The Great Escape

By: Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Narrated by: Shannon Cochran

Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Instead of saying "I do" to Mr. Irresistible, Lucy Jorik hitches a ride on the back of a beat-up motorcycle 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 to 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 encounter a passion that could change her life forever.

In this dazzling follow-up to her New York Times best seller, 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.

Performed by Shannon Cochran

©2012 Susan Elizabeth Phillips (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

So Sad

LoveSEP books..any narrated by Anna Fields....I own and listen to them all regularly.This new one is really awful,,not sure if I don't like the story, narrator, but I am sad it was written by my favorite writer. I think her genious died with poor Anna. So sad.

Missed the mark.

What did you like best about The Great Escape? What did you like least?

I liked the characters, especially the secondary ones, but the story was seriously lacking in what I would have expected from SEP. It almost seems as if she can't really relate to this generation anymore and was more interested in political and social nano-points rather than a convincing story. Just the name of the main male lead, "Panda", indicates how far this story misses the mark. Having said that, it does follow the traditional SEP format which many of us enjoy. In regards to what I liked least, I would say the narration assignment was so way, way off that it was unsettling; which isn't to say the narrator wasn't good, she is very talented but she seemed far more mature than the voice of the generation depicted in the story.

Would you ever listen to anything by Susan Elizabeth Phillips again?

I would listen to a story associated with the Chicago group of stories, but not any associated with the Texas group or this First Family group.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

She is a very talented narrator and did an excellent job with the craft of narration but she is far too mature for this story; it was unsettling and awkward.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

Just giving the male lead a real name would of made a HUGE difference! What was SEP thinking? Who thinks "Panda" is sexy, swarthy and yet still respectable at the end of the day?

Any additional comments?

SEP writes a great story, she needs to develop stories and characters a bit older than these she is holding on to, she can't relate anymore.

Slow start, strong finish

It took me a while to care about the male lead, Panda, and I was annoyed that Lucy was so unlike the Lucy I learned to love in THE FIRST LADY, but it got better. Lucy began to remember the young spitfire she used to be and Panda turned out to be smarter and more polished than he pretended at the start.

It has been a while since I listened to CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE, so I was wishing that I could remember what Meg and Teddy were up to while Lucy was escaping. The chronology of the two books do jibe, but I wish I had listened to them back to back. That would be a lot of SEP at one time, but I do love her books and I think I would have enjoyed these two in a row.

Shannon Cochran's performance was okay, but I miss Anna Fields as much as SEP does. What an amazing talent she was, and perfect for SEP's characters. RIP.

THE GREAT ESCAPE is not Phillips' finest, but it stands up. This one pulled a few tears out of me, but not as many as other SEP titles have before (HONEYMOON!! DREAM A LITTLE DREAM!).

Now that I have listened to the entire Wynette, Texas series, I am ready to go back and start the Chicago Stars series all over again!

Terrific listen!

Susan Elizabeth Philips never disappoints - loved this story and characters. Looking forward to trying another.

Another Fun Read

I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips when I am looking for something fun, light and that does not require heavy thinking. Her characters are likable and I enjoy following characters across a series. This book did not disappoint!

Great book

Would you consider the audio edition of The Great Escape to be better than the print version?

Yes

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Great Escape?

(spoiler) I loved when Lucy told panda she was pregnant and then hung up on him

Have you listened to any of Shannon Cochran’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but she does a great job

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The great book now a great moive

Any additional comments?

Character ,characters is what makes books great and this book is full of great characters. I have listened to or read all of Susan's other books and Lucy is my favorite female from her books panda is close to the top ( I still love dallie beauine)



What a great read




Wanda

It's a definite relisten

I love most (but not all) of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' novels. Her characters are well written and the dialog is witty.
What I liked about this one is that it is taking place at the same time as Meg and Ted's story, though the only interactions are the ones described in Call Me Irrisitable. Lucy and Panda's story is so different, and I have to admit that I lost sleep over it (as with any good book). The settings and secondary characters are also compelling. I also like it that SEP usually has a secondary story going on in the background that intersects, but does not interfere with the "main event". I liked those characters and the conflict in that secondary background plot.
The narration was smooth and the differentiation between characters was evident in the reading. Overall, I enjoyed this one and will listen to it again.

Gotta love Panda

Lucy is all grown but then maybe not so much, huh? A biker/bodyguard, a 12 yr old boy, Bree and a couple of nuts from TV wade through this escape with her.

Not bad... but not vintage SEP

Is there anything you would change about this book?

If I knew that I would be a writer, and I'm obviously not. I just know that some of SEP's greatest books, like Glitter Baby or First Lady, had characterizations, story and humor that somehow missed the boat in this one. I liked Temple tremendously but I think Lucy sometimes went off the deep end in terms of believeable behavior. "Viper"? Please. At times I actually cringed. I miss the multi-faceted Lucy we saw in First Lady. Also, it is never really touched upon that, if Lucy's mother was President, she very likely sent Panda (another wierdo name that doesn't really fit) into war. At the very least, she made decisions that altered his life irrevocably. This could be a very, very interesting character development that was completely glossed over. I think the President could have cast a much bigger shadow without another word of dialogue, and probably would have done so in a real life situation.As usual, I think the side plots really made the book. These were done well. The book had a theme about being true to oneself and the stories stayed true to it, for the most part. I like the fact that SEP builds characters I can like.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Another reviewer remarked that Lucy's behavior at the ending was shockingly manipulative. I agree, it made me like her less. Lucy seems to have a major deficit when it comes to acting like an adult, and this makes it very difficult to like her the way you want and need to like a principal character. I understand this is meant to be a plot point, but I got over reading teenage romance when I was, well, a teenager. This ending led me to believe that Lucy didn't grow up as much as I would have liked and I was disappointed in her.

Which character – as performed by Shannon Cochran – was your favorite?

Probably Temple. Nice and smooth and imperious - perfect!! I don't think Shannon Cochran spends a lot of time around 12-year-old boys - most of them don't have high, squeaky voices that make them sound like seven year olds.

Was The Great Escape worth the listening time?

Yes, absolutely. SEP is always worth a listen! While this book isn't the vintage SEP we have all compulsively read and re-read, I have major faith in this author. If she were to stop writing tomorrow (which I sincerely hope she doesn't) I would still re-read my favorites and treasure the time I spent doing so. That being said, I value and respect SEP too much to sugar coat reviews!

Any additional comments?

In summary, it's not the best we've come to expect from SEP but it's still a fun read within the genre and I will continue to purchase titles from SEP as long as she puts them out. Thank you!!

The laughs keep on coming

This was a great conclusion to this part of the series. While it does show the side of the story we didn't know about in "Call me Irresistible" and doesn't disappoint.

While not as funny as the other novel, it is a more introspective approach to what went on with Lucy.

This story doesn't move as quickly, or as smoothly as it predecessor, but it does conclude in a satisfying way.

The novel is read with great speed and animation. My only complaint is some of the voices are a little shrill and lines delivered a little too campy. But overall a great feel-good book.