Best Laid Plans [Mass Market Paperback]

Constance O'Day Flannery (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 27, 2007

The Yellow Brick Road Gang, otherwise known as Metaphysical Misadventures in the Search for Enlightenment, was once just a book club. Now, they are a circle of friends as close as family. Together they embarked on a spiritual search -- and throughout the last eight years each woman has come to realize that the only constant is change and that anything is possible.

Cristine and her partner have always approached their relationship like a business, and Cristine prides herself on her cool-headed and logical thinking. But when Cristine's partner decides he doesn't want to renew their relationship contract, she is devastated. Trying to help her, the Yellow Brick Road Gang devises a ritual to bring Cristine a new lover: Mix cayenne pepper for hot passion and dried mustard for strength, add a tiny bit of mint for sweetness, then cast into a fire.

Enter Daniel Burns. He is no ordinary man. In fact, he isn't a man at all…

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With her latest, O'Day-Flannery (Colliding Forces) makes it look easy to incorporate angels, quantum physics and the evolution of humanity into a satisfying neofeminist paranormal romance. When Cristine Dobbins's boyfriend of seven years deserts her, her friends, a group of five women called the Yellow Brick Road Gang, send her to a male escort resort to recuperate. Unfortunately, Cristine throws her back out before she can get any satisfaction. Back at home, a mind-blowing orgasm brought on by a floating cloud of lights heals her—and leaves her doubting her sanity. Enter Daniel Burns, a strong, handsome, impossibly fast contractor who redoes Cristine's kitchen and refuses payment. Turns out he's not a handyman at all—he isn't even human. As Cristine allows Daniel into her life, she learns to open her mind and heart to extraordinary possibilities. O'Day-Flannery gives Cristine a rich inner voice and a compelling struggle for happiness, but the lessons she learns often sound like New Age hokum: "When you believe... you deserve whatever you desire, you shall have it." However, the novel's unapologetic pro woman stance is not just uplifting but downright smart, and the plot is intriguing to the very end. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“She proves that love is timeless.”--Nora Roberts

"She is a remarkable talent."--Rendezvous

"O'Day-Flannery slowly and carefully builds the suspense, and a relationship, maintaining a deliberate pace that finally yields a happy ending. The paranormal element is miniscule, ceding importance to the conspiracy, which proves to be enticing."--Booklist on Colliding Forces

 

"Shifting Love is unique, thrilling and chock-full of emotion, proving O'Day-Flannery is still at the top of her game!"--Romantic Times BOOKreviews, 4 1/2 stars on Shifting Love

"Shifting Love read like Deb Smith’s Alice at Heart crossed with Touched by a (Sexy) Angel. The dual heroes in the book--Julian and Marcus--will leave you guessing until the very end."--Science Fiction Romance

"Shifting Love is a tale that is magnificent with vivid storytelling and charm. It is a powerful creation of fantasy, paranormal and romance that offers so much for so many readers. It is something that all readers should have on their keeper shelves."--The Road to Romance on Shifting Love

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Paranormal Romance (November 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765358905
• ISBN-13: 978-0765358905
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #546,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 stars., August 7, 2006

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best Laid Plans (Yellow Brick Road Gang, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Cristine is on top of the world until she comes home to find out her significant other, Charlie, wants out of their relationship after seven years. Instantly, depression claims her to the point that her best friends, the Yellow Brick Road Gang, send her on a vacation to heal that ends in comedic disaster. Just when it seems things can't get worse, Cristine has some sort of epiphany, and shortly thereafter, Daniel Burns walks into her life. He seems to be her dream man, making everything turn out well in her world. The only problem is he is not a man, but something like a space alien or angel, an energy being, who says Cristine is part of some cosmic plan.

*** Though a little too New Agey at times, the insights to forgiveness Daniel gives Claire are wonderfully stated. This story reminds me of the movie Starman in some ways. It takes a long time for the plot to swing into action; for about a third of the book, it reads more like women's fiction or chick lit than fantasy, but the combination of genres basically works. ***

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Enjoy Time Travel Romance,This Writer Delivers!, April 5, 2011

By 

cafeaulait "pariscroissant" (Hayes, Va. United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Best Laid Plans (Yellow Brick Road Gang, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

As Far Back as Memory Have Wanted To "Time Travel". When I Found Miss. Flannery's books, it was as tho' I had reached My Place in Time. No one Consistently has written better books. So Many are Now "Out of Print".Thanks to Partners at Amazon, I can read them again and continue with the triology of "The Yellow Brick Road Gang".In Earlier Books, the Couples would "Meet" Each Other and Have that "Knowing Glance".{When the film 'Kate and Leopold' came out was thrilled.} Virtually All Go Back "in Time". I like that they do not change their Fates, just Live their Connected Lives Blissfully Better Than Previously. I would Never Spoil a Story Ending.Just as "Magicans" Never Reveal Their "Tricks". Since remainders are your only way to read these delights,please get them here and pass on when finished. However, if like Me, You Will Never Want Them Out of Your Sites. Again, Kudos to Amazon and Partners for finding what can be such 'Esoteric'for Some and a Must for Others. Enjoy Them.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Laid Plans (Yellow Brick Road Gang, Book 1), June 29, 2009

By 

D. Jean How (W. Bloomfiield, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Best Laid Plans (Yellow Brick Road Gang, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm not going to spoil you reading the book series, but I will say that if you enjoyed Constance O'Day Flannery's past books, you will enjoy these as well. She's a true spell weaver of time travel books and fantasy.

One of my favorite authors.