This was so much fun! I do wish it had a little more to do with the actual escape room that they worked at since that was what really pulled me into it in the first place, but I still had a blast reading this and I really enjoyed the obvious chemistry between the main characters. One side-note I do want to give is that I read this via a mix of physical reading and audiobook listening, and I VASTLY preferred physically reading it. I was not a fan of the male narrator and it kept pulling me out of the story so I definitely recommend reading this one physically over via audio if you are able!

The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park was a hilarious YA contemporary featuring zombies and escape rooms, an adorable main character pairing, and one very epic zombie survivalist competition for $50,000. It had charming humour that worked perfectly with this quirky fast-paced read.

“Thanks for the ride!’ I grinned.
‘No problemo, senorita.’ Really, Nate? Spanish? My god.”

This is such a great example of pure awkwardness between the two main characters, Nate and Kate. I think this will resonate with a lot of people because who hasn’t had a moment like this before, especially as teenagers. Park nailed the socially challenged flirting game amongst the nerdier teens and I loved the representation here. It sounds odd but a lot of the time, YA novels have characters that are within the age group of YA but they almost always ‘grow up’ and really act like adults who have many things figured out. Albeit not everything, but that usually lends itself to the plot not the romance. They’re usually way too smooth when it comes to dating and sex but it's not the case and I felt that this just made it a real perspective from a teenage boy and girl that many will be able to relate to. It might even give some hope or a more optimistic outlook on romance and dating rather than just giving up because they aren’t popular enough or not pretty enough. That’s another thing I loved here. It wasn’t about looks between Nate and Kate but rather personality. And you know what, you can call that cheesy but I think it makes it sweet and genuine. It’s a romance built on who a person is rather than what they look like and I appreciated that sentiment also. There’s too many things out there about looks despite how much attention everyone gives to the opposite. Nate liked Kate’s outgoing attitude and her interests and Park’s writing reflected that.

“My jaw dropped. OH MY GOD. MY HAIR. Where was my hair? Nate saw me like this! Sweaty hair.”

Despite Kate being outgoing, she still reacted like an awkward girl who cares too much how she looks around boys. I liked how Kate’s confidence dissipated when it came to all things with Nate. It was a realistic reaction for a teenager liking someone. Despite knowing that it’s not looks that matter, that sentiment goes out the window as soon as someone has feelings for another and I liked how Park kept that in here. The romance Park built was still based on personality but she made her characters’ work to see that if they needed to. Again, only making this book more real and relatable. Flustered messes are a part of dating and not everyone gets a smooth and sweet meet cute to tell their kids down the road. That being said I loved how they met at a zombie escape room because personally that makes a pretty great “how I met your mother” story to tell the kids.

“Pete used his massive hand to sweep his tousled Tom Holland hair out of his steely blue eyes.”

What a description! I have a love/hate relationship towards pop culture references, but for the most part I love them and this was one of them. It’s a shame that this was used to describe a bully in the story but I still love the ode to our latest Peter Parker. This also adds to the overall nerdy charm this book has and that’s awesome!

“The way he spoke to me was like how he talked when he was raising capital from investors. Like he was selling me this grand plan and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Did he realize that I was his daughter and not a business investment?”

This showcased the downsides of being rich or having rich parents. It showed how money isn’t really worth much when you don’t have anyone to share it with. Yes, I know I’m getting cheesy again but it’s true. This is another thing that’s common among society but seeing it in here written down makes it feel more real to me, more powerful even. I think this makes it more powerful for readers who can relate to these situations. Things they don’t talk about to others but read about instead have this pull that can reach them better than the people they know. Like how books are ways to escape reality. They also help work through problems that people can’t voice by seeing characters in novels face similar issues. It gives people a way to figure things out like a guide, helping them be prepared. I’m thinking I need to read more contemporaries! So many great tidbits!

“What is she doing here?’ There was a tinge of iciness in my voice I instantly regretted, but this wasn’t the right place and time to discuss the interpretation. Okay, it was more than a tinge of iciness. Fine, it was a hate tsunami. But that girl was here. Stalking Nate.”

I absolutely love finding creative phrases and “hate tsunami” was one I have not seen before but it really worked with the jealous humour Park was trying to convey in Kate’s feelings towards Nate. Original!

Nate and Kate were an adorable couple and I loved this debut by Suzanne Park. I look forward to more of her work and I leave you with one more parting quote.

“It’s not even trial-size. You’re such a precious snowflake.’
I corrected him. ‘A germ-free snowflake.”

This book held my attention at the beginning but then lost me with all the robots and fake zombies. I do think my 8th grade students would enjoy this much more than me - they are the intended audience and I’m rating it based on that.

A really cute, insightful rom-com about reaching for your dreams, and how those dreams sometimes change. Both characters were very likable and the zombie-survivalist angle was fun.

This one felt very “meh” to me and I’m sad about it.

Nate and Kate work together at a zombie themed escape room. Nate is super smart and dreams of being a tech inventor one day. When some classmates offer him a lot of money to commit grade fraud, he knows it’s wrong, but he can’t help but mull it over if it means securing his future. Kate is Nate’s lucky break. When she asks him to compete with her in a weekend survivalist competition where the winner receives fifty thousand dollars, Nate is all for it. He can earn money for college and not break the law. But with other teams out to get them, and Kate’s father committing villainy of his own, the two are in for a true test of their survival instincts.

I love competing in escape rooms and creating escape rooms and reading about escape rooms, so to think that this book was going to center around an escape room had me very excited to dive in. Unfortunately, the escape room aspect isn’t much of a plot point, nor is the competition that Nate and Kate compete in. I don’t think it even really started until the last 30 percent on the novel.

Nate and Kate were fine, but their chemistry didn’t blow me away and some of their choices weren’t really ones I would agree with. I think that has more to do with them being naive teens than anything else, and that’s okay because this book is written for teens. For me, this could have been a better book, but for someone else this could definitely be a new favorite. I think I was just expecting more out of the escape room/competition aspect, and the lack of each left me really disappointed.

*Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Cute contemporary romance with a little futuristic twist. I did enjoy Nate and Kate’s story but I wouldn’t consider it memorable. For one, they are both keeping pretty big secrets from each other and the whole premise is a little over the top. I didn’t like how the issues with Kate’s father wasn’t further explored/resolved either. Overall, The Perfect Escape is an okay escape.

My friend saw this one on Netgalley and immediately let me know about it because it seemed the perfect *Karen read* – rom-com + zombies so I requested it on the spot.

Fast forward a few months and all the reviews are…this isn’t a rom-com, the ending left me wanting, there are no zombies.

But I had already been approved and decided to just read it anyway and I’m SO glad I did. The reviewers were right about a lot of things but I enjoyed The Perfect Escape anyway.

Nate Jae-Woo Kim works as a guide for a zombie themed escape room and has dreams of starting his own survivalist company and making a boat load of money to support his struggling Korean- American family. Kate is an aspiring actress working as a zombie at the escape room and lives the financially secure life of Nate’s dreams with her father – a major tech industry player – and Nate’s role model.

Despite the surface appearances – Nate is super smart and seemingly has it all together but withers under his parents expectations financial hardships and bullying at school. While Kate seems to have it all with financial stability in her high tech home. In reality, her mom has died, her father is distant while having her under constant surveillance with his high tech toys and robots.

The two come together to team up for a reality show survivalist competition so they can split the cash winnings so Nate can help his family and Kate can make a clean break and go to NY to pursue her acting dreams.

So…this isn’t really a rom-com. Nate and Kate are adorable together and have funny moments but this doesn’t meet my definition of a rom-com. There’s attraction and that pull to each other but the romance is on the light side and the plot concerning Kate and her dad got very dark for me. Maybe the definition is changing or my standards are too high but I haven’t felt like a lot of the marketed rom-com is actually rom-com lately. but I digress….

Having said all that... I found Nate & Kate (it rhymes - too cute!) to be absolutely adorable and kind hearted. Do they make mistakes? Yes. But they try to do the right thing and often sacrifice their own happiness for each other. They are good people. I also loved their friend group.

The other thing I heard repeatedly in reviews was that there were hardly any zombies. Kind of true. They work in the zombie escape room so there’s a little bit of that in the beginning and how Kate tries to perfect her zombie make up. Towards the end is the competition with robot zombies that hunt the contestant’s down and like…shouldn’t that be illegal?? lol Zombies are more of a backdrop than a major element but I thought it all worked really well and was an interesting backdrop and catalyst to move the plot forward.

What took me by surprise is how sad both Nate and Kate’s life was. Again...expecting fun rom-com vibe. I know people loved Nate’s close knit family but his baby sister was so obnoxious ( I know she was supposed to be cute but ugh) and his father’s constant judgment finding Nate lacking hurt me to read. And don’t get me started with Kate’s dad. He was next level AWFUL. Never home. Literally creating a robot to watch over her and track her vitals. I wanted to wrap these two kids in a big hug and I was so happy they found each other.

Like I said, this is marketed as a fun zombie rom-com romp and it’s not exactly that. But going into it without those expectations I found The Perfect Escape to be a thoughtful look at class, families, grief with two refreshingly open and earnest teens and yes, with quite a few fun zombie moments. I’ve been struggling with reading but this book was the whole package for me – a little bit of everything – sweet, smart, fun and kept my attention – no small task these days.

If I had one complaint it would be that Kate’s resolution with her dad was off page and it seemed too insurmountable or important to be treated like that but otherwise I adored this one and would love to spend more time with these characters or in this world.

I know a few people found the romantic resolution a little lacking too but I was ok with it. It was sweet and promising. It was a fully fleshed out - but I know these two will be solid.

As long as you know what this is and what it isn’t going in – I highly recommend this one.

I finished The Perfect Escape last night, and I'm finding it hard to put my thoughts into words.

Let me start with Nate. I liked Nate. He's a scholarship kid at a fancy school. He's an older brother. He's a bit nerdy but doing everything he can to create a good college application resume for his future. His family is a bit on the poor side. His mom's car doesn't have fully working AC. His dad is always trying to do their home repairs himself. He's in quite a lot of activities and classes. Krav maga being one of them and he works at an escape room place.

Nate has had a crush on a friend of his for a while, but it's obvious that she always chooses the wrong guys. Nate's bullied quite frequently by the rich kids at school. One I particular. I'm not advocating violence, but I would think, given his krav maga skills, Nate would be bullied and pushed around a bit less. He meets Kate at work. And quickly develops a crush on her.

Kate's mom passed away recently. Since then, her father, although mostly absent, has been extremely strict and limiting. Her house is monitored by security systems as well as a robot Nanny of sorts. She's so oppressed by his rules and absence that she devises a plan to escape his house. Part of that is getting a job to save her own money. But she needs more of it quickly. So she convinces Nate to partner with her in a "zombie survival" game where the prize is $50,000.

I liked The Perfect Escape. It didn't take too long for me to feel invested in the characters and story. But I had a few issues. Most of them were minor. I didn't feel like the interactions we see as a reader were enough for the characters to make it to love. An extreme like of each other, sure. But not quite to love. I already mentioned my issue with Nate being bullied. Annie, Nate's friend that he used to have a crush on, didn't feel right to me. I would have found her involvement more believable had she liked Peter and been used as yet again falling for the wrong guy. Kate's father was a bit much too. A good step beyond believable to me. And I found it difficult to understand how he could account for so many little things and not question her coming and going (like to her job).

All in all, I enjoyed The Perfect Escape. It was a quick and fun read. Light. And my issues were really quite minor. I guess my biggest downside is that I'm not sure by the end of the year if I'll remember much about this book, the characters, or the story. I think it qualifies for 3.5 Stars. Have you read The Perfect Escape? What did you think? Let me know!

This was a very cute story! It follows Nate and Kate on the journey to win a zombie survivor competition. I wish the competition had lasted a little longer, but overall was a very enjoyable read! Nate’s mom was the really star with her deadpan one-liners

The Perfect Escape was possibly my favorite rom-com, contemporary I have read to date. Nate is a hard-working student who works part-time at a Zombie Escape room (yes, you read that right!). Kate has dreams of performing on Broadway and is making money--and taking a break from her controlling father--working part-time at the Zombie Escape room. When a weekend-long survival competition comes along with a prize that could benefit them both, the story truly came together mutually benefitting both characters. They find love and improve their family situations making it truly 'the perfect escape.'

What I really liked - I felt very comfortable with both of the characters and felt that they were very relatable. Suzanne Park wrote both Kate and Nate in very real life situations--a student with very heavy academic and financial burdens; a girl with Broadway dreams working a part-time job, and an adult hovering telling her no, no, no. I have been in both of these positions and it is overwhelming. I loved that this was written into a rom-com with something that is so trendy right now--zombies and escape rooms. Its so perfect!

Thank you for granting me this advanced copy!

The Perfect Escape was light and fun, truly an escape to read. I found it refreshing and really enjoyed reading it.

The characters are really what make the book for me, they were relatable and unapologetically themselves.

At times it did loose me a bit but overall really enjoyed it and would read more from this author in the future!

During this time of sickness and stress, we could all use an escape from our lives. Luckily, Suzanne Park provides the “perfect escape” through her novel Perfect Escape - see what I did there? Eh? Anyways, this was the first novel by Park that I had read, and I am glad that I started with this one. It was a welcome distraction and a good fluffy read that I devoured in a day or so. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Nate and Kate - you can really see the friendship develop, which lends more credibility to the eventual romantic relationship. I also loved the fact that Kate’s story doesn’t end with her being wrong - Park takes into account the fact that teenagers are autonomous and can make their decisions concerning their wellbeing. I would heavily recommend Perfect Escape to anyone looking for a light rom-com read.

The Perfect Escape originally caught my attention because of the original concept (a romance framed around a zombie survival contest) and the fact it was blurbed by one of my favorite romance authors, Helen Hoang. I was also drawn to this book because I’m always looking for new voices in my favorite genre. Getting down to the nitty-gritty - I really, really wanted to love this book – it sounded original and I’m a sucker for a good contemporary romance. While I didn’t love it as much as I had hoped, The Perfect Escape was still a fun contemporary story with a great plot and good leading characters.

The plot was the strongest part of this book – it was well paced and had a surprising amount of action and adventure. The beginning of the book set the tone well, and really raised the stakes for the best part of the story: the zombie survival contest. I didn’t put the book down once during the zombie survival scenes – they were tense and action-packed, chockfull of personal growth and a healthy dose of martial arts. From a writing standpoint, I really like the author’s use of alternating points of view (between the two main characters). Having these multiple points of view helped demonstrate the difference between Kate and Nate’s home lives, as well as the differences in their motivations and dreams.

While most of the characters were realistic, the biggest sticking point with this book was the side characters. Too many of them were wholly based on tropes and didn’t bring anything original to the table. Kate’s father was the worst offender - he was a caricature of an overprotective, controlling Dad. He might as well have been twirling his mustache and holding Kate hostage in a castle while thunder cracked overhead like an old movie. His character had no nuance and his total lack of redeeming qualities really made him unbelievable. For example, he’s set up as a savvy VP of a major tech company, but he drugs a kid at one point. This would have been more forgivable in a dystopian, but it felt wildly over the top in a contemporary romance. Even worse, every time he made an appearance in the story, I found it hard to continue reading.

Kate and Nate, on the other hand, were great characters. They each had their own complex motivations for entering the survival competition. Kate had every advantage at her fingertips, with the exception of a caring and supportive family and true freedom. Her father was trying to force her to go into the family business despite her repeated rejections of his plans for her. I loved how tough and resilient she was – she didn’t let her father steamroll her with his plans; she stood up to him at every turn. Nate, on the other hand, wanted to climb the social ladder and become a business tycoon / inventor – and was wholly driven by money and the need to provide for his family. As they got to know each other better, they taught each other that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and really helped each other grow and develop as characters. They were a great study in opposites attract – they had completely opposing motivations and backgrounds, but they still somehow worked together – but not as a romantic couple. Kate and Nate didn’t really fit as a romantic couple, they really only had friendship vibes, not any romantic chemistry.

In the end, this book really didn’t feel like a romance to me – it felt more like a story of friendship and following one’s dreams. The book was weighed down by the inorganic romantic relationship between the two leads and the trope-ish side characters. The story overall was a fun ride, with a good balance of personal growth and adventure. If you’re looking for more contemporary romance, be sure to check out Tweet Cute by Emma Lord and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. 3/5

Kate and Nate are both working at a zombie-themed escape room because they need money. Kate needs the money to escape from her father’s control. She needs her own money so she can run away to New York and pursue her theater dreams. Nate needs the money to support his family. His father recently got laid off, his mother needs a new car, and his parents are behind on their mortgage payments. When Kate suggests the two join together to compete in a zombie survival competition where the winners receive $50,000, Nate can’t pass up the opportunity to win money and maybe something more with Kate.

While I thought the escape room and the zombie aspects of this book were unique and interesting, the rest of this book just didn’t work for me. The pacing of the story felt off to me the entire time. There were some pretty big jumps in time that left me feeling like important details were missing and that the development of the relationship between Kate and Nate was not believable. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only thing that felt unrealistic to me. Yes, I get that zombies are not real but a lot of the elements in the competition were just so dangerous that they were unbelievable. Overall, I felt like I had more questions than answers while reading this.

I really wanted to love this book so I’m sad this was a disappointment for me.

What better time to fall in love than while you’re fighting off zombies?

The Perfect Escape revolves around our main characters, Nate and Kate, who meet while working at a zombie escape room. The synopsis of this book pulled me in to read it. A YA romcom with zombies? Sign me up! But unfortunately I was a tiny bit disappointed once the story strayed from the zombie escape room and focused more on their lives inside of high school only.

Both Nate and Kate are interesting characters. They’re quirky and hilarious which made their interactions a lot of fun. Nate is an intelligent kid who has big dreams of being rich. This goal stems from his wishes of wanting to provide for his family. I found Nate’s family to be the most interesting part of his story because it was so heartwarming.

Kate’s story is a little different from Nate’s. Kate is more independent and whereas Nate dreams of being rich, Kate’s family already is. Of course there is more to unfold behind the smart house she lives in and there’s a lot of heartbreak to be found. I actually enjoyed Kate’s story much more because it was emotional yet relatable.

The two of them have set goals for themselves but they are both desperate for money to achieve them. Thanks to their job at the zombie escape room, Kate knows Nate is just as obsessed with zombies as she is. So she suggests that they enter a zombie survivalists competition. This competition could possibly change both of their lives thanks to the huge cash prize.

I expected the competition to be a large portion of the story but sadly it was only a small part. As a debut author I enjoyed Suzanne Park’s writing and I’m definitely looking forward to her future books. I just wish that this story had more depth to it than what we got. I wanted more adventure like the synopsis promised.

Overall, The Perfect Escape is an enjoyable read. It’s a cute romcom that’s great for when you need a light, fluffy book on a weekend. It has all of the components that makes the perfect YA contemporary. There’s fun characters, family and friendship dynamics, and a light, easy plot. Just add in some occasional zombies!

This was a cute read, I enjoyed most of it!Nate and Kate were lovable and they made me laugh!While it was funny and charming at times it was frustrated. I couldn't get well with Kate's story line the all thing with her overprotective father was a bit too much! The romance was sweet and swooning!Overall, it was a great read!

In these super weird times I’m finding comfort in a variety of genres and reading YA romance again is reminding me of just how fun it can be. There’s something soothing to me about reading a somewhat predictable rom com right now, it’s helping me keep my mind occupied and providing me with an entertaining escape and this one surely did that for me!

The thing I loved the most about this one was that while it was adorable it was also quirky and awkward which is quite a great combination in my opinion. Nate and Kate are both lovable nerds and I found them both to be super endearing. The romance here is very low key and this focuses much more on the family dynamics of both Nate and Kate which was fine with me, I never expect too much romance from a YA rom com anyway and I found Nate’s family to be so sweet, I especially loved his little sister Lucy and Kate’s relationship with her father was heartbreaking and just made me like her even more. Overall an enjoyable read that made me want to read more from the author.

The Perfect Escape was exactly what the title describes it as: the perfect escape from reality and a book which will make you forget the world around and just have fun. It was full of adventure, fun and friendship.

The Story
The story of The Perfect Escape was fun and honestly adventurous. It follows the story of Nate and Kate. They both meet at Nate’s zombie-themed escape room and become immediate friends. Kate then suggests to take part in a zombie-themed survivalist competition organised by the local tech company. The winner gets a huge cash prize and they both agree to partner up because they both need the money. The first half of the book is light and a little vague in terms of plot while the second half goes straight for the fun and adventurous part. The first part seems more like a filler part before the actual story starts and this being in the start of the book makes it a little boring. The story was easy to follow and the one thing I really liked about it was how it seemed so natural. The course of the story felt proper and not like trying too hard: whether it was the fun parts, the kinda serious parts or the sass and jokes. It was definitely the kind of rom-com you would love to see in the movie form.

The Characters
The two main characters of the book were Nate and Kate. They were written as really fleshed out and relatable teenagers and that is another plus point about the book. Nate is from a Korean family and they’re not rich but because he is smart he is a scholarship student at an elite school. He is multi talented and a really sweet person. I really liked how awkward and thoughtful he was. He was thoughtful about everyone around him. He was quirky and I really liked how he was his younger sister.

Kate was rich but had a difficult relationship with her father. She loved theater and acting and was a really fun character to read about. She was genuine and mature and dealt with stuff very realistically. She was non-judgmental and supportive of her friends and the kind of character you like to know more about.

Nate and Kate had a great friendship chemistry. It was really adorable to read about them. Although I definitely expected a little more from the relationship aspect. That felt incomplete in a way. There were other supporting characters too who were good to read about.

A lot of the story was engaged in giving the readers the background and perspectives of the two main characters and their lives and difficulties which they face. It gave a lot of depth to the characters individually and that was definitely one of the plus points about the book.

The Writing and Pacing
The writing was simple and easy to follow. It wasn’t overtly complicated at any part nor did the writing obstruct the experience of the book in any way. As I said earlier, it felt natural and not forced at any point in the book. I particularly liked that about the book.

The pacing was okay. It wasn’t too fast or too slow but because of the plot being vague in the starting chapters, it felt a little stretched. Even when the fun parts start, there are sometimes filler parts which seemed kind of unnecessary. Then things started happening much faster and the ending seemed a little rushed. The book hence had a very inconsistent pacing.

Overall, The Perfect Escape was just okay for me and although it was a really good book i wasn’t particularly wowed by it. But if you’re a fan of light, fun and adventurous books and just want to read to escape reality for a while and laugh at the mom jokes and cute friendship, then The Perfect Escape is definitely a book for you.

This book meandered a little too much for my taste. It was disjointed and some of the side characters motivations made zero sense or were really badly done. It thought this was going to be a fun getting through a contest rom com but it really wasn’t. I found it difficult to finish this one.

This was adorable and I really want to press it into my own teen's hands, but we all know how kids respond to book recommendations from their mom. I thought The Perfect Escape was a fun, light and entertaining read. I really wished that the big zombie competition would have come faster, but every chapter of character development and plot set-up was worth it in the end.