An Imperfect Plan

A Novel

By: Addison McKnight

Narrated by: Julie McKay, Samara Naeymi

Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

All it takes is one lie for the best-laid plans to go awry.

After decades of pushing away traumatic memories from childhood, Colette De Luca is ready to start a family of her own. It’ll be healthy, a wish come true, with a man she believes is the love of her life. Thankfully, she thought ahead when she was younger and froze her eggs for this very moment.

Greta O’Brien, a wealthy hedge-fund manager, is forced to confront the making of her own family when tragedy strikes her twin teenage sons. As she debates whether to confess a betrayal to her husband, the ripple effects of the family’s devastating circumstances begin to spread far beyond their home.

These two women, hopeful, disillusioned, and desperate, are on an emotional decades-long journey to motherhood by any means necessary. Strangers whose lives explode in the wake of a shocking event—and converge in more ways than one—Colette and Greta are forced to face the twists of fate and the choices they’ve made.

©2022 Nicole Moleti and Krista Wells. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“An Imperfect Plan uncovers dark secrets that haunt ordinary families. Addison McKnight has written a novel that turns comfort and convention inside out, examines the wishes and desires of women we think we know, and reveals how long-ago trauma can affect everything that happens today. The emotion is visceral, the heartbreak and suspense are almost unbearable, and it all leads to a stunning ending. McKnight is a superb observer of domestic drama.”—Luanne Rice, #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author

“The lives of two women run parallel in An Imperfect Plan, where one deceit eventually rips apart the fabric of a carefully calculated life. An emotionally resonant debut that will stay with you long after you read the last word.”—Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, authors of How to Save a Life

“Edgy, relatable, and heartbreaking—this unflinching thriller will have you turning the pages as fast as you can. How far would you go to get what you want? When family is involved, there are no boundaries—and Addison McKnight’s debut grabs the reader and doesn’t let go until the gasp-worthy ending.”—Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of Her Perfect Life

Complex

Sad story about motherhood and mental illness and complex ways lives can dovetail with one another

Voice could be improved, but great story

Overall a slow start but a great story. The audible voice started off robotic but got better as the story went.

Loved the story overall

Loved the story overall, however I felt the ending was really rushed. For all the character building between the two women, that part of the big reveal didn't go anywhere and I would've liked more from that.

Good story

This was a good story that was intelligently written, dealing with a very important issue.

4 stars

An Imperfect Plan by Addison McKnight is an emotional read. I planned to rate it 5 stars as I cared deeply for both women from the start. I love how we see them both at different times in their life within the same years, showing how different each's situation was. However, I wasn't the biggest fan of Greta once she was older due to her entitled and elitist behavior. I also didn't like that we heard every detail of Colette's struggles and then, BAM, it's seven years later and everything is much better. It would have been nice to see her get through it instead of glossing over it all.

In my notes for this book, I had two suspicions and, while I can tolerate being right and still enjoy the book, I was infuriated with the convenience of everything, which is why I deducted a star. Due to this, I unfortunately found myself not caring about either by the end of the book, which is so disappointing given how much I was invested.

Julie McKay and Samara Naeymi are both good narrators. Both spoke naturally and had relevant emotion when needed.

A bit drawn out at the beginning but enjoyed it!

it was a very unique story. The Twist I saw coming but was still pretty interesting to see unfold through the story. it was a little drawn out at the beginning but overall it was a pretty good read.

Awesome!!

Lucid reading! Fantastic story line! Great narration!
Loved it!! I would highly recommend this book!

Long Story- but worth it!

At times I wondered how this "duo" story would become woven into one- but in the end this author pulled it off! Gripping yet good!

Loved this one

Excellent narration. Really great book with two separate stories coming together with so many unexpected twists. Hope this author writes more books soon

Amazing

The story parallels the lives of two women unknown to each other. Sometimes tedious lengthy details of disasters and bad choices derailed my interest. But it was worth at the end.