The One That Got Away: A DI Heather Filson Novel

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.” Benjamin's world is turned upside down the day he meets Clara. Instinctively, he knows that she is his person and he is hers, but the events of one of their last nights at university will take their lives in very different directions. Here,” Clara says, scribbling her name and extension on a Post-it. “I only work part-time, but I’m in Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Give me a shout sometime.” Of course he was there. August to May, every Saturday afternoon for their entire relationship. Without fail. Ratcliffe, Peter (2000). Eye of the Storm. England: Michael O'Mara Books Limited. p.427. ISBN 1-84317-052-3.

The gentle pastel colours of the cover of “The One that Got Away”, and probably the novel’s title, leads you to believe you’ll be delving into a classic romance story, but this has a lot more grit than you might expect. I got divorced last year,” Natasha says. She looks down at her own naked left hand. “Sometimes I think I miss my ring more than I miss my ex.” A heart-wrenching tale for fans of Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Love of my Other Life by CJ Connolly. A particular niche of second chance "what if" fiction that moves me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Aria and Aries for an advanced read in exchange for this review. This was more emotional than I expected it to be. I liked read At the beginning, this book felt like I was watching a late 90’s movie, I don’t even know how to explain the feel, but I absolutely adored it. Then it just proceeded to shred my heart to pieces. This is not a second chance romance, this is the heartfelt story of life. Told in multiple timelines, we learn about events that have shaped each of their lives. Ben, a single father, and Clara in an unhappy marriage.

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. We follow them through college in this dual timeline which also sees them 20 years on in their very different but similarly unhappy lives. I wasn't left with fuzzy feelings reading this, but its execution was masterful. What an emotional journey of heartbreak, loss, and redemption.Ben and Clara met in college. We see Clara in present time at her journalism job when the soccer stadium in her city is blown up, literally. She remembers her old love, Ben, was a huge soccer fan and she is sure he was there at the time of the explosion. She leaves her husband in the evening to find Ben. I can say about the book that I had an idea of ​​the possible story from the beginning, but was surprised again towards the middle of the book. The book tells a touching story about the first great love and about how difficult it can be to forget it... or not! Had I read this in printed form it might have left a slightly less negative impression but the audio version was just terrible. The female narrator produced some of the strangest sounding male voices I can ever recall hearing and read it with an exaggerated awe that simply confirmed the true dullness of the whole thing. The book starts with "Every woman has one. That name you Google at 2:00 in the morning." Is this true?

I devoured this book! This story follows Clara and Benjamin for over 20 years, and the way the story flits between timelines leaves you hooked and wanting more.It’s a book that makes you really feel for two flawed main characters and one that sends you on an emotional journey across the years. I loved how the past slowly unfolded and you got to piece together what had happened, with the scenes from the present showing how much both of their lives had changed and how the past had affected them. This was a very long book which I ordinary would have given up on but just couldn’t put down. The characters feel real and are relatable. The story lines are ones that course through all of our lives. I think the one thing that really bothered me was the dangling the whole reason why they broke up. It was literally at the 88 percent mark that it was finally revealed. It wasn't necessary to keep this hanging - the book already starts with a "cliffhanger" where there is someone who bombs a soccer stadium and we don't know who it is (we do find out by the end).