LOVED this adorable chick lit book! Loved the setting, loved the characters, and loved the storyline. Perfect to read at the beach, by the pool. anywhere! My first book by Laura Jana Williams, but will definitely not be my last.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

“The Lucky Escape” was a perfect depiction of a modern-day romance and real-life everyday struggles. Annie is left at the altar by her long-time boyfriend, and in an attempt at recovering from heartbreak joins a workout class. During her workout class, she meets Patrick! Determined to get back to the Annie she used to be, she decides to take a vow that she’ll say yes to every opportunity that presents itself. Using the spare ticket for her honeymoon Patrick sets off with Annie on an all-expense-paid honeymoon vacation in Australia. When they return, they must face expectations and judgments of the “real world”.

Laura Williams writing is spectacular in this novel. It is kept light and easy to read and follow. It is writing from Annie’s point of view as a series of events from the time she is left at the altar through her journey back to herself.

I was rooting for Annie the entire time! She’s an easy character to love, she’s sweet and smart and doesn’t know her worth. I related so much to Annie and her relationship with her mother, they were consistently at odds with each other. Her mother questioned every step Annie took and was always thinking about what others would say (how frustrating!). Patrick was by far my favorite character! He was so gentle, forgiving, tender, and of course handsome!

The book really questions your thoughts on rebound dating! Annie definitely jumped directly into another relationship as soon as her thoughts cleared from being left at the altar. It made me think about my views on rebound dating. On one hand, I think it can be detrimental to jump from heartbreak into another relationship, it can prevent self-healing and lead to using a person as a numbing device – which is not fair to both parties. But on another hand, if done right, a rebound relationship could also be healing in a way as well. Through Patrick, Annie was able to return to her true personality and learn to no be defined by her significant other. Patrick allowed her to be herself, he actually pushed her to be bold and relax. This rebound was very beneficial for both Annie and Patrick

Overall, I would rate this book 4 stars.

Beautiful work by Laura Jane Williams!

What a joy this book was! I haven’t read anything by Laura Jane Williams before and was totally charmed by both the storyline and the writing.

Annie’s world comes crashing down around her and we really feel her emotions - shock, pain, wallowing in self-pity, pulling herself together and then taking a totally unexpected direction.

The ‘escape’ is manifold and the story of what Annie does next is fabulous. There’s a trip abroad, a man, a return to reality, doubt and ultimately a very satisfying ending.

Patrick, Adzo, Freddie, the Core Four are all very real. The one character I didn’t get to grips with was Annie’s fiancé - I can’t even remember his name - but I think really that’s the point - what starts off one way ends up with Annie (and the reader) realising that he wasn’t significant at all. Annie’s self-development is what is significant!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to escape - even if it is just into the pages of a book!

Really enjoyed this book, a great summer read, perfect for the beach!
Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book

It should have been the happiest day of Annie’s life .When her feckless fiancé Alexander, backs out of the wedding via text and flees the country, Annie is lost. Her entire future has disintegrated. Weeks after being jilted, she signs up to a boot camp and is reunited with Patrick, a friend from her teenage years. Catching up with Patrick feels like no time has past and reminds her of who she was before she felt she had to fit in and please everyone. On a whim after a drinking and crazy golf marathon, she decides to go on her honeymoon with Patrick who is coping with his own heartbreak. But what happens when you go on your honeymoon with another man?

I enjoyed this book. It’s lighthearted and funny. It’s one of those books where you can see how it’s all going to play out but that doesn’t detract from your enjoyment at all. I was happy to be along for the ride whilst Annie picks herself up, dusts herself off and starts afresh. The chapters in Australia were pure escapism and I loved reading about Annie’s transformation whilst she travelled with Patrick. The pace and feel of the book definitely changed once they return back from the trip and I felt impatient for the end.

All in all it’s a perfect upbeat beach read and I’d recommend to all fans of the romance genre.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Avon books for the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

A great chic lit book that would be perfect as a holiday read.

There’s nothing overly “different” about this book, starting in the same way as many others in the genre with a jilted bride and then progressing with friends falling in love on an amazing holiday. However it really didn’t matter that it had a recognisable plot, loads of chick lit have quite interchangeable plots. The important thing was that it was an enjoyable read and a nice bit of escapism. I would definitely recommend for some light hearted rom com.

Anne was left at the altar. When she reunites with an old friend from camp at a bootcamp class. Taken by his outlook on life, she reunites with his friendship. With her ex is no where to be found his parents tell Annie to take the non-refundable vacation to Australia as an apology for their son's misgivings. And who does she take with her? Not her best friend, or a college friend from her core-four, but Patrick, the optimist widower, who Annie cannot get enough of. But living in the swanky hotels and fancy tours Patrick and Annie catch feelings, almost like the bachelor! But can their dreamy vacation affair last in the real world? Or will Annie's mother, ex, and job get in the way?

At first I thought this story was a bit cliched jilted bride runs into an old friend and goes on vacation and bam LOVE. But as this went along I couldn't put it down and loved that it went past the vacation and the struggles of coming back to the real life problems. It definitely gave me wanderlust vibes. I am also in the same boat as Annie in the respect of finding a new place to live and maybe taking a little more control of my life and not letting so many people's opinions get in the way. Overall it was a cute and enjoyable read! 4 stars.

Read the first couple chapters of this book and could not get into the authors writing style. I was also very confused as the main character had a different name in the book than in the blurb. All in, not for me

After being left at the alter by her long-term partner Alexander, Annie embarks on her would-be honeymoon with an old friend. They flirt, try to heal from their past, fall in love, etc, etc. This is all fine and dandy and something I would've usually loved, but I wasn't a fan of the romance in this book. Their personalities and beliefs are inconsistent (often in order to create drama), their communication skills leave a lot to be desired, and I didn't feel any chemistry between them. Like, at all.

The feminism and diversity also felt forced. These are both things I love to see in books, but it's painfully obvious when they're added just for the sake of seeming more inclusive. (At least it's better than having no diversity, I guess?)

And what millennial doesn't know what GTG means? Did Annie have no internet presence whatsoever until adulthood?!

Overall, this book was okay. It's a light tale of self-discovery and, although it's not exactly my cup of tea, I'd recommend it to those wanting a fun, quick read.

Unfortunately this book is falling somewhere between 2-3 ⭐ for me.

There's things I did like about it - Annie is jilted on her wedding day and uses that as a wake-up call to improve her life and see the positive side to things.
It's a great premise but the execution is really messy.

Most of the characters are wishy-washy and hard to understand, but Annie is truly the most bizarre.
It's as if the author had half a dozen personality types in mind for her, but instead if choosing one, she mashed them all together into a single person.
As an example -
Annie has just bumped into a guy she hasn't seen in 20 years and they're at a gym's smoothie bar and he says...
" 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺'𝘴"........
" 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥, " 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. " 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺. "....... " 𝘖𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, " 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. " 𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘺. 𝘚𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴. "
But then a couple of pages later....
𝘐 𝘨𝘭𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦.
" 𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, " 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.
What?? She makes a point of being offended by the term LADY but apologizes when she considers herself to not being like a lady. It's weird.

Another example.....
𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦. 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴.
Then later on the same page.....
𝘐'𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.
So does Annie have a body-positve mind frame or is she the type who crash diets for her wedding? Who knows?! Either is fine with me but really, pick a lane.
This contradictory behaviour is repeated throughout the entire book.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.
Released June 10

A failed wedding, 2 old friends, and a honeymoon? Sounds like the perfect recipe for a beach read. I have to say this was a 2-3 star for me.

I felt as if the beginning was slow to get to the point and found it being a tad boring. But then the middle! Oh the honeymoon that wasn’t a honeymoon! I was truly enthralled at vacation and wish I could be with them in the story! I was truly glued to the book. But then, real life happens for Annie and Patrick, and I found them quite wishy washy and not like themselves on vacation at all. I felt as if their characters did a complete 180. Maybe that’s the point of the story...but I found it wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced readers copy for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Laura Jane Williams for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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A solid romance with fantastic chemistry, The Lucky Escape would be a good pool side companion! While this book wasn’t a five star read for me, I did like some parts enough to keep it in that 3 star range. The thing I struggled with the most was the main female lead, Annie. She’s just a bit too flighty and all over the place for me. She’s the type of person that I would NOT be friends with in real life because she’d annoy me way too much. I would’ve liked to see more of the honeymoon because honestly that was what kept me reading and then it was over as soon as it started and things fizzled out for me again. I may be judging this too harshly, but I’ve just read so many fantastic reads lately that my expectations are HIGH. A good romance, but ultimately it doesn’t stand out.

After adoring The Love Square, and also really loving Our Stop, I was so looking forward to The Lucky Escape, I was sold from the premise alone.

Ah this was such a heartwarming and fun read! I just really love Laura’s writing, it’s so easy to get into and it just flows so well, it’s cosy, fun and always guaranteed to make me a bit emotional at times too, so the perfect trio of boxes ticked for a rom com for me.

Same here as with the last 2 books is that I really love the main characters, the chemistry and just seeing their interactions play out was so enjoyable. Filled with laughs, heartwarming moments and a nice sprinkling of sauce too.

I really really loved this book. It truly was the perfect escape.

I enjoyed the character development - in particular Annie’s best friend and her little sister. I also loved how kind and thoughtful Patrick was.

I enjoyed reading how Annie thought so much more of herself and really realised it can take just one person to set you on the right path

Great Summer read

Annie is ready to marry Alexander but he's a no-show at the wedding. Annie is naturally upset and joins a bootcamp club to let off some steam. She runs into an old friend Patrick with whom she connects. Annie decides to take Patrick on the honeymoon that is already paid for, so why not?

Actually got this on audio as well as the book version. A most definitely five star from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A fun and easy read. The premise of the book hooked me immediately and I enjoyed Annie and Patrick as characters. There were a lot of relatable moments, especially around the ideas of what constitutes being an adult and feeling left behind when everyone around you is getting married and having kids. The banter between Annie and Patrick provided for some chuckles. I found both Annie and Patrick flip-flopping around and the growth Annie seemed to get whilst on the holiday just disappear. Overall, perfect if you're looking for something enjoyable and light-hearted. Lol moment in the sauna!

Annie was raised to be a good, submissive woman who didn't advocate for herself nor ruffled feathers. So imagine when you've spent your life doing the "right" thing that being left at the altar is the most shocking and traumatizing thing to happen in your life. While Annie is grieving the loss of her marriage and future life, she runs into her old friend Patrick. Coincidently, Patrick encourages Annie to be more self-sufficient, and to take risks that starts with taking him to Australia on her honeymoon. Doesn't hurt that Patrick isn't the gangly teens she once new and is certifiably HOT and always knows when to say the right thing.

While in this perfectly romantic bubble, Annie begins to take chances and to follow her own gut, which includes giving into her attraction to Patrick. Annie and Patrick quickly realize that it's easy to be brave and take risks from a half a world away, but re-entering their old lives and trying to fit each other into them proves to be more difficult than expected.

A book filled with growth, discovery, and a lucky escape.

***

I think I'm officially a Laura Jane Williams fan?!?!?! Like any sound romcom fan, I was obviously high off of Our Stop but was left utterly disappointed after The Love Square. The Lucky Escape was a satiable rebound that left me satisfied.

What I love about Annie is the growth in character. Nobody can blame how submissive her character was in the beginning as it was a result of how she was raised. Patrick was just the right guy to encourage her to be her own woman and not to hold back.

Patrick is basically any woman's ideal man. This cutie definitely broke the idea of "nice guys finish last". I really appreciated his insights to life, and grief, without the loss of his wife completely defining him. He was absolutely the right match for Annie to let her grow without stifling her.

TBH the book is just so highly relevant to modern culture. There were several Glennon Doyle references either by name, or ideas Glennon writes about which adds to the authenticity of the underlying plots of growth. Needless to say, this book was so much more than two characters simply falling in love.

Perfect summer read with the hot, Australian setting and a forget-all-your troubles FREE vacation. Spicy chemistry with a new friend, random adventures and a message that inspires you to put yourself first. What more do you need!

A light hearted easy read. Sometimes things don't work out the way we think they are going too, but everything happens for a reason and this story shows that. I enjoyed the main characters relationship and would recommend this book if your looking for a rom com story whilst on the beach.

If your looking for a light and easy read then you might enjoy this book, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

I liked the set-up and premise, Annie is left at the altar but ends up going on her honeymoon anyway. I also appreciated that it wasn’t all about the romance but we genuinely got to see Annie grieve her previous relationship and reevaluate her life as a whole. However it all felt very formulaic.

I particularly didn’t like Annie’s new love interest, Patrick came off a little creepy at first and even after his backstory is revealed his connection with a Annie felt forced. In general, Annie’s relationships with other characters, her parents, sister, friends and work colleagues felt underdeveloped. There was some effort to add depth to some of these relationships and perhaps if there were less secondary characters this might have been achieved.

It was a quick read and just engaging enough to keep me reading to the end. I’m sure plenty of people will like this more than I did and would find it a great summer read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review.