*4.5

This was miles better than the first book. I loved the connection that the two of them had. Dash was so scared to let someone in because he thought it would mess up his sobriety. Sophie was able to show him that she could just be there for him and love him for who he his. She had so many trust issues but Dash was there to squash all of those. They are perfect for each other.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Meet Sophie, a romance author with a bestseller… but nothing to follow it up with. She’s hit with a tragic strain of writer’s block— right in the middle of a deadline. The problem? Sophie has never fallen in love. Cue her landlord/best friend’s brother/retired actor Dash. Dash is a recovering alcoholic focused on maintaining his sobriety and keeping to himself. But what happens when he doesn’t know how to tell his family he’s done with acting? Or that he’s struggling with an addiction? Will he be driven to drink or will his cute, sweet neighbor be his perfect distraction?

I’ll start my review by stating the good. This book has a lot of the building blocks to really pull in a great audience and gives a realistic approach to someone who is actually struggling with alcoholism. Just because you’ve stopped drinking doesn’t mean you’re cured. I felt the chemistry between Sophie and Dash and the steamy scenes were well written. It was easy to read and moved quickly. Overall, it was a not a bad time. Where I started to struggle with “Plot Twist” was that I was constantly being pulled out of the story to ask myself questions. Like why don’t we learn more about Sophie’s best friend (and Dash’s sister) Poppy if she’s such an integral part of each of their lives? Or if Sophie’s abandonment and subsequent trust issues stem from her childhood, then why don’t we get a more in depth look into what that was like in the moment? Personally, I couldn’t really tell you much about any of the side characters and, for that matter, Sophie, beyond that she seems like a nice enough person but it was almost like Dash was actually the main character of this story. I felt the whole thing on a surface level. Everything was nice and bubbly on the top but missing any depth, which is unfortunate because I would’ve loved to see more into Sophie’s history and motivations or even Dash’s previous dynamics with his mother and father. I hope to see Erin La Rosa develop a little more of the story and I’d be eager to try again in the future after she’s had a couple more stories under her belt.

A big thank you to Netgalley for providing me an early copy of Plot Twist!

This was a cute, fast read. Sophie (FMC) is a romance author who just can't figure out love for herself. Dash(MMC) is a retired actor who is a recovering alcoholic and dealing with that.
They are next door neighbors and Dash is her landlord AND her BFF brother. Spending time together helps them both work through some issues but not all. The twists and turns through this book are not your normal in this kind of book. But they sure do take you on an emotional journey as well.

literally the cover is what had me like omg i need this book. dash is such a grumpy hero but like has a heart of gold, and i love how often he thinks about sophie, it’s so sweet. the characters were beautiful, the writing flowed so well. the mention of tiktok threw me off lol.

This is my first read by this author and will be my last. I am struggling to find anything I like about it.

There is SO MUCH focus on TikTok. And I don't even think the social media aspect was handled well. The writing is very basic and detached - all telling and no showing. It's also repetitive - the sun shines brightly on her skin every time she walks outside in every chapter. I also found the characters very unrelatable, and Sophie is unlikeable and immature. The two leads are a former child star and a writer, neither of whom seem to work to support themselves. Sophie is only momentarily worried about her rent, but she has the benefit of cheap housing from a friend already. There's not much happening in this book, just insta-lust.

I wanted to appreciate the focus on the sobriety storyline. Still, there wasn't any information on what led to that point (either the addiction or the changing point) until the very end, which lessened the engagement of that storyline. Dash is critically concerned with maintaining sobriety, but we don't see any action other than talking to a sponsor. He isolated himself and did some crafts part-time. It was a massive focus of the book but was hardly explored.

Overall, this was just flat, and I did not enjoy the time I spent reading it.

This is the second in a series but can be read as a standalone.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Felt too boring to me. There was no connection between the MCs except for lust.

Sorry to say, but this book wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley & Publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Plot Twist centers on Sophie, a romance author with writer's block who's never been in love working on her second book, and Dash, her best friend's brother, landlord, and Hollywood royalty who is secretly doing everything he can to stay sober.

This book was absolutely delightful. It touches on very real and deep topics while maintaining a playful and adorable love story. Sophie is a hard-core people pleaser often to her detriment: she loses herself in her relationships and as part of that doesn't have a whole lot of confidence in who she is as a person or what she is capable of. Dash's family is Hollywood royalty. He grew up in the limelight and was taught from a very young age to play his part in order to avoid any semblance of scandal. The pressure to be someone he isn't led him into alcohol addiction. Because that pressure to conform came from his family, he is uncomfortable telling them about his struggles and efforts to stay sober.

Dash and Sophie become each other's safe space. Sophie allows Dash to see the real her and he encourages her to be and do everything she wants to do. In the same way, Dash opens up to Sophie in a way he doesn't with anyone else. She sees the struggles and the progress he has made with his addiction and doesn't judge Dash the way he judges himself. They both see how amazing the other is, what they are capable of, and make every effort they can to support the other.

This is just so, so good.

However, while there is a lot of good representation in here (disability, sexual orientation), just about all of the characters are white. This is my first book by la Rosa so I'm not sure if this is endemic to her work but I think it is something to be aware of.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ (4.25)
🌶 🌶 🌶

Tropes: best friend's brother, opposites attract (grumpy/sunshine), only one bed, forced proximity, secret identity, friends to lovers

Content Warnings: alcoholism and relapse, toxic family, stalking

#PlotTwist #NetGalley

Plot Twist was a cute friend's to lovers story.
Sophie is a romance author who has never been in love so she decides to talk to her exes and find out what went wrong.
Dash is an actor from a prominent Hollywood family who is also a recovering alcoholic.
They fall into an unlikely friendship.
Throw in crazy family members, trust issues, self doubt and eventually reception.
Plot Twist was a cute love story, I did you love it or so of the storyline but Erin La Rosa does tell a good story.
Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy to read for an honest review.

🦇 Plot Twist Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

❝ Sophie deserved perfectly bold love from someone who lit up a room just as easily as she did. But when Dash thought about being with Sophie, it was clear he was an eclipse of issues threatening to swallow her sunny warmth. ❞

❓ #QOTD Do you talk to any of your exes? Would you, if it helped you learn from your past? ❓

🦇 Struggling romance author Sophie Lyon is struggling to finish her second novel before her deadline. Too bad she's announced an ironic secret to the world: that, despite writing swoon-worthy romances, she's never fallen in love herself. After the video goes viral, she decides to explore her past relationships to determine why she hasn't fallen in love at the coaxing of her landlord and best friend's brother, Dash. Meanwhile, Dash Montrose (once an actor following in his father and brother's footsteps, now an anonymous online crafter) is trying to maintain his sobriety while keeping his addiction a secret. As Sophie and Dash grow closer, they discover they have a lot more in common (including some sizzling chemistry) than they ever realized.

💜 Erin La Rosa's writing is an enthralling delight. Her word choice invites readers into a story they can live through, with details that bring every page to life. The interactions between Sophie and Dash are full of wit and sass, making it an entertaining rom-com of dry humor. Sophie is beyond relatable, making it easy to sympathize with her struggles, while Dash dwells in his flaws. They both bring out the beauty and potential in one another, crafting a beautiful love story about navigating insecurities. Since Sophie is a romance writer, there's a bit of meta self-awareness as she realizes the romance tropes she's facing in real life. If you love a trope-filled rom-com, this one's for you!

🦇 Perhaps my biggest issue was how quickly big, important topics were brushed past in an effort to focus on the romance. There are mentions of addiction/alcoholism, a stalker, the passing of a parent. Even Sophie's eureka moment about why she's had an issue with past relationships feels out of place (her trust issues are mentioned more than once, and then all of a sudden she has a brief thought about her parents and it clicks for her). Sophie explores her past relationships to try and determine why she's never fallen in love, but the interactions feel empty and pointless. These are big themes that have shaped both characters, yet we only explore them on a surface level. If we as readers aren't delving into those themes, the characters aren't in an effort to learn and develop, either. Even the chemistry between the main characters feels rushed and sudden, which is a major issue if you want readers falling for their relationship. While there's plenty of heat in this book, the word choice during those spicy scenes makes it awkward and off-putting. There was a lot of potential here, especially exploring such big themes, but it lacked depth by skirting over such intense topics.

🦇 Recommended to anyone who loves romances filled to the brim with tropey goodness; namely, grumpy vs sunshine friends-with-benefits stories!

✨ The Vibes ✨
🩷 Pan FMC
🩷 Grumpy/Sunshine
🩷 Only One Bed
🩷 Best Friend's Brother
🩷 Writer FMC / Tattooed Actor MMC
🩷 Dual POV
🩷 Friends-With-Benefits

⚠️ Addiction, Alcoholism, Relapse, IVF/Egg-Freezing, Dysfunctional Families, Stalking, Grief, Loss of a Parent

🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Sophie gets rather inebriated and is filmed at a karaoke that love isn’t real and she’s never been in love. Well, the video goes viral and isn’t helping her, a romance writer with writer’s block. Dash, her landlord and her best friend’s brother, tells her she should reply to the video with her own TikTok video. So she does. And goes on a journey meeting her exes to find out why they never worked out while also trying to not fall in love with Dash, who is off limits.

Dash has been sober for over a year and has found an outlet in his secret TikTok videos of him crafting with clay. He’s done with acting, but his mother reaches out asking him to write a speech about his father since he’ll be getting a star on the Walk of Fame. He offers to help Sophie with her videos and asks her to help him with his speech, while also trying not to fall in love with her because he doesn’t feel ready for a long term relationship.

This was overall a cute and deep read. It deals with some heavy stuff such as sobriety, insecurities, and very dysfunctional families, or family really. I think the way it was all portrayed was well done and really makes you feel for the characters and be on their side. Sophie with her trust issues and Dash with his super dysfunctional family that just made me angry 😤

I will say the title of this book was appropriate because there were quite a few plot twists that occurred that I didn’t even catch and I think I’m pretty good at catching them before they occur, but some things that happened in here I did not expect!

The romance was very sweet and I appreciated that Sophie was very understanding and would listen. There was a point that she probably could have been overly dramatic but she instead took the time to find out the truth rather than jump to conclusions and just based on that, I really liked her as a character.

Dash was an interesting character. He seems to be at a point in his life that’s working for him and his sobriety and I just wanted to help him when ever his mother came on the scene because she was horrid! And Sophie seemed to be the only person who gave him peace and helped him be grounded and so I really enjoyed them together and it just was sweet 🥰

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. When it first started I wasn’t too sure, but those twists really made the book along with the sweet romance. And it was very realistic with the situations and family dynamics.

I received a free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up

Erin La Rosa's 'Plot Twist' tackles sobriety, dysfunctional families and discovering one's worthiness for love.

With six weeks before she has to submit her second book, romance writer Sophie Lyon is suffering from writer's block. Realising she's never really been in love, Sophie sets out to meet her exes to examine past and document this on Tik Tok. Meanwhile her landlord and best friend's brother Dash Montrose has quit acting, to the chagrin of his Hollywood family, to focus on his sobriety. Instead he spends his time documenting his pottery anonymously on Tik Tok.

La Rosa deftly balances heavier themes along with the chemistry between Sophie and Dash. However at times I think this book tried to be too many things at once. I'd have preferred this to be less of an insta-lust and more of a slow-burn to let themselves open up more. At one point Sophie is mad at Dash for not trusting her to open up to him, yet she knew he was in recovery and this was difficult for him.

I also found it too self-aware of it's meta-ness with romance writer Sophie calling out the tropes ('oh look only one bed'). I personally think its time romance writers need to stop doing this. Her documentation of her meetings with her exes for Tik Tok seemed to go nowhere. Was this added in the book to show her going 'viral' or not? It hinted it was that way, then it was kinda of dumped.

For me, I found Dash's storyline the strongest and most rewarding part of the book. La Rosa paints his fears of relapse so vividly. I loved the scenes with his sponsor and friend Chris. Watching his struggles, especially with his pushy Hollywood family, were so well done, I wanted to yell at his mother!

I've not read 'For Butter or for Worse', featuring Sophie's sister Nina, so I am looking forward this this, and any future book La Rosa releases. If you like your romances that tackle serious issues, but with two characters learning to realise they deserve love, then this book is one to add to your ever-growing pile.

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Everyone has problems in this book. I’m a bit tired of troubled heroes who have no confidence in themselves. And also with troubled heroines who think they’re losers. There are a lot of tropes in this book that you may or may not enjoy. I’m not a big fan of plots built around drama on social media.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

A child actor tries to help is tenant - a romance author on a deadline - overcome writers block, and learn why her past relationships have failed. They form a sweet/spicy connection as they support one another, revealing pieces about themselves as they learn more about themselves and give into their growing connection.

Great weekend read, that gets a little deeper than I expected for what I thought was going to be a rom-com.

Triggers include sobriety and abusive families (verbal/mental)

This book was heavier than I anticipated, but still a fun and enjoyable read.

There were a lot of little plot twists, which suits the name, and I thought the premise was interesting.

I adore the cover and look forward to reading more of this authors works in the future.

Perhaps there are too many plot twists in this novel, thus Plot Twist is a fitting title. In addition to having a stalker, Dash is a recovered alcoholic who has experienced an on-page relapse. His family has a poisonous dynamic, with his mother being the worst. And then there's Sophie, a romance novelist with writer's block who devises a scheme to get in touch with all of her ex-boyfriends to find inspiration for her work by learning why their relationships ended.
The novel felt a bit slow at points, but it also had a lot of sadness and tragedy, and some of the storylines seemed superfluous (such as the stalker narrative, which seemed to be created just to reveal Dash's identity as a TikTok artisan to Sophie). It scarcely felt plausible when these two declared their love for one another because of the erratic pacing and the heavy focus on their baggage throughout the novel. The romance in the book felt very much an afterthought.

Let me start by saying that I loved this book. While the premise of this book is about Sophie, a writer who is struggling to finish her second book, it turns out that it is much deeper than that which was the nicest surprise. The real world struggles that this book touches on are sobriety, alcoholism and a whole lot of self reflection. I loved that though both of these characters are going through very real life struggles, they don't let themselves drown in them and they *try* to lean on each other to get through them. Both characters are so loveably quirky without being over the top and it brings moments of levity throughout the book. This book had all the things that I love in a romance book and while it was a little meta (due to the fact that she is in fact a romance writer) it didn't take away from the fun-ness of these things. Best friends brother, one bed trope, MMC with forearm tattoos- need i say more? I also loved that there was some LQBTQ+ representation without shoving it down your throat/ calling too much attention to it. We find out Sophie is pansexual at the beginning of the book and thats just about the only time it comes up-even when she is falling (and Dash is falling) for him. I think this would be a perfect book club book and introduction to romance for a younger reader (maybe not middle grade but certainly high school).
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book was cute, but not exactlyyyy my cup of tea- which doesn't mean it wasnt good! Personally, I didn't feel that click with the two main characters. I never got to the point where I was really invested in their relationship. However, the plot moved along nicely. I am just very character driven, so connecting with the characters is a big thing when it comes to enjoying a book.

The book also includes some tropes, such as grumpy/sunshine, best friend's brother, and forced proximity, which i always love to see. overall a good, entertaining read but not one I would necessarily pick up again.

🌟 best friend’s brother
🌟 movie star & author romance
🌟 Hollywood setting
🌟 hottttttt 🌶️
🌟 complicated family dynamics
🌟 addiction rep

I ate this up! I loved the setting, Dash’s messy family drama was top tier, I loved Sophie meeting up with all of her exes, and I stinking loved the “Ghost” minus the ghost scene.

I highly recommend if you enjoy a whole lotta heart and a great plot with your spice.

Thank you, NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing/Canary Street Press, and the author for allowing me to read Plot Twist as an eARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

I thoroughly enjoyed this story: funny, well plotted and cute. I like Sophie, had fun and it was a good way to escape reality
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Coming from a Hollywood background and dysfunctional family, the last thing Dash is looking for is to fall in love. Sophie is in the midst of writing her second book and is having serious writer block. This story takes a look at family relationships, friendship, and self-awareness in a way that was so fun and reflective. I really enjoyed the banter and fun social media aspects of this novel. I look forward to new books in this series or from this author. Thank you NetGalley.