The One That Got Away by Melissa Pimentel

• Title:  The One That Got Away
• Author:  Melissa Pimentel
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
• Pages:  400
• Published:  August 2017 – St. Martin’s Press
• Source:  Publisher

Description:  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… (publisher)

My take:  Persuasion holds a special place in my heart so, while I was excited for the chance to read a retelling of the story, I was also a bit reluctant. I don’t consider myself an Austen purist, but still…

The chapters alternate between Now and Then which fleshed out the story of Ruby and Ethan who find themselves in England for the wedding of her sister to his best friend – ten years after Ruby and Ethan broke up. So, will they find a second chance or have too many years gone by? I had fun finding out. I loved the setting but what I enjoyed the most were the secondary characters – people in the village pub, members of the principal characters’ families, etc. Some of them could be members of my own family – which endeared them all the more to me. The One That Got Away is recommended to fans of modern takes on Austen novels. I’m glad I read it and am tempted to pick up the original one day soon.

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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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaPimentelAuthor/

Buy Links: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250130389

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