Summary: Bryce Weatherford, a chef at a local cafe, has become the guardian for her three nieces and is barely surviving single parenthood when Ryker Matthews, a Marine vet, unexpectedly comes to her rescue at the grocery store. They both feel sparks, but with Bryce dealing with a custody battle and Ryker trying to manage PTSD and pain in his prosthetic leg, they wonder if a new relationship is something they can handle. It seems like too big of a big challenge, but maybe it's the "change of plans" they both need.

I adored this rom com from the very first chapter. It’s funny and I found it so easy to love “Aunt Beamer”, Ryker, the girls and their chaos. I love when rom coms explore deeper topics and this one definitely got emotional. I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to read this early and I'll definitely be recommending it to everyone when it's available in August!

This rom com was an absolute delight to read, full of fantastic characters, moving moments, and mental health representation.

Bryce has moved to a new city to care for her three nieces after the deaths of her brother and sister in law left her as their guardian. She feels like her life is a complete disaster between kid mishaps, trying to work extra hours, and fighting the maternal grandparents over custody. It isn’t a great time for her to fall in love, but life has other plans. She meets Ryker, an ex-Marine turned mechanic, and the connection is immediate. The pair find being around each other to be incredibly comfortable, but they have to decide if it is the right time for love.

I adored Bryce, felt a ton of empathy for Ryker and everything he was going through, and was charmed completely by the three sweet girls. Ryker’s two brothers and their significant others are also a big piece of the story, and I immediately added the books about those pairs to my TBR after finishing this one. The charactera are well developed and make you care for them.

Ryker struggles with PTSD and is an amputee after an explosion in Afghanistan, leading great mental health rep to the story. I learned a bit about both amputees and things they go through and about the flashbacks and therapies for PTSD from this story. My heart hurts for all the people suffering from this disorder, and I wish every single one of them could have a therapy dog to help them through the rough moments!

Bryce is a strong female character who is forced through a giant change of plans when her life is uprooted to become a “mom-like creature” to three little girls. Her struggles along this new path felt authentic, and I adored the way she realized how much these girls mean to her.

The pacing was fantastic, the writing was great, the dialogue was well written, and I would highly recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion,

Dylan Newton has been on my TBR forever, and Change of Plans was exactly what my heart strings needed. I hadn’t read How Sweet it Is or All Fired Up before reading Change of Plans, but even though I will be going back to read these as soon as possible, you can definitely enjoy this one as a standalone.

I loved getting both Bryce & Ryker’s perspectives in this story, as they both are dealing with life’s unexpected turns and obstacles and how to make room for love in spite of them. Bryce’s three nieces were definitely spitfires and kept her on her toes, with all of their unique personalities and relationships with their new-to-parenting aunt. Ryker was a bit more aloof, but seeing how his mom and siblings were so protective and caring toward him made this such a heartwarming read.

In her author’s note, Dylan mentions how it can be challenging to write experiences that were not her own, which in this case included guardianship and military-related PTSD. Although I cannot speak to the latter, I can say that she captured so many elements of my experience with guardianship. Being unexpectedly thrown into parenting and grieving not only the loss of your loved one but also your previous life was written so well through Bryce’s story.

Thank you @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the advanced copy, and to Allie & Dylan for including me on the traveling ARC team!

Thanks to Netgalley.

Dnf at 21%.

Maybe I'll try to read this later but for right now I was bored with the story. It's cheesy and I could see exactly where it was going, unfortunately I was not interested in reading it play out.

Change of Plans is about Ryker and Bryce. Bryce has become the "mom-like creature" to her three nieces when their parents suddenly passed away. This has not been an easy change to her life, and she is making mistakes. She feels like she is constantly putting out fires, while dealing with the maternal grandparents trying to get custody of the kids. Ryker is the middle Matthews brother and has PTSD and amputee from his time serving the Marines in Afghanistan. He seems to be at the right place at the right time to encounter Bryce at some of her hardest moments. He feels an unexpected connection toward her and wants to help. Both Bryce and Ryker have been feeling a little lost and are finding themselves in each other.

Change of Plans is the third book in the Matthews brothers series, but can be read as a stand alone (the other two are just as wonderful though!). This book was funny. I started laughing from the first chapter and had many laughs throughout the whole book. Though there was the funny moments, there were definitely some more serious and heartfelt moments dealing with loss, grief and PTSD. Both main characters were facing serious challenges, but the author managed to handle those with care and humour.

I also find that in single parent novels can be make or break with the kids and these kids were great. They each had their own unique personalities and brought the individual things they were dealing with to the story. It is important to me that they add to the story, and they truly did in this story.

If you like a cinnamon roll hero with a "mom-like creature" with great family vibes, this is the book for you! Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

A sweet story between Bryce and Ryker.
Bryce lost her brother and sister-in-law, and she has the guardianship of her nieces. She struggles but she’s doing her best. Ryker’s still hunt by his marine’s history. Together they help and support each other.
I loved the stranger to lover part and everything chaotic about it, because it’s true that it’s never perfect and reflect their life.
I didn’t like the miscommunication part, it’s a big part of it.
A quick and sweet read perfect for summertime!

Thank you NetGalley abs author for this ebook.

I absolutely enjoyed this small town romance! Very cute! I need a physical copy!! Quick and easy read.

This book started off so strong and I was so here for it. Unfortunately, it fell so flat. There didn’t seem to be any actual romance or chemistry between the main characters. Just intense trauma dumping and heavy on the protagonist having to be responsible for her nieces. If anything it felt more like her nieces were the main story line and Ryker was the one that had to fix everything constantly.

It’s been a hot second since I completely devoured a book! I didn’t want to put down Change of Plans….and I didn’t want it to end. Dylan Newton it might be her favorite Matthews brother book and I think I’m gonna have to agree with her! It was aaaaaamazing.

I loved the characters’ strength while dealing with so much tough stuff. I wanted to hug each and every one of them. Even though the book deals with a lot of heaviness the book still was fun and heartwarming!

My favorite part was showing light on Paws of War! What a great organization ❤️

Definitely read this book! You won’t be disappointed

TW: parent death/grief, PTSD/anxiety

Thanks to Netgalley and Forever for a copy of Change of Plans in exchange of an honest review

Bryce and Ryker’s story was an excellent little romcom to end my Spring Reading fest.

I will never get over the "he falls first" trope. It was perfectly executed by Newton. She even got me to like the kids which is usually either annoying or just background noise.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

This was such a good read! I loved how Bryce and Ryker’s characters complimented one another so well and how the story touched on overcoming challenges after great tragedy. One qualm I had, but I think it’s just a personal preference is that I wish the book was in the first person point of view of Bryce and Ryker, not third person. All in all, 4.5 stars!

I wanted to like this book. I really did.
This story immediately begins exploring really interesting topics with its characters: How to move on after incredibly loss, accepting a large life change, becoming and instant parent, anxiety, PTSD, and difficulty with communication.
Unfortunately, I think the execution of discussing these topics left a lot of room for improvement.
The characters somehow end up falling a bit flat, which I suspect is due to the often clunky dialogue. I outwardly cringed multiple times throughout this story having to read cheesy line after cheesy line. And the frustrating dialogue seemed to get in the way of any possible chemistry between the two main characters.
I also do know if I've ever noticed third person narration as much as I did while reading this story. For some reason it just did not work for this book and really took away from the reading experience.
The best part of this story: Definitely the side characters, specifically the children. They were fun and funny throughout and while some of the scenarios the author puts the children in are a bit outlandish and don't really serve to create realistic conflict, there are other times when the relationships between the children and our female lead allow for heartfelt and touching moments.
While I applaud the author for trying to dive into interesting topics throughout this story, I think the end result is lackluster.
Is this book unreadable? No. Can you skip it? Yes.

Change of Plans is a smalltown romantic comedy perfect for fans of books like Knot My Type by Evie Mitchell, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez, Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings, The Summer Cottage by Annie Rains, and Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score as well as movies like Raising Helen and Gifted.

I loved how Newton described the process of applying for and being matched with a service dog as I thought that this was very cool and unique; it’s not something that I’ve seen very often (if at all) in romantic comedies. The meaning behind the service dog’s name was also very heartwarming! I appreciated that Change of Plans was an interconnected standalone as I find that it’s easier for me to get into the plot since I’m already familiar with the setting and a lot of the characters. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Bryce’s nieces playing big parts in the plot as I was afraid that it would distract from the romance elements, but I ended up really enjoying their hilarious antics (including a “laugh out loud” disastrous Easter party) and all the Tinkerbell references!

I have to say that the custody disputes and the PTSD flashbacks were harder for me to read as these topics are so sensitive in nature. I also wasn’t really a fan of the side story involving the Matthews brothers’ mom, Patty, as I didn’t feel like it added a lot to the plot. Lastly, I was disappointed that the miscommunication trope, personally one of my least favourite tropes, appeared multiple times throughout the novel.

Overall, I enjoyed this funny and heartwarming page turner and would highly recommend it to fans of romantic comedies and single parent romances.

My face hurts so much from how much this book made me smile.

Picture yourself - a single, up and coming chef. Then, your brother and his wife are killed, and you are named guardian of their three children. Talk about big life changes. That was exactly what happened to Bryce. She was doing her best to provide love and support to her three nieces, but it was tricky as everyone involved was still grieving a huge loss.

Enter Ryker, a very handsome ex-Marine who had his own personal struggles including complications from his amputation, PTSD, and the loss of his future in the military. His transition back to civilian life had not been an easy one for him, and he was having difficulties connecting to people.

I loved the way Ryker and Bryce's lives came together. It was like the universe knew they both needed someone to show them that it's ok to accept help from others and to lean on them for support when necessary. I was so invested in this couple, but it wasn't only because I am always about the HEA. It was because they really seemed to understand what the other person needed.

I was especially taken with Ryker. He quietly did such wonderful and kind things for Bryce and her nieces. His interactions with the girls were precious, but he also embraced the chaos of it all. Instead of trying to change it, he organically worked to be a part of their lives in a positive way.

I am sad that this was my last trip to Wellsville, as each Matthews brother has now found their HEA, but I am happy to leave with a heart full of happiness and joy. It was a special treat meeting this family and being part of their journeys.

Overall, I thought this was a really cute small town meet cute kind of read. I really liked that the author added intricacy with the different situations that each main character was in and brought awareness to veteran PTSD and resources. Not a lot of books take the time to do that.

The book started a little slow for me and lost me at some points with everything that was going on. I don't know that I resonated much with the main female character, but I did enjoy her humor.

I'd definitely recommend this book to someone who likes a good small town romance mixed with a little bit of spice!

I have honestly been looking forward to this book since reading How Sweet It Is and it truly did not disappoint. Ryker and Bryce have incredible chemistry, I love their friendship blossoming into romance, and the glimpses of the other couples as well.

Guardianship romances can be tricky, it's heavy subject matter, but Dylan Newton handles this part of the plot gracefully and has written a beautiful story. Absolutely loved this book.

THE MEET CUTE! HE FALLS FRIST! FOUND FAMILY!
This was the most uplifting, heart warming book, I've read in a long time. Love reading about characters who step up to keep life for other going and them being rewarded in the end! The balance between the heavy and light was executed really well! Can't wait to read the other books in the series!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Change of Plans is a smart, real, and adorable romance story. This story follows the lives of a strong independent chef who is left her three nieces when her brother and sister in law pass away suddenly. It is a story of love in all it's forms. It explores how love old or new can push people to do the wrong things for what they believe are the right reasons.

The main character is witty, strong, smart yet vulnerable woman. She is frank about how difficult it is to be a parent. It's managing relationships with other family members, running the kids around, dealing with all the random things that come up with three young girls and the mental toll it takes.

It also highlights what PTSD can look like for a veteran who was forced to retire due to injuries. It doesn't sugar coat how hard it is to lose a limb and how to handle relationships both familial and romantic.

This is a cozy novel that takes on hard topics while still leaving you feeling like you are enveloped in a big hug.

I love this series and this third instalment is no exception. This is a really easy and fun read and I highly recommend

Oh my goodness, Dylan Newton writes such hilarious meet cutes! I was laughing so hard during Bryce and Ryker's awkward and painful first interaction at the grocery store. So many things go wrong; I was cringing for them both even as I laughed! So, so good.

I think Bryce and Ryker are my favorite couple of the series. Ryker, the reclusive (and normally abrasive) wounded war hero, has such a soft center that we really haven't seen in the other books, and he instantly directs that tenderness towards Bryce and her nieces in beautifully awkward ways. And Bryce, who's totally upended her life as an up-in-coming chef to take on the role of primary caregiver to her nieces, is a great match for Ryker's energy with her blunt, no nonsense demeanor and kind soul. It's great to watch them fumble their way into an unexpected relationship while also working through some very serious emotional issues with grief, PTSD, survivor's guilt, and health complications.

The balance of serious and lighthearted content makes for a compelling read and beautiful love story.