After the death of her husband, Dylan Lake’s ability to trust in others is shattered. Her life is thrust into turmoil between caring for Emma, her seven-year old handicapped child, and working hard to make ends meet. Dylan doesn’t have time to pursue a romantic relationship. Finding that one special person only happens in dreams. When fate keeps throwing Dylan and Kat together, Dylan finds her attraction to Kat something she can’t ignore. Will her trust issues stop her from letting Kat into her and Emma’s life? Leaving her old job and moving halfway across the country were the scariest things Kat Anderson had ever done. Starting a new life and career takes priority over any foolish notion of a fairy-tale future of romance and love. Kat’s attraction to Dylan is time taken away from building a new business. Can Kat juggle love and duty to find her Happy Ever After? Welcome back to Garriety, the town with an open heart, and home to some of the quirky and warm characters from Add Romance and Mix. Join Kat and Dylan on their quest for true romance with a little help from Kat’s sister Briley and her family, along with a host of new characters.
Amazing sequel to Add Romance And Mix (a Garriety romance). It's low in drama but high in the romance. Love all the characters and now up to book 3. Both books highly recommended!
3 Stars for Blueprint for Romance by Shannon M. Harris. Full disclosure – I started reading this via audiobook (I obtained an audiobook copy from the author during a giveaway). About halfway through, I gave up listening because I didn’t care for the narrator. But I liked the story so I bought the ebook to finish it myself.
This is the second book of Harris’ Garriety Series. This time focusing on Kat Anderson (sister of Briley). Kat was my favorite character in the first book (Add Romance and Mix). Kat quit her executive accounting job and has joined her sister in her construction business, specializing in building Tiny Houses. The other main character is Dylan Lake. A widower, whose husband died in a car accident and their 2-year-old daughter, Emma survived but after numerous medical procedures she eventually lost her leg. Now seven, Emma is coping relatively well but still has rough times, especially when pain or panic attacks strike. Dylan is struggling with doctor bills and the like. She and Emma have moved in with Dylan’s mother. Dylan works several jobs, including as a hotel maid and occasionally filling in with odd jobs whenever she could. She and Kat first meet at a Burger joint where Dylan was filling in at her cousin’s restaurant for the evening. They happen to randomly meet at least a couple more times and they begin a friendship and a slow burn romance. Dylan is cautious, because of Emma. (It is mentioned early that Dylan was bisexual)
I liked the friends to lovers, slow burn romance. Dylan had Thursdays free, so it was fun to join them on their weekly Thursday lunches and full day dates when Kat was could arrange to be away from work. It has a large cast, overall it didn’t feel too overwhelming, because the main focus was on the two mains and the daughter. However, I did feel the addition of Kat & Briley’s mother near the end was a bit too much. A nice story, especially if you want to revisit the Anderson clan.
P.S. Small quibble. Although the custom font Chapter Headings look nice, it wasn't formatted so Kindle can read them as Chapter headings. In other words, there was no Table of Contents available for ebooks and any bookmarks or annotations you add, there is no chapter associated with it.
I was 50% done with the audiobook when I threw my hands up and gave up. I switched to the ebook.
I may have made a mistake when I immediately started reading this after finishing a 5 star audiobook with a 5 star narrator. Right off, I noticed the production recording value wasn't there and the narrator was below par. Too many times I couldn't figure out who was talking, all her voices were essentially the same. Even her non speaking 'voice' was similar. So I've switched to read the book myself because I'm enjoying the story. I feel bad I had to give the audiobook a thumbs down. From what I can tell this is her first audiobook and also because I was given a copy from the author.
This was a very nice second novel in the Garriety Romance series. The build up of the attraction and love in this second chance at love story was slow and enjoyable to read. I also liked reconnecting with some of the characters from the first book. Though there is no excitement or angst in this book, it never bored me. I hope there is a third book coming up. Recommend wholeheartedly, 4 stars.
Kat and Dylan's romance starts very slow and builds over time as they get to know each other. Dylan has a daughter who gets attached quickly and she doesn't want her to be disappointed. Kat is all in from the moment she meets Dylan but is very respectful of her wishes. Truly a sweet slow burn romance. The narrator Lindsay Greene did a better job with this story. I still would like a little more distinction between character voices.
I was happy to read this sequel to Add Romance and Mix. It is about one of the characters in ARM, Briley’s younger sister Kat. Kat was the one that started the ball rolling in Briley’s romancing of Leah her next door neighbor. Kat brought a lot of funny moments to ARM and this carry over in the next story. While ARM was more of a fun story about Briley’s fumbling about in the romance department. Blueprint for Romance was more of a serious romance about Kat’s slow and careful dating of Dylan Lake a widowed mom of a handicapped little girl. Dylan was reluctant to get back on the dating scene due to a couple of people who couldn’t cope with her little girl’s, Emma, loss of a leg and need for assistant devices. There was still moments of humor in this. I liked the slow steps taken by Kat and letting Dylan call the shots in the romance. Emma the little girl was a great and fun character. I enjoyed this sweet romance and hope Shannon Harris writes another story with these characters in it.
The relationship between Briely and Leah was sweet. The relationship between Kat, Dylan, and Emma is a whole different level of sweetness. Kat set out on a courtship of Dylan that was long, sensual, and thorough. There is humor off the charts. The chemistry between Kat and Dylan was smoking hot! Overall, well done!
Happily Ever After This is the second book in the Garriety Romance series. This is Kat’s story. While the first book, Add Romance and Mix: A Garriety Romance had me laughing throughout the book, this one had me in happy tears all the way through. Kat’s new business is taking off, her sister is engaged and living with her new family, Kat loves spending time with them, especially her niece and nephew and life is good, but she is desperately lonely and wants her forever love like her sister Briley and her fiancée. She meets the intriguing Dylan at a burger joint and is stunned into submission. She can’t take her eyes off the lovely woman. They are meant for each other but Dylan is in no rush for a relationship, especially with a smooth woman who seems too good to be true. Besides, every romantic interest has faded away when they realize they come second to Dylan’s disabled young daughter, until now… Kat and Dylan are both basically shy and a bit insecure. They really don’t know their own worth and there is so much to discover about each other. They have insane chemistry but take things super slow and that’s just fine with them. I adored both of these strong and determined women. They are so sweet and good for each other and Kat ADORES Dylan’s daughter and doesn’t mind a bit that she’s part of the deal. I liked that things aren’t always perfect but they both want their relationship and are willing to do what it takes to keep it moving forward. There is a strong message that Ms Harris drives home again and again and that is relationships that last take work and just because you have the girl, the wooing doesn’t stop…. If it’s worth it, it’s worth any and all effort to keep the relationship alive and thriving. I really liked that. It’s so true but so often overlooked and things really do falter if you don’t keep trying, communication is the key… This book is wonderful and lovely and heartfelt and pretty near perfect!
I very much enjoyed this book. I stayed up way too late reading. It was a sweet slow burn romance story with a hea ending. The characters are well developed and we get to revisit some of the characters from her other book that I read and also very much enjoyed Add Romance and Mix. I didn't want it to end. I love a happy ending. I’ll definitely be picking up more from this author.
I received the book in exchange for an honest review.
Lovely story about second chances at love. I loved the relationship that developed between the characters. The slowly growing attraction (I would say from first moment they saw each other) to progression through the book not only between the main characters but also Dylan’s daughter Emma. You never know when your life will turn around. Sapphire Books Publishing sent me an ARC for an honest review.
Sapphire Books Publishing sent me an ARC for an un-biased review. I took my time slowly absorbing this romance with main characters Kat and Dylan. The author enhances the plot with fully developed supporting characters (mainly Emma - Dylan's daughter). Life and love are journeys to be taken - bumps included!! I look forward to more from Ms. Harris. 5 stars
Omg wow I hope we get here more and these two sisters and there family's real soon I loved this book as much as I loved the first one and can't wait to read more about them all
We´re Back to Garriety, this second book in the series let us meet new lovely characters and to see old beloved ones from the previous book Add Romance and Mix.
This time the story is about Kat, Briley’s sister who we met in Add Romance and Mix. Kat is starting and building her own business, is going well but needs all her attention to take off completely. While she enjoys spending time with her sister and family, as well as she loves being the cool aunt for her niece and nephew. She doesn’t have time for love but aches deep inside for what her sister has. On a fate visit, she met Dylan, a woman whose life has been tilted on its axis for the worst. They click but Dylan isn’t in a rush to pursue that chemistry for a stranger. But life has other ideas for them and keep throwing them together. Dylan is wary and insecure, every time someone is interested in her and discover she is the mother of a disabled daughter, they run to the hills. Both have trust issues, still, Kat doesn’t run, will Dylan trust Kat enough to let herself and her daughter Emma be part of Kat’s life?
Featured Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Slow-paced romance, lesbian/bisexual lead characters
I love their relationship, it's pure and sincere. Slow burn is one of my favorite tropes, and that's one of the reasons why I gave it a four star not three, even though the last part is kinda bland or I don't know maybe it's just me. But overall I like it.