Plan Overboard (Toronto Series #14)

  Plan Overboard, Toronto Collection 14, Heather Wardell Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews Genre:  Romance, Women’s fiction  I’ve enjoyed several of Heather’s novels now and one thing comes across throughout them all – the Characters. They are real, I feel as if I could touch them, understand them, sympathise with them when things go wrong and am so happy with them when everything works out well. I need that in a story to enjoy it, it needs to have people I can relate to in some way and Heather always delivers that, wrapped up in a story that is very true to life, well planned and always entertaining. That's the purpose of a story for me – I want to be entertained, taken away from the day to day dross, and escape to another world. There’s a gap in my reading here so I didn’t know any of the characters, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment – I was able to pick up the story easily. Corinne, poor Corinne has spent the last 20 years chasing a very exacting dream, a place in an orchestra that very rarely comes vacant. For her it has to be That orchestra, no other will do, so when she doesn’t get the coveted place she’s stunned. What now? What about all her plans? Failing to get in once the opening appeared hasn’t factored into her plans and she’s lost. Still, with that plan down she makes another, discards everyone and everything associated with Plan 1 and moves on to Plan 2. Poor Clay, her boyfriend is part of Plan 1 and he’s got to go....to me she seemed almost a control freak in her tightly regulated plans, but its what holds her together and without a plan she feels a failure. Well that's how she seems to me. So what’s Plan 2? A baby that’s what. Plans in place to ensure she can afford it she changes jobs, seeks out a clinic and is soon on the way to parenthood. What she didn’t factor in was meeting Austin on the cruise with her brother and friends. They get on incredibly well, feel so drawn to each other, but Austin makes it clear at the start that its for the cruise only, no contact after and indeed his family take pains to warn her he’s lovely, will make her feel so special, as if she’s the only one for him, but in the end he’s a playboy and always leaves. Events happen that show that is true while they’re out and about. Still, she only wants some fun, she’s no plans for a man in her life so it suits her. Can life be so controlled though? No, of course not and they both develop feelings they didn’t expect ;-) and have to find ways to deal with it. There’s a complication though – Corinne's baby. I loved both Corinne and Austin and it was clear early on that his feelings for her were unusual for him. His family were astounded at the things he did, buying her presents, giving up precious time usually spend on things he loves just to be with her. When it goes wrong it really goes wrong, and I so felt for them both. I did understand their feelings but to me they were too fixed in their ideas, the (new) Plan for Corinne, and for Austin his fears of not being able to be the man he wanted for her. At times I did get impatient with both, but of course its that drama that makes the book, that realism that made me want to shout at them. Its a fun read, very emotional and even right to the end I was unsure how things would work out. How would Heather get them past their fears, the Plan, let Austin see he was more than he thought....and it made it so satisfying when things finally came together. Stars: Four, a fun and realistic rea

As a fan of author Heather Wardell, I was not surprised that I would love reading the Toronto Series novels, All At Sea and its sequel Plan Overboard! Heather weaves a fun tale that easily draws the reader into the characters' lives and relationships. The storylines in this series flow smoothly from one book to the next, they feature past characters and new characters who are realistic, quirky, and easy to relate to; each has an enjoyable mixture of romance, humor, and relationship drama that keeps the reader engaged and thoroughly entertained; and if you haven't read them in sequence, don't worry they are just as good as a stand alone read. In true Heather Wardell style, she creates stories that are so much more than your normal romance novel. She interweaves life's challenges and relationship quirks that are realistic; you can't help but make a connection with the down-to-earth characters; and she even makes you ponder the story's message that sometimes life won't always go as you have planned, but it's definitely worth the journey. If you check out Author Heather Wardell's entire Toronto Series, don't pass up the chance to read these thoroughly entertaining romance stories, you can thank me later!

Heather Wardell is an author I found long before I started blogging. And with Plan Overboard, I remembered why I enjoy reading her books so much. There isn't a lot of fancy flair to her stories, but they're real, relatable and she creates characters that you truly enjoy and often fall in love with.  What worked for me: ~The characters. Plain and simple. I wasn't all that sure I would like Corinne, but what I found was a woman who knew what she wanted, what she needed, and in the end...did what made her happy. Then there's Austin. I've always liked Austin, but I fell for him pretty hard in this book. He's been the kind of guy that would be fun to hang out with, flirt with, and have a steamy fling with, but never the guy I would have expected to go the distance. With Corinne, he was different. He found something he wanted for more than just a good time.  ~There's a baby. That gets me every time. Add in Austin falling in love with the baby...goner. ~Corinne and Austin had great chemistry. ~The story had a great flow.  ~I loved seeing past characters, like Melissa and Nicholas. It always makes me smile to see where characters have gone.  Overall, Plan Overboard was truly and enjoyable read. This book is part of a series, but you don't need to read them in order to enjoy or understand the characters. I've read several books in the series out of order and have never had a problem. If you like romantic chick lit, check out Wardell's books. They're solid and always enjoyable.  

I loved this book! I was at the beach celebrating my 60th (gasp) birthday when I read this book. Perfect setting for an awesome book! But then, I've loved every one of Heather Wardell's books. Please keep writing Heather!!! Your story lines are so much better than other authors of this genre!

I'm one of Heather Wardell's biggest fans: I've followed her writing for years, read all of her books and I had the tremendous honor of writing the cover blurb for her last book. I've loved all of Heather's books, with Plan Overboard being one of my favorites to date. I think this is because I identified so completely with Corinne: we're both planners (big-time planners, in fact), mothers, and instinctively inflexible people. Like Corinne, motherhood has softened me up and made me slightly more flexible, although it's still a struggle for me. I love the fact that sequels provide a glimpse of favorite characters from previous novels living out their happily ever afters. Melissa and Nicholas were such a cute couple in All At Sea, and I was so happy to see their relationship flourish in Plan Overboard. Even better was the fact that Corinne becomes friends with Melissa, Nicholas, and Nicholas' brother, Austin. Corinne and Austin have an instant attraction to each other, and start a friendship that soon blossoms into romance. Both understand that the relationship is temporary and that when the cruise ends, they'll both go back to their normal lives. For Austin, this is his modus operandi: his mother takes he and his brothers on a cruise yearly. Every year, he has at least one relationship while on the trip. This fact is well-known and even joked about among his family members. As for Corinne, she has her life planned out to the smallest detail (written in a spiral notebook, no less---so me) and her plan does not include a man. She doesn't expect or really want to fall in love at this point in her life, and therefore is surprised at the intensity of her feelings for Austin. The fleeting nature of Corinne and Austin's relationship belies the fact that it is life-changing for both of them. The cruise ends, but their story is far from over. I expected the cruise to take up a major portion of the book, and while it was essential to the story, the majority of Plan Overboard takes place after the cruise. I liked that Plan Overboard is Corinne's story, more so than Wardell's previous books where the male and female leads share the spotlight. The focus on Corinne allowed for loads of character growth, which is my favorite thing to read about. I loved Corinne's journey of following her dreams and how she slowly surrenders to an unexpected happiness. Wardell writes with her usual steady pace: describing her characters' daily lives, but in an interesting and inventive way. I liked that Plan Overboard encompasses nearly a year's time, with not every day individually described, of course, but with plenty of details along with some jumps forward in time. I don't mind it when books move forward in time if the author can adeptly describe what happened in the lapse, and Wardell does this skillfully (as usual!). My favorite aspect of Plan Overboard was the way Corinne found happiness. I loved how she slowly changed over the course of the story, opening herself up to surprises and changing her long-held belief systems about her parents, her dreams, her career, and herself as a person. Austin does plenty of growing as well, but it was Corinne's growth that resonated so strongly with me. I finished Plan Overboard feeling happy, pleased with the perfectly befitting ending, and inspired to do some "letting go" of my own. Wardell's done it again: written a book that draws me in from page one, makes me laugh, cry and leaves me feeling both introspective and inspired to make changes in my own life.