The Runaway Bride is a great book I just couldn't put down. With great characters and an adorable story, this will make an amazing beach read!!!!

Kitty flees her wedding in her dress- no phone, no credit cards, nothing- and is lucky enough to be picked up by Jack. He's a widower with a sad past and, more happily, a pregnant dog. These two find themselves sharing their issues (and this does have some serious spots) and becoming friends. Rom-Com fans know that there's going to be a love spark that will flicker into a flame. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's got good characters, humor, and a positive outlook- perfect for a gray day when you can use a lift.

We enter the story with Kitty on the run. She just ran out on her wedding and wont tell anyone why. When Jack picks her up hitch hiking and offers her a ride to her aunts house. After her aunt breaks her trust she finds Jack again at a bar and they decide fate brought them together again and she was going to join him on the road in his camper van. Through their journey we find out about their pasts, why they're on the road and their feelings that evolve. This isn't your typical rom com, theres a phycological aspect and a bit of mystery involved adding to the drama. Its a well rounded read!

I loved this book so much. I came into this book expecting a light hearted rom-com, but it was a lot more substantial than that. I don't know why I thought Jack was like an older man at first but eventually I lost that picture in my mind. I loved the dogs. This is my second book by Mary Jayne Baker and this one was definitely my favorite!

****The Runaway Bride by British author Mary Jayne Baker is a different take on this trope. Kitty literally ran on foot after the wedding with no money, no ID, no phone. She is rescued on the side of the road by Jack, a well known children’s author. The story unfolds as the two travel in the small camper Jack and his very pregnant dog call home. It basically is a journey of self discovery and emotional growth for both as little by little they open up about their lives. The author addresses serious topics such as emotional abuse and grief. The journey is interesting as well as enlightening and well worth your time. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Highly recommend.

Wonderful romance about grief, running away and family.

**Spoilers***

Kitty Clayton, freshly married, runs off from her reception, after seeing something that makes her second guess her life.
Jack Duffy, a well known children’s author/illustrator, picks up Kitty on the side of the road with his camper and brings her to her aunt, thinking they’ll never see each other again.

When their paths cross again, they’re stuck together for a while and start to become friends.. Kitty and Jack take a journey in the camper through England/Scotland while helping each other through grief, problems and feelings. There are two plot twists that one does not really see coming, but fit well into the story line.

I enjoyed this ride and want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for this ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Kitty Clayton runs away from her own wedding with nothing but her wedding dress and wellies she is picked up by Jack Duffy in his camper van and it seems like the universe has thrown them together. From the first page I was intrigued I needed to know why Kitty ran away from her own wedding. I also loved the character of Jack and I was absolutely rooting for his and Kitty's relationship. The book tackled some heavy themes, grief and emotional and physical abuse. I feel they were handled well and added to the plot and characters. Overall, this was a lovely immersive read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I adored The Runaway Bride by Mary Jayne Baker. It’s one of those books that draws you in from the first page.

Kitty flees her wedding with no phone, no money and what feels like no future. All she knows is she can’t go back to cheating Ethan. She ends up hitch-hiking and is soon picked up by widowed children’s author Jack Duffy. He plans to look after her until she’s back on her feet not slowly they begin to grow close. With Jack having his own struggles and Kitty refusing to face up to her problems, do they have a future?

I instantly fell in love with Jack and Kitty. They’re such wonderful characters and take you on a whirlwind of a journey throughout the book. This is a tale of love and new beginnings and is a gorgeous heartwarming read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Aria and the author for the chance to review.

A Sweet read. Kitty and Jack were both dealing with different traumas and it was lovely see, the, find their way to happiness together. So,e interesting plot twists as well involving the mystery of why Kitty ran from her wedding.

The Runaway Bride follows Kitty, who is fleeing from her wedding. She runs away on foot in her wedding dress and all. She hitchhikes and meets Jack. Jack is a children's book author who lives our of a camper traveling from place to place. Jack helps Kitty find her place in the world and deal with her past traumas.

I loved this one! I read it in less than 24 hours. I loved this unique take on a runaway bride book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: May 4, 2021

Thanks to Aria & Aries and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Kitty has fled from her wedding reception in her wedding dress and her wellies when along comes Jack (and Sandy the dog) in their camper van to take her to the safe haven of her Aunt's in the Lakes. Sadly though things don't go *quite* to plan and fate brings her and Jack back together.

This is a very enjoyable tale of being lost, being found and so much more thrown in!

3.5 stars

How would you react if your wedding day was an epic fail ? Kitty just runs away in her dress and rubber boots. And it's the best decision she ever made.
Jack is a brokenhearted writer living in a van. Finding Kitty along the road will save her life... and probably his too in some ways.

I don't remember reading a romance novel showing psychological violence and how it can break someone. It was very interesting and different (even if the part at the hospital scared me a bit, it felt like it was switching from romance to thriller !!)
Overall Kit and Jack were both were cute and good people who suffered a lot and I am very fond of them :)

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eArc in exchange of an honest review.

I wish I could read a Mary Jayne Baker book every week! I so enjoy her novels. The plots and characters are original and likable. The plots are different. Even the story of a runaway bride which has been done hundreds of times in romance novels is fresh and new in her hands. She also is tackling some difficult subjects as her characters are dealing with sad backstories.

Kitty’s Ex is a real dirtbag. The only question is why she would have stuck with him so long, but that becomes clearer as we learn more about her upbringing. And poor Jack hasn’t been able to cope with a tragic loss. But they’re still interesting people with wry senses of humor. They are both kind and sweet people who are clearly meant for each other. And their interplay kept me up late to find out how it was all going to come out.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

I've learned to enjoy a good romance read as a break in between my thriller reads especially in the past year. There was just something about The Runaway Bride that caught my eye immediately, and I'm glad that I gave the book a chance as I ended up having an excellent time with it. While heavier than initially expected, this story will take you on a journey that you cannot help but cross your fingers and toes for will end on a high note... Emotional, deep, sometimes even frustrating, but also hopeful, engaging and with just the right dose of humor.

Like I said before, this is not exactly a happy read as it focuses on psychological abuse, grooming, dealing with the death of a loved one, cheating and family issues in general among other things. This might be a lot to pile up in just one story, but strangely enough it actually works as it is well balanced with the lighter elements. The Runaway Bride includes some of my favorite elements too, including traveling, animals (dogs) playing an important role in the story and bookish elements in the plot. I really liked how the dogs were incorporated into the plot and were visible throughout the story... A bookish element is always a bonus, and having a famous children's book author and illustrator as one of the main characters was without doubt a pleasant surprise. We even got a glimpse behind the scene with the PA angle and bookish events, and I really liked how the interaction with the fans was described.

As for the travel element: I could really appreciate how it wasn't just the different settings, but the traveling itself also had a deeper meaning for the main characters. The descriptions of the different places they visit in the van are vivid and make it easy to imagine visiting those places along with the main characters... The van itself plays a key role as well of course, and I really liked this travel element and everything it entailed.

I'm still left wondering about the main characters though. While I did like Kitty and Jack in general, I did feel very frustrated at times especially with Kitty. The psychological abuse is well described though and Jack's struggles are likewise realistic. Some of the other characters can get highly annoying though. While I did wonder if it might have been a bit much in just one story, I still liked how everything came together and if you are looking for a romance read that has more dept and emotions and isn't just full of fluff, The Runaway Bride is a great choice.

What a joy to read! Kitty runs away from her wedding day in her wedding dress & wellies after seeing something at her wedding reception. She spotted at the side of the road by Jack Duffy in his camper van. The story enfolds with talk of an abusive relationship, grief & how to trust. Loved it all, such a great story & the writing flowed. Kitty grows through out the book & it was a pleasure to be on that journey with her. Please can we have a sequel??

A sweet and heartwarming story perfect to fit in between thrillers! Kitty runs away after her wedding (you’ll have to read to find out why!) and is picked up by an Irish man. Kitty is running from her heartbreak, while Jack is trying to hide from his. Although broken, they somehow fit together. The quirkiness of Kitty’s character brought humor to some of the difficult parts of the story. I loved watching her character grow into her own person!

It’s Kitty’s wedding day. Except she’s abandoned the festivities and hitch king to anywhere when she’s picked up by Jack, in a campervan with a pregnant dog. The writing is fresh and breezy. It’s an easy read, but it does have complicated issues: death, betrayal, lies, and dependency. Kitty finally sees how others have controlled her life and begins to stand up for herself. She also helps Jack face his fears and hang ups. I liked how close Kitty was to Laurel and I loathed the two master manipulators in her life. I loved how she and Jack lived in the camper van with the dogs. The ending was good.

I completely read this book in hours! So amazing!
This is such a heartfelt book!.
Kitty Clayton flees her wedding with no money, no bank card and no phone, her life seems worryingly futureless. All she knows is, she’d rather sleep on the streets than go back home to cheating Ethan.
Loved Kitty... She is such an amazing lady!

We first meet Kitty on the side of the road after she has just run away from her wedding. She then meets Jack - a children's author who lives in a van. Together they learn how to come with the hurts in their lives and how to move on from something you do not think you can move on from.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. The banter is great and if you are a fan of British romance, you will definitely like it. I did think some of the villains were a bit over the top and we didn't get much of a satisfying conclusion when it came to them (it wrapped up too nicely :D) but I LOVED Jack and Kitty.

Genre: Romance | Womens Fiction | Contemporary

Release Date: 6th May 2021


Here comes the bride ... and there she goes again.

Kitty Clayton got married today. Three hours ago actually, and it's already over. Her new husband is a lying, manipulative cheat and Kitty is running - still in her dress. She has no phone, no purse, no husband and probably no job now - nothing to drag her back. Desperate to get away, she's heading for her aunts house and luckily gets picked up by strange orange campervan owned by a peculiar Irishman and his pregnant singing dog.

Jack Duffy knows about losing love. The recently widowed childrens author still feels the guilt and the loss everyday. But when he finds a heartbroken young women hitchiking in the rain after seemingly fleeing her own wedding he can't just leave her there. Promising to look after her until she's back on her feet, Jack loves having someone to care for again. But of course, was this chance meeting meant to be the answer to both their broken hearts? Or are they both too busy running to see what could be.

The Runaway Bride got going right away - throwing us straight into the action and just escalating from the very first page. I was expecting a classic fluffy 'cold feet' story but this took all my expectations and literally set them on fire. At first I was a little stunned, this was not the light-hearted romance I'd settled down for - the weird rose-tinted spin that novels usually take on serious issues like divorce and heartbreak. There were a lot of dark twists along the way, as we learn more about the traumatic histories of Kitty and Jack and the toxic people they've found along the way.

Each with their own heartbreaking secrets that slowly come to the surface in unexpected ways as they travel around in the orange campervan, their journey wasn't just about romance, it was about healing and acceptance too and left me with a beautifully warm glow when I finally flipped over the last page.

Now, I know I said this book gets real - but there's still plenty of adorably cute moments, hilariously quirky British humour and turn-on-the-fans level of hot and steamy romance.

If you're looking for just a straight-up romcom, this might look like the book for you but it is not. But, if you're looking for an endearing, heartfelt journey about picking up the pieces and then finding a few more, you need this book.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐


Thank you to Mary Jayne Baker and Aria & Aries for this ARC in return for an honest review.


Content Warnings: Sexual Content, Mental Health Issues, Domestic Abuse.

This is my first book by Mary Jayne Baker and I really enjoyed it! I initially requested this because I love a rom com and I loved the Julia Roberts movie Runaway Bride. Obviously very different, but still so enjoyable!