I was gripped from the start with the description of being left at the altar and the sympathy I felt towards the character and her lovely little sister.
This book really inspired me, the theme YOLO (sorry!) really does apply and it has inspired me and given me a boost, which I really wasn't expecting.
It was well written, I loved the descriptions of Australia as I have been to a few places visited and the author really tugged at the emotions felt during a break up and recovering, to really find yourself.
I loved it and look forward to reading more by Laura Jane Williams.

Laura Jane Williams is an author who's books i always enjoy! Lets just say this book did not disappoint.

I found myself laughing out loud several times. All the characters were a joy to read which is a surprise for me because their is usually somebody i dislike.

This was such a light hearted easy read and i will be reccomending it to all of my friends.

I look forward to veing able to buy a physical copy

I have been a fan of Laura's previous books and hoped this would live up to those - it definitely did!

It was a light, funny, enjoyable read, which had me both laughing and crying. I loved getting to know both Annie and Patrick, as they got to know eachother, and the whole non-honeymoon storyline was such a joy to read. This was just the sort of thing I needed to dive into at the moment, and I'm so glad I did!

The Lucky Escape was definitely a lovely escapist novel! I enjoyed the development of Annie’s character throughout the book. After experiencing such a traumatic break-up, she’s obviously feeling delicate as she figures out how to navigate the rest of her life. She learns how to stand up for herself and how to ask for what she wants instead of pleasing other people.

Bumping into Patrick felt like a nice, organic meet-cute, and I liked the friendship vibe that we got from them to begin with. Part of me wondered if they would remain just friends during their trip, or if something more would develop and I thought the ambiguity to start with was good. It really let your imagination wander as a reader.

I do think the first part of the book was my favourite - the jilting and the “honeymoon” to Australia all flowed so nicely. Returning home from their trip didn’t engage me as much, as their relationship changed and they both changed as characters, too. But that also felt like a realistic trope - they’ve been in their own little bubble for three weeks, things are bound to feel different when they return home.

The ending was a little cheesy, but it’s very feel-good so I didn’t mind that too much at all!

The Lucky Escape by Laura Jane Williams is a very light romance/rom-com read that fits well into the escapism category I've done a deep dive into since the beginning of the pandemic. The main character, Annie, is recovering from being jilted at the alter by swerving from one life outlook to another and back again several times over. Although this could feel too inconsistent to some readers, to me that felt like the most authentic piece of her character....it felt not only plausible but reasonable that she would vacillate and wrestle with doubts as she recovers, grows, and changes. I enjoyed Patrick as her love interest - his character was incredibly emotionally literate and his page time balanced out a good bit of Annie's turmoil. Ultimately, The Lucky Escape held my attention and gave me a quick escape while reading.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Lucky Escape was a light, enjoyable and entertaining read that I easily breezed through. Annie and Alexander had been together since university and were going to get married, but then Alexander ditches her on their wedding day and she is left heartbroken. She later meets her old friend Patrick, and ends up taking him with her as a travel buddy on her honeymoon to Australia. There she has an amazing time and he helps her to heal herself and realise that life is too short to not explore and do the things that really make you happy in life.
I really enjoyed their relationship and dynamic, and there were quite a few laugh out loud moments!

I will also definitely be checking out some of the Authors other books.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon books for the E-ARC.

Annie may have felt lucky to escape from a life that made her feel less than, complacent and a shadow of herself but I feel lucky to have the ability to read this book. I think we can all identify relationships like Alexander where we no longer know or like whom we have become but in dissociation, we learn to love ourselves and what we are meant to be. As Patrick said, it is written. Annie with the support of the Core Four moved on and let Alexander know, she never gave him a second thought. She got the life she deserves.

A great escapist holiday read with some lovely characters, great one liners, and thoroughly engrossing writing.

The only slight letdown for me was the naming of the characters (I am a truly petty person - Sophie Kinsella occasionally does this to me too) as the surnames just made it feel too twee.

For people less petty than I, a magnificent read. And one I highly recommend - brilliant writing and I shall certainly be seeking out more by this author.

Ah this book is lovely! Sometimes you just need a good romance. It’s about Annie who is dumped by text, while arriving at the church in her wedding dress. Fortunately she has lovely in-laws who still let her take her honeymoon! She decides to go, and brings a childhood friend, Patrick. Well.. I think you can guess what happens next?

Annie is the lovely troubled protagonist, reeling from her breakup and going through all the things that went wrong, and truly finding herself and what makes her happy. Patrick is the golden retriever type of guy who is always happy and really helps Annie recover, but of course he also has his history.

It’s refreshing but at the same time cliché enough that it’s comforting. A truly classic summer read!

A brilliant holiday read. I loved the characters and how the story unfolded. The 'honeymoon' made me want to travel and explore new places and enjoy the freedom of being away.

The story told of not being afraid to make changes and sometimes what is expected of you isn't the right thing to do - a lesson for us all.

An escapist tale that was easy to read. I am not sure I really like the heroine, who went from worrying about other people all the time to quite frankly being rather selfish ! But it had a feel good factor which is needed in the present circumstances

Unfortunately this was a Did Not Finish for me. I read about 25% and was struggling to find the witty writing and charming characters that I have come to love in Laura Jane Williams books! Plus, this is marketed as a story about a jilted women who takes a friend on her honeymoon. By this point in the story we were still building up to that point and sadly I just wasn't interested enough to continue.

When Annie is jilted at the alter by her childhood sweetheart, Alexander, she's devastated. She had her whole life planned out and now she's 32, single and almost homeless.
When her very generous would be in-laws offer her the chance to go on her honeymoon she thinks there's no way she could possibly go on her own, until she meets Patrick, an old friend from her teenage drama camp years.
Patrick and Annie head off on a once in a lifetime 3 week holiday to Australia where they both come back very different people.
This book was so lovely. You can always rely on Laura Jane Williams to bring the feel good factor. I felt all warm and fuzzy inside reading this and I was rooting for the character all the way through. I will definitely be recommending this to all my customers looking for a feel good, heart warming, romantic read.

Reading this gave me the holiday and escapism we all want so badly right now but can’t have. Laura has a special way of creating male characters who are the definition of perfection, prepare to fall in love with him! Where can we find a Patrick?

It’s a light, fun, humorous read with some important topics interlaced. I loved Annie’s character and seeing her develop and grow throughout the story. She’s fiercely loyal which we got to see with her friendship group, the Core Four and her little sister Freddie. Laura has fast become an auto-buy author for me, so I was over the moon when I got approved on NetGalley to read an advanced copy. If you loved Our Stop and The Love Square, you’ll certainly rate this one too!

Thank you Avon Books UK, Laura Jane Williams and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review an ARC copy of The Lucky Escape! I will post my review on my Instagram page on the Publication Date:June 10th, 2021. 

I loved this book so much! If you’re looking for vacation vibes and another shot at finding love… this book is for you! I was rooting for Annie the entire time and wanted nothing but the best for her. After her fiancé leaves her at the altar she’s given the chance to remember who she was and where she truly wants to be. I love how Annie evolved throughout the book to be a much stronger person and learn to accept being ok with uncertainty. I swooned for Annie and Patrick so much! I felt like their run in was really organic and realistic. I appreciated that it wasn’t insta love and the friends to lovers progression between the two of them was so so sweet. The idea of a Mona Lisa moment was gold lol I LOVE THAT IDEA! This is a perfect summer read!

Thank you NetGalley for my advance copy of this book.
I really like this author and was really keen to read another book by her after loving Our Stop last year. I really enjoyed the concept of the story and the journey the main character went on. I was rooting for her all the way through. I enjoyed some parts of the story better than others but overall a lovely, happy and enjoyable read. Would definitely recommend this book and this author to others.

There were many aspects about this one that I enjoyed: a close sister relationship, strong friendships, vacationing in Australia and self-discovery. However I wanted more, more of Australia, more of her sister and her friends, and her living her single life a little while longer. And I had a hard time believing the romance between Annie and Patrick. This story was slightly predictable and cheesy at times, but was an enjoyable read nonetheless. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for this e-ARC for my honest opinion.

Annie is jilted at the alter by her long term boyfriend, an horrific thing to happen to anyone. Her fiancé’s parents feel so bad about what their son has done that they encourage Annie to still go on the honeymoon that they were providing for the couple. (What a result, in my opinion, she escaped the cowardly, unfeeling ex and got a three week five star holiday to Australia as compensation!). She decides in a drunken moment to invite a male friend that she has recently bumped into at the gym, which is her way of getting through being dumped! That’s the only far-fetched part of the story, in my opinion!

I loved the descriptions of the places visited and the growth of Annie now that she is single. Patrick, the old school friend is such a lovely guy, so adorable and insightful, but naturally with his own problems too! I found most of the characters very endearing especially Annie’s little sister Freddie - wise beyond her years!

I like to read romance, chick lit books in between the murder/mystery/police procedural genre that is probably my favourite and this one is a total ‘feel good’ read. It made me even more keen to visit Australia and Antwerp! There’s always a happy medium between too much in-depth description and not enough and the author got this absolutely spot on. Sydney, I’ve seen and heard lots about but Margaret River, Western Australia, sounds incredible and I’d definitely put that on my must-see places now!

This would be a perfect book to read on holiday! Highly recommended!

My thanks to the author, the publishers and to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in return for an honest, unedited review.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this book.

The Pros:
- The cover is beautiful, It's perfect for the beach.
The Cons:
- The Lucky Escape belongs in "beach reads" section. It's light, frivolous, and there is not much to it.

I can't really say much about this book.

Seeing a new Laura Jane Williams book, being touted out there, I was like "Yes, please!", when I saw it was available to request as an arc! I have thoroughly enjoyed her first two books and knew this would be no different.
And, I was right. Obviously!
The Lucky Escape charts the emotional journey of Annie, a thirty-something woman who is jilted at the altar.
Life was all planned.
They'd been together since university, and lived together for all these years. Marriage was the next logical step, they thought.
Well, so Annie thought, but not Alexander.
She's left, with no contact from him, no idea what is going on.
Then she meets an old friend, Patrick, an acquaintance from her secondary school years.
As they rekindle their friendship, Annie is offered the chance to go away, to take the honeymoon she was meant to have, as a gift from who should have been her in-laws.
What better than a drunken dare with a still unfamiliar 'old' friend?
They both find themselves on the trip of a lifetime, in Australia.
Oh, my! What a situation to be in!
I did feel for Annie, though. Initially, I couldn't work out why she was so accepting of everything that was going on, but as the story went on, and more from her own childhood was revealed, it became much more apparent, why she was the way she was.
Patrick, what a sweetheart! I knew I wanted them to get together right from the off, but then, his own little secret made me doubt my instincts.
Annie has some strong-willed friends, behind her, who feature a bit, and a family I had mixed opinions about. But, I loved her sister, Freddie! Who knew a youngster could be so wise!
All in all, a great easy read, and definitely one to enjoy on the beach, if you get to one. But, then again, you could enjoy it anywhere!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.