Perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner, this bright, funny debut from a fresh voice in fiction offers a delicious take on love, family, and what it means to build a home of one’s own. Sarina Mahler thinks she has her life all nailed down: a growing architecture practice in Austin, Texas, and an any-day-now proposal from her loving boyfriend, Noah. She’s well on her way to having the … way to having the family she’s hoped for since her mother’s death ten years ago. But with Noah on a temporary assignment abroad and retired Olympic swimmer—and former flame—Eamon Roy back in town asking her to renovate his new fixer-upper, Sarina’s life takes an unexpected turn. Eamon proves to be Sarina’s dream client, someone who instinctively trusts every one of her choices—and Sarina is reminded of all the reasons she was first drawn to him back in the day. Suddenly her carefully planned future with Noah seems a little less than perfect. And when tragedy strikes, Sarina is left reeling. With her world completely upended, she is forced to question what she truly wants in life—and in love.
Full of both humor and heartbreak, The One That Got Away is the story of one woman’s discovery that, sometimes, life is what happens when you leave the blueprints behind.
Praise for The One That Got Away
“A warm, witty, and wise novel, The One That Got Away announces the arrival of a great new voice in fiction.”—Emily Giffin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The One and Only
“Love can be complicated, and in The One That Got Away, Bethany Chase captures every nuanced beat of a conflicted heart. An authentic and warm voice infuses this story of humor, heartbreak, and home. While Sarina finds her way, we as readers might also find a way back to our own unique lives.”—Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of And Then I Found You
“This perfectly paced story is full of fresh, engaging characters, but Chase’s greatest accomplishment is Sarina Mahler. Sarina is so human, her inner world such a compelling mix of guarded and open-hearted, confident and faltering, that—through every loss, every funny moment, every blazing triumph—I felt completely with her and grateful to be there.”—Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Falling Together
“[A] sparkling debut [that] packs serious emotional punches . . . This utterly enjoyable romance will have readers swooning, sobbing, and eagerly anticipating Chase’s next book.”—Kirkus Reviews
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Sarina is, well, a pretty awesome chick – she is a successful female architect in a male-dominated field, and works out by doing muay thai. She loves her long-time boyfriend, and they are moving ever closer to becoming engaged. Yet, the one thing that can disturb all of this and shake her confidence is an ex moving back into town. A hot and charming ex that left without explanation and now wants Sarina to take on his new house as a renovation project. But life isn’t all about love triangles, and this book is more complicated than that. Sarina is still processing the death of her mother and what the ideas of “home” and “family” mean to her. Her dedication to her career brings her many ups and downs.
The characters are multi-dimensional and vivacious, living the life of singles in Austin, Texas. Each character makes plenty of mistakes, and there are no easy answers to the questions asked by the book, which makes the book feel that much more authentic. The plot moves smoothly, and the detailed narration transports you smack dab into the steamy heat of central Texas as the author immerses you into her world. If you’re a fan of Emily Giffin’s works, this is a great read!
~~ There’s a house you like, you see it often during your commute. Owner not selling so you put an offer on another house. Then your dream house comes up for sale. You find fault with your current purchase because you want to back out and put an offer on the other house.~~
“It’s not like I consciously tried to mislead you..”
Heroine gets into situations that she caused, tries to cop out, can’t make up her mind, destroys a few in her path. Gets into more situations. “Hero” seems great 50% of the book then turns into something else.
Over-detailed about other stuff.
Loved the characters and the setting in Austin, Texas. Loved the story. Well written. Can’t wait for her next book!
Bethany Chase writes a easy-to-read, fun adventure with Eamon and Serina. Plenty of characters to love, root for, get mad at, and cheer for. She brings you into their lives and moves your emotions right along with them. Parts are so laugh-out-loud funny, you will wonder where this author has been all your life. I love her description of Eamon’s yield sign body. It blew me away. Never has an image come so clearly to my mind as when I read that.
Her characters are real and easy to relate to. The story is tender and attentive. Her writing is easy, vivid, and realistic.
If you want to sit down and have a good time with some new friends, I highly recommend this book. You won’t want to put it down and you will be anxious to read the next one. I know I am. So glad I found this wonderful author. I’m looking forward to much more from her.
This is a new author for me. I LOVE her writing style and character developmenf. I have read both of her books back-to-back and cannot wait for her new book to come out. Her characters made me laugh and cry and care what happened to them! Definitely food for thought in my life beyond the book. A great read. Thank you Bethany!
Reviews are what encouraged me to read,. Bethany Chase is a wonderful storyteller. I loved these characters.
Ronna Gage
Vampire Chronicles:
One Bite Away
Coming to America
Lovely and smart and fun and not the book you think it’s going to be when you pick it up. Lost myself in it and loved everywhere unexpected it went.
OMG. How much do I love Eamon Roy, the drool-worthy swimmer (cocky, sweet and down-to-earth all at once) at the center of this book?? I have no words. Sarina, the main character, is pretty much engaged to her dud of a boyfriend and trying to ignore the insane chemistry between she and Eamon, who is now her client. Anytime I tire of reading cookie-cutter heroes who make me feel nothing, I return to this book. It reminds me why I fell in love with romances in the first place.
I really enjoyed this book, and loved all of the Austin, Texas references too.
Started out ok but the whole romance thing became very tiresome and predictable. And thoughts were repeated over & over until I just started skipping pages to get through it!
Loved this book. Great read!
I LOVED this book and want to read it again (which I never do)… It was SO good and I can’t wait to see what she writes next 🙂