Best Laid Plans

Lauren Blakely

Feb 2019 · Little Dog Press

About this ebook

That time I had the brilliant idea to ask my good friend for lessons in sex-ploration…

Awkward? Maybe. But how else is a good girl going to find out if she likes being naughty?

And Gabe is charming, trustworthy, aces at seduction (or so I hear) and willing to give me lessons. But to guarantee it won’t ruin our friendship, I want these classes to be hypothetical more than hands-on.

So what if he’s hella sexy? I can handle that, no problem.

***

I have it bad for Arden. She’s bright, brilliant, and insanely fun. When she asks for my help, I see my chance to win her sweet heart by showing her how much fun we can have getting spicy.

Trouble is, she has a different idea of what “sex-ploration” should mean. Now I’m going to have to get really clever to win her over.

Good thing I know exactly how to upend her best laid plans.

Ratings and reviews

Arden is one of my favourite Lauren Blakely characters; nerdy book girl and hopeless romantic – I love her. Book shop owner, good girl, awesome friend and quirky sense of humour – love 💖 Gabe is also a brilliant character – hot fireman alert 👨‍🚒 Although he has been placed in the player category, he is a wonderful, considerate person and a great friend. Which is exactly where Gabe finds himself where Arden is concerned. Their first real interaction occurs when Arden is not at her best, to say the least. Gabe manages to lift her spirits and endear himself to her. The chemistry between Gabe and Arden is evident even under these odd circumstances, however, with Arden’s fragile state and Gabe’s player reputation, Arden is determined to ignore the tingles and embrace the friendship. The story unfolds with a year passing and the friendship between Arden and Gabe growing deeper with each passing day until bestie status is achieved. Despite their friendship and underlying attraction, Arden and Gabe have attempted to date other people but nobody fits them like each other. Plus Arden is still carrying a lot of self-doubts where her sexuality is concerned thanks to her douchey-ex. When a group of mature ladies set up a book group in Arden’s store, their ‘cease the day’ attitude inspires Arden to take control of her sexuality by doing what she does best – planning and list making. Creating a list of all the sexy things she would like to try – now she has to find someone she trusts to help her with ticking all the things off her list. Who better than her gorgeous best friend, Gabe. Gabe thinks Christmas has come early when Arden propositions him with undertaking her list; especially as he has been trying to gather the courage to tell Arden how he feels about her 💖 Unfortunately, being a typical male, Gabe suffers from a terminal case of foot-in-mouth to go along with a lack of understanding when it comes to the female psyche. Putting both himself and Arden off balance and afraid to move forward. The tension between Gabe and Arden reaches volcanic levels of heat while undertaking their list ticking mission. Determined to keep their friendship intact neither Gabe nor Arden are prepared to make the first move where their escalating feelings are concerned. What will happen when the sparks turn into a raging inferno??? All will be revealed within the pages of Best Laid Plans and they most certainly are 😉

3.75 stars-- BEST LAID PLANS by Lauren Blakely is a contemporary, adult, stand alone erotic, romance story line focusing on fire fighter Gabe Harrison, and book store owner Arden East. Told from dual first person perspectives (Gabe and Arden) BEST LAID PLANS follows the friends to lovers relationship between fire fighter Gabe Harrison, and book store owner Arden East. One year earlier Arden East was in love with a man who thought our heroine was too nice and too vanilla. Angry and heart broken, our heroine begins to toss the picnic she made only to come face to face with fire fighter Gabe Harrison who welcomes the ‘nice’ woman into his last. Fast forward to present day wherein Arden is desperate to step out of her ‘nice lady’ comfort zone, and makes Gabe an offer he cannot refuse- teach our heroine to be sexy and more outgoing. What ensues is the friends to lovers romance and relationship, and the potential fall-out when the emotional magnitude of their growing love threatens the friendship zone Arden squarely placed the man that she loves. Gabe Harrison has lusted after his best-friend from afar but having been placed in the ‘friend zone’ one too many times, Gabe takes full advantage of Arden’s need to learn to be seductive both in and out of the bedroom. Arden East knows she is the vanilla woman her ex tried to make her believe but having had no experience in the world of kink or sexy fun, our heroine is desperate to put Gabe’s knowledge to use. The relationship between Gabe and Arden is one of best friends; a relationship where the palpable sexual attraction is evident to everyone but our leading couple. Wanting to ‘experience’ everything and more, Arden makes a bucket list of sexual activities for her and Gabe to practice and learn. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. We are introduced to Arden’s best friends: bowling centre owner Vanessa, and police officer Perri Keating; as well as fire fighter Shaw Keating, paramedic newcomer Derek McBride, and Gabe’s pops and parents. Derek and Perri’s story line is next in THE FEEL GOOD FACTOR. BEST LAID PLANS is a story of friendship, romance, heart break and love. The premise is engaging and endearing; the romance is steamy and fun; the characters are energetic, feisty and lively. BEST LAID PLANS is a sexy and sensual story of romance.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title in exchange for an honest review** Lauren Blakely is one of my go-to authors and this was another fun rom-com. Arden East is a planner, plain and simple. She always has plans and you know what the saying is about "best laid plans"... When Arden puts together the perfect picnic for her boyfriend to ask him to move in with her, the last thing she expected was for him to tell her it was over. The only good thing about that day was while she was reeling from the breakup, tossing a piece of cheese brought Gabe into her life. Gabe Harrison is a former professional baseball player that now makes his living as a paramedic. He was intrigued by Arden from the very first day he met her and while they've always had a really easy friendship, for him, his feelings have been steadily growing and changing from friendship to love. He is known for dating quite a bit, so he will have that to overcome if he decides to make a move to have more with Arden. What Gabe never expects is Arden to come to him with a proposal to help her learn to be more "naughty". He's totally on-board based on his growing feelings, but when she suggests they pretend, he isn't sure what to think. Is this going to work to pull them closer together or force them further apart? I enjoyed these characters quite a bit and their friends were great as well. I'm looking forward to what ends up happening upcoming books about their friends!

About the author

A #1 New York Times Bestselling and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that's sweet, sexy and witty. Her heroines are strong and smart and her heroes have hearts of gold and fantastic funny bones. She lives in California with her family, including her smoking hot and hilarious husband and her two brilliant and kind children. She has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs -- she might have four dogs, or maybe five. If she's lucky, she'll soon have six dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than 100 times, and she's sold more than 3 million books. In February she'll release BEST LAID PLANS, in March THE FEEL-GOOD FACTOR, and in May THE DATING PROPOSAL. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter! laurenblakely.com/newsletter