I really enjoyed this book. Great characters, especially Patrick. A good plot with lots of lovely experiences to read about and emotions to get involved with. Smashing! With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this title.

I’d like to thank Avon Books for approving me for an ARC of this audiobook..

The Lucky Escape was a fun and easy listen that dealt with a lot of issues without being morbid and depressing. I can’t imagine how anyone must feel to be jilted on what should be the happiest day of your life. Annie was clearly in shock and seemed very calm whilst she tried to process what Alexander had done. I loved her attitude of just getting on with life and channelling her energy into the gym, getting her body fit whilst her mind played catch up.

Overall I found Annie to be very likeable and relatable. She had a fun personality that had been squashed by either Alexander and her mother over the years. Once she was out from under their control she really let go and I could feel the tension easing out of her. What I liked most about Annie was her relationship with her sister Freddie and the positive effect she had on her views and opinions. They had a lovely sisterly bond considering the age gap between them.

Patrick was an absolute sweetheart. From the moment he rescued Annie from her jumper I just knew they were a great match. They had a chemistry that was undeniable and were so comfortable around each other. Perhaps the idea that Annie would take this guy, who she hasn’t seen in years, on her honeymoon is a little far fetched but hey, this is the world of fiction where anything is possible. I loved the damaged, grieving part of Patrick, it explained his live for the moment outlook on life.

I was very jealous of their holiday to Australia, it is on my list of places to visit and all the different things they did sound incredible. As the holiday progressed I could feel that sexual tension building between Annie and Patrick and there was only one way it could possibly go. The scene at the spa gave me the giggles and I could not help but laugh out loud at the hilarious antics.

Once Patrick and Annie returned home it was good to see a few hiccups along the way. When we finally meet Alexander he is everything I thought he would be; pathetic, rude and entirely wrong for Annie. It was great to see Annie standing up for herself in all aspects of her life and finally living life how she wanted not how she thought she should.

This was the perfect summer read to escape to, especially as travelling seems to be off the cards at the moment. Filled with fun, excitement and refreshing characters this is sure to bring a smile to your face.

I enjoyed this book, and finished it in one evening. The main characters are easy to like, and funny; and the other characters are all distinguishable. The descriptions of the places are brilliant. The story is fast-paced, with enough ups and downs to keep the momentum going. This is a lovely light read, perfect for the beach.

This is a great balance between romance and light hearted comedy and the blossoming relationship between the two lead characters is a thing of beauty. I really want to go on that holiday with Patrick too!

A fun and easy read. The premise of the book hooked me immediately and I did quite enjoy Annie and Patrick as characters. There were a lot of relatable moments, especially around the ideas of what constitutes being an adult and feeling left behind when everyone around you is getting married/having kids. The banter between Annie and Patrick provided for some chuckles. However, the plot lost me as it went on - particularly after they returned from Australia. I found both Annie and Patrick flip-flopping around and the growth Annie seemed to get whilst on the holiday just disappear? In the end all was well I suppose but it seemed like an unnecessary plot divergence. Overall, perfect if you're looking for something enjoyable and light-hearted.

This is a cute read. However, I couldn’t connect with the couple that much. The writing was really good but the story felt flat in the end.

It's Annie's wedding day but the groom, Alexander doesn't turn up. She's naturally devastated low in self esteem which isn't helped by her mother constantly doing her down. Fortunately she has a good group of friends who support her and who encourage her to take up her (almost) mother in law's offer of the honeymoon which is already paid for. She refuses at first but then after meeting someone she used to know, she decides after all to do it. What happens next is predictable but the novel is nicely written with good characterisation and lots of welcome nods to the diversity of the society we live in.

Romantic comedies are not the first genre I turn to but I enjoyed this and would read more from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Annie is jilted at the church. Her would be in-laws insist she still goes on her honeymoon, a dream holiday to Australia. After meeting an old friend, Patrick, theyboth go . The inevitable happens but is it true love, what will happen when they return to normality. ?? Really enjoyable and not totally predictable, loved it.

Thank you to Net Galley & Avon books for gifting me an early release of this book, written by Laura Jane Williams.
I was already lucky enough to be gifted the audiobook version which I have listened too, enjoyed and reviewed below.
The Lucky Escape follows Annie, who’s just been left by her fiancé Alexander, of nearly 10 years - on their wedding day - by a text to the wedding planner!?
We see her navigate the next chapter of her life as a newly independent woman, with her learning who she really is and who she wants to be with, now she’s free of the constraints her relationship with Alexander unknowingly had on her. But with the help of an old friend Patrick, who she convinces to join her on what should have been her 3 week honeymoon in Australia, her eyes are opened to the possibilities her future can hold.
This is a lovely story with lots of lovely characters, I really enjoyed the narration by Carrie Hope Fletcher giving each character a different voice.
This is the only book of Williams I’ve read, but I think she has done a great job of adding different curveballs to Annie’s life, giving her options and making us - the reader, ponder over how it’s going to end; it can be boring to read some romcoms which are so cliche and obvious, this however does not fall into this category.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book and would recommend it as a great holiday book to read or listen to!
I’m also going to look at Williams other books as if they are like The Lucky Escape, if sure I’ll enjoy them too!

I was really looking forward to this book, so I'm super disappointed that I didn't like it. It had a ton of potential, but for some reason, I never connected to it.

I think most of that is because I was expecting a light and fun romcom. I expected to laugh, and to be shipping the characters. Instead, I just got a lukewarm relationship. There was no chemistry between Paddy and Annie, so the scenes between them were repetitive and boring. I wanted some connection, but there was nothing.

I also didn't love Annie as a character. Every once in a while, she would make a super random comment about the patriarchy or the gender wage gap, and it felt so out of place. What's worse, is her actions didn't even reflect that statement, she said it, and immediately made actions that disputed it.

Finally, I didn't love the career plotline at the end. I was ready for the book to be done, but I just stuck with unnecessary angst and a midlife crisis. Considering I didn't even have a romance to root for, I wanted to be done.

The author and premise definitely have potential, but this book fell short. I was in the mood for a romcom, and sadly, this book didn't deliver.

Thanks to Netgalley and Laura Jane Williams for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Laura Jane Williams is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me, and I was thrilled when I heard that she had a new book coming out. This book follows Annie when, on the morning of her wedding, she was jilted by her husband to be Alexander. His parents are desperately embarrassed about the whole situation and let her go on the paid-for honeymoon with whomever she chooses. On a drunken night out Annie bumps into an old friend Patrick, with whom she has an instant attraction, and a drunken decision leads them to go on the 3-week honeymoon to Australia together and in typical Laura Jane Williams style everything blows up from there. I loved most of the characters in this book, especially Annie's 13-year-old younger sister Freddie, I found her so cute and so well-rounded. The plot although a little insta-lovey between the two main characters was super fun to follow and I really loved hearing about all of the holiday antics. Although this is quite a fluffy romance novel it does follow some harder-hitting topics and I enjoyed their presence throughout this book. I think I will probably read anything that Laura Jane Williams puts out from this point onwards - even if they are not all going to be 5-star reads, they are all so enjoyable and honestly so much fun.
4 out of 5 stars.

After Annie gets jilted at the altar she decides to go on her honeymoon with an old friend Patrick who she has just recently met up with again.

This is a cute story it's a quick read that is funny in parts and emotional in others. Annie and Patrick's characters were likeable and realistic and you couldn't help but root for them.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for the ARC

Annie is due to marry Alexander today but arrives at the church to find he's texted the wedding planner to call it off.
Fast forward and Annie is heading off on her honeymoon - with another man! Old drama camp friend Patrick Hummingbird bumps into Annie at a boot camp and after some fun times catching up, becomes her lucky travelling companion on the luxury honeymoon to Australia.
Their story developes with adventures, a new self awareness, lots of fun and enviable locations.
I had mixed feelings about this book. At the start I thought the characters were a little affected. I then loved the section of the book set in Australia. Back home I found the story a little contrived. Without spoiling the ending, I would have preferred to end the book feeling that the right decision had been made for the right reasons rather than the rapid yes/no about-face that took place.
This is a decent light summer read.

This was a nice, lovely read. Very much about escapism and self-discovery in the wake of an emotional disaster. I would have preferred for the first part to go by faster (come on, get to the good stuff!) and it is fade to black in the bedroom (boo). I thought Patrick was a lot of fun and a good pairing with Annie, who had some good growth.

A feel good story, ups and down, delights and disappointments.
When Annie is jilted at the church, she was devastated, but fairly quickly realised that it was, indeed, A Lucky Escape! Over the next weeks she begins to find herself at last.
A lovely summer read, and I really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this book from the very beginning to the last page. The themes of change, finding yourself and learning to be a little braver are beautifully written with intelligence, warmth and humour.

I'm a huge Laura Jane Williams fan after reading this gorgeous book. A wrong marriage and best friends turned lovers had me tearing through the pages. After reading Our Stop, I was beyond excited to get started on the lucky escape!

Travelling to Australia on a non-honeymoon was the story I didn’t know I needed right now. Loving the travel element and the way that Annie found herself throughout the book really resonated with me. A great, fun love story with bonus travel thrown in, definitely recommend. Thanks NetGalley!

The Lucky Escape

This is the first book of @laurajaneauthor’s that I’ve read, although Kirsty read one of hers last year - Our Stop. I received an arc of this via the publishers @avonbooks via @netgalley.

This book is basically my life story, which I knew before starting but I guess if you’ve just been jilted it might not be the best time in your life to pick up a book with this plot!

I enjoyed the majority of the story, especially when Annie and Patrick were travelling around Australia. It’s a place I’m never likely to go so I like to see it vicariously through the eyes of characters.

My own personal experience did make me a bit skeptical about the timing and insta feelings between Annie and Patrick but that could just be me. I would have loved to see Annie rocking it on her own and keeping Patrick in the friend zone. I definitely connected with parts of Annie’s character and her response to her situation right down to the line “when life gives you lemons make lemonade”. If you’ve seen some of our posts recently about our Instagram handle you’ll know the significance of that!

I still have Love Square on my TBR so will look forward to picking that up at some point in the future.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me after the 24% mark. I really wanted to love this - charming cover art, promising storyline that gives off major The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren vibes - but I gave up after my third attempt at trying to keep going.

The pacing is dreadfully slow, bogged down by unnecessary details (mostly political/social justice remarks that don't add to the plot and were probably thrown in as sound bites or for a pat on the back) and repetitive or straight up unnecessary scenes that could be cut.

I also couldn't root for the heroine. After six chapters of her moping about how miserable her life is with no indication she wanted to change paired with her passive personality, I just felt bad for her and wished she'd go to therapy instead of a vacation.

The writing also feels inconsistent. Williams' writing style shines in some parts but the writing is mostly clinical and dry. It reads like a second draft.

Overall, I was expecting something light and fun, ala The Unhoneymooners as mentioned above, but it was dreary and a bit boring. Maybe I'll try it again in the future to see if it picks up halfway through and ends with a bang, but judging by the other reviews, it's safe to say I'm not missing out on much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me a digital ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.