Not the Plan

Gia de Cadenet writes contemporary Black romance, and Not the Plan brings two single parents together in a story that takes both their lives outside the relationship seriously. The heroine is a structural engineer with a young son. The hero is a divorced lawyer with shared custody of his daughter.

The book leans on real adult complications. Coordinating schedules, the awkwardness of introducing children to a new partner, the way a broken marriage shapes the next relationship even when you’ve done your work.

De Cadenet’s prose is clean and warm. The chemistry is built through conversation rather than just attraction.

For readers who liked Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters series or who follow Jasmine Guillory’s work, this fits the same shelf with a slightly more grounded register. Stands alone but de Cadenet’s catalog is worth working through.