As always, I like to start this by thanking Erin La Rosa for the ARC! Feel super grateful. Now, this story was the definition of a fun summer read. This story is a best friend's brother rom-com with a lil more depth. The story follows Sophie who has written a popular romance novel. While writing the second one, she gets severe writer's block. Trying to blow off some steam, she gets drunk with her best friend, and someone records her announcing that she's never fallen in love before, which goes viral on Tik Tok. From there she decides to publicly share her journey of meeting all of her exes and asking them questions about their relationship. Why they thought it didn't work out, if she had done anything wrong, etc.
Along for the ride is her landlord aka her best friend's brother, Dash. Even though she has lived in his pool house for a while, they have never really gotten to know one another much, until the viral video. What starts off as a friendship, slowly turns into something more. But Dash is a recovering alcoholic, and wants to get that handled before jumping into a relationship. Not only that, but he feels like he will never be worthy of a healthy relationship after all of his struggles with alcohol.
So Sophie comes up with the perfect solution, a secret friends with benefits situation. A casual relationship is bound to not cause any problems, right?
This story was quick, funny, and overall enjoyable read. I have never read about a character that has struggles with addiction, and enjoyed reading his perspective. I feel the conflicts were dragged out a lil too long, but overall it was a great read. 3.5 Stars!

This book is the second book in the Hollywood Series but can be read as a stand alone. I didn’t even know it was the second book until I went to write this review.

Sophie is a romance author who has writer’s block and is pretty sure it’s because she’s never been in love. How can she write a HEA if she doesn’t have one?

Dash is a retired teen movie star. He agreed to rent out his guest house to his sister’s best friend Sophie. They never interact until one morning his sister is worried about Sophie and asks him to go check on her.

This book is full of tension, swoon factor, dysfunctional families, addiction, scandal, and a friends-with-benefits arrangement that is doomed from the start. It successfully describes love regardless of gender, and handles heavy topics with care. The side characters are fantastic additions to the story. Shout out to Dick the squirrel (full name is Richard Gere), who I enjoyed probably more than the author intended.

This book is out November 14th! Thanks to @netgalley, @harlequinbooks and @erinlarosalit for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

This was the first book that I read by this author, and it definitely will not be my last! I really loved the characters and the storyline and enjoyed how the author tackled topics such as alcoholism and dysfunctional family. Gotta love the grump x sunshine trope (one of my personal favourites) that was in this story, which is honestly one of the main reasons I picked it up!

I've already recommended this book to some friends of mine and I cannot wait to pick up more books by this author!

I loved this book! It was so smart, fast and enjoyable. The characters were dynamic and relatable - I loved the growth we saw in them as individuals but also in their relationship (and not just romantic). They grew as friends, siblings and children. This book had a great plot line and I will definitely be including it at my business.

As soon as I could see the trope for this book was grumpy sunshine, I assumed I would love it. This did give the best rom com vibes and I was feeling it for the first 75% the last 25% fell a little flat for me. I lost interest but followed through since this was an arc for me. I didn’t love the tiktok concept but I didn’t hate it. Some cringe dialogue. Not a favorite but not the worst.

This one was definitely a case of “second book-itis” for me - sort of like the sequel curse. I LOVED For Butter or Worse but thé follow up left me feeling slightly sad? The Trope of best friends brother is strong but we also are dealing with a character fighting to stay sober in his battle with alcoholism (definitely take this as a CW if you are sensitive to this topic) and I think because For Butter or Worse made me laugh and felt light I preferred it? Regardless! I still do recommend this one and the series overall. The topics are definitely worthy of adding to romance novels overall, and they are well written with a couple of fun moments woven in

This is an incredibly sweet story.
Sophie and Dash have known each other for a long time. He's Sophie's best friends brother. A former actor recovering from an addiction and her long time crush and she's an author trying to finish her latest romance novel.
Sophie moves into his rental unit and before you know it things get heated. This isn't an easy road to their hea. Many events make things nearly impossible for them to stay together.
Can they make their way to the ultimate hea? Will Sophie ever be able to say those 3 special words to Dash?  You definitely need to read and find out.
4.5 stars

First and foremost, I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for granting me this advanced reader's copy!

What initially drew me to this book was the cover, but I was even more pleased when I found that the main characters had real depth and nuance. Sophie and Dash's story was certainly not linear, nor predictable. I found it charming, and watching them struggle with their own interpersonal issues was refreshing. Yes, the book is a romance; however, I loved that it was more complementary to them becoming the best versions of themselves.

Sophie, a romance author, is struggling with writer's block. Despite having numerous relationships, she has never truly experienced love. She embarks on a reflective journey by interviewing her past lovers and questioning why their relationships didn't work out. While pursuing this insight, Dash, her best friend's ex and a former childhood actor, is there, cheering her on. Dash, dealing with his own pressures of sobriety from alcoholism and the expectations imposed by his momager to return to the family business, simply wants to focus on his pottery.

As Sophie and Dash form a bond that evolves into something more, questions arise: Are they capable of being what the other person needs? Do they even know what they truly need? And are their needs at odds with what they want?

This forbidden love tale has a lot to unpack.

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️

Too cute! First a thank you to netgalley.com and the publisher for the prepub copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rom-com sums up this book.

Sophie is a writer who rents from her best friends brother, who happens to be her childhood crush, as in movie star crush. Her next romance novel is due in less than a month and she is stuck. You see, Sophie has never been in love, though she has dated a lot.

Dash is a recovering alcoholic ex-actor who just wants to make pottery, but his mom keeps trying to force him back into acting and thus back into drinking.

Together these two end up starting something, but will it be good for them? Or will their lives crash and burn?

Love this. If you are looking for a cute romcom with just the right amount of romance with getting all sappy, this is perfect.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this e-arc.

3.5⭐️

I really enjoyed this cute, steamy and fun rom-com. Sophie and Dash were absolutely delightful, but those references to pop culture and TikTok were so cringey and I just couldn't stand them. But all in all, lovely story and characters.

Firstly, I’d like to say how much I adore this cover! It’s so lovely and I couldn’t stop staring at it while reading the book.

Secondly—this book! I was nervous because this has been an anticipated read of mine but I had no reason to be. I enjoyed the main characters and their relationships.

I loved these two so much. They were so great. I loved their background history and their chemistry, the love and support for one another, the angst, the push and pull, the sexual tension between them, everything was so well executed by the author. The characters were not perfect, they had their own struggles and obstacles they had to overcome before they came to the realization that they are better together than apart. I’m so happy with how everything wrapped up at the end. It was such an enjoyable book, I love love loved it.

This was a sweet and funny romance with some spice and a lot of detours on their way to their HEA. Luckily they made it.

As soon as I saw this cover I knew I wanted to get my hands on it. This cutesy rom-com book was just what I needed to bring me back to my romance obsession.

I absolutely adored the immediate sparks between Dash and Sophie.
This book did a wonderful job of covering tense topics, while still retaining the joy and laughter found in rom-coms. I loved this book!

Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa took me by surprise. I was expecting a light-hearted, fun rom-com, but this book tackled some more serious topics such as sobriety, family dynamics, and mental health, and fame.

The blossoming relationship between Sophie and Dash was cute, and I really felt for them as they were learning to trust one another and grow together. The relationships they had with the side characters were also a welcome addition to the story and both of their personal growth.

I also think some trigger warnings would be helpful to be added to the beginning of the book as some of the heavier topics may be a bit much for some readers who were not expecting them.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read, and I would definitely pickup future books from Erin La Rosa.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book, my first by the author, and I couldn’t get enough! Sophie is so adorably lovable and Dash, well you can help but to just love him! Plus their chemistry and the tension is top notch! I love the representation of the struggle of sobriety and the strength from both internal and external support sources. The dynamics and story were just so relatable and realistic you just dive right in and don’t want to leave! So many meaningful moments of self discovery and healing and most importantly, love! So happy with this book!! I loved Sophie and Dash’s story!

Plot Twist was a DNF for me. I was excited about the premise, but these characters did not grab me, and I found myself shutting the app and not going back. I know how hard it is to write a book and that not all stories are for every person, so I do applaud the author for writing. And clearly, since La Rosa is a well-respected and well-liked author, this is a case of "it's not you, it's me." Since I have to provide a star rating, I'll choose three stars, but I wouldn't actually rate a book I don't finish.

Cute book- I finished it but did skim quite a bit. It wasn’t funny, just cute. And then had the longest sex scenes. They were hot, but hard to picture from a couple like Sophie and Dash.

Let me start by saying that this book was an absolute blast! From the very beginning, you could sense the intense dislike between the main characters. It was like watching two cats hissing and scratching at each other. But guess what? Seeing them grow and flourish throughout the story was like witnessing a beautiful transformation that warmed my heart.

When it comes to the characters, Sophie was okay in my book. I didn't dislike her, but if I had to choose, Dash stole the spotlight for me. This guy, let me tell you, his journey overcoming sobriety and emerging as a stronger person stole my heart. It was like witnessing a phoenix rise from the ashes. I couldn't help but root for him every step of the way, hoping for his success and happiness.

The pace of the story was pretty good. It kept me hooked from start to finish.

Plot Twist is a spicy romance between a romance author and ex-actor. There were many things this book nailed and a few things that just fell flat. I thought the TikTok element of Sophie's journey to love was fun. She came off as a fun loving girl just trying to figure herself out. The relationship between Sophie and Dash felt a little off to me, like I was missing something. Overall I thought this book was fun to read. Plot Twist would be a good read for romance lovers that like pop culture references and don't mind open doors.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for my DRC of Plot Twist

Friends with benefits to lovers (but also best friend’s brother) that’s totally swoon worthy. Sophie and Dash are some of the most relatable characters I’ve read in awhile. Sophie can’t seem to find love and Dash is trying to stay sober. It is a fast paced, sweet and light hearted book. I continued to root for Dash and Sophie’s HEA from beginning to end. If you need a book with low angst and all feel goods, grab this book!