The One You Can't Forget (The Ones Who Got Away) by Roni Loren

It takes a very special author to be able to write a romance novel that revolves around a school shooting, especially with what’s been happening in The United States in the past few months, years, and decades.  Most authors wouldn’t touch this subject with a ten foot pole but not only does Roni Loren touch the subject, she treats it with the respect it deserves.  She weaves a story of survivors without exaggerating the circumstances or making the subject into a spectacle.  It’s quite the feat.

Blurb:  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.

Review:  I don’t know that I loved The One You Can’t Forget as much as the first novel in the series The Ones Who Got Away, but that’s less about this novel and more about how utterly amazing the first book was and how connected I felt to the characters.  The One You Can’t Forget is equally as incredibly written and devastating to my emotions as the first.  You just cannot go wrong with Roni Loren.

Rebecca is a special breed of woman.  I was pleased that we were given yet another incredibly strong heroine, and even more delighted to discover that Loren gave her a dark secret she’s still suffering from today.  It made her experience all the more realistic, to not have this heroine comes out of this dark experience a perfectly healthy, well-adjusted individual.  I won’t spoil the secret (because I’m spoiler-free y’all), but you’ll probably get a good feel for what it might be just a little ways into the story.

This book had a different feel to it because rather than having two survivors of the Long Acre school shooting you have one survivor—Rebecca.  But Wes is a survivor of his damaged past.  He was really a great counterpart to the perfectionist Rebecca and his opposite personality was exactly what she needed to finally feel safe and able to open herself up to others.  I loved that he wasn’t perfect himself, but together they had a delightful chemistry that went beyond the bedroom.

Honestly, this series is something special.  I’ve never read anything quite like it before and I don’t know that anyone else could do it quite as well as Roni Loren (so no one even try!).  If you like your romance novels fluffy and just skimming the surface of dark emotions, The One You Can’t Forget is not for you.  Don’t get me wrong.  There’s a time and a place for all types of romance novels, including the fluffiest of fluff, but this series delves deep into raw human emotions and the after effects that school shootings can have on individuals for the rest of their lives, it’s not a book you should prepare to take lightly.

Check out my review for the first book (The Ones Who Got Away) and then make your way to order it and preorder The One You Can’t Forget, which comes out June 5, 2018.  You will not regret this purchase.