4 stars

There are so many things that I love about The Lucky Escape. It's set in England, there's travel, there's romance, and best of all, there's a woman discovering her self-worth. However, through no fault of Williams, reading The Lucky Escape made me realize that I am not the biggest fan of the falling in love on vacation trope.

It is truly nothing against Williams' writing as she does a wonderful job of building both the Annie/Patrick relationship and Annie's individual journey. I have just found that in every book where a newly formed couple returns to the reality of real life, the inevitable conflict that arises just doesn't work me. Williams actually does a better job than most of maneuvering around any pitfalls, but there were still a few moments of miscommunication that rubbed me the wrong way.

Although I may not pick another vacation romance for a while, Williams' winning combination of wit and heart will certainly keep me coming back for more! Incredibly excited to see what she comes up with next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

To start off this review, I LOVED this book! It checks all the boxes to be a 5 star book for me. Bonus pointd for the Greys Anatomy reference! Comedy? Check. Characters you love? Check. I could not put this book down, I would have read it in one sitting if it weren’t for life getting in the way of doing that!

I loved the chemistry between Patrick and Annie and the fact that no character was ‘perfect’ and that they all had their flaws. The plot wasn’t all smooth sailing and happy which was great to see because it really mirrored the fact that life isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. It was nice to read something realistic in terms of life doesn’t always go the way you want or expect it to.

This book follows a theme of love and loss and learning to be yourself again. The advernture was exciting too, and it felt like I was there with the characters. I really enjoyed reading all the places the characters went to and the fact the book wasn’t set in one place but there was lots of different locations.

There was a good amount of funny in the book and I really just want to give Annie a big hug. The overall vibe of the book makes it a perfect summer read. I also likee the fact that it is not a ‘go, fall in love, come home and happily ever after ‘ book and that more happens after the return and that it’s not all smooth sailing, giving the book more depth, as well as characters.

Definitely a 5 star read for me and I would love to read more from this author!

Entertaining book, which gets you engrossed to find out what is going to happen next. From falling in love to getting stood up at the alter. Then the what was going to be new mother in law had paid for a honeymoon to remember advised her to still go and take someone in place of her son. Annie takes an old student friend with her, they become lovers. However, he is still coming to terms with losing his wife who had passed away. When Annie comes back she is offered promotion in another Country, she goes to check it out, but her heart is wanting to be with Patrick her old student friend.

Annie is all set to marry Alexander. This should be the best day of her life. And up until she arrives at the church to find the wedding planner with a message from Alexander, saying that he cannot go through with the wedding, she is. When it is suggested that she still goes on the fully pre=paid for honeymoon to Australia, Annie decides to go and takes along old friend Patrick.

The first part of the book was a little slow as it set the scene for Annie to be a jilted bride, and flying off on her honeymoon with another man but I thoroughly enjoyed the middle section of this book. Once the pair are travelling to Australia the story gets in fully swing and the holiday seems fun, idyllic and the perfect opportunity for these near perfect strangers to get to know each other.

I did have an issue the behaviour of a key character towards the end and felt that this was inserted into the story simply as a plot device. Their actions were completely out of character. This and the slow beginning keep this at 3 stars (middle section would definitely warrant 4).

As far as poolside summer reads go, this book reads like a Hallmark movie plotline. The romance moved a bit too quickly, and the plot needed more substance. For me, this book wasn’t unique: bride is left at the altar, bride immediately meets a new beau, falls in love, and there is a happily ever after ending projecting from the first pages. I think Annie was a little crazy to take a brand new guy on her formerly planned honeymoon halfway across the world, but that doesn’t really surprise me in a romance novel.
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This book is out June 10th. Thanks to @avonbooks and @netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Very cute novel about a woman who gets left at on her wedding day and is informed of this by....the wedding planner! She takes her honeymoon at the insistence of her former in-laws-to-be. I liked how the bride's character changed over the course of the novel, which made this more than a meet-cute, fall-in-love romance.

This wasn't a bad book at all! I loved that the story was quite unique but I guess it's me, I couldn't connect much with it.

When Annie is jilted at the altar she is she’ll shocked and thought her life was over. While recovering she runs into an old friend from camp, Patrick.

Annie still goes on the honeymoon and Patrick begs to come with as a friend.

This was a cute book with great chemistry and wonderful character development.

Thank you @netgalley and @avonbooksuk and @laurajaneauthor for the advanced copy of the lucky escape.

Annie is ditched at the altar on her wedding day and is now rebuilding herself back up.

Whilst exercising she meets up with Patrick. Someone from her past and invites him to join her in Australia.

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

Annie has the opportunity to rebuild her life and be able to do things for herself. Along the way, there are decisions to be made and learning to do things that make her happy.

I really enjoyed the book and it was nice easy light hearted read.

The Lucky Escape is a 3.5⭐️ rounded up to 4⭐️
Annie Wiig is nearly 30 and finds herself unexpectedly single. The lovely (not) Alexander has abandoned her and left her with no explanation. A chance meeting with an old friend helps her get over Alexander and start to turn her life around and become the person she wants to be.
This is definitely a beach read and not one to be over analysed. It’s a story of love and above all learning to love yourself before you can love others. There are parts I really liked and there are parts I didn’t, the same goes with the characters. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Annie at the start but she definitely grew on me and I ended up hoping for the best for her. Patrick was the loveliest character and seemed very genuine and likeable.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic read by a new author for me. I am converted as a fan and absolutely cannot wait to read more. This is unique and original. I have been pulled in and unable to put this one down.
I cannot say anything negative about this gorgeous book. it has been a fantastic read.

This cover is absolutely delightful and made me want to read this book. But unfortunately, it misled me at the same time. Because I was expecting a light, funny romantic comedy, and this book is not exactly the one.

This is not only a romance, but also the story of Annie who, after being abandoned on her wedding day by her fiancé, tries to find herself and bring back the person she was as a young girl. It's a good story and a solid message, but that's not what I was expecting and that's not what I was looking for in this book.

Shortly after the failed wedding, Annie meets Patrick, who knew her at a time when she was much more self-confident and hard-charging. Unfortunately, Patrick is exactly the kind of hero that gets on my nerves. He's a goofball who makes silly jokes all the time. Annie finds it cute most of the time. I, unfortunately, find it irritating.

From the very beginning, we can clearly see that Patrick is into Annie. I know it's a romance novel, but I think he made a terrible time to hit on her. This girl had just been dumped by her longtime partner with whom she planned to spend the rest of her life. She clearly says that she doesn't need another relationship, but rather a friend. And here is Patrick making moves on her on the very first day of their “honeymoon”, on which they go together. Okay, she doesn't mind, but as a reader, I felt that she wasn't emotionally ready to really get into another relationship, at least intentionally. At least in the beginning, I couldn't help feeling that Patrick was just another way for Annie to deal with her love life situation, a phase in her dealing with the breakup, a replacement rather than not a serious relationship.

It's not a bad book, but unfortunately it wasn't a book for me.

What a great book, pure escapism! When Annie is jilted at the altar by Alexander her whole life crumples in front of her eyes. Her would have been in laws are insistent that she go on the “honeymoon” that they had organised as a gift. After lots of persuasion and a random encounter with someone from her teens, she decides to go.

The book has a great narrative and lots of soul searching is done and Annie realises lots of things about her behaviour and actions and why she is like that.

The book appears on the surface to be fluffy chick lit however it carries a great moral of “remember who you are and be the best person you can be”.

This book had the perfect premise for a romcom read. I loved the secondary characters in this book and the first half was quite engaging. I did find it hard to connect with Annie as she was sort of wish-washy at times and pretty immature. I didnt feel the chemistry so much between her and Patrick. I really enjoyed reading about Annies relationship with her sister and loved her friends so much!

Unfortunately I found this book a bit dull and wishy washy. It was entirely predictable and I found the main character quite annoying at times. She doesn't know what she wants and her thoughts are all over the place. It almost feels like the author didn't know where she was going with the book when she started and just kind of made it up as she went along.

I didn't find it gripping or original but it was definitely a laid back read if you are looking for something easy going.

This book was so so good! It’s a love story but it’s also a coming of age story. After being left at the alter Annie does a lot of self discovery throughout the book and so does her new old friend Patrick as he deals with his own losses and struggles. Together they escape their lives (literally - they go to Australia!) and figure out how to be themselves, the importance of taking risks and how to move forward in their futures.

I loved the chemistry between Annie and Patrick and I may have fallen in love with him myself haha. He’s so nice and sweet and downright hilarious in his goofy ways. This book had me laughing out loud at parts (hello “willygate”) and made me feel like I’d been to Australia myself with the beautifully described setting. I highly recommend this book to fellow rom-com lovers like myself and anyone who loves the friends to lovers trope.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this book. All opinions remain my own as always.

This starts out as a fun book, fluently written and easy to read; a not too annoying protagonist, going through the worst day of her life so far. Although, it does feel like the author describes every supporting character in over-the-top detail, making sure no two have similar features or personalities and encompassing the entire spectrum of backgrounds. I did find this a little distracting, as if the author was trying just a little too hard to be all things to all readers and wasn't allowing our own imaginations any room to breathe life into them as we saw them ourselves.
The next part of the book is the 'honeymoon', set up nicely and with the best would-be mother-in-law ever! The travelogue would make anyone want to visit Australia tomorrow and there were some great ideas for real couples planning their own honeymoons.
It comes complete with misunderstandings and insecurities and well, you can guess. So I would really recommend the book to about 70% of the way through.
Bizarrely, then it strikes a really false note in the briefest of scenes in a supermarket and from then on it had to work really hard to get me back on side. It was as though some drama or obstacle was hurriedly needed before the ending, so the male character was suddenly thrown under the bus and started behaving and saying things very out of character with no explanation.
It's a shame, as there were opportunities for said drama and 'trouble in paradise' in various other ways which weren't explored and could have been absorbing played out on the page.
So a thumbs up for the Oz section. But lets itself down towards the end. When you make us care about a character, you can't then betray them and expect us to be happy about it. Or understand it, without some major explaining into the bargain.

Shortly after being left at the altar, Annie runs into Patrick, whom she hasn't seen since they were kids at summer camp. Her almost in-laws feel terrible about how their son treated her, and suggest she go on the non-refundable honeymoon trip they bought. When they okay her to take a friend, she invites Patrick.

Spending time with him, she realizes she's changed since the fearless girl she was when he knew her before. He accepts and encourages her in a way her ex never did. When did she stop living for herself and start living for other people? Can Patrick help her reconnect to her old self, and find love along the way?

From the beginning, I enjoyed this author's writing style. I felt immersed in Annie's world as she experienced it. The emotions were vibrant and heartfelt. Patrick is a big sweetheart, kind and adventurous—and exactly what Annie needs. The side characters were interesting, too. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys uplifting, romantic women's fiction.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Every now and then I like to take a break from psychological thrillers and settle down to a decent romcom. This certainly fits the bill. After reading the blurb it sounded just what I needed, and it was!

Annie is set to marry her boyfriend Alexander, who she has been with since her university days. She thinks she has the perfect relationship but unfortunately it appears that Alexander does not feel the same, as when Annie arrives at the church she finds out that he is not going to turn up. One jilted bride!

Alexander’s parents are appalled at their son as they really like Annie so they insist that she still goes on honeymoon and she can take a friend. Here is where the story builds. Annie bumps into an old friend, Patrick, from her school theatre group and invites him along for the trip, just as friends.

It is the holiday of a lifetime and the two friends enjoy each other’s company, but soon they both develop feelings which they are unsure of. Will they just remain friends? Is it too soon to jump into another relationship?

I love the way this story gently unfolds and there is plenty of humour along the way.

The characters are believable and I warmed to Annie straight away.

I can really relate to this story as I fell in love with one of my best friends, unexpectedly. Believe me, it can happen!

Many thanks to netgalley, the publishers and the author for an arc. Really enjoyed reading this.

Publication date is 10th June 2021

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK to send me a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I had a great time reading this book. It makes me feel things, primarily due to this wedding. Like NO! I wasn't okay at all, even if I knew what will happen.

I feel like the novel is divided into two parts. The first one is for the honeymoon and the second is set in London. I liked that aspect as you continue to follow Annie and her new self back to London. However, I wasn't interested in some elements, and also, it feels like this part take a lot more space in the book than the Australian honeymoon. In the end, even if I understand the importance of these holidays, it doesn't feel that important.

I wasn't a big fan of the romance between Annie and Patrick at the beginning. I found it was too fast and quite unbelievable (she was just dumped at the church.) However, I liked how it slows down a bit but still being present throughout the story, especially in the second part of the novel. I also like that you don't have a big problem creating tension in the story; it's a lot more subtle.

I connect right away with Annie; I share a lot of the same trait with her, so for me, the story has another meaning; it's more than a story. I love her evolution toward herself, but also other people. I just found that sometimes the wrap up is too fast, easy and always happy. I am meh about Patrick. It's not that I don't like him; I like how he sees life and his history. However, sometimes I didn't understand his way of thinking. I like the group of friends Annie has. It was like having a drink with them. For me, except for Alexander and Annie's mom, I like that diverse cast of characters.

Overall, this story is uplifting and a good summer reading.