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The One That Got Away
From bestselling author Mike Gayle, a story about exes and how to get over them. Or not.
Reuben thought he’d spend the rest of his life with Beth, until she broke his heart six months ago. He’s not even remotely over her, so he’s devastated to hear she’s getting married—this weekend.
Now he’s faced with the ultimate what should he do on the day of the wedding? Grieve? Disrupt the ceremony? Or do everything in his power to pretend it’s not happening?
Enlisting the help of his friends, Reuben is all set to mark the occasion with distraction on a grand Ferraris, champagne, and a VIP box at the races.
But on the morning of the Big Day, Reuben gets a phone call that not only derails his elaborate it may well change his life completely…
For fans of David Nicholls, Nick Hornby and the agony uncle of heartbreak himself, a story that just how far would you go to get over the love of your life?
Reuben thought he’d spend the rest of his life with Beth, until she broke his heart six months ago. He’s not even remotely over her, so he’s devastated to hear she’s getting married—this weekend.
Now he’s faced with the ultimate what should he do on the day of the wedding? Grieve? Disrupt the ceremony? Or do everything in his power to pretend it’s not happening?
Enlisting the help of his friends, Reuben is all set to mark the occasion with distraction on a grand Ferraris, champagne, and a VIP box at the races.
But on the morning of the Big Day, Reuben gets a phone call that not only derails his elaborate it may well change his life completely…
For fans of David Nicholls, Nick Hornby and the agony uncle of heartbreak himself, a story that just how far would you go to get over the love of your life?
101 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2025
5916 people are currently reading
4417 people want to read
About the author
Mike Gayle
38 books2,275 followersI was born in the 70s — the 70s were great. I would recommend them to anyone.
I was also born in Birmingham — in my humble opinion the greatest city in the world with the nicest people too.
I used to live in London — a great city too. But a bit on the pricey side.
I also used to live in Manchester — another great city (although technically I lived in Salford which is next door but that’s sort of splitting hairs).
Before I went to university I wanted to be a social worker — I have no idea why. It didn’t last long.
After I left university I wanted to write for the NME — I’ve always loved music but it was only when I went to uni that it started loving me back. I can’t play any instruments or sing so writing about music seemed to make sense.
My first paid writing gig was for a listings magazine in Birmingham — (Actually my first unpaid writing gig was an interview with Kitchens of Distinction for Salford Student Magazine. I can’t begin to tell you how terrible it was.)
I used to write a music fanzine — it was called Incredibly Inedible and I co-edited it with my mate Jackie. We typed up the first issue on my dad’s olde worlde typewriter and then literally cut and paste on to A4 sheets using scissors and glue. Over the three years of its existence we interviewed many bands and artists including: Smashing Pumpkins, The Cranberries, Pavement, Bill Hicks and Blur.
I was also born in Birmingham — in my humble opinion the greatest city in the world with the nicest people too.
I used to live in London — a great city too. But a bit on the pricey side.
I also used to live in Manchester — another great city (although technically I lived in Salford which is next door but that’s sort of splitting hairs).
Before I went to university I wanted to be a social worker — I have no idea why. It didn’t last long.
After I left university I wanted to write for the NME — I’ve always loved music but it was only when I went to uni that it started loving me back. I can’t play any instruments or sing so writing about music seemed to make sense.
My first paid writing gig was for a listings magazine in Birmingham — (Actually my first unpaid writing gig was an interview with Kitchens of Distinction for Salford Student Magazine. I can’t begin to tell you how terrible it was.)
I used to write a music fanzine — it was called Incredibly Inedible and I co-edited it with my mate Jackie. We typed up the first issue on my dad’s olde worlde typewriter and then literally cut and paste on to A4 sheets using scissors and glue. Over the three years of its existence we interviewed many bands and artists including: Smashing Pumpkins, The Cranberries, Pavement, Bill Hicks and Blur.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,066 reviews
April 5, 2025
got it for free and i still want my money back
May 8, 2025
Ehh, I don’t know. This was just ok for me….
The MMC was a little annoying and it was hard for me to get behind him. He is on a quest to forget his ex after they broke up and 6 months later she is getting married to someone else. He feels like she’s the love of his life and is heartbroken. We travel from present to slightly past in order to learn how those two came about and what their downfall was.
A one sit read but lacked the connection I wanted. I wasn’t able to get into the book as the writing is a little blathery and the MMC wasn’t likeable. I’m glad it wasn’t a full length book but if you’re looking for a light short story to cleanse the pallete, this *might* work.
The MMC was a little annoying and it was hard for me to get behind him. He is on a quest to forget his ex after they broke up and 6 months later she is getting married to someone else. He feels like she’s the love of his life and is heartbroken. We travel from present to slightly past in order to learn how those two came about and what their downfall was.
A one sit read but lacked the connection I wanted. I wasn’t able to get into the book as the writing is a little blathery and the MMC wasn’t likeable. I’m glad it wasn’t a full length book but if you’re looking for a light short story to cleanse the pallete, this *might* work.
April 2, 2025
I actually really loved this short story. His ex is getting married & he still has feelings for her, so he is trying to decide what to do.
Even though it’s a short story, it goes back and forth between ‘then’ and ‘now’ to explain what happened with their relationship. He kept thinking he was the one who did something wrong, but I think the reality was that they were just not compatible. He wanted more intimacy and love than she was willing to give. There is definitely a moral of the story with this one: You shouldn’t try to change someone or convince them to love you. And if you have to do that, they are probably just not right for you in the first place.
Thank you to Amazon First Reads for the free copy.
Even though it’s a short story, it goes back and forth between ‘then’ and ‘now’ to explain what happened with their relationship. He kept thinking he was the one who did something wrong, but I think the reality was that they were just not compatible. He wanted more intimacy and love than she was willing to give. There is definitely a moral of the story with this one: You shouldn’t try to change someone or convince them to love you. And if you have to do that, they are probably just not right for you in the first place.
Thank you to Amazon First Reads for the free copy.
April 3, 2025
Sweet, funny, charming, romantic, emotional, honest, real and just so life affirming, for a short story The One That Got Away, sure makes an impact. I flew through it. It's just wonderful.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
April 14, 2025
DNF at 80% (but gave up hope much earlier than that)
I'm glad this was free because I'm not actually sure what the point of any of that was. It read like a dramatic love story written by a 12-year-old.
I'm glad this was free because I'm not actually sure what the point of any of that was. It read like a dramatic love story written by a 12-year-old.
July 14, 2025
A romantic, emotional, funny, sweet story, with perceptive and insightful remarks about life in general and love in particular!
Told by Reuben in the present and 2 years earlier, we learn how he met the love of his life, Beth, and let her got away.
He thinks he's the one to blame and 6 months after she dumped him he's still broken hearted and unable to move forward.
When he founds out she's getting married he's absolutely shattered!
So his friends Tom and 3 others decide to give him a special day, so he can forget about her, on the date of her marriage.
Then he gets a call that changes all their careful plans and he becomes unintentionally involved in all the drama of his ex marriage!
Will it help him to let the past stay in the past and finally move on with is life?
Told by Reuben in the present and 2 years earlier, we learn how he met the love of his life, Beth, and let her got away.
He thinks he's the one to blame and 6 months after she dumped him he's still broken hearted and unable to move forward.
When he founds out she's getting married he's absolutely shattered!
So his friends Tom and 3 others decide to give him a special day, so he can forget about her, on the date of her marriage.
Then he gets a call that changes all their careful plans and he becomes unintentionally involved in all the drama of his ex marriage!
Will it help him to let the past stay in the past and finally move on with is life?
May 8, 2025
the setup…
It’s been six months and Reuben Miller is still not over the breakup with his ex-girlfriend Beth. When he learns she’s getting married this weekend, he considers a last attempt intervention until his friends plan one for him. They arrange a fancy day in a leased Ferrari to distract him…until Reuben gets a call from Beth as he’s just about to leave home.
the heart of the story…
This is a clever twist on the idea about “the one that got away.” Reuben thinks that call means a second chance and I wasn’t sure what it might be. We get a then and now narrative that puts some shape to Reuben and Beth’s relationship and why it ended. And, if there’s a second chance.
the narration…
It is all Reuben’s story to tell and David Ijiti gave him wonderful voice. Loved his performance and storytelling skills.
the bottom line…
In the interest of full disclosure, I will listen to anything Mike Gayle has to say in his writing. This may be short but still has his signature themes and messaging I adore. He fully captures the heart and soul of his characters. It’s quite the gem and the ending was perfection.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
(Thanks to Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)
It’s been six months and Reuben Miller is still not over the breakup with his ex-girlfriend Beth. When he learns she’s getting married this weekend, he considers a last attempt intervention until his friends plan one for him. They arrange a fancy day in a leased Ferrari to distract him…until Reuben gets a call from Beth as he’s just about to leave home.
the heart of the story…
This is a clever twist on the idea about “the one that got away.” Reuben thinks that call means a second chance and I wasn’t sure what it might be. We get a then and now narrative that puts some shape to Reuben and Beth’s relationship and why it ended. And, if there’s a second chance.
the narration…
It is all Reuben’s story to tell and David Ijiti gave him wonderful voice. Loved his performance and storytelling skills.
the bottom line…
In the interest of full disclosure, I will listen to anything Mike Gayle has to say in his writing. This may be short but still has his signature themes and messaging I adore. He fully captures the heart and soul of his characters. It’s quite the gem and the ending was perfection.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
(Thanks to Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)
April 25, 2025
The main character was an insufferable douche, and his love interest wasn’t much better. If this hadn’t been free and a short read, I probably would have thrown this in the DNF pile.
June 4, 2025
It's hard to love a story when you can't stand the characters. No matter how well it's written.
April 6, 2025
2.5 stars.....Meh this was ok. I honestly wouldn't have picked it up if it wasn't free
April 25, 2025
★★ 1/2
'The One That Got Away' by Mike Gayle had an interesting premise with its alternating timelines, which I thought was a good idea, but it didn’t quite pull me in. The story follows Reuben as he navigates the aftermath of a breakup and discovers that his ex, Beth, is moving on with someone else.
While I appreciate the emotional depth Gayle tried to explore, I didn’t really connect with the characters. In fact, I found them quite annoying at times. They felt underdeveloped, which, I suppose, is a common issue with a short story format. I didn’t feel enough for them to be invested in their journey. The alternating timelines worked well in theory, but I think it lacked the space to really develop both characters’ perspectives in any meaningful way.
This could have been a much stronger read as a full-length novel, giving more room to explore both Reuben and Beth’s points of view. As it is, the short story had its moments but didn’t leave much of an impact. It could be sweet for some, but it just didn’t work for me.
'The One That Got Away' by Mike Gayle had an interesting premise with its alternating timelines, which I thought was a good idea, but it didn’t quite pull me in. The story follows Reuben as he navigates the aftermath of a breakup and discovers that his ex, Beth, is moving on with someone else.
While I appreciate the emotional depth Gayle tried to explore, I didn’t really connect with the characters. In fact, I found them quite annoying at times. They felt underdeveloped, which, I suppose, is a common issue with a short story format. I didn’t feel enough for them to be invested in their journey. The alternating timelines worked well in theory, but I think it lacked the space to really develop both characters’ perspectives in any meaningful way.
This could have been a much stronger read as a full-length novel, giving more room to explore both Reuben and Beth’s points of view. As it is, the short story had its moments but didn’t leave much of an impact. It could be sweet for some, but it just didn’t work for me.
August 10, 2025
A 100-page quick easy read that touched my heart. The basic story is about a man who finds out his ex is getting married so his friends plan a special day for him to help take his mind off her. Then, he gets a call out of the blue from the bride on her wedding day. it's told in a dual time frame of now and then so you can see why they both left that relationship. overall, a light fluffy read that I enjoyed.
April 4, 2025
Amazon Prime Reads ARC for April
I kept waiting for something interesting to happen… it didn’t
I kept waiting for something interesting to happen… it didn’t
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2025
There was no point to this book
June 27, 2025
Ehhh pues yo creo que ambos personajes tienen que ir a terapia, principalmente Reuben que anda señalando a Beth cuando el solito se encargó de arruinar todo.
Buen final pero ajá, se me complicó un poco a medida que iba leyendo el pasado de la relación.
Buen final pero ajá, se me complicó un poco a medida que iba leyendo el pasado de la relación.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2025
I love you Mike Gayle but this one just didn’t do it for me. Short stories are hard. ❤️
April 29, 2025
Really cute quick read.
April 20, 2025
Great quick read about one man's belief in true love. Does it even exist. I like Mike Gayle's writing style, will definitely be reading more from him.
June 24, 2025
1 star (Kindle). It's rare that I give so low a rating but the characters in this story are so unbelievably emotionally stunted, even in their early 30s, that I was only thankful it was a SHORT story. Perhaps their characteristics were intentional + the toxic masculinity outlined herein was just another character study, but it just made my skin crawl.
April 9, 2025
Rating: 4.0/5
As I have commented previously, I am very much an admirer of any author who can successfully tackle the short story format. Delivering a properly rounded story with fleshed out characters in just a hundred or so pages requires a particular skill. Not all writers succeed, but Mike Gayle certainly has.
This is a delightful short story about Reuben, who, having broken up with the "love of his life", Beth, some six months earlier, learns that she is about to marry someone else. He is grief-stricken, but his loyal friends come up with an imaginative plan to help take his mind off things on Beth's wedding day. However, the way things pan out is very different to anything any of them could have imagined.
"The One That Got Away" is full of astute observations and warm humour and is, perhaps, amongst other things, a romantic story for people who didn't realise that they might enjoy a romantic story.
Considering that he already has a substantial back catalogue, Mike Gayle's work has somehow passed me by completely until I read this - but I will aim to make sure that isn't the case in future.
As I have commented previously, I am very much an admirer of any author who can successfully tackle the short story format. Delivering a properly rounded story with fleshed out characters in just a hundred or so pages requires a particular skill. Not all writers succeed, but Mike Gayle certainly has.
This is a delightful short story about Reuben, who, having broken up with the "love of his life", Beth, some six months earlier, learns that she is about to marry someone else. He is grief-stricken, but his loyal friends come up with an imaginative plan to help take his mind off things on Beth's wedding day. However, the way things pan out is very different to anything any of them could have imagined.
"The One That Got Away" is full of astute observations and warm humour and is, perhaps, amongst other things, a romantic story for people who didn't realise that they might enjoy a romantic story.
Considering that he already has a substantial back catalogue, Mike Gayle's work has somehow passed me by completely until I read this - but I will aim to make sure that isn't the case in future.
April 19, 2025
Sweet, Insightful
The book had some sweet insights into life and love however I struggled with the writing style. It was a little too “conversational “ for me and I kept wanting to add punctuation to some of the really long sentences. I also pretty much hated everyone except Pete and Ruben’s dad. The lessons at the end were great though!
The book had some sweet insights into life and love however I struggled with the writing style. It was a little too “conversational “ for me and I kept wanting to add punctuation to some of the really long sentences. I also pretty much hated everyone except Pete and Ruben’s dad. The lessons at the end were great though!
April 7, 2025
some of the most annoying characters in a book I have ever read.
writing style and story are fine but the characters I want to hit.
writing style and story are fine but the characters I want to hit.
June 4, 2025
Those who love sincerely never forget; the pain from emotional experiences brings us back to life like the sun shining after darkness. The presence of those who surround us with genuine love, whether family or friends, serves as a lifeline from the storms.
September 30, 2025
The One That Got Away is a Amazon Short Story by Michael Gayle. It is a contemporary story about Reuben and Beth, an on-again, off-again British couple in their early 30’s. I could relate, because I was in an on-again, off-again relationship in my early 30’s. The story is light and humorous, with a fair amount of angst mixed in. Reuben, the heart-broken, was a like-able guy.
This story has gotten mixed reviews. As a senior, I am not the target audience. However, I did enjoy spending time reflecting on my life when I was in my early 30’s. Reading the story was a refreshing change of pace. I rate it 4 stars.
This story has gotten mixed reviews. As a senior, I am not the target audience. However, I did enjoy spending time reflecting on my life when I was in my early 30’s. Reading the story was a refreshing change of pace. I rate it 4 stars.
September 21, 2025
The One That Got Away is a quick read full of romance, rejection, and finding happiness.
The main protagonist is in love but is he really in love? The woman he loves does not believe in love. Will they get together or forever flounder?
Loving someone may not be enough.
The main protagonist is in love but is he really in love? The woman he loves does not believe in love. Will they get together or forever flounder?
Loving someone may not be enough.
April 2, 2025
The One That Got Away, by Mike Gayle. Three stars. 🌟🌟🌟
This was one of Amazon's First Reads bonus books for April.
Cute short story (only 100 pages) about Reuben, whose friends decide to take him out for a day of distraction on the day his ex-girlfriend is getting married. Of course, things don't go as planned.
This was one of Amazon's First Reads bonus books for April.
Cute short story (only 100 pages) about Reuben, whose friends decide to take him out for a day of distraction on the day his ex-girlfriend is getting married. Of course, things don't go as planned.
April 21, 2025
A VERY short story which makes it hard to really get to know the characters. It wasn’t necessarily bad but I don’t love stories where there’s no plot at all except relationship drama.
April 27, 2025
This down to earth romantic short was sweet, funny, and reflective. I wouldn’t have known it was written by a man had I been blinded to the author.
June 2, 2025
Entertaining short story
Overall, this was a quick, decent read. I felt the two main characters were a bit annoying at times, but the premise was okay.
Overall, this was a quick, decent read. I felt the two main characters were a bit annoying at times, but the premise was okay.
June 17, 2025
A short story about, shockingly, the one that got away. Not for me - awkward dialogue and full of clichés.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,066 reviews