The Backup Plan by Jill Shalvis (Review by Stephanie Rowitz)

Rating: 3.5/5

The Backup Plan is a story about three people who have to come together to renovate an old inn or sacrifice their share of their inheritance. Alice and Lauren used to be best friends until tragedy forced them out of each other’s lives. Knox, the final addition to this trio, was the only guy who ever broke Alice’s heart. Can these three set aside their differences and renovate the inn together, or will old wounds prevent them from moving on?

I like that this book featured dynamic characters who all had their own POV. We see Lauren’s motivation for wanting to renovate the inn and move on from her grief. We watch Knox wrangle his inner demons and work towards a happier future. And we witness Alice come to terms with her feelings of inadequacy and finally let someone in. These characters go through an unbelievable amount of growth in one month’s time, but the author writes in such a way that it still feels plausible somehow. Perhaps it’s because we know the characters will keep evolving long after the last page. They’re not perfect people, nor is the author trying to make them out to be. They are works-in-progress just like the rest of us.

Personally, I wish we saw a certain romantic relationship develop a bit more. One of them felt like a legitimate romance, while the other one felt a little rushed. It’s part of the trouble with writing a book from three different perspectives. You want to give each character their due, but some things have to be condensed in the interest of time. What ends up happening is that the reader feels a bit swindled out of a real happy ending because the characters didn’t have to earn it like the other pair had to. However, the central romance felt believable and well-developed.

Overall, The Backup Plan is a sweet story about second chances and learning how to trust people again. It would be a great book to curl up with over a long weekend.