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Escape

by Barbara Delinsky (Goodreads Author)

3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 · rating details · 3,780 ratings · 519 reviews

In her luminous new novel, Barbara Delinsky explores every woman’s desire to abandon the endless obligations of work and marriage—and the idea that the most passionate romance can be found with the person you know best.

Emily Aulenbach is thirty, a lawyer married to a lawyer, working in Manhattan. An idealist, she had once dreamed of representing victims of corporate abuse...more

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published July 5th 2011 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

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Jan 17, 2012 Pam rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Emily is 32; living in New York; working 16-18 hours a day at a large law firm; married to James, a wonderful man whom she loves dearly, who also happens to be a lawyer, and who works more hours than she does. Like every other morning, when Emily wakes up at 6 am she’s already receiving and sending text messages from her boss, husband, clients, sister, and colleagues, etc. She gets to work and it’s while she’s dealing with a file that she feels the walls closing in on her. She immediately leaves...more Emily is 32; living in New York; working 16-18 hours a day at a large law firm; married to James, a wonderful man whom she loves dearly, who also happens to be a lawyer, and who works more hours than she does. Like every other morning, when Emily wakes up at 6 am she’s already receiving and sending text messages from her boss, husband, clients, sister, and colleagues, etc. She gets to work and it’s while she’s dealing with a file that she feels the walls closing in on her. She immediately leaves the office, goes home, packs, grabs the car and leaves the city without telling anyone. At that moment she doesn’t know where she’s going, if she should call her husband, and comes to the conclusion she hates all technological gadgets. She also knows that the life she is leading is not the life she signed up for. She and her husband had a dream and it’s not what they’re living. She’s trying to figure out where it all went wrong. She needs to change that. In a nutshell, she’s trying to find herself.

Who doesn’t at times want to chuck it all in and just leave at some point in their life. God knows I have. Leaving her job is one thing, but leaving the husband she loves? No. As I read on, I found Emily to be self-centered and selfish, not to mention boring. It’s all about what she wants. She wants the best of both worlds, but instead of being an adult, she waits for the answer by some means. I will say that I really adored her husband, James. I don’t think in reality a man like that would put up with Emily (I could be wrong). My issues with her: if you don’t like your job, find another one; don’t like techie-gadgets, throw them away; love your husband, don’t leave him. Talk to him. If he won’t listen, find a way to make him listen. Running away will not solve the problem – it creates more. By the way, I have no idea what the references to the wolves meant.

I can’t say I loved the book, but I also can’t say that I hated it. I know it’s just a made-up story but I didn’t think it was written or thought out well. There were other characters introduced that I thought didn’t need to be included. It’s as though the author was going to go in one direction with the story, but instead went another. As for the ending, it was what I predicted half-way thru.
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May 13, 2012 Sonya Kemp rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was given the very exciting opportunity to review 'Escape'. This book was published on 5th April 2012 by Canvas, an imprint of Constable & Robinson Limited. Barbara Delinksy is the author of more than twenty bestselling novels with over thirty million copies in print. She has been published in twenty-five languages worldwide. I’ve never actually read any of her books so it was a new experience for me.

One Friday morning, New York lawyer Emily suddenly comes to realise that somewhere in her...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Sara rated it 2 of 5 stars

You know how sometimes you just have to be in the right place in your life to enjoy a book? Well, this one's not doing it for me. I think I would have liked it better in my younger years. Now, I'm too old, jaded, synical. The protagonist Emily, is a lawyer, escaping from her life in NY. Her husband is also a lawyer, they own a house, a nice car, are both young and beautiful and struggling to conceive a child. Emily does not feel fulfilled in her life and is looking for more. Perhaps if Delinsky...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Julie Barrett added it

Escape by Barbara Delinsky
She is a lawyer and her husband as well.
The case is the bottled water. Many are sick from the water and she is collecting data from all those who are sick. Eagle River is the company and the woman she's talking to has had miscarriages and they could be related.
She had a lot going on in her life, $300 bridesmaid gown, she was to do her mother's 60 birthday party, in the works to get pregnant and the case, it was just overbearing. to the point where she just took off. She...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Sylvie Fox rated it 2 of 5 stars

First, a note on the narrator. I listened to this as a book on tape (my preferred reading method with a grabby toddler). Can someone please tell her that everyone who lives in New England does NOT sound like a bad Kennedy imitation?

I have loved Barbara Delinsky for years. She was an auto buy starting in the 1980s when she wrote romance. As I type this, all of her Harlequin books and her first single-titles are on my keeper shelf, yellow and dog eared. She was one of the first authors I read who...more First, a note on the narrator. I listened to this as a book on tape (my preferred reading method with a grabby toddler). Can someone please tell her that everyone who lives in New England does NOT sound like a bad Kennedy imitation?

I have loved Barbara Delinsky for years. She was an auto buy starting in the 1980s when she wrote romance. As I type this, all of her Harlequin books and her first single-titles are on my keeper shelf, yellow and dog eared. She was one of the first authors I read who made me feel something when she wrote.

The last few books, however, have not been for me. I have a friend, a former lawyer like myself, who does not read books with characters who are lawyers (written by non lawyers) because inaccuracies pull her out of the moment. I don't have such a policy and think that some lawyer characters can be super well written - so I don't discriminate.

Halfway through this book, I wish I did. The main character, Emily, started out believably for me. Ivy League lawyer hates life after ten years. I get that. I've been there and most of my friends have as well. At that point we either get out or change what we're doing. I get the aspiration and ambition. I get the debt while keeping up 'appearances.' I get the urge to 'run away from it all.' But after that, Emily (and James for that matter) lost me.

Their jobs were too unrealistic (she never did settle on what kind of law they really practiced). Let me just say, if you're on headphones all day you're not meeting too many criminals. If James was plea bargaining, then the kind of work hours he had would be different, and the pressure would be different.

And leaving? Emily starts out talking about maxed out credit cards, but blithely quits her job. No foreclosure on the horizon? No creditors calling? I didn't get it.

The other thing that got me, all that communing with coyotes. All this coyote allegory seems to be a book trend, like writing in the first person is a trend. I live near coyotes and they're not that mysterious. They're just wild dogs, really. Is there any meaning in that?

I wanted more. More depth, better characterization, a less sensational side story. Alas it wasn't to be.(less)

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Dec 26, 2012 Brittany rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I loved this book, but I didn't know what to expect. It starts off with Emily and her husband James, whom are both lawyer, living a fast paced life in NYC. Emily can't take it anymore and seeks escape, so she leaves on e afternoon and doesn't know where she is headed. She finds herself at Bell Valley, a town she spent a summer in and where her former best friend lives, though they haven't spoken for ten years. She begins to mend their friendship and sort out her life. Hier stressed husband tries...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Marcia Berg Haskell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, family, woman-to-woman

'In her luminous new novel, Barbara Delinsky explores every woman’s desire to abandon the endless obligations of work and marriage—and the idea that the most passionate romance can be found with the person you know best.

Emily Aulenbach is thirty, a lawyer married to a lawyer, working in Manhattan. An idealist, she had once dreamed of representing victims of corporate abuse, but she spends her days in a cubicle talking on the phone with victims of tainted bottled water—and she is on the bottler’...more

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May 27, 2012 Kristy Trauzzi rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel was cute. Not that I want to run away from my life (my life is good), I am envious of the ability to just get in your car and drive! Way back when my boyfriend (now my husband) and I were out and he said North or South? And I picked South and I ended up in the States for the very first time! It was such a great feeling to spontaneously jump in the car and go. I'm fairly certain we have not done that since. lol.

Back to the book, the fact that her husband cared to fight for her and dri...more

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May 19, 2012 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really like Ms. Delinsky's books, but this was not a favorite. It got off to a good start and had some action toward the end, but the majority of the story was a little too "nothing" for me, and I found myself not able to relate to the main character a lot of the time. We were never given sufficient reason for why she would want to escape the way she did, and I would have liked to have seen a few more pages explaining why she found both her husband and her job so unbearable. Once the story go...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Today at 5AM I dropped my significant other off at his work. Instead of turning right out of the parking lot as I always do, I turned left and kept going. Yeah, I can relate to this book. It's a different mind-set, driving off into the unknown, leaving the known and dissatisfaction behind. For a while I imagined just driving and driving, stopping in new or even revisiting old places, getting a room, checking in relaxing, walking, exploring, visiting. There are no time constraints, no pressures,...more

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Dec 03, 2011 Ameena rated it 2 of 5 stars

At one point or another everyone searches for an escape from their busy life. An escape from work, family, technology, friends, obligations. An escape from the harsh reality of the real world. And the promise of escape from my whining child – even a short-term one – is what drew me to this book in the first place.

This is the story of 32-year-old Emily – wife of James, employee of Lane Lavash, and a woman who dreams of becoming a mother. Emily thinks she’s living the dream in New York City until...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Sandy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Nice, quiet read. Nothing too complex, the characters were people I could relate to and the plot was simple. Who, if they really had the chance, has not wished they could not quit everything they were doing and run away for a few days and just "find themselves"? The main character in the book did just that and she ends up running back to the place where she found her first love (not her current husband) and where her closest girlfriend lives. But wait, before she leaves "her current life" she ge...more

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Sep 04, 2011 Louise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature-fiction

Thirty-two-year-old Emily Aulenbach was a lawyer living in Gramercy Park, New York with her husband, James, who is also a lawyer. They don’t have pets or kids because they’re trying to work to put in their hours now so they can eventually take things a bit easier later. Emily was tired of her job and tired of her life so she ups and leaves work one morning within an hour of arriving. Once home, she packs a bag, hops in the car and begins driving. She has no idea where she is headed as long as it...more

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Sep 02, 2011 Sheila DeChantal rated it 3 of 5 stars

Emily Aulenback is a successful 30-year-old lawyer married to James - who is also a lawyer. While once she dreamed of representing victims of abuse... instead she sits in her cubicle day after day talking to people who drank tainted water. Day after day the job drones on, the long hours, James putting in even more time than she does, the demands of the lifestyle they had created. Emily lives by her blackberry, her computer, and her watch.

Then one day... suddenly she decided she has had enough. S...more Emily Aulenback is a successful 30-year-old lawyer married to James - who is also a lawyer. While once she dreamed of representing victims of abuse... instead she sits in her cubicle day after day talking to people who drank tainted water. Day after day the job drones on, the long hours, James putting in even more time than she does, the demands of the lifestyle they had created. Emily lives by her blackberry, her computer, and her watch.

Then one day... suddenly she decided she has had enough. She walks out of her job, packs a bag, leaves her husband a quick note - and starts to drive. One word resounds in her mind....

escape.

At first she has no destination... but then she finds herself heading towards a small New Hampshire town that she knew well from her college days. She knows her friend is still there now running a bed and breakfast and maybe she will find her way.... by going back to when life was just easier.

I was initially drawn to this book by the title and the cover. Perhaps a little shallow of me, but come on - the title.... "escape".... what's not to like? I think that may be why as I sit here attempting to write this review... I am struggling a bit.

Why?

Well... there was a lot I liked about the book... I liked the idea of "the escape", I mean seriously - I have been there... sometimes I have joked that it would be easier to go and live int he woods.... get a little cabin, no internet, no phone, no commitments... just me living off the land. Of course if you know me... you know this would be cool for about a week before I would be crawling the walls for something to do and ways to connect...... but still, it is there.

I liked Emily, but did not love her. I liked her husband James a lot, finding him patient and even likeable even thought their marriage was off track, you could see it was both their doing. I liked the small town Emily escapes too, her friend Vicki, and the mini saga of Lee... I even think I liked Jude as "the other man" even though... well... he isn't...

It almost felt like one story was being told in the beginning... 1) Emily is receiving letters from her ex boy friend and decides to escape to where she knows he will be, and then 2) Emily is deeply in love with her husband and is just trying to find a happy medium...

Even as I write this I am still torn, my gut says there was an opportunity for a great story here that was not developed. It started strong, and quickly fithered (my word) into just an ok read... I felt many of the story lines never came to fruit.... there was more to the wolves, but we never got there, there was more to Jude, but again... unfinished, ... so after all that.... my one sentence summary is:

Started with a strong boil that quickly went to a slow simmer. (less)

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Aug 26, 2011 Kathleen (Kat) Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, romance-fiction

Have you ever woken up in a cold sweat thinking you're stuck in a life you don't want? Did you ever consider disappearing - leaving family, friends, even a spouse - ditching everything you've ever known and starting over again? Maybe, just maybe, even returning to an old lover?

That's how Emily Aulenbach begins the story of her escape: escape from a workaholic husband she rarely sees, an overpriced New York City apartment that never feels like home, a job where profits, not people are the priorit...more Have you ever woken up in a cold sweat thinking you're stuck in a life you don't want? Did you ever consider disappearing - leaving family, friends, even a spouse - ditching everything you've ever known and starting over again? Maybe, just maybe, even returning to an old lover?

That's how Emily Aulenbach begins the story of her escape: escape from a workaholic husband she rarely sees, an overpriced New York City apartment that never feels like home, a job where profits, not people are the priority. She doesn't plan her escape; she just walks out of her cubicle, gets behind the wheel of her husband's BMW, shuts off her BlackBerry, and drives away.

The one thing she can't escape is her past. Lately she's been getting letters from Jude, the fiercely independent man she loved in college. She thought they were soul mates, until she caught him cheating on her. Now she finds herself heading north, toward the New Hampshire town where she and Jude fell in love a decade ago. She doesn't care if she's making another wrong turn. She just knows she needs a new destination.

My Review:

In the latest novel by Barbara Delinsky, Escape, is the story we all wish for at different times in our life. Those times where everything reaches a boiling point and we feel completely overwhelmed. Emily acts on those feelings when the law firm she works for has her working more for the benefit of companies instead of the victims in the latest lawsuit over the health effects of drinking water. Feeling more empathy for the victims, she simply gets up and walks away after a very powerful conversation with a woman whose baby is going to have health problems for the rest of its life.

She and her husband, James have been trying to have a baby for quite some time, and now their love life revolves around an ovulation clock instead of desire and need. When her and James studied law in school, their goals were to make a difference in the lives of people they would work for, but this isn't working for her. James is busy working to make partner this year and she never sees him anymore since he is working nights and weekends now.

So getting in her husbands BMW, she heads to Bell Valley, a place where she has found peace back in her early childhood, where her best friend Vicki, still lives with her husband Rob, running the Red Fox Inn. Emily hasn't maintained contact with Vicki because she's been striving for success but now feels an overwhelming pull to come back to Bell Valley, back to old friends, back to the woods that can once again heal what's broken in her heart and in her life.

I received this book compliments of Doubleday Publishers for my honest review and LOVED it. I spent the day reading it when my family gave me a day to myself. It had a healing effect on me as well because I got the opportunity to take a virtual vacation from my own life. I got to feel the calming presence of the walk in the deep, dark woods that Emily takes and sat by the bubbling brook listening to the sounds of the water. I can relate because I personally have felt that pressure of life come to the boiling point but this provides a safe outlet to see where a journey like that might lead. The conclusion of the story is beautiful! Rating this one a must read, I can easily say it earns a 5 out of 5 stars in my personal opinion. (less)

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Aug 18, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked it but there were some irritants. I had no problem with her stalking the coyotes -- but I have coyotes in my backyard and they don't just hang around when you approach. They run. Fast. So that was just an eye roller for me, everytime she went to connect with herself by staring into the golden eyes of the coyote. Yeah, not gonna happen.

The second was it was based in a fictional town in N.H. and the characters were given the backwoods accent that would have been completely easy to leave ou...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Gigi Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am a Barbara Delinsky fan, I have read many of her books, but I must say I was a little disappointed with this book. I just could not connect with the main character, Emily, at all, I found her a bit spoiled and self-centered, and just a bit boring. I could not make the connection between her and the coyotes, it seemed a bit weird to me. However, that does not mean I won't read anymore Delinsky books. (I love her books.) I just think being from the older generation, this book will probably be...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Mary Gramlich rated it 5 of 5 stars

ESCAPE by Barbara Delinsky
07/11 - Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group - Hardcover, 320 pages

Could you walk away from the perfect life you thought you had created?

Emily can’t take another day of answering the phone, sitting in her cubicle, worrying about whether she is doing the right thing by her clients or if the dream she has been chasing has crumbled in her hands. She loves her husband but suspects he may be cheating on her, likes being a lawyer, but hates the type she is practicing and adores h...more ESCAPE by Barbara Delinsky
07/11 - Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group - Hardcover, 320 pages

Could you walk away from the perfect life you thought you had created?

Emily can’t take another day of answering the phone, sitting in her cubicle, worrying about whether she is doing the right thing by her clients or if the dream she has been chasing has crumbled in her hands. She loves her husband but suspects he may be cheating on her, likes being a lawyer, but hates the type she is practicing and adores her parents but is tired of worrying that she is a disappointment to them.

One day she decides she has had enough and drives away in her husband’s car to figure out if the past is what is stopping her from loving the present and unable to work on a future. Emily reconnects with her college friend, which is yet another relationship she stopped nurturing and finds she cannot live without. But going back to a place that provided peace in the past and calm during the storm may turn out to be a nightmare if the reason she left this little slice of heaven shows up. Everyone has a secret they hold close to their heart and this one broke Emily’s heart and she is not looking to repeat any mistakes when the man she is married to has fulfilled her expectations but keeping this secret from her husband is as sinful as the ones she is accusing him of.

At some point Emily is going to have to face her husband and family, which is not going to be easy. She has to tell them why she ran away but still can’t decide when she will be home or how she is going to mesh the life she wants with the life she has and still be able to afford to have a baby.

The reward for Emily is the joy she receives every time she walks into The Rescue and sees all the animals that have faced much pain and misery than working too many hours and not getting enough sleep.

Life is never the problem it is living the life that does you in. I bought this book with no idea what it was about because any Barbara Delinsky is a must buy on my list and never question that it will be great. However, this particulate book comes in a time when my life is a mess and what I want more than anything is to go someplace that will stop the craziness and calm my stress. The main character is like every other woman who does not want to throw the life she has away, she wants to make it work and just cannot figure out how. Her husband has his ideas, her parents another and work is what you do to pay for the life you have. This story will hit everyone that reads it regardless of your age because at some point we all want to hit the button that gets us off the bus and lets us walk for a while.(less)

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Apr 25, 2012 Marianne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Escape is the 41st stand-alone novel by popular author, Barbara Delinsky. One Friday morning, New York lawyer Emily Aulenbach takes stock of her life and realises it has strayed so far from her dream that she needs to escape. She takes off her watch, turns off her Blackberry, leaves behind her laptop and, without telling anyone or having any firm plans, heads north. After a few days, she finds herself in Bell Valley, New Hampshire, a place where her life changed radically one summer, ten years a...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review

I don't know what it was, I just couldn't really get into this book. It was interesting enough about a lawyer who drops everything and leaves because she hates her job so much, but it was boring at times. Some parts were all just what Emily was thinking and I kind of got tired of her thinking so much. Maybe I'm just too young for this book because I didn't really connect with Emily all that well. James was probably my favorite character because he was a good guy and the kind of husband everyone...more

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Oct 19, 2011 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Emily entered law school with the idea of representing the underdog and helping people. When she and her new husband graduated they were on track for a wonderful life. They both had positions in Manhattan law firms. The problem was that in trying to climb the ladder to partner, they lost not only their private lives but themselves. One afternoon Emily feels as though she can't breathe and she tells her cubicle mate that she needs to go out for air. Emily walks out the door and keeps going.

Emily...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Booklover rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: baby-children, divorce-separated-reunion-2nd-chanc, hospital, lawyer-cop-doctor-soldier-dectectiv, love, office-romance, parents, pregnancy-surrogacy, sibblings-best-friends, suspense-mystery

This was an okay read,will go through each relationship in the story

Emily-Vicky:absolutely liked Emily-Vicky Bell their friendship and even after being seperated for 10 years and being igored and cut off ties by Emily,Vicky still opens her home and heart for Emily,she is angry and she talks it out and forgives Emily and they bond again and this time Emily is there for Vicky through good and bad times,loved the way Vicky helps Emily in finding what she wants,supports her and Vicky asks some quest...more This was an okay read,will go through each relationship in the story

Emily-Vicky:absolutely liked Emily-Vicky Bell their friendship and even after being seperated for 10 years and being igored and cut off ties by Emily,Vicky still opens her home and heart for Emily,she is angry and she talks it out and forgives Emily and they bond again and this time Emily is there for Vicky through good and bad times,loved the way Vicky helps Emily in finding what she wants,supports her and Vicky asks some questions which makes her realise and understand what she needs

Emily-Jude:Jude is Vicky's brother,he is wild irresponsible does'nt wants to get tied down with a family,when he met Emily he was with Jenna but then he started going out and sleeping with Emily,Emily was serious about him but Jude he was a careless selfish man did'nt think how his actions hurt who love him,Jude cheated on Emily with Jenna she caught them making out and she left town and even cut off all her ties with Vicky,in present it is revealed Jude lied about many things,he said to Jenna that Emily was not serious about him and day when Emily caught them he had planned it all along,after Emily leaves he also leaves the town he never writes to anyone except Emily,now he is also back and he has a son with Jenna,he is not sure whether he wants to be in his son's life his mother is telling him to take the custody of his son but Jude knows he does not want to be involved in that child's life,he only sees him from far never meets him in person though Jenna has told their son that Jude is his father,he asks Emily to help him out but Emily says no(i support her )cause she is only a part of his past what ever he wants to do it is his and Jenna's child they are to decide what is to be done

Emily-James-These two are married now for 7 years,liked both of them,Emily is really unhappy with her life style and way her marriage is going down,they both want their marriage to last James and Emily both make efforts and try to talk and work things out,though i was disappointed in Emily cause she never talked about Jude with James,cause of Jude's actions she was really hurt and it has changed her a little,i think she should have talked to James about what happened,James knew about it that there was something Emily was hiding cause she used to sleep talk but he never asked cause he was waiting for Emily to tell him,they even talk out this issue,about their work it is also talked out,the love was always there between them but cause of hectic life style and James being workaholic,it affected their marriage and they lost their love and happiness but got it back cause each one tried and made compromises

The suspense case of Lee was good to read and this case again brings James-Emily closure,eventually the guy is caught and Lee gets her rights and her reputation is clear,liked the secondary characters and their issues were good to read

I would really like a book on Jude,his thoughts and POV on his actions that hurted others and his decisions and why does he calls Emily his conscience and his thoughts about his son Noah whom he says is not his responsibility cause Jenna had told him that she was on pills so if it was conceived its Jenna's fault and responsibility

Okay read

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Sep 25, 2011 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

I am a big Barbara Delinsky fan. When I saw her new novel was out, I knew I had to read it.

This book starts off with a bang. Emily leads a very fast moving, stressful life. One day she has decided she has had enough and just ups and walks out of her job without so much as a word. She goes home, grabs a bag and off she goes, ending up in a town where she spent a very memorable summer. Yep, just ups and leaves her husband and job. There have been times when I would love to take off and just leave...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Georgina rated it 3 of 5 stars

For the mostpart I enjoyed Escape. An easy read and a story I could identify with.

However...

**SPOILER**

I didn't expect the hostage situation, in fact I found it inconsistent with the storyline. I think what bothered me most was both James and Jude seemed completely out of character in handling the situation. James may have been a great negotiator but I don't believe he would've walked into such a dangerous situation, especially with a baby on the way - he was portrayed as way too responsible fo...more

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Sep 04, 2011 Dana rated it 3 of 5 stars

For decades I have loved the works of B. Delinsky, Anne Rivers Siddens and Nancy Thayer. In the last month I have read the newest novel of all 3 authors and am astounded by what they have lost. Delinsky was always a sure bet for a mesmerizing, gripping and beautifully written novel. Escape escaped all of these adjectives. There were at least half a dozen typos and several grammatical errors, as well! What is going on w/ the editing these days?
The premise of this book was a good one: What happens...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Iris rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. All right. Although this book started out promisingly, it got more and more tedious by the page, and then more and more ludicrous by the chapter. It starts off being about a woman who runs away from her New York life to try to reconnect with her inner self, but ends up including wild love-making sessions in the woods, long-winded obsessions about coyotes, arson, hostage-taking, SWAT teams and her husband getting shot. Of course there was paragraph after paragraph about coyotes howling and their...more All right. Although this book started out promisingly, it got more and more tedious by the page, and then more and more ludicrous by the chapter. It starts off being about a woman who runs away from her New York life to try to reconnect with her inner self, but ends up including wild love-making sessions in the woods, long-winded obsessions about coyotes, arson, hostage-taking, SWAT teams and her husband getting shot. Of course there was paragraph after paragraph about coyotes howling and their significance, and then pages and pages of discussions between Emily and her husband James about what they wanted in life, which would be fine except that it was so realistic that it became tedious, much like how one would feel when one is stuck in the private conversations/arguments between a real-life couple - at first it's intriguing and slightly voyeuristic, then you lose interest and really, really want to be somewhere else. I found my eyes glazing over and I skimmed past paragraphs, because I couldn't be BOTHERED to read more of the same drivel. I kept thinking how I would rate this book when I was reading it (never a good sign, when you're not totally absorbed in the story, but actually looking forward to posting about it on goodreads). The rating started at a promising 4-star, but very steadily dropped to a 1-star or below. I started swearing to myself when some new fiasco showed up in the pages. The character of Jude, as well as Emily's father were incredibly annoying because they are so pig-headedly male, but Emily never gave them the shouting-at that they so richly deserve. I wanted to poke my eyes out, but then again, perhaps it's because I know men like that in real life. The book is too serious to be a chicklit book; its attempt at being a crime thriller is too weak; its philosophical musings about the meaning of life too contrived - the book tries to be too many things at once and succeeds at nothing. This book, like Jude, was so promising, but turned out to be a major disappointment.(less)

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Aug 09, 2011 Liralen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, first-reads, 2011, reviewed

I received a firstreads winner notification for this book, and roughly 48 hours later it showed up on my doorstep. Definitely hard to argue with the publisher being so on top of it.

I love the premise of this book - who, indeed, has not wanted to escape at one point or another? It's written well, and I appreciate that she didn't take Emily down the somewhat clichéd route of severing all ties and not looking back. I initially expected Emily to end up with a different character than she did, and I...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Jessica Gadsden rated it 2 of 5 stars

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Jul 22, 2011 Laurel-Rain rated it 4 of 5 stars

What if you looked around one day at the accouterments of the "perfect life" you were leading, and literally couldn't breathe? What if the dreams you had and the people you love feel more like "gadgets" in your world, until you scarcely notice them? What if you feel invisible?

Successful New York lawyer Emily Aulenbach experiences all of these feelings one Friday, and acting on impulse, she leaves her office, goes home long enough to grab a few possessions, and takes off. Where will she go? Her p...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Cath rated it 4 of 5 stars

Emily is done with it. She can’t cope anymore with the daily stress at work and she isn’t doing the job she always wanted. Her husband James is also drowning in all the stuff he has to do and their attempts to start a new family have proven unsuccessful.

One morning, she decides to end it, she packs her bags, turns her phone off and leaves. She escapes to Bell Valley, the small town where she has spent a fantastic summer during college years.
There she faces new problems like an old lover and long...more Emily is done with it. She can’t cope anymore with the daily stress at work and she isn’t doing the job she always wanted. Her husband James is also drowning in all the stuff he has to do and their attempts to start a new family have proven unsuccessful.

One morning, she decides to end it, she packs her bags, turns her phone off and leaves. She escapes to Bell Valley, the small town where she has spent a fantastic summer during college years.
There she faces new problems like an old lover and long-lost friends, but she also becomes aware of what she really wants in her life and how to change it.

When I read the blurb, I was immediately intrigued by the idea of running away. There are some moments when you want to, but you know you won’t. I think that’s what made it so interesting. Would you do it, or not?

I enjoyed this book from the start. When Emily was talking to a client (she’s a lawyer), she was so friendly, that I instantly liked her. She’s a strong women and once she has made a point, she stays with it.
There also was the old lover, Jude, of which I would have liked to know a bit more.
There wasn’t much said about that particular summer and I thought there would be more unrevealed secrets, but apparently it was just a place where she had a great time.

The town gave me a cosy feeling and I did understand why Emily chose to go there. Places with B&B’s, a forest, … are always very interesting and make me dream of vacation myself.
The coyotes in the forest gave the story a mystical touch.

In Bell Valley, Emily meets new people, including Lee. Lee is very shy and afraid, because she has some judicial problems with her in-laws and they keep threatening her. Emily gets involved, but she knows she needs her husband to help her and because of the case they start to analyse their own relationship.
James was also nice, but I liked him less than Emily, because he was more work addicted.

At one point, I couldn’t held my suspense, but further this was a ‘calm’ story.
It’s a beautiful novel which I would certainly recommend to people who like love stories and contemporary fiction.(less)

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About Barbara Delinsky

I was born and raised in suburban Boston. My mother’s death, when I was eight, was the defining event of a childhood that was otherwise ordinary. I took piano lessons and flute lessons. I took ballroom dancing lessons. I went to summer camp through my fifteenth year (in Maine, which explains the setting of so many of my stories), then spent my sixteenth summer learning to type and to drive (two sk...more I was born and raised in suburban Boston. My mother’s death, when I was eight, was the defining event of a childhood that was otherwise ordinary. I took piano lessons and flute lessons. I took ballroom dancing lessons. I went to summer camp through my fifteenth year (in Maine, which explains the setting of so many of my stories), then spent my sixteenth summer learning to type and to drive (two skills that have served me better than all of my other high school courses combined). I earned a B.A. in Psychology at Tufts University and an M.A. in Sociology at Boston College. The motivation behind the M.A. was sheer greed. My husband was just starting law school. We needed the money.

Following graduate school, I worked as a researcher with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and as a photographer and reporter for the Belmont Herald. I did the newspaper work after my first son was born. Since I was heavily into taking pictures of him, I worked for the paper to support that habit. Initially, I wrote only in a secondary capacity, to provide copy for the pictures I took. In time, I realized that I was better at writing than photography. I used both skills doing volunteer work for hospital groups, and have served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and on the MGH’s Women’s Cancer Advisory Board.

I became an actual writer by fluke. My twins were four when, by chance, I happened on a newspaper article profiling three female writers. Intrigued, I spent three months researching, plotting, and writing my own book - and it sold.

My niche? I write about the emotional crises that we face in our lives. Readers identify with my characters. They know them. They are them. I'm an everyday woman writing about everyday people facing not-so-everyday challenges.

My novels are character-driven studies of marriage, parenthood, sibling rivalry, and friendship, and I've been blessed in having readers who buy them eagerly enough to put them on the major bestseller lists. Family Tree was published in 2007, The Secret Between Us in 2008, While My Sister Sleeps in 2009, and Not My Daughter in 2010. My latest, Escape, is a 2011 publication.

2011? Yikes. I didn’t think I’d live that long. I thought I’d die of breast cancer back in the 1900's, like my mom. But I didn’t. I was diagnosed twelve years ago, had surgery and treatment, and here I am, stronger than ever and loving having authored yet another book, this one the non-fiction Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors. First published in 2001, Uplift is a handbook of practical tips and upbeat anecdotes that I compiled with the help of 350 breast cancer survivors, their families and friends. These survivors just ... blew me away! They gave me the book that I wish I’d had way back when I was diagnosed. There is no medical information here, nothing frightening, simply practical advice from friends who’ve had breast cancer. The 5th Anniversary Volume of Uplift is now in print, with a 10th Anniversary Volume due in September 2011. And the money I’ve made on the book? Every cent has gone to my charitable foundation, which funds an ongoing research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Visit my Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/bdelinsky
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“What she did have, after raising two children, was the equivalent of a PhD in mothering and my undying respect.” — 17 people liked it

“I had nothing to fear from my father.
Except his disappointment.
Which was no small thing.” — 12 people liked it

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