That time I had the brilliant idea to ask my good friend for lessons in sex-ploration… our friendship, I have some specific requirements for his instruction. 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, insanely fun, and I want to take her home and spend all night together—and then spend the day with her, too. 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.
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With every book Lauren writes I say this is my favorite couple, but when you meet Arden East & Gabe Harrison you might just agree.
Arden knows who Gabe is but when they meet each other in the most unlikely of places and under the most unlikely circumstances you know that something is going to come out of that meeting.
Arden & Gabe are the Best of Friends but when Arden wants to explore she needs his help, but can the friendship survive the list of things that Arden wants. You can’t help love watching this couple become even closer, their chemistry is amazing, their friendship is off the charts but what happens when you throw caution to the wind do you wind up with it all, that is the one thing you hope happens to this amazing couple.
Best Laid Plans is great fun. Lauren Blakely hits all the high notes with this sweet rom-com and I truly enjoyed watching the burgeoning romance between Arden and Gabe. These good friends have the perfect rhythm with each other, it’s as if they were always meant to be. As they enter into a teacher/student kind of agreement, not only does Gabe teach Arden the fine art of seduction but tender feelings they both had for the other become full-blown heat!
It’s always very easy to get caught up in Blakely’s easy-going romances and Best Laid Plans is no exception. Her characters are always hopeful. They are truly nice people and that never takes away the fact that they are simply human, with flaws and a hesitance to ruin a perfectly good union. Friends are always there to provide a bit of comic relief along with well-intentioned advice with the 4-legged variety always a bright spot when someone is feeling a bit down.
For a great little afternoon read when the wind is cold and the skies are a bit gloomy, Best Laid Plans will most definitely shed some happy light on your day.
4 solid stars!!
A firefighter and a HOT one on top of that!! A firefighter’s responsibility is to always be prepared. Gabe just did not expect to have to be “prepared” while out for a morning run until he is hit in the chest with cheese and crackers!! Ladies, remember, FIREFIGHTER! Which means shirtless and sweaty. Can you say YUM!! Gabe finds the beautiful Arden is the person behind the flying projectiles. He also finds her in a meltdown of epic proportions and realizes all too quickly the reasons why she is upset, her boyfriend has dumped her. He also realizes that this is his opportunity to help Arden. Gabe has had a “crush” on Arden since he met her about a year earlier. He decides to be a friend because “it would not be right to seduce her just after she was dumped”. As the next year unfolds Arden and Gabe become best friends. Arden is the owner of a bookstore called “A New Chapter”. She decides to ask her best friend, Gabe, to help her with exploring her sexuality. Gabe is all in with that idea until he realizes she did not mean the full Monty. As Gabe helps Arden discover her true self sexually he is determined to truly take their relationship to the next level, only if that is what Arden wants. Both Arden and Gabe begin to develop real feeling for each other and would love to take the relationship to the next level. Unfortunately, both seem to think the other does not feel the same way. Will they ever admit their true feelings? I found myself practically yelling at both Gabe and Arden “just admit how you really feel about each other”!! I think Gabe’s best friend, Shaw, tells him the same thing. JEEZ, some people can be so stubborn. But, I love me another super HOT, handsome, charming, sexy, and lovable Blakely Boy!! Arden is another fabulous heroine who is smart, beautiful, sexy, funny, and adventurous!! Lauren Blakely writes great stories, fabulous characters, and leads you into a whole new world for a fantastic escape/great read. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars*****
Holy cannoli, I am absolutely crazy pants in love with this book!!! Arden and Gabe are my new favorite fiends to lovers couple. They’re the perfect mixture of sugar and spice and everything nice. Their lessons in seduction are HAWTTTT sexy times with a little slow burn. Get out the firehose and cool me down, Arden and Gabe are RED HOT! I loved every second of this charming romance!!!
Arden East (what a fab name!!!) is a girl after my own heart. She’s a planner, a plotter, a list maker. She owns a super cute bookshop and she’s very methodical with her life. While planning hasn’t lead for much excitement, she’s decided that stops now. She’s developed a plan to spice up her life with the help of her hunky fireman best guy friend. This plan, and mighty big ask, leads to some mega hot dirty talk, some spicy word games, and racy mimes. In the end, more is explored that just her wish list. Every scene had me squealing with delight!
Gabe is a major swoon-fest! A hot fireman with a heart of gold, he’s been in love with his best friend for years. At the opportunity to help her with her wish list, he’s prepared to move past the friend zone and ask for more. This man is all sort of sexiness, mixed with down home boy-next-door vibes.
Combining my favorite tropes, friends to lovers and seduction lessons, will keep me raving about this book for months! Best Laid Plans is one of my top favorites LB books since my first, Mr. O. This book rocked my world and made my heart burst with ALL THE FEELS!!! Best Laid Plans is a total MUST READ!!! I loved it so hard!!
Another best seller for Lauren Blakely!
Arden, sweet girl plans a picnic for her boyfriend, she’s got all his favorite things and is planning on asking him to move in with her. He shows up late and breaks her heart because she’s “too nice”. In the midst of throwing cheese into the trail, she lands a hunk on literally hunk firefighter Gabe.
Gabe out for his daily run, gets smacked with a hunk of cheese and comes across Arden, in tears.
Follow their story as they build a friendship over the course of a year and she asks for his help in learning to explore her wild side.
I loved this story so much, it was so well written, so swoon worthy you can’t help but fall in love with Gabe and cheer him on in this one!! 5 flames for this one, grab this as soon as it releases!!!
Love is frustrating. It never comes when you want it to, but it always arrives right on time. Blakely shows the bright side of nursing a broken heart. Arden and Gabe put the naughty in fun. Best Laid Plans says arrivederci to all the heartache that came before and aloha to that long awaited happily ever after. Like the Supremes’ sang: “You can’t hurry love.” However, Lauren Blakely makes every second totally worth the wait.
I love a friends to lovers story and Best Laid Plans did not let me down. So witty, smart and fun with a slow burn that I thought might kill me but I was going to love every minute of it!
Friends to lovers is one of my very favorite tropes and Lauren Blakely does it so damn well! I fell in love with Arden and Gabe from the moment the book opens (the cheese!!) and couldn’t wait to see how everything unfolded. Blakely gives readers a little twist to the friends with benefits story line, that I found really fun and perfect for our characters. This book was exactly what I needed – a sexy and fun, but not too angsty, romcom.
I’m never a big fan of the manwhore hero, but Gabe definitely proves that though he has enjoyed the opposite sex, once he sets his sights on someone, he is all in. I really appreciated that he took the time to get to know Arden, and recognized that even if he wanted to explore more with her, emotionally she was not ready. I loved that he played the long game with Arden. She was such a fantastic heroine – smart, fun, loyal, witty, and extremely relatable. One of my favorite things about her (besides the fact that she loved books and owned a bookstore!) was how much she valued her girlfriends and friendships. Her Bawdy Ladies book club (what a hoot they were!), as well as Vanessa and Perri were such great additions to the story. Gabe’s relationship with his family was wonderful too, especially his bond with Pops.
The slow burn build up between Gabe and Arden was exquisite and I about burst into flames when everything finally boiled over. (Side note: I NEVER in a million years would have thought a sentence with the word ‘mime’ in it could be so incredibly sexy!) I thought the concerns and bit of drama we encounter in the story were realistic and honest. Is it worth it to risk a rock solid amazing friendship for the possibility of an even more amazing love? There are a few miscommunications and missteps along the way for Gabe and Arden as they navigate the friends to more road, but the resolution was so sweet and perfect for these characters. The epilogues were the icing on the cake and I had a huge smile on my face as I turned the last page. Lots of seeds were planted for Blakely’s next book, and I can’t wait to read Perri and Derek’s story next in The Feel Good Factor!
PS – I also love that Lauren Blakely threw a few easter eggs in for her fans by giving cameos to her characters in Unzipped and also nods to her Heartbreakers series. Such a fun tie in!
4.5 stars
*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book*
Lauren Blakely has done it again! Best Laid Plans is pure magic!
Arden and Gabe lit up the pages for their chemistry was perfectly matched on every level.
Between laughing and swooning through the entire book this couple is one of my favorites.
When Arden asks a good friend for how to be naughty in the bedroom, all due to her last douchey boyfriend telling her she was too nice and it unfortunately gives Arden a complex when she’s ready to date again. Who better to ask than her good friend, Gabe, on what options are available, aside from the standard vanilla flavor she’s been getting. Gabe is a ladies man, he orders off the variety menu frequently and he just so happens to be one of Arden’s best pals. The only thing that could possibly go wrong is ruining their friendship, so she puts a “keeping all clothes on” policy in place during their sex-ploration. What could possibly go wrong?
Gabe has been biding his time in asking Arden out since her ex dumped her. Honestly he just never found the right time to move their comfortable friendship up to the next level. He likes her. He likes spending time with her, but he wants more. When she propositions him, he’s all in, he finally has his chance to move things along, that is until she puts the disclaimer in about not getting naked. It turns out he’s going to have to get creative in telling her how he really feels. He’s used to getting close to the flames and not getting burned, after all he is a fireman. What could possibly go wrong?
Gabe and Arden will make you laugh and want to plan your own sex-ploration. This book is so much fun. I absolutely loved every minute of it!
Best Laid Plans by Lauren Blakely
Ahh this book had me smiling from ear to ear from Gabe and Arden’s very first meeting through to the very sweet end. They meet in the park where Arden is left broken-hearted by her boyfriend who dumps her, claiming that she’s just too nice for him. Gorgeous Gabe spends the next bit of time with her, reassuring Arden that there’s not a damn thing wrong with being nice and the two strike up a close friendship. While Arden is happy with the friendship, Gabe develops romantic feelings and decides that he’s going to lay it all on the line. Unfortunately, before he’s able to share his feelings with Arden, she approaches him with a detailed list of sexual items she’d like his help with in order for her to embrace her naughty side. The only catch is Arden’s stipulation of these ‘lessons’ being very much hands-off in order to preserve the very important friendship – or as Gabe puts it, they get to play sex charades.
Sigh. Best Laid Plans has all the swoon and banter to keep me fully invested in this couple. The slow-burn was delicious and did not feel at all dragged out. Gabe and Arden were wonderful characters and so easy to relate to. Arden was just LOVELY! She cracked me up so much and I think that was partly due to her genuine cluelessness. Gabe is a reformed player with the hugest heart and his relationships with his own family members absolutely warmed mine.
I can’t wait to get glimpses of Arden and Gabe in the next few books and omg I will be on tenterhooks until The Feel Good Factor is released!
*I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
**Reviewed by Melinda for Joandisalovebooks Blog
**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!
Another best seller for Lauren Blakely!
Arden, sweet girl plans a picnic for her boyfriend, she’s got all his favorite things and is planning on asking him to move in with her. He shows up late and breaks her heart because she’s “too nice”. In the midst of throwing cheese into the trail, she lands a hunk on literally hunk firefighter Gabe.
Gabe out for his daily run, gets smacked with a hunk of cheese and comes across Arden, in tears.
Follow their story as they build a friendship over the course of a year and she asks for his help in learning to explore her wild side.
I loved this story so much, it was so well written, so swoon worthy you can’t help but fall in love with Gabe and cheer him on in this one!! 5 flames for this one, grab this as soon as it releases!!!
Best friends-to-lovers is my jam. No really, it’s my absolute favorite genre of all and when one of my absolute favorite authors writes it? Yeah, I know it’s going to be the best and you, Ms. Blakely killed it with this one! The plot, the characters, the slow-burn romance….all of these crucial ingredients mix together to create the perfect romantic comedy. I loved absolutely EVERYTHING about this story!!
Gabe and Arden, while they sort of knew each other prior to the start of the story still had an epic meet-cute. I knew from that moment that these two characters were destined for one another. They build a close friendship over time that even I was jealous of! Their easy nature was so natural and their witty banter had me laughing out loud. Gabe….le sigh. He’s hot and sexy, a hero fireman, visits his Pops often and is always at the ready to help his best friend out. I loved his character—laid back, funny…just perfect! Arden is all sorts of adorable! A successful business owner, she knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to ask for it. She’s fun and sweet and the kind of character who you wish was your best friend in real life. Together, these two are the perfect match. Add in some wonderful secondary characters (Pops, Perri, Vanessa, Shaw, Derek) and it all equates to a well-rounded, fun story.
As one of my favorite authors, Blakely is always spot on with her characters and stories and I always find a way to identify with them. Best Laid Plans hits all the right notes and then some. I’ve said it before but I truly think this is my favorite Blakely book to date. There’s so much love and heart infused throughout the story that I felt connected to it on another level. Everything about it is true perfection. 5 stars
GAH!!! Sweetness overload!!!
This new series by Lauren Blakely is THE best ever. I thought the Hart brothers were the epitome of sweethearts but Tom from Unzipped and now Gabe in Best Laid Plans have overshadowed those gorgeous singers and taken the gauntlet back for the everyday man.
Gabe will make you swoon in all the right places and melt in others. He’s a man who knows what he wants but because he’s such a kindhearted soul and a gentleman, he’s been keeping the secret of his feeling for Arden hidden deep in his heart, just waiting for the right moment to be let free.
Arden is just as sweet and kind, but don’t you dare call her nice, she’s heard that up to her eyeballs from her douchey ex-boyfriend. But, he made it sound like a bad thing.
Thank goodness, Gabe was there to show her that nice is just that… and for a year, that’s how they get along,
But, now Arden is ready to get back out there on the dating scene and she wants to play on the naughty side of the street. Except, she needs a little manly help finding her voice. And who should she ask for advice? There’s only one guy that could fill that spot.
Gabe, her best male friend. Surely he’ll show her the ropes for a week or so. That’s what friends are for. Helping each other out. Right?
Oh, she’s so wrong!!
Gabe doesn’t want to be just friends anymore, he wants it all. Can he take this week of pretend play and make it real? Will Arden see the real Gabe that’s been there all along?
Gosh, I truly loved this story, from start to finish. There’s ne drama, no angst and no misconceptions other than Arden not seeing what was right in front of her all along. It’s a little bit of a slow burner but so, so good when the heat gets turned up.
Each book this author writes pulls me into the story from page one and I am encased in the story with the characters. This book did that and so much more. Best Laid Plans, what a concept. We all have what we think are out “best laid plans” but they usually do not turn out the way we envision them to and that is exactly what happened to Arden.
She plans the perfect picnic and has everything thought out from the outfit she wears to the type of cheese and wine she has packed. Funny how things can go awry in a matter of minutes and everything you thought was going to happen just floats away in the breeze. But sometimes the love Gods have other plans for us that are not exactly what we were expecting and that is what happens for Arden.
Gabe is the quintessential hot fireman that is not only jaw dropping, panty wetting gorgeous, he is also a great all around guy. When a bad situation throws Gabe into Arden’s path they become the best of friends. Gabe is the sexy flirt that isn’t looking for a serious relationship and Arden isn’t looking for a relationship at all so friends it is for these two. That is until feelings start to creep in and Gabe is wanting more but unsure his best friends wants more as well.
WOW!!! This is the best book. I laughed out loud so many times as well as got teary eyed a few times as well. I love how we get to see “sweet” Arden release her naughty side and I especially loved the ladies that encouraged her from her besties to the haughty older ladies of the book club. This book shows us it is great to not only be nice but to also own you inner naughty. We can be both. It also shows us that even though people age they still have desires and can and should act on them (side characters there). I loved that the hot charming guy that was the hero fireman was also a great guy. He loves his family and I just wanted to hug Gabe. He was perfection in my eyes and I was rooting for him and Arden to find their HEA.
Everything this author writes is 5 stars, I am always giddy to get her newest release and I devoured this one in two nights. I could have read it straight through, it’s that good but I did have to sleep. She also gives us glimpses to past characters that we fell in love with from Unzipped and if you pay close attention you will see a mention of a creative teenager from Once Upon A Read Good Time. I so appreciate it when authors give us a taste of past characters and Lauren Blakely does satisfy my need for that connection in her books. It makes the characters more real and feels like long lost friends come back to visit.
I could go on and on about how good this book is but I think you get that from my review. I received an early copy to read and review and give my honest opinion. I loved it! I highly recommend it! I hope you love it as well.