A cozy, opposites-attract coffee-shop rom-com where a burned-out writer and a struggling café owner get snowed—well, stormed—in together. Charming and warm for some readers, a little too tidy and low-heat for others. Here’s the honest breakdown.

If you love opposites-attract slow burns with a Seattle setting and a debut-author freshness, Not in the Plan by Dana Hawkins belongs on your radar — but it’s one of the more divisive titles on our forced-proximity shelf, so it’s worth knowing what you’re getting into.

Our take: A sweet, low-drama sapphic rom-com with real chemistry and a lovable café-owner heroine. It shines when it leans into cozy comfort, and wobbles when its central “borrowed stories” conflict and fast emotional fixes ask readers to suspend disbelief. A great pick for cozy-romance fans; a mixed bag for readers who want high heat and thorny, earned conflict.

The Evidence Scorecard

Every score below is drawn from the actual text and cross-checked against what verified Amazon and Goodreads readers consistently report. Here’s the evidence behind each rating.

Overall ★★★★ 7.8/10

Evidence:

• ✓ Weighted 3.9/5 across 4,013 Amazon & Goodreads ratings — solid but noticeably more polarizing than the top titles on our list.
• ✓ Amazon readers skew high (4.4/5), while Goodreads sits at 3.74/5, signaling a genuine love-it-or-find-it-flat split.
• ✓ A quick, light read most finish in a sitting or two.
• ✓ A strong, promising debut that many readers say they’d follow into book two of the Single in Seattle series.

Romance ★★★★ 8.0/10

Evidence:

• ✓ The Charlie/Mack pairing gets repeated praise for genuine, easy chemistry.
• ✓ Classic opposites-attract dynamic: sunny extrovert café owner vs. anxious introvert writer.
• ✓ A slow-burn build… that several readers feel tips into fast insta-love once it finally ignites.
• ✓ The forced-proximity spark (a storm traps them in the coffee shop) delivers the standout early swoon.

Characters ★★★★ 7.6/10

Evidence:

• ✓ Charlie, the warm, optimistic café owner, is a near-universal favorite.
• ✓ Mack’s writer’s-block arc is relatable but her avoidance frustrates some readers.
• ✓ Both leads are anxious/avoidant, which a subset of readers found “exhausting” to read together.
• ✓ Secondary characters (especially Mack’s dad) add welcome humor and heart.

Writing ★★★★ 7.9/10

Evidence:

• ✓ Breezy, readable prose that’s easy to fall into.
• ✓ The audiobook narration (Elise Roth) earns especially high marks.
• ✓ A few readers found the emotional beats a touch “sanitized” or over-explained.
• ✓ Impressive craft for a debut, with well-drawn Seattle atmosphere.

Emotion ★★★★ 7.7/10

Evidence:

• ✓ The heartache-and-healing threads (Charlie’s divorce, Mack’s family) land warmly for many.
• ✓ Some readers felt the emotional conflicts resolved too quickly to fully hit.
• ✓ Low-angst, comfort-read energy overall.
• ✓ The third-act breakup divides readers — touching for some, contrived for others.

Heat ★★★ 4.0/10

Evidence:

• ✓ On the milder end — largely fade-to-black rather than explicit.
• ✓ Several readers specifically flagged the spice as “a tease.”
• ✓ Chemistry and tension carry more weight than on-page steam.
• ✓ Best for readers who prefer sweet/low-heat over spicy.

Ending ★★★★ 7.5/10

Evidence:

• ✓ A satisfying, feel-good HEA that ties the couple together.
• ✓ The route there (the “borrowed stories” reveal) is the book’s most debated element.
• ✓ Some found the resolution a little too neat and fast.
• ✓ Sets up the wider Single in Seattle series nicely.

Re-read value ★★★★ 7.4/10

Evidence:

• ✓ A go-to comfort re-read for cozy-romance fans.
• ✓ Fans of the audiobook return for the narration.
• ✓ Lower re-read pull for readers who wanted more heat or thornier conflict.
• ✓ Short and light enough to revisit easily.

Quick Facts

Title	Not in the Plan
Author	Dana Hawkins
Series	Single in Seattle #1
Published	January 3, 2024
Length	304 pages
Tropes	Opposites attract, forced proximity, slow burn, coffee-shop romance
Heat level	4/10 (sweet, mostly fade-to-black)
Weighted score	3.9 / 5

You’ll Love This If…

• ✓ You want a cozy, low-angst sapphic rom-com to read in one sitting.
• ✓ Opposites-attract (sunshine café owner × anxious writer) is your catnip.
• ✓ You love a Seattle coffee-shop setting and a lovable, optimistic heroine.
• ✓ You enjoy sweet, slow-burn chemistry over explicit heat.
• ✓ You like discovering promising debut authors and starting a new series.

Avoid If…

• You need high heat — the spice here is mild and mostly off-page.
• Anxious/avoidant leads who hide their problems frustrate you.
• You want a slow-built, high-stakes third-act conflict rather than a quick resolution.
• The “one character secretly uses the other’s private stories” setup sounds like a dealbreaker.

Book Synopsis

Blocked and badly behind on her second novel, New York writer Mack escapes to Seattle, where she stumbles into Charlie’s cozy but nearly bankrupt coffee shop. Charlie — warm, optimistic, and still healing from a divorce — becomes the muse Mack has never had, and Mack quietly starts folding Charlie’s private stories into her manuscript.

When a storm traps the two of them together in the café, a single knee-shaking kiss upends everything. But Charlie sleeps with the fairy-lights on and Mack irons at 5am; they couldn’t possibly make this work — and if Charlie ever discovers what Mack has been writing, they may not get the chance to try.

My Review

When Not in the Plan is cozy, it is very cozy. Charlie’s coffee shop, the rainy Seattle backdrop, and the easy banter between a sunshine extrovert and a prickly introvert are exactly the comfort-read texture the trope promises. The chemistry is real and unforced, and Charlie in particular is the kind of warm, big-hearted heroine you root for from page one.

The forced-proximity heart of the book — the storm that strands the leads together in the café — delivers the best swoon, and it’s easy to see why Amazon readers rate it so highly (4.4/5). For fans of low-heat, low-angst sapphic romance, this hits the sweet spot.

Where it gets divisive is the conflict engine. Both leads are deeply avoidant, hiding money troubles and career problems from everyone around them, and for some readers that’s relatable; for others it’s exhausting. The central “borrowed stories” tension — Mack lifting Charlie’s private life for her novel — sets up a third-act breakup that a chunk of readers found contrived and resolved a little too neatly. That gap is exactly why Goodreads (3.74) runs cooler than Amazon.

My honest read: this is a genuinely charming debut that knows what it is — a gentle, feel-good comfort romance — and delivers it with real heart. Go in expecting cozy rather than spicy or high-drama, and it’s a lovely afternoon. Want it to punch harder emotionally or in the bedroom, and you may finish it, as some readers did, wishing for a little more spark.

What Readers Are Saying

Because Not in the Plan is one of the more divisive picks on our forced-proximity list, we dug into what actual readers are posting across Amazon, Goodreads, and sapphic-romance reading communities — the glowing and the critical. Here’s the honest picture.

What readers love

• ✓ The cozy, opposites-attract vibe. Reviewers repeatedly call it a “cute,” “cozy,” “palomero” (easy, fun) read with a charming Seattle coffee-shop backdrop that’s perfect for a rainy afternoon.
• ✓ Charlie. The optimistic, big-hearted café owner is a fan favorite — “remarkably sweet, cheerful, and outgoing” — and readers love how she and Mack “fit together without it feeling forced.”
• ✓ The audiobook. Narrator Elise Roth earns standout praise: readers describe the performance as “absolutely stellar” and a perfect match for the story.
• ✓ An impressive debut. Many are “so impressed that this is the author’s debut novel” and say they’ll pick up the next book in the Single in Seattle series.

The criticisms and negative opinions

In fairness, a real slice of readers came away lukewarm — and the recurring complaints are consistent enough to flag:

• The leads can feel “exhausting.” One thoughtful 2-star review noted both characters are “steadfastly hiding important problems” and “TOO avoidant,” which made a book picked up as a rom-com “slightly nightmarish to read” for that reader.
• The conflict feels contrived. The “borrowed stories” setup and the resulting third-act breakup struck several readers as “overly dramatic and a little contrived” — drama “engineered in a lab” rather than earned.
• Problems resolve too fast. A NetGalley reviewer felt “the characters overcame their issues way too quickly” — e.g., anxious attachment vanishing “after like a day” — making the emotional payoff feel too easy.
• The spice is a tease. A common note: “the spice was also a complete tease. Nothing explicit, and all fade to black.” Readers expecting steam were disappointed.
• It didn’t spark for everyone. Several 3-star reviewers liked the premise but “didn’t really connect,” finding it pleasant but lacking the spark to make it memorable.

Net-net: readers who want cozy comfort and chemistry tend to land at 4–5 stars; readers who want higher heat, thornier earned conflict, or less avoidant leads tend to land at 3 — which is exactly why the aggregate settles at a solid-but-split 3.9.

Romance Profile

Pairing	Charlie (café owner) × Mack (writer)
Dynamic	Sunshine × anxious introvert, opposites attract
Burn speed	Slow build, faster once it ignites
Conflict	Secret-stories betrayal + avoidant self-protection
Ending	Feel-good HEA

Emotional Profile

• ✓ Cozy comfort and warmth
• ✓ Gentle healing after divorce and creative burnout
• ✓ Low overall angst, one bittersweet breakup beat
• ✓ Hopeful, uplifting close

Content Warnings

• Financial stress / near-bankruptcy
• Divorce and past heartbreak
• Anxiety and avoidant coping
• A brief betrayal-of-trust conflict

Book DNA

Setting	Seattle coffee shop
Vibe	Cozy, low-drama, feel-good
Pace	Quick, light
POV	Dual (Charlie & Mack)
Best mood	Rainy-day comfort read

Similar Books You Might Enjoy

• Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake — a spicier, sharper sapphic opposites-attract with more heat.
• Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake — fake-dating rom-com with the same cozy-but-messy energy.
• Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings — another warm, opposites-attract share-a-space slow burn.
• The Roommate Arrangement by Jae — forced-proximity, grumpy-sunshine, slow-burn comfort.
• Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur — opposites-attract with a similarly sweet, low-angst tone.

For more like this, browse our full guide to lesbian forced proximity romance, and if you love a slow-burn reunion just as much, don’t miss our Sapphic Second Chance Romance Books roundup.

About the Author

Dana Hawkins is a sapphic romance author whose debut, Not in the Plan, launched the Single in Seattle series with Storm Publishing in 2024. Her writing leans into cozy, character-driven opposites-attract stories with warmth, humor, and Pacific-Northwest charm — and readers have been quick to flag her as a debut author worth watching.

Read more Dana Hawkins reviews →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Not in the Plan a standalone?

Yes. It’s the first book in the Single in Seattle series but reads as a complete standalone with its own HEA.

Is it spicy?

No — it’s on the sweet, low-heat end. Intimate scenes are largely fade-to-black, and multiple readers describe the spice as mild or “a tease.”

Is it a forced-proximity romance?

Yes. A storm traps the two leads together in the coffee shop, and the ongoing café setting keeps them in close, repeated contact — a classic forced-proximity setup.

Why is the Goodreads rating lower than Amazon?

Amazon readers rate it 4.4/5 while Goodreads sits at 3.74/5. The gap comes from readers who found the leads too avoidant, the central conflict contrived, or the heat too low — genuine, recurring critiques rather than one-offs.

Do both leads get a happy ending?

Yes, it’s a guaranteed feel-good HEA.

Is the audiobook worth it?

Very much so — narrator Elise Roth gets consistent praise, and several readers say the audio elevated the experience.

Is it a good first sapphic romance to try?

Yes. Its cozy, low-angst tone makes it an easy, welcoming entry point into the genre.

What’s the main criticism to know going in?

That the emotional conflicts (and the “borrowed stories” betrayal) can resolve too quickly and neatly, and that the heat is milder than the “steamy” marketing suggests.

Final Verdict

Not in the Plan is a cozy, charming, opposites-attract debut with real chemistry and a heroine you’ll adore — ideal comfort reading for fans of sweet, low-heat sapphic romance. It stumbles for readers who want spicier heat and thornier, earned conflict, and that honest split is reflected in its scores. Go in for the cozy, and it delivers: 3.9 / 5.

Where to Buy

Buy Not in the Plan on Amazon Listen on Libro.fm

If the pretend-relationship trope is your favorite, browse more sapphic fake-dating romance in our roundup. If sharing close quarters is your kind of slow burn, see more sapphic roommates-to-lovers romance in our roundup.

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