Title: Her Best Laid Plans

Author: Cara McKenna

Date of publication: 15 April 2014

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotica, Novella

Author's links:

Website / Twitter / Tumblr / Goodreads

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo

My rating: 5 Stars

Experience Ireland—the dramatic beauty, the warm hospitality...and the smoking-hot local guys!

Imagine nursing a pint in a cozy, authentic country pub, far from Cork City’s busy pulse. Getting here took you a plane, bus, taxi, and...erm, bicycle. But just as you’re resigning yourself to drinking beside gray-haired farmers, you see him—a man with the looks and charm to soothe any heartbroken girl.

He’s your bartender. Your really, really gorgeous bartender.

For American Jamie Webb—recently dumped and housesitting for two weeks—Connor Kelleher is like a six-course feast after a 23-year starvation diet. But it’s gotta be casual. She’s just begun re-routing her life after an extended, man-related detour. Still, a sexy romp (or twenty!) with Sexy McBartender? 

But what about when Jamie's best-laid plans for no future plans with any man begin to change?

It's my second book by Ms McKenna after Unbound (my review) which I greatly enjoyed, and I really, really liked this one as well. It's the perfect erotic romance novella. 

I'm getting to like Ms McKenna's writing style a lot - her stories flow smoothly, the characters are well developed and real. This was the case with this book, as well. Two ordinary people dealing with normal issues come together and something extraordinary happens between them. They are very likable and easy to relate to.

The story is told from Jamie's POV - an American visiting Ireland in an attempt to lift her spirits up after a being dumped by her boyfriend. Enter Connor - super sexy and sweet local Irish guy willing to show her good time. Things happened almost instantly between them but for once the instalove didn't bother me. It worked well because both of them were aware how unusual it was to feel so at ease with each other in such a short time (10 days).

There is no melodrama or grand declarations of eternal love. Just a strong chemistry, growing into something more. The love scenes were sensual and real with Jamie and Connor being completely open and honest with each other. 

Being a romance, it has a happy ending but I won't say more in order not to spoil the story for you. I'll just admit that I didn't see the twist in the end coming, probably because we are given only Jamie's perspective and it was unexpected for her as well, or it could be just that I was not paying enough attention. Either way, I'm very happy how things turned out in the end for Jamie and Connor.