Review: The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

The Great Escape
Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Published: July 10, 2012
Genre: chick lit, romance
Hardcover: 432 pages
Source: borrowed from the library

My Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis (from GoodReads): Lucy Jorik is a champ at never embarrassing the family she adores--not surprising since her mother is one of the most famous women in the world. But now Lucy has done just that. And on her wedding day, no less, to the most perfect man she's ever known.

Instead of saying "I do" to Mr. Irresistible, Lucy flees the church in an ill-fitting blue choir robe and hitches a ride on the back of a beat-up motorcycle plastered with offensive bumper stickers. She's flying into the unknown with a rough-looking, bad-tempered stranger who couldn't be more foreign to her privileged existence.

While the world searches for her, Lucy must search for herself, and she quickly realizes that her customary good manners are no defense against a man who's raised rudeness to an art form. Lucy needs to toughen up--and fast.

Her great escape takes her to his rambling beach house on a Great Lakes island. Here, she hopes to find a new direction . . . and unlock the secrets of this man who knows so much about her but reveals nothing about himself. As the hot summer days unfold amid scented breezes and sudden storms, she'll also encounter a beautiful, troubled beekeeper; a frightened young boy; a modern-day evil queen; and a passion that could change her life forever.

In this dazzling follow-up to her "New York Times" bestseller "Call Me Irresistible," Susan Elizabeth Phillips tells the funny, touching, enchanting story of a young woman searching for her destiny . . . and of a damaged man who doesn't believe in second chances.

My Thoughts: When I read Call Me Irresistable last summer, I really liked it and wanted to read more of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' books. They are definitely entertaining and sexy and just the perfect read to not have to really think too much about. So, what her latest one came out, I just knew that I would have to read it. And it did not disappoint! This novel follows Lucy Jorik as she escapes from her high-profile wedding to the perfect Ted Beaudine and runs away from her life. She doesn't know what all is wrong in her life, but hopping on the back of a stranger's motorcycle seems like the best solution for the time being. What follows is a great story about a woman trying to find herself, a man coming to grips with his past, and a few other characters who are also changing their lives.

 

While I am not (nor will ever be) the President's daughter, there was so much about Lucy's journey that I could identify with. Her struggle to identify with who she is as an adult is something that I think every woman deals with. Perhaps the thing about her that resonated most with me is her reverse bucket list. Lucy had to grow up quickly and behave appropriately, given that her mother was a civil servant and very public. So, Lucy was always on her best behavior. But when she decides to dye her hair, prank call people, and get (fake) tattoos, I could identify with that. I am the oldest of three children, so I sometimes find myself to be a bit more conservative in my actions than other people. While I don't know if I would ever put my hair into dreds like Lucy did (actually, I know that I would never do this!), I could totally see where she was coming from and how the pressure she was under transformed her into a little adult at young age.

 

For me, I don't typically read romance novels, which is what Phillips's work is considered. But I don't think of it as the romance novels that I tend to think of; instead, I view these almost as a romantic comedy, just written down. The stories are humorous but show a female character overcoming an obstacle or hardship in her life. There is a cast of characters who add to the stories in their own little ways and are all uniquely different. And of course, you couldn't have a romantic comedy without a hunky man, which these books have. Will these books make you look at the world in a different way? No. But will they help you to escape from the real world and laugh along with these characters and see them as they grow. If you like chick lit and haven't read Susan Elizabeth Phillips because she is classified as a "romance author", I would encourage to think twice and try one her books. I don't think that you will be disappointed.