⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

Laura Jane Williams has done it again!! I cannot even begin to explain how much I loved and adored this book - it was actual perfection. Laura Jane Williams also wrote one of my other favourite books Our Stop, so when the chance came to read this one as an ARC via Netgalley I jumped at the opportunity and I couldn’t be happier I did. I read this one in a day and a half and when I wasn’t reading it I wished that I was!

“When the day finally comes for Annie to marry Alexander, the last thing she expects is to be left standing at the altar. She was so sure he was Mr Right. Now, she has no idea how she could have got it so wrong. After a chance meeting with Patrick, an old friend who reminds her of who she used to be, Annie takes a vow of her own: she’ll say yes to every opportunity that comes her way from now on. Could a spontaneous trip with Patrick be the way to mend Annie’s heart? She’s about to find out as she embarks on her honeymoon – with a man who’s not her husband.”

Now, this wasn’t your standard “pretend to be married / honeymooners to get a free holiday” storyline which I loved about this one. It was so much more! It was about friendship, trusting your gut, laughter, adventure, grief, following your heart, family, trust, saying yes to everything, sisterhood, new opportunities and “making lemonade out of lemons”.

The banter was absolutely amazing and the story progressed effortlessly. The fact that the honeymoon was in Australia was also awesome and I feel like it did our beautiful country justice! It has also instantly made me want to travel to Margaret River and explore the wineries and then travel back to Sydney and explore the nightlife further.

It was lighthearted with elements of sadness. It was empowering and inspiring, and it was bloody hilarious (the massage bit had me in stitches!) It is the perfect example of creating something good out of a bad situation and how saying the little word “yes”, even when you’re scared, can bring such joy and love into your life ☀️💗

This one comes out June 10th and if you buy one new release book this year it HAS to be this one! 👏 (also because in the acknowledgment section she gave a shout out to us Bookstagrammers so now you have to go and get it!)

Thank you so much to Laura, Avon books and Netgalley for allowing me to read this one before it’s release date - I couldn’t have enjoyed it more!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon books for the opportunity to read and review The Lucky Escape by Laura Jane Williams.

This is a fun and easy read. I finished it in a day. I loved the authors writing style which drew me in right from the start. My fave genre is a good old fashioned romance story and this didn't disappoint.

It tells the story of Annie who gets jilted at the altar and decides to try and turn her life around by going on her planned luxury honeymoon with Patrick who is an old friend who she meets again after her relationship ends.

The book touches on a few heavier topics which pull at the heart strings a little bit. Not going to lie, I had a tear in my eye in a couple of parts!

I was sure I had the whole plot figured out but did get a bit thrown towards the end when it looked as though Annie's life was going to go in a different direction to what we had been lead to believe but it twisted back very quickly.

Overall a fab holiday read, perfect for the beach!

The Lucky Escape is a quick, fun romance from the author of Our Stop. The writing is humorous (I really love the author's style!), but the story also dives into deeper themes like grief and self-confidence. The story started to fall apart a bit toward the end, but I'd still recommend it as an entertaining beach read!

Annie and Alexander had been together for many years and she had lived in his house for two years. Finally their wedding day had arrived. As they pulled up to the church, Annie knew that something was wrong as the wedding consultant was standing outside. The consultant came to tell her that Alexander had just texted her and was not going to come. He asked the consultant to tell Annie. Annie was in shock as she had no idea that Alexander did not want to marry her. He had not even made any effort to contact her or either of their families. In addition, he appeared to have left town. Annie immediately went to bed and didn't leave her bed for days. When she did get out of bed, she decided to start jogging. While jogging, she noticed a Boot Camp and decided to join it. At the Boot Camp, a man approached her and she realized that it was a friend from a drama camp that she had attended as a teenager. She and Patrick enjoyed talking of the fun times at the camp and began to spend a lot of time together. Alexander's mother had insisted that Annie still go on the honeymoon, She was not going to go as she had no one to go with, The night before the trip was to start, Patrick and Annie decided that they would go together as friends. They agreed that it was not a romantic trip and that they would sleep in separate beds.
The trip was an amazing three week adventure in Australia. Patrick brought out the fun side of Annie. She realized that she had been so obsessed with work and acting as Alexander had wanted that she had lost some of herself. This is a great book that I highly recommend,

I really enjoyed this book. Having read Our Stop before, I knew that I loved the authors writing style, so I was very excited to read some more of her work.

It was a really quick and easy read, I read it all in one day. The relationship was easy to root for. Annie in particular was a great character that I found rather relatable as someone of a similar age, who also questions whether she should have everything figured out by now.

My only issue really was that I found the story lost steam a little bit once they got back from the "honeymoon" to Austrailia. It felt a little like it fell into the trap of creating conflict for the sake of conflict. Some of the issues were understandable but I felt that the way it played out just seemed a little repetitive and then miraculously solved in half a page.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any fan of cute, contemporary romance.

Oh to be on a sunny beach reading this! Great summer read, light hearted fun and a cute romantic comedy that will make you smile

I can imagine being on holiday and quite enjoying this. Unfortunately, for me and the book, I was at home and need something a bit more capable of lifting me away from the everyday.

The plot is sort of fine, it just didn't feel terribly fresh, which made it hard to want to keep reading. Annie is ditched at the altar, still has a chance to go on an amazing honeymoon - and after bumping into an old friend one day, takes him instead. Hi-jinks and romance ensue.

It had a fairly slow start - taking its time to get to the actually honeymoon part that is highlighted on the blurb, and I think that really doesn't help. It could've begun at the altar. Or even in the airport!

Like I say, I can imagine picking this up on holiday and enjoying it. The characters are nice enough, it's not very challenging etc. But sadly it didn't work for me at the current time.

The Lucky Escape takes us to the day of the wedding of Annie but turns out she hears from the wedding planner that the groom has left her. Then she takes her honeymoon trip with a man she had met 20 years ago at school camp.

The premise of the book hinted at a funny, heartwarming story but I actually feel pretty disappointed. I think the book would have benefited a lot from dual POV and the there's onlyone bed trope. It's definitely not a bad book but it didn't click with me.

Why this book didn't work for me:
⏳It started off very slow paced and the ending felt too rushed.
🧍‍♂️Hero doesn't feel like a complete character. We don't get his POV and we never hear about his friends, family - except from his wife that passed away.
🏖 It took really long for the book to reach the honeymoon part, when it was my impression the book would take the most part there
👰 The conflict with her ex-fiancee was strangely too tame when often the conflict with the hero took much bigger proportions
🚪Closed door romance at 70%


Thank you Avon for providing me a complementary copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was, for the most part, what I wanted it to be. A cute romance story that still manages to make us reflect on different topics. Perfect for someone who is looking for a fast and enjoyable read, but also for someone who, like me, is in a bit of a reading slump.

The premise sounded very interesting and I feel like it was executed really well until we got to my least favourite part of the book: the ending. It's not a bad ending, by any means. But I expected more from it.
Our main character is supposed to go through this life-changing situation and, honestly, I don't think she changed that much. However, I do appreciate the commentary on relationships that aren't going anywhere but people refuse to end for one reason or another. That plus the story of our other main character, love interest Patrick, provided a very interesting dynamic. Showing different ways of mourning the loss of a loved one and/or of a relationship.
My problem with their relationship is how it changed at the end because it felt very out of character at some points. It didn't really make sense to me.

Also, something that I didn't enjoy in this book was the classic "evil mum" character. Annie kept on vilifying her mum for the same things she did and I just find it very cliché to blame our bad life decisions on the parents that had too high expectations of their kids. Unless it's done properly and it shows a toxic dynamic and creates some social commentary.
For the most part, I did love the friendship between Annie and her female friends. It's always nice to see books that portrait female friendship as something good and not bitchy and toxic.

Despite my little complaints, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Perfect summer read.

I thought this was a great fun holiday read, a lovely tale that kept me wanting to push on and not put it down.

This is the first book that I have read by Laura Jane Williams. It will not be my last.
What a cute fun story. I truly believe that all things happen for a reason. This book shows just that.
Annie was left at the alter by Mr. Right who turned out to be Mr. Wrong. She was mad, sad and trying to pull herself out of the craziness that was in her world when she has a chance meeting with Patrick, an old friend. Patrick reminds Annie of how she use to be and how to not let fear get in the way.
This book was fun, quick and an easy read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the advanced copy of this book.
#NetGalley #LuckyEscape

4.5 stars for this book! It was my first Laura Jane Williams read and I enjoyed it!

This book really focuses on letting go of the past and learning to open up and find yourself.

I really loved Annie. She was authentic, real, and her thought process throughout the book was super relatable. Patrick was incredible guy, and I loved that both characters were suffering and broken. And Freddie!! What a fun, sweet younger sister!

I like how the ending tied together, too. I know it’s a romance book but for a second I thought maybe it wouldn’t have a happy ending—but I’m so glad it did!

I really enjoyed this read—and now I desperately want to go to Australia!!

Thank you for the ARC :)

The Lucky Escape is a tale of three parts. The first part consists of a bride (our narrator Annie) being stood up at the altar by her long time partner Alexander.


Annie accepts the offer from her ex-mother in law, to go on an all expenses paid honeymoon to Australia.

Its who she decides to take with her that's the real shock, Patrick who is a long lost friend from her teenage drama camp twenty years prior, a bit random but she meets him at the gym.

As you can probably guess an inevitable romance insures. Also the discovery they make about each other. A phrase that is reaped during the honeymoon phase of this book is the "touch of his hand on my back..." and it goes from there.

The third part of the book is what happens when they return to London and back to their normal lives, where their communication seems to break down somewhat.  I just felt there was to many inconsistencies in this part.

The best thing about this, I believe,  was the 'core four' and Adzo who are Annie's best friends from university and
work. They support her throughout this whole story.
The worst part for me was the silly nick names the family give to each other, such as Annie- Doo, it just grated on me and didn't add anything to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avor publishers for giving me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Lucky Escape is just that...a great find and a fun escape! Laura Jane Williams created characters with complicated lives and problems. Watching their relationship unfold is like drinking a cup of warm tea - a little bit predictable and a whole lot satisfying. Once you dig into this beach read, you'll devour it! Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

When Annie's ratfink fiance leaves her at the altar, she is devastated - enough to take her fiance's parents up on their offer to send her on the all expenses paid glitzy honeymoon she intended to take with him. Joining her is her childhood friend Patrick, who remembers her as the vibrant young teen she used to be before she allowed herself to surrender to societal expectations.

There was a lot I enjoyed about this book - I liked that Annie is capable of learning from past mistakes and she sticks to her decisions once she takes them. I liked that she feels her devastation and that she needed to grow into her relationship with Patrick. I really liked the description of her relationship with her mother because its quiet simmering resentment feels very real. And this really is a very good sales pitch for a five star honeymoon in Australia.

However, I found it difficult to really connect with Patrick. He's a total dreamboat but you can see all the details of how and where he was crafted to become exactly what Annie needed. While allowing Annie space to become the woman she was always meant to be, Patrick appears to have become more of a concept than a character. I can see the potential but I didn't see it quite realized.

This also is not the romance I thought I was getting - it has more of a women's lit, chicklit vibe, which I enjoy but it means the pacing was different.

This was a cute storyline. Annie is left at the alter but decides to go on her honeymoon anyway with and old friend she runs into. I loved the part where they ended up flying business class! 🤣🤣. While it was a cute storyline, it did drag a little slower than I was anticipating. It took the first 30 percent of the book to leave on the trip. Overall that a sweet story that is a great read if you like romance. 🙂

Lighthearted, fun read. A little predictable but sometimes that's what you want from a book!

Would be a great book to read on holiday.

THE LUCKY ESCAPE - LAURA JANE WILLIAMS
PUBLISHED BY - AVON BOOKS UK
PUB DATE 10TH JUNE
PLOT - Annie is left standing at the altar , she is devastated and doesn't know why!
She later randomly meets Patrick, her old friend from drama camp and they instantly reconnect.
Annie's ex MIL insists that she goes on the all inclusive honeymoon to Australia and take someone along. Annie impulsively asks Patrick!
Will it be a Lucky Escape for both of them?? Can Annie get her life sorted??

MY THOUGHTS -
The writing is very good. It is not very heavy , an easy read and via Annie it emphasizes on how one gets accustomed in one's life that you don't question it and are settling for less than what you actually deserve.
What I liked about this book is that it's not only about the vacation or the lucky escape but also when Annie is back to her day to day life and has to get her bearings and confront some truths making it more realistic!
The chemistry between Annie and Patrick is super!! He is gentle, funny and full of life and is definitely one of my book BF.
For me the first 3rd of the book was quite slow then it picked up for me.
Thank you Netgalley and Avon books for this arc in exchange of my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books Uk for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Lucky Escape is the ultimate rom-com read with some self-discovery. Going in, I thought it was going to be like The Unhoneymooners (which I liked but didn’t love) but I got more Beach Read vibes.

After being stood up at the altar by her university sweetheart, Annie is left questioning everything in her life. One unexpected encounter with her old friend Patrick from drama camp leads to the ultimate Australian honeymoon trip.

I greatly admire the relationship not only between Annie and her little sister Freddie, but between Annie and all her friends. The juxtaposition between her healthy relationships and her unhealthy relationships (especially with her mother and Alexander) was done so well. I recognize some aspects about the character Annie were a bit wishy-washy; however, her growth is praiseworthy and I related to her a great deal. Although I think there has to be a definite friendship in order to go from friends to lovers, the romance between Annie and Patrick dragged out a little too long and I just expected more.

The references were immaculate and I could really not put this down! I would highly recommend this fun and cute story!

If you enjoyed The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren, this book is for you!

Annie is stood up at the altar and her husband to be ghosts her. Then, she encounters Patrick, a man from camp when they were teens.

As she has a honeymoon paid by her in-laws, her mother-in-law encourages her to still go to this luxury 3 weeks vacation to Australia. She decides to go with Patrick.

One third is before the trip, one third is the trip and last third is the return.

I did not think I would enjoy it this much but I needed something light and it exceeded my expectations!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a free copy of this E-arc in exchange for my honest review.