Review: The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren

The Ones Who Got Away
(The Ones Who Got Away #1)
by Roni Loren
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: Jan 2, 2018
Genre: Romance
Rating:

It’s been twelve years since tragedy struck the senior class of Long Acre High School. Only a few students survived that fateful night—a group the media dubbed The Ones Who Got Away.

Liv Arias thought she’d never return to Long Acre—until a documentary brings her and the other survivors back home. Suddenly her old flame, Finn Dorsey, is closer than ever, and their attraction is still white-hot. When a searing kiss reignites their passion, Liv realizes this rough-around-the-edges cop might be exactly what she needs…

 

 

 

Happy new year, everyone! I’m really excited to post this year’s first book review. This is actually one of my top favorite reads from 2017 (even though it comes out tomorrow). The Ones Who Got Away was a tough story to read. Especially given all the recent events happening in our world. I read this book in October and the Las Vegas shooting is still a hard thing to swallow. So, reading this shortly after that tragic event gave me the feels. I definitely shed a few tears while reading this.

I’m no stranger to Roni Loren’s work. However, I usually read her adult stuff, and while this is also an adult novel, it had a much darker and deeper tone to it. The entire story is underlined by this tragic event that happened when they were seniors in high school. Liv has PTSD from being found in the janitorial closet and having a gun held up to her head by the shooter, Finn has submerged himself into finding the people responsible for giving those two teens guns, and the few others we meet who also survived the attack are also affected my that horrific event over a decade ago. While they all made it out of there alive, not one of them made it out unscathed.

While this story revolves around some dark stuff, it also deals with healing. This group gets together after all these years to film a documentary for the anniversary, and they manage to come together. None of them would have been friends beforehand, but their shared suffering has brought them together and they form a bond that cannot be broken. I know the story focuses on the second chance romance of Finn and Liv, but I really liked seeing the girls all come together. They were such a random mix of personalities and backgrounds but they all had one thing in common, and that is what brought them together and made them become almost sisters.

Now, I won’t lie to you, the romance was off the charts. Which is to be expected when Roni is writing. So, if you are a romance junkie like myself, you won’t be disappointed. That cover? Yeah, that’s a hot and steamy scene from the book. Finn and Liv may not have seen each other since the shooting, but their romance apparently never dwindled throughout the years.

I could honestly go on and on about this story. I just loved everything about it. It was the perfect balance between dark and romance. The time-frame of when I read it in relation to a mass shooting, really brought it home for me. So, it really brought out a lot of emotion. I found myself really attached to all the characters I met, no matter how brief their moment in the story was. Yeah, when you find yourself a blubbering mess because of a dedication to the victims that takes place in the story, you know the author has written one hell of a story.

 

Favorite quote…

“To the outside world, this was a tragedy. Something people discuss over dinner, shake their heads at, or get political about. To us, this was our life, our school, our friends. Asking us to come back here, to talk about all these things again… it requires more than anyone realized. It rips open things that we try to keep stitched up.”
 

7 Thoughts on “Review: The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren

  1. Wow….what a review to start off the new year!!!I just loved reading your thoughts on it since I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pick it up but now I WANT to. I love emotionally turbulent books like this, so I definitely am intrigued.

  2. Oh wow, that really sounds good. I just added it to my wishlist.

  3. This sounds wonderful! I’ve never read this author but I think I need to give her a shot. Great review.

  4. I knew I should have grabbed this one 🙁

  5. Perfect balance between dark and romance? Ia m intrigued

  6. Happy new year to you as well. I just heard about this one today but just read another great review so I’m curious with yours as well

  7. It was a wonderful read. I’m excited to see what she’ll do with the rest of the series 🙂

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