This book is all about second chances and coming home. Alice is going back home to the Last Chance Inn. She had grown up there and recently inherited a third of it from loner Eleanor - along with former friend Lauren and former (unknown to him) crush, Knox. They are tasked to complete the inn's restoration as a stipulation in the will.

However, this is not a desirable situation for any of them due to their histories with the town and/or each other. They establish ground rules (documented on drywall, for easy access) and slowly begin patching the house and their relationships - just for a month until renovations are done!

They were given a box that contained letters written by Eleanor to her late sister, who was Lauren's grandmother. Through the missives, the team learn more about Eleanor and her feelings toward them..

I have throughly enjoyed every book in the Sunrise Cove series by Jill Shalvis. The next installment, The Backup Plan, finds three former friends forced home as each has inherited 1/3 of the Last Chance Inn from Eleneour. The will dictates that they must restore it to its glory and reside together for a year at the Inn.

Their long list of secrets, misunderstandings and longing for love make it hard for them to be civil so they create a list of rules to keep them on track. I liked these characters, and how they uncovered how Eleneour meddled in their lives for the better. This project is exactly what they need to like and trust each other again.

Such a heartwarming read, and series. Thank you Avon Books for the complimentary copy.

"The Backup Plan" was definitely what I've come to hope for in a Jill Shalvis book- heart and humor, friendship and love, and all the feels wrapped up in a lovely plot. Here, Lauren, Knox, and Alice have each inherited one third of an inn from Eleanor, a woman they all have emotional ties to-whether good or bad. They need to stay in Sunrise Cove for one month and work together to fix up the inn for a planned grand re-opening. Knox and Alice both left Sunrise Cove and never really planned on coming back, each with childhood demons there they didn't want to face. Lauren stayed, afraid to take a chance on leaving, and found her life disappearing as she tried to fit the expectations of everyone around her. The inn may be the worst thing that's happened to the three of them, or the best possible thing.

One of the things I love about this book is that it is more than just a romance. There is a romance, between Knox and Alice, and a side romance for Lauren who totally deserved it. The chemistry between Knox and Alice is off the charts from the beginning and the two are perfect for each other. Knox always knows the right thing to say to even out Alice's sharp edges and doubts. But it is also a story of Alice and Lauren reconnecting after their friendship falls apart, of the three of them looking at what they thought they knew about their childhoods from the eyes of adults, of grief and facing the individual childhood demons that made them who they are today. None of them are as together as they try to project to the outside world, and Shalvis shows us that maybe that's ok, as long as we keep trying and keep ourselves open to the possibility of love.

Prepare to want to read this book in one sitting, with your favorite furry friend cuddled up with you, and to go through all the emotions possible in this delightful rollercoaster of friendship and love.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

You will laugh and cry along with these 3 friends as they traverse their new normal after inheriting the Wild West Inn. There was a method to Eleanor's choice leaving her beloved Inn to these three.

Events in the past affected their friendship in a variety of ways and now they're renovating the Inn and along the way they find themselves and the way back to family, being friends and forgiveness.

Although I received a free ARC eBook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Backup Plan is a lovely story of people returning to their childhood hometown (or maybe never left but stopped living outside of other's expectations) and finally accepting their pasts and moving forward into a wonderful future. When Eleanor dies, she leaves her hotel to three people that she loved deeply even if none of them realized it when she was alive. They are forced to stay in town and fix up the old hotel in order to inherit. They need to forgive themselves, the people that have abandoned them, and Eleanor before they can move on.

I feel like Alice was the main character of the story. She had the largest hill to climb and the most to learn in the process. What I loved was that she was a great match for Knox. She had to leave town and travel around to learn all of the skills she would need to succeed at the hotel. She also needed that time in order to discover that she needed to allow people close to her again. The death of her brother was so traumatic that it took her years to come to terms and the author really made that an understandable process. Knox had a lot of success after he left town. Eleanor helped him to see his value instead of being held down by his abusive upbringing. He didn't have a lot to learn about himself, but he was critical in helping Alice learned about herself. Lauren seems to have her life together but if you just look below the surface you learn that she's deeply unhappy. The town will not let her move on after the death of her boyfriend (who happened to be Alice's brother). Lauren's journey is a fun element of the story because she not only changes her own life, but she also gets the chance to show the whole town that she's okay and can be happy again. I really like the part of the story about Lauren meeting Ben. It was a nice addition to the story. I also thought that Lauren learning more about her great-aunt Eleanor was really well done.

The one thing that bothered me throughout the story was the town. Is it a small town? There are many parts of the story that say that it is. For example, the people in town treat Lauren like she's sad and broken years after her boyfriend died. She gets it from seemingly everyone who is around her. But then Lauren and Knox had never met before even though they went to school together. In the same vein, how did Lauren not know Ben or that his family owns the local hardware store? If the town is larger, then how is it that everyone knew Lauren's business? Maybe it was me but that part of the story just didn't make sense.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The author created a story that was complex without being overwhelming and the emotions from the characters felt real. This is a small-town story, set in Sunrise Cove, about three people that need to come to terms with their pasts. I will definitely read more from the author in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 4.5/5 stars

Another perfect winter romance from Queen Jill Shalvis. We return to Sunrise Cove to follow Alice, her ex-best friend Lauren, and the one who got away, Knox as they are brought together by an inheritance. The three inherit a Wild West B&B and must decide what to do with it, while also dealing with past heartbreaks and betrayals.

I really enjoyed how I was equally invested in the romance and the friendships in this book. I loved every character and needed them all to get their happy ending. Alice and Knox had excellent chemistry and were the perfect lead couple. I needed even more Lauren because she was everything. Shalvis always writes such an endearing cast of characters interacting in the coziest of settings. I can’t wait to return to Sunrise Cove.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars.
Jill Shalvis is one of my all time favorite authors. You know that with her you're going to get some pretty spunky female main characters and in The Backup Plan that was Alice. She's a car fixing, coverall, no makeup, doesn't care what anybody thinks kind of woman. And she's just inherited 1/3 of an inn with her old crush and her ex-best friend that she hasn't spoken to in years.

Knox is realizing that little Alice grew up in all the right ways. Lauren has secrets she's kept for years and it's cost her her best friend. Now they have a second chance to all three get along, heal and discover things about themselves and each other. Easy, right?

This story is a bumpy road that is traveled in spite of the characters. Friendship and love are the keys. Another great story by Shalvis.

Thanks to Avon Books, Harper Voyager US and NetGalley for the gifted copy.

The Backup Plan is the third book in the Sunrise Cove series and while this is part of a series, you can definitely read it as a standalone.

The story starts with Alice, Knox and Lauren all inheriting a third of the Last Chance Inn following the passing of Eleanor. All of them had a relationship with her, but they were all very different in their interactions and feelings toward her. There is also the complication of how Alice and Lauren used to be best friends prior to an incident driving them apart and Alice has had a crush on Knox for years, without reciprocation.

When the will is read, it stipulates that the three of them must fix up the inn and live in it for a year. With the issues between them, acting cordially to one another could be a challenge, let alone having to work together and live together as well. They create a list of rules that will hopefully help to keep them on track, but will that really work?

I enjoyed how this story unfolded. There was so much to work with given the different relationships they all had with Eleanor, the interactions between the three of them and how they eventually all came to terms with the issues they had as a group and with each other. It was a great book to start my year with. I highly recommend this book and this series!

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

The Backup Plan is the third book in Jill Shalvis’ Sunrise Cove series, and as much as I enjoyed the first two books, I think this one is my favorite. It’s a heartwarming story about love and loss, family and friendships, and above all, about forgiveness and second chances.

The story follows Alice, Lauren, and Knox, who all grew up around the same time in Sunrise Cove. Alice and Lauren were best friends who became estranged after Will, Alice’s brother and Lauren’s then boyfriend, was killed in a car accident. While Lauren stayed in Sunrise Cove, Alice left, vowing to never return. Knox, while not involved in any of the drama surrounding Alice and Lauren, has emotional baggage of his own related to Sunrise Cove and he, like Alice, left with no plans to return. Knox also happens to be the guy Alice had a not-so-secret crush on when she was a teenager. It has been years since they have all seen each other but when the three of them co-inherit an inn, courtesy of a woman named Eleanor, an awkward reunion is thrust upon them and they each must face ghosts from their past as they come together to renovate and reopen the inn.

Everything about this story captivated me, especially the emotional and awkward moments between Lauren and Alice. The tension between the two of them is palpable throughout the story, as each of them remembers how they used to be as close as sisters, and because they know they’re going to have to eventually confront each other and talk about what happened to drive them apart. Knox is often caught in the middle, doing what he can to try to diffuse the tension between the two women. He also has awkward feelings of his own that he’s dealing with, however, namely that he very much reciprocates the crush Alice had on him back in the day. Now is not the time for romance though…or is it?

As much as I loved getting to know Alice, Lauren, and Knox firsthand, I also loved getting to see them through the eyes of Eleanor. We never actually meet Eleanor, as she is already deceased when the story opens, but she is truly the driving force behind the story. Eleanor was a childless woman who was practically a second mother to both Alice and Knox, while Lauren was the grand niece she loved but never got to know because Lauren’s father cut Eleanor out of their lives. Through a series of email drafts she has left behind on an iPad, Eleanor slowly reveals to Alice, Lauren, and Knox why she left each of them a portion of the inn, why they were so important to her, and why she thought they needed each other.

It’s not all heavy emotion and drama though. The story also has some downright hilarious moments as Alice, Lauren, and Knox work to get the inn into shape in time for a grand reopening Eleanor had set into motion before her death. I lost track of how many times I laughed out loud at the three of them and their antics.

If you’re looking for an engrossing story filled with both heart and humor, you’re going to want to add The Backup Plan to your TBR.

Alice, Knox, and Lauren are all partial owners of the Last Chance Inn, left to them by Eleanor, who was a part of all their lives growing up. Alice and Lauren are ex-best friends, and Knox is Alice's childhood crush. The trio agrees to fix up the Last Chance Inn per Eleanor's last wishes, forcing the three to confront their pasts in Sunrise Cove as well as their past relationships with each other.

There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about this story. I loved the premise and the way the story weaves together the stories and backgrounds of Alice, Knox, and Lauren. I love the dynamic between the three, filled with lots of heart, tension, and a lot of humor as well. I loved Lauren's quirks and whole personality. I was personally drawn to her backstory and journey of healing throughout the story the most. Lauren, in the wake of the death of her boyfriend (Alice's brother), she's been struggling for the past few years to know who she is and what she wants out of life. The town seems to have forced her into the role of mourning girlfriend for too long and she needs more out of life. I loved to see Lauren grow into her own, gaining confidence in her ability to handle the inn and the responsibilities of its renovation.

There was, however, a lot that fell flat for me in the book. Firstly, the main romance of the story is one between Alice and Knox. Though the story provides both great banter between the characters as well as great emotional moments, I can't exactly understand when in the story these two started to fall for each other. I think their relationship lacked the tension and build up that would've made it all the more interesting. Additionally, there's a heavy focus on Alice and Lauren's history, and that pulled the balance away from Knox, making him appear a bit flat alongside the two ladies. Alice, though I thought she was funny, was just not impressing me as a character. Shalvis leans heavily into this tomboy, hardened, emotionless personality for Alice and at times it just came across too 'not like other girls' to pull me in. Lastly, the pacing was a bit off as the first 50% felt terribly slow and the last 50% was well-paced and much more interesting.

The prose is a bit flat, lacking any sort of sensory qualities or interesting writing. Because there's little action to the story, this flat prose didn't help the boredom I was facing by about 30% into the book.

Overall, I don't think this one landed for me. I love the premise but the execution wasn't exactly right.

This is another heartwarming story from an author that always delivers. The plot is solid, the characters are relatable, and you know there are those moments that make you laugh out loud when you are reading a book by Jill Shalvis. Of course, there is a dog in the story that will also capture your heart. This book is part of The Sunrise Cove series, but you don't need to read the previous books, but I bet you will want to.

Alice, Lauren and Knox have inherited an old Wild West B&B. They return to town and have a month to restore the B&B and open it. Alice is running away from memories of living there before, Knox left to seek his future and Lauren stayed in town. They all have ties to the previous owner. As they work together to restore the inn will they open their hearts back up to each other? Alice and Lauren were BFFs at one time. Alice had a crush on Knox when she was a young teen, before he left town. Knox runs into his ex-girlfriend, and she seems interested in rekindling their affair.
This book held my attention and was an easy read.
#TheBackupPlan #NetGalley

I truly do not know how Shalvis does it. Alice, Knox, and Lauren are reunited through their inheritance of Eleanor’s inn. Returning to the place means unveiling pasts that each hoped never to revisit. Each is facing their own set of fear while coming to terms with what belonging, family, and love really mean. Add in a bear disguised as a dog named Pickles and a hardware store owner named Ben and his precious daughter Hope, and you will be unable but fall in love with this book. 🥰

Alice, Knox, and Lauren are each pulled into the renovation of an Old Wild West B&B in Sunrise Cove when they are left it as an inheritance from the previous owner. However, not mere strangers, each has a connection to the place and each other. Alice worked at the B&B as a teenager and thought of the owner, Eleanor, as a surrogate grandmother. Knox as well worked at the B&B and was essentially raised by Eleanor. Lauren is Eleanor's great niece, however her memories of the woman are tainted by her father's stories of being raised by Eleanor.

Furthermore, Lauren and Alice used to be best friends. However, that all changed the night Alice's brother Will died in a car crash. And as a teenager, Alice had the biggest crush on Knox, but being older he didn't really give her much notice...until now.

Now, they're all back together trying to figure out how much they're willing to let this inheritance upend their lives or if they'll use it as an opportunity to face their pasts and look to the future.

This is probably my favorite book of this series. It was just overall satisfying in every aspect.

Told from the points of view of each of our main characters Alice, Knox, and Lauren, The Backup Plan deals a lot with holding onto and trying to move forward from the past. How you can, potentially unknowingly, allow your family, friends, etc to influence the way you live your life. Almost in fear of stepping outside of the parameters you set for yourself in order to keep the semblance that everything is fine.

Despite have three main characters, I felt like that story kind of pivots around Alice. She's like the center and while each person stands out as an individual, I felt like hers was more connecting to Knox and Lauren than they were to each other.

For her part, Alice is a headstrong woman who has had everyone who should have loved and cared for her leave in some capacity. She feels she owes it to Eleanor to come back, but that also means facing and dealing with her brother's death, the guilt that surrounds her, and by extension the loss of her friendship with Lauren.

Lauren was in love with Alice's brother Will, and the day he died was a difficult one for a lot of people, but there are things that Lauren has never told anyone. Things that she hold tight to the chest that have caused her to put a wall up within herself. She cannot move past his loss and the town itself has put her in a box that she has been content to stay in. When Alice returns Lauren sees the freedom that Alice has for herself (despite Alice's own holdups) and wants that for herself.

Knox, like Alice, had left Sunrise Cove. He's built a successful business for himself, but he's still holding on to his past mainly his childhood. His mother suffered through an addiction and while she loved Knox she was unable to always give him the care he needed. His guilt stems from the resentment of that, but also feeling like he could have done more to help his mother. Returning to Sunrise Cove and all the memories is difficult.

All three of the characters were compelling. I really liked the time taken for each character to deal with the issues facing them. I felt like Jill Shalvis really balanced everything perfectly because we get these heartfelt moments, then the moments of levity as three seemingly different people come together to rehab an old B&B, and then the sweet moments of friendships being rekindled and love being found.

It really checked all the boxes for what I want in my romances.

You definitely don't have to read the other books in the series to be able to pick up this one and enjoy it as all the books are standalones that take place in the same town.

In this 3rd Sunrise Cove series read, three friends are brought together thanks to the death of one woman.

Alice, Lauren, and Knox all have different ties to the town...but they are all brought together by the bed and breakfast they inherited from Eleanor.

Relationships are revived, created, and bonds are mended...

I enjoyed this, however...it seemed kind of long in some parts, but overall I would certainly recommend it. Author Jill Shalvis is one I will always pick up. She has a great writing technique, creates wonderful characters, and gives us lovely reads.

Good premise, good writing but I don’t care too much for the characters although the situation they found themselves in was interesting

One can absolutely never go wrong with a Jill Shalvis book. She writes such endearing characters that do cheesy, foppish stints, but also they make me want to embrace all Of them.
Three lonely souls, haunted by their pasts, need to find absolution and move on.
Renovating an inn brings a lot of emotion to the surface for Knox, Lauren, and Alice.
I loved the tender scenes between hunky Knox and Alice. I loved that Alice loved classic cars and is a mechanic.
Lauren just wants someone to love her and he’s right there, under her nose.
It’s a feel good read and I’m ready for the next Shalvis adventure.

Jill Shalvis really brought all the feels with this book! When Alice, Lauren and Knox co-inherit a run-down B&B they not only have to put some TLC into their inheritance, but into themselves and their relationships. This book has everything: love, trauma, found family, a bit of spice and it has intermixed moments of everyday hilarity. While at first the three MCs are not the most lovable, they quickly become easy to root for.

I loved this book. It was fast-paced and had so many great life lessons. It was terribly sad in places, but you had hope throughout. The relationships between the people in this book are beautiful and messy, it was so real. It wasn’t necessarily a tear-jerker, but it does make you sad and think about life and loss.

If you have a tough time reading about death or alcoholism this book may not be for you. There is some spice, so if you do not like descriptive romance scenes you may not like this. It is not an action-packed story, but I think that is the beauty of it.

The Backup Plan is not truly about fixing up a B&B, but about how to fix ourselves and mend relationships. I think that there is something that everyone can find in this book. I cannot give this book enough praise, I loved it that much!

Jill Shalvis does it agin with her book 'The Backup Plan". This book is such a great book and just perfect for a rainy day.
Alice, Lauren, and Knox are all thrown together to repair a beloved institution in their hometown. These three all have secrets, regrets, and hardships that they must figure out in order to work together. While working together they can all finally say that they have found the true definition of family.
This book is another great addition to the Sunrise Cove series. It is lighthearted but still manages to grip you with strong emotions. This is a great read for anyone that loves Jill Shalvis and a good romance.

The Backup Plan by Jill Shalvis is the 3rd book in her Sunrise Cove series. Though this is a continuation of the Sunrise Cove series, all three of these books read as standalones. The main characters in The Backup Plan are Alice, Lauren and Knox. All three of them are thrown together, when they learn that each of them inherited 1/3 share of the Wild West Inn from Eleanor, who recently passed away. The three of them had ties to Eleanor, with Lauren and Alice having been best friends in their teenage years, but a tragedy broke up their friendship. Knox, as a teen, had helped his mother working at the Inn. They agree to spend a month together to fix up the inn, and decide to either sell or have a firm run the inn for them.

Memories of the past, continues to keep Lauren and Alice at a distance, though each still very much care about each other. When tragedy struck, with the loss of Alice’s brother, she ran away, leaving Lauren in Sunrise Cove, never coming back. Alice knew Knox in high school, and had a secret crush on him. Their complicated pasts make things difficult at first, especially when they read the letters written by Eleanor that helps them deal with the issues, and hopefully allowing them to grieve and forgive.

A slow build romance between Alice and Knox begins, with wonderful chemistry that sizzles. Slowly, Alice and Lauren find a way to open up old wounds, and realize their friendship was worth saving. I really loved all three of them, as they were great characters, with lots of banter between them. I also loved Knox’s dog, Pickle; who was a wonderful addition. It was also fun to watch Lauren slowly open up to a possible relationship with Ben.

What follows is an excellent, heartwarming story revolving around friendship, family, secrets, love and forgiveness. The Backup Plan was so very well written by Jill Shalvis. It had a bit of everything, including three wonderful characters, emotional, romance, banter, and all three moving forward with friendship and true love. I recommend you read The Backup Plan, as you can never go wrong reading anything by Jill Shalvis.