Tuesday, August 15, 2023

8.15.2023 - The One That Got Away

The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon 

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this book by Charlotte Rixon and wonderfully narrated by Carl Prekopp and Katherine Press - 4 stars!

In the present, it's 2022 and a bomb has just gone off in a stadium full of fans.  In the past, it's 20 years prior when Clara and Benjamin meet at university and begin a relationship only to break apart.  In the present, Clara is not quite happily married and Benjamin is raising his son.  When Clara hears about the bombing, she fears Ben was at the stadium and drops everything to go there.

Told in a multitude of timelines and from the POV of both Clara and Benjamin, we learn about their relationship, their break up, and the fact that they could never let the other completely go.  There are a lot of trigger subjects here, both past and present.  Neither character is extremely likable, but they feel real.  They behave badly, they make mistakes, they wish for do-overs.  Sounds like real life.  I really liked Ben's son - the best character in the book.  The bombing was the opening scene and kept the tension high throughout.

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