Dnf
I struggled to connect to the characters/plot.
It has very heavy subjects, please check trigger warnings.
It just didn't vibe with me, which was disappointing as I was really looking forward to it.

Thankyou for the advanced copy

I received this ebook via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review and I would start by thanking everyone involved in allowing me early access.

This was so good I don’t even know where to start! It’s romance but somethings are somehow far from my comfort zone reading wise, but it was such a good reading experience.

For starters, I would like to thank the publisher for the kind e-mail. When we are accepted for a NetGalley book, we received an e-mail saying the book is available on the platform and, in this case, this e-mail said which are the trigger warnings for this book. I found this information fundamental and it improved my reading experience. I tend to prefer cute stories without major TWs, but I can also appreciate a heavier narrative if I’m aware of where I’m getting myself into. This e-mail allowed me to pick up this book at a time when I was mentally available for this narrative and for this I want to give major applause to the publisher. The cover is the cutest thing and maybe, without this e-mail, I would not be in the right mindset to fully appreciate this narrative.

TW: mental health issues, particularly self harm, sexual trauma, suicide bombing.

“The one that got away” as the title indicates, tells us the story of a girl and a boy who were in love but drifted apart. Benjamin was, for Clara, the one that got away.

We get a dual point of view, which I’m a major fan, and a multiple timeline. Both these aspects work wonders and are extremely well made, keeping the reader interesting until the end. The chapters are short, which also adds to this interest as readers, as we are frequently changing and getting to know the characters.

The story is extremely slow paced as far as romance is concern, which is something I don’t tend to appreciate but I really did appreciate here. I can’t exactly pin point what worked wonders for me, but something did. We get to know the characters individually and see how they change due to the relationship. The story is much more character driven rather than action driven and it made perfect sense. There’s a lot of character development and I was living for it! They only get together closer to the end but by then we are so connected with each one of the MCs individually that we can’t put the book down. Maybe this is the magic of the book, we see them as individual people rather than part of a couple and we root for the happiness of both of them, either with each other or with other people.

The last pages, my god! The developments were unexpected, which I also appreciate. I don’t really like predictable endings. I was so invested in this story, I was literally reading and brushing my teeth to go to work. I totally recommend this book, it’s so good I feel I don’t have enough words to express how it caught me from the start till the end, how invested I was with these characters!

This review will also be available on my Goodreads profile and, later on, on y instagram account - @cat.literary.world

A beautiful, gut-wrenching portrayal of lost opportunities, second chances and how our own experiences, traumas, challenges shape the decisions we make. A novel for the vast majority of us who will find themselves at least once reaching cross roads in our lives. This wasn't a traditional rom com, It had much more depth and rawness, but I adored it. Huge congrats!

Thanks to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy.

This book feels like a bait and switch. Between the title, cover and the blurb, I was expecting a light, second chance romance. What we get is a book full of heavy subjects with no warning. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed the book more had my expectations been managed better.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to like this book because I love second chance romances; but while the summary does say this is not a love story, the notion that it is about first love is somehow accurate and misleading? This book was just not what I expected -- it deals with a lot of heavy, serious issues almost immediately off the bat, and there's no real trigger warning so that the reader can expect this. And while jumping timelines can be compelling when done well, I just had a hard time getting into this one given the topics, the shifting times, and also just characters I didn't really like.

I think I went into this expecting something like Every Summer After, and it was not that. I maybe would have enjoyed it more if it were marketed differently and my expectations were different.

The One That Got Away is a nice concept of a story, but it fell flat for me. The middle of the book dragged on too much, with no real reward in the end. Readers do not get to experience what truly happens to the characters we have invested so much time in. I was forcing myself to get through it in the middle a bit. I did like how the timeframes jumped around from chapter to chapter, giving us different windows into their lives at different times, but this also contributed to dragging on the story a bit.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this one as a must read, but I still enjoyed reading it and learning about the characters.

I am a sucker for a second chance romance. Especially if it has dual point of views. But this was a little bit of a miss for me. The combination of a lot of heavy and triggering subjects throughout and unlikeable characters made it a little hard for me to get into.

Thank you NetGalley and Aria & Aries for approving me to read and review THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by Charlotte Rixon.

I truly enjoyed this book, although I believe “Romance “is not an accurate genre.

This book addresses some intense and difficult topics, so it may be a good idea to explore the content before beginning reading. I was faced with the unexpected many times in this story, which is good, but I wish I had been prepared in advance for some of the topics.

The book follows the timeline of Ben and Clara- their time in college, the one night that changed their lives for the next twenty years, and how first love is poignant and never really releases them. Both Clara and Ben’s lives are incomplete without one another. Clara’s impromptu decision to go to the site of a bombing where she thinks Ben may have been again causes a major shift in both their lives.

These characters are so relatable. There is no fanfare with them - what you see in them is what you truly get as the storyline builds, in its ebb and flow manner.
I am very much looking forward to reading more of this author’s work in the near future.

I’m very torn on how I feel about this book. There is a lot going on in this story…lots of sensitive subject matter that I wasn’t expecting. I also wasn’t expecting to highly dislike the main character Clara.

This is basically a tragic story of star crossed lovers. Clara and Benjamin meet at university, fall in love and become inseparable. They are both dealing with situations from their past. Clara grew up in a home where she felt invisible due to her sister’s serious illness. Ben’s mom is sick throughout his childhood and he feels like he disappointed his Dad when he doesn’t continue his football career. Clara is very needy and many of her actions made me roll my eyes. She came across as extremely annoying, often hypocritical, and always making poor decisions. Ben is very sweet and truly loves Clara although she definitely drives him crazy at times. One tragic night will change the course of their relationship and their lives. There is loads of heartbreak and angst in this book.

The story is told in alternating timelines from the time Clara and Benjamin meet at university to present day. Twenty years has passed. We know something terrible has happened that ended their relationship but the reveal of that will take practically the entire story. It was eluded to constantly though.

While I enjoyed the story and the premise, I just felt it was a bit slow moving. I was also truly surprised at all the serious issues contained in this book. These poor characters went through hell. What I did enjoy was the element of first love and how powerful it is and how life doesn’t always turn out the way you plan. This was very relatable and emotional. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if I could have felt more compassion towards Clara.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this copy of The One that Got Away in exchange for an honest review.

Clara and Benjamin come from very different worlds, yet find themselves enmeshed in a tragic love story spanning 20+ years.

There are many heavy topics and triggers throughout the course of the book that are meant to serve as a strengthener to their love but also a major conflict to their relationship.

Ultimately this is a very solid story about the lasting bonds of true love in spite of everything meant to destroy it.


4.25 stars.

I have mixed feelings about this one. There were times when I really loved the book, but I also feel like it dealt with any imaginable issue under the sun - death of a parent, incarceration, child abuse, infertility, cheating, substance abuse, poor parenting, terrorism… there must’ve been more but that’s all I can remember right now. After a while it just felt exhausting. However, I did enjoy reading about the first love experience which can be intense, and I also liked the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Harking back to her first love, from two decades previous, Clara is seeking something but it is not clear what that is. Rushing to find a man she has not seen for 20 years when she hears of an explosion at a stadium she believes he would be in attendance at.
There are lots of questions raised about the stability of both characters adult relationships, about what it was that went so wrong and split them apart at the end of Uni.
The book covers a number of very triggering issues but does so sensitively and discreetly, blending them well into the story line and characters back stories, enabling the author to tackle issues that might otherwise be too "in your face".

This book was the perfect mix of interesting, nostalgic, and romantic. The modern-day plot line kept the book moving forward while the 2000 plot line helped you understand the characters better. The incident that broke the couple up in 2002 was signalled enough that you knew what had happened before you got to that point in the book but that didn't take away from the reading experience as it didn't need to be a bombshell moment.

It's hard to give an in depth review of the book without spoiling the twists and turns so I'll just say, give it a read, it's good.

I was looking for a cute second chance romance. This is not it.
This is a book about lost chances and hard parts of life. It might be triggering for some people to read about it. For me it difficult to get through the book.
It's definitely a story worth reading and the writing is good. But with that title, I'm not sure anyone expected it to get so dark.

I'm not sure the description will sell this story the way it should. This is not a story about first love, or enduring love, or not going back to the place where one met their first love. This story deals with mistakes, bad communication, addiction and what it does to relationships, dashed dreams, hope, abuse, familial love, doing the right thing, etc.. I kept pulling this one up on the app on my phone, even though we're traveling and I'm quite exhausted, until I was done. I loved it.
I'm in my 40s and in the middle of a very big change in my life and my family's life. Perhaps this novel is for people who are at a point in life when they're reviewing their choices and making new ones.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley. With thanks to the author, Charlotte Rixon, the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this novel.

This book was not what I was expecting. I thought it was a sweet little second chance at love. Well it was a second chance at love but there was a whole trunk full of baggage to unpack with this story.

The story was slow to start and I wasn't sure if I really liked Clara and Benjamin. I felt like Benjamin should have explained more about his abrupt departure for 3 weeks and IF Clara was really as crazy about him shouldn't have been so quick to go out with someone else.

I like the back and forth and seeing what their lives were like now compared to college. They both seemed stuck in the past in some ways.

I did like the way the book ended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Highly recommend this one! This was my first book to read by this author but definitely won't be my last. The characters will stay with you long after you finish the book and you will find yourself wishing the story would never end.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: suicide
bomber, rape, alcoholism, mental health issues, parent death, cancer, IVF, manslaughter.
I went into this very interested, high school sweethearts reconnect during a bomb explosion? But honestly Clara was so unlikable. this book is more a mid life crisis
than heartwarming second chance love story between so much flawed and dislikable characters.

“[Y]ou can survive anything life throws at you if you have a passion to pull you through.”

Twenty years apart: an act of “mindless violence” separated them and then another one will potentially bring them back together. In The One that Got Away by Charlotte Rixon, the inescapable bond of your first true love and how that can tie you together for life – especially when you thought you would be together forever until one unfortunate night occurs – is detailed and examined by the instincts to act.

Benjamin and Clara are two very different people, but they fall for each other hard at university. When an unthinkable event happens that separates them, their lives lead different paths for 20 years . . . while they each still think of each other and what could have been. But when an explosion happens at the stadium, without thinking Clara immediately gets on a train to find Benjamin to make sure he is alright – and to see if this is the future she was meant to have.

This is a story about true love and second chances told from two different narrators who have seemingly moved on with their lives, while missing the past.

From what I read in the description for this novel – this was not what I was expecting. There were a lot of heavy topics and I think some trigger warnings should have been given or for the book not to sound fully like a romance lovey-type novel. This was more women’s fiction and I think some false expectations could be perceived for readers in the future.

The characters are flawed filled with a lot of vulnerabilities. It was emotional and raw and while maybe not what I thought I was getting into, I did enjoy this book. Love is a really broad subject to be taken different ways and mean different things to different people. While I found some of the miscommunications frustrating, I still understood why Rixon chose to write this how she did.

My biggest critic is that I wish there was an epilogue, or one additional chapter to flush out the ending a little more. The reader is hit with a lot at the end – and then we are left to fully imagine the outcome (even though we are led to a somewhat conclusion).

I rate this 3.7 stars (rounded up here) and read it pretty fast, notwithstanding my critiques. I think if you have ever been in a relationship where you loved the person, or ended in a strange fashion, the book – at least on the “one that got away” part – will be relatable.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC; all opinions are my own!

“The ones you can go years without speaking to, and then when you do, it’s like no time has passed. . . . these are the people who truly shape our lives. Who leave their marks on our soul.”

“A simple life with people I love. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” – Benjamin.

Thank Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

SO ! There is a lot of TW in this book, I don't really know how to express my feeling honestly. We have : suicide bomber, rape, alcoholism, mental health issues, parent death, cancer, IVF, manslaughter and that's a lot to deal with in only one book....

It's a second chance romance, I kinda love that type of romance but in this book we have a lot of false informations. We don't know our main character, he has a son, she's married ? That's something we need to know since the beginning.

That's not a book for me, I don't read in general when there is "rape" in tw so im not the most confortable with this reading.