The One That Got Away, by Charlotte Rixon, is an emotional story that of two students that fall in and out of love during college and meet again two decades later. I never figured out which character the title references, and I am not sure it matters. As in real life, there are many issues which can serve as triggers for some. Many reviewers detailed this, and you may want to do more research. My issue was pacing. The first half was painfully slow and repetitive. The characters' backgrounds are at odds, and they engage in the same arguments again and again. The second half was much better in terms of pacing and connection. The nonlinear timelines also came together later in the book in a way that allowed the cause, effect, and impact of events to provide nuance to the characters' growth. Rixon's characters are complicated; she clearly invested her talent to focus on their development. Despite the issues I confronted with the book, Rixon is an author to keep your eye on. Her willingness to grapple with challenging characters and subject matter shows promise. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing for the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

I was excited to read this book after reading the description. I usually enjoy second chance romance. This book was not the typical second chance romance. The book is told in dual POV and multiple timelines. I didn't really enjoy either of the main characters. Neither one were honest with each other in their first two years of their relationship. The middle of the book kind of dragged. I finished the last part of the book fast, more was happening and I was excited to see how it ended.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The One That Got Away (ARC)
Charlotte Rixon
3.5⭐️

Pub Day: 8/15/2023

Benjamin and Clara's worlds were turned upside down when they met. They knew they were meant for each other and everything just fell into place. But one drunken night, several mistakes and miscommunication ended this picture perfect world they built. One ended up in prison, and the other always guilty for what happened. 20 years later, a bombing was reported and shook the entire city. Clara just had to find Benjamin and they have no choice but to confront their past. Is it too late for them?

The characters are so flawed and that's okay. I think real life can be messy like this. But it was hard to like either of them. There was so much miscommunication and the characters being so rigid and not compromising to each other, I had a feeling that it was not going to work out anyway to begin with. I hate that the pet names they have for each other are their initials. It's feels so impersonal and not intimate at all.

This one comes in multiple timelines which was labeled but the jumping timeline trick was more so irritating. I expected a crazy comeback and second chance romance. It, unfortunately, did not deliver very well. The saving grace for this book is that the actual event that got someone in prison was saved towards the end. So it kept me reading. Even then, it took too long to reveal, and I was getting a little impatient. It wasn't written well enough that it was compelling. And then the big reveal of that event was not even a huge jaw dropping moment.

Overall, and I've heard this from another friend too, I'm indifferent to it. There are good points and not so good ones in this book. It was written decently, but not compelling. And it didn't feel heartwarming as i was expecting it to be.

Before I get started on my review of The One That Got Away by Charolette Rixon I have to give my thanks to Netgalley, St. Martins Press, and Charlotte Rixon herself for gifting me with this Digital Arc in exchange for my honest review. Everything I write here will be entirely my own thoughts and opinions. As always I will provide trigger warnings down below. Please be aware that this book has some heavy-hitting topics so please pay attention to those warnings below.

I do not even really know where to start with this book. There is so much going on as we follow two main characters throughout a twenty-year span and during that span we are bouncing between timelines and the character’s points of view. This story follows Clara and Benjamin and takes place in England during the 2000s. I am not saying all this to make it sound bad because honestly, that was one of my favorite things about the book. I enjoyed the two perspectives and going from timeline to timeline kept me moving through the book at a rather quick pace. I want to say that this book is a book about romance but for me, that just does not exactly fit. This book for me was about growing up, first loves, heartbreak, trauma, making mistakes, and trying to come back from all of those things that shaped the characters along the way. Like I said this book is heavy hitting.

Clara comes from a privileged background and grew up in London. She is two years older than her sister Cecily who happened to have had cancer when she was only four years old. I mention this because this traumatic experience really shapes the way that Clara views the world and navigates through it. There are a few lines in the book that really stuck out to me about Clara and her character and I am going to post it here so if you do not want any SPOILERS then look away.

No one understands that all those years ago when Cecily got sick, something fundamental shattered in Clara: the ability to trust, to feel safe in the world. The innocent, deep-seated faith that all things would ultimately be OK was gone, forever. And what was left in its place was a gaping fear that the worst things could happen when you least expected them.

Of course, this makes sense when you look at Clara’s character and see why she is the way she is. The poor girl experienced some serious trauma as a child and unfortunately, things like that just do not go away. However, I found Clara to be a wonderful character she was able to see things in Benjamin that he could not see in himself which I found to be lovely. Clara is anxiety-ridden and struggles with perfectionism. As the book goes on you will see that she in a sense becomes just a shell of herself. She blames herself for what happened all those years before and the guilt is eating her alive.

Benjamin comes from a smaller area and one that is poor. He becomes heavily invested in football as a young boy and makes one of the top teams as a child but his mental health makes it so he has to get done. His coach said something along the lines of not having a strong mind for the sport. Basically what I got out of it was that he was a sensitive kid which in my opinion has nothing to do with having a strong mind. I think what is important to acknowledge about Benjamin is that he also experienced trauma as a child. His mother was diagnosed with a form of cancer when he was just a young boy around middle school age. This is not the reason Benjamin got done with playing football it really had to do with his mental health. However, this did not interfere with his love of the game which never ended. It was something his father and him bonded over throughout the book. It was also one of the ways he made friends at Uni with his flatmates. It is my opinion that Benjamin does not think much of himself throughout the book and has a very defeating inner monologue. I felt for the poor guy for sure. Some things happen to Benjamin in his University life that I found to be absolutely heartbreaking. I am not going to mention them here because they would be terrible spoilers but maybe have some tissues at hand while you are reading.

Clara and Benjamin meet during their first year at Uni. They did not meet at the University because they both went to different schools so their meeting happened one night in a club with Clara on the floor crying and Benjamin running into her on his way out. Needless to say, they hit it off right away. They become inseparable from the start except for the three weeks Benjamin has to go back home and doesn’t contact Clara. He does not want to combine his life at school and her with his life at home which is why he keeps the reason for his trip home to himself. Do you remember how I said she really struggles with trust issues? So you can imagine that this does not go over well with Clara. She ends up making some poor decisions while he is gone that will ultimately have an impact on their relationship down the road. I am not going to say any more about that but their lives will take a giant turn which will ultimately change them forever.

If you are looking for a read that will keep you moving because you need to know what happens next then definitely pick this one up. I think that this would also be a good book to get one out of a reading slump well at least it would be for me. If you are interested in a story about first love, trauma, moving on, poor decisions, learning to live with what life throws at you, reinventing yourself and so much more then please pick this gem up. I thought that this was a wonderful story and it had me rooting for the two main characters throughout. I do want to say again though that I do not believe this book to be a romance novel at least not completely but more about first loves and the impact those loves can have on a person. I absolutely loved this story and will be picking more up from this author. Now before I get into the trigger warnings I wanted to leave you with this quote from the story that really stuck with me and for the life of me I can not remember who said it but here it is: A simple life with people I love. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I mean really isn’t that all any of us want in life?

Trigger Warnings:

Child Sexual Abuse
Rape
Cancer
Parental Death
Heart Attack
Mental Health Struggles
Suicide
Bombing
Parental Abandonment
Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Infidelity

Benjamin is an awkward young man with a love for football, his family, and a simple life in his small hometown. Carla comes from a wealthy family, who are quite disjointed, and she has always harbored insecurities and feelings of being forgotten or unseen. When their two worlds collide in a night club, it’s love at first sight, but their relationship will be anything but easy. Told in dual POV and dual timeline, we follow the couple through various stages in their lives and relationship, through joys and traumas and into present day adulthood where we find Carla is married to another man, who she loves but is not in love with – she has never let go of Benjamin. When a tragic event happens, Carla goes into panic mode, needing to know if Benjamin is safe, so she gets on the next train to Newcastle and will do whatever she has to in order to find out, regardless of how many years it has been since they were in contact.

There were things that I really enjoyed about this story that kept me holding on and wanting to know more, but the outcomes fell flat for me. While Benjamin was a loveable character, Carla was anything but. I tried to be sympathetic at the start, understanding how young women can struggle with insecurity, trust and their own feelings in a relationship in their early 20’s, especially with a guy like Benjamin, who is very private, and a bit closed off, but she never really had any redeeming qualities even as an adult. I think seeing how much she still cared about Benjamin after all of this time was what connected her to me. Benjamin on the other had was easy to understand and have the utmost sympathy for. His life was never easy and that carried through to his present-day character, but he always tried to do the right thing, even when it meant putting himself and his life aside. Ultimately, I was satisfied with the ending, I like that the reader knew just enough to know how things ended.

For anyone interested in reading this, please be sure to check trigger warnings, as there are multiple interlaced through the story.

A big thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

This is the first book I have read by this author. The synopsis caught my eye, and I had to read it.

Clara and Benjamin couldn't have had a different upbringing. But their eyes connect one night in a bar, but neither says anything, but just a few days later, their lives intersect once again, and the sparks fly.

Benjamin is a quiet man, and Clara seems like a social butterfly, so they have a few bumps in the road, but they begin to talk, and within a few weeks, they are inseparable.

Their relationship is by no means perfect, but their connection is undeniable. Their fighting during football season was a big problem, Benjamin's love of it, and she didn't get it. They are both a bit immature, but who isn't in college?
One night will change their lives forever...

Twenty years later, Clara is married, and Benjamin is a father. There is a bombing in Newcastle, and Benjamin is ALWAYS at the games, and Clara hasn't "gotten over" her first love and goes there to ensure he's okay.

The story is told in the past and present, giving you the all-around story. This book was hard to put down; I just kept reading and reading!

There are a few triggers that many may find upsetting. I do not have any triggers, but readers should know that there are infertility concerns, suicide, alcohol abuse, rape, child sex abuse, and parent death storylines.

I really wanted to love this one. The premise was right up my alley. But I never was completely invested and I'm not sure why.

Benjamin and Clara meet in college and fall hard. Ben's mother is dying, and he leaves for several weeks, but never tells her way. While he's away, Clara is spiraling. She sleeps with someone else and the guilt eats her alive.

One night Ben is out watching a game with friends, and Clara goes out with her friends. The guy she slept with is coming on to her, but she keeps it at bay. She ends up leaving and the guy follows her and tries to force himself on her. Ben arrives and hits the guy, who dies. Ben goes to prison and they part ways.

Fast forward years later. Clara is in an unhappy marriage. Ben has a son with a mother who is absent. A bomb is what brings them back together. They confide the truth of their past to each other.

I did like the ending. Probably best part of the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for both an ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review!

The One That Got Away is a second chance love story without the heart. While I enjoyed the dual pov and alternating timelines, I found Clara unlikeable and didn’t buy the romance between the main characters.

This book was slow moving for me. There were two different time lines and while they were noted at the top of each chapter, I still found my mind drifting into the wrong one. It was a story based on young love and mis-communication. "The One That Got Away" is a predictable title for a predictable book. Triggers: alcoholism, sexual abuse, and terrorism.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC. The review is my own honest one.

Lots of drama

This book follows Clara and Benjamin over 20 years, all of those years filled with individual and collective drama. Lives lived, relationships, secrets kept, family, addictions and more that I won’t reveal due to spoilers. I felt like the story meandered through time, the characters never really happy. I really didn’t care for the main characters at all, except maybe Clara’s friend Lauren who told it as she saw it.

I appreciate the author’s time and effort in writing and sharing this book, but it just wasn’t for me. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

2 stars (please check trigger warnings before reading).

It was a struggle for me to finish "The One That Got Away" by Charlotte Rixon. I almost did not finish it several times, but I persevered and pushed through to the end. I really didn't enjoy this book, which is odd because it seemed right up my alley. I love books that combine romance with drama and heavy subject matters (this year's "Adelaide" by Genevieve Wheeler is a perfect example). Unfortunately, despite a killer prologue that promised brilliant, beautiful writing, I think Charlotte Rixon dwells too much in the mundane for this novel to be successful. She starts with two annoying characters and makes them progressively more irritating as the book goes on. Main characters Clara, and to a lesser extent Ben, are just the most incredibly selfish people who don't dare deign to have a conversation with one another. Oh no, that would be too easy! Why communicate when they could lie, cheat, and make up excuses for their behavior?! Then, she adds an annoying and difficult-to-follow timeline on top of it. In the present time time-jumps, it is obvious to readers that Clara has not grown up or learned a damn thing in two decades. Here is an example of yet another book where a female character places herself in an unhappy life and marriage based on her own doing because she'd rather be unhappy than alone. Instead of just, you know, TALKING TO HER SPOUSE (which, I'll give Rixon credit, does eventually happen), she proceeds to be miserable for the better part of twenty years while pining for the one that got away. I *loved* a well-written flawed female character, but Clara grated on my nerves the entire book, and I know she went through some really, really traumatizing stuff, but she's a self-centered a$$hole way before the bad stuff happens. It's giving desperate midlife crisis. I couldn't get invested in her and Ben's love story because of her poor attitude and toxic behaviors. And Ben! IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE AS MUCH AS YOU CLAIM YOU DO, JUST FREAKING HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GAH! I feel like I am going batty sometimes with these characters who refuse to open up!

There are likely plenty of readers who will enjoy "The One Who Got Away," but it was not for me. It was too long, too slow, too grating, and too trauma-p0rny without any resolution or real purpose.

Thank you to NetGalley, Charlotte Rixon, and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

There’s nothing I can say about this one because it nearly bored me to tears. But in the end, I had to throw in the towel at 58%. I love the premises of what this book could be but unfortunately, I just had to stop.

As much as I don't love DNFing books, sometimes it's okay to walk away when a book isn't working for you. I did skip ahead to the last 2 chapters and I'm glad I gave up on this one. Because the end would not have been worth pushing through.

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!