
Member Reviews

Crash Landing is a captivating romance with a great mix of humor, heart, and suspense. McQuaid’s engaging characters and the thrilling plot make it a highly enjoyable read.

I am usually not the biggest fan of second chance romance novels but I’m a huge fan of the premise of this book. I really loved that this book was an easy read but I do wish I could’ve connected a little bit more with the characters. This book was a 3.5 for me because I liked it but didn’t fall in love with it. I’d reread it again and I would recommend it to my friends. Thank you for the chance to read this early!

McQuaid masterfully weaves second chance angst, tension, and drama together to make us fall for Wyatt and Piper as they get stranded on an island together. I thought this book was a fun adventure romance with past/present issues that they need to overcome to find their happy ending.

I love the story line and plot of this book. Second chance for Piper and Wyatt. They have a great connection that’s a potential for a great relationship.

This is the book that sounds exactly what I like to read when I want a second chance plot. It was a book that I know will not be one that I wonder what the main characters are doing long after I have finished the last page. For me I have to make a connection with the main characters but for this book Piper and Wyatt did not give me enough to connect with them.
Thank you NetGalley, Annie McQuaid and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC of Crash Landing. This is my personal review.

Okay, I am not a fan of second-chance romance, but this was pretty good. I'm not gonna say it was stellar, but it was at a disadvantage from the get-go. If you don't have an issue with that trope, then I imagine you would have a better time than I did. Overall, very fun and easy read. It's a crazy premise (I mean, it's about a plane crash) but made for a great beach read.

I love Romcoms. I love survival stories. I love rivals/enemies to lovers. How could I NOT like this book when it did all three PERFECTLY.
Crash Landing has an excellent plot–survive on an island with your first love/ex until rescue comes, and try not to give into the romantic and sexual tension. Easy enough, right? Two people who once had intense feelings for one another, a misunderstanding that leads to a lifetime of hurt and longing, only to be brought back together in a scenario where there is an iffy chance of survival? So simple. The characters have great development and real problems to overcome. And it does not have that Hallmark movie feel to it, which is just another plus in my book.
If any of thisnappeals to you, put this one on your TBR.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the advanced review in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I had a good time with this story. Piper and Wyatt were a lot of fun. The concept is wild - exes wind up crashing a small plane on the way to their friend's wedding and are stranded for a week, while they figure out how to survive and fall back in love. It's a sweet story of second chances and learning the importance of living for ourselves. I enjoyed it!
Thank you to NetGalley and Annie McQuaid for this ARC!

4-Star Review of Crash Landing by Annie McQuaid
Crash Landing delivers on its fun and romantic premise of being stranded on an island with "the one who got away." The setup is brimming with possibilities, and Annie McQuaid fully leans into the drama, humor, and heart that come with such a scenario. I found myself rooting for Piper and Wyatt from the very beginning, eager to see their second chance at love unfold.
The book incorporates several beloved romance tropes—second chance romance, forced proximity, and even a heartfelt sick bed moment—all of which added depth and emotional stakes to the story. Piper and Wyatt's chemistry was undeniable, and their shared history gave their dynamic a layered, bittersweet quality that made their eventual reconnection feel all the more rewarding.
That said, the miscommunication trope—something I personally struggle with—played a significant role in the plot. While it’s not unexpected in a second chance romance, it did feel a bit overdone at times, leading to moments of frustration as I just wanted the characters to open up and be honest with each other.
Despite that, Crash Landing is an enjoyable and heartfelt read, perfect for fans of classic romance tropes with a tropical twist. If you love stories about rekindled love and are a sucker for forced proximity, this book is a great pick!

⭐⭐⭐⭐
TROPES
🥭 Second Chance Romance
🥭 Forced Proximity (crashed on an island)
🥭 Dual Timeline
As someone who grew up watching Lost, this book was immediately on my TBR when I heard about it. It’s something different from what’s usually out there, and I was curious about how the premise would work. How would just the two of them end up on an island? How long would they be there? Would these questions even be answered? They were, and all of it made reasonable sense.
Piper is a great character to be in the head of. She’s sassy and confident, though she doesn’t always let that confidence show in certain aspects of her life. Being on the island with Wyatt, someone she’d been forced to let go of without ever knowing the full story, opens her up in an important way. She’s been a yes woman to her parents, even going down a career path she isn’t interested in just to make them happy. It’s wonderful to see her come to certain realizations, even if it took crashing on an island with her ex to make them happen.
There’s a great balance between survival and personal growth while Piper and Wyatt are on the island. I wasn’t sure what to expect, since reasonably they were going to be on the island for a short period of time, and there was a lot of emotional baggage to look through to bring the two together again. While those talks and thoughts happened, it wasn’t at the loss of the pair actually talking about how to survive and hunting down resources. It was both a believable situation in what they were eating and the struggles they faced, but also in the deep life thoughts that probably come with that experience.

This book was fun and flirty. A lot of tension. It was exactly what I was looking for in a romance novel.

first of all, i love that i was able to read the ebook as ARC and win a goodreads giveaway for the physical book!
i must say this was a very cute book to binge and i really enjoyed the whole ride.
it was a very sweet debut and i’ll for sure come back for more of annie’s books!
with that being said and despite loving the story overall and for the first time enjoying a combo i usually don’t (aka third person, dual timeline and only one pov — congrats on making me love these aspects btw), i still think that there was something missing.
i feel like their miscommunication was expected at the end but at the same time i think that if i was on the fmc’s shoes i wouldn’t ignore the fact that the mmc pulled back bc of food in the island.
i mean i get it because they are strained but at the same time they are all trying to survive and do their best, but homeboy couldn’t even spare her a glance? i think she just brushed off bc of his situation.
also the whole kiera situation kinda annoyed me in there for a bit, but she’s actually a good person and i love that!
i love the friend group tho! they were so wholesome and sweet and i wish my friends were that sweet.
so concluding, 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ but don’t worry annie, i’ll be back for more stories you write!
PS: Ill post a review photo on my Instagram @beawritesandreads at 9am pacific time on January 25th

This was a cute little second chance romance with a fun adventure and heart. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It was a good break from the predictable romances. While this did have some moments that were easy to see coming, I enjoyed that it had a fun twist in parts.

Crash Landing by Annie McQuaid is a powerful, emotional ride that really tugs at your heartstrings. The way the author portrays the developing friendship between Wyatt and Piper in the past timeline is absolutely beautiful—there's such an organic, raw growth between the two characters that makes you feel like you're right there with them. You can feel the weight of their connection and the bond they’re building, even as they both struggle with their own personal demons. In the present timeline, the slow healing of their fractured relationship is just as gripping. It’s messy, it’s honest, and it’s the kind of healing that feels real—nothing too rushed, just the delicate rebuilding of trust and understanding.
What really impressed me was how McQuaid balanced the physical survival aspect of their situation with the emotional healing the characters were going through. As Wyatt and Piper wait for rescue, every moment is filled with tension, not just from their immediate survival but from the emotional baggage they're still carrying. It’s not just about fighting the elements; it’s about fighting to overcome their past and reconnect with each other. McQuaid does an incredible job showing how survival isn’t just about the body, but about mending your heart too. It’s a story about hope, healing, and finding strength in unexpected places.

alright alright she was a cute one i will give her that!! i was recommended this by someone on bookstagram and honestly i’m impressed! she was a breezy romantic story and i think i finished it in a solid sitting and a half, which was so much fun!! i would recommend particularly for those who enjoy closed door romances!

TLDR; a second chance romance between highschool sweethearts with a dual timeline and a plane crash.
Cute read but another like, not love read. I'm not a big fan of the miscommunication trope and man this one had a ton of it and I think that was a lot of the reason why I didn't like this more. I quite enjoyed seeing their relationship grow in both the past and the present and liked the climax. There was something that was just missing on pulling me in completely.
<b>Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the chance to read and review ahead of the time!</b>

Thank you so much to the publisher and author for my eARC!
Do you need a book where you can turn off your brain and suspend all logic and reasoning? If so, this is your book!
Wyatt and Piper were BFFs in high school, fell in love for a brief time, and then suddenly broke up. Not having spoken in years, they are both in route to the wedding of their HS bestie with Wyatt flying the small private plane to the destination wedding in the Bahamas. But something goes wrong and the plane crashes on a remote island. Miraculously, both Piper and Wyatt survive with only minor injuries and have to work together to get off the island and face their past.
This book was told in 2 different timelines-present on the island and in HS. The look at their slow path to love was good but also at times I felt I was too old to be reading about teens. I was much more concerned with their survival on the island. I wanted a little more to their emotional development since HS and I kept waiting for a BIG reason for their breakup, which didn't happen. I also didn't buy into their second chance romance on the island- sand, BO, injuries, hunger, etc (all realities of being stranded on an island) kept me from fully buying into the believability that they were able to toss that to the side and hook up. I do think this is a creative idea for a book and I think the author was able to write something entertaining where I wanted to find out what happened by the end.

This ARC was given to me by NetGalley
Wowwwww. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was honestly like a modern Blue Lagoon. That's the best way to describe it and it was pretty good. Piper and Wyatt's second chance will-they-won't-they was very enticing and the past/present POVs killed me! These two had a wonderous past that led into a silent future until they crashed into an island and learning to survive with each other. It felt really long at a lot of times but it was such a great read and who doesn't love a cute best friends to lovers /second chance romance! I would definitely recommend this book because it's cute, has a LOT of drama, and two characters that reminded me that destiny is real.

This was such a fun and fresh debut novel! My only complaints are that it was not written in first person pov and the romance felt just a little forced at times. Annie absolutely killed it though with her debut novel and I'm excited to see what she has in store next!

I honesty wanted to love this story so much but it fell a little flat for me. It was very predictable. I was so excited about the characters being stranded on an island and expected a lot more tension between them. I also would’ve loved some banter considering their history. The dual timeline was very helpful in understanding their past and its impact on their current relationship. The root of their issue was not significant enough for me. Overall, it was still enjoyable and a cute love story. I’d still recommend it if you’re looking for a quick read that’s lightly sprinkled with spice. Give this one a chance, you might enjoy it.
Tropes include:
Second chance romance
Forced proximity
Stranded on an island
Life or death situation
Title releases: April 1, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.