The Perfect Escape is a YA romance, and I have read my fair share of those, with Eleanor and Park and Love, Simon being my absolute favourites in the genre. While Suzanne Park’s novel isn’t really on that level, it’s unique in the way it navigates the genre.

Firstly, the love story isn’t really the big, defining thing in The Perfect Escape. Nate and Kate (it’s cute how their names rhyme, a fact I did not notice until I typed them out) may be developing feelings for each other, but that is all rather secondary to the issues that they have to deal with in their lives.

Nate’s family is struggling financially. His father has lost his job, the bank isn’t going to support a loan for the mortgage, and if he doesn’t hustle academically as well as in his extracurriculars, then he might not even get to go to college. Kate is dealing with more emotional issues, with a distant father who seems determined to force her down a path that isn’t something she wants.

As an arts person who loves theatre, I felt myself getting triggered by her father’s view that the arts are a soft option and that there’s no future in it. As much as we think this is a dated perception, as an educator I deal with this stereotype all the time.

On the flipside, it does seem that the two have rather a lot of baggage to deal with, and the struggles really do seem endless, almost hyperbolic at times. Are they merely the sum of the problems they have to deal with? Sometimes it does feel that way, but hopefully it’s an issue that Park will be able to remedy as she gains more experience as a writer – this is after all her debut.

When you first begin your journey into the novel, it comes across as a typical rom-com type of book (this is also how it is being marketed), with the meet-cute being one of the first tropes we encounter. But it becomes so much more than that. The more I read, the more I could feel the distinctness in Nate and Kate’s narrative voices. It’s certainly a bold choice for Park to structure her novel with two narrators, but it is a stylistic choice that really pays off.

While Nate is Korean, we aren’t constantly hit over the head with his ethnicity every single moment. There are references that come up from time to time that remind me, like the fusion food comments, or whenever his family is around. His ethnicity doesn’t become his defining trait, and that really stood out for me as something quite wonderful. This isn’t a love story about a Korean boy who falls in love with an American girl. This is a story about Nate and Kate, regular teenagers trying to navigate the curveballs life has thrown at them, and finding solace and comfort with each other.

I definitely liked the semi callback to The Hunger Games, as the two take part in a zombie apocalypse type competition, where Kate’s survival skills are praised alongside Nate’s agility and quick thinking. While YA romances tend to get all intense and angst-filled as the protagonists fall in love, The Perfect Escape comes across as more real, reminding me of my own memories of having a crush and the analysis of every little moment that comes after.

There are times where Nate and Kate don’t even speak to each other for a period of time, which is certainly normal. However, sometimes fiction needs to offer me something fictional (for a lack of a better word). Too great a dose of real life can result in a boring narrative that gives me nothing to hold on to. The Perfect Escape needed something to draw the reader further into its world, because unfortunately, at the end of it all, I was only in its peripheries.

The Perfect Escape was the perfect blend of romance, comedy and adventure. My recent love for Romcoms made this one easy to pick up. I have been looking for an adorable and funny read. This book came to my rescue! 
The book starts with a really humorous conversation between the main characters Nate and Kate, and I fell in love with them from the very beginning!
Nate is such a loveable character. His down-to-earth attitude and caring nature towards his family members melted my heart. And don’t even get me started on how much I loved his conversations with his 5 year old little sister!!!! Kate was a character I really felt sorry for throughout the story. There were countless times when I wanted to hug her and comfort her from everything she had been through with her father. 

All in all, I thought this book was definitely a sweet one!

I don't read a lot of YA literature, but what I have read has resonated with me.  It either made me reminisce about teenage-dom, or profoundly clued me in to how modern teenagers function.  This book did neither for me.  It didn't have that same resonance.  Yes, kids are preparing for college and finding themselves, but there is also an absurd zombie competition that no teenagers would be able to enter in real life.  The characters were paper thin.  I appreciated a look at diversity in the main male protagonist.  However, everything felt very surface and no deep insights were made.  Teens will enjoy reading it, there is a little romance, the dialog is funny, and the characters exhibit a good about of angst about their parents.  But I was hoping for more.

A quick, funny and entertaining read that kept me hook till the end and root for the characters.
It's well written and the plot flows.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I picked up THE PERFECT ESCAPE on my fifth day of self-isolation in hopes that a survival story would help distract me from the world for a while. I was INCREDIBLY surprised that the actual survival competition hyped in the blurb didn’t happen until the back half of the book! This wasn’t a bad YA rom-com, but the fact that the one piece of the story I was most excited for didn’t happen for most of the book really threw me off and kept me from enjoying it fully. 

I really liked Nate Kim and his family, and found them to be incredibly warm and funny. I had serious issues in the way that Kate and her father were portrayed. Frankly, Kate’s father’s behavior was abusive and controlling, and it really bothered me that the book never really highlighted that the behavior was wrong or showed him learning from his actions. It left a sour taste in my mouth. 

Overall, this wasn’t a bad book, I just don’t feel as though it was really pitched in a way for the reader to know what to expect, and that kept me from being fully immersed in my reading experience. It also probably didn’t help that I recently read another contemporary YA zombie rom-com (who knew this would be a trend?) GIRLS SAVE THE WORLD IN THIS ONE, that had much more zombie action and ended up being way more my speed. 

Best enjoyed with: hamburgers, french fries, and a huge chocolate shake. 


*I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I received this book from Netgalley and SourceBooks Fire in return for a fair and honest review.  There were many things I found charming and fun about this book. I would not, perhaps, call it. a "hysterically funny rom-com." The main characters, Nate and Kate, were well developed and I especially enjoyed the glimpse into Nate's family dynamic and his friendships. 

I did expect there to be more time spent in the actual survival competition and was surprised when it didn't really start until the back half of the story. I can say that it was not an unpleasant realization as I liked the time spent on developing the relationships between the main characters and their supporting cast. The romance did seem a bit lackluster for me. Again, something I would be fine with if the book as not billed as a rom-com. I think my biggest issue is that the synopsis did not necessarily lead me in the same direction the book did. In many ways this felt more like a coming of age novel than a rom-com or adventure story. 

One final note, I really struggled with Kate's father in this book. He was genuinely frightening at times, even bordering on abusive. I had a hard time reading some of the parts of the book involving him because of how irredeemable he seemed. His controlling naturing may be too much for some teens to read. 

Overall, I liked this book and would probably recommend it to certain teens at my library, who are looking for coming of age stories.

Cute and ~quirky~, The Perfect Escape is one of those reads that you finish in one sitting and go wait, is it already 2 AM? The book follows Nate Kim and Kate Anderson, who are polar opposites. Nate is a highly driven, overly qualified scholarship student at a renowned prep school while Kate is looking for a way to pursue the theater that she loves under the strict watch of her emotionally distant and controlling father. They both need the money they could win from this zombie survival competition for vastly different reasons, but the common theme is the need to escape.

The Perfect Escape has a bunch of coined "mom jokes" that made me snort unexpectedly - my favorite had to be the Pokemom one. I should've expected some cheesy-in-the-best-way jokes from this, especially since the title is a pun itself. Despite their differences, Nate and Kate make a great team, in the competition and outside of it, but what made The Perfect Escape really shine was the exploration of money and how it affects families. I'd recommend this one to anyone who's a fan of zombies, puns, and a little healthy competition.

The Perfect Escape was the perfect book for me. The main character is adorable and you'll fall in love with her from the start. This one is definitely the perfect escape to take a break from the craziness of the world. I loved this book.

I thought this was a cute story , but that was all it was. Was just “ cute “ the writing style was how a teenager would write , and talk.  I don’t know if that was on purpose, but I felt my IQ dropping slowly with the book. It wasn’t terrible besides the rambling that happened in the book.  But it wasn’t bad bad ..

I think this book , is meant for tweens then adults.  The author has potential to write better books.  I can’t wait to see what she comes up with. 


 The author really had a youthful imagination while writing a book. It starts out as your typical ya , but then out of nowhere a random burst of dramatic moments.  It’s also a rom com with zombies in it.  I don’t see how it was a rom com the two main characters that was suppose to be “ in love “ had no spark.   

 I will say the cover is beautiful and , it wasn’t a bad book. Just didn’t meet my expectations, and I had high hopes for this book.However thanks to the publishers for my ARC an exchange for an honest review.  I will recommend to read just once , because just because it didn’t appeal to me, doesn’t mean it won’t you.

I absolutely loved The Perfect Escape. It was an extremely quick read with lovable main characters. I also really enjoyed that each chapter alternated viewpoints between the two main characters.  I am looking forward to reading more books by Suzanne Park.

The Perfect Escape was a fun, zombie-filled YA rom-com. 

Nate, a smart Korean-American kid about to graduate, meets Kate, the daughter of a tech genius at the place they both work--a zombie-themed escape room. Nate's family is in dire financial straits, and Kate, having recently lost her mother, is finding herself more and more isolated by her father's strict rules. Together, they decide to enter a zombie-survival weekend, which gives the winning team $50,000. Nate can help his family, and Kate will have enough money to run away to New York.

It's a fun concept, and the characters are cute. I enjoyed watching Nate and Kate's relationship develop. But there were a few elements that didn't work me--primarily her relationship with her dad. He was cruel and controlling, to an almost exaggerated degree. He completely disregarded his daughter's wants and desires, and he was very manipulative when it came to Nate and the competition. There was a hint at the end about reconciliation and a slow rebuilding of the father/daughter relationship, but it wasn't satisfactory.

I'm sure there will be many teens who relate to one or both of the main characters and really enjoy this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the free e-ARC in exchange for my review.

This was such a fun debut novel with a quirky premise. I loved how Nate and Kate meet working in a zombie escape room and how they bond over their love of zombies. I enjoyed the peek into their home and school lives too, though I admit that the middle portion of the book was a little bit long for me. The competition was fun and different to read. I enjoyed the action and survival elements.  The ending was really really sweet and left me feeling fuzzy My biggest let down was the girl on girl hate. It happens so often in many genres, but I’m over it. I want to see more women supporting each other. Fewer women fighting against each other for men. All that aside this was a very sweet and quirky debut novel and I’d recommend it if it sounds like your thing. Excited to read more from Suzanne Park in the future!

Look. Listen. If a book starts off quoting Kendrick Lamar lyrics, you know I’m going to fall in love with it. 

Nate & Kate live different lives. Nate has two parents, goes to a nice Prep School, but on scholarship. His family gets by, but they get by with love. Kate lives like Richie Rich. She has her own robot butler, Jeeves, and is home alone most of the time at her gated house since her father is always away of business. They meet at work, and a wonderful friendship blossoms. Kate convinces Nate to enter a zombie survivalist competition with a major cash grand prize. Nate can use the money, and Kate is ready to plan her escape. Can they escape the zombies and prevail in life? 

I loved Kate & Nates relationship. The way Park writes about their interactions.. There was just something so pure about it. I could genuinely see their connection. It reminded me of my high school days and the awkward, yet inevitable relationships formed with others.

Kate’s relationship with her father was heartbreaking. Every conversation, every interaction, I just wanted to hug her. I wanted Nate’s mom to just take her in. She had the best one liners. 

Can we appreciate Zoe & Raina as great friends and minor characters please?! I loved their spunk and humor. 

The Zombie competition was the coolest thing I’ve read in a while! I felt like it was The Hunger Games, but with zombies! 

Overall, I adored this book. I hope to read more of Suzanne Park’s work in the future. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like this isn't the rom-com people expect it to be. Which is good because it means it's original, but at the same time walking into a book expecting it to be something and have it be something else can be a bit frustrating. The romance isn't the focus here, though it's present. Both of the main characters are smart and I love that we got to see their povs as opposite of only one side of the story. I love that is friendship and family focused and they have the opportunity to have the spotlight with the narration. I had a great time reading it and it really surprised me.

DNF

The writing voice just isn't working for me and I'm frustrated by how lackluster the romantic arc is. Not for me but YMMV.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. I mean 1.) I seriously despise zombies. Even with that added element I still figured why not. Honestly, I'm glad I didn't let that tid bit sway me because I enjoyed this book!

The chapters are split by point-of-views. There is Nate and Kate. I always enjoy being able to see both sides and watching the friendship/relationship bloom. Nate is such a nerd but also a great guy! I liked his character and rooted for him all the way. Kate was interesting and wanted to make her own way in life and not rely on her wealthy dad. I liked that a lot about her.

They come from different backgrounds and I was here for it. I loved how funny Nate's mom was. Kate's dad is a real dillweed. I would have liked to see their relationship get better and have a nice interaction between them but since I have seen there will be a book two maybe I will get to see that happen! *fingers crossed*

Like others have said, the premise can be a bit misleading when it comes to the funny or zombie survival aspect. There were times that I did laugh but it wasn't super rom-comy. The survival part didn't come into play until over halfway through the book. I honestly didn't mind it since the beginning really helped to build their relationship and give context. The plot left me engaged and the plot twists were definitely unexpected.

Overall, I really liked this one! If you want a cute read then definitely give this one a try!

I'm going to be brutally honest here, I really was excited about reading this. I mean a rom-com with zombies, what's not to love right?

I did like this and it was, at times, a pretty cute story with a few funny moments but overall, the romance was..well, not really a romance with very little spark between the main couple. There were friends (sort of first) and even by the end, still (sort of friends). The relationship felt stilted at times and not at all what I would have expected from a book claiming to be a rom-com.
The actual retreat/competition happened in the very last little percent of the story and again, while creepy at times, was also...a let down.

Kate's dad was not only downright creepy at times but had zero redeeming qualities.

I realize there will be a second book, so maybe that was why it ended like it did? Without anything really resolved and so much let up in the air. Either way, I was a bit disappointed in this and was not at all what I had been expecting and hoping for. 

Not a bad read but maybe, go into this one with no expectations or pre-conceived notions, and you will enjoy it more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park. 

Nate Kim is a scholarship student at a prep school in Seattle. He has dreams of getting into a great college, starting a business, and getting rich. Kate Anderson greatly misses her dead mother, longs to move to New York and enter the theater world, and to escape her over protective tech CEO father who she blames for her mother's death. Nate and Kate meet at the zombie escape room where they both work. The two bond and Kate asks Nate to be her partner in an outdoor zombie survival competition with a huge cash prize. The real challenge of the weekend though, won't be surviving the zombies but whether or not they'll be able to make it through without breaking each other's hearts. 

This is a super cute and fun young adult romantic comedy. I loved while it can be classified as a romance that the focus was more on their friendship and relationship with their families than make-out sessions and general romance. Nate and Kate are both intelligent and witty. I'm not a big zombie fan, but I do love escape rooms. The competition was like a giant outdoor escape room. There were also some slight nods to Hunger Games, for example the cave scene and then the rules of the challenge changing. The noel was engaging and had everything a good novel should: suspense, adventure, romance, and humor. Personally, I feel that though this is a YA novel it would still be appropriate for middle grade readers. My own caution would the be the occasional use of lesser curse words.

Hmm… I think this amazing cover and the interesting plot giving you lovely rom-com vibes fooled me so hard! Was I waiting for another Hungry Games competition and MCs falling in love with each other during their now and never kind of struggling survival situation? Okay, maybe I expected something like that, jusssttt a little. 

But here we go: I found a lot of creative, enjoyable, unique things about this book starting with characters’ different kind of dysfunctional family relationships. I enjoyed Nate’s family: sweetest little sister, parents keeping so many secrets about their own family and financial situation but acting like everything is normal. Dear Nate is smart, teasing by his friends as skid (that’s what they called to the students get scholarship), bribing to cheat at his exams for enough money to pay his loans, buying a good car for his family.

And Kate is financially polar opposite of Nate, daughter of tech geek, a rich, genius, workaholic but also over controlling father who follows every move of her and he doesn’t let his daughter chase her dreams to become actress. Kate needs a plan to get rid of father’s pressures and go to NYC to start over. She meets Nate during her zombie escape room gig that she plays zombie hid in the closet (Yes, didn’t I tell you the author has unique sense of humor?) She finds out there’s a weekend-long-survivalist competition with a grand prize can solve her all financial problems and help her earn her own freedom. But she needs partner and she knows Nate is also zombie geek like her. So she offers him to be her partner and of course he says okay because his family is broke and he needs a way out, too.

I thought that book was about the survival contest but it takes only small part of the book. We’re meandering around back stories, family dramas of the characters. 
What I really enjoy about the book is: Nate and his Korean family’s dynamics, Nate’s quirky but also interesting perspective about the outer world, life, relations with his quirky friends. I also loved Kate, her naturalness, genuineness and maturity about dealing with her father’s nonsense over protective manners.

But what I didn’t like about the book: Plot is vague, it starts like entertaining YA but then at the end it takes a sudden sharp dramatic turn which is unexpected. And the beginning of the story before the survival competition is too long and some chapters need to be omitted and edited. And lack of romance when you expect something more from the beautiful cover and intriguing blurb disappoints you.

There are so many original, inventive, moving things about the book but the plot’s vagueness confuses you and you start to scream at yourself: “WTH I’m just reading! I got lost!” So I prefer to meet in the middle and give three solid stars. I think it’s still promising start for the debut author and I wish to read her upcoming works. 

Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for sharing this ARC in exchange my honest review.

Even after sleeping on THE PERFECT ESCAPE, I'm still not really sure what to make of this one. The blurb describes it as a rom-com but this felt more like a contemporary YA + Black Mirror mashup. I was also a little irked that the survival competition mentioned in the description is such a small part of the actual story.

Nate and Kate were both...fine... as main characters. They each had interesting backstories (that wildly fluctuated in believability) but seemed like they were missing something that would make them feel more like actual people. There was also a sizable degree of insta-love here, which was disappointing.

I probably would've liked THE PERFECT ESCAPE more if the blurb had more accurately reflected the book's plot.