* * *
How far will one man go for the woman he's loved since
high school?
Jamie Kingston has been Brynn Chandler's best friend
since middle school. Only once was their friendship tested—when Brynn gave
Jamie a single kiss. Since then, they've had an unspoken agreement never to
cross that line again, and she’s ready to let go of the past and move on.
But Jamie has loved Brynn for as long as he can remember,
and now that he's ready to tell her, she has her sights set on someone else.
Knowing this is his last chance, he asks Brynn to go on a two-week road trip.
But their time alone brings old hurts to the surface, and Brynn has to decide
if the one that got away lies at the end of the journey or if he's been by her
side all along.
The One That Got Away – there’s something about that
phrase that always hooks me. It screams of a missed opportunity and the
potential that there may be another chance. And that’s what we have here.
Jamie and Brynn have been hung up on each other since
high school. Their friendship goes farther back but it was in high school that
Jamie developed feelings for Brynn. On a night when she was looking forward to
being kissed by her crush, she ends up kissing Jamie instead. The circumstances
leading up to this are interesting. Anyway, it all kind of dissolves shortly
after with Brynn never truly knowing exactly what it happened.
Ten years later, they’re still best friends and getting
ready for the big high school reunion. This time nothing is going to stop Brynn
from sharing a kiss with her high school crush. Jamie stands by helplessly
because far be it from him to actually speak up and declare his true feelings
to her. When things go terribly awry at the reunion, he make it up to Brynn by suggesting that embark on a road trip together to LA where she can meet up with
her crush and he can take care of his business venture. It doesn’t go every
smoothly with plenty of hiccups along the way. But for Brynn, each of these inconveniences turn out to be an opportunity to
see Jamie in a completely different light.
The narrative, told from both viewpoints, is repetitive
but that’s because both of them are so caught up in reliving where
things went south in their friendship. They’re simply stuck and as the reader you’re stuck with them as their thoughts and memories play on an endless loop. They
keep quiet under the pretense of keeping the status quo. At some point during the roadtrip there’s a shift and I was
so happy because seriously, about time you two!
A few things stood out for me. One, is the playful
chemistry they have. It’s sickeningly obvious how much they adore each other
and the fact that there’s always some sort of mishap when these two are
together is very funny. It’s their thing and it’s cute. Two, is that Jamie and
Brynn feel tangible. They’re both described as attractive with none of the
over-the-top romancey stuff. That just made them relatable to me, like these two
goofballs could very well be my friends hanging about in Chicago, bringing me to my third point: I
did love the Chicago references.
TOTGA is cute and almost like a slapstick comedy at times
when you look at how clumsy they are around each other. If you’re someone who
believes in second chances and adores the friends-to-lovers trope, this will
certainly please you. TOTGA is a fun roadtrip or vacation companion to take
with you!
~ Bel
