This is a good one. Is it a little predictable? Sure. But in the same way you reach for your favorite food or show. It's because you know you'll like it.

Karim is a total dream boat, a book boyfriend we would all want. Not only is he kind, thoughtful, and patient, but he was also written with emotional intelligence.

Isadora is smart and capable, and reading about her insecurities was so interesting. Both characters have many layers.

I like them bonding over borderlines, I'm a therapist and thought the storyline was well done.

One con: the pet names for each other got SO old. It was too much and distracting. But all in all, this was a spicy fun read.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Not the Plan by Gia de Cadenet is a behind-the-scenes look at politics in action with a steamy romance thrown in the mix, which makes for a potentially explosive combination.
Actual Reading Experience:
I'll be honest. I struggled with this story. I felt no connection to it or the characters, which led to a boring read for at least the first half. Though the dull tone still niggled me in the second half, at least the plot got a bit more interesting with political scandal, an opened door romance (which I could have done without), and essential discussions on mental health and racism issues that impact the characters. The author handled those meaningful discussions reasonably well. However, I like to see more responsible actions being encouraged and taken when it comes to mental health. It's just a counselor thing. The romance was cringy for me. I didn't feel the chemistry and preferred romances that happen more organically rather than ones where sex is almost immediate. Those kinds of affairs never feel very authentic to me.

Typically, this book would have been one that I stopped reading at around the 25% mark, but I did see it through to the end. Unfortunately, it did not get remarkably better for me, and I'm struggling with positives to discuss.

That being said, I've seen other reviews from the many people who enjoyed this book. So if this one intrigues you, then definitely see those reviews by people who had a much more enjoyable reading experience.

Me falling heads over heels with Karim was not the plan! But I'm here to tell you Gia De Cadenet knows how to write an emotional hero that turns me into the biggest sap. Let me tell you, I'll go to war about Karim Sarda. (Laila could have met me outside)

I was fortunate to have received Gia's first arc (Getting HIs Game Back) and then was favored enough to get an arc of Not the Plan. While I'm rating 4.5/5. Not the Plan is for a specific type of reading and I'm her. This political romance has a little something for every type of reader. Of course there is romance with some steam but if that's not you jam and you just came for the politics, fear not Gia has you covered. The corruption and plotting that goes on with various senators are the very things you see in the news.

This book leans heavy into the romeo v juliette/ montague v capulet theme. However this has a happy ending :)
The love and the care that is shared between Isadora and Karim is healthy and whole. Neither character feels good enough but together they reassure each other. You could feel their connection by how they communicated with each other, constantly checking in on their emotions by asking "blunt, honest." When one was down, the other knew to hold them up.

Just like Getting His Game Back, Not the Plan has some heavier topics that are weaved into the story that may be triggering. Please note the content warnings for Gaslighting, Manipulation, Domestic Abuse, Blackmail, and racial slurs. Each topic is handled with the utmost care and used to tell the backstory of our maincharacters.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for depth to their romance.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this!

I liked Getting His Game Back a lot, and Not the Plan definitely proves that wasn’t a one-off. It was fun, while tackling some heavy mental health topics. I loved the chemistry between the characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I loved Getting His Game Back and when I was approved for the next book in this little series, I was so excited!
I think Not the Plan was a nice follow up, though it didn't hit in the same way for me. I had an issue with pacing at some moments.
It was a sweet romance between Isadora and Karim, though it felt like I didn't connect with the characters.
My biggest complaint was that for two people who were strong professionals, they seemed almost silly at times with their pet names and how quickly their relationship was developing, especially at work.
One of my favorite parts of both books has been how De Cadenet weaves mental health into the storyline. I think my absolute favorite plot is that in Not the Plan, Karim helps Isa develop her awareness for her own mental health, rather than having the woman "fix" the man in relation to his issues.

Overall, I enjoyed the story but felt it didn't come together as nicely as the first in the series.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Isadora and Karim work for two rival Democratic senators in California when they meet cute. Since their employers are rivals, a lot is made of whether they can even be friends without feeling like they are being traitors to their supervisors. I liked the political setting and the plot. I also like how De Cadenet always weaves a mental health thread into her characters' lives. Both Isadora and Karim have been hurt by people close to them who are not supportive of them and broke their confidence. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into the core relationship between the two main characters. I found their chemistry lacking and their immediate nicknames a little cringey. I wish that I'd liked this more-my previous experience with the author was a really good one.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest review.

I am impressed with how the author continues to weave disability topics with romance. This is exactly the type of book that I am looking for when it comes to these topics handled sensitively. I also must say, Karim is boyfriend goals. Total swoon. I hope everyone gets a chance to read this book!

Book Review💭💭
📖Not the Plan by Gia De Cadenet📖

Isadora is a talented Chief of Staff to a senator.
Karim is looking for a fresh start and joins the ranks of a rival senator.

A forbidden political romance ensues.

I enjoyed the political aspects of this book. It was informative but also entertaining.

I did not like how Isa and Karim's sexual chemistry was portrayed. It felt dry and forced. The sexual innuendos seemed out of place.

Mental health issues were a big part of the story for both MCs. I appreciate how Karim was able to grow from his experiences.

He was really protective of Isa.

Overall I think the book was cute.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Notes 📝
- forbidden romance
- mental health
- politics

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#interracialromance #nottheplan #netgalley #blackwomenread #forbiddenromance #bookstagram #bookreview #kindle #arc #bookcommunity

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an egalley of Not the Plan.

Isadora has been in state politics for a decade and she's experienced it all. However, her cool and calm demeanor is shaken when she meets the new council for the her boss's biggest rival - the man she accidentally spilled coffee on at the airport. And the man she hasn't been able to stop thinking about. Karim is equally as surprised to see Isadora, but excited that they will be working together. Until he realizes their bosses are known as the Montagues and Capulets throughout the Senate.

As they begin navigating a relationship outside the workplace, both Isadora and Karim have to come to terms with how those they love have treated them.

Not the Plan is a political romance about two aides to democratic California state senators. Isadora is the chief of staff to the younger, more progressive senator and puts dating on the back burner to her career, while dealing with toxic relationship with her mother. Karim is the legislative director to the old school (and a shady lobbyist type) senator who is rivals with Isadora's senator, and he is also separated from his emotionally abusive ex-wife. Karim and Isadora have a chance meet cute on a flight and realize they work for rival senators after having already hitting on each other. They are wildly attracted to each other, so regardless of their work situation, a forbidden workplace romance ensues!
If you're looking for a book for valentine's day, this is pretty spicy! It's not all spice though, as they bond over their emotionally abusive relationships and their integrity in their careers.
What I didn't like: their cringe pet names for each other.
What I liked: the representation of men and mental health, and the male MC being the survivor of abuse who sought therapy.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC.
ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

On the novel side, I thought this contemporary worked okay. Julian was quite the cookie cutter villain (not that any of the secondary characters were particularly strongly written), but the political plot built well enough, and the discussion of being emotionally abused by someone whose mental illness was strong, especially in the range of relationships it included. The way that particular experience bonded the characters and also was an understandable weakness for the two of them that played into the plot was nicely done.

On the romance side, however, I really didn't connect with things at all. I found the pacing really off, perhaps due to the general length of the book - it felt like the scenes were being checked off a list rather than flowing or building into each other, culminating in the two of them suddenly having a trial move in. Beyond that, the dialogue really, really did not work for me; toward the beginning, it was just boring, lacking the chemistry that feels necessary to keep true interest for the reader and realistically for the characters, and as they got further into the romance it stayed cliché but was also just awkward. The dirty talk didn't work for me on a sexiness level, and the nicknames appeared far too frequently ("baby" and "beautiful" and "gorgeous" was enough, but, to be frank, I cringed every time I read "Little Kite").

Also, I'm extremely ready for the end of the trend of persistent hotness-related nicknames during the meet cute before they're introduced ("demigod").

Really your mileage may vary on this one, and it's not offensive in any way, but it truly was not for me.

I started laughing from the very first chapter. The opening chapter was designed to suck readers in and it did just that.

Written from what appears to be a dual POV, this book examines politics both at its finest and dirtiest.

I like how the author combined politics with romance in the telling of this story. The ‘dance’ between Isadora and Karim was interesting to read.

This book explores the less talked about topic- male DV. It also explores mental illness, mental health issues, which was prevalent throughout the story and child abuse.

All of the characters delivered exactly what was asked of them. Each did their job perfectly and executed their roles well.

Karim was portrayed as a survivor yet vulnerable and strong to start all over. I like how he won Isa over by just being himself.

While I do not begrudge Isa her choices, I felt she was too strait laced and had up too many walls up. It was frustrating to see her put up defenses when love was clearly staring at her in the face.

I enjoyed how the climax unfolded-with drama and suspense. I love that Karim and Isa found their HEA.

CW: gaslighting, emotionally abusive parent, emotionally and physically abusive partner, mental illness, sexual abuse, blackmail

Thank you to Random House Publishing-Ballantine, Dell, and NetGalley for this advanced copy of Not the Plan.

I enjoyed Gia de Cadenet’s debut Getting His Game Back (GHGB) so I was really looking forward to Not the Plan. We met Karim, one of the main characters in this book, in Getting His Game Back so we know a little bit of his background. You do not have to read GHGB to understand Not the Plan.

Not the Plan is about Isadora Maris, a California based chief of staff with dreams of being a congressional aide for her senator boss in D.C., and Karim Sarda, a man separated from his abusive wife who is trying to start his personal and career life over in California. They have a great meet cute in the airport. Come to find out Karim is the new aide for a slimy senator who happens to be enemies with Isadora’s boss. When they see each other again the lust is potent. We read about how Isa and Karim navigate political careers, abusive family members, and mental health issues while trying to have a relationship.

As with GHGB, I enjoyed how Gia makes mental health issues a main character, especially with men. She writes about these issues in a way that the reader can understand even if they personally have not dealt with it before. Karim is currently in the midst of getting a divorce from his wife after being separated for over a year. His wife has Borderline Personality Disorder and in this case it means his wife is verbally (and sometimes physically) abusive to Karim. He has gone to therapy due to the abuse he has endured their whole marriage and he speaks freely about it. Once Isa opens up about her mother who also seems to have a personality disorder, Karim freely speaks about his experiences with his wife and gives Isa advice that his therapist has given him. He helps Isa to realize that how her mother treats her is not normal, it is unacceptable, and that it’s not up to her to be “perfect” to combat this abuse.

This novel fell short for me in terms of enjoyment for a couple of reasons. Karim’s usage of the word “beautiful” to address Isa was overdone. I found it even more annoying that at one point she asked him to call her Isa and he only does it a handful of times and reverts back to “beautiful.” Then she started calling him “gorgeous” and I just tossed my hands up in frustration. I also couldn’t bring myself to believe in this relationship as anything other than lust. Isa’s and Karim’s lust reminds me of hormonal teenagers. Both are scared of relationships for their own valid reasons, but the way they talk so openly about desiring each other after only knowing each other for a short period of time felt strange. It didn’t feel like the characters I was getting to know, especially because their mannerisms. Every single thing they did or said was with uncertainty or bashfulness. Eyes down, lip biting, blushing, etc. yet let’s discuss our sex dreams freely. Even the thought of Isa’s hair down makes Karim blush. We see multiple times in the story that sexual thoughts or the act distracts them too easily. Every little thing each of them does turns the other on. We know that there is nothing or anyone that Isa will allow to get in her way of helping her boss become pro tem then U.S. Representative so she can become a congressional aide. Yet a potentially huge issue arises later in the story that could derail her dreams and her reaction when Karim brings it up? She says she doesn’t think there is anything to worry about, even though she herself had expressed concerns about it, and to not let it spoil their time together. Is this the same Isadora I’ve been reading about for 75% of the story? Then when the conflict arises she blames Karim even though she had her own doubts and could’ve done something about it herself. The affection in this story felt forced and overdone with cheesy verbal exchanges. Isa’s character felt like a seesaw to me. The resolutions for the conflicts felt anti-climatic. This book was too wordy and I started to skim at some parts.

I had high hopes for Not the Plan since I enjoyed GHGB, but unfortunately this book was not for me.

Special thanks to the author, randomhouse, & netgalley for my advanced readers copy!!!

This book was kind of meh to me nothing to exciting. It’s a political romance which wasn’t the issue but more so the characters and the lingo used throughout that annoyed me.

It follows two protagonists Isadora Maris and Karim Sarda both working in politics but on different sides of the political party. When the two randomly meet on a flight they both seem to catch a vibe. Probably thinking they’ll never cross paths again.

They happen to run into each other again but this time it’s at work. Isadora instantly questions whether it’s a good idea to shoot her shot considering their bosses are political rivals both fighting for control of the California senate. But that doesn’t stop Karim from deciding to make a move.

𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖:
The premise was interesting who doesn’t love a good forbidden workplace romance. The secret flirting and going after something you’re not supposed to have is always a thrill. But the political scandal was the most interesting part.

𝕄𝕪 𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤:
* Isadora referring to Karim as a Demi-God
* Calling him gorgeous repeatedly like ma’am if you don’t call him handsome or fine cause GOOOOORGEOUS really?
* Karim’s overuse with calling Isadora “beautiful”
* The sex scenes were kind of spicy but I hate when the word cock is used.
* I also didn’t enjoy how one-sided the personality disorder was depicted.

Overall, I felt the book was okay. The characters seemed to have more of a physical attraction and their connection only grew stronger based off the trauma they’d both experienced. There wasn’t any real chemistry between them in my opinion. But if you’re into this kind of trope then I recommend it’s worth a read just wasn’t for me.

I really enjoyed this political/workplace/enemies to lovers by Gia De Cadenet! Our MC’s are stafffers of political rivals!! 😱 The duel POV was fun and kind of seems to not be as common in contemporary romance these days so that was refreshing! I really appreciated Gia’s ability to write about serious issues (lots of mental health issues!) while also having great steamy scenes mixed in! Overall I enjoyed and would recommend!

Thank you to Random House Publishing for the advanced copy!

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I found the story absolutely the opposite of engaging and the characters undeveloped. Thank you for the opportunity.

Not the Plan by Gia De Cadenet is an enemies-to-lovers romance in a political landscape with rivals. The dual point of view in politics is always important but throw in some romance kept me wanting more. I've enjoyed this author and look forward to reading more from her!

4.5/5

I am absolutely OBSESSED with Karim. When I tell you this man had me GIGGLING and BLUSHING so hard!! The chemistry and downright sizzle between him and Isadora was an absolute joy to read. The meet cute was adorable and, boy, can this man ~talk~. 😏

Isadora is the badass woman of my dreams and I admired her drive when it came to getting what she wanted. Her struggle with her abusive mom, and Karim’s self-esteem after leaving an abusive marriage, really made them feel like real people and I think made their relationship deeper.

The drama in the political side of the book was JUICY and infuriating and so entertaining. The book is also good interracial romance representation.

My issues: I felt the book leaned a little too heavily into painting those with Borderline Personality Disorder as abusers. Yes, it was a great representation of overcoming and recognizing emotional abuse, but it felt a little too accusatory as BPD can look different for different people.

Secondly, the pet names needed to take a backseat. It’s cute and endearing a few times, but it felt like every sentence they were calling each other the same pet name and it started to make them feel gross to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

1.75/5 stars! I wanted to like this book. I really did. The premise of political rivals reeled me in. Unfortunately, not much in this story worked. The characters both felt really insecure and not in any head space to be pursuing a romance. This story would have worked better if they'd just realized that and become workplace allies. Their chemistry was off because of this and it ruined the tone of the story.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

A diverse, steamy, political romance?! Yes, please! Not the Plan was fantastic - and included a twist here and there that I didn't expect. Well done!