I will start by saying that this is another winner from Emma Lord! Now, let me descend into some Swift love.

The title of this book made me think of the Taylor Swift song, Getaway Car.. Then, within the novel, we talk about evermore, and we talk about the 10 minute version of All Too Well, and listen to the Taylor Swift discography on a road trip. Finally, the titular track is mentioned - Tom looks like he’s going to get into a getaway car. Get your favorite Taylor Spotify playlist queued up and enjoy this read! (Note: This novel was written in summer 2022, so we are not blessed with any Midnights tracks. This is a bummer as a few would have really fit with the plot.)

The story revolves around five teenagers who have just finished high school and found themselves together in New York City. What starts as a quick weekend jaunt by Riley to visit her friend Tom turns into a summer of adventure for a bunch of kids on the cusp of early adulthood who decide to tackle The Getaway List. We get introduced to Jesse, whose band has its own place on the List, Luca, a slightly awkward writer with a secret Brownie identify, and Mariella, a tech genius with a little air of mischief. What was nice about this group is that their new friendship seemed to bring out the best in each of them, especially as they worked together to bring a couple of lovebirds together.

Clearly, the author is a Taylor Swift fan, so I will forgive some of the seemingly unrealistic things that the characters get up to. Examples: I am not a parent, but am I supposed to believe that one would let their child walk out of the house with no belongings, no plan, and no money to spend a weekend in NYC? That turns into a summer? And, would a group of four sets of parents really let their kids take a road trip to North Carolina after only knowing each other for a few weeks, with no adult supervision, and no clear plan? Am I living in an alternate dimension, or has the expectation of parenting really gone that downhill?

Ok, rant over. While I do feel like I had to suspend belief in some areas of this book (if Tom and Riley barely spoke for three years, how are they magically in love?), and some of the app shenanigans seemed superfluous, this was a fun read overall! Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advanced copy!

I’m finding it hard to put how much I loved this book into words. As with all Emma Lord books, I feel as if The Getaway List was written exactly for me. Emma Lord has this way of reaching into my mind, pulling out the tropes and references I love the most, and combining them into an emotional masterpiece that makes me cry, scream, and laugh in equal parts.

There are three main threads in this novel: a just-kiss-already romance, the power of friendship, and the desire to be known and to know yourself. If you love the friends to lovers trope and found family, The Getaway List will be candy for you.

Thank you for Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. As always, it’s a delight.

ANY BOOK THAT WILL BE WRITTEN BY EMMA LORD CANNOT BE FORGOTTEN.

Firstly, a HUGE thank you to the Author, the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read and review this book before its release and provide my honest opinion.

Now, the fun part.

Such a heartwarming, sunshine, light read. Two (very mature, may I add) best friends on the path of reunion.
It was such a pleasure reading about them. The characters-so well crafted-fitted to perfection in New York.

I am the absolute BIGGEST fan of Riley Larson. Like, what? How can a fictional character like her even exist??? Emma Lord, we need clarification about this. Like, for real, I would DIE to be her friend. She's so cool.
And all her friends?? And the nerd Tom??? Yeah, that's the life, baby!!!

All in all, it's very fun and cute and romantic and cool, I urge EVERYONE to read it!!!

I know I’m technically part of the ideal demographic for this book anymore (hello, mid-20s), I still feel like Emma Lord crawled inside my brain to write it. I loved every chaotic minute of it.

The romance was so sweet. I loved the easy dynamic between Tom and Riley and how the will-they-won’t-they reminded me of People We Meet On Vacation.

Also, the friendship!! Between Tom and Riley, and with the rest of the cast was so refreshing. I always love a good YA rom-com, but themes of friendship are always so nice to see.

I’m such a big fan of the way that Lord incorporates herself into the heart of her stories. In The Getaway List you see it in this love letter to New York, and the Taylor Swift references, and the little moments of chaos throughout the book (and I’m sure many other small things that I’m missing because I don’t know her personally) and I really love that. I feel like with every book I get to know Emma Lord just a little bit better and it feels special and in a way like she’s a friend. (I do understand boundaries though and I know this is not a person I actually know, but the sentiment still stands)

I hope that when January rolls around you’ll give Tom and Riley a chance to worm their way into your heart.

Emma Lord has knocked it out of the park with #thegetawaylist and it is the perfect read! Riley, Tom, Luca, Mariella, and Jesse are wonderful characters who make me want to go back to my younger self and run away to New York City! Haven’t we all felt the pull? Read this wonderful book about love, friendship, family, adventures, nerdy pursuits, and secrets. Thank you to #netgalley and #wednesdaybooks for this arc to read and review, all opinions are my own.

I got an ARC of this title from NetGalley and I’m delighted that I did. I thought it was just going to be a sweet, fun, fluffy read. And it was sweet. And it was fun. But it was much more than fluffy. While there is a romance in the story, it’s really more of a story about friends finding one another and teens finding themselves and those teens finding some level of peace with parents. I really really enjoyed the humor at the heart of the book, too. 💜📚

Riley realizes on the day of her high school graduation that she she has spent the last 4 yrs trying to please her mom. She decides to move to NY for the summer and sees her childhood bff Tom again. Their connection is still there and she actually falls for him...

Love the friendship between Tom and Riley. Love the rest of the cast as well. Lots of funny banter and LOL situations. Really enjoy it.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Emma Lord is the queen of YA romance and coming-of-age stories! The Getaway List might be favorite story of hers to date! I loved the characters, especially the side characters like Mariella and Luca. Lord manages to perfectly capture the emotional experience of change, new beginnings, first love, and growing up. All the relationships were perfectly written - the mom/child relationships, new friendships, old friendships, new and old loves. I’m amazed by how much is packed into the plot while still being easy-to-follow and entirely readable. These are the types of books I know I’ll share with my own daughters someday - the ones that show it’s okay to not have everything figured out, to try new things, to be scared, to question your relationships, to want more from the people who love you. Emma Lord is easily an auto-buy author and I can’t wait to see what she has planned next. Highly recommend this and all her books!

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

2 things I know for certain:
1. I will always read anything Emma Lord writes.
2. I think her writing best friends to lovers might be my favorite trope she writes (or you know, best friends to more cuz lovers feels weird for a YA book).

The Getaway List was so fun, adventurous & filled with our sweet characters figuring out who they are and trying to be honest with those around them about that. But also like lots of New York adventures, shenanigans, a tinyyyy bit of mystery & a whole lot of swoon worthy moments. If you love Emma Lord, New York, leaving sweet treasures anonymously for friends to find or watching two best friends fight their sweet feelings for one another, pick this one up as I'm pretty sure it's my favorite of hers yet!

Easily a 4⭐ read! I adored it & would definitely think about reading it again in the future.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Wednesday Books & Emma Lord for the arc - all thoughts & opinions are my own.

This story is syrupy-sweet and exactly the kind of adventure that I would've dreamed of going on as a teenager.

The friendship shared by Rylie and Tom is so pure, and in this story we're given front row seats to watch them develop and realize their feelings for each other.

For anyone that's been a teenager before (ha!), the plot is so relatable. There's that teensy little space in time between High School and what comes next that has us all excited, terrified, elated and feeling a little lost. This story hits all of those feelings from the get go.

TL;DR: this is a wonderful story to read if you're like me and need a reminder of the "good old days". It's a great way to reminisce that season of making mistakes, figuring out who you are and learning your place in the world.

NOTE: ARC received in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I'm usually a huge fan of Emma Lord's writing so I was very excited to dive into this book. The bad news: There were a few places where the story just felt a little slow for me. The good news: it's Emma Lord, so there is still totally solid character development, interesting relationships, and great world-building. And the end/epilogue was super cute and tied everything together really nicely. A good book for a lazy weekend. I continue to be a huge fan of hers and will certainly look forward to her next release!

No one is more surprised than me that this was only a 3 star read for me. I love Emma Lord. I stan Emma Lord. Tweet Cute is one of the few books that I've read multiple times. BUT. There's just something missing in this book for me.

I'm not sure if it's the fact that this book seems too similar to Tweet Cute in a lot of ways (girl moves out of Virginia, ends up getting involved in food/delivery related shenanigans, has an occasional tense relationship with family, etc.). I'm not sure if it's just that this book beyond stretches my ability to suspend my disbelief (evidently these kids are all secretly billionaires, judging by the way they spend money). It just seems to be missing a spark - to me, there really wasn't any of the witty Emma Lord dialogue that I'm used to.

Don't get me wrong; it's a good book. But that's just it. It's good. From Emma Lord, I'm used to great. And this one just fails to deliver.

If dreams don’t work unless you do, then all of Riley’s should come true. Only problem: Riley isn’t sure what her dream even is.

Growing up with a single mom, a jam-packed schedule, and a best friend named Tom, who moves to New York when they’re barely freshman, Riley graduates high school without a college acceptance or a plan on the horizon.

Enter: the Getaway List.

Created as a list of dreams for her and Tom to do if they ever reunite, the Getaway List becomes the catalyst for Riley and Tom to reconnect in the city of dreams.

What Riley finds ends up being better than she could’ve imagined.

The Getaway List is Lord’s fifth novel and I am convinced it is her best yet. Lord effortlessly balances the themes of identity, growing up, and complicated relationships without ever being preachy and the character voices leap off the page. Riley and Tom’s chemistry is ELECTRIFYING with their inner worlds and personalities being just as compelling as their (inevitable) romance. Even better, the side characters and B plots with those side characters reads naturally, the interconnected layers between each of them in all their messy, romantic glory never one devolving into the cliche or saccharine. Something I always appreciate about Lord’s work is the deliberate but mindful showcase of representation and with a plot set in New York City, Lord masterfully connects her cast and the MCs together with the city they’re made in.

A love letter to New York and also to growing up, The Getaway List would be the perfect read to anyone wanting to capture the magic of summer and all the possibilities it can hold.

First of all, thank you so much to Wednesday Books for sending me an advanced e-copy of The Getaway List. I gasped when it popped into my email earlier this week and started it almost immediately!

Second of all, very excited for you all to meet my new favourite Emma Lord YA romance. I absolutely ADORED this book. It's a love letter to New York City, a beautiful coming-of-age and growing up and learning how to make decisions for yourself. Some of the choices Riley made near the beginning of the book may feel questionable, but honestly, I hope that when my kids are old enough, they'll feel confident making hard choices for themselves with the knowledge that I will always love and support them (even if I would do something different or don't really understand) - like Riley and her mom.

I loved Tom and Riley's relationship. A best friendship that fell into love both gradually and all at once. And the group of friends!! Their adventures through NYC were such a highlight. It made me want to travel to New York and retrace their footsteps, just like they did with their favourite fantasy series.

This book was such a highlight and I am so sad I have to wait until January to have a physical copy in my hands!

Another delightful romantic YA from Emma Lord, which keeps the focus on the kids, but doesn't neglect to permit the adults to be human beings, in this case the single mom of Riley, who has no idea what to do with her life now that she's eighteen and out of high school--and was rejected by all ten colleges she applied to. Which doesn't bother her, because . . . what should she do with her life?

Except connect with Tom, her best friend from childhood, of course. Who lives in New York.

So Riley hops on a bus, in the teeth of her mother's displeasure, and goes to surprise Tom.

Thus spins out another emotional whirlwind that Lord does so well. I really connected with that weird sense of still being a kid, but knowing that adulthood is out there, but where does one fit into it? At the same time, having a longtime trusted friend, who...might actually be something a whole lot closer?

How Riley and Tom negotiate these emotions, along with their friends (all of whom are delightful) is such a fun book. There's a lot of wish-fulfillment in the young adults wild success, but Lord doesn't stint on the hard work it takes to get there. Meanwhile, plenty of hilarious one-liners, as to be expected, and also, I realized with this book, tons of descriptions of um...let us say, creative amounts of sugar and fast food.

I had to chuckle when I realized that. Probably that's the greatest bit of wish-fulfillment, as you'd think anyone living on the diet she lovingly described would fast be on the road to gastrointestinal volcanic two-step.

I look forward to her next!

So excited for the opportunity to read the advance review copy of The Getaway List!

This is only my second Emma Lord read; I'd rate Begin Again a bit higher than The Getaway List.

High school senior Riley fails to get into any colleges in which she applied. Her best friend moved to NYC 4 years ago and they have seen each other since. There is a bit of falling out between Riley and her mom, so Riley is on the next bus to NYC and lands on her (male) best friend's door step.

Being so young in NYC would be completely magical and soon Riley has a new group of friends.

This really is a lovely story; in some ways it bothered me that too many things fell into place.

For all those who love Emma Lord, you are sure to love this one as well!

Thank you Alexis and the team at St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books. Thank you to author Emma Lord, I loved how you incorporated young writers into this novel! Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the advance read copy of The Getaway List in exchange for an honest review.

I especially liked the last 3 chapters and Epilogue.

Emma Lord is the queen of sweet YA romance. “The Getaway List” is going to be a a fan favorite for anyone who loves Emma’s work!

I love Emma Lord books, and this one may be my favorite. Riley graduates high school and makes a spontaneous decision to visit her best friend, Tom, in New York City - and ends up staying. Of course the book is romantic and sweet (literally, they eat so many pop tarts). And of course the book is adventurous and full of antics. But also, of course, Riley and Tom and their ragtag bunch of friends are all caring and kind people looking out for each other as they try to find their way.

This book felt like holding something precious, reclaiming those teenage summers where anything feels possible because you don’t know who you are yet. It’s a joy.

Emma Lord’s books are THE ABSOLUTE BEST! I love everything she writes. I’m 30 and her books are great for teens and adults. I highly recommend this newest one!

This book reminded me exactly why I love Emma Lord's books. They never fail to make me smile and laugh, it's that feeling of basking in the heartwarming bliss of a good book.

Rejected by all the colleges that she applied too, Riley is left with absolutely no clue on what she must do after high school. Much to her mom's dismay, Riley sets out on unmitigated chaos, also known as spontaneously booking a train to New York and hopefully reconnecting with her childhood best friend Tom, who has been very quiet and sporadic in his communication lately. Once in New York, Riley and Tom fall right back into their bantering and teasing friendship, as if no time was lost between them. They decide to finally check off all the items on their Getaway List. Throughout all of this unmitigated chaos, Riley learns to find her choice in her life and what it means to love.

The Getaway List is another five star book from Emma Lord! I loved everything about it, from the little trips around New York to the heart to heart conversations that Riley has with all her friends and her mom. It has that nostalgic vibe of growing up and not knowing what to do, but it makes you feel like everything is okay, because everyone is going through it. It is such a delightful childhood best friend to lover read, and anyone who loves that trope will surely love this story. There is so much lovely detail that all ties together, like the astronomy references throughout the book was so pretty to read. This book makes you want to get up and be creative and brave!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for sending me an e-arc of this book for an honest review!