The Lucky Escape is probably the best book Laura Jane Williams has published to date. unlike her others, it's not trying to be something it's not. It's a mildly likeable romance that has some funny moments and is great for reading on holiday be it abroad or in your back garden. A read that is meant for summer.

DNF @ 20%

These characters are really hard to connect with and are actually really annoying. I love so much about the concept of the book, but I just can't read any more about its characters. Not for me, unfortunately.

I love the books by this author and thoroughly enjoyed this one.
It's funny, entertaining and made me smile and root for the characters.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

So cute!! This is my second read by Williams and I just love her romcom writing style! The meet cites are always perfect, and the stories are just a joy to read. This one is no different!

This was such a quick, cute read! I found myself not wanting to put this one down! I love a good forced proximity trope and this did not disappoint! I also love how Annie did not immediately jump really deep into things when they came back to reality. I loved that she spent time focusing on herself and her needs and wants first. But of course I loved that they do end up together!

I really enjoyed The Lucky Escape. Its part holiday romance, part new beginnings.
When Annie gets dumped on her wedding day she doesn't know how to cope. After some pressure from her in laws and an offer of company from Patrick, an old childhood friend she ends up on her honeymoon in Australia.
Patrick teaches her how to live her life to its full extent and gives her the push to make better life choices inside and outside the bedroom.
I really enjoyed the setting in Australia as I've never really considered it a honeymoon destination but they had a beautiful trip.
This book is about love, friendships and reassessing your life choices.

Thanks to Avon Books and Netgalley.com for my complimentary eARC copy.

Nice uplifting story. The only problem to many conflicting bits. One very noticeable it was 3am and someone was knocking on the front door it was Alexander. Alexander walked out slamming the door after him. I do not like being woken at 2am. The time of his arrival changed by an hour within the same paragraph. There were many more like this through out the book. Most people might not notice these mistakes but I did and it did spoil the book for me a bit. The story line was very good indeed I am saying nothing about the story because I don't know what to say without spoiling it.

This was a really good read. Easy story to follow, charming setting and great characters. Really enjoyed it.

I did enjoy this book for the most part, but ultimately I don’t think the content matched what it was sold as - I wouldn’t even call it a romance. It’s definitely not fluffy, and I found the themes explored quite heavy - trauma, grief, loss, depression, finding one’s purpose in life etc. I also found the main premise hard to believe - that ex-future parents-in-law would pay for a 2 person 5-star trip purely out of guilt when their son jilts his bride. Even for rich people, it’s a stretch. I also found it really odd that the author didn’t reveal that her MC is basically a genius until very late in the book. Her job is hardly mentioned until much later and it would have given the reader a more rounded view of the character and what they are like if this was explained earlier. So for me this was a fairly average read, and I was quite disappointed it wasn’t a more light-hearted proximity romance like I was expecting. In fact I almost feel like it’s a The Unhoneymooners copycat , but not executed nearly as well.

Having been more a fan of the author's non-fiction work than her fiction so far, The Lucky Escape took me by surprise - I really enjoyed it and feel this is the novel where the author has found her groove. You can tell she is trying to write a different sort of rom-com, which is more inclusive and deals with the messy details of real life, the things you don't tend to find in traditional glossy romances, where everyone tends to be white and straight. Hats off to LJW for this!

The Lucky Escape is an entertaining tale that has a very dramatic beginning - the heroine Annie is dumped at the altar but as we find out more about her, her life, her dreams and ambitions, and her former fiancé, it would appear she did indeed have a lucky escape! But where to now? What does she do with all this upheaval, confusion and heartache?

The answer is - go on the honeymoon you were planning, but with another man!

I won't say anything further for fear of spoilers, but it's a fun escapist read - who doesn't want to fantasise about going on a luxurious, all expenses paid trip to Margaret River right now? And it's also a love letter to the people who support us when life throws us a massive curveball. Annie's friends and sweet younger sister (who reminded me a lot of my own) are well-drawn and likeable, helping our heroine to move past her humiliation and into a better place.

With thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an ARC.

Based on the cover I expected to like this book more than I did, I didn't really connect with the characters & the story was very slow moving.

May be ok to while away the hours around the pool

Such a great read for summer!

I loved following Annie and Patrick in Australia and seeing them gradually grow closer and open up to each other. Their banter was great and the romance between them just felt so natural.

There was a few bits I found annoying and I didn’t enjoy the last quarter as much as the rest but I’ll definitely be checking out other books by this author.

Recommend if your looking for a fun quick summery read with some emotion.

''From this day forward, I will stop trying to be perfect.
For better, for worse, I will throw caution to the wind.
For richer, for poorer... I will say yes to every opportunity that comes my way.
To have and to hold, from this day forth, I commit to my own happiness.
This is my solemn vow.
Forever and ever, Amen.''

This was exactly the kind of feel-good, romance/women's fiction book I like to read!

Annie just got dumped. In her wedding dress, in front of the church. Yikes. Naturally, she goes through all sorts of phases and emotions, until her ex-mother-in-law offers her to take the honeymoon alone (because her son was an ass). Coincidentally, Annie picks up running and going to the gym and comes across her childhood friend from camp. They hit it off as friends and she invites him to go on the honeymoon trip with her to Australia. From then on, it's three weeks of swimming, eating, dancing...and a whole bunch of emotions.

Being dumped on her wedding day, naturally, Annie starts second-guessing her entire life and panics. She is insecure about everything, to the point where she isn't even sure whether she imagined her entire life. She realises that she has always tried to be nice and non-confrontational, meanwhile suppressing her true feelings. This has unavoidably lead her to this point in life, where she is 32 and not happy. We find out that she has a lot of issues with her mom, her ex, and in general with herself. This trip becomes a sort of an epiphany for her because she finally starts putting herself first.

''I was far away from my actual life, but closer to my real self than I been in ages.''

Needless to say, she starts falling for Patrick, because he's literally picture-perfect. They are perfect together as well, but the shadow of her recent break up as well as his own baggage creates issues for them.

I loved the development of their relationship, and the progression from friends to lovers. Obviously, there are some missed signals being sent and miscommunication being done, as Annie is basically in self-protection mode after everything that has happened. But it's resolved quickly, for which I am grateful.

''Those relationships are intimate because of the trust and being a team. Being present. Demonstrating your care for them and sharing parts of yourself. Your thoughts, your hopes, your dreams, your fears.'' - Patrik really spills some gems for Annie about what relationships are all about, and what intimacy really is, whether it's with your lover or your close friends.

I love how we also get to explore more than just the love aspect; we also dive deeper into dealing with grief and loss, the relationship between friends and family members, the challenges of the modern-day age and all these pressures that society, as well as we as humans put on ourselves.

''We're all glued to our phones and wonder why our partner doesn't feel glued to us.'' Mhmmm.

It's one of those books where I highlighted a lot of quotes that resonated with me, and unfortunately, I can't share them all here, because I'd quote half of the book.

All in all, with this book you'll go on a journey of self-discovery with Annie and Patrick, you'll maybe even learn a few things or find a few ideas that will make you think. To add to all of this, it's fun and sweet, and it's going to make you feel great.

This novel had an interesting premise--Annie must recover after being left at the altar--but, for me, the execution was lacking. In particular, the pacing felt off throughout the novel. Williams dragged out certain details and conversations, which increased the feeling of Annie wallowing in her sadness, while skimming over moments where she regains her sense of self.

A fun story with a solid message, but not without it's problems.

The protagonist's narrative was confusing at time, flipping from once stance to another which made it difficult to connect with her. However I did enjoy a lot of the supporting characters; especially Adozo the colourful best friend, Freddie the adorable little sister, and Patrick the love interest who was really quite lovely.
I loved how encouraging and supportive he was, helping Annie through her healing process. Which makes my main problem with the author's choice of writing him quite baffling to me.
I don't think it was in character for him to make a move so early on in the trip. Annie had just been dumped by her longtime partner (on her wedding day!). She clearly says that she doesn't need another relationship, but a friend, but Patrick makes his move right at the beginning of the “honeymoon”. I would have preferred to have stayed friends while in Australia, slowly learning about herself with Patrick's help, and then finally get together once back in the UK (and therefore without the dramarama that ensued).

But, while it lacked in some places it made up on heart and was a quick read for me.

Great, fun read, I didn’t want it to end.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

the lucky escape was such a fun and heartfelt story! i really enjoyed it and i flew through it in just a few days.

I have just loved Laura Jane Williams’ novel, and The Lucky Escape didn’t disappoint.

One cancelled wedding, one unexpected encounter, one spare ticket for the honeymoon.

This was a light-hearted, enjoyable story of boy meets girl.

I totally recommend this novel, Laura Jane Williams has definitely become autobuy author for me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author, for so kindly gifting me this novel to read and review.

I really wanted to like this book. I kept feeling like “I’d read it before”. It’s not an original concept and I think that’s where it held out on me. I just honestly wasn’t a huge fan. I’m sorry. Not much to say.

I am so, so happy to report that I really enjoyed this latest installment from Laura Jane Williams! I had originally LOVED her first book, but her second left a lot to be desired for me so I was a little worried going into this one. Luckily (heh), this one ended up being pretty much exactly what I wanted and I am so happy that I read it! This ticked all of my vacation/honeymoon romance boxes, while also delving deep into the complexities of losing a loved one and it just worked really, really well for me. I definitely recommend if you're looking for a fun summer read that also has a little bit of emotional substance to it. Laura Jane Williams has absolute become and auto-read author for me now and I cannot wait to read whatever she comes out with next!

CW: death of a loved one, dieting, food shaming, toxic/unsupportive parental figures