REVIEW: The Fall Back Plan by Melanie Jacobson

The Fall Back Plan by Melanie Jacobson: Jolie McGraw left her hometown of Harvest Hollow as soon as she could. Her father was a terrible alcoholic and she practically raised herself. She was extremely smart and did very well in high school. She tutored Lucas Cole in math and was patient with him even when he pushed back. He and others nicknamed her “Gappy” since she was missing an incisor and there was no money to fix it.

It’s now ten years later. Jolie has fixed her teeth and has a wardrobe that fits with her job in the finance sector. She has earned a lot of money and moved up in her career. She becomes burned out and after a bad breakup, she decides to go home to Harvest Hollow and start a different venture.
Jolie buys the bar Sullivan’s even though it had been her father’s favorite drinking hole. She completely refurbished it and renamed it Tequila Mockingbird. She will serve a variety of specialty drinks and beers.

The town has been watching the changeover of Sullivan’s with mixed emotions. When it opens, lots of people come it to check it out. Unfortunately, some previous customers aren’t happy and try to start a ruckus. The town sheriff, Lucas Cole, deescalates the situation. He is very surprised that “Gappy” is the woman who has opened this new bar. She is quite different from the girl he remembers.

Jolie appreciates his help even more when he investigates vandalism via spray paint on the front entrance. At the same time, she has no intentions of spending any time with him outside of work. Jolie softens a little when she finds out Lucas is raising his niece Brooklyn. Brooklyn doesn’t have a good female role model. Can Jolie open her heart to Brooklyn as well as Lucas?

I enjoyed how both main characters grew over the course of the story. Both reveal things they have kept hidden from others. I was impressed how the author developed Brooklyn. Jolie had to try to get past her grudges from the past while continuing to build her business.
This is a very sweet romance. With a few minor changes it could be an excellent Hallmark movie. The small town setting adds charm to the plot. I wish author Melanie Jacobson all the best in her writing career.

Book Info:

Publication: September 7, 2023 | Four Petal Press | Sweater Weather #2

The bad boy and the golden girl have traded places…

I’m back in Harvest Hollow after ten years to prove a point and to even a few scores. I’ve opened a new bar, and anyone expecting the old sweet and shy Jolie McGraw to be running it is in for a shock.

I’m not the only one who’s changed: when the sheriff comes to tell me I’m the prime suspect in the most ridiculous crime in town history, it’s none other than Lucas Cole, the former star of my teenage stress dreams, wearing the badge.

Seriously? The smack-talking punk I was forced to tutor in math is now one of the town’s most upstanding citizens? This isn’t what I had in mind for turning the tables on my former tormentors.

I blow him off…until I meet the niece he’s raising. I see so much of my younger self in her. But when I agree to help when she needs a woman in her life, Lucas uses it as a chance to build a case that he’s the man I need in mine.

That’s a hard no. No to love. No to Lucas.

But when Harvest Hollow’s nosiest forces combine to push us together, I’m not sure my heart stands a chance.

The Fall Back Plan is a small town, closed door enemies-to-lovers single dad romcom.