The Revenge Plan

**********Contains Spoilers**********

I loved this next generation story of Haven who is Brandt & Sarah’s daughter from the Forbidden Men Series. Wick was such a sweetheart but also a wee bit of a doormat at some points but totally loved him, I also definitely heart him & Haven and had from the moment she crashes into him. Man It was so funny when Brandt & Sarah go to pick up Haven from Wick’s after the situation with her boyfriend Topher (Pumpernickel from the mouth of Charlie, Wick’s sister) & her roommate Annabeth & Brandt runs inside to check that she’s okay then Haven is like Dad?, Where’s Mum then Brandt’s like your mother I left her in the car and told her I’d see if you were okay then I’d go back and get her, Sarah then comes in and Brandt basically is wondering how she got up the stairs by herself and sorry that he left her in the car, Sarah then on purpose wheels over Brandt’s foot in her wheelchair on the way to Haven I totally love their relationship. I liked Haven but it was sh*t that she kinda used Wick at some stages throughout the book and since he was such a sweetheart he helped her and then paid the price but I’m glad she stopped some of her ridiculous schemes as she felt bad as I hate to think what would’ve happened to Wick if she did. I’m glad they got their happy ending as they both deserve it considering what they both went through for the last few years because of that d*ck Pumpernickel.

It was cool Linda did something a bit different than her other books with this book in that she had a story within this story about “Hopeless Henry” that was written by an anonymous person from the College newspaper all for Revenge. I loved the sibling relationship between Wick, Darcy, Izzy (Iz) & Charlie, the road trip to the spook houses is another one of my favourite scenes, fighting over the front seat, singing a long to a road trip playlist & loading up on junk food/snacks for the trip it definitely brought back memories to the road trips with my family when I was younger. It was also cool how close Canon & Wick are, they are brothers from another mother as they totally had each other’s backs. What I didn’t like was that Iz went against Wick & Haven’s wishes and basically outed them as the main characters in “Hopeless Henry” but I suppose she did it for an awesome reason to f*ck with Pumpernickel for basically f*cking with Wick for the last few years. I’m glad Pumperknickel got his as he’s a completely horrible human being and, the extremely sad part is that there is people like that out there but just like the karma curtesy of Iz Karma is a complete an utter b*tch lol. I also also kind of felt like there was a wee intense moment between Canon & Iz at the end of the story so I’m hoping we may get a story about them lol but who knows it could’ve totally just been me. Thanks again Linda for another amazing book it had a lot of humour, slow burn sexual tension moments & a relationship which starts with kind of friendship that builds into a strong relationship just like most of her other books in the first generation Forbidden Men Series which I love. They’re total relationship goals as I find a sense of humor one of the best qualities as life would suck without laughter. I’d definitely recommend the Forbidden Men Universe including this book & Linda Kage as an author to everyone. I I’m looking forward to seeing what she releases next.

I’ve been having a good book streak, I hope I don’t jinx it by saying that this one just continued that trend! I haven’t read all of Linda Kage’s Forbidden Men series but the ones I’ve read from it, I’ve loved, so when I saw this book I decided to pick it up. I thought it was totally separate from the Forbidden Men series, I didn’t realize it was a spin-off until I met Haven’s parents. Nonetheless, I enjoyed both Haven and Wick and all the other new characters we met along the way.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book were the tales of Hopeless Henry. I was confused at first, but it didn’t take long for me to figure out what was happening. I thought they were a fun way to explore events of the past without having direct flashbacks inserted into the story. I also appreciated that they were different enough to keep you wondering, I was 99% sure I knew what these stories were about but there were details that were different enough for me to have that slight doubt and it definitely added to my enjoyment.

Haven and Wick are a pair of unlikely roommates but they make the best of the situation and eventually become friends. It was a good progression for Wick and Haven, working through her troubles and becoming friends with each other slowly while gaining more trust in each other. It made for a really enjoyable story. There were definitely a few times I wanted Haven to hurry up and get over her issues so she could jump Wick because he was so sweet and perfect, but I thought it was reasonable for her to need that time to work through everything that had happened with Topher. I did think Topher was a little outrageous at times, he was crazy obsessed with Wick and it was a bit outlandish but I enjoyed the story movement his character provided.

Also, a Cannon and Izzy book??? Yes, please!!

Ok I have said it before and I’ll keep saying it Linda Kage is a amazing author with such a talent with words and characters that you can’t help but fall in love with . Side note this can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend that you read To Professor, with Love it’s the heroine of the revenge plans parents love story but while you are at you should just with the first book in the forbidden men series and work your way through it’s a fantastic series that shouldn’t be missed . Ok on to the Revenge Plan just WOW holy moly loved everything about it the characters , story line , emotions that set you on a ride that you don’t want to miss out on . Haven is a great character a little to trusting my heart really went out for this girl every time she has to deal with hit after hit in the end she got an amazing man as a reward . Lets talk about Wick this is such a dream guy liked every Linda Hero he is the total package everything about him is amazing . I hope to see more of the secondary characters they all seem like they have stories to tell and of coarse we get to see more of from past couple that could be entertaining in itself . So can’t wait to read more by one of my all time favorites she just writes magic .
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book
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hero=10 heroine=10 secondary characters=10
Chemistry=10 steam=6 romance=7
humor=5 darkness level=3 action=3 mystery=3
enjoyment=10 angst=3 story line=10 Story ending=10
character development=10 pacing=10
cover=10 Blurb =10 Stars =5
Is this part of a series =
Can it be read as a standalone =
would I recommend this book=yes
would I re read this book= yes
would I read future books by this author= yes

I’ll be honest, it took me probably halfway through the book to understand how it was written and how the newspaper articles tie into the storyline, but once I did it made this book that much better! I thoroughly enjoyed this book once the connection was made! The book starts out with Haven walking in on her boyfriend and her roommate, and her first instinct is to run. As she runs away, she runs right into her boyfriend’s arch nemesis, Wick. Seeing how catatonic Haven has become, Wick and his sister decide to help Haven get away from her now ex and protect her at all costs, and morphs into the two living together. From there, the feelings continue to grow for both of them even through the fallout of the breakup and Wick’s involvement. The ending was one of the most epic I’ve read because I really didn’t see it coming and it made it that much better! There were so many questions answered that I didn’t know I had and it made for a really enjoyable book. This was my first book by Linda but absolutely won’t be my last, and I hope that we get books for Wick’s sisters as well!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

A new-to-me author but I have a ton of her books on my Kindle and I really need to make time to read them all now! I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

“She saw too much. She saw me as…me, as if she’d just stripped me down to raw, bare bone, exposing every flaw and deficiency I’d ever had or would have.”

When Haven Gamble discovers her boyfriend of three years cheating with her roommate, the only thing she can do is run. She ends up running into his arch-enemy, Wickham Webster. In his arms, she finds peace, safety and a surprising attraction.

“If he was a dork, then he was a sweet, loyal, trustworthy dork trapped in a hot guy’s body, that was for damn sure.”

From the moment that Haven bumps into him and is then frantic to get away from her boyfriend, all of Wick’s protective instincts rise up and he finds himself willingly, and yet unwillingly, sheltering her. As a friendship blooms between them, their attraction and feelings for each other grow, too. All the while, the enmity from Haven’s ex begins to spiral out of control.

“My lips touched hers, and electricity shot through my veins. With a gasp, she jerked back as if she’d been sizzled, too.”

This was a such a fantastic read! I loved the complexities in the story and also the simplicity of the evolving relationship between Haven and Wick. Haven was a lovely girl who was caught up in a relationship with a guy she never really knew properly, and she’s bent on having her revenge. Wick is such a beautiful young man! He’s one of life’s natural protectors and good all-round guy, and I loved his relationship with his sisters. With Haven, he was strong, stoic and completely dependable. I just adored how things progressed between them – they had such care for one another, as well as some pretty zingy chemistry. A fantastic read and I really must make time to read more of this author’s works.

I love, love, looooooooved this book. I am a huge fan of The Forbidden Men series, and when I found out Haven was getting a full length novel, I literally freaked out. There was some screaming, objects were thrown, and I did find it necessary to write extremely long texts to show my excitement. This book was awesome and hilarious and just another perfect book from Linda Kage. Seriously the girl can do no wrong. I think Haven is really the kind of person I would expect from Sarah and Brandt. She’s got the sort of strength and determination that both her parents have. And Wick *sigh* is just a sweetheart. Seriously, he is. He’s like Pick and Quinn and a little bit of Ten’s potty mouth smooshed together. Plus his sister’s are the best. I mean THE best.

I would say the only issue I had was that I missed the old gang. Sarah, Brandt, and a couple of the original Forbidden Men characters were mentioned or present in the book, and most of the descendants were there as well, buuuuuuuuuut… I didn’t feel like it was enough. I needed some more gigolo. And definitely more ReeRee, Price of a Kiss. Plus Aspen is one of my favorite characters evvvah. And Noel is all right (At least until book 5. -_-), To Professor, With Love . Then there’s PIck. Mmmmm…Pick. Plus I love Eva’s arc in the third book. She becomes someone I’m really proud to have gotten to known, Be My Hero (Forbidden Men Book 3). I also needed more Zwinn. Everyone needs Zwinn in their lives, With Every Heartbeat (Forbidden Men Book 4). Then I needed my Ten-Ten and Care. You can never have too much Ten, A Perfect Ten (Forbidden Men Book 5). After that I craved the romeo and juliet turned into I-still-love-you relationship that is Knox and City. I have to face that Knox is just hilarious sometimes. Even when he isn’t trying to be, Worth It (Forbidden Men Book 6). After that I was wanting some love-at-first-sight-but- also-not-really Asher-Remy action, The Girl’s Got Secrets (Forbidden Men Book 7). Then I was begging on my knees for Brandt. I think I fell in love with him the moment he got in a fight for Sarah in the previous books and then also comforted her. I was shipping them long before they even were a thing. And Sarah is without a doubt the strongest character ever, Haven following after, Priceless (The Forbidden Men Book 8). Then it was time for Colton to find his happily ever after. Too bad him and City never worked out ;), Consolation Prize (Forbidden Men Book 9) . And to finish the series, reading Mason’s point of view was necessary. Plus The Descendant’s short stories are in there!!!!!! The Price of Mason

I have mixed feelings about The Revenge Plan, but because I like the overall story, I’m giving it 4 stars. It’s a typical case of girl (Haven) sees boy (Topher) cheating on her and wants to get revenge. Though the story has revenge in it, it’s more about Haven and Wick, which I’m glad, because Wick is a really good guy.

I like these two together, they’re cute and endearing. There are some really great characters that come into play in The Revenge Plan, mainly Wicks sisters, they counterbalance his seriousness. I haven’t read Kage before but I imagine because this book is part of a series, that we will meet them in other books. If that’s the case, then she’s got a new fan. Topher was the biggest ass, and Kage wrote him well.

But there are things I didn’t like about the book, and I’m going to list them because they stood out enough for me to make notes while reading. The chapters where Haven’s cousins came in was completely random and felt like filler. I imagine they are from other books and so she wanted to tie them in, but it didn’t move the story forward and was just another piece in this unending book. Seriously, Amazon says there are over 500 pages to this. It felt like it was never ending, and chapters just kept getting added. A lot of the drama was high school drama and minus the sex scene, could have been a YA read.

Speaking of the sex scene, probably one of the worst lines I’ve read in a long time: “A good full, though. So full and delicious, in fact, that my inner thighs tightened around all the hard, hot fullness.” I think we get it, it’s full. Lastly, Haven thought to herself that she was “…feeling young and free…” I should hope she’s feeling young, she’s 21. It’s inner dialogue like that which is unnecessary that made the story so long.

But when I take out what I didn’t like about the book, and think about what I did like, then it’s a good book. As I said, I love these two together, they make a great couple. Their relationship is swoony, and wholesome (until it isn’t wholesome, which is good too). Overall, a fun read.

I knew within minutes of starting this book that I was going to love the heck out of it. Something about the writing hit all my sweet spots – engaging me, intriguing me, and making me feel part of the story. Despite the fact that this was a new-to-me author, and despite the fact that books centered around “revenge” are such a hit-or-miss thing for me – once I devoured that first page, there was no turning back.

I am happy to say that this was not the “revenge plan” I thought I might be getting. And oh, man y’all – let me tell how all the ways that I loved that! For real. I loved that Ms. Kage presented a concept and allowed me to think I knew how this was going to play out – even toyed with playing it out exactly as I expected her to – and then sort of turned everything on its head and zigged when I thought she’d zag – leaving me with that sort of jaw dropped, wide-eyed, awe-inspired smile because – that was awesome!.

The telling of this story was so clever. The threads of the story were woven together in a way that didn’t always make much sense to me at first, but it didn’t take me long to catch on, and once I did? I was 100% in love with the tapestry Ms. Kage was weaving for me. Add to that a smart, engaging, and utterly addicting writing style and I never wanted to put this book down!

This is a long book and there’s a lot going on here. It’s bigger than a love story and I felt like sometimes the romance took backseat to all the drama going on in the story – but I was okay with that because the whole thing felt like angsty NA goodness – the kind that sucks you in and holds you captive. I enjoyed the slow burn between Wick and Haven and the timeline felt respectful to their situation. I adored their banter, the easy way they settled into friendship, and the sweet, sensual way they blossomed into something more. These aren’t perfect characters. There were certainly times I wanted to give Haven a good shake and a stern talking to (“mom-mode” triggered!), and Wick made some questionable decisions himself. But they were lovable even in their imperfection and more importantly? They were so beautiful together. It wasn’t difficult to lose my heart to them, and it was a complete joy to see them happy in the end.

In all? I loved it. It hit on almost every emotion – sometimes engaging and funny, sometimes heartbreaking and horrifying, but ultimately incredibly sweet and satisfying. I suspect that fans of Ms. Kage’s previous work will be tickled by the way those stories are tied into this one, but as a first time reader, I didn’t feel left out or confused. It worked solidly as a standalone. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it took just this one book for me to become addicted to Ms. Kage’s writing – and I will absolutely be back for more!