THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY is a book that I was interested in reading because I had read that it was a modern retelling of PERSUASION by Jane Austen. I love modern retellings. I usually don't read much contemporary romance fiction, but I have a weakness for retellings so I was thrilled to get the chance to read this book.
I just want to say that, despite how much I enjoyed reading THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY I thought that it would have been more interesting if this book had been more faithful to the original. If you don't know the story of PERSUASION, then let me just explain that it's a story about a girl that gets persuaded by those around her to not marry the man she loves because he's not rich, and then she regrets it. Then, he comes back and he's very prosperous. Will they get a second chance for happiness?
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY is definitely very loosely based on PERSUASION. So loosely that if I had not read that it was a retelling, I would probably not have even noticed it. Nevertheless, the book is good. I quite liked the story about Ruby and Ethan who for the first time in years are seeing each other at Ruby's sister's wedding since Ethan is the best man. Seeing Ethan again makes Ruby realize that she hasn't gotten over him. But, is it too late for them? Ethan doesn't seem to be so interested in rekindling their romance. And, there are younger prettier competitions attending the wedding. Also, let's not forget the fact that she is the one that dumped him when he was a just a bartender and now he's rich. Can they find their way back to each other?
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY turned out to be a pretty funny rom-com. The dialogue in the book is often funny and catchy, and I loved the whole wedding hysteria. As for Ruby and Ethan, well it was pretty easy to see where this book story was leading. Ruby had never truly told Ethan why she broke up with him and I kept waiting for her to do so. I liked Ruby, or rather the older version of her. The younger Ruby seemed to a bit of a snob now and then. In the end, I just want to say that I quite enjoyed this book, despite it being far away from the story of PERSUASION.
No excerpt available.