There is nothing better than a second chance romance book and this one was so good. It was fast paced and had the perfect amount of wittiness that made me laugh out loud.

The cover of this book is what made me request this.

However, it archived before I had a chance to download it therefore I cannot give an accurate review. My apologies.

I received an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


The cover of this book drew me in as it looks like a nice light novel

Unfortunately it expired in the NetGalley app before I had a chance to read it therefore I cannot give an accurate review.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this early. I have never read anything by this author so i was excited when I was granted access. One of my favorite genres is second chance and this one did not disappoint. I read this one really quickly. It was so good!

I’m a huge fan of second chance romances, and this didn’t disappoint. I do have to say though that I liked Orla far more than I liked Aidan. His behaviour was questionable and often manipulative, and I did have moments when I wished Orla would see that and maybe decide he wasn’t the one for her after all, I’m thinking that anytime you read a book hoping the main MC won’t end up with the hero, that’s probably not a good thing! However, there was enough there to keep me reading. They had great chemistry, even though it was frustrating at times. A fair of repetition which was unnecessary, but on the whole, I enjoyed the read. Thank you Netgalley for the read.

Enjoyed the first few chapters of this book, then it got very bland and boring, couldn’t honestly finish the book

Orla is a regional reporter with a five-year plan to work on a newspaper in London. She meets Aiden on assignment – he is a nature photographer who travels a lot and lives out of a tent. Neither of them is looking for a relationship so despite an intense connection, they go their separate ways. But five years later, she bumps into him against at a photography exhibition.
I picked this one up because I love second-chance romances and enjoyed the flashback chapters to when Orla first met Aiden and the set-up about his unusual lifestyle spent otter tracking. However, the second half of the book veered into blandsville and now writing this review, I can’t even recall how it ended.

Unfortunately I was unable to get in to this story and had to put it down, however, I'm sure it is a highly loved book and appreciated by the right readers.

I greatly enjoyed this book, thank you for giving me a preview copy. The plot was interesting and fast paced and I sympathised with the characters. This is the first novel I have read by this author but I hope it will not be the last!

First novel by this author for me. Such a heart warming feel good read. Exactly what I needed. Definitely recommend this!

I really enjoyed the plot and Aiden.
However, Orla was a bit annoying at times. I just wanted to admit what she was feeling instead of saying something completely different. Also, I got annoyed with her inner monologues.
Lastly, then ending just wrapped up too quickly.
I still enjoyed the story though.

I am 100% in LOVE.

Aiden and Orla’s slow journey to love and happily ever after was a true joy to read! I could not put this book down.

As mismatched as I perceived the two main characters to be that wasn’t the main issue, which I really appreciated from the author.

I recommend reading this book if you are looking for a sweet romance between 2 people who don’t match but are perfect for each other none the less.

As I’m writing this, it’s 36°C and utterly too warm to do much of anything. Except, apparently, to read The Five Year Plan. That, I couldn’t stop doing!

The story
Orla is a trainee reporter with a five-year plan: work her way up the career ladder, move to London and secure a job on a big national newspaper. She doesn’t want a boyfriend, he’s only going to hold her back anyway.

Aiden spends his life travelling the world and living in a tent. He knows his goal: to photograph animals and raise awareness of global warming and wildlife conservation. He’s definitely not looking for a relationship past the odd casual hook-up!

So when Orla and Aiden’s lives collide, they do everything to not fall for each other – with the opposite effect. But they stick to their plans, and go their separate ways..

Five years later, they meet again.

The opinion

In all honesty, it would probably be easier if I could discuss this book as two different stories: on the one hand, there’s the present, on the other, there’s 5 years ago.

That second story? Just about the perfect summer story. From the characterisation of Aiden and Orla to the descriptions of the summer they spend together (and of course: all the nature!)… How they met and got together was absolutely captivating, and might just be one of my favourite summer love stories – ever.

Unfortunately, the “present day” narration, I liked less. The opening scene is a strong one, certainly, but maybe that’s why the second half of the story, and certainly the final couple of chapters, felt like a bit of a let-down. Although this story is already 555 pages long, it felt like the author got stuck in a bit of a rush, trying to reach the end of the book.

Where the world-building in both the opening scene and the “five years ago” were brilliant? That was much less the case once Aiden and Orla got to talking again. Orla’s doubts seemed at times repetitive, while Aiden’s response to them struck me as almost childish in his stubborn-ness.

The rating: 3/5
I really wanted to give this a four star-rating, and up to the last couple of chapters, I probably would have done so. Other than that feeling of being rushed, though, I really, thoroughly enjoyed The Five Year Plan. I fell in love with Orla and Aiden’s love, with their time spent spying on otters, and of course… A happy ending’s never a bad thing, is it?

If you’re in need of a fluffy summer read that’s fun, just a little bit quirky, and altogether really enjoyable? The Five Year Plan is definitely the book for you!

-Saar

I really wanted to love this book because I did like the general idea of the book, but unfortunately this was just okay for me.. i founded very slow and without that much point, i think it could be little shorter...The characters was a little bit flat for my taste.

Thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

From the off the scene was set, with an absolute stunner of a scene as our lead, Orla, races to an art gallery to see the work of The Aidan Byrne, a wildlife photographer.

The chemistry was fizzling between the two, and I couldn’t wait to see the backstory. From this to a memory that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up with amazing ecological scenes, beautiful and captivating, but sprinkled with smile moments, accident prone type comedy and gorgeous romance.

I’ll admit the second part of the book, the now, and the epilogue held my attention a smidgen less, but all in all a fantastic read that I’ll be recommending all over the place. Thanks so much to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the book in return for an honest review and for allowing me to be part of the blog tour.

Rating: 5/5

This book tells the romantic story of Orla and Aidan, who met at the wrong time in their lives, but then again meet 5 years later. There are definitely points of the book that are slow, and it's VERY long. It's a cute story but one that probably could of been told a little quicker for me.

I wanted to love this book but it ended up being "just ok". The first few chapters were great but it went downhill from there in my opinion. I finished it but honestly, the characters and the plot were forgettable.
3 stars.

Thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this free copy in exchange for an honest review on Netgalley.

While I enjoyed the development of each character and the story overall, there are things in the book that I couldn’t overlook and it bothered me a lot.
I’m all for your life being lived at your fullest potential but somehow I got annoyed with both characters at times. The male character seems a bit to entitled to decide their future without actually considering her options and what the female character really wants for herself and at other times I think she was more of a pushover and accepted him as it came because of the fear of being alone over the years or of what ifs.
It’s a great story to reflect on and a well written one but unfortunately not a memorable one for me which is overall I would rate it with 3 out of 5 stars.

This was a very good second chance romance and was a great escape for an afternoon. The characters were lovable and the plot was good.
Many thanks to HQ Digital and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

He’s a wildlife photographer and she is a journalist. They met five years ago, but eventually life took them into different parts of the world. Now, they meet again. Will the present just be another repetition of the past?

Two book is split into two timelines, five years before and after with the exception of the epilogue which does another five year jump. Orla is an organised trainee-reporter with a five-year plan and Aiden a carefree wildlife photographer that she needs to interview, who lives in a tent. After an eventful and one-of-a-kind interview involving rabbit-holes, a friendship is born. It’s intense, beautiful and they’re almost inseparable. Eventually they both realise there might be something more going on there but almost as soon as they do, Aiden has to leave for India. Fast-forward to five years later to a Hayward gallery exhibition night, where Aiden’s work is on display, and the story almost restarts where it left off when the two re-unite.

The weren’t that many characters, so the focus lay mostly on the characters of Aiden and Orla, who were likeable enough. Throughout, the chemistry is palatable between the two and you just want to cheer them on, hoping they’ll end up together. The banter between the two was funny, making the pages flow by. It reads like a slightly cheesy 90s romantic comedy that you can’t help but love. Not surprisingly wildlife and nature plays a large part, which created a unique and interesting storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed its importance throughout the book; in fact, the descriptions of otters and foxes and birds, just left me wanting to venture out into the wilderness with my own sleeping bag in tow.

The reason why I didn’t give the book a higher rating is because I had a few problems with Aiden’s character. As sweet and attentive as he was, he could also be selfish and stubborn, with limited growth throughout the novel.

*Slight spoilers ahead*

He made life-changing decisions by himself however much he would sugar-coat it and expected Orla to go along with these. He didn’t respect her career choice and saw his as more important than hers, take the instance where he suggested that she should abandon her London reporter job and move to Ireland with him and become his PA. Is that complete respect? For me it would be moving outside of London, but within commuting distance. There wasn’t much of compromise going on on his side from my point of view, and that made me dislike him somewhat.
Another little thing that bothered me, was the repetition of the same arguments of why certain decisions couldn’t be taken, especially towards the end of the book. The two of them weren’t really listening to each other, just echoing their own arguments over and over.
And lastly, Orla despite being assertive in the first part of the book, loses that aspect of her personality. She just becomes submissive and eventually does what Aiden wants which is mind-boggling because that’s not who was at the beginning. You could argue that she wasn’t fully happy with living in London and that she loved Aiden, but her career was meant to mean a lot to her and I don’t believe that ambition just evaporated over the course of few days because Aiden decided to put down roots and come back to her life. It just didn’t seem that realistic, and instead of romantic, it felt dour and depressing when she so easily gave up her London life.

In conclusion, it’s a lovely and sweet romantic novel that can be read quickly. The storyline is quite original and will keep up your interest, however you need to bear in mind that the characters fall under the old stereotype of the man being the assertive one and the female despite starting out as strong, eventually becomes less so, as more in love she falls. If that’s not something you mind, go for it as it is a fun read (but just might not be everybody’s cup of tea).