I enjoyed the writing of this book, I’ve never read anything else by this author but I found myself reading quickly as the writing was easily digested which I really enjoyed.

In terms of the plot, yes it’s slightly unrealistic and if I’m being picky, I would have loved Annie to have been single for a bit longer to just enjoy her life but that’s a bit of realism and not always the way chick lit plays out!

*Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one quite honestly took me a bit to get into. I was struggling to connect with Annie, probably because I too struggle with my own self identify and I often read to get away from that. Once we got into the actual trip to Australia though, I was hooked and blew through the rest.

Patrick and Annie are so lovely together and this book was just the perfect amount of warm and fuzzies. Annie's growth was inspiring.

Fun and an easy read for the summer. It didn’t tax too much to read it and it was nice that it had some exotic settings.

The Lucky Escape is Annie's story after she's jilted and left at the church doors without a groom. I really enjoyed this book and thought parts of it were hilarious. The growth of Annie as a character was lovely to read and I liked how her relationship with Patrick developed, and Patrick was such a great guy. The descriptions of the locations and activities they both took part in when in Australia were so brilliantly done, it made me want to be there. What I found particularly beautiful was how Annie gradually drops all her 'baggage' whilst she's out there and finds herself.

After being left at the alter, Annie encounters an old friend and spontaneously decide to take her honeymoon trip together.

I liked the storyline for this one, but unfortunately didn’t like the pacing. It felt a bit dragged out without any significant activities filling in the gaps or justifying the length.

I liked Annie and Patrick’s characters and their growth as they try to move on from their pasts and prioritize themselves over others. I also loved the honeymoon in Australia and was so envious of their luxurious trip. It’s a cute second chance romance that makes for easy beach reading.

Wish it was shorter, but still recommend if you’re looking for a beachy/vacation read!

Thank you Avon Books UK and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Overall rating: ★★★★

Annie is set to marry her longterm boyfriend, Alexander, but on the day of the wedding he doesn’t show up. In the upcoming weeks Annie is trying to pick herself back up and move on with her life. At the new fitness class she started, she bumps into an old friend, Patrick, and they end up talking more and more. Suddenly Alexander’s parents offer Annie an opportunity to go on her honeymoon (all expenses paid). Annie is reluctant to take the offer, but after a few drinks at the pub she ends up deciding to go and inviting Patrick along. So now Annie finds herself in Australia with Patrick, on the honeymoon she’s was supposed to be having with Alexander. Will this be exactly the trip she’s been needing or will it be the worst mistake of her life?

“I’m more of a best friend pretty than a leading lady knockout."

Oh my, I loved this book. I finished it in two afternoons whilst enjoying some sunshine and honestly it was the perfect little holiday in these difficult pandemic times. To me, this book was a reminder to just enjoy life when and where you can and to try to live life to the fullest. It also reminded me not to care too much about what other people think because you’re living your life for you and not anyone else.

"Assuming makes an ass out of you and me.”

Annie is flawed and far from perfect, but that is what makes her feel so realistic and it’s what made me like her and root for her. She goes through a whirlwind of life changing events in this book, and her character development and growth is amazing. And then there’s Patrick. Oh, Patrick *happy sigh*. He's so dreamy, and I really wanna know where I can get my own?! He was an absolute delight, and a breath of fresh air. So adventurous and such a great influence and motivator for Annie (and maybe for the reader as well). Patrick is currently living rent-free in my mind and I think he'll linger for quite a while.

If you're in the mood for a little holiday-esque escape, this feel-good romcom is definitely the way to go!

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon Books UK and Laura Jane Williams for giving me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. (Thanks for the free escape to Australia!)

“Think about it: if we are all disappointing ourselves over and over in order to never upset anybody else, aren’t we putting the same pressure on them? If we all put ourselves first, wouldn’t that give permission for other people to put themselves first? Wouldn’t we all be happier?”

Annie is over the top excited to finally realise her plans and mary her long time boyfriend Alexander, she's had a girly night with her best friends and is ready to celebrate the way she's planned for so long. However, things don't follow the plan and Annie is devastated finding everything out of her control and somehow feeling the blame. Whilst trying to regain control she encounters Patrick, an old friend from when everything was simpler and fun and decides to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. Laura Jane Williams certainly knows how to express the highs and lows of feelings and brings us on a rollercoaster of emotion. Fun read.

I was drawn in by the premise of this book. Annie is left at the altar by her fiancé, and they've been together for 10 years. She happens to run into her old friend Patrick, and they end up going on Annie's honeymoon trip together, with full intentions of it being platonic - two friends who enjoy spending time together, on vacation. That doesn't last long.
I loved exploring Australia with Annie and Patrick, and the trip parts of the book were fun. Poor Annie really did need an escape from both her fiancé and her mom. Parts of the book just didn't feel plausible to me, and there were some things that happened that didn't seem realistic.
The book was interesting, but I'd hoped for a more exciting ending.

The Lucky Escape drew me in with the cover and the premise of being lucky to have been left on your wedding day.

I thought it was clever to have Annie run into someone, Patrick, that she used to know. It gave us a connection fo reignite and it didn’t seem as crazy when she asked Patrick to go on her honeymoon with her. I liked the honeymoon scenes, but wished they had arrived sooner.

I felt like some parts of this story dragged on, while others just seemed to be there and didn’t move the story forward. I felt like Annie was difficult to understand and would contradict herself.

I wanted and hope for more from this book then I got.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Basically the perfect beach read. The book started off with a bang, having Annie practically left at the altar on her wedding day. In the days after, she reconnects with an old friend and they agree to go on her amazing Australian honeymoon together. I wanted to hear more about Annie's job and have more time with her friend group, but it's still a good time. It's a pretty classic, cinematic rom com - if you like them, you'll like this!

DNF at 30%

This is my third book by Laura Jane Williams and in my opinion, definitely the worst.
I have had to stop reading at 30% because I really dislike the characters, the fakeness of it all and how over the top some characters and scenes are.
Even this first 30% dragged and that was meant to be the shocking part but it was bogged down with boring flashbacks and asides.
I sadly have zero interest in reading any more.

First of all, Thank you to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for the ARC of The Lucky Escape by Laura Jane Williams in exchange for an honest review.

Publishing Date: June 10, 2021.

I was very excited for The Lucky Escape because I mean look at the cover and a canceled wedding? It gave me major Unhoneymooners vibes which was a five-star read for me.

However, The Lucky Escape seemed to just DRAG on, the story was so cute and I absolutely loved the characters and the boujee vacation vibes but it could have been so much shorter. I felt I was getting super bored halfway through but I didn’t want to put this one down in order to see how it ended.

It was a cute second chance romance, perfect for a beach read this summer, especially if you love a vacation romance.

Annie has been with her fiancée 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.
After a chance meeting with a man from her past, Annie makes a spontaneous decision to take him on her honeymoon. Annie and Patrick spend their trip together in Australia, both committing to moving forward with their lives and leaving their pasts behind. Will they move forward together?
This book was fun and light hearted. It’s a tale of self-discovery. Annie’s life is turned upside down when she’s left at the altar, she decides to go on her honeymoon with an old friend.

I did find the story lacking in some way, I wanted to get to the honeymoon part sooner and the romance was frustrating in a lot of ways.

I would still highly recommend The Lucky Escape, it is a classic beach read with a romantic lift
Thank you to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for an eARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Know that this is a beach book in so many ways. It's a (steamy in spots) second chance romance and a journey of self discovery for Annie was left at the altar and opts to go on her honeymoon with old friend Patrick. Their time together in Australia is one thing but when they get back to London, they have to deal with reality, which is more critical for Annie. She's got good friends and a smart little sister but she's struggled with her mother and now with her job. Some of it is unrealistic, it's not deep and it would be easy to criticize but you know what- it's a fun read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

Laura Jane Williams has done it again!! I cannot even begin to explain how much I loved and adored this book - it was actual perfection. Laura Jane Williams also wrote one of my other favourite books Our Stop, so when the chance came to read this one as an ARC via Netgalley I jumped at the opportunity and I couldn’t be happier I did. I read this one in a day and a half and when I wasn’t reading it I wished that I was!

“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. 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. 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 not her husband.”

Now, this wasn’t your standard “pretend to be married / honeymooners to get a free holiday” storyline which I loved about this one. It was so much more! It was about friendship, trusting your gut, laughter, adventure, grief, following your heart, family, trust, saying yes to everything, sisterhood, new opportunities and “making lemonade out of lemons”.

The banter was absolutely amazing and the story progressed effortlessly. The fact that the honeymoon was in Australia was also awesome and I feel like it did our beautiful country justice! It has also instantly made me want to travel to Margaret River and explore the wineries and then travel back to Sydney and explore the nightlife further.

It was lighthearted with elements of sadness. It was empowering and inspiring, and it was bloody hilarious (the massage bit had me in stitches!) It is the perfect example of creating something good out of a bad situation and how saying the little word “yes”, even when you’re scared, can bring such joy and love into your life ☀️💗

This one comes out June 10th and if you buy one new release book this year it HAS to be this one! 👏 (also because in the acknowledgment section she gave a shout out to us Bookstagrammers so now you have to go and get it!)

Thank you so much to Laura, Avon books and Netgalley for allowing me to read this one before it’s release date - I couldn’t have enjoyed it more!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon books for the opportunity to read and review The Lucky Escape by Laura Jane Williams.

This is a fun and easy read. I finished it in a day. I loved the authors writing style which drew me in right from the start. My fave genre is a good old fashioned romance story and this didn't disappoint.

It tells the story of Annie who gets jilted at the altar and decides to try and turn her life around by going on her planned luxury honeymoon with Patrick who is an old friend who she meets again after her relationship ends.

The book touches on a few heavier topics which pull at the heart strings a little bit. Not going to lie, I had a tear in my eye in a couple of parts!

I was sure I had the whole plot figured out but did get a bit thrown towards the end when it looked as though Annie's life was going to go in a different direction to what we had been lead to believe but it twisted back very quickly.

Overall a fab holiday read, perfect for the beach!

The Lucky Escape is a quick, fun romance from the author of Our Stop. The writing is humorous (I really love the author's style!), but the story also dives into deeper themes like grief and self-confidence. The story started to fall apart a bit toward the end, but I'd still recommend it as an entertaining beach read!

Annie and Alexander had been together for many years and she had lived in his house for two years. Finally their wedding day had arrived. As they pulled up to the church, Annie knew that something was wrong as the wedding consultant was standing outside. The consultant came to tell her that Alexander had just texted her and was not going to come. He asked the consultant to tell Annie. Annie was in shock as she had no idea that Alexander did not want to marry her. He had not even made any effort to contact her or either of their families. In addition, he appeared to have left town. Annie immediately went to bed and didn't leave her bed for days. When she did get out of bed, she decided to start jogging. While jogging, she noticed a Boot Camp and decided to join it. At the Boot Camp, a man approached her and she realized that it was a friend from a drama camp that she had attended as a teenager. She and Patrick enjoyed talking of the fun times at the camp and began to spend a lot of time together. Alexander's mother had insisted that Annie still go on the honeymoon, She was not going to go as she had no one to go with, The night before the trip was to start, Patrick and Annie decided that they would go together as friends. They agreed that it was not a romantic trip and that they would sleep in separate beds.
The trip was an amazing three week adventure in Australia. Patrick brought out the fun side of Annie. She realized that she had been so obsessed with work and acting as Alexander had wanted that she had lost some of herself. This is a great book that I highly recommend,

I really enjoyed this book. Having read Our Stop before, I knew that I loved the authors writing style, so I was very excited to read some more of her work.

It was a really quick and easy read, I read it all in one day. The relationship was easy to root for. Annie in particular was a great character that I found rather relatable as someone of a similar age, who also questions whether she should have everything figured out by now.

My only issue really was that I found the story lost steam a little bit once they got back from the "honeymoon" to Austrailia. It felt a little like it fell into the trap of creating conflict for the sake of conflict. Some of the issues were understandable but I felt that the way it played out just seemed a little repetitive and then miraculously solved in half a page.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any fan of cute, contemporary romance.

Oh to be on a sunny beach reading this! Great summer read, light hearted fun and a cute romantic comedy that will make you smile