The One You Can't Forget (Ones Who Got Away, #2)

by Roni Loren

"Most days, Rebecca Lindt feels like an imposter...The world admires her as a survivor. But that impression would crumble if people knew her secret. She didn't deserve to be the one who got away. But nothing can change the past, so she's thrown herself into her work. She can't dwell if she never slows down. Wes Garrett is trying to get back on his feet after losing his dream restaurant, his money, and half his damn mind in a vicious divorce. But when he intervenes in a mugging and saves Rebecca --the attorney who helped his ex ruin him-- his simple life gets complicated. Their attraction is inconvenient and neither wants more than a fling. But when Rebecca's secret is put at risk, both discover they could lose everything, including what they never realized they needed: each other." --

• ISBN10: 1492651451
• ISBN13: 9781492651451
• Publish Date: 5 June 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Sourcebooks Casablanca
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

I have read other Roni Loren books, but I must say, she has won my heart with this series. I am in love with this premise. The focus on these four survivors and how each were impacted by the shooting was enough to earn my attention, but then she gave them each a complicated, but beautiful romance, which just sweetened the pot.

Rebecca was a high-powered, driven divorce attorney. She poured herself into her work as a form of escape, from her past and the guilt she carried because of it. When a Good Samaritan came to her rescue, it brought her face-to-face with someone she had destroyed in divorce court. She tried to fight the attraction, but gave in after learning she didn't really have all the facts about this man and his tumultuous marriage.

I am a fan of enemies-to-lovers romances, but this was so much more complicated than that. Rebecca sort of got past what she thought was true about Wes quickly, but then she was left with her guilt of hiding her past. It was a wall, which kept her from moving forward. Her emotions and pain were written so well. I ached for her, but at the same time, I wanted her snap out of it! In my heart, I knew Wes was exactly who she needed in order to find some peace and move forward with her life. I will say, she made some BOLD choices at one point, which might have made me fist-pump or let out a "get it girl", and left me all sorts of happy.

Wes❤️! That man earned a spot on my favorite heroes list. He was far from perfect. In fact, there were some things from his past that made me wince. But you know what? He picked himself up, dusted himself off, and made plans to rebuild his life. He may not have been overjoyed about his circumstances, but he was making the best of them, and he wasn't going to let past failures keep him from achieving his dreams. I found him all sorts of wonderful, and his hope was contagious. He was also super sexy and swoony and sweet with a HUGE heart, which are all good things.

Loren wove in some interesting storylines as well, that were quite lovely. I adored visiting Wes' job and working with his kids. I thought Knight was topnotch, and I have a special place in my heart for shelter pets. So, all sort of heart tugging going on there. But, what I loved about the inclusion of these things was how they were about second chances. This whole book is chockfull of second chances, and I have an affinity for those stories, because they leave me hopeful. I like to think we can make mistakes, pay for our mistakes, and then be able to find our happy. This book had a lot of that going on, so I was miles of smiles.

The epilogue was good and steamy, as this couple had fantastic chemistry, but what cracked my face in half was a little reveal that slipped out. I loved it, and it was perfect for these two.

Overall: A fantastic addition to a series I am adoring. It was fun, emotional, sexy, sweet, and filled with heartwarming, heartbreaking, and heart-racing moments.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS

[Cocktails and Books]

I wanted to like this one more than I did.

[Rowena]

I really enjoyed the first one and was looking forward to this one so I'm glad that this one was just as good as the first one. Wes and Rebecca were a great pair and their story kept me turning the pages. I'm looking forward to Taryn's book next. Full review to come.

[llamareads]

Trigger warnings: school shooting survivor, ex-alcoholic, panic attacks, animal injury, mugging (with gun), discussion of suicide attempts, child abuse

There are a few authors who have the amazing ability to rip my heart out and make me love them for it, and Roni Loren is one of them. This is the second book in her The Ones Who Got Away series. I think this could easily be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading the first book anyway!

“That’s actually one of the things I like best about you. You’re all about the action, lawyer girl.” He waggled his eyebrows, trying to lighten the mood. “It’s come in handy so far. Random kissing the first night I met you. Basically seducing me yesterday after we decided to take things slow. Your lack of patience is paying off in great dividends for me.”

Rebecca and Wes meet when she’s mugged at gunpoint by two teens on the way home from work. Rebecca’s attackers are scared away by a stray dog, and Wes comes along in the aftermath and takes the dog – who’s been shot – to his brother, a vet. Rebecca is a survivor of a school shooting, a divorce lawyer in her father’s firm, and on track to make partner when her dad retires to go into politics. Partly because of the shooting, part of his campaign platform is tougher sentencing for juvie offenders – his reasoning being that if the justice system had been harder on the school shooters, they would never have gotten the chance to shoot up prom. Her dad loves her in his own way – and is proud of what she overcame – but he’s also willing to use her. He doesn’t seem to care that she doesn’t want to give talks about her experience as a survivor, that she’d rather talk about her work as a lawyer or pretty much anything else. Wes is, in his own words, “a recovering alcoholic who let his dream slip through his fingers.” He’s a recovering alcoholic and lost his restaurant before it even opened in a divorce mess. The best part? His ex-wife’s lawyer was Rebecca. His current job is teaching cooking at an after school program for troubled teens, and though he dreams of opening his own restaurant, he worries that being back in that environment could cause him to backslide. They don’t seem to have anything in common, but something draws them to the other person. Can a relationship between two such different people work?

“He didn’t blame her for not wanting to talk about it. They’d only agreed to have a good time together, to be casual friends. He wasn’t her boyfriend or confidant. He was a distraction, as she’d said.
So if she wanted a distraction, he would happily distract the hell out of her.”

What I love most about Ms. Loren’s book is how well she deals with trauma. In this book, to the outside world, Rebecca has it all – great job, “supportive” father, she’s a successful survivor. But inside, she’s being swallowed up by a secret she’s kept since the shooting, and after the mugging, it starts to pop out in flashbacks. She masterfully weaves together all the different plotlines – the school shooting, Wes’s childhood, his alcoholism, the kids he’s teaching, the mugging – to arrive at the final big reveal. Neither character has been in a relationship for a while – if at all! While they both feel a draw to the other, Rebecca wants to keep this “thing” with Wes superficial, and she especially doesn’t want to talk about her flashbacks. She views Wes as a distraction from her real life, from running her dad’s charity work, speaking at his fundraisers, and taking care of her own clients. Wes’s family, on the other hand, worries that Wes is getting too focused on Rebecca, that he’s repeating the same obsessive behaviors from before. In some ways, Rebecca worries that she’ll never be worthy of love, and once Wes realizes that, they’re finally both able to confront their demons and move on. I loved how much Rebecca and Wes believed in each other and how incredibly supportive they were.

“You see, Bec, you’ve got it all wrong. You didn’t pretend to be someone else around me. You gave me the best gift. You let yourself be who you really are with me. Underneath all this hurt and trauma, all the pressure and expectations, this is you. I got to meet that girl, and I’m so damn lucky for it.”

Overall, I absolutely adored this book and couldn’t put it down, even when it was ripping my heart out. I can’t wait for the next in the series!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.