Expected publication date December 31st 2019
The highly-anticipated fourth book in Roni Loren’s unforgettable The Ones Who Got Away series.
She got a second chance at life.
Will she take a second chance at love?
Kincaid Breslin wasn’t supposed to survive that fateful night at Long Acre when so many died, including her boyfriend—but survive she did. She doesn’t know why she got that chance, but now she takes life by the horns and doesn’t let anybody stand in her way
Ashton Isaacs was her best friend when disaster struck all those years ago, but he chose to run as far away as he could. Now fate has brought him back to town, and Ash doesn’t know how to cope with his feelings for Kincaid and his grief over their lost friendship. For Ash has been carrying secrets, and he knows that once Kincaid learns the truth, he’ll lose any chance he might have had with the only woman he’s ever loved.
Prior to reading this series if you had told me I would actually enjoy a series that is rooted in the aftereffects of a school shooting I would have been very skeptical. In addition my previous exposure to Roni’s writing has been her quite spicier ‘Loving on the Edge’ and ‘Pleasure Principle’ series which were a completely different type of experience. While I enjoyed all of the books in this series, I think this last outing was the strongest and most emotional as I’m a sucker for the best friends to lover trope with a huge helping of angst thrown on top.
Kincaid and Ashton were both sympathetic characters who had very different but tough backgrounds even before the tragedy of the prom shooting. Kincaid grew up with a mom who constantly brought home new men and knew that many people in town viewed her in the same light. While Ash came from a middle-class background, he had a strained relationship with his parents due to the attitude and behavior of his football coach father. They bonded in grade school and their friendship only grew over the years, including working together at the bookstore owned by the parents of Kincaid’s boyfriend Graham. What Kincaid never knew is that Ash had developed feelings for her but knowing that she had a crush on Graham, he had suppressed them because all he wanted was for Kincaid to be happy.
Their friendship was torn apart after the shooting and Graham’s death as Ash left Long Acre and Kincaid behind in his haste to escape the events of that night and the guilt he felt over his actions at the prom. Because Kincaid had blocked most of the night due to the trauma, she felt abandoned and mourned the loss of not only her boyfriend but her best friend as well. Over the years they had only run into each other at Christmas until 14 years later when Ash returns to town after a breakup and they are forced to face each other and eventually the full truth of what happened that night is revealed.
The journey Kincaid and Ash go through in this book is an intense one, and as a reader your emotions are really put through the wringer. This was definitely my favorite of the series and I would highly recommend the whole series with the caveat that the subject matter may not be for everyone; while the shooting scenes are minimized they may still be too much for some readers. In addition there is are elements of domestic abuse including both physical and mental though to a much lesser extent, so please keep both warnings in mind before starting.
I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I love the covers for these books-they are absolutely gorgeous!
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for the review copy, all opinions are my own.