Best Laid Plans really touched my heart. It’s book two of the Garnet Run series but it stands on its own with no problem. We did meet Charlie in Better Than People but I don’t think you will feel like you’ve missed anything if you start with Best Laid Plans. Better Than People is a great book too, though, so I don’t hesitate to recommend it.

I was fortunate to receive and advance copy of the audiobook, performed by Greg Boudreaux, as well as the eBook. Greg is an outstanding performer and one of my favorites. I really enjoyed listening to the way he interpreted this book.

Charlie gave up his late teen years to care for his younger brother after their parents died. He sacrificed his happiness to give Jack stability and an education. He’s never made time for a relationship so when Rye drops into his life and shows an interest, he’s not really sure how to handle it.

Rye has no roots and when he inherits a house from his grandfather he packs up and heads towards Garnet Run. Unfortunately, what he finds when he arrives is a house that is uninhabitable. He decides to fix it up himself even though he knows nothing about home repair/remodeling. He becomes a frequent visitor to Charlie’s hardware store and Charlie can’t resist going to see what Rye is doing with all of the seemingly random supplies he’s bought.

Poor Charlie is used to fixing things so he wants to help Rye. Rye, however, doesn’t trust easily and wants to fix things on his own. Once Rye gives in and lets Charlie help, he comes to realize how much of a good guy Charlie really is. I loved watching their relationship develop. It’s not all smooth sailing (Charlie is used to being in charge) but Rye helps him discover some surprising things about himself.

I loved the warm feelings this book gave me. Charlie and Rye really clicked and I loved reading their story. The epilogue was particularly wonderful. I don’t know if there are more books planned for this series but there was one character that I’d like to read more about. 😊 I almost forgot to tell readers to watch for the Easter egg that Roan wrote into the book. 😊

Reviews for Roan Parrish

Reviews for Greg Boudreaux

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Through the glass front door, Charlie saw an ominously smoking car grind to a halt in the parking lot. It looked like it had originally been a late-eighties two-door Chevy Beretta but had since been Frankensteined of multiple ve¬hicles’ pieces, many of them different colors and some of them clinging desperately together, helped only by electri¬cal tape and grime.

Charlie winced, fingers itching to put the car together properly—or, perhaps more practically, drive it to the junk¬yard and put it out of its misery.

Marie was bagging Bill Duff’s purchases when the door burst open. In stepped a man Charlie’d never seen before.

He certainly would have remembered.

Long, dark hair fell messily over his shoulders. He was slim and angular, with a slinky walk that made him look like he was made of hips and shoulders. The cuffs and collar of his long-sleeved T-shirt were worn rough and the knees of his jeans blown out. He looked like ten miles of dirt road.

Charlie raised a hand at the newcomer.

“Welcome to Matheson’s. I’m Charlie. Can I help you find anything?”

The man’s light, kohl-lined eyes darted around, as if Charlie might be talking to someone else, then, looking confused, said, “Uh. No.”

He hurried off down aisle one and Charlie let him alone. Some people didn’t want help or attention while they shopped, and Charlie was just glad of a new customer—and a young one at that. Business was okay, but with each passing year overnight shipping and Amazon ate further into his profit margin, particularly with customers under forty.

The stranger walked up and down the aisles, muttering inaudibly, swearing audibly, and consulting his phone every minute or so, as if the answers he wouldn’t accept from Charlie lay there.

After the better part of half an hour, he approached the register, arms full, though there were baskets and small carts available.

“Find everything okay?” Charlie asked as the man dumped his purchases on the counter.

“Uh, sure.”

He sounded distracted and was glaring at the items he’d chosen.

“You need any help with…” Charlie gestured at the hard¬ware equivalent to marshmallows, cheese, and spaghetti be¬fore him.

The man raised a dramatic dark eyebrow but didn’t say anything. His eyes, Charlie could see now, were gray, and his skin was pale, as if he were a black-and-white image in a color world.

That pale glare lanced him, and he looked away, ringing and bagging things up.

The man swiped his credit card like he was ripping some¬thing in half and had to do it again when the machine didn’t get a read. He glared at it.

When Charlie handed him his bags he couldn’t help needling the man a little.

“Need any help getting things out to your car?” he asked, as he’d ask anyone.

The man glared down at the bags he was holding, then up at Charlie.

“No,” he said, like the word was his favorite one and, in his mouth, capable of expressing every feeling and thought he had.

“Okay, then,” Charlie said, purposefully cheery. “Have a good one.”

The man narrowed his eyes like there was a barb hidden in the words he simply hadn’t found yet.

“Uh-huh,” he said, and wrinkled his nose suspiciously, backing out the door.

“Who was that?” Marie asked. Charlie turned to see her lurking in the doorway from the back room.

“I don’t know,” Charlie said.

But he was damn sure gonna find out.

Garnet Run Series

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