Book Review: Not Part of the Plan

This past week I read the 4th book in Lucy Score’s Blue Moon series, Not Part of the Plan. This one is the first in the series to not have one of the Pierce brothers as an mmc and while I liked the mmc in this one, the Pierce brothers were missed (they are in the book though!).

The novel follows Emma Merrill and Niko Vulkov. Emma is the older sister to Gia from Fall Into Temptation and Niko is Summer’s best friend from No More Secrets. Emma has been living in Blue Moon after her move from LA for close to a year now, managing the brewery that the Pierce Brothers opened on their farm. With a food service/restaurant management background, this was the perfect opportunity for her and the Pierces – to have someone with experience manage the brewery and so she could be close to her sister and dad. Niko is a popular fashion photographer living in New York City who comes to visit Summer, Carter, and their kids indefinitely as he tries to feel inspired again to photograph anything.

Emma and Niko are insanely attracted to each other, but Emma is looking for the one and wants to settle down and plant roots in Blue Moon. She wants someone stable and responsibile. Niko doesn’t do relationships; he’s not looking to settle down. He has a string of models as his past hook ups or women he’s casually seen, but nothing serious. They both like each other, but Emma doesn’t want to involved with someone who’s just going to be leaving town soon to go back to the city. Niko wants to see where things go and try to convince Emma to just enjoy the present and not worry about the future.

Will the two work things out and compromise on what they both want? Will his feelings towards Emma cause Niko to finally want a relationship? Will Emma open up to new possibilities and not let her past dictate her future? Will Niko find his inspiration to photograph again?

I enjoyed this book, but it definitely is my least favorite Blue Moon book so far. I liked Emma and Niko and their developing relationship, but I never felt super invested in them. Emma got a little annoying at times with how stubborn she was being. Niko had a lot of green flags, but then there’s one thing he did that I found to be problematic. I was actually surprised about it because I’m not used to Lucy Score having problematic main characters or doing actions that could be red flags.

Overall, I did like the book, Emma and Niko, and how their love story played out.

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