Best Laid Plans by Willa Okati

Teddy and Jefferson get along like a house on fire. Literally. Jefferson’s a serious-natured soccer star, and Teddy was born to party till the wheels come off. Oh, they might have jerked it a few times thinking about each other, but they’ll burn this mother to the ground before they ever get along. The only thing they have in common are their friends—Jefferson’s buddy Emmett, and Teddy’s BFF Noelani. Emmett’s just blown all his savings on a house near campus, and he needs tenants to help make the monthly payments. That’s where Teddy and Jefferson come in. Hey, anything’s better than the dorms.

So far so good. Until Noelani’s former fiancé Beau—also Emmett’s former best friend—rolls back into town. Panicked over the return of their old feelings for the rough-riding badass, Noelani and Emmett decide the only sensible ‘save’ is to get married. Of course. Teddy and Jefferson both know that’s a bad idea, and that those two are going to need their friends more than ever. That means only one thing: no choice but to raise the white flag and join forces.

Pros: free rein for sexual hijinks in the name of ‘getting along’. Cons: Easier said than done.

Despite it all, Teddy and Jefferson are also discovering that they have more fun fighting with each other than they would kissing anyone else. Maybe—maybe—they're falling in love. But when Beau reveals the real reason for his return and everything turns topsy-turvy for everyone involved, is their new alliance strong enough to save the day?

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Loose Id

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Shannan – ☆☆☆
Best Laid Plans was a fun sweet read. The only problem I had was it didn't seem to flow well for me. At times I had to stop and reread sections because I got confused about who was speaking or what happened. Unfortunately, it happened quite a few times pulling me from the flow of the plot. I don't know if it was from my own distractions or not but it didn't hold my attention like I wanted it to.

I did find some scenes between Teddy and Jefferson hysterical. Teddy is a sarcastic, ginger, drama queen. Jefferson is the athletic former soccer player. They both agree to help their friends (Noelani and Emmett) and are thrown together living in one big house.

I'm not sure if there were four main characters or two with parallel running stories? It wasn't a bad story. It was light, had low angst and quite funny.


Veronica – ☆☆☆
Best Laid Plans is a fun, light m/m romance. Jefferson and Teddy are complete opposites but that is what makes the fun. They don't get along so if you like an enemies to lovers story this might be the book for you. I really enjoyed the scenes where Teddy and Jefferson are avoiding each other – very amusing.

For me as the book went on there wasn't that much to hold my interest even with the ongoing drama between their romantically involved friends which was fairly predictable. But Terry and Jefferson make a good couple and ultimately this is an enjoyable story.


Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
I have to say this and get it out of way so I can move on from it. I nearly did not read this book because of the cover. I have a tendency to scan past books with cartoonish covers for some reason – they literally repel me. Fortunately I noticed the author’s name and as a fan of Ms. Okati’s writing I ignored the cover and dove right in and I am so glad that I did because watching the romance between Teddy and Jefferson unfold was absolutely delightful.

The blurb states that “Teddy and Jefferson get along like a house on fire.” – that’s an understatement. Jefferson can’t open his mouth without ticking Teddy off and while at times Teddy’s anger may seem a bit exaggerated (read “drama queen”), there are just as many times when it’s not unwarranted. But as we get to know the two guys better it becomes apparent that Jefferson isn’t an intentional arse, he just doesn’t think about how what he says can be hurtful. But nothing unites enemies like a common foe, so when the ex-fiancé and ex-best friend Beau shows back up in town and threatens the relationship of Teddy and Jefferson’s besties, they call a truce and unite forces to keep Beau from ruining everything. When they decide to add sex to the truce, what a united front they present?!?!? Their natural antagonism toward one another equates to some intense passion inside the bedroom. But as they spend more time together outside the bedroom, they find that they are far more compatible than either ever believed.

I loved Teddy and Jefferson’s pre-truce antics. Their pranks had me chuckling on more than one occasion and I loved watching them fall in love. I adored Teddy and his snarky attitude. I liked how the author integrated the relationship triangle between Noelani, Emmett, and Beau into the story, making it important without letting it overshadow Teddy and Jefferson’s romance. The “A-HA” moment was entertaining but not nearly as so as when Teddy found out that Noelani was playing him – I wasn’t sure if Noelani was brave or stupid for telling him. Either way it was hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed Best Laid Plans and it has joined the author’s other books on my re-read list. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Okati’s writing.

A multi-published author of GLBT fiction since 2004, Willa's passion is for writing love stories. Whether romantic comedy or serious business, bruised hearts or second chances, she’s never happier than when she’s neck deep in a work in progress. She drinks less coffee than she used to, though probably still too much. Her new obsession is learning how to cook. Only one minor kitchen explosion to her credit (so far). Anything and everything is inspiration for a story!

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Best Laid Plans by Willa Okati to read and review.

Breathe Deep by Willa Okati

A golden-hearted mountain man. A nursing tech with a secret. Life and death are on the line—and they’re running out of time.

Shepherd knows what people think of him. He’s too big, too tall and too broad not to be scary. But though he looks like a grizzly bear, he’s all teddy on the inside. He’s dreamed of finding someone to love. Someone who can help him break through his shyness and who he can shower with all the affection in his heart.

Kit knows what people think of him. That he’s young, good-looking and kissed by luck. He survived leukemia as a teenager, and he thought he had his entire life ahead of him. But now, the cancer might be recurring—deny it though he might—and Kit’s world has come crashing down. He needs someone like Shepherd. Someone kind and caring, who’s strong enough to lean on.

Kit’s falling fast for the big mountain man—but he hasn’t told Shepherd the truth. He’s afraid that knowing he may be sick will be more than Shepherd can handle. And now, after delaying treatment, he thinks he may be running out of time.

Secrets can be life or death—and when it comes to telling the truth, they can make all the difference.

Book 3
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Pride Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the third in a series, but other than mention of a few character, there is really no overlap. I would however commend both the previous books to you, as they are great reads and each one is sufficiently different.

Kit is such a lovely, popular but lonely man with a big secret. Shepherd is bigger than life, but terribly shy. Fate conspires to bring them together, but something is threatening to keep them apart. Be prepared for some tears, and for tugging at the heartstrings! Loved Gib – perfect foil and generous with his bike too!

Add it to your pile, if you haven't already.


Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
I have read several of Ms. Okati’s books, including the previous books in this series, and I have enjoyed them all because I love her style of writing. Although Breathe Deep is written slightly different than what I have become accustomed to, the writing was no less enjoyable. In the other books of Ms. Okati’s that I’ve read, the main characters are either already involved romantically or tend to know one another well and because of their familiarity with one another, there is a kind of shorthand way in which they interact (i.e., they already know or can accurately anticipate the other characters’ needs and much goes unsaid). Now as Shepherd and Kit have never met prior to this book this kind of shorthand communication would never work and the author doesn’t even attempt to use it. So for me, Breathe Deep offered me the chance to experience another style of writing by an author I enjoy and it proved to be an excellent read.

In case you’re like me and started reading the book without rereading the blurb, the author uses the Prologue to introduce the reader to Kit and show what it is that he is dealing with. It’s clear rather quickly that Kit is of the mindset that if he doesn’t admit that his leukemia is in relapse, then it’s not real. I don’t have to have a fatal disease to recognize Kit’s coping mechanism or empathize with him as I’ve done the same thing myself in situations that don’t even begin to compare. This not only gives me an immediate connection with Kit, but I found myself fully invested in his story within a matter of pages. As if the universe is trying to balance out this devastating development, Kit meets a big bear of a man – Shepherd. Kit’s finally found a man who’s everything he’s ever wanted and it happens at the same time he’s worried (at least subconsciously) that he’s in relapse. Despite his best intentions, Kit can’t stay away from Shepherd nor can he bring himself to tell Shepherd about his leukemia. As the men get close – and boy howdy do they get close! – Kit’s secret gets harder to keep. Of course such a secret can’t be kept for long and when it came out, my heart broke for both Kit and Shepherd. Thankfully the author did not make me wait too terribly long before putting my heart at ease.

I was completely torn over Kit’s decision to keep his leukemia a secret. It’s not like it’s something you just mention in casual conversation to virtual strangers, which is what he and Shepherd were and all Kit expected them to be. As Kit got more attached to Shepherd, figuring out how to tell him about the leukemia got worse because Kit was afraid of losing him. Not to mention, Kit was still in denial himself and when he finally accepted that he was in relapse he no longer knew how to broach the subject. Of course when there was no way to hide it anymore, I was reading through tears because of how Shepherd reacted, especially as it occurred at the end of such a perfect day for the two men. As this is a novella, the author opted not to take readers through Kit’s actual treatment and I for one am grateful because I don’t know that I could have watched Kit suffer through it. But this makes the jump in time to the Epilogue actually frightening because with how it began, I had no idea as to how the treatments turned out and whether or not the relationship was still intact. Thankfully Ms. Okati didn’t make me wait too long for the resolution and I found it both realistic and hopeful. Already I am looking forward to future installments in the St. Hawk’s Medical series in hopes that the author will provide occasional updates regarding Kit and Shepherd. Breathe Deep was an excellent addition to the series and well worth every tear I cried.

Also Available in the St. Hawk's Medical Series

Book 1
Buy Links

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Pride Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Take Heart blog post.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Pride Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Give Chase blog post.

Willa Okati can most often be found muttering to herself over a keyboard, plugged into her iPod and breaking between paragraphs to play air drums. In her spare time (the odd ten minutes or so per day she's not writing) she's teaching herself to play the pennywhistle.

Willa has forty-plus separate tattoos and yearns for a full body suit of ink. She walks around in a haze of story ideas, dreaming of tales yet to be told. She drinks an alarming amount of coffee for someone generally perceived to be mellow.

Connect with Willa

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Breathe Deep (St. Hawk’s Medical #3) by Willa Okati to read and review.

Give Chase by Willa Okati

Declan’s always been careful to guard his heart, but Isaac’s catching up at last. Some things are worth fighting for, even when they’re running fast.

Dr. Isaac Paliades has never been much for letting sleeping dogs lie, and he’s been intrigued by his colleague Dr. Declan Day from the moment they met. Declan’s a hard man to get a read on, one minute cool as snow and the next minute hot-blooded enough to give Isaac a run for his money. Though they work together, play together—and occasionally sleep together—Isaac has yet to get a good look at the man Declan is behind the carefully constructed masks he shows to the world.

But when the pair of physicians rescue an abandoned baby discovered while they’re out for a jog, Isaac sees cracks start to appear in Declan’s façade. He’s taking the care of their foundling more seriously than anyone imagined he would, and bringing Isaac along for the ride. He’s asking for dominance in bed, and a deeper friendship at St. Hawk’s.

Isaac thinks he’s finally found the key to unlocking Declan’s guarded heart. But even when the walls come down, can Declan find the courage and will to let Isaac in?

Book 2
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Pride Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second in a series, but other than mention of one character, there is really no overlap. That said the first, Take Heart, is also a hot read, so I would add it to your pile, if you haven't already.

I loved the consistent nature of Isaac and the need that both he and Declan had to work out this thing between them. The reason they bonded was sweet, and also enabled the story to become much fuller than the reader of a short story could expect. I certainly felt like I had read a full length novel, given how much content there was. Hot, cute and doctors – lucky guys!

Also Available in the St. Hawk's Medical Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Pride Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Take Heart blog post.

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Pride Publishing

Willa Okati can most often be found muttering to herself over a keyboard, plugged into her iPod and breaking between paragraphs to play air drums. In her spare time (the odd ten minutes or so per day she's not writing) she's teaching herself to play the pennywhistle.

Willa has forty-plus separate tattoos and yearns for a full body suit of ink. She walks around in a haze of story ideas, dreaming of tales yet to be told. She drinks an alarming amount of coffee for someone generally perceived to be mellow.

Connect with Willa

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Give Chase (St. Hawk’s Medical #2) by Willa Okati to read and review.

Take Heart by Willa Okati

A gentle hippie with a new heart, a hellion making good, and a rebel doctor discover together how healing takes more than just medicine.

Dr. Brendan West, a dreamer and a doctor, knows there’s more to life than the job, and he wants to experience it for himself. His first step after finding a temporary job at St. Hawk’s is falling for kind-hearted gardener Evan—only to discover that Evan’s already taken by boisterous Griff.

For his part, Griff sees this as more of an opportunity than a threat. He likes the good doc’s kind heart and clear eyes, and the way he sees it, their lonely doc needs them just as much, or more. With Evan on board, he sets to work bringing Brendan into a ménage relationship.

Brendan knows he could fall hard for the odd couple, but the thing is—he’s not in St. Hawk’s for the long haul. He can’t bear to surrender his heart if he’s only going to leave it behind.

Can the doctor, the gardener and the hellion find a way to make it work, or will they find themselves losing out on love?

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Pride Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
Short, but full of story, and a delightful ending. Two guys are hot, bring in a third ... well sizzling, yet somehow also so sweet! Take three very different characters and see what happens when emotions and events conspire to make them want what seems out of reach. Good story as well as bright outcome. Looking forward to reading more in this series.

Also Available in the St. Hawk's Medical Series

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Pride Publishing

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Pride Publishing

Willa Okati can most often be found muttering to herself over a keyboard, plugged into her iPod and breaking between paragraphs to play air drums. In her spare time (the odd ten minutes or so per day she's not writing) she's teaching herself to play the pennywhistle.

Willa has forty-plus separate tattoos and yearns for a full body suit of ink. She walks around in a haze of story ideas, dreaming of tales yet to be told. She drinks an alarming amount of coffee for someone generally perceived to be mellow.

Connect with Willa

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Take Heart (St. Hawk’s Medical #1) by Willa Okati to read and review.