I enjoyed this one! It took a little while for me to get into it, but once I did, it definitely flew. I really liked both Dash & Sophie, they were cute!! Something was just... missing, It was a fun read, but I'm not really sure it was for me!

Solid Series Continuation, Maybe Slightly More For the Zoomer Set. As is my custom, I went in and read a lot of reviews of this book *after* I read the book myself. In a bit of an unusual move, I *also* actually went back and read my own review of Book 1 of this series - which I read roughly 200+ book ago. Here, La Rosa continues a lot of the things that made the first book so good - she isn't afraid to shy away from far deeper issues, but also tries to make sure that they don't overly weigh down the book (and for the most part, succeeds quite well there). She also uses various social media platforms - in this particular case, primarily current "darling" TikTok - to further the overall story, both in the actual plot and in the comments and DMs related to the various videos. Yes, that means that at some point this book will be quite dated - but it also means that it will serve as a bit of a time capsule for what this particular era really was like. So again, it actually works quite a bit better than its detractors in other reviews claim.

Now, about the Zoomer bit - our female lead is openly bisexual, her former partner is a lesbian, and there are a fairly good mix of sexualities, genders, and most other demographics present in this book. La Rosa actually used them quite well within the world she created here, though yes, depending on where you, the reader of my review lives and the life you lead... maybe this isn't as expressive of the world you've created for yourself. Further, I know nothing of La Rosa beyond her pen name and her general writing style. So while others may want to critique her on not being "real" or not being "own voices" or "authentic" or some other bullshit... I truly don't give a flying fuck about an author's demographics, and the story La Rosa has crafted here is genuinely *good*. So complaining about those things, to me, speaks more about your own issues than La Rosa's storytelling abilities.

Finally, the substance abuse angle. Yes, it is prominent. And yes, it likely doesn't follow the path of real-world recommendations, particularly in the last chapters of the book when it comes to a head. There again, the dominant real-world recommendations aren't the only ones, and there are many who have real-world problems with the real-world dominant recommendations. So the fact that La Rosa chose to craft a *fictional romance tale* the way she did... doesn't bother me as much. And to be clear, I say this as the grandson of an alcoholic and the cousin of more than a few drug abusers, in addition to all the other areas of my life I've worked with those affected by these choices. But there again, if this is a topic that is going to be particularly sensitive to you, it says more about you and your issues than it does about La Rosa's storytelling when you complain about these things in your review. So if you, the reader of my review, thinks this issue will be a problem for you... maybe spare yourself the hurt and La Rosa the 1* and just skip this book? No harm, no foul, and I wish you the best in your own struggles.

Overall, truly a solid sequel, and I'm truly looking forward to seeing how this series progresses. Very much recommended.

This book is a fun read that lovers of romance will enjoy. It was a bit predictable, but that is the point of Romance books, isn't it?
The characters are lovable, the plot moves well. I believe this book might be extra attractive to younger readers of romance.

This book was a lot of fun and I’d actually give it 3.5 or 3.75 stars if I could. I really liked both Sophie and Dash. They were fun together, and their individual problems felt realistic. They were flawed and charming and interesting characters, and they had great chemistry. Dash’s family, aside from his sister, we’re a bit hard to deal with most of the time, but not every character can be pleasant. They were villains-lite, but still needed.

There’s a major plot point at the end of the book that I think was so important but so rushed in the condensed ending that I can’t rate the book higher. If that had been more fleshed out and given more space to breathe, because it’s a legitimately big deal, I think the book would have been so much stronger. I think dash and Sophie deserved that.

Let's start with the premise of this book. I adored the idea of a romance writer who's never been in love, and to work through her writer's block, she decides to reach out to all her exes to see if they have the answer to her question: why can't I say "I love you?"

I also loved that Dash wasn't one of the exes in this trope. He's the sidekick along on this journey.

Dash and Sophie had such an immediate connection that felt so effortless. I loved sinking into the ease between them. It was comforting and sweet. You know, before it gets real steamy ;)

The friends-with-benefits setup was perfection because we could see clearly how head over heels they already were. There's nothing better than watching two dummies lie to themselves as they get in deeper and deeper.

Such a fun read with tons of banter and shenanigans!

I enjoy reading Plot Twist. I love how Erin La Rosa tackles soberiety, about the family drama and other details.

I loved "Plot Twist!" It took a second for me to get into it, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I loved Dash and how kind and lonely he really was. It helped to have such a horrible antagonist as his mother. Sophie was a sweet hot mess and I am glad she was able to get her shit together and patch up her relationships. I didn't read Erin La Rosa's first book, but I will definitely be adding it to my Goodreads. I can't wait to read more of her books (Like Poppy and Rhys stories, perhaps?) AND the sex scenes :O *blushing* *kicking my feet* Thanks Netgalley!

Sophie is a romance writer who has never been in love. Dash is her landlord, a former teen heartthrob who comes from Hollywood royalty. Neither of them is in a position to enter into a relationship, but as the two spend more time together, things heat up...

This book did not really work for me, but it may be a good fit for you if you enjoy:
- social media-centric plot lines
- hot mess characters who somehow miraculously create "stability" in each other
- angst
- tropes aplenty

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for gifting me with an ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this romance about Sophie Lyon, a successful but love-starved author facing writer's block, who embarks on a captivating journey to reconnect with her exes for inspiration. Her reclusive landlord, Dash Montrose, a former teen heartthrob battling alcoholism, offers unexpected assistance. The story beautifully unfolds with the irresistible charm of friends-turned-lovers, crafting an engaging narrative filled with necessary angst and addressing sensitive topics. Sophie and Dash's palpable chemistry, set against the backdrop of a dreamy cover, made me root for their unconventional relationship. La Rosa skillfully weaves themes of identity and overcoming personal struggles, leaving me eager for more of her enchanting romances. This was a delightful introduction to the author's work, and I eagerly anticipate her future releases.

The cute cartoon cover strikes again. I was very much looking forward to The Plot Twist. The book is very surface-level. The characters are boring, and I didn't buy into their chemistry.

Honestly, a lot of it was problematic for me. The way the author handled the hero's alcoholism ruined the entire book for me. The sponsor, the rehab facility, and the therapist would never do the things in this book.

As if that wasn't enough, the book suffers from too many tropes, as though the author had a checklist of romance tropes and felt compelled to check each box off instead of letting them flow naturally from the plotline.

I am also not a fan of referencing social media (in this case, TikTok) constantly in books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Canary Street Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the story of Sophie and Dash more than the first book.
Dysfunctional people deserve love too!

Sophie is an author with major writers book. After a drunken night that ended in a embarrassing social media video of her she’s decided to figure out what’s wrong with her love life, her incomplete book and the reason she can’t say I love you.

Dash is a ex actor that is a recovering alcoholic. He’s on a journey to find himself while navigating his crappy family. Boy did I want to punch his mom in the face so many times!

Sophie rents from Dash who is also Sophie’s best friend’s brother. While helping Sophie on her journey to interview all her ex relationships they start to mess around but remain friends.

The smut in this book Is goooood!

Over all this was a really cute book. I’d definitely recommend it to my fellow romance readers.
I hope theirs more books to come with their friends story’s.

3 stars.

"Plot Twist" by Erin La Rosa is a surprisingly deep best friend's brother/grumpy sunshine/dual POV romance that can be hit or miss. The story starts very strong but fades the longer it goes on. I liked the inclusion of the weighty topics in this book including sobriety/recovery, addiction, stardom, social media obsession, stalking, familial troubles, starting over, and finding one's purpose. I love it when romance books make me empathize with the character's struggles, and I completely sympathize with the main male character, Dash. His circumstances are not ideal for his alcohol recovery. He comes from a family of actors, and he himself was one until he focused on getting sober. His family is not very understanding about his self-imposed extraction from acting, but he doesn't want to tell them about his sobriety. He gets his frustrations and feelings out by crafting and making videos for his secret TikTok account. Dash offers to help Sophie, the main female character, grow her TikTok presence so she can figure out why she's never been in love (though this never happens and he never actually helps her apart from leaving nice comments on her videos???). I do find it a little odd that, for someone so focused on his sobriety and recovery, Dash never, not once, goes to an AA meeting. It's not even discussed. He has a sponsor, but the sponsor often brushes him off, like...??? Get a better sponsor and friend, man! Sophie is a mess of a character, and her mess involves her being super selfish most of the time. She is insanely self-absorbed but absolutely hates herself and has no self-confidence. She spills her sister's secrets, she doesn't give her best friend a heads-up that she's involved with her brother, she starts up a relationship with an ex and still sleeps with Dash, etc. She's going through this big life thing, trying to find out what went wrong in all of her past relationships, but doesn't ever do work on herself to better who SHE is. Sophie feels a lot younger than she is supposed to be in this book. Because of this, I felt it difficult to root for the two of them to get together. I wanted Dash to stay far, far away from Sophie and all of her chaotic selfishness. Something in "Plot Twist" was missing for me, something that would have made me like it more than I did. This book can also be a little cringe-worthy with its dialogue. Some of the tropes don't feel naturally integrated into the story, as if they were thrown in after the fact to please social media users. I didn't love anything that happened around and after the 85% mark, plus the final gesture at the end of the book. It all feels very slapdashedly thrown together just to finish the book. I wish this had been better, I was really looking forward to it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Erin La Rosa, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Canary Street Press for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my review.

DNF at 17%

Not the book for me. I'm sure other people will enjoy it but I am not the right reader for it. I found it boring and didn't care about the characters.

This book was a cute contemporary love story with some fun tropes. It also dealt with some heavier topics in a way that I think portray the struggle in an approachable way. I have been in so many fantasy worlds lately it was nice to just be able to read this and not have to understand world building and politics! I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars

A romantic journey full of character growth, spice, and laughter, Plot Twist is destined to be a Tik-Tok sensation. With writers block and zero romantic prospects, author Sophie embarks on a foray into the exes of her past, asking them why they think they didn't work out. As she shares her findings with the world, she starts to wonder if she's been the problem all along. For Dash, the reclusive, self-aware, brooding, famous neighbor, Sophie is the problem. She's tempting, sultry, beautiful, makes him laugh, makes him want more. He suggested her social media look into her exes to help clear writers block, but now he just wants her to stop and be with him. Only, he's not ready to be with anyone. As the title predicts, these two are meant to be, but a plot twist has got to happen.

I really enjoyed this book, loved it in fact. It's cute and sexy, the kind of book that's fun to read, that keeps you smiling, even as you sort of want to throw your Kindle at the wall. La Rosa's Plot Twist is super fun to read, feels authentic to reality, and features the character development I always think romance reads skip over. These two work on themselves first (yay for personal growth), putting their wildly strong chemistry on hold to cheer one another on. Sure, I yelled at them to be together, but it wouldn't have been the Plot Twist journey I loved if they hadn't done the work and denied themselves.

I was unable to finish reading this book before it's publish date, but my library, and several others in our system, has purchased it.

Sophie is a romance writer, but unfortunately, she isn't doing much writing. When her agent gives her six weeks to finish the book, Sophie makes a desperate plan to get over her writer's block: meet up with all of her exes to figure out why the relationships didn't last and document the findings for all her followers.

Plot Twist is such a sweet and spicy story about a romance writer who has never been in love and a former actor who is focused on finding a new path after sobriety. When Sophie goes viral for a karaoke-gone-wrong video, she takes the advice of her landlord/best friend’s brother and turns it into a TikTok series where she confronts her exes to find out what happened and determine why she doesn’t fall in love. Dash is a former actor secret craft-toker who is hiding his biggest secret, that he was treated for alcohol addiction, from everyone around him, but especially his Hollywood royalty family who continue to pressure him back into the spotlight. Dash doesn’t believe he’s ready for any change in his life as he’s forging his new way, and Sophie isn’t sure what direction she’s supposed to go in once she starts meeting her exes. I really enjoyed the frank conversations these two have with each other, even when they’re worried about sharing with others, and the honesty kept the relationship feeling more realistic to the characters current circumstances. This book is for fans of the tropes best friend’s brother, forced proximity, and friends to lovers. A few more tropes get put in here, but I’d say those are the main ones.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This is my first book by this author. Although it wasn't for me, I'll read more of her work in the future. It felt too heavy / forced with the amount of tropes - almost like there was a checklist of tropes that the author wanted to include. They just didn't feel natural. I'm also not a fan of the celebrity trope and it didn't do anything for me in this book. That said, the writing was fast-paced and I appreciated the wittier / banter moments. I think it was just the premise of this one that didn't do it for me - I would read more by Erin La Rosa in the future. Thank you for the chance to read this!

Sophie is a romance writer who has never been in love. It was her dirty little secret until one drunken karaoke night where she spilled it and someone filmed her epic meltdown. Now she’s on a mission to figure out why? Enter Dash, her landlord/neighbour and her best friend’s brother who volunteers to help her.

We instantly fell in love with Sophie and Dash. They just worked! Sparks flew while they started a cute friendship and their romance was full of angst and ultimately turned into the perfect mix of sexy and sweet. Dash could be hard on himself but Sophie brought out the joy. She was a breath of fresh air with her quirkiness and her happy disposition was the key. Dash was such a grumpy Cinnamon roll hero with his secret pottery love which we absolutely loved!

Plot Twist touched on some tough topics like dysfunctional family dynamics, alcoholism and trust issues while also keeping the story fun. We are fans of Erin La Rosa and look forward to reading more from her in the future!

Read if you like:
▪️Best friend’s brother
▪️Forced Proximity
▪️Grumpy x sunshine
▪️One bed
▪️Dual POV

I gave Plot Twist a 3 star rating. Now hear me out- 3 stars is not necessarily a bad rating on my scale.

Three stars for me, is when I do not HATE or LOVE the book. I was interested, but the book was missing something that made it "not put down-able" for me; or something was irking me, that may not necessarily irk someone else.

I felt like the plot and tropes were forced. Almost like the author had the tropes outlined and didn't work on the plot to help the tropes flow into the storyline.

I wanted to love the characters, I do love a friends to benefits romance; but I found myself spending more time looking for my next books than I did reading this.

There are some pros- I love a red headed FMC, a romance author FMC, too.

I think there was potential here, and it could easily be that it is just not my cup of tea, or that the author's writing style is just not for me.

Would I recommend? Yes, but with full transparency on my thoughts on the plot/tropes.