It’s never been casual to write fiction touched by gun violence and school shootings, but given the current state of affairs in the United States, it’s particularly tense. In The Ones Who Got Away, Roni Loren manages to do it with sensitivity, focusing on the survivors and their lives 12 years after a prom night shooting. That said, if you have personal experience with gun violence, you may need to skip this book.
Being dubbed The Ones Who Got Away isn’t just a framing device and over the course of the book, both Olivia and Finn are continually working through issues and on themselves as they re-evaluate their lives and motivations 12 years on. It’s about the pursuit of happiness and fulfillment.
As a second chance romance, it’s a pretty satisfying read. The chemistry and banter between Olivia and Finn is there from the word go, so it was easy to see how the attraction re-sparked easily after 12 years. There’s definitely some making up for lost time to it. I will say, Olivia is more forgiving than I would be, and willing to write off certain things to being stupid teenagers.
This was my first Roni Loren read and I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in the series, The One You Can’t Forget, out June 5.
4 stars.