Planned

by Gabrielle Moon

Claire Ellingsworth is young, tall, and beautiful. She's also a successful writer and speaker who advices her female audience to stay away from marriage and children. A career woman such as herself has no time for love, beer bellies, and poopy diapers. Watching her housewife mother and her sister (a mother of four) she is convinced that the only way to live life to the fullest, is to stay single... with the occasional affair. When she meets Sam, Claire has to learn, that not all men follow her rules, and despite his tousled hair, washed out jeans, and his "unacceptable behavior" he wins over her heart. For the first time in her life Claire is truly in love, and she realizes just how much she has missed out on in the past. Ignorance is bliss, becomes her motto, as she is forced to balance her career as a feminist writer with her private life of love and happiness. A positive pregnancy test turns Claire's world upside down. She has no intention of becoming a mother, and when she tells Sam that she will have an abortion, he leaves with a broken heart. Claire, lost and confused, has to make the most important decision of her life. But is it too late for a happy ending with Sam?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

162 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2011

Reviews

[Joy · Rating 1 out of 5]

156 pages

Well known feminist/author Claire goes into a tailspin when a pregnancy test comes back positive. Determined to avoid the marriage trap her mother and sister have so readily traveled down, Claire advises mountain man Sam who loves children that she’s going to have an abortion. Shocked and deeply hurt Sam disappears and Claire’s carefully laid plans begin to unravel.

My thoughts and spoilers:

The vulnerability of first person narrative is that it only allows you to see, feel and sense the world through one set of eyes or from one’s own perspective. I’d like to have been in Sam’s head from the minute he first saw Claire at his Café, his first impressions favourable or not, his anger, his leaving, his time in Mexico. I’ll give you an example, when word came back from Sam’s sister that he’d found someone else in Mexico I was disappointed but not devastated because I didn’t really know Sam well enough to feel deeply about him or his actions. Instead the reader is dragged along, witness to Claire’s seemingly endless period of introspection, a constant stream of interaction with family, friends and strangers as she struggles to get her life back on an even keel.

Whether it was the authors intent or not, in the beginning Claire came across as blase and self-centered. I can't say I warmed up to her character as the novella progressed but I'm carrying on because the reviews said I should. And dating married men? What’s with that? It seems a total contradiction that Claire’s life purpose is warning women off getting married and then dates those very same men. Clearly I've missed some point.

This is about a woman going through growth pains, realising not everything in life goes according to her plan. The romance though pivotal in bringing Claire to a crisis point was almost incidental in that her and Sam spent far too much of the novella away from each other.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Planned is a romance about Claire, an author living in Portland,Oregon. She lives and writes the feminist lifestyle. Dates but doesn't believe in love, marriage and kids. Until Sam comes along and she finds things don't always go as planned. Claire has to do some growing up.
One of the things I most liked about this novel was that it took place in coastal Oregon, a place I love and visit often. It was fun to read names of familiar places there. The author also mentions the Outlander novels by Diana Gabaldon which are a favorite of mine. So she won me over.
This book is an easy read, I finished the book in a couple hours. The characters are well developed with mostly realistic personalities,although Sam tends to be a little too good to be true.
The story wraps up nicely at the end as all romances do, but not without some tears and surprise.

[Christina OW · Rating 4 out of 5]

i knew some people were delusional bit man, when thery defined it in the dictionary they must have had Claire in mind. it was nice seeing her learn her lesson. Men plan and God laughs

[KStar · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was an incredible journey of discovery. Just by being in a situation that was totally unexpected can change your point of view and take you totally by surprise. :)