The One That Got Away by Bethany Chase

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Perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner, this bright, funny debut from a fresh voice in fiction offers a delicious take on love, family, and what it means to build a home of one’s own.

Sarina Mahler thinks she has her life all nailed down: a growing architecture practice in Austin, Texas, and an any-day-now proposal from her loving boyfriend, Noah. She’s well on her way to having the family she’s hoped for since her mother’s death ten years ago. But with Noah on a temporary assignment abroad and retired Olympic swimmer — and former flame — Eamon Roy back in town asking her to renovate his new fixer-upper, Sarina’s life takes an unexpected turn.

Eamon proves to be Sarina’s dream client, someone who instinctively trusts every one of her choices — and Sarina is reminded of all the reasons she was first drawn to him back in the day. Suddenly her carefully planned future with Noah seems a little less than perfect. And when tragedy strikes, Sarina is left reeling. With her world completely upended, she is forced to question what she truly wants in life — and in love.

Full of both humor and heartbreak, The One That Got Away is the story of one woman’s discovery that, sometimes, life is what happens when you leave the blueprints behind.

Sarina is a well-respected and successful architect in her early thirties whose career is gaining traction. She’s her own boss, managing her own projects and genuinely in love with what she does for a living. She has a wonderful roommate Danny, a fun best friend Nicole and a devoted boyfriend, Noah. Noah’s a corporate lawyer and currently in Argentina working on a huge merger. This means that they’re apart for months at a time, resorting to phone calls and skyping to keep in touch. Sarina feels happy with her world, that is until Eamon comes back into her life.

Eamon is the one (night stand) that got away. She thought they’d hit it off perfectly but when the next morning came he had an abrupt change in attitude and left after promising to call her. That left Sarina wondering all sorts of things. Could she have done something wrong? Why didn't she ever hear from him? She was understandably hurt by the quick departure and kept their involvement a secret from Danny, his best friend. She eventually met Noah with whom she has found that stability she values. Eamon’s reappearance illicits mixed emotions. She acknowledges that though she’s happy to see him, there’s still some level of hurt there, naturally making things a wee bit awkward. Worse, he’s still as gorgeous and as sweet as ever. Not that she’s willing to admit that aloud. When he announces that he’s ready to move back to Austin to lay down roots, he hires Sarina to help him find a place to rehab. Great, so now he’s a client!

Here’s what I loved about this book: while it’s a romance, it’s not focused solely on Sarina's love life. She is written as a well-rounded character with so many facets to her. She is a career woman who enjoys her job and has ambitions for expanding. I really liked how absorbed she’d get in her projects and how she described her euphoria over light-bulb moments or ideas that inspired her creations. She’s a go-getter who’s smart, calm and confident in her skills. The other side of her is her close relationship with her step-dad whom she adores. He’s the last connection to her beloved mother and the way she looks up to him is just so incredibly sweet.  

Trouble does arise when she starts developing feelings for Eamon just as her relationship with Noah starts to get shakey. The distance hasn’t helped and as they discuss their long-term future, she realizes that they may not want the same thing. Now as she enters the next stage in her life, she has to give serious thought as to how her ambitions fit into a marriage and possibly children. Or is it the other way around – how do marriage and children fit in with her ambitious plans to become a well-known architect? The fact that she and Noah have differing opinions on the matter is troublesome. Then there’s Eamon on the periphery who's praising her talents while encouraging her to pursue her dreams. He finally comes clean about his feelings for her and why he left all those years ago. Now Sarina is not a whimsical little thing and won't drop everything simply because he announces that he's ready. And this is what I love best about her: as confusing and frustrating as life has become, she's still level-headed enough to examine her motives and not throw away years she has invested in a relationship with Noah without some serious contemplation.

The One That Got Away is simply adorable and I fell for it hard. For me personally it was refreshing to read a female protagonist with that level of maturity and self-assurance. And I can't forget the other co-star in this story - the city of Austin. All I know about it is that it's home to Austin City Limits, South By Southwest and incredibly hot in the summer. Bethany Chase's description of some of the local areas and markets has me wanting to visit sooner rather than later. If you're in the mood for a well-written, well-balanced romance, don't pass up The One That Got Away!

~ Bel

Connect with Bethany on Twitter and Instagram. Being an interior designer herself, she often posts gorgeous pictures that capture her attention!

Jane's Harmony (Jane's Melody #2) by Ryan Winfield

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Sequel to the New York Times bestseller Jane's Melody. 

Starting over is hard to do.

That’s what forty-year-old Jane McKinney learns when she quits her job, sells her home, and leaves Seattle behind to start a new life and pursue the man she loves in Austin. After the death of her daughter, Melody, Jane never thought she would find happiness again – until she met Caleb Cummings. Sensitive, loving, and mature beyond his years, Caleb is a handsome young musician struggling to make ends meet. But when his fortunes take an unexpected and drastic turn for the better, Jane is left wondering where exactly she fits in.

Can you ever leave the past behind? Jane must now decide if she really is willing to commit to a new beginning with Caleb – or if some wounds are just too deep to ever truly mend.

I totally fell in love with Jane’s Melody, a bittersweet story about a woman living in the aftermath of her daughter’s death but eventually finding her own bliss. She follows that bliss which comes in the form of a musician named Caleb to Austin where reality sets in. Here he’s living out his dream of making music and performing to intimate audiences. Jane is still in the throes of new love but finds settling into this world a little harder than she expected. Bless her heart, she tries her best and Caleb does what he can to ease her worries.

Things continue to be hot and intense with them. It’s nice to see that hasn’t change. They’re ready to take their relationship to a new level when the opportunity of a lifetime comes along that he just cannot pass up. Jane is incredibly supportive and encouraging of him pursuing his dreams. I think her confidence comes from not only being older but also having lived through some devastating events that have given her great perspective. Caleb may be young but he’s mature beyond his years. This path that he’s going on will test his convictions and his commitment to Jane.  I could not help but be awed by Caleb’s love for her but also by Jane’s trust in her man.

Caleb isn’t the only one facing changes. Jane has her fair share and some of the changes aren't exactly welcome. Some of her old insecurities come back to haunt her and make her question her ability to overcome them. I was honestly surprised by, but not judgmental, of some of her decisions. Having gone through the whole gamut of emotions in Jane’s Melody, I understood where Jane’s head was at here and why she was spinning. 

Some familiar characters pop up here including that curmudgeonly former neighbor but sadly no goat. There is, however, a raccoon. Don’t ask. Trust me, it’s rather funny.

I recently got to meet Ryan Winfield at RT14. Honestly, I was a wee bit starstruck because “Oh my god, this is Ryan Winfield! The guy who wrote THE sweetest and most touching love scene I have ever read!” Yeah, that was running through my head but I don’t think I was able to string together any words in his presence. Embarrassing for me and most likely amusing for him. He was gracious, a gentleman and tall.  See!

If you're a die hard romantic, live for romantic gestures of all sorts and yearn for that sometimes elusive happily ever after, Jane's Harmony will deliver. I urge you to read Jane's Melody first if you haven't. I'll admit that that is my favourite of the two because despite the tragic circumstance of their meeting, what the two of them discover and start to build is such a beautiful and wondrous thing. Jane's Harmony is a lovely continuation of that with them writing a new chapter in their lives. Oh go on and read it. I'm going to step over to the side and quietly shed a tear of joy.

~ Bel