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Pages: 50
Goes Well With: Champagne and wedding cake
Though most romance novels feature perky young women and handsome young men, romance isn’t just for the young. So, while one of the characters in Best Laid Plans by Silver James may be a young bride-to-be, the story isn’t about her; it’s about the middle-aged wedding planner.
For twenty years, Claire Vitale has been watching from the shadows while young men and women said their vows in front of their closest friends and family members. Through the years, she’s had to deal with her share of nightmare brides—but she’s never met anyone quite like father of the bride Nick Grant. Wealthy and businesslike and totally no-nonsense, he tries to call all of the shots for his daughter’s wedding—but Claire has no intention of letting him bully her.
It’s not long before Nick begins to turn his attention away from his daughter, Laurel, and shift his attention to Claire—not because he wants her to change the wedding plans but because he finds this strong, attractive woman absolutely fascinating. He wants to get closer to her—but, despite her attraction to this infuriatingly assertive man, she insists on keeping their relationship professional.
The grown-up characters in Best Laid Plans make for a nice change of pace from the usual story of young love—but while the characters may be grown up, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re mature.
Nick has all of the charm and humility of Donald Trump (which led me to picture him with a blonde comb-over). And although he’s convinced that he’s madly in love with Claire, he definitely has an obnoxious way of showing it. Sure, he takes her out for nice dinners, but he’s demanding about it—ordering her to join him instead of asking her. He never lets her finish her own sentences—or order her own meal.
Somehow, though, Nick’s caveman courting techniques must work on Claire—because, no matter how cold and stone-faced she may try to remain, she falls head over heels for him. Her “sexy bits” also seem to fall for him—though, each time it’s mentioned (twice), I found myself snickering instead of getting caught up in the lust of it all. Meanwhile, though Claire is pretty sure that she loves Nick, too, she refuses to acknowledge it. In fact, despite spending every day together, she refuses to admit that they’re even dating.
Put these two characters together, and you might sometimes forget that you’re reading a story about a middle-aged couple—instead of a couple of immature 20-somethings. So while the idea of this short romance is a good one, the characters make it a frustrating read.
Ed. Note: For more on Best Laid Plans visit TheWildRosePress.com.
