Review: Don't Plan to Stay by Kaje Harper

At eighteen, Donnie Kagan's plans for graduation, and maybe even college, were derailed by a beer, a stoplight, and a fatal crash. Now he's twenty-four, out of prison, and bitterly determined to start over. But with the holidays approaching, he can't resist a quick trip home to Tallbridge, North Dakota, and the man he left behind. Just a fast look, to make sure Adam's doing all right, before Donnie starts his new life. He doesn't plan to stay.

Adam Lindberg's been waiting six years to get closure with Donnie. He missed that chance after the accident, fighting for his life in a hospital bed as Donnie pled guilty and disappeared into the justice system. Without so much as a letter back from Donnie in all this time, Adam's tried to move on. And yet, he never found another guy he cared about the same way. So when Donnie shows up in Tallbridge, Adam's ready to fight for more than three words of goodbye. Of course, Adam's brother and dad don't want Donnie to stick around, but it's the busy Christmas season at the family store. If Adam asks for Donnie's help, maybe he'll stay long enough to finally talk about the future, and the past.


There are some things I can always count on when I read a Kaje Harper story; the characters will always have a journey, they will always teach me something and they will always give me honest emotions. I always know I will get wrapped up in the MC’s lives and I will tend to iron man through the story in one sitting because I forget I’m even reading. Everything flows organically and the balance is always perfect from start to finish. Don’t Plan to Stay had all of these things and while the backstory for Donnie was incredibly heartbreaking, the story never went down the melodrama trail but instead had a hopeful edge at even the bleakest points. Being that Don’t Plan to Stay is set at Christmastime, that bit of hopeful optimism gave it the ideal tone for a second chance romance at the holidays.

Donnie’s character is quietly memorable and I had a lot of respect for the man that he had become. He made mistakes, but he was not alone, yet when it all came down he was left to pay the price solo. The tragedy that happened when they were young cost Donnie his maturing years but his strength of character when he comes back home to check on his boyhood love, Adam, before heading off to start his life had me hooked from the moment I met him.

Donnie wouldn’t be Donnie without Adam, the two were imperfectly perfect for one another. They were opposites to an extent, but they were also very alike at their core. They had polar opposite childhoods and Adam’s family gave Donnie the family he never really had. There’s a lot of very interesting dynamics when Donnie returns with a lot of truths coming out into the open. This aspect of the story was fascinating for me in that the emotions were the same as they were six years prior, but the characters had matured by six years as well. Each one of them had to reconcile their relationships with what they thought they knew to be truth but with the benefit of hindsight.

The romantic aspect of the story was sublime. It was the focus for sure, but I liked that it was told in relation to the rest of the characters as well. It gave the overall story more depth and it made all the characters more developed. I loved that Donnie didn’t fight the inevitable just to give the story some unnecessary angst. That drives me nutters when I’m reading a story, when one MC decides he’s not the man for the other and essentially negating the other MC’s life choices. The acceptance that Donnie came to, with some loving caretaking by Adam evolved just right for the two of them.It wasn’t too hard, it wasn’t too easy, it just happened as the two of them fell in love with the more mature versions of themselves.

The supporting characters were great, especially Adam’s dad. He was just such a realistic dad and I appreciated his honesty, his open mind and his open heart. He’s barely getting through the days himself after the loss of his beloved wife and I think Donnie’s coming home came at just the right time to give him a renewed perspective on life that his wife would have wanted.

I was left with a really hopeful HEA for these guys and I had a big ol’ goofy grin when I finished reading their story. Their happy was hard won, but they fought for it together all their lives and deserved every bit they got.




**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**

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