review 1: In "The One That Got Away" we only saw Elliot as the kid brother of Jim's childhood friend, and a guy who Michael saw as kind of a rival for Jim's time and attention. He seemed kind of shallow and not too bright. Jamie, however, was a friend of Michael's, as well as his therapist; the guy who helped him get his shit together and figure out what he wanted and needed from a relationship, and that he needed all of that from Jim. In "The One That Was Lost," Jamie kind of starts out thinking that same way about Elliot, but as he helps El overcome a pretty traumatic incident, and spends time with him just as a friend, Elliot becomes a little deeper and stronger (not that he wasn't, but it becomes apparent.) He's also starting to grow up. He's still living with Michael and Jim, a... morend seeing them together, while he hates the sugar-coma, is giving him a picture of what a long-term relationship can be. And he's seeing what it's like to trust and respect the person you're with, rather than indulging in a series of no-trust, quickie encounters.Of course they have their issues, since Jamie's quite a bit further along the growing-up scale; he's always known he wants a permanent partnership, and he manages to convince himself that Elliot can't and won't ever want the same thing. As with the previous book in the series, a lot of unhappiness would be avoided by one of the guys saying "Just think about me as a long-term relationship prospect, ok?" review 2: This is a sequel to The One That Got Away. In the beginning, I had to read the first dozen pages several times to get everyone straight. You do not have to read TOTGA first, but I would recommend it. There is backstory that this would help. I did read TOTGA but I still don't remember is clear enough that I was sorry I didn't re-read it before I read this one. It' not like it is a hardship to read TCB's work. It is well written. Michael and Jaime arrive to meet up with Jim and Elliot per TOTGA. Jaime is seriously interested in Michael, Michael is in love with Jim. Elliot is Jims's roommate but would like to sleep with Jim. Michael and Jim have eyes only for each other so Jaime and Elliot spend the weekend consoling each other in bed. That set up took me a while to figure out but once I did, I had a handle on things. We move away from Michael and Jim pretty quickly (the MC in TOTGA) and focus on MC's Jaime and Elliot. Elliot and Jaime take a long way to get to the end and find the One That Was Lost but it is a very believable story and I really enjoyed watching them get to each other. There is some misunderstanding that could be cleared up with some outright communication but then the book would have been half the pages and half the fun. less
