A Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2018 winner!“Absolutely unputdownable, delivers all of the feels! Roni Loren is a new favorite. Loved this.”―COLLEEN HOOVER, #1 New York Times bestsellerMost 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 … 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
She laughed and kissed him. This morning she’d melted down. But somehow this man had her laughing and turned on only a few hours later. Everything inside her felt buoyed.
She felt…light.
She’d forgotten what that felt like.
The Ones Who Got Away Series:
The Ones Who Got Away (Book 1)
The One You Can’t Forget (Book 2)
The One You Fight For (Book 3)
Readers are Raving About about The Ones Who Got Away:
“Phenomenal. Gets my highest recommendation!”―LORELEI JAMES, New York Timesbestselling author
“Richly layered and full of emotion… Unforgettable.”―KRISTEN CALLIHAN, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
“Unique, swoony, and lively.”―SARINA BOWEN, USA Today bestselling author
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Roni Loren is a new author to me, and the tragic event that unites the characters in this series is handled in a compelling and moving fashion without getting bogged down in a very difficult topic. I liked Finn and Liv’s book, but so far this one is my favorite. Rebecca is a touching character, but Wes absolutely stole my heart. They’re a couple with much to overcome but so many reasons to root for them! I’ll be looking for more of her work, for sure.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Erica –
As someone who doesn’t read much mainstream contemporary romance, I was hooked by the blurb for The Ones Who Got Away. This series features the survivors of a school shooting, more than a decade later, learning to deal with survivor’s guilt and move forward in their lives. While I suggest reading the first installment in the series, The One You Can’t Forget could easily be read as a standalone.
First and foremost, I need point out how this is not fluffy but it’s also not nail-biting emotional stress, either. While Rebecca is suffering from PTSD, survivor’s guilt, and shame for her behavior back in high school. The emotional gut-punch rides just beneath the surface. Not too light. Not too heavy. Perfect for a wide array of romance readers who need a realistic portrayal.
Rebecca is a divorce layer, more than jaded and pessimistic after growing up from being a believe-in-fairy-tales teenage girl. She was the good girl. The girl next door. The girl who had an unrequited crush on her best friend. The girl everyone assumed had it all. But that is not Rebecca at all.
The novel starts out during another traumatic time, one that freezes Rebecca. To the rescue comes a stray dog and a down-on-his-luck chef. Wes brings that delicious angst that romance readers eat by the spoonful. Brooding, wounded, yet a man driven to make his dream reality… and Rebecca is the lawyer who single-handedly took his dream away.
Wes and Rebecca shine the most bantering during the getting-to-know-you stage of their friendship. They’re drawn together, even with this being their second chance after a not-so great first impressions. Another layer of angst is Rebecca’s perfectionist, controlling, smothering politically minded father.
Wes teaches underprivileged kids how to cook, and this draws a dark and gritty reality at how many youths who are forced into crime to survive.
With many layers, what reads as a mainstream contemporary romance is much deeper than the surface. The romance is warm and sweet, yet intimately realistic as the pair moves from friendship to more. But there is heavier subject matter that gives just enough to develop a well-rounded, realistic, and enjoyable novel.
Why 4 instead of 5 stars? When I compare the first book to the second, my feverish need to click the pages wasn’t there. I wasn’t as emotionally invested in Rebecca and Wes. The first felt inspired, and this felt as if it was Rebecca’s turn for a book but there was something missing – a flatness, fill-in-the-blanks feel. The specific characters, the angst, and newness of the first installment hooked me more, resonated with me. I did have a difficult time connecting to Rebecca or Wes. While realistic, I didn’t think Rebecca self-sabotaging or spineless, so the conflict that arises didn’t fit the character. I was satisfied and happy at the 60% mark of the story, and felt it meandered and created manufactured conflict to rush toward an ending.
Since this book was more focused on the narrators, there was little to no scene-time featuring the fellow Long Acre survivors, which took away from that need to know what happens next sensation I absolutely adore.
Highly recommend, I’m more than eager to read the next installment.
Ruthie –
This is the second book in the series, and I would highly recommend that you read them in order. I have a feeling that if you read this as a standalone, you would still think it a really good story, but miss quite a bit of the context.
Both Wes and Rebecca have tumultuous pasts, and in fact, whilst the shooting had a huge impact on Rebecca, it is not the only difficulty that she faced as a teenager. Her mother left for another man, and her father piled on the pressure of expectation. She has, however, been harbouring a secret about the shooting that never really leaves her and has affected her life and relationships ever since. She is now back in contact with a group of survivors, thanks to the documentary, which features in book one. We learned a little there of the guilt that she still felt.
Wes also has a checkered past but is finally coming out the other side. He has lost the trust of his family and is determined not to make any more mistakes. As we get to know him better, it is easy to fall for him, as life has not been kind.
Somehow these two very different people provide a friendship to each other which is even more important than the chemistry, although they can’t deny that for long either. There is no doubt that the romance builds in a bit of a whirlwind, and one cannot help but worry about their state of mind or heart. However, Roni Loren has plotted this book with great skill, and ensured that we feel the passage of time to fit their emotions, rather than the other way around. It is always believable and very desirable.
By the time you have thrown in an injured stray dog, an abused teen who needs support, and a bright yellow bus, this is a very enjoyable and uplifting book to read.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The One You Can’t Forget (The Ones Who Got Away #2) by Roni Loren to read and review.
I LOVE Roni’s books!
This series is unlike any I have read, specifically the subject matter (the main characters are now grown-up survivors of a school shooting). But Roni truly does a fantastic job with that angle, and the emotions you can imagine being associated with a traumatic event like that are written so beautifully.
In this book, I got to know Rebecca, who was actually shot. Needless to say, that left her with physical and emotional scars that made for some interesting triggers throughout the story.
Wes had his own battles he had faced and his own stigma he was still living with. I enjoyed reading his dedication to rebuilding his life, and his dedication to Rebecca, once they met.
And, even in the midst of the emotions, Roni seamlessly, and appropriately, works in plenty of tension, steam and love.
She’s one of those authors that I don’t even need to read what the book is about; once I see that she wrote it, I’m a-gonna read it!!!
(I was given a copy of this book in consideration of my honest thoughts)
The One You Can’t Forget by Roni Loren is the second book in the The Ones Who Got Away series. Rebecca Lindt is known as a survivor. She is admired for surviving the Long Acre shooting but she feels like an imposter, undeserving to be one who got away when so many others died. As nothing can change the past, she throws herself into her work. Never slowing down to dwell on what she cannot change. Wes Garret is trying to get back on his feet. He lost his dream restaurant, his money and his mind after a vicious divorce. When he intervenes in a mugging and saves Rebecca, his life gets complicated. Rebecca was his ex-wife’s attorney. While he wants to hate her for her hand in his destruction, he can’t deny their attraction. When Rebecca’s secret is out at risk, they both discover that they need each other
I have been excited to read the rest of the series since I read book 1, The Ones Who Got Away. This book did not disappoint. Filled with love, romance, sexy flirty and heartbreaking moments, I cried, I laughed and I sighed. I rarely cry at books but this one had a scene which just broke my heart and I eagerly turned the page, hoping for a happy resolution. I loved Rebecca as a hard hitting divorce attorney who hid a deep secret. A secret that was eating her up. Wes was trying to rebuild his life after his ex-wife destroyed it. When a twist of fate, the two are brought together and the sparks fly. As romances go, we know Rebecca and Wes end up together, but how they get there is a great journey, I highly recommend The One You Can’t Forget.
The One You Can’t Forget is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook.
The Ones Who Got Away series
Book 1 The Ones Who Got Away
Book 2 The One You Can’t Forget
Loved it! Sizzling chemistry between the main characters, Wes and Rebecca. I adored Wes — he was a bit beta, which is unique. Not at all the pushy, demanding hero (which I tend to sometimes write myself). This guy is so lovable!!! A haunting series. So well done. Believable conflict, imperfect characters. Perfection. (And, again, STEAMY!)Roni Loren The One You Can’t Forget (The Ones Who Got Away Book 2)
A GREAT READ!!!
My first Roni Loren read definitely won’t be my last! Loved the complex, flawed characters and the steamy sweetness of their connection.
The storyline of this series is definitely emotional on many levels. You can’t help but feel so much for the main characters that are the survivors of a school shooting and their struggles to overcome such a tragedy. This is Rebecca’s (a survivor) and Wes’s (a previous acquaintance of sorts ReBecca was his ex wife’s divorce attorney) story. Wes rescues Rebecca in a robbery and they have an instant spark but once they realize who the other is it put a damper on things. Without giving too much away, they both have a lot of baggage to overcome. Once certain things come to light, they both help each other so much in overcoming their pasts. So glad they got their second chance for their HEA.
Since I loved the first book in this series, I had very high expectations of the second book. And I was definitely not disappointed. Rebecca and Wes are both two great characters I loved getting to know. Although it seems they have nothing in common, they connect with each other from the moment they met. The attraction is instant and the chemistry between them is just addicting to read about. I loved how they slowly got to know each other better and how they both made each other better.
This series is just one of those I can’t seem to get enough of. I love the characters, the story lines and the emotions, and I just want to read more. Although this book is the second book in the series, you can read it as a standalone. But I’m glad I was able to read the first book first, just so I knew a little more about the shooting.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been totally lost in a book. Loren’s writing make for an easy read, her multi-layered characters shine, and it’s unpredictable within the normal expectations of a romance. I hadn’t read book 1, and this book stands alone, but I’ll be sure to read that one, and book 3 as well.
I read the first book in this series and had given it five stars, but this second book is even better. The first book was mostly about the tragedy that took place when the characters were in high school, and how they all came together ten years later when a documentary was being filmed about the incident and its aftermath. I expected this second book in the series to be more of the same, but it was actually a whole other story in itself. The incidents that took place in Rebecca’s past certainly affected her present, but this story was about so much more than that.
First of all, the main characters are a divorce lawyer and the ex-husband of one of her former clients. I don’t want to spoil anything, but that should tell you that there’s going to be some conflicting emotions! We already know about Rebecca’s past, but we meet Wes and learn that he has had a difficult time of things, as well. These two characters have the odds stacked against them from the start. Will they overcome them and find a happily ever after?
I enjoy Ms. Loren’s writing style very much; she keeps you on the edge of your seat and more than once makes you say “Wooooooooowwwwwwwwwww…..!” I am excited for the rest of the books in the series. I voluntarily reviewed this book for Netgalley.
Absolutely stellar storytelling. Two wounded people who healed each other – it was beautiful and fun and hot and wonderful!
this book is real. That’s what I liked best. That guilt that hits you in your youth is hard to put down after you’ve carried it into adulthood. The point being who we were in high school cannot be equally compared to who we are in adulthood. its easy to look backward, with life’s experiences and see what we should have done.
I read the first in this series and was blown away. This one was good, too, but not my favorite. I still bought the next one and look forward to reading it.
Rebecca is prim and pulled together, a super busy divorce lawyer who no longer believes in happy endings. Wes is here to save the day, but he is still scrambling from losing it all. Neither feel worthy of the love they find in each other, and they bring out sides of the other that are new and full of possibility. I loved them together, I like a loosened up Rebecca, filled with excitement, and I like a confident Wes.
The undercurrent of this series is the lasting effects of tragedy. Everyone keeps it in their own way, thinking they are in some way responsible, wondering if they could have done things differently. And it affects who they grow into, the relationships they have, how they think about themselves. The characters in The Ones Who Got Away series have experienced something no one ever should have to, and understand one another in a way no one else can.
Admittedly, I was not a fan of Rebecca in the first book. As a high schooler, she came across as a spoiled girl who thought things should always go her way. As an adult, it was obvious that things did NOT always go her way. I was looking forward to this book just to be able to see who she really was and how she was dealing with what happened to her and her friends.
What we see is a woman jaded by love, due mostly to her work as a divorce lawyer but also a little bit to love that isn’t returned by the people she most wants it from. She’s a woman dealing with PTSD because of what happened to her, which is only exacerbated when she is mugged at gunpoint one late night.
Coming to her rescue was Wes, a man who is also dealing with the demons of his past and the anger he feels at not having any control over the blows he’s been dealt. The last thing he expects is to fall for the woman who played a part in ripping away what he had hoped would be his future.
While this story wasn’t as emotional as the first book and I wish there had been more of an appearance of the rest of the Long-Acre gang this was still a great read. The chemistry between Wes and Rebecca was fantastic. The tension between Rebecca and her father was frustrating but felt authentic and necessary to her story. I loved the aspect of the cooking classes with the troubled teens and the idea of the school bus turned food truck. It all added up to me being more excited to see more of all of these characters in Kincaid’s book.
*Although this book could be read as a standalone, I think that it would absolutely benefit readers to read the first book in the series as it goes more in-depth about the trauma that Becca and her friends endured in high school.
*I received an ARC from NetGalley for voluntary review
Roni Loren has done it again with the second book in this series. I loved the first one, The Ones Who Got Away, and I liked this one even a little more (which I didn’t think was possible). Loren is a talented writer who creates fantastic, intriguing storylines and wonderful characters with real depth. I highly recommend this book for readers looking for a great read that will hold their attention from start to finish.
I wasn’t sure after The One Who Got Away that I would like Rebecca, however I enjoyed hers and Wes’ book! She’s still straight as an arrow things are only black and white until Wes helps her learn there can be a grey area. Rebecca is the friend we all want to have, caring and loyal. Wes, oh I love him! From the first page he had me swooning and rooting for his HEA. When their paths are thrown together their chemistry leapt off my ereader. Both broken and looking for redemption they’re the perfect pair to help each other to mend.
If you’re looking for a great romance with a cuddly dog defender then I highly recommend reading The One You Can’t Forget!
Oh my goodness. I literally just finished reading The One You Can’t Forget a couple minutes ago. I turned the last page with such a big smile on my face. The book has all of the feels. On the front of the book, there is a quote by one of my other favorite authors Colleen Hoover.
“Absolutely unputdownable. Roni Loren is a new favorite” – Colleen Hoover.
I must say that Colleen is absolutely correct. I had been looking forward to reading this book since I finished the first book in the series. Roni Loren did not disappoint in this novel either. It had all of the heart strings pulled, the quippy liners, and the strong female character. Wes is definitely a new book boyfriend, same as Finn from book one.
The writing is fantastic. The dialogue is realistic and fluid. The characters are developed and likeable. The story line is a captivating and poignant topic in this day and age.
This is book two in The One’s Who Got Away series and it features Wes and Rebecca. I loved the romance between these two. Wes was amazingly sexy and he and Rebecca made magic together. I loved the job Wes had working with the kids. I just couldn’t get in to the Long Acre part of the story line. It felt a little out of place to me in this beautiful romance.
The characters were fantastic! I look forward to reading more from this author.
I’m going to gush a little about this one, y’all, so be patient with me, OK?
First of all, I’ve loved this author since I read Nice Girls Don’t Ride. I ADORED the first book in this series, The Ones Who Got Away. So when I saw this book on NetGalley, I clicked and begged for a copy faster than I’ve ever clicked before. I was expecting greatness, so the potential for disappointment was high. But it was even better than I expected. (Squee!!)
Just to be clear, you can read The One You Can’t Forget without having read the previous book in the series. This one stands alone nicely. (Although you should totally read The Ones Who Got Away because Finn is swoon-worthy. Trust me.) I love a good series of interconnected standalones, and this one fits the bill beautifully.
Becca is a fabulous heroine. She’s a traumatized survivor of a high school shooting, but she didn’t let her fears, injuries, or PTSD hold her back. She went on to become a successful attorney. (And she’s really good at her job, so there’s a decent amount of competence porn in the story, which I LOVE.) She’s also an empathetic, giving person who doesn’t hesitate to put the needs of others above her own needs.
But while I loved Becca, I REALLY adored Wes as a hero. He’s made some mistakes in his past, battled some demons of his own, but he also didn’t let those mistakes/demons ruin his life. He’s hot and talented and quick-witted, and even though his romantic history isn’t the greatest, he isn’t a commitment-phobe who spent his post-divorce years whoring around town. (And THANK YOU to the author for making him a down-on-his-luck chef, as opposed to a Navy Seal, shifter, billionaire, or dom. Seriously, I can’t thank you enough!)
Wes also didn’t let his ego get in the way of accepting Becca’s financial help (not for his own gain, but for the kids he was working with as a charity project) at one point in the story, and that turned me on every bit as much as the sex scenes in the book. (Sex scenes, mind you, that were SUPER hot) That’s just something you don’t see every day in romance land. Wes was alpha without being a stubborn, jerkwad, alphahole. In other words, Wes is super high-class book boyfriend material.
Long-story-short, lovers of sexy, emotional, realistic romance reads with characters who act like grown-ups at all times (and who also happen to rock some delightful witty banter), should 1-click this book immediately. I can’t recommend it (and this series) highly enough.