This was a nice, lovely read. Very much about escapism and self-discovery in the wake of an emotional disaster. I would have preferred for the first part to go by faster (come on, get to the good stuff!) and it is fade to black in the bedroom (boo). I thought Patrick was a lot of fun and a good pairing with Annie, who had some good growth.

A feel good story, ups and down, delights and disappointments.
When Annie is jilted at the church, she was devastated, but fairly quickly realised that it was, indeed, A Lucky Escape! Over the next weeks she begins to find herself at last.
A lovely summer read, and I really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this book from the very beginning to the last page. The themes of change, finding yourself and learning to be a little braver are beautifully written with intelligence, warmth and humour.

I'm a huge Laura Jane Williams fan after reading this gorgeous book. A wrong marriage and best friends turned lovers had me tearing through the pages. After reading Our Stop, I was beyond excited to get started on the lucky escape!

Travelling to Australia on a non-honeymoon was the story I didn’t know I needed right now. Loving the travel element and the way that Annie found herself throughout the book really resonated with me. A great, fun love story with bonus travel thrown in, definitely recommend. Thanks NetGalley!

The Lucky Escape

This is the first book of @laurajaneauthor’s that I’ve read, although Kirsty read one of hers last year - Our Stop. I received an arc of this via the publishers @avonbooks via @netgalley.

This book is basically my life story, which I knew before starting but I guess if you’ve just been jilted it might not be the best time in your life to pick up a book with this plot!

I enjoyed the majority of the story, especially when Annie and Patrick were travelling around Australia. It’s a place I’m never likely to go so I like to see it vicariously through the eyes of characters.

My own personal experience did make me a bit skeptical about the timing and insta feelings between Annie and Patrick but that could just be me. I would have loved to see Annie rocking it on her own and keeping Patrick in the friend zone. I definitely connected with parts of Annie’s character and her response to her situation right down to the line “when life gives you lemons make lemonade”. If you’ve seen some of our posts recently about our Instagram handle you’ll know the significance of that!

I still have Love Square on my TBR so will look forward to picking that up at some point in the future.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me after the 24% mark. I really wanted to love this - charming cover art, promising storyline that gives off major The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren vibes - but I gave up after my third attempt at trying to keep going.

The pacing is dreadfully slow, bogged down by unnecessary details (mostly political/social justice remarks that don't add to the plot and were probably thrown in as sound bites or for a pat on the back) and repetitive or straight up unnecessary scenes that could be cut.

I also couldn't root for the heroine. After six chapters of her moping about how miserable her life is with no indication she wanted to change paired with her passive personality, I just felt bad for her and wished she'd go to therapy instead of a vacation.

The writing also feels inconsistent. Williams' writing style shines in some parts but the writing is mostly clinical and dry. It reads like a second draft.

Overall, I was expecting something light and fun, ala The Unhoneymooners as mentioned above, but it was dreary and a bit boring. Maybe I'll try it again in the future to see if it picks up halfway through and ends with a bang, but judging by the other reviews, it's safe to say I'm not missing out on much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me a digital ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a nice light beach read. I enjoyed it but wasn't as invested as I could have been. I found the in laws a bit too nice and the tension between Annie and Patrick a bit rushed, particularly when they returned to London.

It was light and fluffy and was yet another book that made me want to go on holiday!

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book.
Since I read the blurb for The Lucky Escape, I couldn't wait to read it! I think the premise of taking someone else on your honeymoon after being jilted on the wedding day was great! I loved how Annie grew even if at times I just wanted to shout at her to just say it out loud! I think Patrick too had incredible growth, but have been more open to Annie than she was to him.
I think it was a great premise, the characters were great, but I wasn't fond of the last few chapters. It felt that after Australia when the tension should have been greater, it just went down.
It was overall a very pleasant read, just not my favourite.

Not a bad read, but not one of my favorites either. It is a good beach or lake read, one you can read when you are resting from the fun, then pick back up later.

The author's writing was good, her character building was good, however, I felt that the story which started out strong, fell flat in the end.

I loved this! When Annie’s fiancé doesn’t turn up to the wedding she’s understandably devastated. Her intended in laws insist that she goes on the honeymoon they had arranged and paid for. Annie just isn’t sure who to take. At bootcamp she stumbles across an old friend from her round and carefree teenage days, and Annie decides to ask them to join her. This is a story of Annie finding herself and finally realising what it is she wants in life to make her happy. I really enjoyed this book.

2.5 Stars. Well, I enjoyed this one more than The Love Square (same author). Overall this book was good not great. I genuinely had look at the blurb to find the heroine’s name while writing this review because I couldn’t remember what it was after spending 2 hours in her head, so safe to say it’s not going to have a lasting impact on me. This is one that I can see appearing on lists of summer “beach reads.” It’s easy to read, has an attractive cover, and I loved the idea behind the book (it brought to mind Christa Lauren’s Unhoneymooners), but it lacks a lot of substance.

I struggled with the pacing. It took too long for her to get to the honeymoon and then so much of what happened on the honeymoon was glossed over. I also felt like there wasn’t enough will they won’t they tension between Annie and Patrick. I don’t care if it’s a romance and I know they’re going to get together, I want to fell that tension and heat and be invested in their relationship. I genuinely didn’t care if they ended up together and I honestly think they both, but especially Annie, would have been better off finding a therapist rather than a relationship. There was also some weird details thrown in for no reason. For example the ethnicity of the wedding planner who is literally only in the first chapter or so was referenced. Also the fact that Annie got her period on the honeymoon was thrown in, but didn’t have any impact on anything else (usually when a period is referenced there is a pregnancy scare or something to make information like that relevant). I struggled with side characters, especially Annie’s family. The younger sister who was supposed to be 13 but acted like she was four. The mom was a narcissist and concerned with appearances to the level she could give Hyacinth Bucket a run for her money.

All that being said, I didn’t hate it and I read the whole thing, but it was just not at the same level as most of the books I read.

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

Laura Jane Williams newest release is about Annie who has lost herself and has got stuck in her comfort zone for too long. So when her fiancé leaves her standing at the alter she goes on the honeymoon anyway and starts to discover a new lease on life.

I did really really enjoy this book and I will always love Laura Jane Williams writing style. But it fell a little bit flat for me after ADORING her other two books; Our Stop & The Love Square. What I love about her writing is that she's great at interlinking light hearted humour with deeper meaningful conversations, but I found the harder hitting topics lacked slightly in The Lucky Escape and it was definitely more in the rom-com chick lit genre.

I love Annie as a main character but I wish her "core 4" friendship was a little bit more flushed out as they felt a little two dimensional. I'm hoping, maybe wishful thinking, that they may get a little more attention in the published work coming out in June.

The ending felt a little rushed but overall I really enjoyed my time reading this book. But it's definitely more of a rom-com beach read type of book. Great for a chilled reading experience that will make you chuckle out loud and enjoy a cute summer romance story.

It’s the day of Annie’s wedding and the last thing she expected was to be left standing at the alter by her partner of 10 years, Alexander. Whilst venturing out in to single life, Annie bumps into an old friend, Patrick, who seems to bring Annie back to her old self. Annie still has the honeymoon to attend, could it be fate that she bumped into her old friend Patrick at the perfect time? And will he join her?

I really enjoyed this! It was a light, easy read. I loved the way Annie and Patrick’s relationship blossomed and Annie’s realisation that she was not herself whilst she was with Alexander. She would compromise with him, whilst being with Patrick brought out the best parts of her. Whilst the novel was focused on Annie and Patrick’s relationship, it was mainly about Annie starting afresh and realising what she deserves in life. Did she need a man? No. But did Patrick bring happiness to her life? Well, you lot will have to find out won’t you?!

I think this book would be a perfect ‘beach read’ as it is rather binge-worthy. I would happily take Annie’s place on a free honeymoon to Australia. Wouldn’t you?

First of all I would like to say that I really enjoyed this book so I gave it 3.5 stars rounded to 4. However, I'm going to lie if I say I liked Annie from the start. To begin with, I disliked her character which made it difficult to get into the book. I thought she was a little annoying and a bit too perfect but I guess that's what makes it good overall - her character development was good.
Pros:
I liked the gradual change in Annie's personality, I saw her from being very ordinary and afraid of taking risks and being too comfortable in her comfort zone. But throughout the book she became feisty, outgoing and confident which I liked.
I liked the friendships too - her super sweet younger sister, and her super supportive group of best friends! I really enjoyed the connection between Annie and Patrick and how their feelings, emotions and actions changed throughout the book.
I also liked the side relationships too (they weren't forgotten!!) - between Annie and her difficult mother - how they worked it out eventually.
The overall story was super cosy and fun -I really enjoyed it! I though the ending was also perfect - I like it when the book finishes in a good way and this did it for me! It also made me want to visit Australia!

Cons:
there wasn't too much about this book that I disliked but I didn't 100% love Annie. I liked her enough but I still felt she was slightly annoying even towards the end of the book but this was a minor negative.

I would recommend this to readers who love sweet contemporary books :)

A ten year relationship from university to the altar. Halted and sent in to tailspin. How do you come back? You go on what should of been your honeymoon with a friend.
A discovery of self and how not to settle for what you think is OK because that's all you deserve.
Career decisions, moving home and a new man. Momentous changes, all within a short space of time. Setting boundaries and learning to get what you truly deserve.
Heart warming, life reaffirming and that it's never too late to change.

After this year we could all definitely use an escape and that’s exactly what Annie got in The Lucky Escape after she gets left at the altar. Spiraling and heartbroken, Annie runs into an old friend Patrick and decides to take him with her on her honeymoon. Ultimately Patrick begins to show her just how awesome she is and just how lucky she was to get an escape from her marriage.

If you are looking for a romantic escape pick this one up. While it was somewhat over the top at times I could not put it down. I was rooting for Annie to figure out her life after it spiraled out of control and Patrick is honestly the perfect romantic lead – funny, goofy, quirky, handsome, and fully in tune with his emotions. Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

Brilliant summer book. This was the fist I have read from Laura Jane Williams but I will definitely be reading the others. Being left at the altar was the starting point for this book and it took us through all the emotions before Annie started to pick herself up and living again. She meets up with an old friend, Patrick when she was at the gym and it was Patrick she took on her “honeymoon”. The second part of the book took you through their trip to Australia and how their relationship develops from friends to something more. This was a great storyline which I was dubious about but it worked. #honeymoon #NetGalley #Romance

The Lucky Escape by Laura Jane Williams hasn’t been getting the strongest reviews but I think that’s a little unfair. The genre is light reading and romance and that’s not my usual go-to as I normally prefer crime dramas. In between tense and often disturbing storylines which expose the baser side of life, I need a balance with a kinder, sweeter read and The Lucky Escape ticked those boxes. Jilted at the altar, a chance meeting with an old sensitive, handsome friend, a sumptuous life opportunity (to fly business class and live first class on a non-honeymoon) and falling in love is a fairly tried and tested (and predictable) formula but The Lucky Escape is well told. Other readers seem to struggle with Annie’s wobbles on her return to London but I think that’s one of the most authentic parts of the story. How many years did I return from holiday refreshed, energised and determined to keep a better perspective and work-life balance only to fall on day three when reality bites and the sunshine and freedom seems to be a distant memory and just a temporary escape from reality. I also thought the tense relationship between Annie and her mum was decently told and handled within the brief time given to it. Overall I suppose I’m defending this read. Yes it’s a fairly light and predictable romance but it’s well told and with a lovely glimpse into Australia, a peek into Antwerp and the reality of the cost of London living. There’s honesty from Annie’s friends about relationships and life choices. Also Patrick’s struggle with guilt about finding love with someone else felt honest and was sensitively done. In short, while this isn’t my favourite genre I enjoyed the book and reckon it’s a 3.5-4 star read and I’ll round the score up, as I appreciate the unusual restraint in relation to bad language and sexual scenes. They were both there but didn’t pepper the narrative or get tediously and cringingly explicit.

I think I fell knew this was going to be a book I would love through the end within the first two chapters.

This book is not just a romance, it’s also breaking your heart and mending it again. I have never fallen in love twice in one book, but with this one I did. This books made you go through the motions of falling in love with Alexander making the jilted bride situation so much more heartbreaking. Then you go through the process of heartbreak and healing freedom and then falling in love all over again.

The escape into Australia then a bit of London followed by Brussels really made me yearn for traveling much more than I already was.

I liked all the secondary characters, the dynamics between the dad and h, and most definitely the sisterhood bond.

I’ve never seen groveling like I did in this book. The way a breakup was captured was so realistic , it pained me to read through but new it was necessary in order to move on. That scene in the middle of the night in the kitchen. I’m going to remember that for a while.

Patrick is a short hair pixie girl (haha) that is vibrant and full of life. He was exactly what was needed and I loved seeing their relationship grow.

My only suggestion would be to have a more thought out end than the rushed ending. I think all the characters deserved more. Patrick deserved more than was given to him by h and I wanted to see that resolution given more thought then just that final scene.

I highly recommend this read. It will immerse you into a different world . I know I was.