A Delicious Sapphic Romance Bounding Between London, New York and the Scottish Highlands

In this delicious sapphic romance, Poppy Voss is a business graduate struggling to convince herself that fighting her boss at every turn is truly fulfilling the dream of a life in business she had envisioned. Could it be time for a change? Then her sister Katy tells her that Voss Watches, the family firm started by her grandmother, is about to be sold by their aunt, who had taken it over after their mother’s death. Poppy decides that instead of running away from her folks, it’s time to step up and try and save the company. There’s only one problem: her aunt tells her that events have progressed, and she’ll have to submit to a three-month probationary period supervised by the one person she truly can’t abide…

And that is? None other than her childhood crush, Eliza Carpenter, from whom she is now estranged. Eliza is working for her dad—who is not only Poppy’s aunt’s current flame but also the owner of a company that’s threatening to take over and gut Voss Watches. To make matters worse, Eliza has grown into an absolutely gorgeous, intelligent, independent woman.

If this set-up reads like an episode of the 1970s US sitcom Soap, it is equally as entertaining. Clare Lydon’s inimitable sparkly wit shines through on every page, delivered in inspired lines of dialogue. The cast of characters is refreshingly original, from unerringly prescient mediums to charismatic but down-to-earth and truly likeable rock stars. The plot, by turns steamy and hilarious, bounds from London to the Scottish Highlands and onward to chic New York. It includes upending antics in a row boat, steamy kisses on an overnight train and glamping it raunchily at a music festival.

Whatever your sexual persuasion, Clare Lydon is a brilliantly entertaining writer, and Not Part of the Plan is one of her most engaging books. So if you only read one sapphic romance this year, make it this one!

Get Not Part of the Plan by Clare Lydon here.