“A moving story of second chances that left me with a huge smile on my face.” -Mary, USA Today HEA The summer before my senior year of high school I had only one goal: to make Alden Warner see me as more than his best friend’s annoying little sister.Finally, my wish came true and he noticed me. In a big way. Too bad that the next morning he had no memory of our night together, leaving me … leaving me heartbroken, and as I later discovered…pregnant.
For the last four years, I’ve been rocking the single mom thing, making sure my daughter comes first. In fact, everything is going fine—until Alden storms back into my life, as my new boss.
His reappearance wasn’t something I planned for. Add my nosy, meddlesome three-year-old and an overprotective brother, and I’m obviously in way over my head.
My only hope now is that I can sway Alden to see things my way…but you know what they say about the best laid plans…
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This is my first book by this author and it definitely won’t be my last! Nate and Jenny are absolutely adorable! Nate is so darn frustrating, seriously just want to smack him upside his head. If he wasn’t so helpless about his feelings, he would be a lost cause. But no, he smokin hot, sweet as can be and loyal to a fault! If you want a sweet love story with a little angst, great supporting characters and a sassy 5 year old then this book is for you!
Equal parts sweet and steamy, steal-your-heart, southern romance.
If there is one thing I love in books it’s babies, secret or unplanned, that’s right up my alley. I really enjoyed this storyline. It was sweet with the right amount of sexy.
I really love when conflict isn’t drug on and on by characters. It seemed like it just flew right on by. Can’t wait to see what’s next!
3.5 stars
Life long crush finally sees you…only to learn he didn’t really. Crushing blows don’t stop there, nope. You learn your 17 year old self is prego. Yeah, life doesn’t seem to follow the plans you previously made.
Best Laid Plans is a cute unrequited, secret baby, friends to lovers and more story. (That’s a mouthful.) It’s sweet and sexy with just the right amount of sassy toddler thrown in!
Single mom. Secret baby. Semi-forbidden love… This story has it all, including a sweet, precocious 3 year old scene thief! *grin* Natalie & Alden’s story has a few bumps to get over, but I loved this story!! And Tatum!! So cute!
Sometimes the best laid plans go awry. In this case, that just leads to a sweet, fun, happily ever after, and another top recommendation from me for this author!! Her stories are always a joy to read.
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Gah stick a fork in me, I’m done. This was so damn adorable and sad and oh my god I have all the feels right now, it was like an emotional tornado going off inside me.
Give me a second chance romance/friends-to-lovers romance and I’m putty in your hands, seriously they’re my absolute weakness in the book world and LK Farlow’s book was everything I hope for in these kind of books. She slayed everything and gave us a masterpiece, a huge ass masterpiece and I’m in love *sighs*
Alden and Natalie are everything I hope for in characters. They’re strong, independent and they both love fiercely. There’s nothing more amazing than seeing a man step up and father a child and Alden, he just melts your damn heart when it comes to Tatum. I was sat there all heart eyes and gushing and damn, like I said before SO MANY FEELS!
Their story was captivating. She wronged him and it was heartbreaking watching him find out, watching the emotions spill from him and her just tugged hard on my heart strings, the tears were in my eyes and it was just so sad.
A book that can make you feel as much as Best Laid Plans did is a book you’ll always remember, always think about and want to come back to. LK Farlow is an incredible writer, her words show that. The time and effort that’s so obviously been put into this book shows through the words. It’s beautiful, it’s incredible and definitely one of my favourite reads this month. I’m so honoured to have been able to read this beauty and hope to read more in the future.
This is one of my favorite tropes and she did it right. Most of the story takes place later in life like most of these normally do. She keeps us drawn in and guessing as to what will come. Wanting to fight for their happily ever after. Tater Tot has to be the cutest kid ever too! I love the personality.
Loved it! It was sweet read. There`s nothing better than a man showing his emotions for his child <3
This was a sweet tale of youthful mistakes and a love that transcends time and the sacrifices we make for our children. This was my first L.K read and I was not disappointed in the slightest.
A light, easy read that starts with a hasty decision by a young and scared teenager that comes back to haunt her as all mistakes do one day. She may regret it, but it never changes the outcome. Natalie has spent the years raising her daughter, working, studying and loving every busy minute of it.
Until one day, her brothers best friend becomes her new boss. Yikes! And boy does his voice still make her shiver. But with his appearance comes the realisation that things are going to have to come out. But how?
Alden is back where he always planned on ending up. Owner of his families old restaurant, looking at the girl he has longed for since she turned into a young woman staring at him. He just came out of a truly toxic relationship and had honestly planned on doing the bachelor thing for ever, but she kind of lights a fire in him he can’t ignite. So he pursues what he wants, until one confession changes everything.
Definitely a great story of forgiveness and healing, the love of a child and that of a parent. And of course the romantic kind! Definitely five well deserved stars! Can’t wait to read what comes next!
My favorite book this year. I can’t say enough about how much I loved this roller coaster of a book! Excellent read.
When Natalie’s crush, Alden, notices her as a woman and not as his best friend’s little sister, Natalie takes the opportunity and runs with it. She never thought that in the light of day he would have no memory of what they had done. So she of course plays it off and leaves with her heart in shreds. When Natalie finds out weeks later that she is pregnant, she has no clue what she is going to do, but she does know she can’t tell Alden. Skip forward a few years and Alden is coming back home to take over his family’s diner. He never forgot Natalie, and has kind of kept tabs on her over the years, he just hopes that Natalie can fit him in her life as a single mother. When he finds out the truth about Natalie’s daughter will he ever forgive her for hiding the truth? Can the two make the budding relationship they had started work, or is it too late?
This was a good story, with a bit of a spin on the whole brother’s best friend trope. With a good cast of characters, this has drama, nice naughty bits, and a cute little girl that has everyone twisted around her finger. I give this 4 stars.
Omg I’m in love!! This has to be the best book I have read in a while!! I absolutely love Natalie and Alden’s relationship soooo much!! I don’t even know what else to say besides I love this book it’s a must read!!
If this book had cheeks, I’d pinch them…4.5 stars!
LK Farlow seems to get better and better with each book. Really. I loved everything about it, and if this book had cheeks I’d pinch them like a grandmother greeting her grandkids.
That being said, LK made me wait soooo long for Alden and Natalie to finally get it together. But it was so worth the wait. Because the slow boil came to a sizzle! This friends to lovers romance had a wonderfully sigh-worthy and satisfying ending.
Natalie Reynolds and Alden Warner are childhood friends, but Alden is her big brother, Nate’s, best friend and sort of off limits. Natalie’s crush on him leads to a drunken hook up at a party with Alden, but he doesn’t remember. Alden leaves for college and then to Europe, and Natalie holds a secret from that unforgettable night she gave herself to him.
Fast forward five years, now Alden is her boss at the diner she works. Alden finally has the chance to reclaim the restaurant that’s been in his family but was sold years later by his uncle. Is it time for Natalie to come clean about what’s between them? Will Alden forgive Natalie’s betrayal or see it as an unselfish sacrifice? You’ll love “Tater Tot”, she’s adorable! I received and voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.
LK Farlow has hands down become one of my favorite authors. She had me hook, line, and sinker right from the very beginning with her debut, Coming Up Roses and since then my love for her books (and of course her spunky personality) has grown with each new release. From the moment she released the first teaser of Best Laid Plans I knew that readers (myself included) were going to be in for another treat because this author knows how to write and entertain. Seriously this author has made incredible strides as an author already and I see her continuing for many years to come.
Best Laid Plans was beyond amazing and I immediately found myself captivated by this beautifully heartbreaking story about a young girl who falls in love with her older brother’s best friend, has a one-night stand with him (in which he doesn’t remember), and ends up pregnant. She ends up totally rocking the whole single mom thing for awhile, until he’s suddenly back in the picture. Natalie Reynolds soon realizes that it was a lot easier to forget about Alden Warner when he wasn’t around and now that he’s back, things are about to get more complicated. I have got to say that I absolutely loved how LK Farlow took a story idea that is extremely popular on the market today, and gave it her own little twist. I think that she always does a phenomenal job taking a story idea that is extremely popular and restructuring it into something that readers have never experienced before.
Although there is so much more that I want to say about this book, I also don’t want to give anything else away, so I will just leave it at this…YOU ALL NEED TO GO AND ONE-CLICK THIS STORY TODAY! TRUST ME WHEN I SAY YOU ARE GOING TO FALL IN LOVE WITH NATALIE, ALDEN, OH AND LET’S NOT FORGET LITTLE TATUM! SERIOUSLY if you only read one book this month, please let it be this one. You won’t regret it!
Easily 4.5 stars. I loved this book.
Natalie—-Single mom kicking ass and taking names.
Alden—-Brothers best friend (off limits) back in town, no clue he is a daddy.
This book was written well and had all the feels. My most favorite is the nicknames “Small fry” and “Tater tot”. Seriously the cutest nick names. When Tatum meets Alden (her dad) for the first time and he calls Natalie Small Fry Tatum says “Small fwy? For reals? This kid is a character–she’s funny through the whole book.
What I appreciated is the way that Alden stepped up–he was pissed and he got over it in some time.
He has loved Natalie for a long time and he was put through the ringer with some crap in his past which is why he was so angry.
I didn’t want to stop reading–I wanted to just sit and read until I reached the end.
If single mom and hot chef dads are your thing read this book. Not sure if it’s your thing read this book you may just find another style you like to read.
Best Laid Plans is my new favorite from LK Farlow! It was emotional, humorous and heartwarming.
As a single mother with a son from a one night stand, I was able to relate to and understand Natalie in a way that I’m not sure everyone will be able too. She is forced to make some very difficult decisions at a very young age and although she may regret them, I get it it and have made the same decisions myself.
Alden is such a perfect hero, but not in an overly gross unrealistic way. He was flawed to perfection, if that makes sense. He was a great man, and even better father. His reaction to discovering his daughter felt so authentic, they way he conducted himself with Tatum and Natalie brought tears to my eyes in many instances.
I think the most heartbreaking scenes were when Tatum asked about her father and the way she instantly bonded with Alden, not eve knowing who he was their connection was pure and immediate.
I cannot say enough good things about this story, and probably the best part of all is the epilogue takes us right into Natalie’s brothers story and I can’t wait for it!!!
This book took me by surprise. L.K. Farlow is a new to me author and she made me fall in love with these characters and their story. Natalie and Alden’s story is a sweet, heartwarming, second chance romance with all the feels. The realistic of their story drew me in and the way that their story unfolds had me not wanting to put this down until every page was read.
This book gives the reader so much…a teenage crush on brother’s best friend, a one night stand, a teen pregnancy and the decisions that have to be made, dealing with all of those decisions in adult life that at the time they were made seemed like the right thing, a toddler that will have you laughing and your heart melting all at once. There is really so much to love in this book.
L.K. Farlow started out as a new to me author that has won me over with this book and I will be looking forward to reading any of her other books.
Happy Reading Everyone!!!
This book was so good!! I absolutely loved Natalie and Alden, and Tatum just stole the show for me. This was not a perfect story, and there were times that both Nat and Alden drove me crazy; however, this story was so real. I could definitely see this happening in real life and these mistakes being made. I am a sucker for a brother’s best friend, second chance, and secret baby romance, and this book just brought all of that together so well. It was well-written and beautifully put together. I had a hard time putting this one down because I wanted to see Nat, Alden, and Tatum get their HEA. I am seriously hoping that Nate’s story is next!! Another great read for Ms. Farlow!!
LK Farlow’s books are quickly replacing kitten videos on the internet as my go-to happy place. She writes like a chef, measuring out each ingredient carefully and precisely – angst, hope, sweetness, steam – to create a perfectly balanced dish. And let me tell you, I straight up DEVOUR it.
Natalie and Alden’s story is as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking. An accidental pregnancy, a secret baby… these are heavy things that could destroy a couple before they even start. But rather than let things fester and get worse, they both overcome them. You really believe that these two characters have wanted each other forever. Their love is selfless and self-sacrificing. It feels like something that’s lived-in. And real.
Plus there’s an adorable toddler in there too. Talk about swooooooon.
From her erotic descriptions of delicious food to her pitch perfect hero who emotionally supports his woman, it’s like Farlow went down a list of all my favorite bits of romance and made sure to check off every one. When I was done reading, I sighed and hugged my Kindle. And maybe it sounds crazy, but I swear this book hugged me RIGHT BACK.
4,5 stars
Well we all know what they said about the best laid plans! Nothing really comes as we want! This book has some of my favorite tropes; brother’s best friend and secret baby!
Natalie had a crush on Alden forever. One night they take the step and sleep together. However, Alden doesn’t have a recollection of that night. After that night, Natalie is left with a little surprise, her daughter Tatum. Now 3 years later, Alden is back and Natalie can’t keep the secret for long!
I was sad for Natalie when she realized that Alden didn’t remember their time together. What I was waiting to see is Alden’s reaction to the truth. A little hint is not good! His ex really did a number on him and he has trust issues! I loved seeing Alden and Tatum getting to know each other. When Tatum found out that Alden is her daddy, my heart swoon!
The book doesn’t have unnecessary drama, the story is cute and the happily-ever-after is guaranteed