I wanted to love this one so much more than I did! I definitely think I would have enjoyed this more when I was younger, as the language and dialogue are very young adult. I could totally see myself in high school eating this up!!

riley’s future is unknown as she graduates from high school, only to find out that her best friend is taking a gap year. together, the two of them go on a journey to get through their bucket list - and boy, what a ride it was!

my favorite parts of this were definitely the different adventures - from small to large - and seeing how they accomplished them! however, the relationship and friendship were just too juvenile for me, and that’s most likely due to the fact that I’m at a completely different point of my life than these characters.

if you’re a huge friends to lovers fan, I would definitely give this one a shot!

thank you to macmillan and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast chardonnay

Reading this as my senior year came to a close was so so special.

First off, thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this beautiful book in exchange for my honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

"The Getaway List" follows Riley after her graduation ceremony, a bittersweet recollection of everything she did as well as everything she didn't. As her friends embark off to college with promises of reinventing themselves, Riley is left feeling alone and lost. After one of her close friends, Tom, opts for a gap year, the two decide to go on an adventurous quest and complete "The Getaway List" to have new experiences. In the process, Riley finds herself developing complex feelings for her best friend, leading her to recognize the risks that she must choose between. Must she risk her longstanding friendship for a possibility of something more? Or risk breaking out of her shell and finding personal growth?

Emma Lord enchants us with this heartfelt coming-of-age novel and I couldn't help but fall in love.

This one was middle of the road for me. I like the NYC setting and thought all of the adventures were fun, unique, and entertaining. I liked the main characters and thought they were relatable. There was also a fun set of side characters that added depth to the story. My main problem was in the plot development. I felt this book could have benefited from a little of Tom's POV because I think it would have lead to a richer story. The problems with Tom's mom seemed to be big but were really underdeveloped even though they contributed to major plot points. I also felt that the ending was rushed and the epilogue was really quick with tons packed in. Overall, this was a cute and entertaining YA book but lacked some depth.

No one knows teen angst better than Emma Lord. This book is exemplary of her ability to really understand all the uncertainty and energy behind young adults trying to figure out college, apartments, first loves, and friendships. And there's so much here for teens to relate to and get excited about: there's falling in love with New York City, fandom for a book, an exciting app where people can secretly send little presents of love to each other.

When Riley graduates high school, she has no idea what she wants to do next. All she knows is that she misses her best friend Tom who moved to New York. Her mother is afraid that Riley will make the same mistakes she did, so is unwilling to let her go. Riley moves to New York on her own, realizes she is in love with Tom, and makes wonderful friends along the way. Tom and Riley both have to figure out how to navigate their new relationships with their mothers, and also how to make their own ways in the world.

This is just a really lovely book. The kids are sweet and care for one another. Their adventures are funny, and you're always rooting for them. I highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

Thank you so much Netgalley & Wednesday Books for my ARC e-book. My first Emma Lord book and overall thought it was a nice YA coming of age story.

As someone who loves NYC, I enjoyed navigating the setting and seeing it in the lens of Riley - essentially a love letter to NYC! There are so many activities that I want to check off my bucket list so Riley's expedition throughout the city felt fun. Tom and Riley's romance was a sweet friends to lovers story and the supporting friend group was a cherry on top. Also the humor!! Emma, you got a few jokes up your sleeve!

My only qualm was there were a bit too much plot that felt a bit disengaged in the story, but overall if you're looking for a coming of age story and love NYC - this is for you!

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. I enjoyed The Getaway List, however, being 30 years old it’s hard for me to relate to drama with parents and coming of age stories. While I went into this knowing it was YA, I really enjoyed Tweet Cute and expected a similarly engaging plot, but this book didn’t really have one and I felt relatively board a lot of the book. May resonate better with people from NYC or a younger audience.

YA is not normally my genre, but I am a big Emma Lord fan. And as a NYC girl myself, I can never help but enjoy seeing my favorite city shine through books. And shine it did! This felt really authentic; especially considering that for Gen Z; college at 18 isn't always the "default" expectation right now. Her exploring the city, working a crap job, and finding herself with her friends is REAL- and that's why I liked it so much.

Thank you so much Netgalley & Wednesday Books for my ARC e-book. This is my first Emma Lord book (I know, I am behind) & it didn't disappoint.
Riley feels lost, so the day after graduation she leaves her home town in search of the best friend that can help her find herself. Tom moved to New York 4 years ago, separating the best friends. In the absence of best friend shinnanigans, they started The Getaway list. An adventure bucket list. Tom and Riley along with a great cast of supporting characters make their way through the list, while figuring out who they are, what they want, and the pain & uncertainty of growing up.
A super cute YA rom-com. The cast of characters are wonderful & the storyline is fun and adventurous. There were a couple of areas that dragged for me but not enough to interrupt the flow of the book. I loved Jesse. I didn't love the many many mentions of his Taylor Swift obsession. I did love the parent child relationship with Riley and her mom. Recommended for anyone who likes YA romance. Now I must add the rest of Emma Lord's books to my TBR.

I am officially obsessed with every single thing Emma Lord writes. She might honestly be the queen of YA romance.

Such a beautiful story of finding one’s self and adventures with a rag tag group of new and old friends in New York City.

Friends to lovers, found family, friendship “bucket” list, and all the shenanigans a group of 18 year old nerds can get into in NYC.

Thank you to Netgalley & St Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read this ahead of its Tuesday release in exchange for an honest review.

I am typically not drawn to YA but Emma Lord is an exception. Her books are delightful, fun, feel good contemporary romances that keep me deeply invested. The Getaway List is no exception. This novel will appeal to a broad audience. Engaging and well written

I got this job about a year and a half ago, and I was so surprised by how few Emma Lord books we had in the teen section. When I heard about this book, I had to read it to see if it would be a good fit for out teens, and it's right up their alley! I really enjoyed the fact that the book was focused on Riley trying to find her path in life outside of college. There are other avenues to take coming out of high school, and I think a like of teens will be able to relate to Riley. This book will definitely have a place on our shelf!

This was such a great young adult coming of age story. While there was a sweet, friends to lovers, slow burn romance, this was more a coming of age story for Riley. It's also a wonderful love letter to all that NYC has to offer. I have many activities on my NYC bucket list thanks to this story. I have had the pleasure of being in a couple of author chats with Emma Lord, and can absolutely sense her passion for the city in Riley and Tom's story. She also captures beautifully those moments between childhood and adulthood- where everything is new and exciting and slightly scary. Baby bird leaving the nest. I enjoyed it.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy. All opinions are my own.

No one does YA novels I love to get lost in more than Emma Lord. The Getaway List was no different.

The summer after graduating from high school can feel like so many things. It can feel like you are on a path and either you know the next step you take will keep you on the trail, or maybe it will be the side of a cliff. There is so much changing , so many choices, and it all feels really big.

“I’ve felt so crammed into the present of my life that there hasn’t been any room left to think about the future.”

Emma Lord captured those feelings so well in her story of Riley. Trying to figure out what she is going to do and her place in the world Riley leaves to go visit her childhood best friend in NYC. They had ideas and a list of things they wanted to do together that they had missed out on over the last few years and Riley figured there was no better time than now.

This book had me nostalgic for my childhood friends. It had me wanted to adventure in a new place. The Getaway List had me wanting to create a list of my own, to do the things I always put off doing. I loved all of the characters and how they supported each other and formed a chosen family.

The Getaway List was another win from Emma Lord. Thank you so much St Martins Press and Wednesday Books for this eARC copy to read and review.

I’m on my third Emma Lord book and I’m starting to think that she can do no wrong in my book. I really love her characters and how they interact with each other, and she really gets the essence of being a teenager without making them whiny or annoying like actual teenagers tend to be. Great YA for adults to read, too. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

What didn’t work for me

The getaway list itself: I love a good list. In fact, I add things to my checklist just to cross them off. But I feel like the list wasn’t all that exciting. They were teenagers who were literally free to do almost whatever they wanted over the summer—I felt like there was some adventure missing.

Tom’s mother: No spoilers but I don’t understand how someone who could have such a close relationship with Riley’s mom and who had a son on her own could make some of the decisions she made…famous Hollywood person or not. I don’t think that tension was necessary and I think it might have been one too many things happening in the plot.

What I liked

The friendship(s): This group of friends is everything. They seem real and genuine and actually nice to each other. They listen, they notice when something is off…they feel like real people. Yes, there’s miscommunication in this book (there always seems to be), but this isn’t a group of people who are making assumptions and not actually talking to each other. And they sometimes do things with different members of the group instead of always being the whole group together, which adds some fun dynamics.

All of the plot points: I know I mentioned above that there were maybe one-to-many plot points, but despite that, I loved how there were a lot of interesting things happening—and that they were done well. There was the coming-of-age story, the friendship group, complicated mother-kid relationships, the love story, the side love story, nerdy book stuff, etc. Nothing seemed to be mentioned for no reason, and everything was tied together beautifully.

Emma Lord: Yup, she gets a point here because her stories are so nice to read. They’re not complicated, the characters are great and she’s a very consistent writer that I love to read.

4 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I would ideally give this book 3.5 stars. This book is about Riley and Tom, unlikely friends who meet when they are 8 and form a bond that is unbreakable...or is it? When Tom moves to NYC with his now famous mother, Riley finds herself feeling lonelier than ever among their friend group. And Tom seems to be distancing himself from them as well. Finally, after high school graduation, Riley decides, to the dismay of her mother, to head to NYC and spend the weekend with Tom. A weekend turns into a summer, where friends, new and old, embark on the beginning of adulthood and independence in the city that never sleeps. This book is about growing up, falling in love, keeping secrets, mending fences, and ultimately finding yourself. As an adult, this book had parts that seemed super unrealistic but I did appreciate the innocent romance aspect.

I will always read anything Emma Lord writes. She writes such fun stories about teens and YAs, it’s easy to fall back into those shoes.

These characters, like the ones that came before them, are loveable and growing and all the more charming for it!

This was a delightful read. I got what I hope for when picking up an Emma Lord novel.
She does a great job of getting into the heads of older teenagers and young adults.
Riley runs off to New York City to escape her mother and small town. Her hope is to reconnect with her best friend and rediscover herself after having spent the last few years under her mother’s strict scheduling.
Tom, Riley’s best friend, has spent too long on his own. Mostly ignored by his own mother. He is unhappy in the city and would like to rediscover his happiness.
This is a coming of age story, a will-they-won’t-they friends to lovers, and an incredible found family story. That was my favorite component of the book. The found family was so much fun - Luca, Mariella, and Jesse were all such great characters. I also loved the concept of anonymous gifts - we could all use more of that in our lives.
I have to admit though that the will-they-won’t-they between Riley and Tom got to be a bit much at times. I love a slow-burn, but geez, just make up your minds. You don’t need to run away for two days to figure it out. Other than that, I loved all of the adventures this group of friends got to go on!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for an e-arc of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

If Emma Lord writes it, we will read it! She knows how to draw you in and get invested in the lives of her characters. Her books are exactly what we want from YA reads.

Riley and Tom have been best friends since they were kids but everything changes when Tom moves to NYC. It’s been years since they’ve seen each other but their friendship has stood the test of distance and growing up. On Riley’s graduation day she decides enough is enough and she goes to New York to see him. A weekend trip to see her childhood best friend turns out to be the start of the rest of her life.

The story is heavy on coming of age and friendships and light on romance. Riley and Tom’s friendship is special. He pulled her out of her shell when they were little and she returns the favour now. They just get each other and share a unique bond. We loved their character growth.

The Getaway List was a fun catalyst for the adventures they go on throughout the summer. What made it even better was the inclusion of their friends in marking off things from the list. The friend group rallied around each other and became a family in the big city.

Read if you like:
▪️Best friends to lovers
▪️Coming of Age
▪️Adventure Bucket list adventures
▪️Stories about friendship
▪️Found family

3.5 stars.

I have read Emma Lord's other YA books and enjoy her witty dialogue. I liked the premise of this new book, but have mixed feelings about how it turned out.

The story is focused on two best friends (Riley and Tom), who grew up together as kids of single mothers, until Tom and his mom moved to NYC. When Riley graduates high school having been rejected from all colleges and realizes that she does not know what she wants to do in the future, she impulsively moves to NYC and lives with Tom for the summer, even though they have been separated for several years.

What I enjoyed about the book: diverse and unique supporting characters, Lord's trademark dialogue and humor, and most of all, New York itself, which is front and center in the novel as it's own character. I loved the places highlighted in NYC as the characters went on various adventures (their "getaway list").

Where it fell short: I found it a bit hard to believe that Riley and Tom remained bffs over several years of being separated - that just did not ring true to me and the entire book hinges on this. There was a subplot of Tom and Riley having issues with their mothers. I felt that the Tom and his mother arc was important and needed to be flushed out more. Lastly, the ending wrapped everything up too quickly and neatly for my liking.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley, St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book to review!

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

This was a really fun book. I enjoyed it as much as Emma Lord's other books!