I felt like I spent a really long time just waiting. Waiting for something to happen. Waiting for the characters to find their direction.
And unfortunately, I am not a patient person, so all that waiting was a pain for me.

This was a lighthearted, quick read. It was more slow paced than I would have liked and the storyline was lacking just a bit. The characters were okay but I didn’t feel myself connect to them at all. I just didn’t feel the sparks between Annie and Patrick. This book would be a good poolside read for someone looking for an easy, romance book. Overall, It was a decent read and I would give it 3 stars.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper 360 for an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
There is something charming and cozy about The Lucky Escape by Laura Jane Williams - I had read her debut novel, Our Stop, which was equally British and delightful, and was excited to read this book, which will be published on November 2. Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollins360 for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Annie is pulling up to the church, ready to marry her fiancé, when she is told by their wedding planner that he has left her. She is obviously devastated, but is persuaded to go on her 3 week honeymoon to Australia. She is joined by an old classmate she reconnected with, Patrick, who has his own reasons for wanting to live life in the moment.

The title - The Lucky Escape - can refer to the extravagant vacation taken, a reprieve from everyday life. Annie eventually also recognizes that through her fiancé’s terrible actions, she is able to escape living a life she is not meant to live, with someone she wasn’t meant to live with. “The Lucky Escape” can also mean freedom from your own trauma, your unrealistic expectations of your own life. In this, Annie’s struggles to find herself and heal herself are most poignant. In a way, this story feels more like women’s fiction, as Annie finding herself is really the central theme of the story.

However, Patrick is also a lovely, cinnamon roll of a beta hero. He has a tragic backstory, and might be a little too perfect - but I love how the author portrays him first as a little more cute than average, until finally he is the most gorgeous man to the heroine as they get to know each other.

Overall, this is a well-written story, that follows a woman’s journey to finding who she was always meant to be.

Wow this book sucked me in!

After being left at the altar, Annie is trying to figure out what to do with her life without her ex. It isn't until she stumbles upon a long lost friend Patrick at a bootcamp class that she starts to see what her life could be like. When her (not quite) in-laws encourage her still go on her honeymoon to Australia, she invites Patrick to come with. 3 weeks on a romantic honeymoon with a man she barely knows, what could go wrong?

This is the friends to lovers storyline I live for. Annie and Patrick were so much fun. Patrick is a self-described "manic pixie dream girl" which was fun to see in the hero. A little bit of a slow burn, the pay off was so good! I enjoyed watching Annie come into her own and the message around independence. The plot was pretty predictable, but that doesn't mean it wasn't great! A solid 4 stars.

This book was just what I needed—a fun romp with the right amount of self-reflection. Annie was a strong character and I enjoyed getting to know her rediscover herself. Patrick, her old friend, was great but what really shined was her relationship with her sister and her girl friends.

The story was well written and very cutesy. I like romantic fiction and enjoyed it, but it was predictable. Though, that is generally the beauty of that genre!

I was expecting a light hearted rom com but this romance was a bit heavier than the title implies. When Annie is left at the altar she decides to take advantage of her honeymoon trip with handsome companion Patrick. Overall the novel is a slow burn that follows the progression of Annie and Patrick's relationship, but also introspection into Annie's relationship with herself. Overall it was well written and enjoyable.

I felt like this book spent too much time in the fantasy world of Australia and too little in real life after the main characters returned from the honeymoon. This was enjoyable enough for me to finish, but I will not purchase it for my library.

I was surprised by how much I liked The Lucky Escape, far more than Our Stop or The Love Square. It’s the story of Annie Wiig, who is dumped—via a text message to her wedding planner—on her wedding day. She then proceeds to start to figure out just who she is, which is helped by going on her honeymoon with a new old friend. The setup is not groundbreaking but where Williams particularly excels is sharp character portrayal. We don’t need to have met Annie’s ex fiancé to have taken a measure of him and in just a few details, Williams conveys so much.

There’s a love story and it’s important, but it’s not as important as Annie’s own internal love story. By the end of the book, you not only get to see how she’s changed but also got to see her actually doing it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Avon.

Annie gets dumped via her wedding planner on her wedding day. Now she needs to reevaluate her life and what she wants and who she is. She runs into an old friend. As she is figuring things out she is offered by the former groom's parents the free honeymoon to getaway. She takes her old friend on her “honeymoon.” This book goes along the fast and good clip. It was sweet how they were reconnecting to something more. I also like up and downs in every relationship in the newness phase. But expected more HEA ending. I plan to check out the author's other books because overall it was an enjoyable book to read..

This book was gripping. I was sucked in and could not put it down! The concept was so unique, I loved this book.

This was such a cute book!! My favorite thing about it is watching Annie develop and grow throughout the book. Annie at the beginning of the book would look up to Annie at the end of the book, and that is a neat experience as a reader. There are also some great lessons when it comes to relationships whether they are romantic, with family, or with yourself.

I also enjoyed all of the characters in the book. None of them were filler characters or problematic with the storyline. They all fit so well and contributed to the story perfectly! I would say Annie and her little sister’s relationship is my favorite. And then we have our romance! It is fade to black, which is fine, and the story is everything you didn’t realized you wanted. I would definitely recommend this book to friends. It is the perfect beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for letting me read this ebook!

Things I loved about this book:
☀️ Annie’s journey to remembering her true self
☀️ The message about letting go of everyone’s expectations
☀️ Annie’s relationship with her younger sister
☀️ The banter between Patrick and Annie


This book is perfect for people who like:
❤️ Closed door romances
❤️ Stories about starting over
❤️ Slow burn, friends to lovers books


The Lucky Escape is a warm story that will sweep you away on a journey that is about so much more than romantic love.

I loved this book! While it was a bit predictable and I have read books with similar plots a million times, this novel really stood out above its competition. The characters were delightful (though maybe a bit overly perfect) and the writing was very strong. Perfect for chick lit readers everywhere!

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
On the day of her wedding Annie gets told by her wedding planner that her groom has backed out. While trying to recover from being left at the alter she runs into an old friend, who she ends up taking on her un-honeymoon. I loved that this story was about her finding out who she really was, what she really wanted in life, and most importantly what she truly deserved. I really enjoyed this story, the characters personal growth was well written. I really enjoyed this book.

I had a hard time empathizing or relating to Annie from the very beginning. I didn’t think her character made a lot of sense. Her whole left-at-the-altar story didn’t elicit as much sympathy from me as I suspect the author had intended. Even once Annie explained why she’d become a people pleaser, I still couldn’t muster up a whole lot of understanding for her.

Once Patrick was introduced to the story things got more interesting. Patrick is a wonderful character, the kind of sweet and charming guy everyone admires. The way his & Annie’s story develops is really sweet and I enjoyed it. I love that they knew each other for a while as kids; it laid a nice groundwork for them to hit the ground running, so to speak, but left room for a lot of getting-to-know-you. Patrick’s own story lends quite a bit of emotional gravity to the book and to their relationship. I was definitely rooting for Patrick & Annie from the get-go. (I loved their little Mona Lisa arrangement.)

Overall I thought the book improved as it went on, and the conflict was believable and interesting. However the ending and epilogue were very underwhelming. I was disappointed at the lack of a big happy ending.

3.5 stars out of 5

This is the light, cute, sweet book you have been looking for! The book begins when Annie is about to marry her longtime boyfriend but he leaves her at the alter (not a spoiler, don’t worry) but then she re-connects with her old friend from summer camp, Patrick. The two are pressured to go on Annie’s honeymoon as friends. This is such a cute read! Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to review!

A sweet and fun romcom. Left at the altar trope is always fun, but sometimes during the novel didn't feel fresh. The side characters and main characters are well written, but there tend to not be lots of development especially for our main characters.

dnf @ 50% this one just didn’t work for me. because it was compared to Christina Lauren’s Unhoneymooners I was really excited for a fun holiday vacation trip filled with outrageous shenanigans and Hijinx. But it really let me down and that way that I thought it was really predictable and there wasn’t a whole lot going on plot wise besides the progression of this relationship that I didn’t really feel a connection to at all.

Read 25%.

Unfortunately The Lucky Escape isn't for me, at least at the moment. It's starting off very slow and I'm just not interested in anything that Annie is going through.