Clara’s Verdict
Cosy romance as a genre has specific and legitimate pleasures: the manageable stakes, the characters who are fundamentally decent even when they are making poor decisions, the certainty that warmth will prevail. The Baby Plan by Emma Bennet, an Audible Original published in February 2026, delivers these pleasures with competence and occasional charm. I listened to it on a Saturday morning — the kind of morning that calls for something pleasant rather than challenging — and it was exactly that.
The premise is the kind that the genre handles well: two strangers, unexpectedly bound together by shared responsibility for a baby neither of them planned for, discover in the process of navigating chaos together that they have rather more feelings for each other than practical co-parenting requires. The Brighton setting gives the story a particular texture — light, breezy, gestured toward summer — and Emma Bennet writes with enough warmth to make the predictable beats feel earned rather than mechanical.
About the Audiobook
London accountant Sophie’s life unravels with considerable efficiency in the book’s opening chapters. Her estranged sister has died, leaving behind an eight-month-old daughter, Alana, whose existence Sophie had not known about. Then Samson appears on Sophie’s doorstep: six foot, surfer, and equally unprepared for fatherhood. Their arrangement — sharing Samson’s Brighton house while they work out a longer-term plan for Alana — is the engine of the story, and Bennet uses it to explore the question of how two people who have no reason to trust each other build something real through the shared ordeal of caring for an infant.
Part of the Audible Originals Cosy Romances collection, The Baby Plan sits within a well-defined tradition of British contemporary romance that prizes warmth, gentle humour, and emotional accessibility over high drama. The closed-door approach to the romantic relationship means the tension is built through proximity and accumulated feeling rather than explicit content, which suits the cosy framing. At five hours and forty-two minutes, it is a single-sitting audiobook for most listeners.
The Narration
Anna Burnett narrates, and she is the production’s quiet strength. Burnett’s Sophie is warm, occasionally flustered, and recognisably human — a character who knows she is out of her depth and keeps going anyway. Her handling of Alana — the baby who catalyses the whole plot — is particularly effective; Burnett conveys Sophie’s growing attachment without sentimentality. The dialogue between Sophie and Samson has a natural rhythm in Burnett’s performance that makes the slow development of their connection feel organic rather than structurally convenient.
What Readers Say
The Audible UK rating sits at 4.2 from a single reviewer, but the broader review landscape across platforms gives a fuller picture. V Neaves, who had not previously read Bennet’s work, called the book « such a quick, cute read » and found Sophie « one of the most relatable characters I’ve ever read. » Tod1208 described it as a book they could not put down: « I felt so at home with the characters. » The dissenting voice — LavR on an ARC basis — acknowledges the premise’s strength while feeling it did not fully deliver on its potential. This is a not uncommon response to closed-door romances: when the restraint is a choice rather than a necessity, some readers find it slightly frustrating.
Who Should Listen?
The Baby Plan is ideal for listeners who like their romance warm, clean, and plot-driven, and who enjoy the particular dynamic of two competent adults being rendered helpless by a small child. It is an excellent commute audiobook or a Saturday-morning listen. Those who prefer their romantic tension more explicit or their plots more unpredictable may want to look elsewhere. Listen on Audible UK for Anna Burnett’s assured performance.
