The Ones Who Got Away

Survivors of a high school massacre reunite twelve years later for a documentary at the school. Not only does this drag up memories, it also rekindles past relationships, both friendly and romantic.
Finn is a hero who feels he failed the girl he loved and who is still trying to set things right by playing the unlikely hero. Olivia, a badass on the surface yet vulnerable inside, has done everything in her life on the safe side since that fateful day. After unearthing a letter she wrote as a senior, she is finally ready to throw off her shackles and take a chance on allowing herself to feel, and on being brave enough to live a life that scares her. These two come together to sort out their emotional baggage and find peace and forgiveness show more with themselves and each other. It's not easy, but a whole lot of messy, which is also the reality of a situation such as this.
The way the shooting was dealt with, including the perpetrators, victims and survivors was classy and detailed, focusing a lot on the survivors and what they've done with their lives. Nicely done.
Author's voice is unique and witty, her writing use of figurative language is creative but not strained or forced. Her words flow nicely, which lends to the interest of the plot itself.
This is a love story, of all kinds, which touched me deeply. As a balance, Loren infused enough levity and creativity to make a well rounded novel that was uplifting when it could have gone the other way.
*I received an arc from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review show less

Holy PTSD, Batman.

These characters are all a decade and some change away from surviving a school shooting. Some of them were shot and some were spared but no one escaped without trauma.

This story follows Finn and Liv were macking on each other in a janitor's college during prom when the shooting started. Finn leapt out and saved an old friend and ended up leading the shooters right to her. I don't think they ever spoke again until a documentary shows up to talk to the survivors.

I really appreciated that the lady survivors banded together despite not really being friends in the before to have drinks and open their time capsule. None of them accomplished the things their 18 year old selves envisioned and that just happens - horrific show more disaster or not.

Liv and Finn are both a mess but I thought their relationship made sense. show less

4.5 stars.

The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren is a sweet yet steamy second chance at love romance that is both poignant and uplifting. This first installment in The Ones Who Got Away series features four friends twelve years after they survived a fictitious high school shooting that occurred during prom.

In high school, Olivia "Liv" Arias was a bit of a rebel with a quirky fashion sense. The daughter of a landscaper, her family expected her to follow a traditional path of attending college and earning a sensible degree. After surviving the horrific shooting at her high school, Liv went a bit off the rails afterwards, but since graduating college, she is focused on her career as a web designer. Returning to her hometown for an interview show more about the shooting, she reunites with the three friends who supported each other after the massacre and surprisingly, her secret high school boyfriend, Finn Dorsey. Meeting face to face for the first time since that ill-fated night that forever changed their lives, Liv and Finn discover their attraction still burns brighter than ever, but with their lives taking very different paths, is there any chance for a future together?

After opening the time capsule Liv, Rebecca Lindt, Kincaid Breslin and Taryn Landry buried after the mass shooting, all of the women realize how far their lives have diverged from their high school dreams. Liv gave up her dreams of becoming a photographer and while satisfied with her web design career, she quickly realizes how empty and sterile her life has become. She has no close friendships and while she has enjoyed many casual flings, she has never had a serious relationship with any of the men she has dated. These realizations lead to her to reassess her life and while initially uncertain about making any major changes, Liv finally decides it is time to step out of her comfort zone just a bit. Deciding to begin her photography hobby again, Liv accepts Finn's (platonic) offer to spend weekends at the lake house he is renting for the summer.

Just like Liv and the other survivors, Finn also struggled to overcome the adverse effects of the shooting. He chose to face his fears head on and he eventually entered into a career in law enforcement. After the end of a very long and difficult case, Finn has no choice but to take time off from work. Spending time with Liv is no hardship but he does have to work hard to keep their interactions strictly platonic. While he greatly enjoys Liv's company, Finn unexpectedly has to wrestle with his burning desire for his former flame while also experiencing residual guilt from their teenage romance and the night of the shooting.

There are absolutely no expectations from either Liv or Finn about their renewed acquaintance. They genuinely enjoy each other's company and despite their mutual attraction, both agree friendship is the wisest course for them. However, they finally decide they can handle a no strings fling that will end when Finn departs at summer's end. But with such a complicated history between them, will Liv and Finn be able to keep their hearts out of their fun, flirty and sizzling hot summer romance?

The Ones Who Got Away is a heartfelt and engaging romance. Liv and Finn are endearing characters who have managed to thrive despite their traumatic past. Roni Loren handles the details of the mass shooting and the aftereffects in the survivors in a forthright and sensitive manner. The obstacles that Liv and Finn must overcome on their way to happily ever after are realistic and the resolution of the conflict that threatens their future together is unexpectedly romantic. The novel's conclusion is emotional but at the same time, immensely gratifying. Rebecca's cryptic comments regarding the shooting will leave readers impatiently awaiting the next installment in The Ones Who Got Away series. show less

The Ones Who Got Away is the first book in a series by the same name about several survivors of a school shooting (at the prom, nonetheless! OMG, the descriptions/nightmares here were vivid--just a heads-up), twelve years later. This one deals with two of the survivors, Liv and Finn; the only other survivors we meet are all women (Rebecca, Kincaid, and Taryn) so presumably their SOs will not be fellow survivors...? Though I could be wrong--time will tell.

Anyway...

The four women, who hadn't been particularly close before the shooting, came together afterwards and at one point before graduating and going their separate ways, wrote letters to be opened in ten years in which they each pledged--to themselves and to honor their classmates who show more didn't "get away"--to do certain things with their lives. They all missed the decade mark, but when they are brought back to town for a documentary about their experience, the woman who had custody of the letters brings them with her. Over drinks, the four of them read their letters out loud and decide what they have or haven't accomplished (with not a little bit of justification and hedging on some of their parts--and a teensy bit of cringing, too ;))

Liv's pretty sure she doesn't actually need to go through with her younger self's plans--and absolutely sure that she doesn't need to pick things up with Finn where they left off (she was from the wrong side of the tracks, and his father was very controlling and not terribly nice, to put it mildly, so theirs was a secret relationship) but of course fate--and Ms. Loren--have other ideas. I loved watching Liv and Finn as they reconnected, came to terms with their pasts, and figured out a way that they could move together into a future--second chance romance at its best :)

I'm not sure how this managed to be my first book from Ms. Loren, but it absolutely won't be my last! Rebecca's story is next--can't wait!

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. show less

I received a three-chapter sample of this book from NetGalley to read and review. Let me just quickly say: Put this on your TBR list now! Expected release date is January 2, 2018.

Author Roni Loren has effectively produced a warm romance surrounding a tragic high school event. I wouldn't have thought that premise could have been done in a tasteful way, but she's done it. And let me just go ahead and lower the classiness level a bit by saying, "Hubba, hubba!"

"We're supposed to move on, but not too much." Olivia Arias returns to Long Acre High School twelve years after a prom night shooting turned her small Texas town upside down. She still suffers from nightmares and panic attacks, but she and a few others have agreed to be interviewed show more for a documentary which will serve as a fundraiser to help the victims' families. She knows going in that reliving the events of that night are going to be difficult. She's surprised to learn that her former secret flame, Finn Dorsey, has also agreed to be interviewed. She hasn't seen him in over a decade after his family moved away.

"They stole not just my friends' lives but the 'could be's' from us."

They both are carrying secrets from the night of the shooting. Both are fighting with guilt and unresolved feelings about the incident and about each other. Although as adults Liv and Finn feel an instant and undeniable attraction toward each other, they are required to rein it in (for now), and for the reader it feels like a slow-burn romance because we are taken back to relive their more innocent teenage years, with secret stolen moments and make-out sessions that only involved kissing. I was impressed by the author's ability to create a believable romance between these two, even in the span of the three chapters included in the sampler.

This story also gives insight into what it must be like for survivors of a tragic event like this, especially to people so young. Not only are they dealing with the trauma of the event itself, but they are now thrust into the media spotlight, tagged with a persona given to them from one fragment of time out of their lives. The Hero. The One in the Closet. The Wounded Valedictorian.

"Before that, we were totally different things, but we got stuck with how they branded us. ...Everything we were before that night got erased. Gone. Just like that."

I'll be on the lookout for other titles by this author. She has a real talent for manipulating the mood of the story causing the reader to be drawn in immediately and feel a part of it. show less

School shootings are a difficult topic to take on but I really respect the way this was treated. The characters dealt with feelings of guilt and anxiety that can come with being a trauma survivor while still also not making that the one and only aspect of them.

The relationship that developed through the book was a witty and kind and made me smile quite a bit - which as I was listening to it as an audio book did make me look a little bit like a maniac in public

In book time, that took me forever.

This was yet another book that could be broken up in thirds. Roni Loren was at her best when dealing with the emotional history of the characters, including the healing of the trauma of their high school shooting.

What wasn't so great was the relationship part. It was rushed and sex-based. I'm not sure people apart for 12 years can pick up so exactly where they left off considering high school secret relationships are a fair bit different than those at 30. There were none of those "moments" I live for in their relationship. There was angst, healing=banging=love, and angst.

This is incredibly unfortunate because I felt the parts that were strong were really strong. You could feel for the characters. The show more descriptions were so vivid in parts I felt Liv's grief. If the characters had gotten to build their relationship and know each other just a little bit, even fight, this would've been so much better. The friendship between the four women was a highlight as well.

I'll definitely continue the series though. show less