Audiobook Review: The Best Laid Plans by Lauren Gallagher, narrated by Michael Ferraiuolo & Lia Langola


Note: An audiobook was provided by the author via Signal Boost Promotions.

When I decided to give Lauren Gallagher's The Best Laid Plans a listen, it didn't dawn on me that I had actually already read the book a few years back when it was originally released by Samhain Publishing a couple of years ago. I was a couple of chapters in when it finally hit me why the story felt so familiar, which is both a good and not-so-good thing. I remembered the story, but I also wasn't that much of fan of it the first time around. I loved the original story line and the combination of main characters, particularly same-sex married couple Gabe and Shahid, the former being Catholic and the latter Muslim. Together eleven years, the husbands have been trying to have a family of their own for nearly a decade, but their efforts to adopt have been thwarted at every turn. Maybe it's because they're gay or maybe it's because they have different faiths, but each rejection and denial breaks their hearts every single time. Their friend Kendra has been a witness to both their love and pain, so when she offers to be their surrogate, it sounds perfect. But with all three believing that conceiving the child the old-fashioned way being the most ideal plan of action, an attraction between bisexual Gabe and Kendra and Shahid's insecurities flare up. When they receiving shocking news, will a marriage and friendships survive every challenge thrown at them?

Now, I do read romance novels that involve three-sided relationships, but I admit that I'm a wee bit pickier when it comes to them. I need to believe that what's going on is more than just sex and that the feelings involved are all on equal footing. Maybe my expectations seem loftier than most, but I have read a small handful of books with threesomes and throuples that have left me not just impressed but affected by the story and characters, on of which happens to be the author's Hiatus, written under her L.A. Witt moniker. Don't get me wrong--I liked Gabe and Shahid the first time I encountered them and again as I listened to their story. Theirs was a relationship unlike many of the ones that I've read about in the countless number of romance novels that I've come across. With everything that was thrown their way, their love for each other was inspiring. I was born and raised and continue to be Catholic, and while there was a hint of discomfort on my end at the portrayal of Gabe's family, but I'm also more than aware that, unfortunately, there are many families like his even in today's society. I was seriously hoping that listening to the story would allow me to get a different feel for it, especially since I've always been impressed with Michael Ferraiuolo's narration, and though I did like his work here and that of Lia Langola, who is a first-time narrator for me, the story simply didn't click with me this time around either. Three stars go to The Best Laid Plans. ♥

Date Listened to: 05 August 2018

Learn more about Lauren Gallagher.

Learn more about Michael Ferraiuolo and Lia Langola.

Purchase The Best Laid Plans on Audible | iTunes.

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