I loved that this book covered many serious topics, like self discovery, sobriety and mental health. Overall, the plot was fun and well paced. I did however, not find any of the MCs very intriguing. Sophie especially got on my nerves with her inconsistency and behavior that bordered on immaturity (especially given that these characters were in their 30s). It made parts of this book almost impossible to get through with how much I rolled my eyes and got annoyed all the time.

When romance author Sophie goes viral online for posting a video about how she’s never been in love, she finds herself embarking on a journey to see what her eyes have to say about their failed relationships. She takes up with her hot landlord, a former teen heartthrob who’s trying to live a quiet, and anonymous life.

This book had about five plot lines all going simultaneously and none of them seemed to mesh well with each other. I wanted the romance between Sophie and Dash to be stronger and for everything with Dash and his… online friend… maybe to not exist in the story at all. It felt so wildly out of place and like it belonged in a different book entirely.

I really wanted to like this story more than I did. There were some good things in here that I really liked. Unfortunately, this book didn’t do it for me.

It had a LOT OF POTENTIAL, but it did not give.

It felt like the tropes were randomly thrown in, the characters kinda felt childish and also the “kinda cheating trope” umm. Like I said better it had potential, the plot was so interesting.

I read this book as a pallet cleanser between two fantasy books, and it was definitely a good light read. The characters were interesting, the plot was funny, and it was just an easy, romance book.

Our main character, Sophie, is a romance writer, who has never fallen in love, so she goes to revisit her past exes to figure out what went wrong. She is a very flawed character, as we go through book, we see her, realizing that she has a lot of responsibility when it comes to her failed relationships.

Our mail, love interest, dash, is a former teen heartthrob, who is 18 months, sober, but hasn’t told his famous family yet. Oh, and he’s also Sophie’s landlord and her best friend’s brother.

I do think that we could’ve done with less tropes, I felt like almost every single book trope imaginable was somehow represented in this story, and I would’ve rather have a few done well rather than so many.

Overall, this was a cute and fluffy read, definitely not my favorite romance book, but I would recommend it to others just cause I think it’s fun!

"The Plot Twist" by Erin La Rosa is a delightful exploration of unexpected turns in life, both in and out of fiction. La Rosa's witty and relatable writing style adds charm to the narrative, making it an engaging read. The anecdotes and insights shared offer a fresh perspective on navigating life's uncertainties. While some sections may feel slightly predictable, the overall delivery and humor elevate "The Plot Twist" to a four-star-worthy experience.

First of all, I LOVE a grump/sunshine trope and a bestfriend's brother trope! And it made for a perfect combination here. I loved the dimensionality of the characters in this book. They were well developed and faced what I think of as real-life issues we rarely get to see in traditional romance. And the HEAT was perfect! Erin La Rosa knocked this one out of the park, and I loved it!

When romance author Sophie Lyon admits in a video that she has never been in love, it goes viral.
Sophie is on a mission to turn things around, with the help of her best friend's handsome brother, she sets out to meet up and speak with her exes to determine why they broke up.

This book was a fast and cute read, however there was nothing about this story or these characters that really pulled me in.

Recommend this book if you want a fun, albeit forgettable read.

I'm getting tired of all these immature characters who seem to know absolutely nothing about themselves and the world in which they live. Sophie's big issue is that she's a romance writer who has never been in love and she has writer's block. Apparently, it's the end of the world. Dash has actual problems, like a new tenuous sobriety, yet he's attracted to Sophie because of course he is. Meh.

Sophie is a romance writer who has never been in love. On deadline for her second novel, she has writer's block. With the support of her teenage crush now landlord, Dash Montrose she begins a journey of self discovery to discover what she needs to do to fall in love.
This is cute novel and Sophie and Dash were vulnerable and likeable characters. I found the first half of the book a little slow and it seemed a long time for the story to really take off. The last half of the story picked up and had a satisfying conclusion. This is a good choice for fans of modern contemporary romance novels.
One note. I'm fine with spicy scenes but they can make or break a novel. Sophie and Dash's first encounter was so unrealistic -- naked, daytime, outdoor sexy times --that is it was distracting and pulled me out of the story.
3.5 stars

“Plot Twist” by Erin La Rosa is best described as a highly modern romance, featuring a heavy TikTok subplot and complicated characters that are easy to root for. It’s not extraordinary, or genre-defining by any means, but it’s fun, inclusive and an accessible literary experience. And sometimes that’s all we want from the books we read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This was a wonderful second book to the series! Sophie and Dash both a have a lot of different personal issues that they both have to work through!! Some that aren't often touched upon which is nice to see! I really liked how they grew throughout the book and learned what love truly was and how they were both worthy of it in the end! I really enjoyed seeing the secondary characters from La Rosa's previous book showing up!! If you like grumpy vs sunshine, friends to lovers than this is a book for you!!

Romance writer Sophie has never been in love and when it gets out on social media she gets some help from her landlord Dash who knows his way around social media. As the work together they find they might have more than the first friends with benefits arrangement. While entertaining this was just okay for me I just didn't get as invested in the characters as I would have liked. I think other people will enjoy this more than I did.

This was a cute read. I liked that it dealt with heavier things like addiction, though I do wish there had maybe been less drama, especially toward the end of the book.

CW: alcohol, vomit, recovering alcoholism, deceased parent, stalking, dysfunctional family, minor discussion of liver failure, relapse, sexual content, emotional abuse, discussion of infertility with side character


Plot Twist is an enjoyable book about Sophie, a romance author who is struggling to write her second novel and Dash, a former actor who is recovering from alcoholism and trying to find his way through sober life. After Sophie goes viral for a video, she wants to correct the narrative and Dash may just have the answers to how.

I liked the friendship growing between the two and seeing the development of that before any romance between them started. It made me root for them more. This book does deal with some heavy topics but I feel like they were handled well (listen to Own-Voices about this though if they say differently).

I had a couple minor issues with the book that should be easy fixes and make it clearer. There were some technical issues where characters would suddenly be in a different spot than they just were and there was no noting that this was happening. It threw me off and had me going back to reread parts to see if I missed something. It took me out of the story a bit and I just wish it were handled differently.

Also, the sending of pics in messages on TikTok. Did I miss that it’s now a thing? There is always creative liberties to be taken but when so much of the story is about social media (mainly TikTok) and how to work the algorithm and making videos, it feels weird to disrupt the aspect of what the app is and does.

Overall, I found Plot Twist as an enjoyable read and though I haven’t read the first in the series (oops!), I will be now and continuing to read more from LaRosa.

Tropes included:
- sunshine/grump
- best friend’s brother
- you-help-me-I’ll-help-you
- one bed

This was the first book by this author for me, and let me tell you it WILL NOT be my last! I am currently adding the first book in this interconnected series (I didn't know it was the second before I read it) to my TBR! And you better believe I will be reading it ASAP!

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish! I read it in 2 sittings, and I loved the characters!! I couldn't help but cheer for Dash and Sophie! They were both a breath of fresh air and getting to know them was a treat! The dual POV was spot on, and really helped you relate to both characters.

If you are thinking about checking this one out, I encourage you to! There is a lot of representation within this pages and it couldn't have been done better!

Thank you Netgalley and HTP Books for the early copy in exchange for a review!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Trope soup alert!
Carrying her/caring for her, struggling writer, best friends brother, only one bed, a mini road trip, friends-with-benefits, Hollywood/celebrity, "teach me" (including the pottery Ghost scene and reference which is directly mentioned), grumpy/sunshine...and more.

Quirky Sophie Lyons is a struggling romance writer who has never been in love. A video clip circulates the internet of Sophie giving a drunken declaration of "love isn't real". To rectify the situation and use the publicity as leverage, Sophie makes a TikTok series revisiting her exes.

Her landlord, Dash, was a teen heart-throb. Surprise, Sophie had a crush on him back in the day. He also has a secret crafting TikTok account, a stalker, and is an ex-alcoholic working really hard to remain sober.

The two of them work together and develop an interesting relationship - a FWB situation, a companionship, a working relationship.

I know this may not bother some, but I like my fictional books to remain fictional. This book had a big TikTok presence (including making videos, reading comments, etc). Along with being immersed in TikTok, the book references a lot of real bookstores, real authors, and real celebrities.

I would say this is more of a light romdram versus a romcom.

So what did I like?
-The writing was light and easy. Very engaging and easy to follow.
-I like the cover.
-I like the normalcy of everything and how intricate the characters lives were. Nothing felt intentional or forced, and all the characters all had their things, including pansexuality, a pacemaker, AA meetings, IVF.
-There's no 3rd act breakup! But something does happen that's quite emotionally challenging for some characters.
-Found family-esque moments.
-The smut.
-The HEA was very sweet.

It's hard trying to find yourself. We find the main character Sophie in a bit of a bind, she's trying to finish writing her book but has writers block. The best way she can figure out why she's never been in love is to go back and visit all her exes to see where things went wrong.

It was entertaining visiting all her exes, some were better than others. All while enjoying the unexpected company of her neighbor who happens to be an ex kid star and also the brother of her best friend, Dash. Dash has his own demons he is trying to get through. Addiction is something that needs to be handled day by day but with his interactions with Sophie he realizes that she is someone he can count on.

They have their ups and downs but overall the learn to work with one another, to trust one another. Trust is a tricky thing but it's something every relationship needs to have.

There were moments that were intense, there were moments that were very sexy and there were moments that were very true and honest. This book was well written and very well rounded. I was rooting for them throughout the whole thing. Great read.

A quirky, steamy romcom between a struggling author with writer's block and her nonexistent love life and a hulky, former teen-hearthrob with addiction issues(who just so happens to be her landlord AND her best friend's brother). I liked this love story, mostly because its between 2 imperfect people, with baggage. I like realistic storytelling and when books bring up really important issues, like addiction and mental health. I thought this book had a really good balance of light-heartedness, spiciness, and drama. First Erin La Rosa novel, not the last. 3.5/5

Such a solid romance!! It was really intriguing. The perfect mix of lighthearted story and heavier topics.

Book Review: Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️
This review may contain minor spoilers.

Plot Twist follows MCs Sophie and Dash as they navigate life in busy LA. Sophie is a romance author who is stuck. She's had her heart broken and now she can't write the happily ever after her characters deserve. Dash is in recovery and trying to maintain his new normal. This book also includes brothers best friend, one bed, pansexual FMC, and self re-discovery

Sophie starts off the book at a low. She has just made a fool of herself. Sophie is pansexual, which is awesome. And through her journey she is meeting up exes to figure out what went wrong with them & why she can't fall in love. I wanted to enjoy her story more, but it kinda felt all over the place. There were 4 different types of love interests, her sister's journey, secrets kept from her best friend, a quasi-cheating storyline, the earthquake, etc. This got to feeling very soap opera-y.

Dash is a retired actor and recovering alcoholic. Not everyone in his family knows and many parts of his story deal with the shame he is feeling. His story was very relatable, regardless of if you are in recovery or not. He is trying to get back to a place of love and trust for himself. And I was rooting for his happiness from the beginning. His chapters felt more focused on the storyline throughout. I enjoyed his storyline more and found myself looking forward to his POV.

Overall there were some enjoyable moments, but this story wasn't for me. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and would definitely try another book from Erin in the future.

Thanks NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC!