This book was not my favorite book- I would consider it to be romantic but mostly young adult. I think the plot itself is a little lack luster. I enjoyed reading it but not sure if I would ever pick it up again. I truly enjoyed the Epilogue as it have a great “ending” to the storyline.

I'm going to admit something right here for the internet to know...I judge books by their covers. *runs and hides*

And so when I saw this adorable cartoon cover romance, I knew I HAD to read it without knowing anything about it. And then I read the back and decided I made the right choice with this book.

This second chance romance (kind of not really) was a fresh, adorable, rom-com that came at the perfect time for me. We meet Sophie, our FMC romance author on the brink of destruction because she can't finish her transcript that will be due in 6 weeks to her agent...OR ELSE. So she does what any normal person does when their lives are falling apart, they go out and get drunk and end up recording a video screaming about how love doesn't exist to the sounds of Elton John at a local karaoke bar. See? Just like everyone else.

And then we meet Dash, Sophie's best friend's older brother who used to be an actor and now keeps to himself, Sophie's landlord. And because of the aftermath of the viral video, their lives are thrown together.

Sophie decides to take the lemon from her embarrassing viral video and turn it into lemonade and go back and chat with her exes to figure out why things didn't work and why there wasn't love; with hopes that this will help her find the ending of her book that is so desperately needed as well as love for herself.

Dash comes from a "dynasty" of Hollywood royalty and has a complicated relationship with his family. Some of those complications come from the fact that he has battled with an addiction to alcohol, is a closeted and very talented potter that has got traction videos on his TikTok, and doesn't want to be in the family biz.

Since Dash knows social media, he agrees to help Sophie in the journey of love discovery. What could possibly happen? All of the best tropes, funny banter, some serious self-discovery, and learning all about what love is.

I loved how within this funny light-hearted book, the representation of addiction and rehab was done really well. Dash has a sponsor who is a big part of his life and has the most amazing conversations, pep talks, and REAL talks with Dash.

This book is a mix of REAL issues and light-hearted romance that is just the perfect combination.

I really loved reading Sophie's and Dash's love story, Erin is a great writer and I will be going back and reading her other books.

To me, this read like a YA book. This book was pretty predictable. There are so many better romance books.

This was a good book, but I do not think it was exactly for me. The set up to the story happened all too fast and I think that took away from my enjoyment as I continued reading. I also felt like I had to suspend my disbelief throughout this one a little bit more that I like so it didn't land too strongly. I liked La Rosa's writing, but Sophie and Dash just didn't do it for me.

I received an e-Arc from Netgalley and the publisher for an honest review!

I could not stop reading this. It was amazing. I was chuckling at so many moments! And there were a few moments of shock because I did not see those shock moments happening. It's witty and heartfelt! The banter between Sophie and Dash was pure magic.

I loved how Sophie was trying to figure out who she is and learning how to cope with the situation. Her trip of visiting various exes was on the range of kind to mean. And I think each relationship she went through taught her something. While going through this process, Dash was by her side rooting her on to help her with finding what she needs which was love and to write her book. There was sparks between Dash and her during the process. Do they act on it or no?

Dash..who doesn't love tattoos on a character? I loved how Dash finds himself slowly and realizes he can do what he needs to do. He learns to open up a tiny bit with Sophie which I think was great for him. I loved that he likes to make pottery. Can we say maybe "Ghost" moment happening perhaps? I dunno..you may have to grab the book to find out??

As I said there were so many fun moments in this book that I laughed and yelled "Yes!"

I will say there was one awesome thing in the story which was regarding to Team Spike or Team Angel. I love love when these types of culture pop references pop up in stories that I love. Whoo whoo! It made me smile.

There are other characters that show up in the book such as Poppy who is Dash's sister and Sophie's best friend. I loved how Poppy has grit and stands her own ground. She's so cool. I love how Sophie and Poppy's friendship is so special. Then there's Sophie's sister who is a tough cookie too and gives Sophie great advice. I love the friendship banter between Dash and his friend Chris. They're just great guys. Then there are some characters who has flaws and need to work on themselves. No I'm not telling you who they are. Go get the book.

I will point out there are a few steamy moments in the book which went perfectly with the plot and characters.

One more thing I'll point out..or maybe two things...I noticed a theme of coping. You see everyone coping in their own way. It shows that characters have to cope. It's human. Some issues take time while others can be breeze. Friendship and warmth fall into this story too. I should stop because I'll go on and on about what themes I see in this book. I should start doing that more in my reviews, right?

Isn't the cover pretty?

So get the book on November 2023!!

Wait one more thing....
I leave you with the name Rain Boots.

Plot Twist is a cute best friend’s brother novel that delves into some heavy hitting issues (read trigger warnings!)

This story is a great follow up to La Rosa’s debut novel and follows the story of Sophie Lyons, an author who has never been in love. Her next book is due in 6 weeks and she’s STRUGGLING to get past her writer’s block. Dash is her best friend’s brother and landlord and sparks fly from there.

I really enjoyed La Rosa’s ability to mix the cute with the smutty elements that are trademarks of romance novels.

Overall, this was such a good, quick read and should be put on your November TBR!

Tropes: Forced proximity, best friends brother, cinnamon roll, only one bed, friends with benefits
Things I liked: LGBTQIA representation, the sensitive narration about dysfunctional families, addiction, and mental health; sweet, vulnerable characters; cute premise of a story within a story; great side characters
Things I didn’t: Heavy on tropes; many pop culture references; not enough time between conflict and resolution (and a few other things that I won’t mention because they’re more personal preferences)

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a sweet Hollywood rom com!

To say I'm obsessed with this novel is the understatement of the century. I read this so quickly and it 100% pulled me out of the sad slump I've been in.

Our main character, Sophie, struggles with an extreme case of writer's block. I mean, how can you be a romance writer when you've never been in love? She goes on a journey through her past relationships, trying to find the answer as to why she could never say those three little words. Throughout this hilariously painful time, she learns so much about herself.

Our love interest, Dash, is on his own self-discovery journey. His scenes are also painful to read; between alcohol recovery and an image forced upon him by his mother, the poor guy is just going through it.

Slowly, Dash and Sophie become friends, supporting each other through their hardships. I honestly couldn't get enough of them together. Even if this had just been a story of them learning to be friends and navigating life together, I still would have given it a solid five stars. But put steamy exchanges and love into the mix, and it's a recipe for absolute and complete success.

My only gripe is that I can't force everyone I know to read this immediately, since it comes out in freaking November. I put release day in my calendar so that on the off chance that I forget, I'll be reminded to force everyone I know to read this immediately.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second. About 40% in my attention started to wane. Things became predicitible, repetetive, and slow. I skimmed the spicy scenes. I might not enjoy those types of chapters as much as I did when I was younger. I prefer a bit more tention between my love interests, so that when they do finally become intimate, it doesn't feel like sex for the sake of sex. Sentence length is loooong. 12-20+ length sentences that drone one after the other. Many of them repeating the same thing on the page in different ways. It was difficult to read through and while the book hooked me at the start, I found myself not wanting to pick it up and read the deeper I went.

I enjoyed Dash's character and his struggle with alchoholism was a nice touch. Sophie's quest to speak with her ex's regarding the end of all her relationships was a neat idea but dull. She never seemed to arc or grow, all challenges for the characters were shallow. Dash had the most to lose, the biggest change...but Sophie should have been equal or greater, being the MC.

Parts of the story were really well written and sweet. Unfortunately, the pace was a killer for me. It just wasn't my kind of novel. Others may like it fine. I can be picky.

Thank you to Net Galley for my first e-ARC read. It was a light and easy read! It definitely was giving off rom-com vibes and was cute. The characters were really likeable and felt really relatable. Not sure if I am a huge fan of modern pop culture in a book like Tik Tok but with the world so connected as it is, it made it feel a little closer to real life. Overall it was a cute read even though it was very tropey.

Sorry.. This book wasnt my jam at all.. I did get through this but I didnt like the slow pace of this book

This romcom is unique with a spin on falling for the best friend’s brother, I liked the TikTok challenge that the FMC goes through in order to reunite with all her exes, but wish it had more humor. Sadly, the meet ups were a bit bland. There is a storyline centering around a recovering alcoholic, so know the triggers before reading,

I was so hooked on this story for the first half of the book. It gave all the rom com vibes and pulled me right in. The second half of the book didn’t seem to hold my interest as much and it took me longer than usual to finish it because I just didn’t have that urge to get to the ending and see what happens. It started to feel almost repetitive and my interest just kind of dwindled out as I read.

I will say I LOVED Sophie’s character, I felt like she was so well written and her character development was refreshing. I really enjoyed how she was put in a position where she was forced to deal with the consequences of her actions and it ended up being done in such a great way.
I did also love Dash’s hard exterior, even though he was low-key a big softy, but I did feel like there could have been more from his character personality wise. And I adored Sophie’s relationships with Nina and Poppy!
I was skeptical about how I would feel with the abundance of TikTok presence in the story, but I have to say I enjoyed it.

Overall, I liked the book. This was a 3.5 star read for me.

Huge thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
Sophie Lyons is a romance writer who has a serious case of writers block while trying to meet the deadline for her second book. After an embarassing video of her goes viral, and she admits she’s never been in love herself, She decides to try and meet up with all her old exes and find out where things went wrong in their relationships, with the hopes that it will get her out of her writing slump.

In the midst of this, Sophie begins to have feelings for her famous landlord/best friends brother, Dash, even though she knows she shouldn’t. As Dash and Sophie’s relationship unfolds, more drama and issues with Dash’s family unfolds and threatens their budding relationship. Will Sophie finally fall in love?

Overall I thought this was a cute romance book with a little bit of unexpected spice thrown in. After finishing this I am tempted to go back and read this authors other book about Sophie’s sister, Nina and hear her backstory. I wish half stars were allowed bc I would say this is a 3.5 for me

This is my first 5 star romance of 2023. I was worried going in because so far this year I've read the "romance writer who can't finish up her book with a deadline looming" and I've read a "writer doing TikTok videos of revisiting her exes". Was this one going to be any different? Why yes, yes it was. This book is so very different than others I have read. Sophie revisits her exes in an attempt to find out why she hasn't been in love before and learns some things about herself. Dash is dealing with some very serious personal issues and doesn't want to be in a relationship (which includes sex) while going thru it. This book is NOT one series of romance trope after trope. The prevalent one is best friend's brother, which does cause problems later on. But while the sensual parts of this story were oh so good, it is the overall story and mostly Dash's that made me love it. This book made me laugh, cry and cheer. I loved it! This is my first by Erin La Rosa but now I will rush to my indie for a copy of For Butter or Worse.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Plot twist by Erin La Rosa is about a romance writer who has never been in love and goes on a quest to find out why, all the while falling for the boy next door. The first bit of the book was a little hard for me to get into only for the persistent reference to Tiktok. However, I did enjoy this book for the classic tropes, comedy and relationships. I appreciated the female main characters fluid sexuality and the appropriately portrayed male main characters struggle with alcoholism. Overall I thought this book was really cute and I’m a sucker for cartoon covers. 3.5

Dash and Sophie’s story brought me so much joy!

Sophie is an author, stuck in a writers' block rut, when her next book deadline is quickly approaching. She’s curvy and pansexual, plus she loves the em dash symbol- so basically I want to be her new bff.
Dash is a former heartthrob, belongs to a Hollywood royal family, and is fresh into alcoholism recovery. He has closed himself off from his family and relationships in an effort to focus on his sobriety. He’s also short and has a passion for crafting (which is super attractive in an artsy way).

THE SPICE! Wow, I will be recommending this book to everyone I know, except for my mother! That massage scene was 🥵…👨‍🍳🤌

I loved every moment of this story! Kudos to Erin La Rosa for writing such a fun, relatable, and heartwarming romance. I’m off to find her back-list titles now!



TW- alcoholism and recovery
Stalking

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Neighborly acquaintances to unrequited crush: romance writer Sophie totally has the hots for her landlord, former indie movie star Dash, but he's stand-offish...but that's because he's secretly harboring a crush on her! Their paths finally crash together when she's hungover and barfs on his shoes, and he carries her into her house.
Both Sophie and Dash are sweet, likeable characters with low self-esteem, both trying to figure how to live the lives they want to live instead of molding themselves to what others see of them-- very relatable. Dash has the added layer of struggling with sobriety and a very dysfunctional family.
Sexy and low-stakes, it was a pleasure to see them slowly build themselves up so they could reach for each other. Only thing that bugged me was the "best friend's brother/sister's best friend" being off-limits trope- not a fan, but was one of the few lines of tension in the plot.

Neither Sophie nor Dash are in a very good place in their lives. Both are trying to move forward, yet find it challenging. They question each other, but they question themselves as well. La Rosa had created characters with great depth and tenacity. Characters we want to see succeed despite their flaws. In doing the story is one that I became invested in, and one I had trouble putting down. As difficult a topic as it was for Dash, I like the way the his addiction to alcohol was handled. I think it’s important for people to see that it is something that the addict never forgets and never forgets worrying about. It is something that some people brush under the rug and others cannot cope with. It is a condition that requires a lot of determination, hard work and support to keep under control. La Rosa approached this topic with sensitivity, and a realistic outlook. So many people have had to deal with this in one way or another, seemingly even more so after the pandemic. It’s nice to see an author put this in their work in a way that is not overwhelming but definitely something significant. I’m invested now. I want to see where the relationship between Dash and his father is headed. I also want more of Poppy. Please.
I really enjoyed this book - and will look for more by this author for sure.