3.5⭐ Sophie Lyon is a romance author with writer's block and a deadline. Her debut novel hit it big, but now she can't seem to write a happy ending. When a video goes viral of her drunk and complaining that she's never even been in love, she decides to revisit her exes to try to learn why she's never fallen in love, and (of course) document it on TikTok.

Sophie's landlord, former teen heartthrob Dash Montrose, knows how to use social media, and offers to help her. He needs her help with something, too, so it's a win-win for both of them. Sophie never expected for things to turn romantic with him - she had a poster of him up on her wall when she was a teenager, for crying out loud!

I really enjoyed the banter and the evolution of Sophie and Dash's relationship. Both characters have empathy toward each other, and that's how things start. The added tension because Sophie's best friend is Dash's sister cracks me up. The book was a little slow in some spots, and some of the plot points felt forced and unnatural, but overall, I enjoyed most of it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was new and fun! Plot Twist was a really refreshing and modern HEA that I found myself really enjoying. It brings us Sophie Lyon, a writer struggling with writers block and a book deadline and Dash Montrose, former child star and indie actor who’s trying to stay on top of his sobriety. This book had so much to it. I loved that Dash and Sophie had enough awareness and insight of their own problems to make the changes they needed for personal growth. I enjoyed reading their search for help, their conversations for better understanding and just the overall need to better themselves. It was really heartwarming to see Sophie and Dash take charge of what they could, whether it was cutting people out of their lives or speaking up for what they want. I really loved their relationship also, the banter and wit was great, their chemistry was great and they seemed perfect for each other and I enjoyed the support and openness they had with each other. I could easily recommend this to fans of modern romances.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a copy.

I enjoyed this book! I always love authors as main characters in romance novels. The characters had depth and a believable romantic connection. Would recommend for anyone who wants a quick romance read with comedy and emotional depth.

A cute, easy read for anyone that’s a fan of romance novels. At times it was a bit trope heavy and it does tackle alcoholism and dysfunctional family relationships. But the overall plot and characters make this a great beach read!

I am privately sending my review since unfortunately I DNF’d this book at 55%. I had trouble connecting with the FMC, and Dash felt one dimensional to me. I think this book would be great for some readers! Unfortunately it wasn’t for me. The premise was cute, the insta love made me a bit skeptical from that point on. Spice was definitely spicy, but I need more connection to a plot for something to keep me drawn in :/ Thank you so much! I’m grateful for the opportunity to check this book out. The cover is beautiful!

Plot Twist is the second book in Erin La Rosa's Hollywood Series.

The book takes place in Los Angeles where Sophie is trying to finish her second romance novel, but has writer's block. While drunk at a Karaoke bar, she unwisely announces that she has never been in love and that love isn't real, and her embarrassing moment is caught on camera and posted to TikTok where it goes viral.

Dash, the hero of the story is a recovering alcoholic from a famous Hollywood family, Sophie's childhood crush, and also her landlord and brother of her best friend. They start getting close when Dash is sent to check on Sophie the morning that her TikTok video goes viral.

I was really looking forward to reading this book and I was quite disappointed once I did (I seriously considered setting it aside after about 30%, but I persevered.) A lot of my problems with this book are fairly personal, so I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading it. There are a lot of fun parts, I just feel like it could have been so much better.

There are some spoilers ahead, so please read the rest of this review with caution.

Let's start with what I liked.

I really liked the side characters, and I liked the fact that there were several LGBTQ+ characters and that they did not appear (at least to me) to be over the top portrayals of stereotypes as are so often seen in books and movies.

The book was funny at times, there were some scenes that really made me laugh.

Unlike some, I didn't really mind the TikTok references, they were kind of cute, although as others have said they may make the book feel dated in a few years.

I liked that Sophie had a pacemaker, that was completely unexpected and I wish the author had talked more about that and how it affected or didn't affect Sophie's life, aside from the fact that it provided a way for her to have met her ex, Carla.

I really loved Richard (Dick) the squirrel, and Rain Boots, Sophie's pet goldfish.

Things that I did not like.

I won't mention the number of tropes in this book because I'm sure you've read it in other reviews, let's just say there are a lot.

If I had to read one more time how Sophie's canine tooth was peeking out and how Dash thought it was so attractive I think I would have thrown my ereader across the room. I don't know why it irritated me so much, but it just kept coming up again, and again, and again, and again.

I felt like the whole thing about betraying one's friend by dating their brother (or betraying one's sister by dating their best friend) was ridiculously overdone. Is it going to affect the friend's life? Yes if things don't work out, otherwise not so much, unless the friend/sister is so possessive of the people in her life that she wants all their attention for herself. It just felt weird that both Sophie and Dash kept making such a big deal of it. And Poppy's reaction on finding out about their relationship felt like she was throwing a childish temper tantrum.

Sophie complaining about people avoiding her, but then as soon as she thinks someone is mad at her, she avoids them like the plague. It just struck me that she had a bit of a double standard there.

Then there was Sophie's sleeping with Dash all while trying to rekindle her relationship with her ex, Carla.. I can't stand a romance with cheating. I don't care if they hadn't said they were exclusive yet, Sophie was giving the impression that she wanted to start a committed relationship and sleeping with someone else was not that. Even without any of the other things I didn't like about the book, the cheating would have ruined the book for me. And then Sophie shows up at the Carla's work and dumps her while Carla is on her lunch break. Having been dumped on the phone while I was at work myself, this just made me hate Sophie.

Despite how it sounds, this wasn't a terrible book, and I think lots of people will love it, I just don't think it was the book for me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was such a good read! I loved Dash and Sophie's story so much, it is so cute and spicy! It has some of my favorite tropes: best friend's brother, only one bed, and grumpy x sunshine.

It's also dual POV, which I always love so much, and Dash's thoughts are adorable. I loved reading their character growth as they each worked through tough issues, such as addiction, self-discovery, and a dysfunctional family.

Also, I love their banter so much. Dash and Sophie are so cute, funny, and lovable characters. I also love Poppy (Dash's sister and Sophie's best friend) and Richard the squirrel. Dash printing out those photos for the tree was so funny, and Sophie giving him the photo to keep him company was the best.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC!

Love this
Amazing book!

Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Plot Twist tries to tackle a lot in a relatively small amount of pages. I appreciate the effort, specifically with the challenging of gender roles, but many of the subjects that were taken on were not handled responsibly or logically.
A rehab facility is not the place for a grand romantic gesture and reunion. The writing was extremely trite and often cringy.

Despite my general dislike of this novel, I was able to read it quickly and was never bored.

Plot - 2
Writing and Editing - 2
Character Development - 2
Personal Bias - 2
Final Score - 2

Thank you Erin La Rosa, NetGalley, and Canary Street press for my gifted ebook. My opinions are my own.

Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa
Release Date November 14, 2023
Publisher Harlequin Trading

This is a great Rom Com from La Rosa that I could not stop reading. Each page filled with great writing that kept me intrigued until the last page. The characters were so well developed, gentle, humorous and compassionate. I love how this author tells a story and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat waiting to see what will happen next. You will not be disappointed on this one.

5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

This book was so cute! It was our first read from Erin and it did not disappoint! We absolutely loved how relevant everything was, the TikTok creating, and all of the references to current pop culture. Dash growing and becoming the person he knew he could be, not only for himself but also for Sophie was so sweet. We do hope that we see more of his family in the future, we are dying to see Rhys fall in love!

Not-quite-roommates-to-lovers. Absolute gold from Erin La Rosa, with great guest spots from characters who appeared in her earlier book.

I enjoyed this book. It not only had me enthralled in the characters and the storyline but it had me laughing. It was sweet and a bit spicy. I liked the dual POV of the two main characters, Dash and Sophie. The tropes in this book are forced-proximity and Grumpy-sunshine. This is a fun page-turner read. It is cutesy and a little bit cheesy but I enjoyed that. I liked that the author built a solid friendship between the two characters before they starting becoming more. Overall the story was nice and refreshing and the writing was smooth. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to other if they are looking for a fun, light book to read.

I enjoyed this. I thought the last 40% was really good and got deeper into the difficulties of navigating sobriety and dating.

Cute, I'm sure, but otherwise entirely forgettable. There were "Ghost" references? The focus on social media and exposure creates a timeliness, but will also date the book into a sort of planned obsolescence.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

I was really excited to read this book, the description was great and intriguing and I loved the cover, however, the story itself just didn’t do it for me. It felt weird that every character had some type of celebrity or famous element to them, just overall unrealistic and I couldn’t get into it.

This is a book about a romance author, Sophie, who is in a rut and pairs up with her recovering alcoholic landlord and Hollywood family royalty, Dash. It has great banter and I liked the supporting characters a lot. It’s got real life issues, LGBTQ+ and fun twists. It’s a quick read!

Thank you so much Netgalley for the opportunity to read Plot Twist! I was lucky enough to read For butter or worse last year and I adored it so when I found out I got approved for this one as well I was beyond excited.

Sophie is having trouble with her second novel; she is experiencing extreme writers block and her deadline is looming ahead of her. As a writer myself I can absolutely relate. Her landlord Dash is an attractive self-retired actor in recovery from alcoholism who has been sober for 18 months and is terrified of relapsing. So terrified he’s withdrawn into himself and rarely makes appearances anywhere.

When Sophie goes viral for proclaiming she’s never been in love Dash is quick to point out that she could and should use this to her advantage. She goes on a journey to reconnect with her exes to see what went wrong and why she could never say those three big words. When they can no longer stand their mutual attraction for one another they start a friends with benefits relationship but its blatantly clear they both want more. I really enjoyed this novel; their chemistry was fantastic, and I enjoyed seeing Nina again!

I would definitely recommend this to everyone. Thank you so much.

Ps, that cover is fire. I am obsessed.

As fun as this sounded from the blurb, it's not really doing anything for me.
How is nearly everyone famous/a celebrity in this book? The FMC goes viral, the MMC is a teenage heartthrob, his whole family is into acting, his sponsor's wife is nominated for an Emmy, the FMC's sister is a celebrity chef.
TikTok is a constant in this book, and it's too much.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Erin La Rosa was a new author to me and I am now a huge fan! I went into this one blindly, not knowing it was technically the second in a series. It immediately hooked me and I quickly fell in love with the characters and storyline. It’s sweet, full of spice, and tackled some tough subjects (check for TWs). As soon as I was finished I went back and picked up the first of the series (also just as good!).
Read if you love off-limit love interests (best friend’s brother/sister’s best friend), celebrity love interests, pop culture references, forced proximity, one bed, and characters with realistic struggles,
Cannot wait to see what La Rosa comes up with next!

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!