Clara and Benjamin meet and quickly become inseparable in college. After 2 years together, they are torn apart. 20 years later another tragedy strikes, Clara goes in search of the boy she’s never forgotten. But is it too late to make right what went wrong in their past?

•Dual POV
•Spanning Decades but not chronologically.

I’m not going to lie to you this one was a bit hard for me to get through. If I didn’t have the audio to pair with in, it would have taken me a really long time. I think one of my issues with it was Clara. She was totally unlikable through the whole book and is honestly pretty delulu most of the time. Benjamin wasn’t as bad but I also just didn’t see the chemistry between them.

This also is marketed as a second chance romance but it isn’t one. We are looking back at their past and figuring out what happened to tear them apart and then what happened after they were separated. I won’t give spoilers away about the ending but there isn’t time in the book dedicated to a second chance. Finally this book just had a lot going on. It needed a whole list of trigger warnings at the start because this was not the romantic read I expected and was actually pretty dark and sad (not in the fun way).

Anyways, it didn’t work for me but this might be up your alley and is available today!

Thank you @netgalley , @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for my advanced copies.

This was a great story. I loved the suspenseful parts that it had but also has some angst. It shows how a woman matures from a young girl in love that has huge jealousy issues and is insecure to a confident woman. It also shines life of male insecurity but also loyalty. Not only is there a love story there but there’s also the tragedy of a local bombing of a football stadium and a loss of a loved one. It’s a great story and I would recommend this to a friend.

What a stunning love story! Not your typical second chance romance at all. I went into this thinking this is what this was going to be about but I was wrong! There was so much more in depth to the why behind it all that it has you guessing how it'll all end. I loved the dual POVs and it brought me back to my own "one that got away"...read this!

I liked that this book took place over the span of 20 years and in England. Although there were some topics that some might find uncomfortable overall this was a really good first novel, Looking forward to see what else the author writes.

3.5 rounded up!

Before I start my review, this is marketed as a romance and it is not a romance. I’ve noticed this more and more for books being marketed incorrectly, but it’s more contemporary fiction! Sure, there’s romance involved, but we all know what it means to be a romance.

OKAY! On to the book. This is very much THE LIGHT ME LOST mixed with bits of ADELAIDE. If you enjoyed those books, I bet you’ll like this one. I didn’t really like the books I mentioned, but I liked THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY a tad bit more.

The characters experience A LOT in this book. I’ll list the content warnings below, but please take care of yourself if you plan to read it. While there’s a lot of realities in this story, the amount the characters go through make it a tad far fetched. In a way, it was sort of trauma jambalaya.

From a writing perspective, we learn both Benjamin and Clara’s POV, jumping between present day and back when they were at university together. It felt a little choppy at times, but I think the format helped build to shape the characters to truly understand them.

The more I think about it, the more I tell myself I liked it.

This is available Tuesday, August 15! Big thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC.

Content warnings: death, terrorism, bombing, child abuse, sexual assault, infertility, infidelity

This was a sweet and also deep story about first loves. It follows two people who fall in love in college, experience a major event that breaks them up then reunites much later in life following another major event.

There were times I felt frustrated with Clara and Benjamin. Those times were when they were in college, so I am sure their age/maturity had something to do with it.

It was interesting to see how their lives unfolded post college and how they held onto thoughts/feelings about each other.

This book touches on some deeper topics so keep in mind those content warnings.

Overall enjoyed but at the same time it isn’t a favorite. (3.75)

CW - death of a parent; sexual assault; manslaughter; suicide bombing; child abuse; alcoholism

So, I’m still not sure how I feel about this one!
Although intriguing, I had a hard time really loving it.
The year is 2002. Ben and Clara meet in college. Neither one really looking for a relationship with all that’s going on in their lives…but they are out with friends, and they are in college…and having fun.
Then a week later, they meet again! Clara is crying… Sparks seem to fly…and Ben thinks she is the one. They spend all their time together for four years.
Then we skip ahead to 2022. And they are living separate lives. And Ben just got out of jail…
The story delves into each of their lives…and how they are doing now, in the present day.
And then there’s a major catastrophe…in a place where Clara KNOWS Ben will be…and the story begins to unravel.
Although I did like it, it was not one of my favorites. For some reason it just didn’t click with me…
Still, 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!
Soon to be released on August 15th!

4.5 stars for this brilliant debut! This book gutted me. It's a sweeping love story but I definitely would not call this a romance. Clara and Benjamin were together for 2 years before an irrevocable event tore them apart. They've been apart for 20 years but there has always been a niggling "what if" in the back of both their minds.
When a bombing is reported in the city where they met, Clara drops everything in search of Benjamin, hoping to change the ending to their story.
The narration is fantastic, both from Clara's POV and Benjamin Spanning the years they met, the years after and the present; it may even remind you of your own lost love. You'll be so glad you listened.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this beautiful audio e-arc.*

This book is an angsty and slightly heartbreaking love story told in the past and present over 20 years in England. It touches on a lot of tough subjects so trigger warning for:
Parent loss
Mental illness/Mood disorder
S. Assault
Child abuse
Depictions of class and inequality
Violence
Infertility

All of the things are in this book but oddly it was not triggering. It was a slow burn storytelling of young people I'll equipped for life finding and loving each other. It is not a traditional romance novel, in that it feels too realistic. The main characters too flawed. The realities of life too difficult.

This a book that people will with like or hate. It slightly reminds me of a better version of Normal People by Sally Rooney, which I disliked but this for all of its intensity, sadness and slow inwinding, I did enjoy. The book ends with a dash of tender hoepfulness, which I appreciate.

Read if you like:
🇬🇧 UK Settings
🥈 Second Chance Romances
💣 Catalysts for getting back together

This one was such a deeply emotional read and the book started out with a bang, literally.

I loved the Voices of the narrators and that it was narrated by two narrators, I just wish the male narrator was a bit more expressive for a higher star rating for me personally.

I loved how the flashbacks worked with the current pov as Clara wants to go find Ben in the midst of a terrorist attack. This definitely created high stakes, tension, and gut wrenching vibes as you are hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.

This story has a lot of dark themes and you are guaranteed to cry by the end so be warned but also enjoy!

Thank you to the publisher for my ALC in exchange for my review!

Romance? Chick-lit? IMO, this book is marketed all wrong. I was thinking like Carley Fortune’s Every Summer After or TJR’s Maybe In Another Life, but this book was pretty traumatizing. TW for cheating, alcoholism, sexual assault, child sexual abuse, loss of a parent!
This is not romance- this is a toxic college relationship with time jumps from 20yrs ago to present day in the wake of a terrifying b*mbing. The college chapters were kind of reminiscent of Carola Loverling’s Tell Me Lies, a book I really like because I can totally relate to the toxicity & miscommunications of a young romance and I don’t mind reading it, because the accuracy is real when you’re young, irrational, and “in love.” But, again, this book is marketed as much more lighthearted than it actually is and I was not prepared for the dark depth. I felt so sad and heavy for basically all of this and didn’t want to keep reading, but I hate to DNF an advanced copy to review.
All that said, I’d recommend this to fans of general fiction focusing of tough topics, heartbreaking & ugly second chance stories, books set in England, dual timelines with a collegiate focus. It’s well-written, honestly, even when privileged Clara is infuriating and Benjamin is so innocently sweet, and it is a very REAL book, but definitely go into it with eyes wide open.
The audio narration is well done but then short, choppy chapter made it a bit hard to follow at times.

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!

This was such a beautiful story of second chance love done in such a unique way.

It kind of read like a thriller to me but in the best way. Jumping between different POVs and timelines made it a little confusing at times and like i was piecing together a puzzle. There was a big twist too so that also added to the "thriller" factor. Although I do not consider this a thriller at all.

It was kind of slow at parts but overall, i really enjoyed this sweet romance.

A love story spanning decades that instantly had me hooked. Through dual POV and the chapters consistently going back and forth between the early 2000s and 2022 (with some stops in-between), the story follows the lives of Benjamin and Clara. Early on, the two fall in love while attending university, but it’s clear decades later, something tore them apart at some point, and while they’re on different trajectories in life, one fateful day in the future could change their story.
This was a beautiful and tragic romance, and while many parts left me guessing until the end, it was all worth it at the conclusion.
The narrators Katherine Press and Carl Prekopp brought the story to life, making it feel like we were right in the middle of Newcastle, watching the stories unfold in front of us.
Thank you to St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This comes out 8/15!

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. I did enjoy Carl Prekopp and Katherine Press's audiobook narration, though. They are both wildly successful at bringing these characters to life. Even if I didn't enjoy the characters, they did a spectacular job.

Thank you to NetGalley, Charlotte Rixon, and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I thought the description of this was an intriguing one and was excited to start it. I tried and tried so much to get into the story and feel connected to the characters, but I often felt like I was listening for something more to happen. I will say there is a lot of miscommunication woven throughout the story, but it goes to show you how different loves happen at different points in life and that the "what if" can haunt you. All in all, it can show the different choices in life can lead you down many paths you never expected. I saw someone's review that mentioned how this book mimicked more of a mid life crisis story vs. a second chance romance and can totally feel that.

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.

Wow! This book was such a great read! I loved how not only did we get a dual POV, but also how there were two timelines throughout the story. The author did an incredible job on both fronts while other writers have difficulty properly executing just one of these story concepts.
There were twists and turns that I did not expect as the story unfolds in the timeline of the past and enough suspense in the timeline of the present to keep me fully engaged and invested in the outcome for our two main characters from beginning to end.

I’ll definitely be purchasing a physical copy of this one for my bookshelf and recommending it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a free copy of the audiobook arc in exchange for my honest review.

This definitely had the potential to be an excellent read/ story. I felt it wasn't properly executed. Still it's a good second chance romance story, just could have been so much more.

I really enjoyed this story, but had a hard time following along. I didn't feel like I was able to stay focused because nothing was drawing me in. I did like the aspects of first love and first heartbreak. I really liked the character development. I enjoyed it but I think I would like it more if I read it verse listened to it.