Ugh, I wanted to really like this book so badly. The premise is great -- romance author is struggling to write her next novel (specifically the HEA) and so she seeks out her exes to find out where things went wrong and along the way falls in love and learns a lot about herself. I didn't even mind the TikTok references, and these are usually hit or miss for me. I just didn't love the main character at all and the whole story seemed so unlikely. I know this is fiction and it's not going to be a true story but her landlord who happens to live in the house next door just so happens to be from a famous family and also is a famous TikToker? And she also happens to go viral on TikTok just at the right time? Not to mention, her sister was famous, plus there was everything with his addiction and rehab (which is great to see representation but it seemed like a LOT with everything else going on. I actually think other things could have been cut out so this facet would have been allowed to shine more.)

Overall it was fine. I wouldn't read again, but honestly I'll probably end up reading the rest of the series anyway.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

This was a very charming easy to read romance. The characters were likable, the banter was perfect, and the representation was chefs kiss. I especially love that the representation never needed to be pointed out or explained.

This was a cute story of love but also socially relevant content, friendships, family relationships, and what it’s like being in the spotlight. The setting was LA and that can be overdone but in this book it was not and I think that was a great choice since it wouldn’t have been relatable to most people otherwise.

Great writing, the pacing was good. And spicy too! Everything you want in a romance.

special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

besties if you hate, and i mean HATE the miscommunication trope then boy do i have the romance book for you! Plot Twist is filled with characters saying exactly how they feel the whole time and boy they do not apologize for it. for example, at one point the male MC says something along the lines of "oh boy!" during a smut scene...anyways...

overall i liked this book but unfortunately, modern day references mentioned repeatedly just don't do it for me. having tiktok be a big plot point wasn't my cup of tea but i'm excited to check out other books by Erin La Rosa in the future!

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the advanced copy.

This was my first Erin La Rosa book, and it won’t be my last! Dash and Sophie were both whole, flawed characters, and I really enjoyed the slow burn of watching them toe the line, until they were standing on the other side of it. I don’t read a lot of Hollywood romances, but I really enjoyed it. I do wish the stalker angle had a bit more of a resolution, but overall an overall enjoyable story! Would recommend.

Sophie is an author facing writer's block, 5 weeks before her book is due. Oh, it doesn't help that a video of her shouting that she'd never been in love goes viral. How does one write romance with HEAs if theyve never been in love? Her handsome landlord, Dash, who happens to be her best friends brother, convinces Sophie to use the momentum and respond on tiktok. In a series she calls her ex-periment, Sophie tracks down her exes to see what went wrong. Dash is full of secrets, but finds himself opening up to Sophie in ways he hasn't with anyone else. He helps her on her journey, and they go on one of their own too!

While I did end up enjoying this book, as someone on booktok regularly, it took me a while to get over the constant mention of it or the reference to tropes (both in general and in Sophie's own thoughts about her and Dash's relationship). This book seems like it was written for the booktok girlies, but I think I like a little more escapism than that.

This is a light, semi spicy, rom-com but also deals with alcoholism, trauma, and broken trust. The crafter aspect was not really doing it for me, but maybe I'm just on the wrong side of tiktok 🤷

⭐⭐⭐.5
🌶️🌶️

Meta on so many levels as the romance author Sophie struggles with Imposter Syndrome and writer's block - we even get a scene where she wanders into the Ripped Bodice, admires the decorations, buys a new romance novel, and says hi to one of the owners. It was a scene written made to make every romance bookworm in LA county go <i>squeeeeeeee I've been there!</i>. Sophie is also dealing with going viral from drunkenly confessing on stage to having never fallen in love before - not a good luck for a romance writer.

Meanwhile, as our heroine struggles to write a Book 2 as good as her debut, terrified of being labeled a one-hit-wonder, her landlord / best friend's brother is going through his own struggle of both dealing with an alcohol addiction and also hiding it from his VERY famous actor family. (His dad was (in this book's universe) one of the James Bonds, to give you an idea of the level of acting fame he was born into and expected to live up to.)

Dash gets sucked into Sophie's journey as wingman as she looks up all her exes to see if there is some 'x-factor' that has prevented her from falling in love thus far. Its similar to Amy Lea's Exes and O's - both books having fun with knowing and using ALL the tropes. Here we a see a great example of Only One Bed, with Sophie expressing the appropriate amount of delighted/abashed shock that she gets to live out that troupe.

We also see, as Dash deals with his addiction, that its NOT the end of the world to admit to having an addiction, or even to have a relapse. I LOVED that la Rosa pushes hard on the message that someone can still be loveable even after falling off the wagon and having to start again. Its a message I think that needs to be said more, and louder. I loved Dash and just wanted to hug him when his mom was being so awful to him!

A very fun and fluffy and heartfelt and sexy read - 10/10 would recommend. :-)

This book was so cute!!! I think I finished it in 2 sittings?!? The MMC is such a sweetie pie, and I loved the setting! I love reading about writers, especially romance writers falling in love. I do think that Dash’s recovery was handled relatively well. I think some parts dragged a bit, but honestly it was worth it for the cute bits. I enjoyed the dual pov, but at times it felt like there was too much going on. For the enjoyment I had, I’ll give 3.5 stars!

This was cute in some ways, but also felt a little all over the place.

Sophie is a romance author with writer’s block, and while she’s facing down a deadline, goes viral with a TikTok video drunkenly confessing that she’s never been in love. While she attempts damage control, she starts spending time with her sexy tattooed landlord Dash (who also happens to be her best friend’s brother?) who has his own secret TikTok account that’s very successful. He agrees to coach her in building her social media following in exchange for her writing a speech for him to give for his dad (who happens to be a huge famous actor?)

Dash is a recovering alcoholic, and struggles with how to relate to his famous family members. I enjoyed his character a lot but we didn’t get to understand much background. Sophie also has a famous sister, and I had trouble keeping track of who everyone was and why they were famous.

Both Dash and Sophie were at career crossroads, and it was lovely to see how they supported each other. However I felt their love story was overshadowed by a ton of excess drama - Dash had a stalker, Sophie decided to try again with an ex, and both of them independently faced severe betrayal from people they trusted. I was also uncomfortable with Sophie’s writing process, as she explicitly took details from her friends and family to use in books and couldn’t imagine a happy ending for her characters unless she had someone else’s to copy.

All in all this was a worthwhile read, very romance-genre oriented and I liked the Hollywood setting, but mixed feelings overall.

While this book has similar tropes to others, I loved that Sophie is pansexual. It is great to see a character who explores love from different angles. It was also wonderful to see a character give up fame and fortune for what really matters the most in their life.

There were definitely some interesting topics brought out. Along with Sophie’s sexuality and whether or not she has ever been in love, there were the many problems Dash had to face. He gave up fame and fortune to face his alcoholism. This leads to him dealing with his dysfunctional family, being forced into the public eye and relapsing.

I’ll be adding more books from Erin La Rosa to my TBR!

Thank you to Netgalley for the digital preview to read

The Plot Twist was a cute and enjoyable romance! Down on her luck with love, Sophie a romance author sets out on a series of get togethers with her past ex’s to figure out why she’s never said “I love you”. Dash is struggling with inner demons of staying sober and figuring out how to get out of acting without upsetting his parents. Together they help each-other but sparks fly along the way. I enjoyed enjoyed the humor and definitely got butterflies a time or two! Love Dash and Sophie!

I gave this 3.5 ⭐️

I really wanted to love this one, but I just liked it. I found I liked the second half of the book much more than I did rh first part. It had so many tropes that I love, but I just had trouble connecting with this book. I found myself more browsing than reading. I am glad both character gained perspective and grew through the story, but I was just hoping for more I guess.

as always, thank you netgalley + publisher for the arc

y'all, how are romances where the main character is a AUTHOR always so good??

the characters were so interesting to read about. they weren't some perfect people who just met and decided to stay together. they both had their.. issues and flaws, and that is what kept this book entertaining and interesting. Sophia, a romance author and a hopeless romantic and Dash, a used to be actor and now does crafting? and they're just all on tiktok? i just loved it.

i am a sucker for cliche tropes and this had it all, from friends with benefits, grumpy x sunshine, the girl next door. i would have enjoyed the book a little more if they were both struggling with their pinning for each other a lot longer buttttt this was okay.

this book also dealt with a lot more personal issues, such as one of the characters struggling with sobriety, mental health and dysfunctional families.

all in all, i was invested from the start and really enjoyed this.

This was a unique read for me. I love romantic comedies; however, this one tugged at my heart strings more than normal for the genre. The MMC deals with alcoholism, and his journey in healing and recovery was different from what I have read in other books. I loved how openly emotional he was with his support system. It's not often readers see a male character be emotionally vulnerable, and not just to the FMC, but with his friends and family as well. This was refreshing to read.

Also, something I say with all romantic comedies is that I need to laugh out loud while reading for it to be successfully comedic. Right from the beginning I was holding in my laughter while reading in the library. I had to cover up my snorts with a fake cough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of Plot Twist.

This was a sweet romance touching on deeper topics around addiction, dysfunctional families and self-love.

Sophie is a romance writer struggling to write the HEA for her sophomore novel seeing as she’s never been in love herself. Dash, a former actor and her best friend’s brother, is struggling with his issues and hiding them from his family—including running a popular crafting TikTok account. After Sophie accidentally goes viral, he ends up giving her video advice while she helps him with a speech he has to write for his famous father. With circumstances and a few romance tropes (one bed/forced proximity anyone?) throwing them together, sparks fly.

While I do feel like there were almost too many tropes/topics thrown in, I still enjoyed the core romance between Soph & Dash and their relationship/character progression.

Also, loved the shout out to a certain pink bookstore that exists irl (iykyk)!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC.

This book was so good! The perfect mix of sweet and spice. It lived up to its name in that there were plenty of plot twists. This book really explore relationships and their effect on us, while telling a fun and flirty story. There was some miscommunication and exes involved, but overall, I thought it was cute and something that's worth reading.

This *mega-cute* book should have been called "Trope Twist." I, myself, am a huge fan of multiple tropes, so this really hit the spot for me.

The Pros:

* LGBTQ+
* Inclusivity
* Rehab/recovery
* One bed
* Grumpy x sunshine
* Best friend's brother
* Forced proximity
* Friends to lovers
* Former Hollywood heartthrob x "normal" person
* Major conflict involves an ex
* Chemistry + spice
* Dysfunctional families and how to deal with them
* HEA

The Cons:
* Too Meta (I didn't realize this could be a thing, but trust me on this one)
* Miscommunication (I loathe this trope)
* Cringey (think Scott's Tots)

I feel like you might need to be in the perfect mood for this one. I wouldn't turn to this as a palate cleanser or a feel-good quick read. This is in a genre all its own in my opinion (which isn't a bad thing at all).

I loved how so much of this book revolved around books. loved the chemistry between the main characters. the plot and writing was interesting as well.

Cute best friend's brother romance. Includes a dysfunctional family and substance abuse. It kept me wanting to read one more chapter.

This is a book I deeply struggled with in getting into. There were a lot of troupes going on that I normally like, but just seemed very in your face. I could not connect with Sophie the main female character. Dash, the main male character, I appreciated, but he was not enough to save the book. I admired Dash in focusing on his sobriety and not wanting to mess that up. Sophie on the other hand was too wrapped up in what everyone else thinks as apposed to doing what she wanted.

The base of the story sounded promising but really fell short. I am still trying to figure out why the name Plot Twist, when there really wasn't anything of the sort.


Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me early access in exchange for my honest review

This was ok for me. It tackles some of the tropes I love the most: close proximity (landlord / tenant), forbidden romance (best friend's brother), and even a friends-with-benefits to more angle. I love that the female lead is a writer who can't quite get her groove back: that was magical.
But I struggled a ton with this at the same time: the tropes felt very forced. More like box checking on tropes than ones that really made sense for the characters. I also detested all the TikTok attention: just not my speed. So while this was ok: I don't know that I'd recommend it.