Cover Image: The One That Got Away

The One That Got Away

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Member Reviews

This book hit hard, maybe due to personal reason, we all have one that kind of got away right? I loved everything about this book.

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Unfortunately this one was just not for me. I thought both characters were unlikable, immature, and had major self worth issues. I tried the audio version and thought it was painful so it is a DNF for me. Sad.

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It’s a book that annihilates you from within, slowly breaks your heart into so many pieces you’ll need a minute to pick them all up, and then it simply stuns you into silence with one of the most unexpected, soul-shattering book moments in history. I’m stunned. So loved it.

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This book has a different quality about it that makes it very easy to read and make you think about it after you put it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

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I have loved Charlotte's books in the past so was excites to see how she would change genre, but this was not a disappointment. Another addictive and intereating read, just of the more comforting rather than disturbing variety!!

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In all honesty, I expected this one to have some sort of romance in it. It's far from it. It's a second-chance romance trope, yes, but it subverts that genre so well and so much that I cannot possibly put it in that category. There's a lot of heavy stuff discussed in the book: abuse, SA, addiction, cancer, and mental health to name a few. I loved that the book was in dual POV, and I also really loved Benjamin's character. Overall, the book was a nice twist on the usual second-chance romance, very hard-hitting and real as compared to a lot of the books in this genre already, and for that, I loved it!

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This was a fun read and I definitely recommend it!! Thank you to the author and NetGallery for this arc

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I was lucky to receive an advance copy of The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. WOW this book will take you breath away and have you feeling all kinds of emotions. Not going to lie, I had tears rolling down my face as I finished it. It's a fantastic love story and is so well written. Read this the first chance you can, I promise you will not be disappointed.

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This was such a fun read! I can't wait for more by this author. I would absolutely recommend! If you are looking for a book to get you back into reading. This is it!

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I'm a sucker for stories about lost or unrequited love, so this one immediately appealed to me. Benjamin and Clara meet in 2000 while attending university in Newcastle. They have an instant attraction and connection. Twenty years later, they're no longer together, but Clara feels drawn to find Benjamin, worrying for his safety after a terrorist attack occurs at the stadium of his favorite team. I loved the dual timeline, in the early 00s when they were together and 2022, when Clara goes to search for him. The characters are very sweet and charming. It highlights those loves we have in our lives that we never lose affection for. I listened to the audiobook, which was wonderfully narrated by Carl Prekopp and Katherine Press. They brought wonderful life into the story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook / audiobook ARCs. All thoughts are my own.

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This was a heavy, emotional read that was well written and respectfully broached. I felt a bit drained by the end of it, but in a good way if that makes any sense? Not what I thought it would be but enjoyable nonetheless

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This book had a great premise and I was very excited to read it. Wouldn't we all like to know what happened to "the one who got away"?

We started off strong but unfortunately my attention decreased towards the half way point. An easy read but not a memorable one, in my opinion.

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This book deals with some incredibly heavy topics at times but never seems to lose its sense of optimism and consistently feels like a gentle, slice-of-life kind of story.

In this story, we follow Benjamin and Clara, two people madly in love during their time at university who had their happy ending ripped away from them. In the very loosest sense of the term, this story is a second-chance romance about the way that a horrific event brings them back together but don't go into this book looking for romance in the present timeline as it is a lot more about the way that the traumatic event causes them to reflect on their pasts and re-evaluate what they want in the present.

The timelines do jump around a little bit as we follow Benjamin and Clara 20 years ago when they first meet, throughout their relationship, and then through the spanning years taking us right up to the present. Their story is not always told chronologically though as the reveal of what wrenched them apart doesn't come into almost the end of the story.

This is a book that is likely to hit quite close to home with a lot of people as there are topics of mental health, trauma, assault, generational trauma, and more. Beyond that, this is a book that reflects on, well, the idea of the one that got away which I feel like a lot of people can connect with, regardless of how happy they are with their present.

I found the writing of this book to be utterly compelling and the story was crafted marvellously so that the reader never felt as though there were too many unanswered questions at one time but rather every reveal was shortly followed-up with nudges towards the next mystery of the story. I also thought the red herrings were masterful as a palpable sense of dread is created as the reader waits for their suspicions to be confirmed.

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I don't understand why this is advertised as a romance as it definitely isn't one. Based on the description, I was expecting something easy to read and uplifting, yet it was actually the opposite due to it being filled to the brim with troubling themes. There were so many big topics packed into 330+ pages and I, personally, feel that not a single one of them was handled or written well. Character-wise, no one really stood out to me and we didn't get to experience any progression or growth in their overall character arc.
Nothing like what's described in the blurb and not one that I would recommend picking up.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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Just the right amount of romance laced with women fiction and this book couldn’t get any better. I loved the characters, but more than their arc, growth and development. Overall it was a very phenomenal read for me

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Thanks to netgalley for approving this book for me but unfortunately I didn't get to Read it in time before it was removed from my library. Which is a shame I would have loved to read it and give it a good review

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Really enjoyed reading this! Charlotte Rixon did an absolutely amazing job at writing the two different timelines in this story, sometimes I think jumping between the past and present can be kind of messy but this was handled in such a smooth and effortless way.

I really loved the 'midlife crisis' vibes that were in this book and how Benjamin and Clara just felt like completely normal and relatable characters. Would definitely recommend!

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DNF @ 30%

The writing was beautiful and I loved the idea of an emotional story, but it was incredibly hard for me to get into.

I think a lot of it is that I was expecting something much different than what the book actually is about - definitely a me thing.

Thank you NetGalley & Aria & Aries for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

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The premise of this book was so good that I knew I wouldn't be able to resist requesting it. I love a good romance about missed opportunities and journeys of self discovery, this book certainly delivers on those counts.

Told in alternating POV we are introduced to Benjamin and Clara at university. From here we learn more about them as a couple and we flick back to the present day to see where their lives have taken them. I will admit that I did get a little confused about when the timelines kept jumping. I thought it might have been better to work in chronological order with some present day thrown in. Sometimes we jumped to 2017 and then back to 2002.before returning to present day.

Of our two protagonists I liked Benjamin the best. I felt I connected with his story more and loved his kind nature and quirkiness. Clara, in my opinion, was annoying. You might put this down to her being at university and discovering who she is and not having the emotional maturity of an older adult. However, even as an adult I struggled to sympathise with her and even like her.

Overall this was a lovely story that explored the depth of first loves, missed chances and regret.

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This book was so much more than just a love story. It flicked between the present and the past tense, which did leave it a bit choppy at times, but I did enjoy it none-the-less. This was an enjoyable book, which made me smile, and cry, all at the same time. I couldn't put this book down, I just had to know how it ended.

Thank you NetGalley for the early release in exchange for my opinion.

For more reviews check out my Instagram and TikTok @blondesbooknook and my Twitter @lausbooknook

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