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This surrogacy was not The Perfect Plan!

And this was not a spoiler, it was abundantly clear in the first few pages. So, we have Fabiola, who is married with three children, and her best friend Liz who is unable to conceive due to medical issues. Liz is married to Peter, Fabiola’s oldest friend since middle school. Fabiola’s more-than-twenty-year infatuation and codependency over Peter is all kinds of icky and wrong, made even worse by the fact that Fabiola’s married to someone else, and her friendship with Liz. It was the ultimate betrayal! No one involved was doing this for the right reasons. Anyway, because Fabiola thinks motherhood is the ultimate, since she enjoyed being pregnant with her own kids, and because she would do anything for Peter, and way down the list of reasons, because she wants to give the gift of a child to her friend Liz, Fabiola offers to be their surrogate. As you can imagine, it’s a train wreck. Red flags all over the place.

This one was fairly predictable, especially if you happened to read the book blurb, which fortunately I didn’t until after I’d finished reading, so please avoid it if you can as it gave so much away. Having said this, there were still some surprising twists that I didn’t foresee. Predictable or not I excitedly anticipated where this was going, was never bored, and was always eager to pick up where I left off. This author is known for writing novels that deal with real-life, relatable social issues, and The Perfect Plan was no exception, there were some heavy and emotional moments. However, I did find this one tended towards family and friendship drama/soap opera, more so than her previous books, and I was 100% here for the deception. Fabiola’s life unraveled fast.

I was in two minds regarding Fabiola. At times she came across as naïve, selfish and self-centred, and her obsession with Peter was very unhealthy. But she was a good mother, she was juggling a lot, she was surrounded by people whose love and supportiveness was inconsistent or withheld, and she was just trying to do the best she could. This one was narrated solely by Fabiola, which again was different to Caitlin Weaver’s other two books which utilised multiple POV’s. I was completely invested in Fabiola’s storyline and predicament, so much so that when Part Two flashed across my screen I was momentarily worried that we were going to shift to another character’s perspective and I didn’t want that, so was relieved when it didn’t. I loved that this one was set in New York, rather than the suburbs �� as it offered up a different take on lifestyle, work/home balance, and parenting in the city.

The Perfect Plan was my third read by Caitlin Weaver in the past six months, and I’ve rated them all 4.5 ⭐️. I admire how fast she writes and releases these books �� no complaints from me. Caitlin Weaver is now an auto- read/acquire/buy author for me.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, Storm Publishing, and Caitlin Weaver for the e-ARC.

Release Date: 15 January 2025.