telling of Persuasion, we have Ruby and Ethan in a second-chance love story set in the countryside of England. While I saw the similarities, I have to say...I wish it wasn't touted as a retelling.

It stands much better on its own than as an Austen reboot.

The story centers around Ruby and her Big Secret, which is revealed near the end of the book. The story is told in "Now" or "Then" chapters; in the now, we see Ruby as a hardened woman, desperately trying to prove something to herself. In the then, we flash back to Ruby and Ethan's relationship ten years prior.

I enjoyed the read, and I enjoyed watching Ruby figure out the real reason why she was so unhappy with herself. But I felt that the last two chapters were when things really got moving; though it was a light read, I really wanted more once (SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT) Ethan and Ruby finally did get together. But it just ended there, suddenly...and again, I get it, Persuasion and all that, but really? Where's the happily-ever-after? Where's my promise that this is forever? Am I to just trust that these two are going to head off into the sunset, mere moments after Ruby reveals her Big Secret, and expect that all is forgiven in a rosy glow?

No.

Just no.

However...if I were to consider this a true modern tale of Persuasion, then I supposed I understand why the author ended it like she did. But as a true modern reader who loves Persuasion, I really hoped for more of the "after" parts. An epilogue, if you will. One that gave me an update on all the characters, and their happily-ever-afters.

Alas, dear readers, 'twas not to be this time.

Still, this was a solid 3.5 stars as a standalone Women's Fiction novel, and I recommend you give it a read.

reviewed by Nancy

“Here I was, jet-lagged as all hell, standing in a sixteenth-century pub in the middle of nowhere and giving my ex-boyfriend advice on how to spend his magnificent fortune . . . it was all a bit much.”

I snapped this read up hoping for some modern Austen escapism. From a chick lit perspective it was okay, however, I found the Austen link hard to determine and justify. It’s a pleasant enough read, if a little underwhelming, failing to hit the mark in the spark and romance area. I do not feel that the author truly set the scene in both explaining and capturing the depth of emotion to make it fully engaging and at times, was somewhat silly with the female lead jealous of a dead person!

The structure of the book didn’t quite gel either. Ruby and Ethan’s stories told in two time lines - now and then - was fragmented and difficult to keep track of and didn’t really work for me. It’s not a badly narrated story, just lacking excitement and pizzazz. There are some worthwhile humourous moments that brought a smile to my face:

“I’d taken myself to see Frozen on a particularly dark day back in January and had found myself sobbing uncontrollably during “Let It Go”

As a modern telling of “Persuasion” (by Jane Austen) it is a bit of a stretch -“second chance” romance is the only real tenuous link. Although a reasonably well-written book, I found it lacking in quite a few areas. Overall, a was nice, light read.

“But here’s the thing that I’d realized: I sort of hated my life. Not entirely—pieces of it were great—but I’d been living on autopilot for too long, wearing grooves in the sidewalk between work and home.”

The One That Got Away is a bit tricky to review. The reason being that I was not crazy about the characters. I loved Ruby's best friend Jess, there was a local doctor in England named Chris that I liked, and I grew to like Ruby's stepmother, Candace. Ethan and Charlie were o.k. also, but despite this, it did not make up for the fact that I didn't like Ruby, her father, and especially Piper. Piper was the epitome of a spoiled, hypochondriac narcissist. Honestly, those words may be too kind for Piper.

Ruby had some moments that made her almost likable, but overall, she was a selfish, work addicted, depressed, whiny person. Her and Ethan were in love when she left for New York, but she quickly became this miserable shell of herself, putting only work and the needs of her boss first. She withdrew, became dishonest, and lost sight of the love her and Ethan had shared. 

With that being said, I enjoyed the plot and storyline of the novel quite a bit! How romantic (and nerve-wracking) to meet up with a long-lost love ten years later at a romantic wedding in a castle in England?? Dealing with all of the family members, her God-awful sister, an old flame at an overseas wedding all added up to amazing potential for a novel. Then throw in two hottie, crazy-successful twins/bridesmaids to spark some jealousy, and the story became even better. But again, my enjoyment was somewhat dampened because of the characters. I also wish that the author would have alternated points of view between Ruby and Ethan. With everything coming from Ruby, it was frustrating even attempting to guess what was going through Ethan's mind. 

I feel like I've been so negative but I did like The One That Got Away. Something about the novel had spunk to it and for me, it was a fast-paced page turner! Surprisingly, although I wasn't crazy about the characters, I would love to see a sequel to this one to find out what happens with everyone. It was a good, quick read, but not the best thing I've read recently. 

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

As so often happens with me, what first attracted me to this book first was its cover - which is undoubtedly gorgeous. I read the synopsis and was instantly sold. A modern retelling of Persuasion, one of my favourite Austen books: what more could I want? It had guaranteed swoon-worth romance and oodles of charm. Perfect for a week's worth of baths. When I received it to review I was so excited! I even went as far to sit outside a Starbucks to download it; hey ho, I’m dedicated when I'm excited. Book received, I flew through it in two sittings and although it wasn't all I was hoping for, I did really, truly enjoy it. ‘The One That Got Away’ follows the story of Ruby. She’s in her 30s, she works hard in all aspects of her life and is (seemingly) where she wants to be. The twist comes when she's forced out of her comfort zone to her sisters wedding, which is taking place in Scotland and (here' the kicker) her ex-boyfriend of ten years ago. And of course, said ex-boyfriend - Ethan - is still gorgeous. I particularly enjoyed the writing style and how the novel danced between the ‘then’ and ‘now’, giving the reader a clear and well rounded view of the plot and its characters. Rather than relying on Ruby's perspective, the ‘then’ chapters are written in the third person which gives us a wider scope of the failed relationship's past. Obviously with this being a retelling, I knew how this novel was going to end; but even going in knowing this, it didn’t help my stress levels! By the end I was tense to the point of pulling my hair out, wondering if I was going to get the ending I craved. Thankfully, I was happy. This novel is not bad, in fact, I loved it; but as an Austen retelling, it's stripped back and basic, which is why I have given it three stars. The only character who is true to their Austen influence is Ethan, who mirrors Captain Wentworth rather well in a millennial setting. It's the other characters that grated me while reading - they were nice. If you’ve read Persuasion, you will be aware that, other than Anne Elliot, the Elliot family make you want to resort to murder and bang your head against a brick wall. The secondary characters were just there filling space and I feel they barely influenced the plot at all, which I found confusing (as an Austen retelling) and honestly lazy. It is a real shame as the lead characters were so endearing and well rounded. The nods to the classic were also so subtle, that if hadn't known it was a retelling, I’m not sure I would have realised. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I am just wondering why they decided to market it as a Persuasion retelling in the first place. So my advice is this: go in forgetting that. I think if I personally had, this book would have been up to four stars. Otherwise it's light-hearted, fun and I flew through it in a happy daze.

Thank you netgalley for the review copy.

I enjoyed this book as a lighter read than what I'm used to reading. The characters were easily related to, and the book kept my interest throughout. I always appreciate when authors use pop culture references in their books--it makes the characters seem real. I enjoyed the past/present points of view--it added to the "what will they do?" rush of a chick-lit book.

I enjoyed reading this cute story of Ruby and Ethan, but it wasn't exactly the retelling I was hoping for. The story is told now, as Ruby travels to her sister's wedding and is reunited with her ex. Clearly there has been a bad breakup but Ruby still has feelings for Ethan. The now deals with those feelings. The "then" part of the story draws the two together in their youth and I found their relationship didn't have the build to be that unforgettable romance. This was a good read, but I just felt like I wanted a little more in the romance. I will definitely check out more books by this author!

I was given an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.

When I read the description of this book, I thought it was right up my street, but sadly at times I struggled with it.

In a nutshell, Ruby leads a busy life in NYC dominated by work & the gym. At her sister's wedding in Scotland, she bumps into her ex Ethan, the one that got away, and the one she still has feelings for. As well as being told in the present, as above, the story is also told in the past, focusing on Ruby and Ethan's relationship when younger & when Ruby first moved to NYC.

Although the book was well-written, I found that it lacked romance. I could also not see the Persuasion aspect in the story. It was a nice, light read, but lacked excitement and there was nothing to make it memorable unfortunately.

I really liked this at the start; it has the voice I like in adult contemporary romance and I love Persuasion, which you can clearly see the influence of. Unfortunately it loses some of its charm by the end; I didn't think the emotional payoff was good enough and I really really disliked the "secret" she was keeping from her ex. I also wasn't a huge fan of all the flashbacks; I would have rather had more time in the present to get to know Ruby and Ethan together and watch their relationship change. Overall, it's a good book but not a great one, and there are the usual troubling throwaway lines: one reference to spirit animals, basically hating on sight any beautiful women Ethan breathes next to, etc. Ruby was likeable except for that. I understand jealousy, of course, but it was a little tiresome and silly. Once or twice sure, but not every single mention of other women. I was also a little disturbed by her boss in the flashback scenes. He gave me the creeps, in that slimy older powerful man way. Still if you're looking for a light read, this is good enough and I liked all of the British settings. I read it in a few hours!

Ive never been one to read classics EVER but this retelling sounded really good. But this one was pretty watered down after I talked with a few people who told me about the original.
This is what I would call Persuasion light. Its a fast light read for those who want a retelling of the orgianal but something a little more fun. Which worked out for me since classics just aren't my thing. One of the classes I have coming up for college is intro to ligature and I am so scared ill have to read something that just isn't something I'm interested in. Is it to much to ask to be able to read Harry Potter?

Anyway this one had a few of the characters from the original cut out but for the most part I didn't of course even know they were even supposed to be in there. This was a great little book that I would have loved to read while at the beach on a nice sunny day.

I’ve heard this described as a modern telling of “Persuasion” by Jane Austen and I guess I can see it. This was a cute and charming “second chance” romance that just slightly missed the mark for me, through no fault in the writing.

“I’m going to channel that “cool girl” thing from Gone Girl.”
“You know that character was a sociopath, right?”


I am quite particular in how I like stories to unfold. I don’t often like flashbacks unless they are told sporadically, out of order and only in spurts to help unfold something happening in the current plot. In this story, we went back and forth between Ethan and Ruby “now”, apart for ten years, to Ethan and Ruby “then”, falling in love, in chronological order. This didn’t work for me because I was very invested in the “now” portion of Ethan and Ruby’s story that I felt like skimming when it went back to tell their history. I would have liked it better if we instead got glimpses of how they came to fall in love and subsequently break up, while developing the current plot. The whole “if he knew the truth about the breakup” was mentioned so many times, almost like a taunt, which irritated me.

“I like you,” he whispered to her.
“I like you, too,” she whispered back. “Kind of a lot.”
“Looks like we’re both in trouble.”


The angst leading up to and including their first meeting after over 10 years was almost too much for me. We only got Ruby’s point of view so I was constantly stressed over Ethan’s apparent indifferent feelings. And after all the angst, when the “truth” came out, the story seemed to resolve and end quite abruptly. I didn’t buy Ruby’s reason for breaking up nor did I buy why she did what she did leading up to the breakup.

Like this read but didn’t love it.

Thank you to NetGalley, St, Martins Press and the author Melissa for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled with this book, it felt like I had been reading it for ages and when I checked… I had! Much longer than what it normally takes me….. Because I just couldn’t warm to it. I did like some of the characters, especially the dad, but the others I just struggled to connect with.

An easy, interesting read from Melissa. This is the first book of hers I've read but I will be checking out her other books. I loved the main characters, the location of the book and the plot. Ruby flies to the UK to attend the wedding of her sister Piper to Charlie. Between firing the wedding planner, a flower mix up and their father having a heart attack, Ruby is kept busy putting out fires. Throw in an ex-boyfriend and a handsome doctor and you have a great love triangle.

Ruby and Ethan fell in love the summer before she is set to start her dream job in New York City. They seem so in love, but something happened and they broke up after Ruby moved away.

Now, years later, Ruby is headed to England for her sister Piper's wedding. Complicating things is the fact that the groom, Charlie, is Ethan's best friend.

The One That Got Away alternates between Ruby and Ethan's past relationship and what happens when they reconnect during the wedding festivities. I really liked that format as it revealed a little bit of both stories at a time and you got to see how both Ruby and Ethan came to be who they are now. However, it was disappointing that you really don't get to see inside Ethan's head except for some of the 'Then' sections and a few emails.

Overall I enjoyed the story and the secondary characters added some humor and fun to the story. I felt the ending was a little rushed and wish it had been expanded on more, but this is definitely a fun summer read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Persuasion is one of my favorite books. The One That Got Away is a modern retelling that almost feels like an insult to the original. It's a candy-coated morsel-- the processed junk food version of Austen's classic love story, stripped of any complexity.

And you know what? It tastes pretty good. Who doesn't like a bag of M&Ms once in a while (or all the time; lets not talk about it)?

Captain Frederick Wentworth is one of the greatest romantic heroes in all of literature (I have a bit of a crush, in case that wasn't clear). Here, he is reborn as Ethan, a bartender-turned-app-entrepreneur, who changed his life, and hardened his heart, after a girl he thought was "the one" dumped him. I enjoyed his character, and found that, while no Capt. Wentworth, he decent Millennial leading man. Ruby, on the other hand, is no Anne Elliot. She doesn't have her insight or her poise.

Most of the secondary characters are re-imagined through a simpler, more generous, lens. Even Ruby's father got a sympathetic reboot, and there's no William Elliot or Mrs. Smith to complicate the feel good plot even a smidgen. This book is pure beach-reading fare and delivers on the lighthearted fun. However, I will say I was desperately let down by the lack of an equivalent to Wentworth's letter. It was a moment I waited for and never materialized, and the book was worse for it.

This book is touted as a retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, but frankly, I felt it was more a variation of Bridget Jones’ Diary. In fact, Bridget Jones’ story was supposedly based on Pride and Prejudice, and I think if the plot of this book resembles any Jane Austen story, it would be that one rather than Persuasion.

But mostly the 31-year-old protagonist, Ruby Atlas, reminded me of Bridget Jones, always focussed on her job, her weight, her drinking, her outfits, and her love life. Ruby’s BFF Jess is always there for her, just like Bridget’s friends, no matter how self-absorbed Ruby/Bridget is.

Ruby’s one lapse from self-obsession is to take care of her spoiled, immature, and frequently hysterical (not in the sense of funny) sister Piper, who has dragged family and friends to a British castle, Bamburgh (a popular wedding venue in real life) for her upcoming marriage. Piper is getting hitched to Charlie Armstrong, who happens to be the BFF of Ruby’s ex, Ethan Bailey.

Ruby hates taking time to go to the wedding; she puts in very long days, working all hours at her job. Plus, she is nervous over seeing Ethan again. When Ruby dated him, ten years ago, he was a bartender, but now he is even-more handsome, as well as a rich, and famous tech guy. Nevertheless, both Ruby and Ethan hate their current lives.

They broke up when Ruby left for college. Even though Ruby loved Ethan madly, she did not want to give up her dream. Unfortunately, she ran into a number of barriers, and didn’t want to confess her failure to Ethan. She also couldn’t bear for him to see “the real her.” So she sent him a “dear John” letter.

When Ruby’s dad had a heart attack right before the wedding, this lead to all of them to rethink their priorities.

Evaluation: As far as I was concerned, the ending was shallow and improbable. But then again, so was the rest of the book. I do occasionally enjoy “chick lit” but only if it is intelligently written with a great deal of self-deprecating humor (as with the work of Sophie Kinsella). This story seemed too derivative, and too neatly resolved.