Told ultimately in three stages - pre-honeymoon, the honeymoon, and post-honeymoon, this story follows the life of Annie, a recently jilted bride. Uncertain how to proceed after being left by long-term partner Alexander, Annie decides to takes a chance on an old friend she becomes reacquainted with. She packs her suitcase and passport, and the pair set off on her honeymoon, reminiscing about their youth together in a theatre group. Ultimately this is a story of the newly single Annie figuring out what she wants from life going forward.

Much like a cute romantic-comedy blockbuster, there are moments of hilarity - most notably a naked spa retreat - but also themes of touching sincerity including the loss of a spouse. This story is a retrospective look at womanhood and what constitutes a healthy relationship - whether romantically or platonically. This story of love and adventure has a much deeper thread than you'd imagine which I was pleasantly surprised by. Kudos too for the representation of non-binary characters at the spa Annie visits too.

Annie's journey to becoming a self-assured woman was fun to follow along with, but at times I felt there were unnecessary lapses including Jules and then her considering doing her current job in Belgium despite wanting a career change which is why I hadn't rated this higher.

This is fluffy and romantic much like Laura Jane Williams' other work, and I am a fan. If you're looking for something that doesn't take itself too seriously, this feel-good frolic is a perfect beach read (or a slice of escapism in the middle of January).

*Huge thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for this review copy, I literally SQUEALED when I got send the ARC before Christmas!

As a wedding photographer for almost 15 years I've seen a lot but I've yet to have someone get jilted at the altar (a few close calls though!) so the premise of this book immediately sucked me in. From the first few pages I was immediately hooked in.

While you have to suspend a bit of disbelief for the main part of the story, I really rather enjoyed it and wished there was another whole section of more of the honeymoon fun and adventures. That's by far the best part of this book and shows the best of Annie and Patrick.

However, once the honeymoon is over the book almost completely does an about face and it gets a bit mucked up. While the ending brings it back together again I feel there was a bit of a misstep there in the final third of the book.

Overall it was still an enjoyable read and it was a fun break from the doom and gloom of early 2021!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

A lovely escape to Australia while it is -20°C outside my window!

It is a story about Annie, who gets stood up at her wedding day by her fiance, who she has been together with for more than ten years. Now she needs to rebuild her life while struggling to understand how she has got it all wrong. While battling inner demons at the gym, she meets an old friend Patric. After a drunk night at the pub, he ends up being her honeymoon travel companion.

In the beginning, the story was slow. However, it was worth the wait because, as soon as characters boarded the plane to Australia, it was all funny, sparkly, and full with laugh out loud moments.
Great romance development. I liked how down to earth it was. There wasn't a charming, all perfect prince, just a decent nice guy with his own baggage.
Unfortunately, the ending was dragging too much for my liking. I understand that the author was trying to build character development while teaching Annie some needed life lessons, but it just took too long. I would have liked more if she would have faced her fears and gone into the battles a little sooner.

Thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Publication date: June 24th.

P.S. I always wanted to go to Australia (when I was little, it was my dreamland because I thought that I could climb in a kangaroo pocket, and he would carry me around 😇).

This is very much a "sweet" story, the characters and their relationships are adorable and the plot is charming!
I enjoyed this and found that I flew through reading it as I was so invested in Annie and her story.

If you're a fan of the genre, or any of Laura Jane William's previous work, i think you'll really enjoy reading this.

I really didn't want this book to finish, I really loved it.
Maybe it took me away from what is happening in the world and took me into someone's life that needed changing for the better.
I connected so much with Annie, feeling you always had do things in a certain way and was really stuck in a life that pleasing others first is easy, but your not truly happy.
It excited me when she got jilted and realised she was going to turn it around into a good thing.
This is my first book to read from this author book won't be the last. 5 stars deserved.
Thank you for the opportunity

Annie is headed down the aisle when she learns that her soon to be husband has called off the wedding. Her "should be" in-laws encourage her to go on the luxury honeymoon they planned for them and Annie decides to go with her camp friend Patrick. They haven't seen each other in many many years, but decide to live in the moment and take this trip together. Throughout the "honeymoon," they learn about each other and begin to fall in love. A sweet romance that I would definitely recommend!

4.5 stars. A story about love and loss in many different forms. Learning to love yourself as well as learning about the love you deserve.

This was a great read- quick and engaging, but still pulls at the heartstrings. I enjoyed the characters and their stories.

Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley.

I'm starting to really love this author, and this is the sort of story that really appeals to me.

Of course all my favourite bits involved the honeymoon, which given even the destination hasn't been revealed in the blurb, I don't feel right in saying it here.

Let's just say it's a long haul flight, a three week trip of a lifetime and I was open mouthed at the luxurious nature of it, especially given it was paid for by the in-laws that weren't actually in-laws due to their son jilting Annie at the altar.

I loved the descriptions and trips that were taken on this honeymoon, not always the most expected of destinations, and sometimes not solidly on the tourist trail which was really nice to see. As a travel lover I was I really happy with how it was depicted, and made me long to get on a plane to join Annie and Patrick out there.

But there is more to this book than just the travel element, it's a story of how Annie learns a lot about herself in the aftermath of her jilting. There is her brand night light hearted friendship with Patrick who she knew briefly as a teenager, and I loved her relationship with her much younger sister.

Annie's mother was so familiar to me, the various comments she made, it felt like she could have been my mum, for the majority of the book.

I really did enjoy everything about this book, from the first few pages where Annie is all excited getting ready for her wedding, to the aftermath where she is frustrated with her family around her, and her attempts to regain control with a boot camp. And all that before the honeymoon which wasn't a honeymoon as such.

Her dynamic with Patrick was so fun to read, and I would love a Patrick in my life!

Having enjoyed the books I've now read by Laura Jane Williams I really should go back and read Our Stop, and I will definitely keep an eager eye out for future releases.

Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

ONE CANCELLED WEDDING

When the day finally comes for Annie to marry Alexander, the last thing she expects is to be left standing at the altar. She was so sure he was Mr Right. Now, she has no idea how she could have got it so wrong.

ONE UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER

After a chance meeting with Patrick, an old friend who reminds her of who she used to be, Annie takes a vow of her own: she’ll say yes to every opportunity that comes her way from now on.

ONE SPARE TICKET FOR THE HONEYMOON

Could a spontaneous trip with Patrick be the way to mend Annie’s heart? She’s about to find out as she embarks on her honeymoon – with a man who’s nother husband…



I thought this one was okay. I think that there were some things that didn’t need to be in there but overall it was okay

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Really loved the premise of the book blurb, but the book fell flat for me. I wanted to love it so bad. The first few chapters were very slow. Even though the book did pick up, I was not a fan of the characters. They felt forced. I did love the diversity in the book though. No fault to the author, the format of the ARC was extremely hard to read, with no paragraph breaks and grammar/punctuation errors. It took away from my enjoyment of reading it.

A joy in the grey days of January!! Annie gets jilted at the alter....decides she will go on honeymoon..with an old school friend Patrick that she meets again by chance. Adventures and finding the real Annie and Patrick ensue. They both have issues to address and in doing so find themselves and each other. A lovely but of much needed escapism which I thoroughly enjoyed. Likeable characters, realistic setting and satisfactory ending..

Pure escapism. The start of the book was ok but after a few chapters it really took off, and not just to Australia... the fun that Annie and Patrick share is so uplifting. Just a bit jealous of the Australian honeymoon.
Laura Jane Williams is a great fun writer, she makes me smile and we need that at the moment.
Thank you NetGalley

Annie has been left at the alter by the man she's been with for almost 10 years. Completely devastated, she's not sure how to move forward. One day, she runs into a friend from the past, Patrick, and is reminded of the girl she used to be, strong and independent. She realizes she has spent her life trying to please everyone else and lost her true self in the process. Her ex's mother insists that Annie take their gift of a honeymoon alone or with whoever she wants. On a whim, she decides to take Patrick.

The beginning of this book, everything seemed so forced and awkward. I get that the author wanted to make her characters diverse, and that would be fine if that added to the story, but it's like she made a point to show that she had characters of every ethnicity and sexual orientation. It just felt so "in your face" for no reason. I appreciate diversity in books, I just didn't feel like it was necessary. Why did we need to know the wedding planner's ethnicity? She's not even in the rest of the book. That's just one example of many.
Annie also came off as a bit dumb in the beginning. Like she'd never done anything on her own. I get not being able to navigate an airport while looking for your gate or terminal, airports are big, but not knowing where to check in? She seemed so in awe of Patrick's skill at knowing which airline check in to go to and where their seats were, tickets are not that difficult to read.
The next part of the book takes place in Australia and I honestly was jealous of Annie, I want an all expense paid, luxury trip too! We learn about Patrick's past and the inevitable happens.
The ending is satisfactory and predictable. I liked how Annie had grown and changed for the better. She took charge of her life and made decisions for herself instead of others.
Overall it was a good book, a bit slow at times but an easy read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the advanced copy of this book!

I want to start by saying I loved this book - yup I said it - I loved it. It was an utter joy to read and the perfect book to escape with. Having visited both Perth and Margaret River in Australia, I found myself right back by the sea sipping wine and eating cheese with my friends and now husband.

Having read Our Stop and The Love Square by Laura Jane Williams I knew I would enjoy this novel - but in my opinion, this was Laura's best work yet. It was so nice to drift away to the summer sun in Australia - especially after the current ways of the world - and I loved going back to places I had visited. I'm still determined to make my way over to Sydney.

It was a quick and easy read with enjoyable characters. I liked that you saw Annie re-discover who she was and what she wanted from life.

I gave it 5 stars as I simply loved the escape. It was lovely and fresh and I really enjoyed it!

This book was hard for me to read. Annie was so insecure, it was almost painful,
Alexander was an incredibly toxic person and a terrible boyfriend. Annie should have left him long before he left her. I also wish her friends had said something before it got to be too late. Alexander complained that Annie never showed her feelings, but what about her friends?

I had a hard time figuring out what genre this book was; was it supposed to be a romance, or more of a self-discovery book? If it was a romance, it was a little too predictable for my tastes, and if it was self-discovery, it was too slow for my tastes. I didn’t enjoy reading through Annie’s journey as much as I’d hoped, but I think it was because I was so ready for her to grow and realize things I’d realized much earlier.

Annie has been with her fiancee for 10 years and the book begins on their wedding day, however he has had second thoughts and leaves it to the wedding planner to inform her he's not turning up. Annie, with the help of her friends and sister, goes on a journey to rediscover herself.
A well written book with some really relatable characters. I loved the relationship she had with her sister and her friends.
I received this book from Netgalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review

Okay so I’ve read this idea of a bride jilted on her wedding day before countless times. But I was curious what the author would do with it. I was surprised that I didn’t care for Annie at first . Yes, I felt bad for her but the red flags along the way should have clued her in that this was a mistake. Her teen years was horrible which set her up to be the ‘yes girlfriend’ that she was. Her mother was too cruel in my mind and her father didn’t do much to support her emotionally. I loved her sister Freddie and the new love interest/buddy Patrick. I thought the location of Australia was breathtaking and her claiming back herself an incredible journey in of itself. I wanted more with Patrick and felt that the relationship was cute but not enough sizzle. Again this is just my opinion but I needed a bit more steam. I wished the epilogue was something a bit different and I was a bit disappointed in that. Overall, this was an okay sweet romance story.
I received this ARC from the publisher and Netgalley for my honest review and opinion.

The novel starts on Annie's wedding day. Not the usual start for this genre of novel. But there would be no story if she lived happily ever after. And in fact she is jilted on the steps of the church by her fiancé of 10 years. Guilty that their son would do such a thing, Annie's ex-in-laws insist on her going on the honeymoon to Australia.

This was an enjoyable read. The characters were charming. I did feel like there was a bit of box ticking in the traits given to characters: Annie, the main character is a theoritical scientist (woman in STEM: tick) but her job remains incredibly vague and at some point she explains how she feels like she's not learning anything new and hasn't since school. Surely as a researcher and scientist, you're constantly learning new things.

The little sister was not believably 13 and sounded more like she was between 9 and 12. The mother was a little 2D and the resolution of the mother-daughter relationship a little too easy.

All this said, I was gripped and enjoyed reading it.

Every one of Laura's books is the perfect escapism, and The Lucy Escape is no different. I devoured this in two days and it was a much needed break from the January 21 lockdown.

So endearing & packed with swoons! I loved every moment of Lucky Escape. Annie and her problems felt so realistic, the friendship groups were fantastic & I couldn't help but smile my way through every page. Fans of Lia Louis & Beach Read will adore Lucky Escape