When I tell you I flew thru this book i mean I absolutely zoomed thru it at full speed. I loved the story, how the relationship developed within the two main characters, the complete bombshell that happened I truly wasn’t expecting that. Now while i don’t really love books with misunderstandings I understood this one and I’m glad it was resolved basically in seconds and there wasn’t this big huge fight over it. Sometimes there are misunderstandings in other books that last chapters and they get even worse little by little. But the author did this so well and wrote it in a way that was believable.

I honestly had so much fun reading this book and enjoyed every bit of it, the writing is great, I loved the cover, and overall it was a great plot with good characters. Definitely recommend if you need a fast fun read.

This book was SO good! Complex characters, author references (I see you Abby Jimenez), grump to sunshine love story, and so much more. You won’t regret the read.

Oh my goodness. Erin La Rosa never disappoints. I was in the mood for something sexy, sweet, and charming. This checked all the boxes!

Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa (coming November 14, 2023)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥/5

Romance author Sophie Lyons has a secret, and thanks to a drunken karaoke night, it’s gone viral. She’s never been in love. She’s having trouble with finishing her latest book because she can’t seem to give them a happy ending. Sophie makes a plan: in order to figure out why she’s never been in love, she’s going to meet up with all her exes to figure out why it didn’t work. However, she was not expecting Dash Montrose, her current landlord and her best friend’s brother, to be part of the situation. He’s a former actor who’s currently working on staying sober instead of a new action movie. He’s worried that he can’t give her the stable relationship she needs, so they start up a casual friends with benefits arrangement. What could possibly go wrong?

It was kind of hard for me to get into this book at first, but after a few chapters, I was hooked and stayed up last night to finish it. I love how the characters learned to grow together and ended up being far more important to each other than they ever could’ve imagined. This book is definitely spicy, and will have you swooning (or needing a cold shower)!

Plot Twist

Plot Twist is about Sophie, a romance author who is experiencing writer’s block due to her inability to fall in love and Dash, a child actor struggling with alcoholism and the pressures of family expectations. The beginning of the story follows Sophie after a night out when she gets TikTok famous after denouncing love while kareokee-ing to Tiny Dancer. She is struggling with severe writers block after writing a successful romance book and she decides to use her new TikTok fame to explore why her past relationships failed in order to help her find love while also completing her unfinished book. Dash, Sophie’s landlord and Sophie’s best friends brother, form a friendship during this time. Dash is a childhood actor who has familial pressure to return to acting despite his unwillingness to. His story follows his sobriety journey and his journey to find joy of his own creation. Sophie and Dash come together in a beautiful story of resilience and true love while navigating the challenges of sobriety. The author did a beautiful job of exploring the dynamics of falling in love despite struggles and overcoming self-doubt. It started a little slow for me and had so many outside factors that I struggled to follow at times. Between Dash’s issues with alcohol, family struggles, a stalker and self doubt and then Sophie’s own issues with writing and dealing with all her past relationships, I felt like it was hard to stay focused at times. Overall it is worth a read!

Sophie is a romance writer who seems to have a serious case of writer’s block. She struggles to write love stories because ironically, she admits to never been in love. To find the reason she’s never found that happy ending, she looks to social media, making short videos highlighting each ex and what went wrong. She then decides to meet up with them to solve the mystery. With the help of her landlord, the videos take off. Dash, the landlord, is a celebrity who has problems of his own. Suffering with life in Hollywood, sobriety, and a dwindling acting career, he assists Sophie with the videos in his downtime. Surprise surprise, they have a friends with benefits arrangement. Of course no problems arise in La La Land!

This was a quick fun read. Cartoon cover with a lot of spice!

The Plot Twist was good. I liked the pacing and plot. La Rosa made believable characters that didn’t become annoying (as some rom coms tend to do). The book is only good because I read a lot of romance and I can say that most of the more general points of the book have already been forgotten, replaced by what I dub “the formula”. There are unique things from this book I will remember like seeing the main couple together for the first time and then Sophie projectile vomits on Dash, meeting exes for tik tok clout and then being sad when she gets recognized bc it’s only for tik tok clout, Dash being sober and relapsing, and Richard Gere. Other than these plot points, the book is just a romcom that you cuddle up with for a little while.
The way Dash’s sobriety and relapse was handled was well done. She didn’t exactly pull punches when describing what Dash was going through, but she also didn’t really shy away from it.

3.75 ⭐️ I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Great light RomCom read with a touch of spice.

I loved Sophie in her cheeky confident times!

I much appreciated that at least Dash was a little bit older, and had lived his life some. I read plenty of books that the main characters are early twenties, and am always looking for characters a bit older and more relatable.

I do wish it was set over a longer span of time. I felt like the Richard part was fluff and could have been spent developing back story or even current story of the characters. It felt very rushed and a quick timeline but was a slow read for me.

Thank you to Netgalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is fun and easy to read. The characters immediately draw you in and hold your attention throughout the story. Great job!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sophie is a Romance author who went viral on TikTok for being drunk in a karaoke bar and yelling that she’s never been in love and love isn’t real.
Dash is Sophie’s landlord/ best friends brother/ childhood crush. His family is Hollywood royalty and he was in a few movies years ago. He is a recovering alcoholic who his family is toxic.
Dash gives Sophie the idea to “stitch” the TikTok and she goes on a journey to create videos visiting her exes and finding out why it didn’t work out for them.
Sophie helps Dash write a speech at his dads Hollywood walk of fame that he doesn’t want to do.
This book is a quick read and a romcom. I did enjoy it but it is FULL OF TROPES. I like tropes but it seems to just be to much.
Friends with benefits, one bed, childhood crush, best friends brother, friends to lovers, forced proximity is just a few of them. It can be overwhelming. Things also happened very fast but it was also a slow book…. The characters went from not speaking to being friends with benefits quick to me..
I would still recommend this to people who love a book full of tropes and wants a light romcom read!

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️
TW: Addiction/Alcoholism, This Book has Spice

I absolutely adored this book. Plot Twist is a 2 person perspective book. I love those, I love getting a glimpse behind the thoughts of two main characters. In my opinion it really helps us get to know characters so much better and they become more dimensional.

Sophie is a romance writer who is approaching the deadline for her second romance novel that she just cannot seem to finish and she comes to realize it's because she has never been in love. Not really anyways. That information gets aired out to the world of tik tok when she blurted it out while heavily intoxicated on a karaoke night with her best friend. Her best friends brother tells her that she should get ahead of it and share her truth by stitching the original posters video.

Sophie decides that she is going to meet up with her exes to find out what went wrong in all her relationships and why she has never been in love with encouragement from Dash.

Dash meanwhile is doing his best to maintain his sobriety but the dread of writing a speech for his father and his family pushing him to go back to acting is threatening that.

The love story was so good, it wasn't one of those forced ones it was very sexual tension that turned into real feelings. As a good novel is not without problems they definitely face their fair share. The novel is very light-hearted and an easy read with a few tense chapters within. There is a lot of tropes in this book such as Forced Proximity, Best Friend's Brother, Found Family, Afraid to Commit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love rom-coms but what I always appreciate even more is when difficult issues are handled in a respectful way. That being said, I loved the way Dash's struggles both with his own issues and with his family were dealt with. I feel like Dash's motivations were realistic and his reactions and actions genuine. Plus, his love of crafting really sealed the deal for me! I really liked Sophie. Her kindness and unrelenting support of Dash really made this book for me, but as far as I'm concerned Dash was definitely the star of the show.

I struggled with some of the side characters. I really liked Poppy, she seemed like a fun friend to have and was a good support to Sophie and Dash. I didn't like Nina and the way she would treat Sophie. I just found that every time the scene involved her I got really annoyed. She was unnecessarily mean in my opinion.

Ultimately, I felt like the book was easy to read, the pacing of the writing made sense and I honestly couldn't put it down. I stayed up way too late to finish this book. I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a sweet romance, but do check your triggers.

I am so happy I got the opportunity to read this book!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ / 5
🌶 🌶️ 🌶️ /5

I received this from netgalley in exchange for a review.

I was all set for an amazing love story about a romance writer who had never fallen in love, and her best friend’s brother. What I got was a book that seemed to crawl by until maybe the last 10% when I finally got interested enough. I wasn’t really a fan of Sophie or Dash’s until later in the book. Events towards the end finally made me invested in what was happening with them though, and I overall enjoyed the ending. Dash’s mom is a horrible person though, I was not expecting that twist at the end.

This was really cute! It’s exactly what I expected, but that’s not a bad thing. I very much expected an easy-to-read, lighthearted romcom and that’s what I got! It was funny and romantic and I loved the chemistry between the main characters.

I hadn’t read a book by this author before, but I thought the cover was cute and wanted to check it out.

The book is a dual POV romance between Sophie and Dash. Sophie is a novelist who hasn’t been able to find love or inspiration for her next book. Luckily, it strikes in the form of Dash, her landlord/bff’s brother/teen crush. His father is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and Dash has been recruited to give a speech, which isn’t his strong suit. They decide to help each other out and slowly fall in love in the process.

It wasn’t a perfect book, but I enjoyed it and it was a fun, quick read.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read it in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoy romances that are very self-aware and full of tropes, then look no further!

The "Plot Twist" follows a romance author named Sophie who suffers from writer's block. Not only does she have writer's block, but she's facing a looming deadline for her current novel. If she can't finish this book in time, she will have to pay back her advance and her dreams of being an author are over. One drunken night, Sophie makes a TikTok where she confesses that she's never been in love. When she watches her video the next day, she wonders if this is the reason why she can't write a happy ending. How can you write what you don't know? Sophie devises a plan where she reconnects with her old flames, document it for TikTok, and finally discovers the reasons why her relationships crash and burn?

Luckily, her sexy (former) teen heartthrob landlord offers to help her as she films her TikToks. Dash is no stranger to the limelight and he knows a thing or two about trying to salvage an image. Will Sophie be able to finish her book in time, or will she be distracted by Dash and forget the whole thing?


There is a lot going on in this book. This book is full of tropes but what makes it funny is that our protagonist, sees the world through the eyes of a romance writer. Seeing the world through the lens of a writer is what keeps me coming back to reading books about writers. This book has LGBTQIA+ rep, as Sophie has boyfriends and girlfriends to reconnect with from her dating past. Dash, the male protagonist is currently battling his addiction to alcohol. He approaches sobriety like it is his only job, which is very healthy and admirable.

Let's talk about the spice. It is spicy. I mean, it is pages and pages of sex scenes in excruciating detail. I've never hand second-hand embarrassment until reading this. The dirty talk was so cringy, I almost put the book down on more than one occasion. The dialogue in general felt very forced and unnatural, which is amplified times a million in the bedroom.

Other things you should know: Dash's family (his mom in particular) is very toxic. This toxicity is what drove him to drinking in the first place. Sophie's mom died earlier in her life, and Sophie carries this fear that she will let her mom down. This book also covers the topic of infertility as well.

I say this all the time when I am reviewing books. Just pick one thing and write about it! This book could have been about an author with writer's block who takes up with the hot neighbor. It could be a book about a girl who wants to find out why she can't have a lasting relationship so she reconnects with the flames of her past and documents it for social media. It could be about a new relationship trying to survive the hardships of sobriety. Instead, we have a spaghetti against the wall approach where none of it really sticks. The TikTok thing is present but not a huge part, the exs are present but not a huge part, hooking up the neighbor...you get the idea. There was just too much happening that at times it felt chaotic.

Thank you NetGalley for this digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

This one was very tropey and there was a few parts that were a bit cringey. Even i the first chapter the heroine was making me cringe with her actions and I had some second hand embarrassment.

This was a fun read. Really liked Richard the squirrel. The silliness that the characters found and brought out in each other was lovely.

I really wanted to love this book, but ultimately it was just ok for me. It had a good premise, but the execution felt disjointed, rushed in parts and too slow in others

What worked for me:
-Dash’s character and his sobriety journey. It felt authentic and meaningful, not like it was thrown in to be used as a plot device.
-Sophie’s character and her pansexuality. It was never presented as something she needed to explain to or excuse for anyone. It was a natural part of who she was, and in a time where inclusion can sometimes read like it’s simply a box being checked, that was really nice.

What didn’t work for me:
-The TikTok of it all. It always takes me out of the story I’m reading when any form of social media becomes a major part of it. Even the ‘viral’ video that was meant to be Sophie’s whole catalyst didn’t really matter, because there was no backlash from it. No one aside from her really cared much.
-The meetups with the exes. They all felt rushed and like they didn’t accomplish anything genuine for Sophie, with the exception of maybe Carla, though that whole attempt a reconciliation felt awkward as well.
-The romance between Dash and Sophie. I honestly believed they’d work better as friends. The romantic relationship felt very chaotic, whiplash-inducing, and as if they were each slotting the other in as a substitute for something else in their lives. It did feel strong at the end, but I didn’t feel a connection to any of it before that.

I really enjoyed For Butter or Worse, but sadly this follow-up didn’t work as well for me. It was a quick read, with some things I did enjoy, but I won’t be rushing to reread anytime soon.

title: Plot Twist

author: Erin La Rosa

publisher: Canary Street Press

publication date: November 14, 2023

pages: 336

peppers: 3 on this scale

warnings: alcoholism, vomit

summary: Sophie is a romance author who hasn't ever been in love and is stuck trying to figure out a happy ending for her second novel. Her landlord and best friend's brother Dash is a recovering alcoholic and secret potter who helps her TikTok her way through confrontations with her exes to figure out why she hasn't fallen in love.

tropes:

best friend's brother
grumpy-sunshine
author with writer's block
romance author
teen idol
famous family
what I liked:

both interesting characters
funny scenes
struggles both seemed real
fun use of social media
spicy peppers
what I didn’t like:

sister seemed clichéd
overall rating: 4 (leaning to 5 of 5 stars)