Author : Fiona Gibson
Publisher : Avon
Laugh-out-loud funny from the author that bought you Mum On The Run. Fiona’s writing deals with the real life cringe-worthy moments we all know so well…Hannah’s getting married… and has serious pre-wedding jitters. She adores Ryan but can’t figure out how to fit into his grown-up, family-sized life. There’s that fridge, for starters. That, too, is family-sized, with a gadget on the front that spits ice in her face. More alarming still are Ryan’s children, Daisy, 10 and Josh, 13, who clearly don’t relish the prospect of Hannah, a free-spirited greetings card illustrator, becoming their step-mum.So she fires off invitations to a hen weekend – just the ticket to get her into the marrying mood. Trouble is…New mum Sadie is leaving her twin babies for the very first time with their terrified dad…Lou is unaware that her long-term man Spike is desperate to bundle her onto that Glasgow-bound train so he can hot-foot it round to see his secret fling Miranda…And, unbeknown to the girls, Johnny, their sexy upstairs neighbour from their art college days, is still frequenting those haunts, desperately in need of a little magic to happen.Perfect for fans of Jane Costello, Kate Long and Tess Stimson.
The Great Escape is my first Fiona Gibson’s book. I’ve never read any of her books, so I didn’t know what to expect. The Great Escape is about three best friends, Hannah, Lou, Sadie, and their upstairs neighbor Johnny. They’ve been friends since college and practically living together. After graduation, Hannah decided to move out and they go separate ways, living their own lives.
The Great Escape opens with a farewell party for Hannah. Hannah was about to move to London and they spent their last time living together in Glasgow by partying. Then this book moves to the present time, which is 13 years later (if I’m not mistaken). Hannah is now living with her fiancé, Ryan, and her soon-to-be stepchildren. Lou is living with her long boyfriend, Spike, and has a crappy job. Sadie is married to Barney and a mother of twins, Milo and Dylan. Each has their own problems that they think they need to have a getaway.
Being under a lot of pressure because of her upcoming wedding, Hannah then plans a hen weekend with Sadie and Lou. They decided to spend the weekend in Glasgow, reminiscing their young days together. The weekend becomes their “great escape”. This book mostly revolves around the weekend and how it changes their lives.
I love the setting in this book. I think I haven’t read books which set in Glasgow. So it’s new for me, even though the characters don’t really explore the city. There are some new vocabulary and term that’s new to me too, like a hen party (it’s the same with bachelorette party) or stag party (bachelor party). Probably because the author uses British English and I don’t read many books using British English. That’s okay, I could learn new vocabularies that way.
I found the characters in this book lack dimension and they don’t have much depth. I’m not sure about my feelings toward the characters, whether I hate them or love them. I don’t give much point for the characters.
The narrative is kind of jumpy. There are a lot of characters in this book and the author tries to cover what happens with all of them. As a result, after one chapter in, let’s say, Sadie’s life the next chapter could be Johnny’s life or Lou’s life or whoever’s life. That way, we will know the whole story, but sometimes it’s exhausting. Especially if there’s a lot of people involved.
The Great Escape might not be a great book, but it’s a decent read. The blurb says ‘Perfect for fans of Jane Costello, Kate Long and Tess Stimson’. Since I haven’t heard any of those authors, I have nothing to say about this. But if you know or have read any book from one of these authors, you might want to try reading The Great Escape.
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