Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon is a story of young love and second chances. This story spans 20 years and has multiple timelines and a dual POV.

Story Recap:
Back in the year 2000, university students, Benjamin and Clara fell in love. Their love is all-consuming, and they believe they are soulmates. Then, two years later, something happens on their last day at university and they split up, never to see each other again.

Twenty years later Clara learns a bomb exploded back in her hometown in Northern England at a football match. She knows that Benjamin never missed a home match and she races up north to see if he’s alright.

My Thoughts:
These characters are complex. In the earlier timeline, they are young, passionate, and a bit immature; in the later timelines, they are more guarded and mature, just like most people. I loved these characters, but I was annoyed at their sometimes rash decisions in the earlier timeline, and like many of us when we were young, they didn’t always make good decisions. But, they felt authentic to me. and their love story is raw, passionate, and possibly everlasting.

This book is full of emotion, and I was happy to follow these characters. The book has a lot of angst, especially in the earlier timeline, but it’s all well-written and I grew to care for and root for these characters.

Recommendation:

I highly recommend The One That Got Away to anyone who enjoys romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Excellent read. I enjoyed this novel. The characters evolved from the intensity of a young love into characters who dealt with the struggles and disappointments of life. The author touched on themes of child abuse and alcohol abuse without being preachy or over handed. The characters of Benjamin and Clara will stay with me.

📚📚📚📚📚/5
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*Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this novel for an honest review* available February 2nd, 2023!
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Benjamin and Clara are college sweethearts. Meeting by what seems to be destiny. Benjamin, who is soft spoken, quiet, and self conscious falls for the beautiful and intelligent Clara.
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As we jump through timelines we learn that each of them see the other as “The One That Got Away”. Each has moved on with their lives in different directions, but they are consistently brought back into each others lives.
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After an explosion in the North of England at a popular soccer stadium l, Clara must find Benjamin and make sure he is ok.
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This is not a love story. This story details the real raw truth of how some people’s heart aches for their first love, for their whole lives. This story truly and irrevocably has broken my heart. It made me so sad for those yearning for what once was and their forgotten loves. I truly loved this book so much I flew through it in 24 hours!

Heartbreaking. I am the biggest fan of second chance romance. However I wouldn’t classify this as a romance; more of a literary fiction with a love story entwined in it. Clara and Ben are both trying to find themselves in their college story. Clara is bright hearted but a little needy, Ben is charming but insecure. I don’t think either one knew what to do with each others energy.

There were a LOT of timelines in this book and quite a few times I had to go back to make sure I knew where we were at but easy to keep track of once we got the swing of it. Dual POV’s which I by far adore to hear from both MC’s. A lot of heavy topics covered in this story but done seamlessly and I love how the story ended because it didn’t end as “they live happily ever after”. I think if the author would have chosen that route, it would have felt too forced. A solid four stars from me…I think the world will love this book!

Overall, this book kept my interest. In hindsight, it was good but could have been "great" if I found at least one of the characters to be lovable. In some books, the anti-hero vibe is "part" of the story but I think, in this case, I would have liked to feel more empathetic for someone, anyone. The closest I came to that was Aiden since I saw the most emotion from him overall.

This is somewhat romantic and a bit suspenseful. Multiple POV and multiple timelines makes it pretty fast-paced overall!

Adored this book! The One that Got Away follows Clara and Ben over the course of about 20 years, from the time they met in university to when they are middle aged. Clara and Ben had an instant connection and yet when we meet them twenty years later, they aren't together- what happened? I love that Charlotte Rixon bounces around from perspective and dates. It kept me wanting to read just one more chapter and there were even some shocking reveals. At its heart, The One that Got Away is about love, friendship, and finding your person.

4.5 stars This book is not a romance novel, but the story of two flawed college students who fall in love and the twenty years that follow. The book is told from two points of view: Benjamin and Clara. Their story begins when they meet while in college and are foolish, possessive, irrational, and passionate. Before graduation, they experience tragedy and are separated. They make occasional contact with each other through the years until another tragedy reunites them. Although there are sad, painful themes in this book (alcoholism, child abuse, cancer, IVF, mental health issues) and the two characters are very flawed, the story was well written and made me invested in their story and possibility of happiness.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good story about the one that got away years before. It was clear that Benjamin and Clara would always remain each other's "What-if" and when Clara thinks tragedy may have struck she becomes determined to find him. I do appreciate that this story showed them as both flawed characters that remain connected, even through years of no contact. This was not a happy-go-lucky romance read but a more real, surviving bad to get to the good type of story.

I think everyone has had AT LEAST one moment of “what if”. What if something never happened, what if this went differently, what if we didn’t break up? The One That Got Away is all about that. What if Clara and Benjamin hadn’t broken up? What if what happened that night - the night that changed everything - hadn’t happened?

This book flashes from the present day, where a tragedy has just happened - a bombing at a football stadium in Newcastle, UK - and the past moments of Clara and Benjamin’s lives together and apart.

I really liked getting such a close look into what both Clara and Benjamin were thinking and what was going through their minds, even though the story is told from a 3rd person POV. Even though both of them were pretty unlikable in the beginning of the book, being able to understand what they were thinking made them more bearable.

I thought that I would get confused with the book not just going back and forth a lot, but also from Clara to Benjamin and back, but it was really easy to keep track of what was going on and not get lost.

I thought that this book was a very easy and interesting read. It kept me interested all the way until the end, wanting to find out what happened and how everything gets resolved. It’s also a pretty quick read - I finished it in just over a day.

Overall, I can see this book coming a nice classic and a good book club read. I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an eARC of this book!

3.5 stars (listed as 3 stars)
The description of the book drew me in, but the story didn’t live up to the description. There are many difficult topics that the author includes in the story of Clara and Benjamin’s first love, and those subjects may cause some readers discomfort. I liked that Rixon included breadcrumbs to follow as the plot unfolded, but I thought the reveal of what happened between Benjamin and Clara was missing something after all the build up. The differences between Benjamin and Clara seemed to grow as the story developed, and I had a hard time liking either of them at times. It was a quick read and wanted to see how the ending brought their story to a close. It was worth the read and it reminded me of those first loves where you lose yourself for someone else.

Thank you NetGalley for early access to this book in return for an honest review.

I honestly did not like this book at all for probably the first half of it. I thought the two main characters were both extremely unlikeable. As I kept reading, though, I was pleasantly surprised. The character development is wonderful and I found myself loving both of them by the end. I did find the plot a bit predictable. I think the ending was satisfying and I appreciate not having a super dramatic ending after everything that happens toward the end. I enjoyed how the timeline jumps around a bit and think it kept me more engaged. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance readers copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. This book opens up in present day, with our main characters, Benjamin and Clara, living separate lives and separately experiencing the after effects of a (fictional) bombing. This tragedy sets our story in motion and throughout the book, we begin to learn how our characters initially met, came together, and slowly fell apart to lead them to where they are presently. This is above all else, a love story and also, I think a story of individual growth and development.
Both of our main characters certainly had a strongly developed personality and even shortly into the story, I found myself caring about them and invested in their love story. I appreciated Clara’s passionate nature and thought that the author successfully showcased how this was both a positive and negative trait! I found Benjamin’s character and weak nature a bit frustrating but, I understand that this may have been the point. I also want to note that I appreciated how this story focused on more than just the main characters love story but, showed how real life events and traumas affected them in their daily lives, as this is certainly more reflective of reality.
Overall, I breezed through this book and found myself interested enough to read this in one sitting! I would recommend this book to anyone interested in more realistic love stories or anyone interested stories with strong character development.

You meet Clara Davies-Clarke and Benjamin Edwards early on in their personal journeys and it was captivating to see where life and circumstance took them. The way that the author detailed Clara and Benjamin’s backgrounds and upbringing helped form a perfect picture of who they truly were as characters. They are two different and complex protagonists. Their love story is filled with energy, love, anger, and deceit. I was rooting for them and against them from page and page and it left me wanting more. Author, Charlotte Rixon, has created a beautiful piece on first loves, first loses, what-ifs and what is.
Read if you love: first loves, second chances, opposites attracted.
Content warning: heavy drinking, sexual abuse, self harm and terrorism.

I feel bad saying this, especially since it’s a debut, but this was…rough. I could see what it was trying to do - create a sweeping, emotional story of two fated lovers trying to find their way back to each other amidst tragedy. But for a story trying its best to evoke a reaction, I mostly felt nothing. And when I did happen to feel something it was usually boredom or annoyance.

The couple has a bad case of insta-love without anything to build off from there. No chemistry, no fun banter, they’re both just sort of bland and are in a constant loop of miscommunication.

Benjamin is more interesting than Clara, though his character seems to rely solely on trauma for development, but she’s just an awful person. Emotionally manipulative, possessive, crying at the smallest perceived slight, and flying off the handle for things less offensive than what she’s already guilty of doing. I was embarrassed for her. And ultimately I couldn’t root for them. They’d be better off without each other.

It’s supposed to be adult, I think? Given the tough subject matter throughout. So check trigger warnings. But the characters act painfully immature and melodramatic.

No matter what I thought, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free arc in exchange for an honest review. Sorry I couldn’t give a more favorable one!

The One that Got away is the story of Benjamin and Clara. They meet in university, fall in love, and spend almost every moment together until Clara’s last night at university and a tragic life changing event happens. 20 years later, they have both moved on with their lives. Clara is married and has a successful career but her mind constantly wanders where Benjamin is and how different her life would have been.
Clara is at work when news of a bomb explosion at Newcastle City stadium. She immediately begins to panic that Benjamin is there and feels the need to go and find him.
Most everyone has that first love that when things are not going good in the present it is easy to wonder what if. Charlotte Rixon takes that first love with the warm fuzzy stuff then digs deeper in all the bad and toxic things that the mind seems to forget happened. I had a very difficult time even liking Clara due to her actions and thoughts. I found myself wanting to shout at Benjamin for his poor choices in sharing information and giving into her demands. I struggled with the timelines. I would be settled in to reading about their university years then realize the story had moved up 14 years then back to the beginning and then jumped forwarded to the present. I would often have to turn back to the beginning of the chapter to check what year it was.
Thanks to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 Stars - To start, there are a plethora of trigger warnings I think are important to mention for this book: alcohol/drug abuse, child abuse, rape/assault, infertility, acts of violence, etc.

I love a good second chance romance; however, I found it hard to root for the main characters’ relationship because it felt so unhealthy from the start. Almost every character has layers of trauma that haven’t been worked through and there are some incredibly dark subplots that become a large focus of the story. It was interesting to read from a psychological perspective, but I likely wouldn’t recommend it to someone looking for romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC for my honest review!

A beautifully tragic story of first love and it’s unfortunate unraveling. To me the representation of Clara and Benjamin’s relationship while a little unlikeable at times was raw in its truth of what a first love that early in life can look like. Full of jealousy and possessiveness, but a pure love throughout it all.

This is a must read if you’re a fan of second chance romances. I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reading copy.

I went in expecting a book about love lost and second chance romance, but this book was not that. This reminded me so much of Normal People and that real relationships are messy. Happy Ever After is never easy and life tends to get in the way. I really related with Clara and her need for Benjamin grow up but still love him how he is.

This book was hard to put down, I often found myself up way past my bedtime traveling through time and following the love story of two college students. The story bounces around over the course of 20 years and is told from two point of views - Clara and Ben. Both characters are flawed and complex. The novel is not quite a romance, with a bit of suspense and tells the tale of young love, loss, guilt, shame and the many complexities of life.

I’m a little torn on how to review this book. On the one hand, I’m a sucker for a story where the characters get to have a second chance at love after being separated for a long period of time. These two main characters seem to have a toxic relationship that doesn’t improve with time. I would not have recommended that they get back together… Their relationship seemed stuck in a immature way that wasn’t good for either of them.