[ad/gifted - I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.]
The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon
My rating: 4/5
Publisher: Aria
Publication date: 2nd February 2023
Blurb:
Two years together. Twenty years apart. One day to change their story.
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 devastating night will take their lives in very different directions.
20 years later, a bombing is reported in the city where Clara and Ben met, and she is pulled back to a place she tries not to remember and the first love she could never forget. Searching for Ben, Clara prays that twenty years of silence is about to end.
But is it too late to put right what went wrong?
This is not a love story. But it is a story of first love, of the mistakes people make, and the lengths they'll go to put things right.
Review:
This book is just wonderful! I went into it thinking it was a typical "missing your first love" type of book but I couldn't be more wrong.
The story spans across different times from the early 2000s to present day. Clara and Benjamin meet during their first year at university. Benjamin is very kind and gentle and is a massive lover of football. Clara thinks the world of Benjamin and thinks they will be together forever. She just can't stand his love of football. Clara's personality at this time is very juvenile and she does come across as a bit annoying but to be honest, it is reflective of her age and we can see how she has grown up in present times.
In present day, Clara is a journalist living in London and Benjamin is a single dad to Aiden and they live in Newcastle. There has been an explosion at the football stadium where Aiden is and Benjamin is frantic because he can't get hold of him.
Obviously Clara and Benjamin aren't together anymore, with Clara now being married to Thom, but we are drip fed information about Clara and Benjamin's relationship back then before we eventually find out what happened in the end. Clara has always thought about him.
There is so much to unpack with this book and I was fully immersed in the characters. Trigger warnings for child sex abuse, sexual assault, suicide and death.
---
A massive thank you to Aria for having me on the blog tour. You can find information about the other bloggers taking part in the tour in the graphic below.
Be First to Post Comment !
Post a Comment