Best Laid Plans

Title: Best Laid Plans
Author: Cassie Stevens
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: Gay/ Contemporary
Length:  82 pages
Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

A Guest Review by StaceyR

Summary Review
A nice angsty read. NFL superstar Seth Foster has spent years trying to prove to himself he’s not gay. He buys an old historic house in his childhood neighborhood so he can tear it down in the hopes of burying memories of the night his best friend Jason became his lover. Jason has plans of his own and shows up to challenge Seth to face the past instead of running from it, to restore the house and their chance to finally find love, in each other.

BLURB
Seth Foster’s biggest mistake wasn’t being in Jason’s arms…it was running from them. Running and hiding are what Seth does best. Running down a football field, hiding from the world and himself what he truly feels inside. He thought tearing down the old house would purge the memories. He didn’t realize buying the place would bring Jason Gentry back into his life.

Jason Gentry purged the heartbreak and all the anger that came with it years ago. It rushes back at the first sight of Seth standing before the old house. So does ache and want…and Jason’s determination to see the house restored, to show Seth some things are worth saving. It doesn’t take Jason long to realize that the thing that needs restoring the most is Seth. How can Jason give Seth what he most needs without further losing his heart in the process?

Jason has one night to re-introduce Seth to the life he never should have denied. One night to remember forever. If you love someone, let them go, right? Yeah, right…then run the other way before heartbreak catches you…

REVIEW
Seth Foster arrives at an old historic house he’s just bought for an obscene amount of money at auction, a crumbling monstrosity that’s rumored to be haunted. The house harbors Seth’s biggest skeleton, memories of the night he and his best friend waited out a storm and gave in to a passion that shook Seth’s very foundation. Being gay was never part of Seth’s plan. He’s spent nearly a decade trying to shove those memories and desires from his mind. Now that he’s nearing the end of his NFL career, he’s brimming with success, and has never felt more lost and alone. He’s second-guessing his reasons for buying the house when the person he’s been trying to exorcise from his life steps up beside him.

Jason had bid on the house against his ex-best friend, jacking up the price as a way to get back at Seth for the years of hurt he’d caused him when they were seventeen. When that didn’t slake his unexpected need for revenge he goes to confront Seth. He might have been crushed when his best friend and first love cast him out of his life, but he’s gotten over it; he’s out, proud and a successful author. But the moment he looks into Seth’s pain-filled gaze his plan backfires as old emotions he’d thought he’d long since gotten over and buried come rushing to the surface.

Face to face for the first time since their youth, neither can deny the instant flare of attraction, but Jason’s not about to open himself to that kind of vulnerability again, not when Seth is still clinging to his claims of heterosexuality for all he’s worth. He’s stunned and furious by the amount of hurt Seth’s denial can still inflict in him. He challenges Seth to face his memories instead of running from them and restore the old house as a way to give back to the community. When they venture inside, the rotting, rodent-infested reality of the house reflects too much truth on their own lost relationship, leaving them both feeling miserable.

Staying with his parents while he’s in town, Seth goes home and asks his mom if she’s still friends with Jason’s mom. He’s shocked to find out they’re still close friends. His mom asks questions she’s kept quiet for years and with a bit of digging, his mom gets him to admit he’s gay. The next day he’s surprised, relieved and little bit frightened to see Jason at the house, ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work.

I loved Jason’s character, his internal dialogue had me laughing, the way his mouth runs away with him and his internal editor tries to take over. Here’s an example:

“You think you can admit you’re gay and then go fuck your brains out with the first man you see? In a car, in a bar, in the grass, up the ass, down the throat until you choke.” Quit with the fucking rhymes. “Quick and fast. Dirty and hard. I’m not going to be that man.” Clarify. “I’m not going to be that man for you.” Rephrase, fast! “Because I want more than that. We’re at different stages in our lives.”

Jason pressed his fingers against his temples. This was not coming out the way he wanted. Seth looked like he was starting to hyperventilate. Poor guy. He’d come out and made his move only to be—

Jason can’t deny the man he’s been in love with most of his life, and while he tries to take it slow…some passions can’t be denied, and the whole story takes place over a couple of days.  I would have liked to have seen this story stretched out over more time, but I liked this story, liked the characters, and the resolution had some depth to it. Still, I felt like it ended when it was just starting, ya know? I wanted to see the restored house, them in their desert house, Seth making a new start and how that worked with his NFL fame and Jason’s writing career. Maybe I’m just greedy 🙂

Bottom line:  BEST LAID PLANS is a hot, angsty, heartwarming and fun tale of reunited-teen-lovers, and one man’s long struggle with self denial–recommended for an enjoyable quick read.