This is a good holiday read, nothing too complicated, easy to read. Perfect for the novel for beach/ pool.
I read The Villa which I loved. This unfortunately is not as good but it’s not a bad book overall.
Story is told in two parts, I was not enthralled by any character but there’s were a few good twists to keep the book ticking over.
I would definately reas another book by this author as The Villa was great.

Juno arrives on the Greek island of Inois with the intention to find the father that she’s never met. But once she is there she realises that nothing is as she expected. He isn’t there and the island is shrouded in secrets. Desperate for answers Juno aims to find out the truth.

I read this author’s previous book, The Villa, and loved it so was excited to see another destination thriller by this author. This ended up being another well written, entertaining read, with an interesting mystery running throughout. I was engaged in the story almost straight away and it held my interest until the ending. There were also a few good twists and turns that I didn’t expect.

The author did a great job at creating a beautiful, sun soaked atmosphere. I could really feel myself on the island. The characters were well written and easy to follow. The story is told in two timeframes which helped keep the story compelling and build up towards the reveals. Overall this was another enjoyable book by this author and a perfect holiday read. I look forward to the next! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

My thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Island Escape’ written by Jess Ryder in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

It isn’t until Juno’s grandmother dies that she finds letters her mother Estelle sent to her about Niko the man she fell in love with in Greece and the father Juno never knew about. Juno leaves her husband Luke, buys a one-way ticket to Greece, and travels to Inios where her father’s family the Zimiris come from. She gets a job as wedding organiser at Club Inios Sunset that the family own and starts searching for her father.

‘The Island Escape’ is a domestic mystery told by Juno’s mother Estelle in 1984 when she falls in love with Niko and the present time when Juno is obsessed with finding him. The prologue got me interested when something happens to make Estelle and Niko leave Inios in a hurry but then the story slows down as the chapters are told alternately by Estelle and Juno. I didn’t like Juno who’s 39 but acts more like an immature teenager who leaves her husband and arrives in Greece with very little money or idea of what to do other than ingratiate herself with her father’s family to find out what happened to him. I was hoping for a gripping thriller but it just felt flat and I found myself umping over chapters hoping for the spark that didn’t materialise. It’s an idea beach novel for someone who doesn’t want anything too complicated but unfortunately this time it wasn’t for me.

3.5* rounded up
This story is told in two parts. Every other chapter follows Juno as she explains why her marriage is in trouble and why, instead of dealing with it, she has booked an open ended trip to the Greek island. For the most part, Juno's chapters were a little boring. She gets to the island, seeks out the people who are related to her, hoping they’ll lead her to her father, but not wanting to tell them who she is. She decides to get a job with the family, working as a wedding coordinator at one of their venues. Meanwhile, she is secretly trying to find anyone who remembers her mother and father, hoping to find out what happened all those years ago. Her chapters get a little more exciting towards the end, but I'm not sure I'd call this book a thriller.
In between Juno's chapters, we go back to the summers of 1984 and 1985, when her mother Estelle is in Inios. We follow her as she makes new friends, and then meets the handsome Niko. After a whirlwind romance, she heads home believing it wasn't just a holiday fling, it was the real thing. The following summer, despite Niko telling her not to come back, she returns to the island and things very quickly go south.
The two timelines come together at the end, but I just kept waiting for something more to happen.
The book was well written, and the author did a great job with describing the island. So much so that I felt like I was there.

I wanted to like this book but I couldn't get into it. Netgalley insists on leaving a review to keep your personal feedback score up.

The Island Escape is full of intrigue and mystery exploring the story of Juno and her mother Estelle and set across past and present. Estelle visited the Greek island of Inios in the eighties and met the love of her life but things don’t go smoothly leading to something happening they vow never to speak of again. Juno meanwhile talking a break from her marriage and decided to retrace her mother’s steps and hopes to find the father she’s never met. But with a close knit community and warnings to leave the island immediately it seems she’s finding more secrets than answers. This book had me hooked and I really enjoyed how the plot unfolded especially the ending. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and the author for the chance to review.

A great read, really kept me gripped and loved the Greek setting. Looking forward to reading more from the author.

I was excited to be offered the opportunity to read the Island Escape by Jess Ryder.
The story follows two timelines, Estelle in the 80s and Juno in the present day.
Estelle travelled to the Greek Islands in the summer of 1984 and enjoyed the party life amongst the locals and expats. There she falls in love with Niko, a local. But life and customs are very different amongst Greek families compared to the life of a 1980s Brit.
In the present day, 39-year-old Juno has left her husband and gone to Greece with her Mum’s old letters in search of her father who she has never met. Can any good come from telling the family who she is?
Juno was insufferable! She’s incredibly self-centred and just ignores everyone warning her that it’s not safe. Perhaps if we had a bit more of a glimpse into her life as a child - travelling among the hippy communes before she is sent to live with her grandparents - she would be a more sympathetic character, but from the story Estelle seems a reasonable person.
With thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

The second Jess Ryder book I have read and enjoyed. Most of us have been to Greece and the Greek islands so are aware of the romantic nature of the island which has been captured in this book. With the book set in two time periods current and mid 1980's it uses this fact wisely and the key to the book is the retention of secrets. Really enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more books from Jess Ryder. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Jess Ryder never fails to capture her audience straight away.
Juno heads to Inios to find her long lost father but everything is not as it seems. This book had you rapid fire reading just to find out what was happening next! The dual timelines really immersed you into the story and give the characters life.
4*

Great summer read. The story alternates between two characters' stories decades apart, Juno in the present day and Estelle, her mother, back in the eighties. The whole book takes place on a beautifully described Greek island, the transformation of which over the time span is very believable.
Old secrets still have the capacity to ruin generations later.
It's a great story that keeps you gripped and which I finished in one day.

When Juno arrives at the breathing Greek Island of Inios, she wants to find the father she's never met. But he isn't there, and nothing is as she expected. As whispers follow her every step, Juno is convinced something terrible happened all those years ago when her parents fell in love. Desperate for answers, Juno knows she can't leave the island until her family secret that has been hidden for decades is finally uncovered. Little does she know how far someone will go to keep it buried.

I love Greece, so I was happy to see that this was where this book was set. Juno's mother was a bit of a hippy, but she never knew her father, so she went off to Greece and the island of Inios to see if she could find him. Juno's mother warned her to keep away, but she didn't listen to her. Juno is taking a break from her marriage to search for her father.

This story is descriptively written. It's told in the first person pov in the present day and 3rd person in the past. It also has a dual timeline that's told in the past - when Estelle met Niko - and the present day.

Published 3rd July 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #RandomHouseUK #Cornerstone and the author #JessRyder for my ARC of #TheIsland Escape in exchange for an honest review.

This book is based on the Greek island of Inios and Juno is in search of the father she’s never met. However he isn’t there and there are things that do not appear to be as they seem. Juno finds her relatives but why is she being told to leave and not tell her found family who she is. It’s as if secrets need to be left buried but Juno wants answers. Will she end up getting what she wants or will she end up risking everything?

Ok so there was a twist at the end that I didn’t guess but overall this was an ok thriller. I found Juno annoying if I’m being honest and this did have an influence on my final rating. As I have said before reading is subjective and I know that other readers will love this so please do not let my opinion stop you from reading it

The Island Escape is a decent read but I do prefer The Villa.
Juno has decided to find her father, she is thirty nine years old and has an estranged mother and was basically brought up by her grandparents. She has come to Ionis a Greek island that her mother spent time on whilst back packing. Whilst there she fell in love with a Greek man but has never spoken of him and the dark secret she holds very close. Hoping to reenact her mothers footsteps she’s manage to get a job at the place where her fathers family own but her mother messages her to tell her it’s not safe and to get home but Juno isn’t ready to back down so quickly and finds herself in something she can’t get out of.
Their book described Greece perfectly, the dual timeline between Juno and her mother, Estelle worked really well and I was unsure all the way through the book where this was going to go. It’s a twisty read that I enjoyed the only gripe I have is Juno is thirty nine but when you read her chapters her character reads as though she has just left school. A decent ending though and a good pace throughout the book.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyed the last offering called The Villa but I’m afraid this was just not on par with it. More of just a mystery and not a thriller with quite unlikeable characters. Started well but fell away and picked up near the end. Just an ok read.

Juno arrives on the Greek island of Inios in search of her long lost father.

I don’t even know where to start with this. The character of Juno is 39, she acts like a 15 year old.

Ludicrous storytelling, completely silly & not in a good way

Overall 3.75 stars.

Premise: Juno decides to retrace her mother’s journey from the 80’s to have closure regarding her parents in the beautiful Greek island of Ionos. However the island seems to hold more secrets than she could have anticipated and her arrival could just be the trigger the unraveling of over a decade long mystery.

Jess Ryder does it again! The author does a great job of laying out the atmosphere, describing the beautiful and picturesque scenery while exploring the personalities of the characters very well. Although the chapters flit in between the 1st person POV of the present time and the 3rd person POV of the events of the past, the reader would definitely be able to get a sense of all the character and their different personalities. Just as with Ryder’s previous book, I felt all the characters were written well for readers to be able to see both positive aspects as well as the flaws.
Although I personally enjoyed the family drama with mystery aspect, I feel readers would not label this a thriller but rather a genre based on realistic drama that encompasses both family dynamics, self-growth and a family mystery.
The overall book kept me captured however I felt the ending to be quite predictable and unfortunately too rushed.

Readers that enjoy mysteries with a good element of one finding themselves while understanding cultural differences would really enjoy this book!

A fast paced book that alternates between the 1980’s and present day. Juno arrives on the Greek Island of Inios determined to find her father, Nico. Her mother, Estelle spent time on the island in the 80’s and Juno was the result of her relationship with Nico. However, Estelle had warned Juno not to try to find him, stating it was too dangerous but would not explain herself. Therefore Juno decided there was only one way to find out the truth. Leaving her distraught husband behind she embarks on a journey that could potentially change her life or have devastating consequences. An excellent story with several twists, plenty of interesting characters and a delve into the traditional ways of the Greek people. A story based on love, naivety and the results of the unthinking actions of youth.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

This would be quite a good holiday read, especially if you were actually on a Greek island. The island is described well and the party people and atmosphere are well conveyed.

The plot is reasonable but my main issue is that Juno, who is 39, seems to think and act like a much younger woman, she comes to startlingly wrong conclusions about things such as who was sending her those notes and she seems quite immature. I would also say that the book is a bit too long, the bit near the end with the hut seems unlikely but the couple of surprises are quite good and I didn't guess them in advance.

Initially I felt that the timeline was a bit off - i would have thought that party islands were more a thing of the 1990s but the author says that the partying part is based on true stories from friends.

I did quite enjoy it and it is an easy read.

Really good start and an excellent finish but let down a bit by the middle which wasn’t bad i just wasn’t as good
Not so sure was keen on the letters
The descriptive writing re the island was superb and I pictured it throughout,the sights,sounds amd smells
A fairly enjoyable read