This book had a great idea in theory, but I think it was lacking in execution. Sophie Lyon is our protagonist, but she's cringey and can't see her own flaws. She waltzes through life with tons of self doubt but no desire to do anything about it. Sophie is immature and stubborn and doesn't see that the world doesn't revolve around her. Now, I have no problem hating on the main characters, but in this case, it made for a really poor book experience. Sophie feels like the ultimate pick-me girl, and she's honestly too old to be acting like this. Sophie is attracted to Dash, her landlord and best friend's brother. Poppy, Dash's brother, is the owner of a spa and one of the best friend's a girl could ask for. 

Sophie has a big problem. She's a romance author who's never been in love. She's had plenty of relationships, but not once has she fallen in love. When a TikTok video of her drunkenly exclaiming this news goes viral, she needs to do damage control. She decides to meet with her exes that fit a certain criteria and see what went wrong in their relationship to cure her writer's block. Now this seemed like a perfect time to have a second chance lovers story, but no. Everyone in this book acted like teenagers, and it felt like I was reading a YA novel. The actual writing was fine, but the storyline was immature and made no sense half the time. 

Sophie starts a new relationship with Carla, the one that got away, but she constantly knows she feels better when she's with Dash. But because Dash isn't available while he works through his sobriety journey, Sophie continues with Carla. Sophie knows Carla isn't right for her, but she's not being true to herself. She goes so far as to hook up with Dash while still in a relationship with Carla. The beginning of this book was slow, and not good in a slow burn type of way. It was just slow and boring. By the time I got around 80 pages in, Sophie and Dash had kissed and the pace seemed exponential and then it seemed like it was moving too fast. 

Dash needs to get a backbone. He's nice and all, but I need him to stand up for himself. He knows he needs help, but he's also not doing everything he could to be helping himself. His family is a different mess that also gave me a headache. Sophie has no family left except for her sister Nina. But Sophie trusts the wrong person and messes up her relationship with Nina. She doesn't even apologize because she's a coward and expects the world to fix it for her. This is the same situation when Poppy finds out about her and Dash. Poppy feels betrayed, rightfully so, and Sophie won't stop bothering her. So when Nina wanted to talk, Sophie ignored her, but when Poppy needs space, Sophie blows up her phone. Grow up??

I really wanted to like this book, and I also really wanted to DNF this book after 50%. It's not a good sign when I get the ick when the guy says 'I love you', but at that point, I had to see it through. This book was not my cup of tea, but I hope it will be for some of you. I received this ARC as a member of NetGalley. It will be published on November 14, 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are fair and my own.

DNF at 40%.

I can ignore the constant TikTok references. What does it for me is the small details missed that took me right out of the story. <spoiler> Didn’t Sophie just drink wine right before he admitted his sobriety to her and then kissed her? Wouldn’t she taste like wine, a huge trigger? </spoiler>

Furthermore, I get the Ned thing was for drama but it just felt so juvenile on both sides. They’re both in their thirties and acting like this? It was just too unbelievable. All the characters felt one dimensional and the romance rushed.

Finally, the smut was what got me to stop. It was too rushed, to “tell not show”, and too…bleh. I encourage authors who want to dive into smut to scroll through ao3 and see examples of smut there. Please let me never read the word "nub" in smut ever again.

I would give this book a 4/5 stars. I loved our main characters. I felt they were relatable and their struggles seemed real. The pain I felt when Dash relapsed rivaled Sophie’s. I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it!

This one was so good and touched on some really tough topics. I really liked both main characters, and that they wanted the same thing at the start all the way to the ending. They changed and grew together.

What a fantastic book!

First I want to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC of Plot Twist in exchange for an honest review.

It was such a well balanced book, gave all the butterflies, with spice, emotion, and humour. Loved Erin’s writing, it felt very realistic which I’ve been finding is quite rare lately.

Great book, and I am excited to recommend it when it is released!

I couldn’t put it down and read the whole thing in an afternoon! This is another amazing book from Erin La Rosa and I’m so happy I was able to read the arc! Sophie is such a relatable character which makes it that much better and easier to identify with! The way the relationship between Dash and Sophie unfolds while reinforcing the idea that it’s okay to not know where your going is inspiring! This was such a fantastic book and I can’t wait to read another from Erin La Rosa!

I really enjoyed Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa. Reading about Dash and Sophie finding their way to each other through commitment issues, alcoholism, toxic family members, and social media influences sounds heavy, but this book had enough lighthearted antics to balance our the serious problems dealt with by the main characters. And, who doesn't want to end up with their childhood movie star crush?!? Overall, romance readers will be rooting for these characters, and the many situations that they humorously face, until the end of the book.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I really enjoyed "Plot Twist" by Erin La Rosa. It's about Dash and Sophie-- a former teen heartthrob and current struggling romance writer--who fall for each other. It's a complicated love story because of Dash's struggles with alcohol addiction and Sophie's issues with commitment, but ulitmately an endearing and engaging read. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Equal parts beautiful, spicy, hilarious, and emotional. These characters have it all. Their problems are realistic and so, so relatable. I could not get enough of their sweet encounters and seeing Sophie's crush grow into something more. Dash is a truly worthy hero, and the author did a wonderful job of working through his issues in a thoughtful way that highlighted the depth and struggle that he faced every day. I couldn't put the book down and yet never wanted it to end. Sophie had a lot to learn about love and about herself, and through it all, Dash saw her beauty and loved her just for herself. Excellent prose and description anchored the story and constant tension kept the story going. A unique story that attracted me from the first page.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I was excited about the premise of this book--romance writer who has never been in love documents her conversations with her ex's on tiktok while trying to figure out why she never fell for them. Unfortunately, this book didn't really tell that story. It's like the author forgot about the TikTok thing halfway through and stopped adding it, before remembering at the very end and tossing it in. Instead, most of the novel focuses on how Sophie falls in love with Dash, her landlord, best friend's brother, and childhood celebrity crush. There isn't really a burn to their romance. Dash is introduced and only a few short chapters later they're banging it out in his front yard. I wanted the burn between them to be slower and more built up. There's some internal conflict when they try to do the FWB thing, but it could have been stronger.

The best part of the book is Dash's story. He's intriguing, complicated, and well-developed. I would read an entire book about his life as a child actor with a momager, his alcohol addiction, and rehab. HIs is the shining story in "Plot Twist."

This book has some heat! The love scenes are quite graphic and detailed. I made the mistake of reading this while in public (while I happened to be seated next to an elderly woman) and some of the scenes made me embarrassed. I'm more of a closed-door romance reader, so that's on me. Just be aware.

Overall, this book has its cute moments and was an easy read. Romance readers would enjoy it, especially those interested in Hollywood-set stories. It just wasn't the right book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was the perfect quick and easy read that I needed to pull me out of my reading slump. I had not read anything from this author before and quickly found myself in love with her writing style and how effortless it felt. I did however initially struggle to get into this book as the continuous pop culture references and attempts at “wokeness” were very cringey, but I guess that is part of the lifestyle that comes with living in LA. I did also struggle to connect and like the main character Sophie as I found her to be quite selfish and naive and seeing everyone walk all over her without her standing up for herself was frustrating. All in all though this was a great romance read and I am excited to try more from Erin La Rosa!

I wad drawn to this book by the cover, but stayed for the dynamic characters and multifaceted storyline. Overall, I really enjoyed Sophie's journey to find love, and Dash's journey to love himself, so that he could then find love in others.
I am not a reader that is drawn to romance books, but some aspects of this book that i loved was the bi representation, dash's journey through alcohol addiction and sobriety, highlighting damage caused by familial trauma, the quirky characteristics of all the characters, and the sub plots throughout the novel.

"You deserve to be loved, deeply, by someone worthy. Please remember that."

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a sizzling, heartfelt novel from start to finish and if you haven't heard of it, add it to your TBR list and thank me in November.

Sophie Lyon is a romance author that goes viral on TikTok for saying she's never said "I love you" to a partner...oh, and this just happens to coincide with her being unable to finish her second novel. Meanwhile, Dash Montrose is struggling to detach himself from the spotlight his family lives in while maintaining his sobriety...and his secret identity as a ceramics artist on TikTok. They've always maintained a strict tenant/landlord relationship—especially because their mutual connection is Dash's sister, who happens to be Sophie's best friend—but their situations just might call for help from each other...in more ways than one.

I LOVED this book. I loved this book so much I read about 60% of it today, in one sitting, because I couldn't NOT finish it once I really got going. It's spicy, it's endearing, it's swoony and HOT and everything in between. I love the vulnerability both Sophie and Dash lean into as they get more comfortable not only with each other, but with themselves. It's HARD to be introspective and do that type of deep, healing work on yourself, and they both had moments where they recognized that maybe...they CAN do better, or they DO deserve better, and it was just so lovely to watch unfold.

Let me just say, Erin La Rosa can write spice. Like, you will need a cold shower after reading spice. And the intimate moments are wonderfully placed, because intimacy is not JUST those spicy scenes, it's the moments where the characters open up and they're naked emotionally — and those scenes hit just as much.

I loved the side storylines and characters (like what are the chances we get a book for Poppy and Rhys? I'M INTERESTED, ERIN!), but what I really appreciated was Erin's attention to detail when it came to writing about sobriety. My boyfriend has been sober for 6 years now, so I definitely turned to him and asked him questions to make sure everything was authentic. It's clear that Erin either has personal connection to substance abuse or did EXTREMELY thorough research, and either way...it's commendable that she did this justice. I've never seen substance abuse and sobriety tackled in a romance novel before, and I think it was so refreshing to see.

One thing I would say is that I would've loved an update on Dash's journey with sobriety in the epilogue. The last chapter is the big romantic gesture from Sophie as she goes to visit Dash in rehab after he relapses after 19 months, which broke my heart. It happens, it absolutely happens, and even THAT felt real and authentic. BUT, I would've loved to have gotten an update on whether or not he had maintained his sobriety after that, because I came to care very much for Dash the same way I care very much for my boyfriend and his sobriety.

Aside from that, no notes. I loved this book, I wish I could read it again for the first time, and I'm really grateful to have gotten a chance to read this early.

This review also appeared on Goodreads.

I’d like to be able to give this more stars but it was such a struggle for me to get through. I had to push past the first 20% without DNFing.

There are so many pop culture references and too centered around TikTok that is just not going to help this book age well. The last 3rd of the book was much more fleshed out and anyone that has struggled with addiction or loved someone that has struggled is going to relate a lot to the last half of the book.

And I did audibly gasp and slam down my iPad reading Dash’s toxic mothers behavior.

Maybe this just wasn’t the book for me.

Super cute, fast paced read. Loved Sophie’s character and her love for Richard the Squirrel. Friends to lover romance was a cute build up.

Thank you to Erin La Rosa, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Plot Twist comes out November 14, 2023.

I was honestly super excited for this book, and while I thought the book had its good moments it still fell flat for me. I kept setting it aside to read something else and that's not how I usually read. I liked both characters and I thought that their stories and growths were what saved the book a little. It was honestly the pacing of the book that threw me off, like them getting together was slow and then super-fast. Like I said I think that the book has good parts and I think that readers should give it a try, I might have just had more personal hang ups while reading.

I didn’t realize this was a stand-alone but second book of a series until I was part way through. The first book is For Butter or Worse and is focused on Nina, Sophie’s sister. Plot Twist is about Sophia, who accidentally went viral saying she’s never been in love but is also a romance writer with significant writers block. She wakes up hungover the next day and runs into Dash Montrose, her landlord and former teenage heartthrob. She decides to go back to each of her exes in an attempt to figure out what went wrong, and records it all for TikTok. She and Dash connect and start to fall for each other - but Sophie needs to figure out who she is and Dash is trying to maintain sobriety.

This was a sweet read but honestly wasn’t my favorite. It felt a little forced, like the author was trying to tie in too many tropes and also include social media, celebrity families, alcoholism, complicated pasts, etc. I also felt like the main characters acted much younger than they allegedly were. It was cute and I liked that it isn’t quite what you expect towards the end. Maybe if I had read the first book, I would have liked this one more. There were some spicy scenes but otherwise it seemed geared towards a younger reader. I also didn’t understand where the title “Plot Twist” came from, as it didn’t really have a major one.
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Read if you like:
✔️best friends brother
✔️books about books
✔️celebrity romance/family
✔️tik tok centric
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Thank you to @netgalley and @harlequinbooks for the eARC. I received a complimentary e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

So I may have had a mental breakdown trying to study so I read this in one sitting…


Plot Twist is a super fun addition to the Erin La Rosa collection. I actually enjoyed it more than the first book. Honestly Sophie and Dash have a lot to work on but it was a super fun and fast read and I’m excited to see what’s next for the characters (Poppy spin off???).

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin for an e-arc of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC for this book. All views and opinions are my own.

Overall, I think a lot of romance readers will enjoy. I just found so many nuances that were odd choices to me. The author used "guffawed" so many times in the book and phrases like "pad back". These bothered me to no end and took away from what I was reading with Sophie and Dash. I did enjoy the fluidity of Sophie and a view into pansexuality. I felt like it was done very well. This book has potential to be such a cute best friend's brother romance, but the pacing really threw me off and brought down the rating for me. It seemed like they ended up together SO fast. It was pretty spicy, but happened quickly, almost a blink and miss it situation. I felt like focus on Dash and his rehab and dysfunctional family was nice to see, but the focus just changed so much from Dash and Sophie, to his family, to his alcoholism, to his recovery, it was like a roller coaster at times. It was cute, but just didn't flow as well as it could to me.

Sophie, a romance author, has never been in love. After a viral video the whole world now knows that fact and Sophie sets out to change it. With the help of her landlord, former teen heart throb Dash Montrose, she rides the crest of her viral video fame to document meeting with her exes. During this time, Dash and Sophie grow closer and their other issues come to light. What will happen to the romance author who has never been in love and the brooding former actor?

I really appreciated the issues that this book/author took on. I felt that Dash was well written and his issues were represented accurately, although I do not know that I am necessarily qualified to give that opinion but it felt like it could have been the issues of a real person in his situation. Sophie was a little unbelievable at times, but she was likeable as well. I enjoyed their relationship, but something about this fell a little flat for me. It felt a bit hollow? All of the concepts were good, but it seemed like maybe there was too much focus on a lot of things happening and less focus on actually giving detail to those things. Overall a good, sweet, and quick read but definitely not the deepest despite the emotional content.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for and ARC in exchange for an honest review.