About the Book
Title: No Plan at All
Series: Best Laid Plans #3
Author: Denise M. Colby
Publisher: Scrivenings Press
Released: November 4, 2025
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Sometimes the best life is the one we never planned.
Sarah Anne Baker never wanted to be anyone’s burden. But hours after losing the Godmother who raised her, she faces an impossible choice: marry her late fiancé’s brother—or flee into the unknown. With fear as her only companion, she places her trust in the one man leaving town that night—the enigmatic traveling peddler known only as Mr. Smith.
Alexander Sinclair walked away from his noble title in Scotland to live a quiet, hidden life. Peddling wares from town to town has given him peace, free from the weight of expectation. Until a desperate young woman crosses his path. He can’t turn her away… no matter the cost.
Together, Sarah and Alex set out on a journey through loss, healing, and a bond neither expected to find. But as secrets surface and choices demand to be made, both must decide: cling to the lives they planned—or risk everything to embrace the future God has written for them.
A tender tale of courage, redemption, and love strong enough to change the course of two hearts forever.
About the Author
Passionate about all types of stories—whether they are from songs, theatre, movies, or novels—Denise M. Colby loves history and constantly finds herself contemplating how it was to live in the 1800s.
An avid journal writer, Denise usually can be found with a pen and notepad whenever she’s reading God’s word. Each year, Denise chooses a word to focus on. She shares her learnings about that word throughout the year on the two blogs she writes for.
A wife for thirty years and mother to three boys and daughter-in-love, Denise loves to read, watch movies with her family, sing 80s and musical songs, dance, and spend date nights with her husband.
Writing Historical Christian Romance novels combines her love of learning about history and reading. Visit Denise’s website to sign up for her newsletter or connect with her on her social media.
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My Impressions:
“…they needed to piece together some sort of plan they both could accept.”
No Plan at At All is a fun historical romance by Denise M. Colby. Young Sarah hitches a ride with a traveling peddler, Alex Smith, in a last- ditch effort to avoid a marriage to a man she doesn’t love.
With no plan in place at all, but simply to escape that unwanted life, Sarah unknowingly puts poor Alex (and herself)in a very compromising position. Two young unmarried persons traveling together.
Sarah finds a way to make herself indispensable to Alex, while still staying out of sight. Their journey is fraught with fear of discovery, constant illness, and a gradual attraction that develops, though secrets unknown will keep the two from being able to act on their feelings.
Alma, a fave secondary character, is a much -needed friendly mother-type figure for Sarah. When Sarah relays her true feelings to the sweet older lady, Alma sagely tells her, “What you feel is real. Sometimes we can’t control the feelings, but we can ask the Lord to help guide our actions.”
I wasn’t sure at first what to think of Will, Sarah’s brother. He certainly is an example someone whose actions may or may not be as interpreted. I did like one piece of advice Will had for his sister:
“Praying is a practice everyone needs to put into motion. You have to work at it. It doesn’t happen automatically. And you have to keep at it.” Always a good reminder!
Tropes of hidden identity and forced proximity together with faith nuggets and historical romance flavored with Scottish influence, make this a fun story. I did keep looking for a wandering rooster, to no avail!
I received a copy of the book from JustRead Tours. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“In the daylight everything was exposed. More pronounced. The sun shone on things that were easy to hide in the dark.”
“You know how the people of the world see things. The perception is much worse than the actual reality.”
“But I also trust God to provide. His ways are better than me own. I can’t go out in the world fearful of things going wrong.”
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Great! A very fun story with some great lessons!
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions 