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amandamalool's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
whateverjeans23's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
angschw's review against another edition
4.0
This book had all three tropes that I love in a romance novel.
At the beginning of the book you are introduced to Orla and Aiden who meet again for the first time in 5 years at one of Aiden's wildlife photography exhibits. Orla now writes for a large newspaper and lives in London. Aiden has been traveling the world over the last 5 years. Prior to the exhibit Aiden has sent Orla an invite that she assumes is because she works for a large newspaper. I think it is safe to say that Orla’s assumptions were incorrect.
The next ¾ of the book backtracks through the history of when Orla and Aiden first met and fell in love. Unfortunately, Orla has a plan of where they want to be in 5 years and Aiden is in no way ready to settle down, so they go their separate ways once Aiden receives his next assignment.
If you are a fan of second chance romance, friends to lover’s romance, and/or slow burn romance all tied up in one book than I think you will enjoy this one. Plus, there may be otters in included. I mean who doesn’t love a romance book with otters in it?!
Thank you to NetGalley/HQ Digital for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.
At the beginning of the book you are introduced to Orla and Aiden who meet again for the first time in 5 years at one of Aiden's wildlife photography exhibits. Orla now writes for a large newspaper and lives in London. Aiden has been traveling the world over the last 5 years. Prior to the exhibit Aiden has sent Orla an invite that she assumes is because she works for a large newspaper. I think it is safe to say that Orla’s assumptions were incorrect.
The next ¾ of the book backtracks through the history of when Orla and Aiden first met and fell in love. Unfortunately, Orla has a plan of where they want to be in 5 years and Aiden is in no way ready to settle down, so they go their separate ways once Aiden receives his next assignment.
If you are a fan of second chance romance, friends to lover’s romance, and/or slow burn romance all tied up in one book than I think you will enjoy this one. Plus, there may be otters in included. I mean who doesn’t love a romance book with otters in it?!
Thank you to NetGalley/HQ Digital for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.
shananigans1988's review against another edition
4.0
This book was provided to me by Netgalley.
The plot of this book was interesting. Orla has a five year plan. She wants to move to London and become a big news reporter. Well, she hopes doing a story about wildlife photographer, Aiden will help her.
They end up falling in love. However, Aiden has to leave for his next job, India. He asks Orla to go with him. Spoiler Alert: she didnt.
5 years later, she has the job she wants in London. She goes to an art show with a collegue and it so happens to be Aiden's art show.
What is weird that her "boyfriend" James didnt seen interested in her. I was hoping James would be more interesting. He was just tossed aside as a plot device.
I would recommend this book if time jumps are your thing. This is the first time I am reading this author as well, so I think I am going to check out more of her books!
The plot of this book was interesting. Orla has a five year plan. She wants to move to London and become a big news reporter. Well, she hopes doing a story about wildlife photographer, Aiden will help her.
They end up falling in love. However, Aiden has to leave for his next job, India. He asks Orla to go with him. Spoiler Alert: she didnt.
5 years later, she has the job she wants in London. She goes to an art show with a collegue and it so happens to be Aiden's art show.
What is weird that her "boyfriend" James didnt seen interested in her. I was hoping James would be more interesting. He was just tossed aside as a plot device.
I would recommend this book if time jumps are your thing. This is the first time I am reading this author as well, so I think I am going to check out more of her books!
vanessa_issa's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to HQ Digital for the ARC!
These last few months have been tough for me. I'm not being able to focus on my reading as I would like to be. I apologize for not giving my feedback before the pub date. But, well, better late than never. I'm so glad I read this book, because it's such a beautiful story! And it's exactly what I needed right now.
Orla and Aiden know they have something special. But they're still young and want to go in different directions. They both have dreams, things they want to achieve in their careers, places they want to go... And they also have different opinions on getting married and having kids. So, even though their chemistry is amazing, they decide to part ways. Maybe it wasn't mean to be... Right?
Wrong.
Five years later, they meet again. So much has changed. But one thing is still the same. So what should they do now?
What I like about these characters is that they have a lot of respect for each other. They don't blame each other for their choices. Of course there's a lot of sadness and pain when they break up, but still, she never told him not to follow his dreams. He also never made her feel like hers weren't important. Nope!! They both recognize the good opportunities on their ways and know when to say yes/no.
They also show us how much we change as we grow older. Maybe that thing you said you'd never do when you were 20 might become what you want the most at 30. You don't have to live forever believing in the same old things. You are free to change.
Things always happen at the right moment, I truly believe in that. And this story warms my heart.
These last few months have been tough for me. I'm not being able to focus on my reading as I would like to be. I apologize for not giving my feedback before the pub date. But, well, better late than never. I'm so glad I read this book, because it's such a beautiful story! And it's exactly what I needed right now.
Orla and Aiden know they have something special. But they're still young and want to go in different directions. They both have dreams, things they want to achieve in their careers, places they want to go... And they also have different opinions on getting married and having kids. So, even though their chemistry is amazing, they decide to part ways. Maybe it wasn't mean to be... Right?
Wrong.
Five years later, they meet again. So much has changed. But one thing is still the same. So what should they do now?
What I like about these characters is that they have a lot of respect for each other. They don't blame each other for their choices. Of course there's a lot of sadness and pain when they break up, but still, she never told him not to follow his dreams. He also never made her feel like hers weren't important. Nope!! They both recognize the good opportunities on their ways and know when to say yes/no.
They also show us how much we change as we grow older. Maybe that thing you said you'd never do when you were 20 might become what you want the most at 30. You don't have to live forever believing in the same old things. You are free to change.
Things always happen at the right moment, I truly believe in that. And this story warms my heart.
bookishlynomes's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
The Five-Year Plan was a fairly cute story. I've been really loving the whole missed connections and second chance tropes lately and when I read that this story was about two people meeting and trying to hold off on falling in love with each other for five years as they get their careers sorted, I got very excited. It's a wonderful storyline but unfortunately the story's execution didn't quite get there for me.
The story begins in the present with the two characters meeting again after five years. They're both nervous and exchanging lots of longing looks across a crowded room, and the chapter ends leaving you hanging. Then it flashes back to five years ago when they met.
To be honest, I felt the pacing of the story between past and present to be a little awkward. When we see the two characters meet and their relationship begin to flourish, I didn't really feel much of a connection to either character or their relationship. I pretty much could have gone either way on whether they ended up together or not which isn't the best feeling for a romance novel.
I also felt the craze over everyone knowing who the hero was to be a little unrealistic and the communication between many of the characters felt almost immature and adolescent in a way.
That all being said though, I'm rating this 2.5 stars because it had a lot of potential! It was a great storyline that needed a better execution and with a few more revisions of pacing and dialogue it could have been really great.
Disclaimer: Thank you to HQ Digital and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Five-Year Plan was a fairly cute story. I've been really loving the whole missed connections and second chance tropes lately and when I read that this story was about two people meeting and trying to hold off on falling in love with each other for five years as they get their careers sorted, I got very excited. It's a wonderful storyline but unfortunately the story's execution didn't quite get there for me.
The story begins in the present with the two characters meeting again after five years. They're both nervous and exchanging lots of longing looks across a crowded room, and the chapter ends leaving you hanging. Then it flashes back to five years ago when they met.
To be honest, I felt the pacing of the story between past and present to be a little awkward. When we see the two characters meet and their relationship begin to flourish, I didn't really feel much of a connection to either character or their relationship. I pretty much could have gone either way on whether they ended up together or not which isn't the best feeling for a romance novel.
I also felt the craze over everyone knowing who the hero was to be a little unrealistic and the communication between many of the characters felt almost immature and adolescent in a way.
That all being said though, I'm rating this 2.5 stars because it had a lot of potential! It was a great storyline that needed a better execution and with a few more revisions of pacing and dialogue it could have been really great.
Disclaimer: Thank you to HQ Digital and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
latenight_pageturner's review against another edition
TBH, I need to stop "hate-reading" books and just put things down when I lose interest. Anyways, thanks Netgalley for the eARC. This book had a lot of potential. The first chapter was really interesting - it started in the present and ended on a cliffhanger then spent several (several too many) chapters in the past., The overall relationship - which was really a fling that ended on good terms (in the sense that there was no animosity between the two when they first parted ways) - was just sort of bland. This would have been better as a short story. I don't know if anyone else got this vibe though, but Aiden seemed kind of annoyingly persistent in the beginning when he wanted to start hooking up with Orla.. I don't know, it just didn't sit well with me.
sterialm's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
thebookconfessions's review against another edition
3.0
It was an okay read.
I really can't say much about this book, not something overly positive or overly negative.
It was simply okay. Some parts more interesting than others. At some point it lost my attention but it was pretty light and fun enough read to get me through.
I really can't say much about this book, not something overly positive or overly negative.
It was simply okay. Some parts more interesting than others. At some point it lost my attention but it was pretty light and fun enough read to get me through.
mikenik's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0