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.

I have loved everything Laura Jane Williams has written - this book is no exception.
I was totally engrossed and fell into this world. One of the things I love about Williams novels is they just feel so real! I sometimes find 'chick-lit' a little far-fetched or overly dramatic. This book just felt so real and I felt so connected to the central character of Annie. I really felt for her, and could see a lot of myself in her. Laura Jane Williams definitely knows how to write realistic, yet loveable characters.

I also had the chance to listen to the audio book version (as well as the kindle version) and that was superb!! Carrie Hope Fletcher reads so well, and I think her narration really helps me to fall in love with the characters. Fletcher is superb - even if her Australian Accent is a bit hit and miss!

This book is the perfect summer read. The book spans months, and locations. I was gripped from the start and I will be recommending this book to chick-lit and non chick-lit fans alike! Just brilliant!!
If you can I would recommend reading this via audio book too. Just has helped me to delve into Annie's world! I sped through this, and genuinely felt a bit sad when it was over.

Another hit from Laura Jane Williams and I can't wait for her next novel!

A light, funny, easy read - perfect escapism! I liked the characters and the the plot, whilst a little predictable was well unfolded. A perfect holiday read!

A cute little rom-com, and an easy read. Once in a while, in-between thrillers and more heavy books, I like a light read, so I was very happy with The Lucky Escape.
Wen Alexander leaves Annie on what was supposed to be their wedding day, Annie does not think she will be able to get through it.
A lucky encounter with Patrick, a childhood friend (sort of) will lead her on the path of recovery. First stop: Australia, for her non-honeymoon, courtesy of her would-have-been in-laws. Once there, she will re-learn who she is, how to have fun, and what she wants her life to be like.

I had higher expectations that sadly weren't meet. I liked the style of writing, but the plot was quite predictable and I found certain parts a bit problematic so it may not be for everyone!

I loved Our Stop and enjoyed The Love Square so I was so excited to get the chance to read Laura Jane Williams' new book, The Lucky Escape. We meet Annie on her wedding day when the last thing she's expecting is to be jilted at the alter by the guy she's loved since uni. But Alexander leaves Annie broken-hearted and single without any closure. Encouraged to take the honeymoon by her embarrassed in-laws, a chance encounter with an old friend gives Annie a last-minute travel buddy in Patrick. The setup is handled really well and feels natural, even though technically it's 'spend 3 solid weeks with a man you barely know'.

I read this book in about 5 hours. It was the perfect escapism. I really like Laura Jane Williams' writing and how she creates chemistry that jumps off the page. I also love a tale about women discovering how worthy they actually are and not settling for less. I've read books with similar premises before, like Unhoneymooners, (which I also love) but this one definitely feels the most realistic? We also follow Annie and Patrick when they get home which I liked. To see how real-life continues when you're back from a fantasy.

This is the perfect holiday read and if you're not going anywhere anytime soon thanks to the annoyingly persistent coronavirus, it can help you take a holiday from life for a few hours.

This was a nice quick read for me and I got exactly what I wanted from it.

Annie was left jilted at the alter and unsure how to move on from that. With one random encounter with an old friend and her almost in-laws encouraging her to still go on her honeymoon, Annie had no idea what was going to happen but she was excited for the change.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.
I was so excited as this really appeals to me.

However as a visually impaired reader I did request this book in audio format

Sadly I I only received the pdf format version (as I have wth a few others)
Which is proving extremely difficult to read.

I gave attempted as I was, as i say, looking forward to this title very much and the format is very difficult and unable to magnify the text.

Therefore as I am unable to read i am unable to leave a correcr feedback on this occasion. I have however marked as a 5* as I'm required to do so in order to leave this review .

Should I receive a audio version I would be honoured to be able to provide feedback!

Thank uou di much
R

This does exactly what it says on the tin. Annie gets jilted at the altar by Alexander who texts the wedding planner and Annie goes on her honeymoon to Australia with an old friend.
Laughs, lust, awkwardness, grief, misunderstanding all ensue thereafter and its a joy to read.
Patrick, the friend feels so worldly wise and a voice of reason to all around him which the reader recognises is exactly the tonic Annie needs.
I also liked the references to songs that at times felt like the heartbeat of the book.
Its light, amusing, and a great escapism read.

3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Modern life - all the having to be at places at certain times, the bills, the responsibilities, we're overburdened. We complicate things and make ourselves busy, and we think that gives life meaning."

WHAT I LOVED 💟 I feared this book would be a bad remake of THE UNHONEYMOONERS by Christina Lauren but, luckily, I was wrong: THE LUCKY ESCAPE starts from similar premises but ends up being something else entirely. The plot is less breezy and more introspective and discusses a woman's journey to re-discover her true self 👏

WHAT DIDN'T WORK 💔 Despite this being a surprising read, I found the plot overall predictable, and there is much room for improvement in terms of characters writing. The precocious little sister, the cool mother, the group of best friends: most characters in this book were quite stereotyped.

So yeah, I am not crazy about this book, but it was a fun read, and I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a romcom different than usual.

When Annie gets ditched at the alter, she goes on her own honeymoon with a long lost friend and they live HEA. Super predictable and didn’t enjoy this very much.

This was my favorite of Laura’s fiction so far but still very flawed. I liked the style of writing but the character was so unrealistic e.g refusing to live in a flat share and talking about how pretty she was. Her non fiction is so much better.

This was a hard book to even start. The main character feels jumbled and like several problematic characteristics in one person and the romantic fling just...it was painful to get through. This is one of those beach reads you buy at the airport and hope for the best. Then you question your decision. I struggle to finish it while hoping for it to improve. But it did not. I should have quit while I was ahead.


I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Annie really did have a lucky escape although it didn’t feel like it at the time. She was jilted at the altar after ten years in a relationship and is left reeling. Her should have been in laws encourage her yo ho in the honeymoon anyway so she does. And her life is changed forever. It’s a book about choices, losing ourself to another, finding ourself again and grabbing life with both hands. A perfect summer read!