A Way of Escape: A Novelette

by Jacqueline Stewart

Michelle is a beautiful and smart woman, and she’s a hard worker. She’s at the height of her career at the marketing firm she works for, and has held the title “Top Marketer of the Year” for the past several years. Though she can manage to maintain a successful career, her personal life with her man Donovan is in shambles. His alcohol “problem” has put him in compromising positions with other women that involved cheating. Michelle knows that she needs to let Donovan go, but she has gotten comfortable and doesn’t want to let their relationship of five years go "down the drain." To her, that would be a waste of time. To break free from a now toxic situation, her heart needs a way of escape. Jason is a new transfer at Michelle’s firm. He’s had a rough couple of years due to losing his wife and son in a bad car accident. After two years of losing them he’s ready to start over, so he leaves his hometown to start a new chapter of his life in a new city. He’s not necessarily looking for love, but it’s looking for him. Fate has brought Michelle and Jason together, but does she have the courage to let go of the toxic love that no longer serves her to say yes to the real love that’s staring her right in her face?

183 pages, Paperback

Published July 14, 2021

Reviews

[Biyai Garricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to Jacqueline Stewart, the author for a copy of this book. This is my first book by the author and I had zero expectations getting into it.

I finished reading this book in one sitting because from the first few pages I was hooked. 'A Way of Escape' is a novella that follows Donavan and Michelle, who have been dating exclusively for five years and their story mirrors the complicated nature of relationships and how many of us manage to navigate this ever changing space.

I was blown away by the characters, the plot, and the themes that the story carried. It's got an "enemies to lovers"/"secret baby" troupe going on which ordinarily are both not my thing but this one, I loved. Despite the short length of the book, it covered issues such as love, infidelity, trust and second chances.

What I liked most about the characters was the fact that they were relatable and I could understand their different actions and reactions even when I may not have agreed with some of their decisions. Michelle was my favorite character although I screamed at her a couple of times during my read.

The writing was fluid and authentic to the setting and even though the story started and ended well, I still felt like I wanted more. Not necessarily from this story but perhaps from the author. This is a book I highly recommend to everyone who loves romance. However, if you are triggered by themes around infidelity then this may not be your thing. I am eager to read more books by the author and I wish her luck in her writing career.