This story was unexpected. While I knew the premise of the story, I wasn't expecting the pure passion and tension. This rom-com was a fun, fast read with very real moments of survival and long last love. The back and forth of the past and present gave a full picture journey.

Would definitely recommend this one for the spring or summer!


Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

First off thanks to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the eArc.

This was a fun little first debut. I loved the idea of a plane crash/stranded island setting and enjoyed that part in the book and how Piper and Wyatt reconnected while trying to stay alive until a rescue. I am not a huge fan of miscommunication. I was okay with it for when the two characters are teenagers but not so much when it happens again later in the book. I think that and not being able to get a good connection with the two characters is what kept me from giving it a 4 star. But overall it was a fun read and I'll probably pick up the next book by this author.

Unfortunately I DNF’d this lovely advanced reader copy at 15% and I want to tell you why!

I fear this was right book wrong time for me. The concept is everything I like (and some I don’t) and despite it all, I was forcing myself to turn the page and hold some semblance of focus. It’s not to say that the lovely Annie McQuaid doesn’t have a fantastic voice for contemporary romance, because she does! I would love to pick this book back up in a few months when I’m back to my normal reading habits and then maybe I’ll be able to enjoy the complicated and fun dynamic I saw her creating just 15% in. For now, a soft DNF with intention to return back for another go!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy and be sure to look it up when it hits shelves in April <3

This was the best rom-com I've read in a while. The adventure in it was so fun while perfectly blending a second chance romance. It's a perfect escape for summer, or a book you bring on your beach vacation. I will be recommending to everyone.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager Publishing for an ARC of Annie McQuaid’s debut novel, Crash Landing. The following is my honest review of the book.

This book is about Piper and Wyatt. Two people who have known each other since they were kids and dated in high school until one day, Wyatt unexpectedly broke Piper's heart and disappeared from her and their friends’ lives. Many years later, they reconnect when going to a friend/family member’s wedding, where, due to unforeseen circumstances, Wyatt ends up flying them in a private plane. The plane crashes on a deserted island. The problem is that Piper despises Wyatt for what he did to her but realizes they must work together to survive and try to get off the island.

This book sucked me right in. I liked it so much I read it in 2 days, which I used to do all the time but haven’t done in a while. I was so curious about how they would get rescued (I mean, I figured they would get their happily ever after) and how Piper would be able to forgive Wyatt for leaving her all those years ago. I loved to see Piper grow in her ability to stand up to her overpowering mother. This was a quick, mindless read, and I recommend it.

fun, entertaining, adorable. what else would you want from a romance book. it has a very interesting setting that i have never read before and a well written second chance romance arc. highly recommend!

High school sweethearts Piper and Wyatt were deeply in love and seemed destined to stay together forever--at least until Wyatt abruptly broke up with Piper just weeks before he headed off to bootcamp and she went to college. Brokenhearted, Piper vowed not to talk to Wyatt again, although she never stopped missing him. She runs into him eight years later at the airport as both plan to head to the Bahamas for their friend's destination wedding. Stranded by a flight cancellation, Piper reluctantly agrees to let Wyatt pilot them down to the wedding. They don't make it, crashing on a small island during a storm. Now, they will have to see if they can get over their past to survive their present predicament and possibly find a future together. You can guess where this leads.

The story and characters had a lot going for them. Piper and Wyatt weren't bitter caricatures of exes who would focus more on fighting than survival. I liked them both, and the flashback chapters really laid the foundations for their enduring--if temporarily interrupted--bond. Time and again, it was clear that the stakes of their circumstances were dire, from hunger to severe injuries. In other words, the author didn't treat this serious situation like a rom-com, yet still managed to infuse warmth and playfulness between the characters.

That said, there were a lot of unbelievable or predictable elements here that detracted from the story. I did not believe for one minute that Wyatt was someone who'd had survival training. While I appreciate safe sex in a romance, I could have overlooked lack of protection on a deserted island after a plane crash--yet strangely enough, I didn't have to. (Still laughing about this.) The original obstacle to their romance was obvious well before it was revealed, and Piper was right back in love with Wyatt way too quickly. (Let the boy earn you!)

All in all, a likable if somewhat underdeveloped romance with appealing, earnest characters.

Crash Landing by Annie McQuaid was an unfortunate let down for me. This kind of romantic adventure plot sounded super fun and right up my alley but I think McQuaid struggled in keeping it together.

As is common in second chance romances, this story flip flops between Piper and Wyatt's friendship back in high school and their current predicament on an island following a small plane crash. These kinds of formats tend to be common so the reader can see how the couple worked well previously and understand the original hangups and the quick actions in the current time setting. I don't think either of those were really achieved here. The past chapters were not in chronological order so it was harder to follow the progression of Piper and Wyatt's original friends to lovers story. There's a lot of jumping around between their first meeting, when they're friends with their friend group, and then when they've decided to switch to a romantic relationship. In addition to the timeline of the past, I struggled with how some of the side characters were portrayed, specifically Piper's parents. Piper starts the book off describing the pressures she feels from them to be 'perfect' but also saying how she loves them and they're like second parents to her friend group. We see bits and pieces of a strained relationship but no actual development of this relationship to forgiveness or separation (and there should be some development with how this story ends), instead we see a very flat description of the struggles Piper faces with her parents.

I think that this could have been a lot more fun. It was an easy read, McQuaid's writing was very good so although I don't think some things were fleshed out enough it wasn't a pain to read. I might try something from McQuaid again in the future.

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