The Lucky Escape, by Laura Jane Williams, is escapist fiction at its finest. When Annie is left at the alter, she decides to go on her honeymoon anyway -- bringing along a childhood friend she hasn't seen in years. What follows is a lovely exploration of love and loss, set against the gorgeous backdrop of a fantastic vacation in Australia.

The best part of The Lucky Escape is surely the descriptions of the luxurious vacation the main characters experience. After a year stuck at home, it was an absolute pleasure to read all about expensive air travel, gorgeous hotels, and fancy resorts. A close second, however, is the relationship between Annie and childhood friend Patrick, who are funny and charming, and very real.

The book dives into some heavy topics, and handles them deftly. Annie's family feel fleshed out and important, and her friends are a truly charming group of people, all of whom it is easy to believe are having all sorts of adventures just off page. Overall, The Lucky Escape is, in fact, a wonderful escape -- and a great read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

CW: spousal death

Clever, an easy way to pass the day. I’d recommend to anyone who wants an authentic, entertaining book to read for any occasion. A bit of unexpected romance isn’t a bad thing.

great book the plot was very interesting and I rooted for the characters from the start the romance was very well developed

Unfortunately even after getting through seven or so chapters, I had to mark this as a DNF. Not because this is a bad read by any means, but it just did not capture my attention and I just can’t seem to resume reading.

I loved this book! The characters were nice, the story was fun and light without being too fluffy, and some of the scenes actually made me laugh out loud!

When I read what this one was about, I knew it would be up my alley. I have really been loving romances lately and I did enjoy this one!

I loved the first two thirds of this book. The last third did lose me a bit.

I will start with the things I loved. Annie’s initial shock after the wedding getting called off was super real. I felt her emotions and sadness while reading it. I thought her meeting Patrick felt natural and it was nice to read about.

I loved the entire portion of them being in Australia. I couldn’t put the book down at this point. I loved Annie and Patrick’s banter. I also really enjoyed the side characters of this book. They added just enough to the book but it didn’t over do it.

Where I started to lose interest was when they left Australia. I felt like Annie and Patrick both changed and were acting very different from how they were in the first chunk of the book. I also felt like it was just dragging on. I felt myself skimming the highly descriptive paragraphs that I didn’t think were super necessary.

Overall, I would still recommend this if you are looking for a nice light read with a bit of an escape. Thank you to Netgalley and Avon books UK for the ARC in exchange for a review.

3.5 Stars Rounded up to 4

Now that I’ve read two books by Laura can I officially call her one of my favorite authors? Her writing style is like being carried along a river. Effortless. Beautiful. I so enjoyed the characters and desperately wish I was at a beach now.

Think I'd give this a 2.5 stars if I could. Unfortunately think some part of my experience was impacted by the e-ARC being largely unformatted, leaving it hard to even tell who was talking sometimes.

This story seemed to break down into the drama, the honeymoon, and the aftermath. While I generally enjoyed the story, the only exciting/enthralling part of the story was the honeymoon itself. The before/after fell very flat and seemed to try to just wrap up the story. It felt rushed rather than considered.

That said, this is a good vacation/beach read.

Sometimes you pick up a book and know from the first few lines that you are going to love it and that’s what I felt with this one. I was actually quite sad when it ended as I had really invested in Annie and Patrick. When Annie gets dumped at the alter a chance meeting of an old friend from summer camp spirals into her going on what should have been her dream honeymoon with him. Even though things are not as she had planned them Annie and Patrick find that maybe everyone needs some space and time to realise life is for the taking and in each other find themselves again. Loved it!!

2.5 ⭐️

After being together for over 10 years with her partner, Alexander, Annie arrives at the church on her wedding day just in time to be informed by her wedding planner that he won’t be showing up. No text, no call, no email, oh and he left the country too. She begins to try to put the pieces of her life back together, when her would-have-been-in-laws encourage her to take the luxury honeymoon they had planned. And who better to take than the guy she went to drama camp with 18 years ago.

I just couldn’t get into this one.

The story has 3 distinct parts: left at the alter, the non-honeymoon in Australia, and after Australia. The honeymoon part was easily the best part of the book, and everything else was very much a drag. It was a slow build up with an ending that fell completely flat.

I found Annie to be a disappointing heroine.
She was held back by her ex-fiancé, but only comes to find herself and her voice because of Patrick’s influence. At each turn when she has the potential to grow into herself and her strength, she reverts to passive self at every opportunity. I wanted her to have her own agency, but it was like her entire journey centered around others. And that was a bummer.

Patrick was a strange character. I went from feeling ambivalent about him, to thinking “oh he is kind of cute” , but being completely put off of him by the end. After their return home from Australia his go with the flow personality does a complete 180, and it’s like he is different character one that is possessive, manipulative, demanding. He was easily one of my least favorite parts in the book.

The crux of it all is that there is not reason to be invested in their romance. Maybe if it had been a legitimate second chance romance it would have been more interesting. As it was, I just couldn’t make myself care about a couple people who had vaguely known each other at summer camp when they were preteens and then meet again as adults. Something just felt missing the whole time.

It’s not quite a summer beach read, but more something to read while you’re waiting for another book to come in.

This book is such a feel good story! Although I knew right at the beginning what was going to happen at the end, I still really enjoyed the story; if not that is why I enjoyed it so much. I felt like I was Annie’s friend and was going on the emotional journey with her; she was such a greatly written character. Laura Jane Williams is such an amazing author, she writes so well and I have loved every single one of her books that I have read; can’t wait for the next.

The Lucky Escape is probably the perfect beach read. It's light, frivolous, and there is not much to it. I prefer my romances with a little more substance let's say but there is nothing fundamentally wrong with this book.

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺... 𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱..

Annie and Alexander were uni sweethearts, after being together for 10 years it’s finally time to make it official and tie the knot! But Alexander gets cold feet. After being jilted at the alter and festering in misery, Annie decides to still take the honeymoon.

I loved Annie’s journey of self discovery, opening up to new experiences and vowing to do what she wants to do rather than what other people expect of her. The bond with her sister is adorable, her friends are the best and I want to cuddle Patrick.

I loved the diversity of characters and I loved Willy gate.

This book was a cute, witty, modern romance which I found pretty predictable but still really enjoyable.

I really liked this book. It grabbed my attention from the beginning and kept it until the end. It tugs at all the emotions. It went a bit deeper than the typical rom com. While it was an easy, light read this story really makes you feel. I enjoyed watching how Annie and Patrick’s characters developed throughout the book. They had to work through a lot and rediscover themselves on many levels. I would definitely like to read an update on them in the future.

Thank you Avon Books UK for the ARC.

Annie is a fairytale bride - and her life is the picture of perfection. College sweethearts about to be wed, it's the perfect life.
Except it's not.
Especially when she arrives at the wedding venue with her 13yr old little sister and father only to have the wedding planner tell her that today....was not going to go as planned...and he had texted the wedding planner that he wasn't coming. But the honeymoon in Australia has already been booked and paid for, so when her 'no longer about to be in-laws' insist Annie still take the trip, she does.
But just like the wedding, it's not the honeymoon she imagined.

The Lucky Escape is Annie's journey back to herself - finding out who she is when she stops living her life based on the expectations of others. It's witty, fun, romantic, engaging, and real. A chick-lit read that goes beyond the fluff that you expect from the genre, it a heat-warming and uplifting way.

The Lucky Escape was an ok book. It seems disjointed and was very slow to ramp up. It’s a good story of moving on but takes a little to long to connect the characters. I appreciate the ARC copy for an honest review

This is what a like to call an average book. It’s basically split into three parts: the beginning before the honeymoon, the honeymoon and after. I would say the honeymoon is my favourite part, so much fun and travel which I love in books., then before the wedding/ honeymoon and then after the honeymoon which I really didn’t like- I was bored and found finishing the book hard. I liked the start and it sounded promising, but I didn’t like Annie nor Alexander. Both characters irritated me which isn’t great when one of them is the main character. I did however love Patrick and the lavish honeymoon, I felt myself wishing I was flying business with them, especially in a world when’re I’m stuck in my bedroom. It’s one of those books that can be classed as a beach read: light, funny and easy to follow, but just not something that’s really for me.

This was such a lovely book to read. I enjoyed that it was just as much about friendship and family, as it was about romance. The romance between Annie and Patrick was exciting and the side characters in the book added really well to the story (Freddie and Adzo were my favourites). Would recommend this as the perfect beach book.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for the opportunity.

I always enjoy a good friends-to-lovers plot, and the falling in love while traveling trope. This book did both of those very well. I will say, right of the bat of the book I didn't find the main character Annie that likable, however I had hope that she would become better with character development. Luckily she did, this book is a feel good read and great for those that need a reminder to follow their dreams and that there is happiness and love even after hardship. A quick, fun read that will have you ready for summer vacation and a day on the beach!

Review of The Lucky escape

Really enjoyed this book. Great characters and character development along with a good story arc. Recommended