Kathy Lette never fails to disappoint, and this is a fabulous easy to read at times hilarious page turner!

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

This had quite an interesting premise, and I have enjoyed books by Kathy Lette in the past so wanted to give this one a go. Normally, I really enjoy her humour, and to be fair this book overall was a light, fun read and hilarious in some places. However, it felt as though the humour and sarcasm was incredibly forced and overused, and often very repetitive, which annoyingly overshadowed the main plot which could have been much better developed if there wasn't such an apparent need for constant jokes. It's obvious when an author is trying too hard to be funny, and in this case it was a bit of a shame because this book was generally enjoyable, and had the potential to be even more so.

Kathy Lette has always been great for a laugh and has never shied away from approaching things that Brits don't talk about. For this I salute her, and will long continue to read her.

Now I have to be honest, this sort of humour isn't usually my thing, but having an autistic teenage son myself, I could see the real story behind the incongruity of the various situations that mum Lucy, and 21 year old son Merlin find themselves in. I loved the character of Merlin, so prosaic in speech, and yet so unaware of its impact on the world around him; and I identified with Lucy, so desperate to ease the burden on her son's shoulders of a world he struggled with - to the point of breaking the law. I felt that some of the metaphors were a little strained, but felt the irony of their use in a book with a central autistic character.
The book is written with great sensitivity and tenderness, despite the sometimes raucous humour, by an author with the voice of real experience.

I really like the premise of this book. It is the first time I’ve seen one that tackles sex which involves a person on the spectrum. It sure is intriguing. Also, it is well-written and I like how the author attacks the issue with humor. It is definitely hilarious. However, I feel like it gets over the top with the humor that it appears so comical and well…silly. There were times I feel bored especially when the characters started showing off their linguistic prowess and spewing unfamiliar words and I have to stop and look for its meaning. A few words are fine but that’s not really the case as there’s a lot of them. But then, that’s just me.

As for the characters, they are sure an interesting lot. From Lucy, who’s willing to do everything for her son, to the point of looking for a girl for him to lose his virginity with. To Merlin, who’s such a fascinating character despite being misunderstood and taken advantage of by many because of his condition. Even Lucy’s sister, Phoebe, is a delightful one with her unwavering support to her sister. In the end, Lucy’s character development is wonderful and is something where we can glean a thing or two about motherhood and letting your offspring be free at some point.

And despite the silliness, I appreciate how the author tried to normalize autism by incorporating sex in the story. A dilemma that is experienced by some people in reality. And reading such books give awareness and deeper understanding of autism.

So, overall, Best Laid Plans is a crazy yet fun read. Despite my issues, I still kind of enjoyed it.

RATING: 3.5/5

A roller coaster ride for the reader of emotions - from empathy to astonishment to incredulity. And even laughter. But the humour is often dark.

Autism is always a challenge for the carers especially as it is often accompanied by other issues as so well portrayed here, including the inability to judge the appropriate behaviour in social situations.

Loved the book.

5☆ A Mother's Hilarious & Crazy Journey to help her Autistic Son get Laid

Best Laid Plans had me laughing out loud and often cringing at the crazy Antics Lucy gets up to in order to help her Autistic Son Merlin lose his Virginity for he's 21st birthday.

Merlin is soon to be 21 and all he wants is to be loved, have sex and get a girlfriend.
See Merlin has Autism and not everyone shares Merlins unique and special outlook on life.

Lucy sees Merlins heart break, and when he start to say he wishes he had never been born. It tears Lucy apart.
All she has ever wanted was to see Merlin happy.

Merlin has never had a girlfriend, girls can be cruel and when Merlin says inappropriate comments to women, innocently not understanding what he has said is not the right thing to say. He gets rejected. Lucy struggles to believe Merlin may never find love, so she decides to take matters in to her own hands!

So she talks to her sister Phoebe and they come up with a plan to take Merlin to visit a Lady of the Night. 
Unfortunately this plan is about to become horribly wrong, when Lucy is arrested for Kerb Crawling.

Now poor Lucy's run of bad luck don't just end there. She is determined more than ever to help Merlin lose his virginity.
Rightly or wrongly I can understand and sympathise with Lucy.

I don't want to say anymore about the plot as it really will spoil it.

But let's just say Lucy is in for one hell of a ride. More visits to the police station, cougers, drug dealers, infuriating Ex Husbands, a gay wedding and crazy girlfriends.

Trust me when I say this book will have you laughing out loud, leave you with tears and upset, make you feel angry, then back to laughing again.

I really felt for Lucy. All she wanted to do was protect her Son. She may not of gone about it in appropriate ways. But she always had his best interest at heart.

Lucy came across as an easy target.
People took her for granted and walked all over her. I just wanted to shake her sometimes.
She was so busy protecting her son she didn't notice he was growing up to be a beautiful young Man, with a huge heart and a fun, caring personality.

I have lots of experience with Autism and Merlin fascinated me. He was incredibly clever with such a huge heart,which he wore on his sleeve.
Due to the fact Merlin sees life in a completely innocent way. He was an easy target. Which you will come to discover several occasions throughout the book.
I wanted to jump I'm the book and scream at these disgraceful people.
Merlin comes across as vulnerable and his need to be loved gets him used and abused.

Oh I just also want to mention Lucy's Ex, (Merlins's Dad) he's  a nasty piece of work. I really, really disliked him. He's a sneak, a cheat, a disgusting excuse for a father. Trust me these words are not used lightly!

This truly is a beautiful, fun, humorous, a little bit rude, saucy, crazy, emotional, rollercoaster of a book.
But i loved every minute of it.

So much going on, short fun chapters with humorous titles. Enough to keep you reading till the early hours. It's a book you just have to know what on earth will happen next!

Will Merlin ever find love?
Will he ever lose his virginity?
What on earth will Lucy get herself into next!

I urge you to Read the book to find out more. You won't be disappointed!

A perfect read for those who love Fun, Adult Humour, Romance, Crazy Antics, Page Turner.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House and the author Kathy for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is hysterical!! It’s funny, emotional and quite raw in parts! This book makes you think about your preconceived ideas of children with special needs and actually reminds you that when there are challenging times in your life…. Humour goes a long way to helping you.

I don’t want to give any kind of spoilers’ so I will say Kathy’s writing style is full of curveballs…. You will never be able to guess at what happens next!

Kathy Lette never disappoints me I loved the humour and honesty about having a autistic child. Well worth reading

2.5 stars

While I absolutely loved Merlin, everything else was a bit over the top for my liking.

I found this really silly. And I know from the synopsis it is meant to be, but it kind of went beyond the pale. The characters were caricatures and it just all seemed to try a bit hard. I ended up pretty bored and annoyed with the whole story.

Just not for me I guess. Apologies and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful touching novel. Struck a cord with myself as a mother to an Autistic child. Thankyou so much for the opportunity to read this early.

A fun lighthearted humorous read which shows that even with the best intentions life has a way of really screwing you over.

Another big-hearted, warm and witty read from Lette as a mother seeks to help her autistic son get a sex life... Merlin is just adorable but so-called 'normal' girls just can't see it - cue his mother's antics first to buy him a prostitute, then to intervene in his own attempts at romance. This isn't quite as wonderful as Lette's Courting Trouble but is genuinely funny, brash, outrageous and just so much fun, while making important points about social inclusivity. Any book which makes me both giggle and well up on the Tube gets my vote!