DNF @ 22%

This book just isn't for me. The main characters and the story are too cheesy. And I don't understand why she would get in a van with a stranger without question and have a personal conversation with him and joke about being a serial killer.

I don't really have much to say about this book. I really enjoyed the first half but the second half was just not it. It got a little bit too soap opera-ish for my tastes and it also had one of the tropes that I just find very very annoying. At the same time, things happened way too fast for my liking that it was difficult to balance out the natural chemistry of the two main characters and they both just fell flat for me.. In conclusion, I just didn't like this book.

This is my first Mary Jayne Baker and darn it but I enjoyed it so much. Huge thanks to the publisher for my e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I devoured this book in hours and couldn't look away because of what an emotional rollercoaster. This book was written well, character development was on point and the title is awesome.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free eArc in exchange for a honest review!

I wasn’t expecting this book to be so emotional and deep! I wasn’t in love with the character’s, but I did think she wrote them really well! They both are so broken and the character growth was amazing. The plot twists were also SO GOOD. It definitely would’ve had a higher score if the ending wasn’t so sudden/ convenient and the plot made more sense logically. It’s kind of unrealistic for a woman to just hop in a van with a stranger and then decide to live with him and also to not even tell her family members what happened, but overall it was a good read!

i absolutely loved this book. i started reading the first pages thinking i'd take my time but devoured it instead and read it in like two days. i loved the the plot, it was so much fun to read kitty's story and her journey as a character.

If you are looking for a romantic read that will make you both laugh and cry, then The'Runaway Bride' is for you. Kitty leaves her wedding after witnessing the ultimate betrayal, running her only option. Jack rescues anything that needs it. Usually, it's of the four-legged variety, but he makes an exception for Kitty.

Serendipitous circumstances draw Jack and Kitty together, and even though they have only known each other for a short time, proximity and mutual need bring them closer in every sense. Self-discovery is the central theme of this gentle story. Jack and Kitty have lessons to learn before they can experience their live's fully.

Jack needs to forgive himself and shed the guilt he feels over his wife's death. Kitty needs to rebuild her self-esteem. These are painful lessons to learn, and at times you wonder whether they are both too damaged to learn to love again.

A lovely tale that showcases a kaleidoscope of emotions, with lots of poignancy and humour, a real feel-good read.

Although I have heard of Mary Jayne Baker novels before, this is the first one that I have read. After reading The Runaway Bride, I am excited to read more of her novels, both past and future. This novel was a nice mix of realism and escapism which made it a very intriguing read. From the first few lines where we have a bride on the n the side of the road in her big poofy wedding dress and wellies, it set the stage for the humor that is weaved throughout the story. She is determined to get away from her wedding and all the people around her.

The bride in the story is Kitty Clayton, a 26-year-old bride of Ethan where they got married on a farm. A few hours into the reception, Kitty catches Ethan cheating and needs to escape. I admit that at first I had a very difficult time trying to understand why she would choose to run away instead of confronting him, even with the initial shock of the incident. However, the mystery behind it adds to the story and to Kitty’s character as bits and pieces of that day is slowly revealed until everything it brought out into the open. It becomes very clear why Kitty makes certain decisions, including running away, and why she even says and does certain things along the way.

She is “rescued” from Jack Duffy who helps drive her away to help her escape. He is a children’s author and illustrator for a famous series of books. The van that he drives is also his home where he travels around the county with his pregnant dog, Sandy. Jack may only be 21-years old, but he comes with his own tragic past as a widower. He suffers from survivor’s guilt and is dealing with the trauma in his own way. The two of them bond as Jack wants to be the rescuer and Kitty wants to be rescued. They form a really cute and heart-warming friendship where they both are trying to help the other heal. With their complicated pasts, they have to fight their initial attraction to each other and they start with just forming the basics of friendship. I loved how their relationship was portrayed as neither is in an emotional state to jump into a new relationship, so they acknowledge that they can lean on each other and get to know the other. The support system the two of them form was very heart-warming.

The story is told from Kitty’s point of view, so the reader never fully knows everything that goes on in Jack’s mind, but there’s enough in the dialogue and his actions to put the pieces together. Each of them deal with problems in their own way as Jack chooses to sweep issues under the rug to deal with only if needed while Kitty has a tendency to run away. Each process fits their character and their background and I love how they use the other to help them slowly grow. One thing I loved about this novel is that the problems are not fixed overnight. Each character takes one step forward and two steps backwards on multiple occasions, which made the story very realistic and relatable.

Although this book is light-hearted overall, there are a lot of darker undertones that I did not expect. I loved how these were portrayed as some of them are sometimes forgotten when the subjects are discussed. (I am trying not give anything away as they are important reveals, but it is good to be away that this story goes into a more heart-wrenching direction in some places.) I loved these two characters, and their dogs, that created a found-family where they could rely on each other in any situation. Even if there was no romance involved, they made an excellent and long-lasting unit.

For me, this book was fairly addictive as the characters and story draw you in to want to keep reading. There are a few coincidences that seem too good to be true, but they did not bother me as much as I thought they would as they worked in the context of the story. All the characters were well-written, even if they were not ones you wanted to root for, and I loved how they all worked together. I love the setting of living in a camper van. As someone who has done this, only six months in my case, but I liked that the story showed the positives of getting away from it all and just enjoying nature. This was an excellent story of healing, character growth, and a nice dash of humor and I would easily recommend that others give this a try.

**I want to give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Aria, for a review copy of this extremely enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Definitely a wonderful story that touches on topics that a lot of women face today. Domestic violence, grief, loss of identity, just to name a few. The important message that comes out of this book is that violence does not always have to be physical; emotional violence can be just as painful, if not worse. The touches on survivor's guilt, and how that can affect the personal growth of a person, is really explained in this novel. There are some parts of the story where I just want to hold Jack and tell him that everything will be okay. Aunt Julia is a strong role model to women today; the way she overcomes being a victim of survivor's guilt, and continues to help those around her in similar situations is outstanding. I also loved the character development of Kitty herself, as she learns to escape the toxic relationships of her past and discover life in the real world. Definitely a strong, beautiful read :)

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this amazing book.

I wasn't expected with this book making me so emotional.

Is a nice, kind and lovable love story, with two leads that have been through sooooooo much and with so much love left to give but to hurt to even try.

The story is so well written than you cannot help but root for them from the very beginning, but not just romantically but also you want them to be fine, to be okay, to be happy.

Mary (the author) you did an amazing job with your characters, they felt so human, and very often I found myself thinking about them as my friends.


I highly recommend it because love is also mend old wounds

This is a beautiful and emotional story.
When Kitty Clayton flees her wedding with no money, no bank card and no phone, her life seems worryingly futureless. All she knows is, she'd rather sleep on the streets than go back home to cheating Ethan.
After picking her up hitch-hiking, widowed children's author Jack Duffy takes Kitty under his wing, looking out for her until she gets back on her feet. And it's not long before the two grow close...
But with Jack struggling to recover from the guilt he feels over his wife's death and Kitty refusing to face up to the problems she's running away from at home, will the two ever manage to share a happily ever after?
This book is deep and real. There’s magic and sweetness in this bond. Kitty has suffered so much in the hands of her fiancé and her mum, and Jack is really damage after seeing his wife’s death. They need to make a future for themselves and it’s not going to be easy, but the journey is really nice and enjoyable. And there are great sexy times too.
This book is beautifully written. The author engages you, compels you to see inside the characters and yourself in a new light. If you enjoy meaningful stories with heart break romances and emotional roller coasters, you are going to LOVE it. I did.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

very quickly, i knew that i wasn't going to like this book. i honestly found the writing to be plain boring and it was very telling not showing. and i don't even know why Kitty just got in a van with a random ass man, but of course it is a romance book so yeah. but, i honestly just didn't like it, but i wished i did since everyone else seems to love it.

Well, color me disappointed. And what makes it more infuriating is that until the last chapters I was enjoying this so much more than I thought I would. Up until then, I was loving both main characters and their chemistry, the mix of light and fluffy with some serious issues as grief, mental health and domestic abuse and the writing was nice. But then the third act drama came and with it one of my most hated tropes in romance novels, so it all started to go downhill for me. The ending felt rushed and one of the characters made a 180º so fast that I still have whiplash.

In the words of Tyra Banks (and also Kahmora Hall of Drag Race fame) “I was rootin’ for you/us” but with that ending I guess it was not meant to be.

We all need a Jack Duffy in our life! Someone to hold up the mirror and make us see our true self. Someone who loves us unconditionally. Someone who takes us to the edge of our boundaries and gives us a taste of freedom. Someone who loves us for who we are.

This book is for you if you’ve ever…
- written someone out of your life because they let you down
- worried about forgetting someone’s existence after they’ve died
experienced survivor’s guilt
- loved dogs and/or had to give puppies away
- been lied to for a long time by the people you trusted
- wanted to live a nomad life in a VW Van
- had a controlling person in your life or been brainwashed

I wasn’t expecting the twists, but glad the author chose to incorporate them! I instantly became emotionally invested in this tale and loved both Kit and Jack. The author’s writing style was what drew me into the book; she gives just enough information at a time to keep you reading. I honestly didn’t want to put the book down, it was THAT good.

There was one scene where they were in the ocean and then continued back at the van that I felt should have been closed door. Personally, I felt uncomfortable, but that’s me….I don’t like reading romances for that reason.

I was gifted this advance copy by Mary Jayne Baker, Aria & Aries, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
Publishes May 6, 2021.

This was a sweet story about Kitty, who runs away from her wedding after seeing something unspeakable, and Jack, who scoops her up in his camper van, and lots of romance novel tropes and wholesome events ensue. I enjoyed reading this book, and it was such an easy read that I completed it in a day.

I took a couple of stars off because it didn't really hook me, I just read it to read it, some of the plot twists felt a little bit soap opera-ish to me, and I don't enjoy a surprise pregnancy trope. I did think the author handled grief and abuse plot lines well, but there was still fun and great chemistry in the book.
I probably wouldn't read it again, but would recommend others try it for themselves!

This was fun and sweet. It was a quick read, but I just didn't want to put it down.
It was what I expected a good book to have a good time.
3.5 stars

I loved this one! It’s full of good characters, humor, romance and a fun plot. This is a great read when you’re looking for something light. I look forward to more from this author!

Hopeful. Sweet. A real delight.

I was hooked right from the beginning and flew through the novel. Both Kitty and Jack are beautiful, highly flawed characters that just feel real. There's so much humor in this book; I really enjoyed the writing style. Aside from the humor, there's also a lot of emotional depth to unravel. There's infidelity, abuse (mentally and physically), grief and healing. And of course love. Also! There's a super adorable dog named Sandy and puppies. You can never go wrong with puppies.
This book reminded me a lot of Float Plan, which I also adored. Two broken souls (in tight quarters) meeting by chance and getting a second shot at happiness.
A wonderful feel-good read.

The Runaway Bride tells the story of Kitty and Jack and their second chances at love. Learning to love themselves and eventually learning to love others. Grief and hurt play a big factor in both Kitty and Jack's separate stories and together they help each other overcome obstacles that have held them back for a long time. This is a well written heartwarming story about two people who put in the work to give themselves a second chance to find love together.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

The Runaway Bride is a great book I just couldn't put down. With great characters and an adorable story, this will make an amazing beach read!!!!

Kitty flees her wedding in her dress- no phone, no credit cards, nothing- and is lucky enough to be picked up by Jack. He's a widower with a sad past and, more happily, a pregnant dog. These two find themselves sharing their issues (and this does have some serious spots) and becoming friends. Rom-Com fans know that there's going to be a love spark that will flicker into a flame. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's got good characters, humor, and a positive outlook- perfect for a gray day when you can use a lift.