DNF at 33%
I really dislike not finishing a book, especially when given an ARC book to review.

I liked the writing style and the plot sounded really interesting, but I was unable to really get into it. I have a rule of thumb that I follow - read around pg 100 and see how I feel about it.

**I was given a complimentary copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Plot Twist by Bethany Turner was a sweet rom-com, perfect for fans of Kerry Winfrey and Helena Hunting. Plot Twist is a heartwarming story of second chances, family love, father daughter relationships, and pursuing your dreams, and I loved how the story followed screenwriting in particular. This romance was the perfect book for the second half of summer vacation.

I struggled with this book a little. I love Bethany Turner’s books, and this was hilarious as always, but the format was different and I struggled to like the main character. Still a great book, though.

The best Rom-com I've read this year! When I read the first chapter I thought "oh no this is going to be one of those meet-cute books I'm not a huge fan of". It was anything but that! It had so many plot twists it lives up to its name. There's only one other book this year that has made me laugh out loud and gasp through out the whole journey. Well written! I can't say enough about the great entertainment that had me whistling for days to come. This should totally be made into a movie, I literally want to re-read it again! It has great kissing scenes and for a moment I really thought the ending was going to be dreadful and I was anxious, but author Bethany Turner saved it with a very last plot twist that left me squealing, humming and smiling smuggly. So good!!

This was a very original idea but I ended up having a hard time staying interested in the story as it went on. With it only taking place on the same day every year and catching us up on what happened in the meantime, I didn't feel like I got to know any of the characters very well. While it was clean, there wasn't really any spiritual content, which was also disappointing as I expected it to have some faith element. I liked the twists that happened. There was some romance and some amusing moments but while I absolutely loved Bethany Turner's last book, this one just didn't measure up to that standard for me. Some people might like this book, though.

I received a free ebook from Netgalley and Thomas Nelson. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are my own.

This was not the romance I thought it would be. To be fair I only read the synopsis once when I requested the ARC and remembered little of it when I actually picked it up a couple of months later so it's partially my fault, but I think the marketing for this one is slightly off.

It didn't start well, in the first chapter the mystery actor that Olivia meets rubbed me the wrong way with his white knight behaviour. It's played off as cute by the end of the scene but she did tell him at least two or three times that she didn't need his help and he kept pushing. UGH.

After that it's Olivia herself who got on my nerves. She has no idea what she wants out of life and instead of trying to figure it out she just persists in messing everything up and bringing her closest friends down with her. I have nothing against the "what/who you need was right in front of you the whole time" trope but this book spans TEN FREAKING YEARS and she barely makes any progress.

I picked this book up expected a fluffy rom-com, instead I spent most of the time being a bit sad but mostly annoyed at all the miscommunication. We honestly could have fixed the whole situation by year 3. This also felt like it was more about Olivia and Fiona's friendship than the romance, which would have been fine if not for the (imo) misleading marketing.

Plot Twist is a rom-com centered around Olivia Ross, an aspiring screenplay writer with whom I spent much of the book annoyed. There were moments when I was so frustrated with her, that I wasn't sure I wanted to continue reading. But, is that the point? She is likable, confused about love, loyal to her friends. and trying to find her way through her 30s.

It was a quick read and in the end, I really did want to know how the story would play out which kept me reading. I enjoyed the actual plot twist and although much of it was a bit far-fetched, anything can happen in Los Angeles and in love, right?

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Bethany Turner for the advanced copy.

I liked the premise of this book, and the writing was well paced. However, the main character, Olivia, annoyed me with her immature behavior. 3 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received an ARC of this novel from Thomas Nelson publishers via Netgalley in exchange for my review. I have never read anything from Bethany Turner, but after reading Plot Twist, I immediately started reading her other books! I LOVE romantic comedy movies-the cheesiest, least probable plots just hook me in-I end up suspending all thoughts of -could that ACTUALLY happen? I lead with my heart and romance and have no problem leaving the actual chances of plot events happening in real life behind. This book is about Olivia Ross, a greeting card writer who is working on a screen play. Olivia has a meet cute in a coffee shop with an aspiring actor, but never gets his name or number. They agree to meet in ten years at the same booth in the same coffee shop when said aspiring actor will act in Olivia's movie. The cynics would say the odds of that happening in real life are minuscule at best, but as a hopeless romantic I was reeled in at the prospect! The story continues every February 4 (the date of the meet cute) for ten years as Olivia struggles to write the screen play, hopes to find the identity of the mysterious man from the coffee shop and prays that the attraction she felt for the man at the coffee shop is real.

This book won't be a fit for everyone, but if you love your romance with little-to-no chance actual chance of working out without a bucketful of hope-this one is for you!

This was a bit of a summer (book) bummer for me.

I was really excited to get this one and dive in, but I was very bored. I never felt like it hooked me in as it couldn't keep my attention and I never bought into the annual update of February 4. I just didn't feel invested in the story or the characters and couldn't wait to move onto my next read.

This is a cute book, one that would make a great pool or beach day read, but just not for me.

I didn't realize this is a christian fiction read, and I wouldn't have selected it as an ARC if I had known. I was not drawn to the poor life choices everyone made in this story and gave up at the 25% because I had a hard enjoying the characters in this book. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

Plot Twist by Bethany Turner is a fun romantic comedy about Olivia Ross, a greeting card writer. She meets the perfect guy at a coffee shop one day, and they agree to meet back there ten years later. But, she doesn't know his name. Every year something strange and memorable happens on that same day. Her love life isn't going so great either, mainly because she keeps pushing people away. This book was really fun to read, but sometimes Olivia's decisions irritated me. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital copy. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book. It has a lot of pop culture references and has me laughing at various areas. 10 years of a long time to wait. It’s interesting to see how this encounter affects the main character and those around her. I was surprised at the ending! I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All views stated are my own.

Plot Twist missed the mark for me. The story itself was intriguing and I could’ve easily lost myself in it. I did love how every year something relating to the first encounter managed to occur. It made it fun! Sadly, I enjoyed all the characters except the main character. Liv was just so negative and hurting the people she loved over and over. It was hard to read at points and it would disrupt the flow for me. Overall, I didn’t hate it nor did I love it. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Olívia é uma aspirante a roteirista que não tem um roteiro pronto. Vivendo na cidade dos sonhos, ela tem um encontro um tanto que inusitado em um café com um ator. Após um início peculiar, a conversa e a química flui bem. Ambos explanam seus sonhos e combinam de daqui dez anos se reecontrarem. Ele será um ator famoso e estrelará o roteiro do filme dela. Acordo fechado, cada um segue sua vida. E é aqui que um emaranhado de coincidências loucas acontece a cada 4 de fevereiro na vida de Olívia. O livro acontece exatamente a cada ano dessa data especial. A protagonista vai nos contando o que aconteceu com ela e vamos conhecem suas aspirações, amores e amizades.

Não demora muito para Olívia perceber que o cara desconhecido é Hamish MacDougal, um ator em aspiração de sucesso. Ela não tem nenhum sonho romântico com ele, apesar de sua amiga dizer o contrário. Tudo o que ela quer é escrever seu roteiro e, quem sabe, se até lá nada der certo e o ator realmente aparecer, seja uma chance para sua carreira. Mas enquanto isso não acontece, Olívia continua seguindo seu rumo, inclusive namorando.

Contudo, nossa protagonista tem uma visão limitada de si mesma, sempre se enxergando como uma coadjuvante e achando que não cabe nenhum papel principal para si. Por isso ela acaba sabotando suas relações e ficando cada vez mais confusa com o rumo que a vida vai seguindo.

É difícil não querer sacudir Olívia e mostrar a ela tudo que está perdendo. Ou mesmo não querer que ela seja mais sincera em seus relacionamentos (seja amorosos ou românticos). E ainda que tenha me irritado com o desenrolar de várias coisas que aconteceram na história, foi impossível não rir com as loucuras que aconteciam a cada 4 de fevereiro. Sempre era uma mistura de coincidências em que Olívia vivia a sombra do famoso Hamish MacDougal, até mesmo quando tentava fugir de todas as formas. Me frustrei junto com ela cada vez que achava que ia conhecê-lo e algo não dava certo rs

E no final... meu Deus! Nada me preparou para esse final e acredito que foi ali que o livro ganhou muitos pontos comigo de novo. Adoro me surpreender na leitura e a autora conseguiu fazer isso.

Plot twist é um livro bacana de ler em poucas horas e que ainda pode surpreender você.

Not exactly what I hoped for.

I don’t really like the main character. She’s not someone I can relate to. For many reasons, but mostly her attitude and how she treats people.

I found this book to be fun and inspiring while also so frustrating! Overall not a bad book.

The main thing I focus on and I think is also the main focus of this story, is that Olivia needs to find out who and what she is and what her own wants are for the future. She needs to push and fight and make mistakes and learn and this book shows this through each year she gets closer to her ten year promise.

While I enjoyed this book, reading was effortless and fun; I wouldn't say I liked how Liam and Olivia were so on and off and how she messed with his head and relationships every time they met or were alone together. I actually wanted them to be done after the whole kiss while he was dating her friend and cheating and all this will they won't they really hindered how I felt about the ending of the book and their relationship.
Also, that mix up with the actor and the filmmaker owner was so strange and just weird.

While I liked this book, I will leave off that I hated the whole Irish or Scottish things, but I'm biased because I am Irish.

I was so intrigued by the blurb.. but I was disappointed after reading the book. The plot spans over 10 years of Olivia's life, focusing on the date 4 February. To be honest, I just skimmed most of the book because things were just... meh. I enjoyed reading about her friendship with Fiona, but other than that, the plot was a bit bland. I would have rather the author shorten the timeframe, and delve deeper into the lives of the characters.

I really loved the way this book was laid out - each chapter is the same day, different year. It was fun to follow Olivia through the years on February 4th.

I really appreciated the ending. There's a little twist there that I wasn't expecting!

Olivia did get on my nerves a little at times. I don't know why she has to be so secretive and basically lie about her feelings all the time. I feel like she could have opened up a tiny bit more.

I adored Liam. I wanted more of him tbh.

As always I really enjoy Bethany Turner's writing style and find her books to be a breath of fresh air!

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas Nelson.
Overall Impression

This was a quick read for me (I had trouble putting it down), but one that left me with mixed feelings, as I didn’t understand why it was labeled as Christian fiction.

Things I liked

The Structure
I really enjoyed the book’s unconventional structure. Based on the synopsis, I thought the novel would be a standard romance story, so the unexpected structure was a pleasant surprise.
The structure also contributed to the novel’s pacing. I liked how each chapter introduced lots of new information, so the book didn’t have the normal “slow parts.”
The Plot
The plot really pulled me in, to the extent that I felt an emotional connection to the characters. There were definitely moment when I wanted to punch Olivia or became angry with Liam, and it’s been a while since a book elicited that kind of response from me.
Along a similar line, I noticed other readers saying that this book would make a great movie, and I agree. I liked that it was slightly cleaner than your typical PG-13 rom-com (though it didn’t quite feel PG) but was not predictable like a Hallmark story. In fact, there were several fun plot twists.
The Humor
The book was both fun and funny, and I found myself laughing out loud.
The Setting
The book took place from the time I was in 2nd grade until I graduated from high school. Because the main character is an adult, there were some references that I couldn’t fully understand, but there were also quite a few that I enjoyed.
Spiritual Content

As I read, I kept thinking that the spiritual themes were coming up a little later on. Given the premise of the novel and the occasional nods to “coincidence,” I was thinking there would be, at the least, discussion about God’s planning. But there wasn’t. In fact, there was no content even alluding to faith or relationship with God.

While some Christian books present subtle, allegorical meaning and others offer nods to religious practices like church attendance (which is not my favorite “Christian book” identifier), I really saw no reason to call this a Christian book. It was comparatively “clean” (please see Content notes), but it was not what I expected.

Content Concerns

In contrast, there were some “worldly” elements. Most of these things will seem pretty “nitpicky.” However, I am reviewing not only as a Christian reviewer, but also in the context that this book is considered a Christian book. For me, these elements felt out of place in a Christian book.

Olivia is very impressed that her best friend, Fiona, has celebrities’ phone numbers in their phone and thinks “a friend like that deserved better.” While I think the line is meant to be comedic, I feel that it subtly endorses celebrity worship. There’s also a reference to the “sanctity” of a singer.
Olivia and Fi have a really sweet lifelong friendship, which I really enjoyed reading. I didn’t like the line that described Fiona as the love of her life. It was just like but it weirded me out!
At least one use of the Lord’s name in vain (“Geez”).
One of the main characters is referred to as “Sexy Irish Guy.”
Romantic Content

I think most people would comfortably describe this as a “clean” read. There were, however, quite a few passionate kissing scenes. The descriptions were enough to make me feel uncomfortable, although this definitely wasn’t the worst I’ve seen. Compared to mainstream novels, I’m sure this is a very clean read. Because this is a Christian novel, I would have liked to see a more innocent romance.

Concluding Thoughts

While undoubtedly an entertaining read, this isn’t a book I would characterize as Christian. Therefore, it’s not something I would endorse as “here’s a good, pure [as in purity] work of fiction.” I don’t read much adult fiction, but this is probably a good alternative to mainstream choices.