Review: The One That Got Away by Melissa Pimentel

Ruby and Ethan were perfect for each other. Until the day they suddenly weren't. Ten years later, Ruby's single, having spent the last decade focusing on her demanding career and hectic life in Manhattan. There's barely time for a trip to England for her little sister's wedding. And there's certainly not time to think about seeing Ethan there for the first time in years. But as the family frantically prepare for the big day, Ruby can't help but wonder if she made the right choice all those years ago? Because there's nothing like a wedding for stirring up the past . . .

Review: this is most definitely one of those books that sucks you right in from the word go. I knew as soon as I read abut Ruby and trying to finish up everything she had to at work so that she could get away for a couple of days to the UK for her sister's wedding that I was going to enjoy spending time with her. The whole book starts in this whirlwind way and then we get to know more about Ruby and her 'one that got away' via various flashbacks to her life as it was when she embarked upon this career which is keeping her so busy and what life was like when she moved to New York ten years ago. I really liked this structure and it was helpful in putting THEN and NOW between the flashbacks. Sometimes chapter started with email communication, something which is always fun to read and sometimes we were just thrust right into the action. 

I found myself really identifying with Ruby as a character, and not just because she is the same age as me, but also because she is doing what so many of us are doing right now, working ourselves silly because we are in our dream job in our dream city. I also like the fact that she has this front that she puts on, partly due to that one that got away, and slowly, we start to see her letting more and more into her life. I was really rooting for her and really liked the development that she had achieved by the closing stages of the book. 

There are, of course, some wonderful supporting characters too. I loved Ruby's BFF Jess, she was a real grounding influence, and again someone we will all be able to identify with. I also really liked the strong family values that run throughout the book. Of course, there being a wedding, family are going to be heavily involved, but I liked that way that the family unit developed as the book progressed. 

Of course I loved the setting. We switch between New York, Massachusetts and the North East of England, all places I cold picture well and the feeling of all the places featured was described very well and jumped off the pages and into my reading experience. A few of the phrases that Ruby used with her friends and family got a little repetitive but they kind of became her trademark so I came to overlook them. This book definitely had me on an emotional roller coaster, especially towards the end. I liked the settings, I loved the structure and I thoroughly enjoyed embarking on the journey of discovery with Ruby and the rest of the characters in this novel. Definitely one to add to your TBR this spring!

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