A Change of Plans, Safe Harbors #1

Oh my gosh, I don’t even know where to start! This is going to be a hard review to write without giving away spoilers. Let’s just all accept the fact that a romance has to have an HEA (happily ever after) but this one had me worrying I’d have to accept a different version of the standard form of HEA. So, here we go…

Weaver is a talented writer who knows how to pull the emotion straight from your soul. Her characters were real from page one. Never once did they feel cliche or like stock people that needed to be there to fulfill a plot device. For a moment, I thought Jori might be a stock character, but even he was his own person with a unique role to fill in the story.

I’m not going to go into a play by play summary or list the qualities of the two main characters. Just know that I cried for at least the last hour of reading. This is a good thing for me. It shows how invested I was with Lyn and Braedon’s lives, not just their romance. I love romance, but this was so much more. The suspense elements and the daily struggle of surviving added such depth to the story. I can’t say much more than that without giving too much away.

This was a beautifully written, tender, and heart-wrenching story. I almost never give romance a 5-star rating, but this one gets it without a seconds hesitation. I’d like to give it two 5-stars for doing it while staying clean on top of it all.

1-5 scale and what it means:
1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure

Movie Ratings in relation to my review:
Clean–Hallmark movies, some kissing, no nudity, no sex on or off “screen”
PG–Some innuendo but nothing kids don’t hear every day, sex is all closed door
PG-13–some language (swear words not related to sex), more talk about sex, heavy petting, removal of clothing on screen, but sex is closed door.
PG-14—somewhere between PG-13 and R. Not erotica, but at least a paragraph of on-screen sex
R–swearing (F-bomb, on “screen” sex, sometimes feels like the whole story is about the sex and not the relationship or some other plot, but not always

This story although a romance at heart is daring with a pirate adventure thrown in. What Lyn has been through being kidnapped by pirates and being shipwrecked after their escape. Then to lose Braedon in a storm during their rescue would be probably a bit more than I could take. The narrator captures your attention as they board the ship for Lyn & Els 4 week cruise. The narrator captures the emotions of Lyn and I felt the anger, frustration and the loss that Lyn feels. This story portrays an extreme amount of emotions but each one is profoundly felt by Lyn and I rejoiced when Lyn finally found the courage to face what happened on the island and share her story. I think that how we face true loss shows us our strength of character and growth as a person of character.

This was an emotional and, at times tragic, story but listening to it on audio I found I could not put it down. It was slow to start for me but once I was captivated I could not put it down. Lyn is coming upon the anniversary of the death of her fiance and her best friend convinces her to take a cruise with her. Thinking it would be good to get away for several weeks she agrees. Braeden is in the cabin next to her. A surgeon, accomplished pianist, and strikingly good looking he is everything she needs to recover. Too bad their chemistry is not what she is looking for. On a snorkeling trip off the American Samoa they are overtaken by pirates and when they escape, barely with their lives, she and Braeden are shipwrecked for nearly 2 years. After being found and on their way back to civilization, the small vessel carrying Braeden is lost at sea. Oh, the joy for Lyn’s family at her return but the devastation for her at losing Braeden. Read/listen to the end! There is a happy ending (of course).

A plot full of twists and turns

What I liked:

• Lyn and Braeton were great h and H of the story. I liked their personalities.
• They never did anything stupid, which occurs often in a suspenseful romance.
• The plot had quite a few twists and turns that kept me trying to guess what would happen next.

At my request, I was given a free copy of this audiobook from the author. I have voluntarily left my review and my opinions were my own. I highly recommend this book.

5 stars
I purchased a copy of A Change of Plans by Donna K Weaver and this review was given freely. This novel is a well written, suspenseful , full length clean romance which tells you the story of how strong and introverted Gwendolyn {Lyn North}survives multiple tragedies with the love and help of family, friends and, Braedon Randolph. Donna K Weaver balance violence. sadness, and fear with intrigue, humor and Faith making this a complex and thoroughly enjoyable novel.

Enjoyable

This was a wonderfully written story about finding love in a different way and achieving family members but just caring.

3.5 stars rounded up

Lyn goes on a cruise with a friend to start fresh. It’s been a year since her cheating fiancé was killed. She wants a simple vacation not romance, but she catches the eye of Braedon, a young handsome surgeon. While their group enjoys snorkling, they’re kidnapped by pirates–Lyn, Braedon and another couple get away but end up shipwrecked on an uncharted island.

This story takes place over several years as Lyn and Braedon are stranded for more than 2 years. It tells of their struggle to survive–finding food, building shelters–yes, more than one because of hurricanes and monsoons–making clothes, etc. Thankfully Lyn and Braedon have complementary survival skills–she’s a science teacher and knows plants and he knows survival techniques. Working together is their only chance to get through until they’re rescued.

The story mostly kept my interest, but right when I thought they had their happy ending and were headed back to civilization, disaster struck again. I wondered how it would all be resolved by the end of the book.

I listened to the audiobook but was distracted by the narrator’s voice. It’s the same narrator that did the author’s western series which kind of bothered me. Her voice was suited for the western series, but it took me awhile to get used to it for this story, and stop thinking about the other series.

2020 Review:
5 stars
I purchased a copy of A Change of Plans: Safe Harbors book 1 by Donna K Weaver and this review was given freely.
This novel is a well written, suspenseful , full length clean romance which tells you the story of how strong and introverted Colorado high school music and science teacher Gwendolyn {Lyn North}survives multiple tragedies with the love and help of family, friends and Braedon Randolph. Donna K Weaver balances violence, sadness, and fear with intrigue, humor and Faith making this a complex and thoroughly enjoyable novel.
As the anniversary of the death of Lyn’s cheating fiance Jace approaches,Colorado high school teacher and karate black belt, Lyn North and her childhood friend Elle Reinhart take a four week cruise from America that is to include New Zealand and Hawaii. However, picturesque excursions and the strain of a shipboard romance with New York thoracic surgeon Braedon Randolph soon leads to horror at the hands of pirates.