THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
by Melissa Pimentel
Published by St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: August 22, 2017
A modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, where a young woman comes face-to-face with a lost love, proving that the one that got away is sometimes the one you get back.
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…
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…
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I love a second chance at love story and I'm quickly becoming a fan of retellings, so when I learned that THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY is both of those things, it immediately went on my TBR list. Full disclosure: I have to admit that I've never read Austen's PERSUASION. But I'm sure I will want to read it after finishing THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY.
When I host authors or readers on my blog, one of the first questions I ask them is "Which books made you fall in love with reading and writing?". I love reading the various responses and I usually end up adding a new book to my reading list. When I received Melissa Pimentel's list and saw books by Margaret Atwood and Marian Keyes, I wanted to give her a high-five. These are authors whose books fostered my love of reading too!
Five Books that made Melissa Pimentel Fall in Love with Reading
THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH/Norton Juster – This is the first book I can remember really sparking my imagination. I read it over and over again, and I started dreaming about the world, too. It was the first time I realised the immersive power of books.
GONE WITH THE WIND/Margaret Mitchell – This was one of the first “grown up” books I read. I think I was 10 the first time I read it, and I can still remember the look on my 5th grade teacher’s face when I laid this whopper of a novel on my desk. I absolutely adored it – I still do. I wanted to be Scarlett O’Hara very badly, and I wanted very badly for Rhett Butler to fall madly in love with me (though I definitely didn’t know what happened after he carried her up the stairs. Hugging?) I still reread it every so often, and even though I now know that Scarlett O’Hara is probably not the best role model for a 10 year old girl to aspire to, I still love her (and Rhett) just the same.
SURFACING/Margaret Atwood – I found feminism when I was a Sophomore in high school, and spent the next three years at the public library ploughing my way through the work of Sylvia Plath, Adrienne Rich and Marge Piercy. I loved them all, but I loved Margaret Atwood the most. (Full disclosure: I have a tattoo of a line of her poetry somewhere on my body). Surfacing is her second novel, one that would probably be classified as “literary psychological suspense” now but back then was just a novel that blew my mind. I reread it this summer and it’s just as good as I remember.
RACHEL’S HOLIDAY/Marian Keyes – I think Marian is a genius. Her books manage to deal with very serious situations – grief, addiction, abuse – while still being incredibly funny. It’s such a difficult tightrope to walk and she does it effortlessly. She’s the first writer that made me realise that just because a book is light doesn’t mean it can’t have depth.
PERSUASION/Jane Austen – Of course Jane Austen has to be on the list! I love all of her novels but this one, arguably her most subtle and gentle, is my favorite. Anne has such a wonderful soul, and the slow-burn between her and Captain Wentworth is frankly delicious. I love all of the secondary characters, too, who are invariably charming, infuriating and hilarious in equal measure. I love it so much that I based my own book, THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY, on the premise!
Thank you Melissa for sharing!
About the Author
MELISSA PIMENTEL grew up in a small town in Massachusetts in a house without cable and therefore much of her childhood was spent watching 1970s British comedy on public television. These days, she spends much of her time reading in the various pubs of Stoke Newington and engaging in a long-standing emotional feud with their disgruntled cat, Welles. She works in publishing and is also the author of Love by the Book.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/melispim?lang=en
Buy Links: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250130389
