4.5 stars - I enjoyed this story so so much. Sophie is a really lovely FMC, she’s flawed but those flaws don’t get in the way of her being relatable. Dash is kind and supportive and even though he struggles with his own issues, he is trying to figure out how to do what’s best. I didn’t want to put this book down! I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy the whole “former teen-heartthrob thing” but it was actually way more down to earth than I expected it to be. I also really loved the way the author was able to present the topic of addiction without the character coming off as “I’m so damaged and dark” and instead being more, “I’m flawed and I don’t know how to be okay with that”. This was a really lovely story and I definitely am going to read more from this author!

ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this read. The characters were fun but realistic. The story flowed very naturally. The romance felt sincere and the alcoholism was handled very deftly, in my opinion. The romance was a little spicier than my normal read but it was well written and still worked for me. The whole thing lightened up a weekend that was difficult for me.

This is a fun romcom with a bit more depth than you might at first imagine. And that is a good thing! Romance author Sophie, suffering from writers block, realizes she has never fallen in love. She needs to take a real look at herself and figure out why that has never happened. She does this in part by meeting up with her ex’s to see what went wrong. And she TikToks about it. Fun stuff as well as heavy stuff.

Talk about deep stuff- then there’s her landlord, dreamy ex-heartthrob Dash. He has some serious secrets of his own to deal with but is very attracted to Sophie. Since neither can really commit while they tackle their own demons we get to go on their sometimes hilarious sometimes complex HEA journey.
Sophie and Dash are very well crafted, multi-dimensional people. They are real- so we can get to know them and root for them. They struggle and they make us laugh and they have some really nice hot sexy times as they make their way to their HEA!

If alcoholism/addiction is a trigger for you you might want to skip this. Otherwise buckle up for a really satisfying and amusing (and hot!) ride.

Book CWs: Alcoholism, addiction, emotionally/verbally abusive parent

Quick disclaimer, I didn't realize that this was technically the follow up to "For Butter Or Worse", starring a different Lyon sister, so I'm going to skip over what I thought was just a lack of development and introduction to Jasmine and Nina. Oops.

Plot Twist was a fun romance, but there were definitely certain aspects that I didn't enjoy. In fact, I almost DNFed at the 4% mark, but I'm glad I didn't. I really liked both Sophie and Dash, they complimented and supported one another quite well. Their romance felt a little clunky the first few chapters (thought to be honest, the whole of those chapters were awkward and a bit forced), but once things got going, I enjoyed it. 
There were some things that either grossed me out or were so out of place that I feel like I should mention them though, because I considered DNFing because of them. The first, is the start of the book. It's messy at best, and once Dash took his puke covered shirt off and <i>folded it into his pants pocket</i>. That was so gross I literally almost stopped reading there. There were also lines that didn't make very much sense or were also just gross, such as Dash sniffing her to get a whiff of Sophie's scent underneath the scent of vodka, fried chicken and vomit. Another was Sophie apologizing for talking too much, immediately after saying only two sentences and not speaking all that much previously. <spoiler> Later on there's a scene where they have sex on the lawn, which is all well and good, but the entire book keeps talking about how Dash can't have negative press because of his and his family's fame. It was such a dumb move on their part that it really pulled me out of the story.</spoiler>

Overall, Plot Twist is fun if you're willing to overlook some things, with a story of loving one another flaws and all.

This review will be published on Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The latter two will be shared once the novel is out November 14 2023.

⭐️ 4 stars ⭐️
This book was so good! It transports you to the world of an author who can't find the right finish to her romance novel. After a video of her drunk and claiming she's never been in love goes viral, she goes on on a mission to reunite with her exes and ask them where she went wrong. Along the way, she falls in love with Dash, the son of some Hollywood favorites! It was amazing and I like how it incorporated Dash dealing with alcoholism. Overall all the characters were pretty wholesome (except for Kitty 🙄) and it was a chill, quick read.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoyed November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Is there something you’ve said or done on social media that you wish you could take back? This is an affirmative for Sophie Lyon, a one-hit-wonder romance novelist who is suffering from major writer’s block for her second book. On a drunken night out at the karaoke bar, Sophie announces that she has never been in love and that love isn’t real. Of course, a video of this goes viral!

But when life gives you lemons, why not make lemonade? Dash (her bestie’s brother who Sophie’s had a mild crush on since childhood) checks in on her the next day and suggests that she make a response video. Sophie tells her followers that she is going to meet her exes and find out why they didn’t fall in love, all while trying to finish her book before her deadline. Alongside Sophie’s journey, Dash is trying to maintain his sobriety, form his own identity apart from his family’s expectations of fame, and become a better person. Sophie and Dash are flawed individuals, but are they ready to give and receive love?

This is a pretty cute romance novel with some feel-good, self-actualization parts. I gravitate towards sweet romance novels for my palate cleansers (and oddly for like 90% of my @NetGalley ARC requests…), so it definitely did the trick in being a fun, mindless read. However, it’s probably not my favorite romance read to date. I can’t really put my finger on why, but it’s just the overall impression I got as I was reading it. Maybe it was a little too modern (idk why I have an aversion to anything social media related in books) or felt a little too fast/unresolved? Although it may not have been my favorite read, it’s still a great book to check out if you’re into the friends-to-lovers/HEA trope.

Thank you to Netgalley for this e-ARC. What an incredibly sweet story. I loved both the characters, but especially Dash. Dash is the ultimate cinnamon roll, and I just love him.

This story does feature alcoholism, rehab, and recovery, so keep in mind if that might be triggering.

DNF @ 15%

Generally, I try to give books 75-100 pages to suck me in before I consider a DNF (which is not very often, but sometimes necessary). There wasn’t anything inherently “wrong” with the concept or execution of this novel, but here are the things that didn’t work well:
-throwing up on the MMC in the intro scene (yikes, can we give a trigger warning for those with emetophobia?)
-contemporary romances are supposed to include contemporary elements (e.g. social media) but the overwhelm of using TikTok as a plot point just wasn’t for me
-I wasn’t a huge fan of the dialogue. It felt messy and cringy.

I’m glad to see that others are loving this on Goodreads! I’m sad that it wasn’t for me but hope that it finds its audience!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this, the MMC and FMC each had their own flaws that they were actively working through throughout the book before they could be ready for each other and that’s what made their HEA even sweeter.

I loved the LGBTQ+ representation in this book, especially with Sophie being pan and actively dating partners with different gender identities, I haven’t seen that in many books and I really enjoyed seeing it!

I also really appreciated the authors portrayal of addiction issues and sobriety, it’s not linear and i often find that authors forget about that or don’t touch on how relapses can occur and how they not only affect the addict but the people around them.

I highly recommend checking trigger warning before reading this but i would gladly recommend to all my friends!

luv and kisses <3

Cutesy read! I feel as though my thoughts and feelings about this book are what has been shared thus far, but I'm still gonna share them. Overall, this was a super cute read. It did however feel super tropey, but I get that that can happen with this type of book. I wish there was more pining between our two leads before they fully got together, but it was still nice to see all that chemistry.

3.6
Perfectly readable, but I would have liked more of the build up phase and less of the back and forth kind of floundering phase. I also could have used a bit more insight into Sophie's writing.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for allowing me to review an ARC of Plot Twist!

Sophia, our main girl and romance author who surprisingly has never been in love, goes on a self-journey to figure out why she has never been able to fall in love with any of her past exes, thinking this will drag her out of her writing slump. With only a few weeks to go till her deadline, she turns to TikTok to document her journey as she meets up with each of her exes. Along the way her landlord and best friend's brother Dash gets thrown into the mix, who knows maybe he will be the one that will help her out of her slump. ;)

I read this novel in one sitting I could not put it down! I would give this book a solid 3.5 / 5 stars, the main reason I had to put the star rating down a bit was because of how HUGE a part TikTok played in this story. It is a personal ick of mine when I see super modern pop culture references in a novel, I feel as though it takes me out of the book itself and reminds me I'm just reading on my couch. After a while, it became a fun part of the plot to see the author use comments and her filming of these videos to further the plot. I also was not a super big fan of her best friend Poppy. I feel as though she was that best friend who was there but also was not there, in the end, she did turn and become supportive.

I really did like the way the book dealt with the process an alcoholic goes through as they are trying to stay sober. Our main male character Dash is a previous alcoholic so please take that as a trigger warning just in case this subject bothers you. On that note, I think the author presented it in a really good way in which to be respectful to the community adding in aspects such as eating sweets to curb the craving or going to AA meetings and having your supporters.
The family issues each character dealt with were also refreshing and realistic in a way, yes these characters are actors and famous in LA but realistic in a way that Dash and Sophie are not perfect in any sense.

P.S LOVED the Bi character representation in Sohpie

Thank you again to the author and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC I would absolutely suggest this to anyone who is interested in modern romance novels that include some aspects of everyday struggles, family acceptance , personal/mental struggles and some smut thrown in of course ;)

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Wow, really enjoyed this story and how vulnerable the characters were in this romance.
I really enjoyed how Dash and Sophie were both on their own journey of self discovery.
Dash such a gentle, sweet lead male. Love that he was always so considerate to people and how they were feeling. I identify with his character keeping things to himself not to burden others as I am definitely that type so I was really rooting for him and his sobriety throughout the story but hoped he would eventually share his struggles with the people he loves. Chris bring his loyal best friend was a great addition with Luna.
Sophie had a lot of growing through this story and was so unaware of how she treated others. She wasn’t a cruel person but was young and didn’t know how to deal with hard situations. I really enjoyed her character arc and how she was willing to put in the work to figure out what she needed to do to change.
Loved this quote: “…I fell in love with you slowly, but I plan to keep loving you fiercely.” So romantic and I actually really liked that Sophie didn’t just jump into saying it back to him. It was a realistic version of what can happen in relationships and that she just needed more time. But like Chris said she shares her love through action. The end grand gesture was just the icing on the cake! Just absolutely loved again how realistic a lot of the scenarios in the book are to how we all feel and react in real life. Sometimes romance books can get too unrealistic and people completely throw away their moral compass once they fall in love but the author does a great job in this story to keeping it authentic to real life. Also can’t forget this swoony quote: “I couldn’t help but run. I’ll always run toward you from now on.”
I will be posting this review to my Goodreads page on February 27,2023 (link included) and will repost my review on Amazon.ca when the book becomes available on November 14, 2023. I will update my review with the link to Amazon when posted.

Erin La Rosa’s debut, For Butter or Worse, was one of my favorite books of 2022, so I was excited to get an ARC of her next release. Plot Twist features Sophie, the romance writer sister of Nina, the heroine of For Butter or Worse.

Sophie and Dash had a cute and very steamy romance I enjoyed. This book is chock-full of romance tropes — forced proximity! Grumpy/sunshine! Best friend’s brother! Only one bed! — that I found delightful. I also liked that Sophie’s story showed what a struggle writing can be sometimes.

This book seems light based on the blurb and cover, but it deals with some heavy themes. Dash has a lot of issues with his Hollywood-royalty family, and he’s in recovery for alcoholism. His sobriety is a major part of the story, especially in the last 20% or so of the book. I’d suggest taking care while reading if these are difficult topics for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved this book. Just delightful characters with real issues that are handled with grace and sensitivity and very hot sex:) Totally enjoyable and heartwarming.

3.5/4 stars. A very cute romance with wonderful little banter. I appreciated the way the author approached alcoholism and the route Sophie took to better understand herself (and capturing it on TikTok) was fun.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled with giving this book a rating because it’s not a bad book, it just wasn’t for me, which was disappointing because I was so looking forward to this one based on the description.

A romance writer who’s never been in love starts a thing with her best friend’s brother (love the trope) with secret struggles of his own.

What I loved most about this book was Dash’s character. I found myself truly invested in his story and really wanting the best for him. I even appreciated the supporting cast of characters and what they brought to the story.

I had a harder time caring for Sophie. Compared to what Dash was going through, her issues seemed so small (and to be honest, a little silly). The first few chapters were a little too trope-y and obvious, and I wanted more tension & history between Dash and Sophie leading up to their current situation and attraction. It felt rushed and very sudden, so I feel there was a missed opportunity to built it up so that when they did get together, it would have been a bit more satisfying.

I enjoyed the beginning of the story but then everything started to feel repetitive once you done with visiting the second ex. I wasn't invested in the love interested Dash and Sophie, I felt as though they would work as friends w/o the benefits. I was interested in the idea of Sophie going to see her exes to figure out why she hasn't fallen in love, but started to lose interest fast, probably due to the whole TikTok piece. Dash seems like a nice guy, I felt as though he was written younger that what his characters actual age is. I am a person who enjoys characters interaction but each character that was presented felt kind of flat. I didn't really care about anyone which also includes the love interest.
.
What I liked:
- The concept of the Plot Twist
- Sophie is pansexual
- How supportive both Dash & Sophie are of each other
- Relatable struggles from Dash & Sophie

DNF at 57%, I might give it a reread later this year.

After reading La Rosa’s first book, I had high hopes for this one…and it didn’t disappoint! From the first chapter, I was falling-out-of-my-chair laughing! I love that there are Easter eggs from Nina’s story (the reminder of a certain peacock scene made me chuckle). I love La Rosa’s humor, but also that she tackles some heavier themes like sobriety. 5/5

this is what i get for judging a book by it's cover. i thought i was going to enjoy this a whole lot more than i did. i found the beginning enjoyable but the more that it went on the more i lost interest but at the point i had already read enough to finish the book. it felt repetitive and i dont see why it's called plot twist??

thank you to netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review