Book Review: The One That Got Away by Leigh Himes—and a Giveaway!

The One That Got Away
Leigh Himes
Hachette Books, June 2017
ISBN 978-0-316-30570-9
Trade Paperback

From the publisher—

Meet Abbey Lahey . . .

Overworked mom. Underappreciated publicist. Frazzled wife of an out-of-work landscaper. A woman desperately in need of a vacation from life–and who is about to get one, thanks to an unexpected tumble down a Nordstrom escalator.

Meet Abbey van Holt . . .

The woman whose life Abbey suddenly finds herself inhabiting when she wakes up. Married to handsome congressional candidate Alex van Holt. Living in a lavish penthouse. Wearing ball gowns and being feted by the crème of Philadelphia society. Luxuriating in the kind of fourteen-karat lifestyle she’s only read about in the pages of Town & Country.

The woman Abbey might have been . . . if she had said yes to a date with Alex van Holt all those years ago.

In the tradition of the romantic comedy Sliding Doors and Lionel Shriver’s The Post-Birthday World, Leigh Himes’s irresistible debut novel tells the funny and touching story of an ordinary woman offered an extraordinary opportunity to reboot her life, explore the road not taken, and ultimately, find her true self–whoever that may be.

I confess, the description of this book reminds me of a Hallmark movie (I’m addicted to those things) that came out a few Christmases ago. I don’t remember the name of it but the mom in the story finds herself in the life she might have had if she’d married the other guy. Come to think of it, Hallmark has used that theme more than once but the point is, I liked the movie and thought I’d like this book, too.

And I did, with reservations.

Abbey is a likeable woman, largely because of how she stumbles her way through this new reality/fantasy. She’s funny and inventive and determined to learn how to live the high life. This is definitely a “the grass is greener on the other side” scenario and, as you might expect, the new experience of being part of the social elite of Philadelphia and married to a politician kind of overwhelms Abbey, not to mention the shock of waking up in this fantasy. On the other hand, Abbey did irritate me with her too easy acceptance of the change and the shallowness that creeps out but I also empathized with her dissatisfaction and frustrations with her old life.

I sound conflicted, don’t I? I guess I am, actually, maybe because I too have that question, the what if syndrome. Not constantly, of course, but it’s there, lingering in the background even though I’m pretty well satisfied with the way my life has gone so far. And since I’m unlikely to ever wake up in a different life, it was fun to watch Abbey go through her rebirth, so to speak. There are a lot of books and movies that tackle this premise and The One That Got Away ranks right up there with the most entertaining.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, June 2017.

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Purchase Links:

              

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About the Author

Author Leigh Himes has spent fourteen years working in the public relations field. Born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, she now lives just outside of Philadelphia with her husband and their two children. This is her first book.

Website // Twitter // Goodreads

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Follow the tour here.

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“An enchanting novel about the choices we make in life and
love–by turns hilarious, poignant, and nostalgic. Himes’s novel
will make you revisit all the “what ifs” you’ve ever contemplated,
from fleeting encounters to almost-weddings . . . a lively debut
that will strike a chord in anyone with a romantic past.”
–Nicholas Sparks, author of The Notebook and See Me

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To enter the drawing for a print copy
of The One That Got Away, leave a
comment below. The winning name will
be drawn Saturday evening, July 1st.
Open to residents of the US and Canada.

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