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A review by justmevictoria
Not in the Plan by Dana Hawkins
4.0
This book was kindly sent to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
An author walks into a coffee shop and falls in love with the owner who became her muse…
Six months after opening her coffee shop - Sugar Mugs - and owner Charlie is already drowning in bills and the threat of having to close her business. But despite the anxiety, she get in the zone and puts on a happy face every day to greet her regulars and welcome newbies. And one newbie who immediately catches her eye is Mack, a writer who spends her days sipping coffee and working on her newest novel. After escaping New York, Mack is in Seattle visiting her parents with the hope of shaking her writers block on her already overdue manuscript. And just when Mack thinks she’s never going to get her book started, let alone finished, she meets Charlie who instantly becomes her muse and the words suddenly start flowing in a way they hadn’t before. With Charlie still overcoming the heartbreak of her divorce and Mack only ever pursuing one-night-stands, neither are looking to dive into a relationship. But the chemistry between them in undeniable, and after a night shacked up in Charlie’s apartment during a severe storm, they can’t not see where that chemistry leads them.
Dana has served up a delectably coffee-filled cute and swoony sapphic romance, with lots of love for writers, book nerds and coffee connoisseurs! I could not put this beauty down and loved getting swept up in the world of Seattle coffee culture and the queer community. Dana has such a fun and easy writing style that makes it so easy to fall into this world and the lives of the characters and not realise you’ve been reading for much longer than you had anticipated.
Mack and Charlie’s relationship was super sweet as both opened themselves up to romance and a relationship. Their chemistry was certainly oozing off the page from the moment they met, and I really enjoyed getting to follow the development of their friendship-turned-flirtation-turned-romance. Their relationship was so much more than just romantic - it was a found-family relationship on the part of Charlie, who finally felt familiar love as well as true romantic love. Dana was also such a tease when it came to the spice - the small snippets we got were top tier before it faded to black.
A few slight trigger warnings for anxiety, mentions of alcoholism and abandonment, and mentions of a parent with cancer. Both characters have moments to discuss, overcome, and move on from the latter two - Charlie is still learning to overcome the childhood trauma of her father leaving her to fend for herself night after night, while Mack has come to terms with her mother’s previous cancer diagnosis and the guilt of having withdrawn from her family because she was scared to lose her mother. Both are such raw feelings and experiences that add a layer of depth to an otherwise sweet and fun romance.
With this being Dana’s debut novel, I thoroughly enjoyed getting into the lives of the characters she developed and the story she crafted for them, and I am extremely eager to dive into more of Dana’s work in the future - I’m already eying off book two in this Seattle series. Sign me up for ALL the sweet and swoony sapphic romances!
If you need another queer book to read this Pride Month, get this on your TBR ASAP and get ready to run off to Seattle to enjoy the local queer coffee scene!
An author walks into a coffee shop and falls in love with the owner who became her muse…
Six months after opening her coffee shop - Sugar Mugs - and owner Charlie is already drowning in bills and the threat of having to close her business. But despite the anxiety, she get in the zone and puts on a happy face every day to greet her regulars and welcome newbies. And one newbie who immediately catches her eye is Mack, a writer who spends her days sipping coffee and working on her newest novel. After escaping New York, Mack is in Seattle visiting her parents with the hope of shaking her writers block on her already overdue manuscript. And just when Mack thinks she’s never going to get her book started, let alone finished, she meets Charlie who instantly becomes her muse and the words suddenly start flowing in a way they hadn’t before. With Charlie still overcoming the heartbreak of her divorce and Mack only ever pursuing one-night-stands, neither are looking to dive into a relationship. But the chemistry between them in undeniable, and after a night shacked up in Charlie’s apartment during a severe storm, they can’t not see where that chemistry leads them.
Dana has served up a delectably coffee-filled cute and swoony sapphic romance, with lots of love for writers, book nerds and coffee connoisseurs! I could not put this beauty down and loved getting swept up in the world of Seattle coffee culture and the queer community. Dana has such a fun and easy writing style that makes it so easy to fall into this world and the lives of the characters and not realise you’ve been reading for much longer than you had anticipated.
Mack and Charlie’s relationship was super sweet as both opened themselves up to romance and a relationship. Their chemistry was certainly oozing off the page from the moment they met, and I really enjoyed getting to follow the development of their friendship-turned-flirtation-turned-romance. Their relationship was so much more than just romantic - it was a found-family relationship on the part of Charlie, who finally felt familiar love as well as true romantic love. Dana was also such a tease when it came to the spice - the small snippets we got were top tier before it faded to black.
A few slight trigger warnings for anxiety, mentions of alcoholism and abandonment, and mentions of a parent with cancer. Both characters have moments to discuss, overcome, and move on from the latter two - Charlie is still learning to overcome the childhood trauma of her father leaving her to fend for herself night after night, while Mack has come to terms with her mother’s previous cancer diagnosis and the guilt of having withdrawn from her family because she was scared to lose her mother. Both are such raw feelings and experiences that add a layer of depth to an otherwise sweet and fun romance.
With this being Dana’s debut novel, I thoroughly enjoyed getting into the lives of the characters she developed and the story she crafted for them, and I am extremely eager to dive into more of Dana’s work in the future - I’m already eying off book two in this Seattle series. Sign me up for ALL the sweet and swoony sapphic romances!
If you need another queer book to read this Pride Month, get this on your TBR ASAP and get ready to run off to Seattle to enjoy the local queer coffee scene!