I’m honestly unsure how so feel about this book. It was ok & passed the time, it had some interesting characters in it and I continued to read it to the end. However, I was left feeling a little disappointed. I don’t think this is necessarily a reflection on the writing, more my reading preference as I just found the plot a bit too unbelievable to buy into, become involved in and in turn interested in. I realise that often in this genre things happen that wouldn’t necessarily in real life, but I think this just went a bit too far and didn’t match with my expectations.
That said, it did have some great bits - like the main character finally standing up for herself and embarking on the life, and career, right for her.

Annie is excited to marry Alexander but to her horror, he jilts her at the altar. His parents insist that she go on the honeymoon without him. After a chance encounter with her old friend Patrick, she decided to invite him along.

I really liked the fact that the book was written entirely from Annie's perspective, as it really helped us get to know the character and become invested in her journey.

All the character's are well written with authentic dialogue from Patrick to Annie's mum and sister, Freddie. Their relationship came across really well.

This was a warm romance with nice elements of humour. I would definitely recommend this engaging, feel-good read.

Thanks indeed to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The story is told from the perspective of Annie who has been with Alex for a number of years until he jilts her on their wedding day. Their luxurious honeymoon to Australia has been bought and paid for by his parents and they feel so guilty about what Alex has done they urge Annie to go ahead with the honeymoon. When she bumps into an old friend, Patrick, Annie asks him to accompany her, which Alex’s parents agree to. What follows is fairly inevitable and there are few surprises but the descriptions of the stylish holiday that follows are amazing. The flight, the hotels and the locations are pure luxury and just reading about them made me want to change places with Annie! There are a few interesting relationships, such as the closeness Annie has with her sister and the prickly relationship she has with her mother. The storyline is fairly predictable but that doesn’t really detract from the book. Lucky escape is pure escapism and perfect summer reading. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me an ARC of this book.

This was a super cute romantic comedy and I recommend it for any fan of that subgenre. I enjoyed the writing style and will be reading more from this author.

I found this to be a typical jilted on your wedding day but still taking the honeymoon sounds great. I found the end to be rushed and a little unfocused.

“The way I see it, we’re all looking to each other for permission to be free, so I’m happy to go first and give it. Nobody knows how much time they have left, so there’s no point wasting it trying to be good when it’s so much more fun to keep having fun.”
Another book by Laura Jane Williams that made me laugh. Lighthearted and enjoyable to no extend.

Alexander left Annie standing at the altar. Doesn’t sound like a good start to a romance book, right? But it is. For years and years, Annie believed that Alexander is the perfect one for her. How wrong was she! Now, when her friends can speak openly about Alexander and what they think of him, his attitude toward Annie, and their relationship, Annie is starting to realize what a toxic relationship she was in.


Slowly, she is finding her feet again, when one day she meets an old friend in the fitness. Patrick is a guy from a drama camp she used to go to when she was a teen. But the 20 years of no-see are quickly left behind their back. And after her no-longer-future in-laws offer her to go to the honeymoon without their son, enjoy herself, and try to go through what happened, taking Patrick with her seems like the most natural thing to do.

There are lots of things to enjoy in this book. The instant chemistry between Patrick and Annie. Seen how supportive her friends are, how fast they step in and try to make the best of the situation. Her sweet little sister, who is trying to be as supportive as she can. And a trip to Australia as well!


The Lucky Escape’s sprayed edges fit so good in the colour scheme
There are some things I didn’t quite enjoy. The first thing being the fact that she invited a man she barely knows to a trip which she was supposed to share with her husband. Come on! I know this is a romance, all about finding your other half, instant love, etc. but it is a bit rushed. Twenty years is a hell of a lot of time. I’m not sure if I’ll recognize someone I used to hang out with for one summer ten years ago, not to mention twenty.

I had a problem with the book premise as well. The title, itself, The Lucky Escape makes you think of a beautiful getaway book. A story that will take you to a different place, and a heroine that will be your guide. But this is not the case here. The biggest part of the book is set in London. The ‘escape’ comes a bit too far in the story, and it is a bit too short for my expectations. I wanted to read more about their travel. It felt a bit rushed, and instead of being the pivot of the book, it was a sidekick.

Although being a romance book, it deals with lots of grief. A whirl of emotions, disappointment, toxic relationships, and unsupportive parents. It was a fine read for me, tho. Since the Our Stop, Laura Jane Williams became an auto-read author for me. Hence why I’m so looking forward to her next book.

A huge thanks to Avon and the author Laura Jane Williams for sending me an ARC of this novel (even though I ended up buying the book!) via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are mine!

I really enjoyed this book, my first book by Laura and most certainly won’t be my last, I really enjoyed following Annie’s story and seeing how things would end - this definitely lived up to my expectations.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the e arc.

Synopsis:

We all know the stories of Runaway Brides, however, at Annie's wedding, it’s the groom who doesn’t show up at the altar. On the first days after the canceled celebration, she feels like her life is ruined. With time she tries to get her life together. In one of the classes, she takes she meets Patrick, an old friend she knew from the summer camp. He reminds her of the person she’s been in the past. Thanks to him, she decides to make a vow that from this time on, she will say yes to every opportunity that will come her way This leads her to the decision of going for the before-hand planned honeymoon. However, instead of Alexander, Patrick will accompany her.

Book review:

The book represents young women’s journey to find her way in the world. Before her life was focused on her fiancé’s life but when he did not show up at the altar, she decided that it’s time to change something in her life. Her old friend Patrick showed her a way to start living by saying yes to everything. She started her adventures by going on the planned honeymoon and taking Patrick with her.

This vacation helped her to recognize that her relationship with Alexander was right to end. They wouldn’t be happy together, and they would hold each other from living the way they wanted to. During the vacation, she learned a lot about herself but also about Patrick. Even if she didn’t want to jump from one relationship to another, she couldn’t help herself to start feeling more and more attracted to her friend.

This book is a sweet and sour story about a grow and looking for happiness. Annie was always influenced by what other people will think about her, but Patrick taught her that her opinion should be the one that actually matters. She needs to live her life in a way to be satisfied with the outcome.

In my opinion, Annie was an annoying character, but I could see myself in her behavior which is quite funny. She didn’t know what she wanted and tried to do everything to satisfy other people instead of herself. I feel like a lot of young people feel this pressure since there is this major stigma to be successful and make the parents proud. Especially in Europe. But this book gives us a nice result for these situations.

I would recommend this book to all new adults, that start their life after college. I would like to thank Laura Jane Williams, Avon Books UK, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. I hope other readers will enjoy it as much as I did.

Thank you for working with us to run a Caboodle Firsts giveaway on Caboodle, the rewards programme from National Book Tokens!

I love stories about second chances, and this one fits the bill nicely. Both Annie and Patrick need to move on and the wonderful non- honeymoon gives the pair of them the opportunity to do precisely that.
Filled with wonderful description of Australia and Antwerp (who knew!) and a lovely slow burn romance this book lives up to its name by providing a good few hours of escapism.

Truly brilliant, she's done it again! Such a fantastic book from start to finish. Is it even possible to get better when they were so good before? Yes it is!

Love a good beach read. Anything to do with vacations is always a hit with romances. If you’re looking for a sweet romance definitely grab this one up

This was a fun “friends to lovers” romance that I enjoyed reading. Annie has planned her wedding down to the last detail. Unfortunately, her fiancé leaves her at the altar. She’s still getting over it when she meets Patrick, her old friend from drama camp, and when her ex’s parents encourage her to go on the luxury honeymoon to Australia that they planned, she decides to bring Patrick as a friend to travel with.

Can Annie get past her anger and open her heart again? Maybe a trip to Australia will give her new perspective. I loved the characters in the book, and the descriptions of Australia were so beautiful that I want to book a trip there! 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Another great read from Laura Jane Williams! An uplifting novel of how unexpected life is, and even when you think have everything sorted - life has other plans! The honeymoon was most of the novel, but I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop from friendship as they progress, at different stages of loss.

This was a DNF for me. I liked it, but couldn't get into it. I also did have trouble with the formatting on the kindle edition download, which may have contributed to my trouble with finishing this. Much thanks for the ARC!

This was as cute read following Annie, who gets left at the altar. She ends up going on her honeymoon to Australia and takes along an old friend from childhood that she hadn’t been in contact with for a long time.

I enjoyed being able to travel along with Annie to Australia and hear all about the bougie places they stayed. There were many parts where this books felt a bit cliche. I also felt as if Annie moved on quite quickly given the fact that she was about to get married - to the point that in some parts of the book I forgot that she had recently been left on her wedding day.

Overall, this was a cute, feel-good British romcom.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the gifted e-book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I fell in love with the romantic lead in The Lucky Escape and you will too.. plus you'll get to imagine yourself in a tropical paradise!

The Lucky Escape was a joy to read, and I loved every moment. I have excitedly been waiting for this book ever since I read Our Stop, as I knew I’d be in for a treat.

I also had serious holiday envy as it is a dream to go to Australia. And the places that they stay at are incredible. There are gorgeous beaches, amazing wineries. Just true escapism.

For Annie being jilted is a wake up call to change her life and find out what she really wants in life. I also loved Annie’s relationships with her friends and her sister Freddie. I also loved Patrick, especially at the beginning. They were all so cute together!

Perhaps if I was being picky I would say that the conflict was a bit of the top and was resolved far to quick. But as I was a light hearted book, this didn’t bother me to much.

The Lucky Escape was a lighthearted and fun read. It’s a book to put away your scepticism glasses and just enjoy. One book I cannot wait to pick up again!

Annie is all set to marry Alexander, her college sweetheart of 10 years, and can't wait to begin the next chapter of marital bliss with him. What she never expected in her wildest dreams was Alexander not showing up! Well that is exactly what happens and Annie finds herself dumped at the altar. Annie is lost and depressed and joins a boot camp to sweat out her frustration. Her in- laws are ashamed of their son's actions and insist that she still use and enjoy the honeymoon package which they had arranged for the couple. Annie initially isn't too sure about it but after a few chance meetings with Patrick, an old acquaintance from her teenage years at a summer drama school, she throws caution to the wind and decides to take the un-honeymoon trip to Australia with him. For the next three weeks Annie does nothing but enjoy the sights, de-stress and get to know Patrick better and as each day of the trip passes Annie slowly begins to re-connect with her younger version ... a person who was not afraid to take chances instead of conforming to other people's idea of how and what she should be like...and also falls in love with Patrick.

Overall, I liked the book. The starting was slow and it took a number of pages to get to the actual trip but once there it was fun! I loved the Australia trip section and all the different activities both Annie and Patrick try out... both planned and spontaneous. I do wish that a lot more Australian tourist destinations had been covered instead of the two mentioned; it is a huge country after all. I honestly didn't want Annie and Patrick to return to the UK at all. I also wanted the in-laws who are responsible for the free trip to make an actual appearance in the book but they were relegated to only texts and phone calls.

The cover design is pretty vibrant to look at as well.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Avon Books UK/ Avon and the author Laura Jane Williams for the e-Arc of the book.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫

I started reading The Lucky Escape during a book slump and it was a huge mistake. The first half of the book was slow and made my book slump worse, so I dropped it and returned after I felt like reading more. The second attempt was much better, but I still felt like the book was a little slow. I still read the book though and I’m glad I did.

I started enjoying reading when the trip to Australia began because wow, I would be so so happy to be on a trip in a beautiful country right now, still in the middle of the pandemic. I loved reading about the things our characters did during their trip. It felt like the book took me on a trip. It was great.

Following how the romance progressed was great too!! It didn’t feel rushed even though it happened during a short period of time. The characters took everything slowly but surely. I loooove that. One of the reasons why I don’t really love quick/love at first sight tropes.

Overall, I enjoyed the book! I am all for woman power and being independent! Although it sometimes felt forced, I love how it (slightly) got resolved in the end.