This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Williams chapter.
Sarina Mahler’s got a lot going on. A young architect living in Austin, Texas, she’s in the process of growing her architecture practice while finding herself well on her way to being married to long-time beau, Noah. As fate would have it, months before Noah is set to arrive back home from a job assignment for good, Eamon Roy, an Olympic swimmer with good lucks and equal charm, arrives to town on a mission to buy a fixer upper. Looking for an architect, Sarina is recommended to him by a mutual friend and before she knows it she is off hunting for houses with Eamon. As we all know, business relations can be complex, but they become a lot more complicated when the client is a past lover who left without an explanation and suddenly appears in your life again.
Written by Williams’ alum Bethany Chase, The One That Got Away is a modern day love story that does an amazing job of describing the obstacles relationships face today. I was particularly captivated by how well Sarina’s navigation of loss and heartache while maintaining the growth of her business was portrayed. Instead of the typical romantic comedy where the protagonist seems to be only preoccupied with their relationship, Sarina is a woman who spends equal amounts of time working hard to build her business and strengthen her bonds with her family, her lover(s) and her roots. She is complex–funny, rash, sensitive and stubborn–and it is these qualities that make her all the more relatable.
If you’re in the mood for a novel that portrays love and loss with equal parts humor and wisdom, this is one book you’ll want to pick up. The characters are flawed (as all humans are) but lovable and as they deal with the issues and opportunities that arise, it is easy to picture one’s self going along the journey with them.
Wanna know more? Check out the book website here.