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REVIEW: The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon


Genre: Adult Fiction | Womens Fiction | Romance

Release Date: Expected 2nd February 2023

Publisher: Aria & Aires

Natasha 'has it all'. A successful career at a big newspaper, a recent deal with a literary agent, a wonderful marriage to the handsome and caring Thom. But something is missing - from her career, her marriage and herself.

She's been so caught up in her high flying life that she hasn't left the city and gone back home in ages - until her hometown falls prey to a deadly terrorist attack at their football stadium and she finds herself running back; to the town she used to know all too well. She had to know if he was safe - if Benjamin was safe.

Her Benjamin, who she hadn't seen in almost two decades. Who she never forgot about for a moment. The boy whose life was ruined and destroyed by their relationship. The boy who loved her more than anyone else did. 

And now, the reason she's putting everything on the line all over again. 

"On another level, she thinks perhaps this is how it's all meant to be. A lightning strike that splits her life forever. Before and After."

A sweeping tale about the many lives and loves we leave behind us and a testament to the transformative power that our formative relationships have on our lives years or even decades later. This story makes you wonder about your own past lives; is there anyone you'd run to save even after years of not talking? Would anyone do it for you? How have you been remembered and recounted by the people you've left behind? And which ones are better left as memories?

The story moves quickly at the start - the present day section of this story mostly taking part in the space of one fateful day - and then settles in, allowing us to spend time getting to know our characters and reaching back in time to the days they met in university, as they grew into the people they are now and giving us full insight into who they were in the most confusing times of their lives as they drift in and out of each others lives - always in orbit but never quite colliding.

Ben and Clara are not likable characters - but it was part of the charm. At times it was very difficult to read as I couldn't find anything to connect with and they did get a little repetitive with their obsessions and fixations - they were hypocritical, mean, judgemental and selfish but written with such human flaws and downfalls that there was a glimmer of recognition there. The curve of their characters was clear, as we see the impact that family, trauma, social groups, and addictions can have on the trajectory of their lives and the lives around them. It's deeply emotive and unflinchingly raw, although my only issue is the darkness and depth found in this novel isn't adequately portrayed by the marketing of this story although it is much better than others I've read to have the same content. 

This is a story about love, loss and longing but it isn't a romance - it's a realistic, gritty and consuming story about navigating love through troubled times and how the people we love can change our lives. 


⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.

CW: infidelity, sex, alcohol, terminal illness, terrorism, sexual assault, violence. 


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