Review: Plan B by Hayley Oakes
Note: An advanced reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author via Nutty Squirrel PR.
Called "a love story in reverse," Plan B tells a unique story about a surrogate turned mother and the reluctant father-to-be turned widower. Hayley Oakes is a new-to-me author and one of my favorite things as a reader is to discover authors who are either making their debut or whose work I've never come across before. What drew me to this book of Oakes's is how different it sounded from the usual romances that come across my tablet. Indeed, this was a creative take on the single parent and it brought with a whole lot of angst but nicely counterbalanced with lighthearted moments, too.
When Jemma Larson is killed in a car accident, both her surrogate and her husband are left without any alternative plans. Twenty-five-year-old dance instructor Penelope Strauss suddenly becomes a mother to Ivy Rose Luna Strauss, but thirty-six-year-old printing business manager Matthew Larson wants nothing to do with the child his wife so desperately wanted. With the unexpected cost of caring for a newborn, Penny is left with no other choice but to reach out and ask for her daughter's father for financial help. He's resentful, but she's determined, and surprisingly, they become co-parents and friends. Could they ever become far more?
I loved the story and the characters, and I need to tip my hat to the author for coming up with such a unique romance and cast. Having this be told from three different perspectives was interesting, what with Jemma's POV serving as third-person flashbacks. Where the book falters a tad, however, is in its execution. There's a great deal of telling rather than showing, and there's a tendency for the author to start quoted dialogues of her characters to begin in lowercase letters if they're in the middle of a text rather than in uppercase. Things like this niggle at me given that my job requires me to notice these issues. So yeah, the lowercase thing was distracting to a degree. Still, I fell in love with Matthew, Penny, and baby Ivy, and I can't help but appreciate Hayley Oakes's efforts, so all thing considered, I'm giving Plan B four stars. 🖤
I loved the story and the characters, and I need to tip my hat to the author for coming up with such a unique romance and cast. Having this be told from three different perspectives was interesting, what with Jemma's POV serving as third-person flashbacks. Where the book falters a tad, however, is in its execution. There's a great deal of telling rather than showing, and there's a tendency for the author to start quoted dialogues of her characters to begin in lowercase letters if they're in the middle of a text rather than in uppercase. Things like this niggle at me given that my job requires me to notice these issues. So yeah, the lowercase thing was distracting to a degree. Still, I fell in love with Matthew, Penny, and baby Ivy, and I can't help but appreciate Hayley Oakes's efforts, so all thing considered, I'm giving Plan B four stars. 🖤
Release Date: 12 June 2020
Date Read: 11 June 2020
Learn more about Hayley Oakes.
Purchase Plan B on Amazon.
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