A cute YA read, i think it will be great for the intended audience. Thank you for my free review copy!

I didn't love the families in this book - both of them made me really uncomfortable, the one was OTT rich and not involved in the life of the kid at all and I hated how it was done. I liked both MCs, but the families were just...not great.

So glad I got to read Suzanne Parks first YA book...the story enjoyable and I want to read more from her....

**3.5 Stars**
I am pretty sure that this is an example of "it's not you, it's me" to be fair so definitely pick this up to read if you like zombies, escape rooms, angsty home life situations, teen boys being very clueless and basically true to all 16 year old boys, high tech artificial intelligence creations and theater.

This had some very interesting elements to it, almost futuristic when it came to all the technology in the story such as the AIs and the super cool zombie survival competition (sign me up please!). I just had certain expectations about the story that I was anticipating, which I did not actually find in the story. Also, while this was predominantly (I think...) a contemporary romance, the romance between the two main characters felt more like it could be a romance than it actually was. They barely knew each other and the boy had a different love interest off and on for at least half the book. There were a lot of neat things in the story, I loved Nate's family, and it was a super fast read, I just liked the characters more as friends than the romantic partners they are advertised as (since they had no real spark romantically), but that could just be me.

A cute YA read. It has interesting characters and such a mix of different things. I did get lost and bored towards the middle, but that could be more on my fault than the actual book and it's writing.

The Perfect Escape
by: Suzanne Park
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I was lucky enough to get an ARC from Net Galley, but of course, I didn’t read it until the I got the audiobook via Hoopla. #imanidiot
This was a super cute young adult book about two friends who decide to take on a zombie apocalypse survival weekend. Nate’s family is poor, and he needs money for college and wants to help his parents with their bills. Kate’s dad is rich, and she wants money to move to New York City to escape her controlling dad. They partner up to hopefully win the competition and the $50,000 prize. The book is told in alternating viewpoints, and I think listening to the book was a benefit - I could really hear Nate and Kate. Highly recommend!

I thought this book was cute. It had an interesting premise and I loved the escape room aspect. I wish we had gotten more of that. The whole zombie fighting thing wasn't my cup of tea. I could see this being for fans of science fiction or more action packed contemporary. I'd recommend it to them, but it wasn't for me. I did enjoy the characters quite a bit and hope to read more from Suzanne Park in the future!

I did not get the chance to read this book before it's release, but I did buy multiple digital copies for my library--it's so easy to recommend as a follow up to fans of TO ALL THE BOYS! It has a great sense of humor and my teens have loved it.

With everything going on right now in the world it has been a hot minute since I’ve been able to just pick up a book and read it. However, after picking up The Perfect Escape on a whim around 10pm one night I stayed up until the early morning hours to finish reading it. It definitely hits the mark with being a cute, fun, and quick read that is great for a few hours of perfect escape (haha, get it?)

The Perfect Escape follows two characters, Nate and Kate, who share a common interest in their love of zombies and need for money. This combination leads them to partner up for a huge weekend-long zombie survival contest… but can they make it through the weekend without breaking each others’ hearts?

Things I Enjoyed About This Book:

The characters were soooo sweet. Both Nate and Kate had a lot of great qualities and read as very soft. I found myself cheering for them immediately and generally enjoyed their respective narratives.
The take on money. Although I won’t spoil anything for the book, I’ll just make the general statement that I liked the different perspectives on money and wealth in this book along with how those perspectives were used for character development. I haven’t read too many books with that theme woven in and I thought this take on it was well executed.
The concept. I’ve been head-over-heels in love with the concept of this book since I discovered it, and I still feel the same. The Perfect Escape’s unique concept grabbed me from page one and kept me reading. I’ve never seen a book with a focus on zombie escape rooms/ escape rooms and I gotta say that this book delivered!


Things I Didn’t Enjoy About This Book:

The plot regarding the survival challenge weekend. After reading the synopsis I assumed that a majority of the book would be focusing on the weekend survival challenge. But, only about the last quarter of the book actually does. This didn’t bother me too much, but it wasn’t what I was expecting out of this. I would definitely enjoyed the story more if it had a greater focus on the survival challenge rather than the buildup to getting there.


With all that being said, I did still totally enjoy this book! It was fun and cute and easy to devour in one sitting. I would recommend it if you need something soft and quick. My favorite part of the story would definitely be the concept, it’s like nothing I’ve ever read before which made it all the more enjoyable.

Thank you very much to the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for sending me an E-ARC of The Perfect Escape via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are all my own.

While this story was initially marketed as a rom-com, it was more about developing the characters of 2 teenagers ... and I actually preferred this!

The Pros: What worked for me

I loved our two protagonists. Both of their personalities were unique and shaped by their experiences and their circumstances. On the one hand, we have Nate who comes from a Korean family that is not the most financially secure. Then, we have Kate, whose father is a rich CEO of a tech company. Reading about how both characters had their own issues to contend with, coming from such diverse backgrounds was really interesting and the author gave readers an opportunity to really connect with both protagonists.

I liked the way the story made its transition into the survivalist competition - it actually took me a bit by surprise because I had been so caught up with just reading about the lives of the 2 protagonists. It was a nice bit of action that really broke up the story and helped bring our heroes closer together.

The Cons: What I didn't like

At times, I felt like the way the two characters spoke to each other was a bit juvenile. The jokes and "funny" moments were more cringy than anything else, so I wish the author had made this a bit more realistic.

I didn't like how one-dimensional Kate's father was; he literally had no personality. The author made him out to be some cold, and terrible parent who didn't care about anyone. He wasn't even given a chance to redeem himself! I found this to be extremely childish and unrealistic, especially when so much effort was made to develop the other characters in this story.

This novel was not perfect. But it was sweet in its own way and I really did connect on some level to the main characters. I enjoyed the journey this story took me on and I think the addition of a survivalist competition added an element that was unique to this YA contemporary experience. For those reasons, I'm giving this book 3/5 stars!

I was really hoping that I would love this one, but there were a lot of things that made it a letdown for me.

I really loved Nate's family. They are Korean, and having his strong parents in the book to contrast Kate's absent father was really well done. There are also some great scenes at Nate's job, the zombie escape room, and during the zombie competition. I think those are the two strongest points of the book.

The problems I had with it: One, it is extremely dramatic. Like, picture the worst teen TV drama you can think of. That is this book. It's full of cliche villains that aren't done well. There's the rich kid that picks on the nerd and wants something from him. He makes threats and enlists the popular girl the nerd likes. Except it's done badly. The rich kid isn't even threatening and the girl couldn't be more 2-D.

Then we get to the mega-villain of the story, Kate's dad. His company makes the book seem more sci-fi than current tech allows. He's an evil tech genius that keeps Kate locked away and pays her friend to abandon her. If that wasn't dramatic enough, he somehow smuggles Nate out of the competition and back in without any time passing?

The biggest mistake I think Park made in this book was not having Kate and her dad reunite for the reader to see. Instead all we get is basically... he apologized for everything! And that's that. Seeing as that was one of the biggest conflicts in the entire novel, so much so that Kate runs away, we should have gotten some face time when it came to that apology. I was really disappointed that we didn't get that.

I think the ending was really realistic though! I'm so glad there wasn't a happily ever after ending -- they are happy for now, but who knows what's going to come. The ending does almost make up for some of the biggest letdowns in the book. While the characters are full of drama, the ending wasn't.

This was a cute read about two teenagers working in an escape room, who enter a zombie race to win a significant amount of cash. Kate and Nate have their own reasons for entering the race and bonus for partnering up together.

I was expecting something emotionally light- a romcom. However, it was a lot heavier with some important topics that were touched such as loss.

I’m torn on how to rate this one. It started out adorable and funny but then veered off with the super cute protagonists physically fighting like ninjas or soldiers. They even use weapons (a Taser, stun guns) on others. It was something I wasn’t expecting and it took this out of the realm of cute rom-com and into something entirely different. I didn’t love that aspect of the story and I would have preferred it to stay less violent and disturbing. I don’t think anyone died in the competition but it was certainly a possibility. The danger wasn’t just the treacherous terrain and the “zombies” but also the other contestants who seemed willing to maim or even kill to win. It was like expecting Laura Jean and ending up thrust into The Hunger Games. There was a main villain to the story and when they are revealed it all became a bit over the top and campy. The big bad had a bit of a Dr. Evil vibe and the story entered the realm of the ridiculous and unbelievable. There were hints that it was headed in this absurd direction with the robot butler and the “zombies” but this was just too much.

Although I enjoyed the romance and the witty banter between the main characters I couldn’t get into the techno- survivalist race and I often found myself rolling my eyes at just how inexplicable things became. It took over from the sweet rom-com and I just wasn’t that into it. If technology, robots, and violence are your thing but you also love rom-coms then this book may appeal to you. I personally prefer my rom-coms free of brutal fights and cartoonish villains. The author made an interesting and unique choice to combine the two genres and I admire the creativity but it wasn’t the right story for me.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

I had a lot of fun reading this book. It was easy to breeze through, something I really appreciate during these times.
However, the characters as well as the plot fell flat for me. Though I enjoyed all of it, I didn't LIVE the story, and I didn't care for the characters. Which is a shame, because it sounded so good.

Overall, I really liked The Perfect Escape. It took me a while to adjust as I was expecting the book to be about the zombie escape room (based on the title) but it was actually more about two kids from completely opposite socioeconomic backgrounds who meet at the escape room and then, because each of them needs money, they decide to enter a survivalist competition together.

My favorite part of the book was the lighthearted quirky humor. Yes, there were serious topics in there, like class difference and neglectful parents and grief, but there was a lot of humor as well.

The romance was cute though not super swoony. There was this annoying character who kept lurking around making me think there was going to be a love triangle, but there was not.

The competition felt a little to me like Hunger Games lite, and wasn’t my favorite part of the book, because it meant that there were all these other new and random characters who, to me, took time away from the characters I’d bonded with.. I think the strongest parts of the book were Kate and Nate’s relationships with their families and their friendship (and growing romance) with each other.

All in all, I really liked the overall vibe of this book: the characters, the humor, and the way the issues were integrated in a way that worked. I’ll definitely keep this author on my radar!

If you’re looking for a cute, funny contemporary, definitely give this one a try!

Even though I didn't have that high of expectations coming into this, I did expect a lot more out of this book. It has one of the more interesting settings I've seen in a YA book involving an escape room and a zombie survivalist competition. It sounded like it was going to be a lot of fun. I was disappointed that we hardly got any moments involving the escape room and the fact that the zombie survivalist competition didn't occur until more than halfway through the book was a bit of a let down if I'm being honest. The flow of the book seemed off and definitely needed some fine-tuning as it started off being very casual and then, randomly jumped into being very dramatic.

As for the romance, the interactions and banter between Nate and Kate when they first meet felt very natural and light-hearted. I was excited because it seemed like it would be a great build-up into how their relationship grew into something more romantic. However, it somehow ended up becoming instalovey very quickly for me and I just wasn't really feeling them as a couple anymore. Throw in the fact that Nate was also having some kind of short-lived side romance which felt kinda strange and unnecessary, turning his and Kate's relationship into a questionable "will they, won't they" type of situation.

I loved the fact that we got to see a Korean male as one of our main protagonists. Besides being a well-rounded, top-notch student, you see that Nate has a good heart with the best of intentions. We see him experience his own individual struggles, dealing with microaggressions and the desire to support his family financially. I loved Nate's family. His little sister, Lucy was adorable and his parents were absolute sweethearts. As a family unit, you really get the sense of sacrifice, the value of hard work and what they're all willing to do for one another.

As for Kate, I really felt for her in terms of her home life. Neglectful, brash and manipulative, her dad had no redeeming qualities whatsoever and I definitely was not a fan. Kate just wants to make her dad proud, yet he remained to be a career-driven, absentee father. It was just heartbreaking.

I struggled between giving this 2 or 3 stars. Probably more of a 2.5 rounded up. This definitely had the potential to be something great and wound up just being kinda meh for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

Warm characters with real-life problems (kind of). The zombie obstacle course and Jeeves were a little far fetched, but enjoyable.

4.5 stars. This was terrific! Fun, funny, and sweet. The survivalist part of the story takes place in the last half. The first half establishes the characters and their reasons for needing the prize money. Kate's reasons were strongest - her dad was creepy with his controlling behavior. Yikes!

The romance is sweet and slow moving, but not agonizingly so. It felt perfect - the two teens are both a little awkward, and they have other factors at play that help things move slowly. The ending was great. I thoroughly enjoyed this one! (Language)

I ENJOYED…
☂️

- The Perfect Escape is one of these books I will definitely recommend for those looking for a fun, heartwarming, endearing contemporary read.
- Told with two POV, we get to know Nate, a Korean-American teenager with big dreams of wealth to support his family, as well as Kate, living with her very wealthy father but feeling more alone than ever.
- I loved the two characters so, very much. They each had dreams and goals, from getting more money to support their family to doing theater and wanting to follow their dreams, no matter how far away they are from family’s expectations. Each character had their own struggles and I quickly grew fond of them both.
- I really liked the originality of the setting! It is, for almost half of the book, set at a zombie survival competition somewhere remote in the woods and, if this was definitely more fun than full Hunger Games terrifying, I still really liked this setting…. so much I almost wanted more of it.
- Something I loved about The Perfect Escape is how it wasn’t entirely romance-focused. Don’t get me wrong: the romantic feelings developing between the two characters is there, it’s deliciously slow-burning and I liked it, a lot. Yet, I also loved how this book dealt with both teenagers just trying to go through life every day with their own issues, from money problems to dealing with grief and unsupporting parents.


I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…
☂️

- I feel like The Perfect Escape could have been marketed a bit differently: from the blurb and everything I’d heard previously, I expected a little more romance than there was. I appreciated it the way it was, but for people really looking for romance all along, you might be a bit disappointed.
- I also felt like some elements of the story could have been explored a little more deeply… like Kate’s father and his behaviour during the entire book. Kate’s father is kind of abusive, to be honest and his behaviour wasn’t properly explored, nor justified during the entire story. I missed some… closure, maybe, on this aspect of the story.

OVERALL
☂️

If you’re looking for a funny and heartwarming read, I’d definitely recommend The Perfect Escape. Despite its flaws, mostly it being not as much rom than it was com, I still had a lot of fun getting to know the characters and fell for them all thorough the story. It’s a book I’d recommend to contemporary fans overall!

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS: fear of heights, blackmail, death of a parent from pneumonia (prior to the story’s events), grief, emotionally abusive parent.
☂️ DIVERSITY: Korean-American main character.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. While I did like the second part of the book more so, it all fell a little flat for me. The first half felt very out of place and I was not enjoying it, the second half picked up enough for me to finish it. In all honesty, the first and second half felt like different books to me. I also wasn't a major fan of the characters. I didn't fully connect to them as much as I wanted to. Overall it was an alirght book and a very quick read