Saturday, August 5, 2017

Book Review: The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren


Twelve years ago, tragedy struck the senior class of Long Acre High School. Only a small number of students survived, a group the media dubbed as The Ones Who Got Away.

Now, web designer Liv Arias, along with the rest of the survivors, have returned to the small Texas town to tell their stories for a documentary. Which means Liv seeing former star-athlete and old flame Finn Dorsey. A lot happened between them that night and Liv is ready to end their decade-long riff and move on. But when her attempt at closure turns into a steamy kiss, moving on proves much more difficult than either of them thought...

Liv's words cut off as Finn got closer. The man approaching was nothing like the boy she'd known. The bulky football muscles had streamlined into a harder, leaner package. The smooth face was now dusted with scruff, and the look in his deep green eyes held no trace of boyish innocence. A thousand things were in those eyes. A thousand things welled up in Liv.



 


When I first saw that there was a "sneak peek" of this book on NetGalley, I was totally against reading it because I thought that it was just a snippet. And I'm an idiot. Yeah, turns out, it wasn't a snippet but the whole book. Thank goodness I got the whole book because IT. WAS. AWESOME. 
I've never read anything by this author, which gives further validation to the argument that I'm an idiot. Let's just say that I'm a fan. A big fan. Not only were the characters absolutely amazing but the book was funny in spots and I had not been expecting that at all. I also didn't expect to really connect with the main character, Liv. I'm not entirely sure why I became so attached to her because I've never directly been through such a harrowing experience ... maybe it's because of my empathy towards her but I really think it's just because the author wrote Liv in such a way that you can't help but root for her from the very first page. She's such a well written character that she becomes an old friend very quickly. 

I couldn't have picked a better dude for Liv than Finn. Finn is everything that I that I've ever wanted in a literary hero. He's protective and loyal and sweet and adoringly possessive - which I didn't even know was possible. Well, it is. Then there's this captivating character growth that Finn goes through. You're able to experience Finn morphing into what he thought he had lost so very long ago and it's completely endearing. Now for the important part ... when Finn and Liv are together ... talk about hot. So incredibly steamy and it didn't feel forced!! It was natural and totally believable. Not always something you find within the pages of a romance novel but it seems to come to author Roni Loren easily.

When I said before that Liv became a friend, that also goes hand in hand with the way this story was written. The book is about a past horrific experience but it's written in such a way that you find yourself immersed in the book - not just as a spectator but almost as if you're a part of what is going on. Actually, while reading this book, you'll find that it becomes a part of you. You never want to let it go. This is one that I will reread many times. Gosh. I miss Liv and Finn already. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *



Available: January 2nd, 2018

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