The Escape, by Eve M. Riley, is a contemporary romance that follows two people on opposite sides of the country each trying to outrun parts of their lives that no longer fit. Aiden, a brilliant but emotionally guarded tech founder, sells the company he built from nothing and suddenly faces a terrifying blank space where his purpose used to be. Emma, a razor-sharp New York lawyer, sees the ground shifting under her feet when a ruthless colleague threatens the career she’s spent fifteen years building. Both of them are pushed toward escape, but in ways they didn’t expect and aren’t fully prepared to admit to themselves.

Riley builds her characters from the inside out, and that pulled me in. Aiden’s interior world feels both ordered and cracked, like a glass that has been knocked but not shattered. His past in the Romanian orphanage, the tremor in his hands, and the way he tries to manage his life by managing objects on his desk. Those details land with quiet force. Emma, on the other hand, is all sharp lines and forward motion until you glimpse the exhaustion under her competence. Her scenes with her family, her sister, even the texts from her mother, felt so real I could practically hear the phone buzz. The author lets their defenses show without stripping them of dignity, which kept me rooting for both of them long before their paths crossed.

What surprised me most was how much the book explores the idea of identity inside a romance-driven plot. Aiden’s wealth doesn’t free him; it disorients him. Emma’s success doesn’t shield her; it isolates her. Both are accomplished adults who still feel like they’re standing in the wrong rooms of their own lives. The writing makes space for that confusion. Some moments are clipped and almost businesslike. Others slow down and stretch out, like the narrator is finally taking a breath. The shift in tone feels intentional. It mirrors the way big life changes often come in waves that don’t match each other. I liked that the book didn’t rush to soothe anything too quickly.

The Escape is a contemporary romance novel, but it leans into emotional excavation more than tropey spectacle. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy character-driven stories with grown adults who are messy, thoughtful, competent, and a little lost. If you like romance that blends heart with personal reckoning, this one will land well.

Pages: 312 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FG2Z4ZZC