The Backup Plan

Does Jill Shalvis ever miss? I haven’t read much of her early Harlequin stuff, so I cannot give a definitive answer to that question yet, but I’ve been reading her for Many years, and every one of her books gives me the warm, fuzzy, feel good sensation almost from start to finish. This book is another success. The characters are so real, vibrant, and relatable. Each has experienced loss and run away from it in one way or another. Being the beneficiaries of an elderly woman’s will brings them back together to the hometown that two of them had fled years before. Experiencing the journeys the three main characters of this new novel take leaves the reader with a feeling of hope. If these flawed human beings can grow and find feelings of self-worth, happiness, and fulfillment, then the rest of us flawed humans should be able to do the same. I think this is one of the first can’t miss books of 2023. I am voluntarily submitting this review after reading an advanced complementary copy.

Loved every minute. A laugh out loud fun readL

A read that has good characters and a predictable, but enjoyable plot.

“Buy potato chips. The family-size bag. If anyone eats them, act appropriately grief-stricken at their funeral.” “Hey, it wasn’t her fault that exercise and extra fries sounded alike.” How can you go wrong with a book that starts out like that?? In The Back Up Plan we meet three people who have come together to receive an inheritance, one third of The Last Chance Inn. Each of them having reasons to love and hate being there. I love the emotions and the humor Jill uses as our characters discover their true selves, learn forgiveness, how to take chances and best of all fall in love! Come along and enjoy falling in love with Tahoe and more friends from Sunrise Cove. You won’t be disappointed. 😁

“The Backup Plan” takes you on a visit to Sunrise Cove to meet a few new members of the community. One who stayed and two who left and were brought back by the passing of a cunning and manipulative stand-in grandparent. Eleanor masterminded a plan to bring happiness, forgiveness, and love to the three people who meant the world to her. She was doing it from the grave and didn’t know if her plan would work, but she did a pretty good job of thinking everything through. Knox, Alice, and Lauren’s past was tangled together in different ways. They were brought together to work on a common purpose. They had to decide if they were going to deal with the events of the past. In the end they all had to look to what their future held. Loved it!

There’s a lot to love about The Backup Plan. Who can resist a dog named Pickles? Or a snarky and sarcastic Alice, who I’m sure wasn’t a hot for all readers, but she was for me. She balanced the sweet and neurotic Lauren, the second of three new owners to a run down B&B in the small town of Sunset Cove. Rounding out the trio is Knox, the slightly too good to be true, teenage crush of Alice. Readers get to know each of them as they fix up their inheritance from Eleanor Graham, the generous but curmudgeonly former actress and town elder, who has a history with each character. The list of “rules” to follow while rehabbing the house made me chuckle, while entries from unsent letters between Eleanor and her sister were both bitingly amusing and a bit heartbreaking. I enjoyed this book, the storyline and its characters. Jill Shalvis has always been a must-read author for this longtime fan, and The Backup Plan gets my recommendation and 4 stars.

Another moving depiction of what it means to find your family in your closest friends. I loved Lauren’s vulnerability, Alice’s gruffness, and Knox’s unfailing kindness. The three were so lost and scarred but found love and healing when brought back together. I can’t wait to go back to Sunrise Cove.

None of them were expecting a share of an inn, all of them had other things going on in their lives, and none of them were sure about the other two. An unexpected threesome that sets ground rules to protect themselves, but can they finish a month without breaking them? A wonderful story of coming back to their roots, physically or mentally, and facing a twist in the truth of things they thought they knew. I love that this wasn’t just a romantic story of Alice and Knox. Lauren isn’t a third wheel in the story, she’s an essential part of it. I love the character growth! Powerful, emotional, and gripping. A story you won’t regret reading! (ARC received for honest review)

Heading back to Sunrise Cove was something Alice never dreamed up. Why did Eleanor leave her estate to her, Alice and Knox. I truly loved getting to know these three. My heart broke for each of them but in the end Eleanor knew what she was doing because they became each others family and learned that taking a chance can bring you so much happiness!!

The Backup Plan is my favorite in the Sunrise Cove series so far. Death and circumstances separated Alice, Lauren and Knox. Death brings them back together at the Last Chance Inn. So much can go wrong. So much can go right. They have each inherited 1/3 of the inn. It needs some work. There are more that a few issues. It all has to be done within 30 days. The owner had planned on a grand reopening. That reopening is still on track. Decisions have to be made. Actions have to be taken. Cooperation and communication are necessary. Easier said then done. Emotions run high between the three. Only Lauren has remained in town and they treat her a a poor young widow of Will. Alice hasn't dealt with the death of her brother, Will, or what happened afterward. Knox left town without dealing with the death of his mom, breaking Alice's heart. One has to wonder how these three will be able to work together. Some of my biggest laughs were the messages that were written on a wall. The rules are constantly changing and broken even more often. The peanut gallery responses left me in stitches. The needed list is a little unique. Other laughs came from Eleanor, the lady that left them the inn. Eleanor had been a big influence in Knox and Alice's teen years. Lauren is the great niece she was not allowed to see. Eleanor left stories of the past on her iPad as email drafts to her sister, a sister she despised. What a brilliant way to explain the past. The reader learns about situations that influenced one or more of the three. She had been a great influence in Knox and Alice's lives. She had raised Lauren's father, yet couldn't see Lauren. The reader is allowed glimpses into Eleanor's emotions and her feeling for the three. She has brought them back for a reason. The question is will she be successful. The Emotions run deep in The Backup Plan. The romance is a slow burn that left me smiling. I became invested in Knox, Alice and Lauren. I cried with them. I cried for them. Tears of sadness became happy tears as cracks grew within their walls.