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A review by nehasreading
The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon
1.0
This book needed trigger warnings. Every review needed to mention the TWs. All of them. The author's note at the end of the book should've been at the start, and should've given readers a heads up on what to expect because the cover and the blurb certainly don't. It felt like this book was beating me over the head with dark/triggering material. It felt like there was something new every few chapters and it was EXHAUSTING.
Yes, there are spoilers in the TWs, but I'm not going to hide them behind the spoiler tag because I think it's important to know what you're signing up for. The TWs include: suicide bomber/bombing, rape/SA, abuse, alcoholism, mental health issues, loss of a loved one, abandonment, cheating, cancer, IVF, chronic pain, manslaughter.
TOTGA was packed to the brim with triggers and it was just too much. That's the main reason I had to give the book the rating that I did. It felt like it was trying to be A Little Life by covering all these topics, except it didn't do a good job of it. It felt like the author had a spin-the-wheel of triggers and whatever the wheel landed on was what was gonna be added to the story.
I would've considered giving this a higher rating IF the characters or the overall payout made the 300+ pages worth it, but they didn't. The early days of Clara and Benjamin's relationship made it seem like this book was trying to seem like the next Normal People, except Benjamin was a wet wipe and Clara was delulu (so, so problematic!). And while Benjamin is a decent character, it felt like Clara didn't grow at all. She was messy then, she's messy now. Their reunion was lackluster and the 'reveals' - for example: the fateful night that separated them - was predictable. The jump in timelines was confusing.
I was gonna give this 2-stars originally, but the final few triggers in the last act of the book was where I was like enough is enough.
Yes, there are spoilers in the TWs, but I'm not going to hide them behind the spoiler tag because I think it's important to know what you're signing up for. The TWs include: suicide bomber/bombing, rape/SA, abuse, alcoholism, mental health issues, loss of a loved one, abandonment, cheating, cancer, IVF, chronic pain, manslaughter.
TOTGA was packed to the brim with triggers and it was just too much. That's the main reason I had to give the book the rating that I did. It felt like it was trying to be A Little Life by covering all these topics, except it didn't do a good job of it. It felt like the author had a spin-the-wheel of triggers and whatever the wheel landed on was what was gonna be added to the story.
I would've considered giving this a higher rating IF the characters or the overall payout made the 300+ pages worth it, but they didn't. The early days of Clara and Benjamin's relationship made it seem like this book was trying to seem like the next Normal People, except Benjamin was a wet wipe and Clara was delulu (so, so problematic!). And while Benjamin is a decent character, it felt like Clara didn't grow at all. She was messy then, she's messy now. Their reunion was lackluster and the 'reveals' - for example: the fateful night that separated them - was predictable. The jump in timelines was confusing.
I was gonna give this 2-stars originally, but the final few triggers in the last act of the book was where I was like enough is enough.