Review: Jo Watson's "The Great Ex-Scape."

Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2yazEmK

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2IJCLGC

Synopsis: 

On the scale of one to worst idea ever, agreeing to give the toast at her best friend's engagement party when she's been in love with him for three years was not Val's finest decision. Nor was accidentally confessing her love to him in front of all their guests, including his fiancee.

Boarding a plane that will take her literally anywhere to get away from the humiliation, Val is pleasantly surprised to find herself on the dazzlingly beautiful island of Reunion where she hopes she can heal her wounded pride, broken heart and bruised knees.

When a painful face mask experiment leads her to a fellow broken-hearted traveller, Alex, they decide to give each other a helping hand and follow a foolproof ten-step plan to get over their respective exes. And so begins their crazy adventure. What could possibly go wrong?

Review: 

Only a few months ago, I read my first Jo Watson novel and since then she has quickly become a favourite of mine. The books that I have read so far have been brilliant and a few will definitely be in my top reads of 2018. As such, I was eagerly awaiting this newest release from Jo. I couldn't wait to dive in. Like most of my previous reads from this author, "The Great Ex-Scape" was a summer holiday kind of romance, set on an exotic island. It was another story that was filled with plenty of sun, sea and swoon. 

"I was drowning and he was the oxygen I needed. 

I was burning and he was the water. I was lost and he was the way." 

The story follows Val and Alex, both nursing broken hearts and escaping to the beautiful reunion island to heal. Val spent her days giving out advice on a magazine column, whilst her own life was a bit of a mess, especially in the love department. Alex, the good guy and doctor just needed to meet someone who truly loved him. The pair found themselves in the same hotel and drawn to each other because of their connection. The story then continued as Val and Alex came up with a number of hilarious ways to improve their situation. 

"....will you fight of the evil creatures when they descend from the mist?"

"For you...I'll fight them to the death."

I loved reading the entertaining adventures of Val and Alex, but I was also desperate for something to happen between the couple. With each chapter I could feel the sexual tension growing between them, however it seemed to take forever before things started to happen. I'm a bit of a hit or miss with slow burns. Sometimes, I adore them, other times I find them so damn frustrating. Val and Alex's relationship was one of the latter, but when things did finally improve, I was swooning like mad and ready to stand up and do a little happy dance. This was why I love this author! She can write such heart-melting and swoon-worthy romance. I was excited for Val and Alex and certain that from that moment on, I could relax and enjoy my time in romance heaven. Wrong!! I was so stupid to think that the rest of the book would be all hearts and flowers. Jo threw in an evil curveball that made me want to jump into the book, stamp my feet and throw a huge tantrum for what was happening between Val and Alex. I found myself frantically tearing through the pages, praying that things would turn out okay in the end. 

"You kind of broke my heart a little bit,"

"Then let me put it back together."

Thankfully, I was eventually given an ending that I loved. It was absolutely the most perfect ending for Val and Alex and left my heart full to the brim. This turned out to be another fantastic read from this author. I also loved catching up with some of the familiar characters from Jo's other books. I especially loved discovering what was happening between Stormy and Marcus. Stormy is hands down one of my favourites. She just puts a big smile on my face. 

If you are looking for a novel that will make you chuckle and melt your heart, you can't go wrong with a book from Jo Watson. 

"The Great Ex-Scape" gets 4.5 ❤️'s from me.