The Best Laid Plans by Tamara Mataya Pages: 294
Published by Swoon Romance on November 8, 2013
Genres: adult, contemporary, Dating & Sex, Love & Romance
Source: ARC from Publisher
Jayne Griffin isn't looking for Mr. Right. She's looking for Mr. RTFN and a toe-curling good time. She's got the brains, the powerful job as a futures broker, and thanks to a makeover and a thin book of dating advice, the confidence to turn any man's head. Malcolm Black notices his high school crush, Jayne, from the stage of her company's work party. His adolescent feelings for her died beneath months of abuse at the hands of bullies. Abuse that was Jayne's fault. Though this scorching hot studio musician is unrecognizable as the band geek he used to be, the hurt still lives inside him, and he hatches a plan: Seduce Jayne into falling in love with him, and then shatter her heart. The white-hot chemistry between them is a pleasant surprise. It all goes so smoothly until Feelings start to develop... and that invitation to their ten year high school reunion lands in their inboxes. Jayne wants the perfect lover. Malcolm wants revenge. But you know what they say about The Best Laid Plans...
The Best Laid Plans is one of those books where you start out liking it, and then you see something about one of the characters and you think “oh, I don’t know about that…” and it makes you nervous about how it will affect your view of the book, but then you keep reading and the book just keeps getting better and better and you are super excited that you finished it. The Best Laid Plans was so good overall. I ended up loving Malcolm and Jayne, and their story was satisfying and their character growth was so impressive. But at more than one point, I saw myself thinking that it was all going to blow up in their faces and I just didn’t know if I could watch it happen. Does that sound weird? Well, you are just going to have to read it to see what I mean.
Jayne and Malcolm are so similar in so many ways. Their high school stories shaped so much of the people that they became. It was interesting to get glimpses into their past scattered throughout the story, so we could piece together why they are the way that they are. Watching the two of them have to overcome and make peace with their pasts was one of my favorite parts of the stories. Oh, that and the fact that the two of them had some sizzling chemistry! Watching the two of them together was something else. It was hot. The Best Laid Plans is categorized as both new adult and adult on goodreads. I personally think it is more adult. The characters are 10 years out of high school and it had a more adult feel to it.
The Best Laid Plans is the perfect book to grab cold drink and hang out by the pool with, or to curl up with a blanket on a rainy day. Either way, you will get lost in the sexy romance. You may want to smack Malcolm a few times, I know I did, but you also probably won’t be able to not fall under the spell that Tamara Mataya casts. The characters are so fully fleshed out. Their insecurities, their personalities, their thoughts and feelings all feel so vivid. It was truly a feat. I felt what they were feeling. That is always a sign of great writing to me.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
kindlemom1
Glad you stuck with this and ended up really like it and the characters in this end. These type of books can sometime be hard because it is so easy to not want to like the person again after something bad happens with them.
Dea S.
Well-developed characters? Yes please! This sounds swoonworthy indeed and perfect for the kind of weather we have here. I’ll definitely check this out.
Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun
I love that cover 😉 This sounds really good – I like it when I’m on the fence and then get pulled along, especially when it involves wanting to smack a character good LOL Great review 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
Ooo I love that it made you nervous but by the end you loved it! LOL The cover is yummy.