The Greek Escape like most of Karen Swan’s novels is the equivalent to a vacation. I dare anyone to read this novel and not feel like buying a one way ticket to Greece. With Atmospheric writing, lovable characters and a great story you can’t get a better beach read when it comes to Karen Swan.

This is a great book to grab for summer beach reading. I have enjoyed Swan's previous works and this one does not disappoint. Set in New York and the Mediterranean, the settings sizzle just as much as the plot itself. This is a nice beach romance with an unexpected mystery as well.
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

Karen Swan's The Greek Escape is a good summer book! I've read and own every single one of her books and plan my reading schedule around her two books/year-- she is at the top of my auto-buy list.

While this book was not her strongest, it was still a very enjoyable, fun read. It is a great book to take to the beach. If you are looking to get involved in a plot line and get absorbed in the story, then this book is a great choice. Though it starts slowly, I read the last 150 pages in one sitting because I just had to know what happened!

One of the things that I love about Swan's books is the romance, which I usually find all-consuming. The romance in this novel was less strong than the intrigue of its plot, and the book suffered in that account in my personal opinion, and in terms of what I expect from Swan's books-- but this is a personal expectation.

Though this was not my favourite of Swan's books, it was still a worthy, fun, and intriguing read that I would recommend fans of her fiction, or anyone looking for a book to kick of their summer reading, should pick up! After you finish this one, I highly recommend you pick up her book from last summer-- The Rome Affair.

This is my fourth Karen Swan novel and they were all 5 star reads. This is the first one I did not enjoy. It pains me to give it such a low rating.

This is the first Karen Swan novel that I haven’t loved right from the start. I didn’t like the main character Chloe, the love interest or the story. It was problematic from the beginning and did not redeem itself at any point. The whole high end concierge business is interesting and I’m sure it exists but I really can’t be expected to like the people who provide this service, or those who use it. I was pissy about it right from the start as two of the characters laugh about a client’s request for live penguins to mingle at a party and try to arrange having some helicoptered into the party. I’m horrified that anyone would think this was funny or cute. It’s just sad and awful! This happens at the very beginning of the book and it my distaste may have tainted the rest of the story for me.

I thought maybe the inevitable love story would redeem things but sadly the main love interest was cold and distant, except when he was forcing Chloe to do what he wanted. I’m not into men who won’t take no for an answer. It’s not romantic or sexy. It’s controlling and scary. Being a billionaire/millionaire who is used to getting his way doesn’t excuse this behavior. A rich asshole is still an asshole.

I will be the first to admit that I have really terrible taste in men but Chloe takes the booby prize as the absolute worst. She seems completely oblivious to how awful her choices are and when confronted with the truth of their awfulness she goes back for more. It was absolutely infuriating and made her seem like an airhead. I’m accustomed to Karen Swan’s heroines being smart and strong, not being blindly led my men. It was a total disappointment.

Of course there is a happy ending and everything is wrapped up perfectly which required quite a bit of exciting hi-jinx from the characters. Unfortunately instead of being part of the action we are just told what they did to get to the happy ending as they all sit around and reminisce about how they got there. It's all telling and no showing. It was kind of like the end of an episode of Scooby Doo when they pull the mask off the monster and Velma in a monologue would explain how she came to her unlikely conclusions. I want to see how it happened not just hear the story after it's all over!

I'm sad to say this book was just an over all disaster. I'm giving it bonus points because Karen Swan is one of my favorite authors but this is definitely not her best work.

Thank you Pan Macmillan for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

Honestly - I started this book and thought “ok, this will probably be fine; not a great read... but ok...” And then I kept reading.

4 star read.

It started slow and muddled for me - Poppy and Chloe’s characters seemed too similar (in the first few pages), and I found it difficult to keep track of who was who. Chloe is obviously the main character, since she’s our narrator, and every once and a while you’d get the narration from another character- Elodie- and to be honest I spent 50% of the book wondering how these two stories align.

And then it all fell into place. This book had a great mysterious aspect to it, although at times Chloe felt a little melodramatic, but it all worked for the final result.

The absolute beauty of this book, and the reason I really got into it, was Greece. Karen Swan did a brilliant job of bringing the reader to Greece - the descriptions made me feel like I was on a yatch in the middle of the ocean, enjoying one drink too many. It was complete and perfect escapism.

This is my second Karen Swan novel, and I appreciate that although her books are of a romantic nature, she doesn’t get boggled down in having vivid sexual encounters- because there isn’t really a need. She leaves enough to the imagination and fills the rest of the pages with a good little mystery.

I would definitely say that the last half of the book was stronger than the first half, but that this is a great read to escape from the everyday and just enjoy.

Recommended - especially as a vacation, beach or summer read. Light, enjoyable, and it will leave you thinking about Chloe and Joe.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Mysterious, enticing, and wickedly entertaining!

The Greek Escape is a provocative thrill ride that takes you on a journey into the life of the heartbroken, hardworking Chloe as she juggles relocation, a high-pressure career, a two-timing ex, the whims and dalliances of the rich and famous, and a cocky, demanding, handsome new client.

The prose is evocative and polished. The characters are inquisitive, ambitious, and spontaneous. The settings are exotic and picturesque. And the plot is a true guilty pleasure that's packed with action, humour, suspense, drama, corruption, scandals, sex, and romance.

The Greek Escape is a fresh, sophisticated, addictive novel with irresistible characters that I devoured from start to finish. I'm a huge fan of Karen Swan, and this novel didn't disappoint. It enthralled, captivated, and amused me, and I highly recommend it.