The Partner Plot is such a fun time!

Violet and Xavier were high school sweethearts who planned to stay together forever. When something unexpected happens their sophomore year of college, Xavier breaks up with Violet and they haven't seen each other since... until now. A random run-in at a Vegas hotel, a drunken night out, and a possibly real marriage means these two are up to their old antics. Now, they need to figure out what happens when they go back to reality.

This book was so much fun. Violet and Xavier are both such big personalities and I loved getting to know them over the course of the novel. Their chemistry is off the charts, and the flashbacks to the past let the reader know it's always been that way!

A great book to start 2024 off with! Looking forward to Iris's book :)

This book was cute! I thought that the marriage of convenience could have been a little bit more convincing honestly, but I still think that Violet and Xavier were a cute couple. The miscommunication trope didn’t really come into play with this story which I love because that is hands down my least favorite trope. We love a couple that will actually talk to one another!

I thought that the discussions around Violet’s intense work life and schedule was so interesting and I loved that we got that inside scoop on what she did for work. Made me wish I was a bit more of a fashionista myself honestly… As I sit here in my leggings and oversized hoodie.

Anyways, this one was cute. I loved watching Xavier and Violet fall back into love and thought that they were both mature while also still struggling to not fall back into their teen selves. The tension was done really well! Make sure to check this one out in February once it’s released!

Closed Door Mods: Chapter 19 & 22

Thank you to @berkleypub for this advanced reader copy! 🫶

A fashionista and an almost famous basketball player walk out of high school madly in love... It seems like a tale as old as time when the two most popular kids in high school are in love right? They're dramatic, full of promise, and massive life aspirations!

But reality smacks us all in the face, and when it hits our protagonists, Violet and Xavier, it hits them hard. Your first love rarely survives anything. I don't know many people who have actually married the first person they dated.. and maybe that's cynical because we know and see those stories on the news - but we all hope we're going to be the exceptions, not the rule!?

What I love about 'The Partner Plot' is that the characters are adults without illusions about how the world works. They've grown past the point of innocent childhood love.. and maybe they just need to pull back from the pessimism a bit to find true happiness? They're not running headfirst into silly situations with miscommunication peeking around the corner of every conversation. They're pragmatic about their places in the world... and yet we still get our happy-ever-after ending!!

NOTES:
- BIPOC Literature / Contemporary Romance
- Childhood friends to lovers to enemies and back to friends and lovers again!

**Thank you to Berkley Romance & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

This book was amazing, I couldn’t put it down. I was so invested in Violet and Xavier’s love story, from them being high school sweethearts to adults! Violet was all about fashion pretty much her entire life and had a booming and successful career eventually, but at what cost did that come at? I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I recommend it to anyone looking for a light hearted fun read. I finished this book fairly quick as well so it’s not a super long read either! Thanks for writing this book Kristina Forest!

Loved this book. I've been of fan of Kristina Forest and loved Neighbor Favor. So I was really excited to read this book. It's really a face paced read and it we really liked the chemistry between the two main characters. Also, it was fun to see some of the characters from the previous story. I can't wait for the next book and was excited to get a glimpse of the new book at the end of the story.

The Partner Plot is a follow up to the neighbor favor about another one of the Greene sisters! The premise with the second chance romance and the fake marriage was done so well. It was light and humorous. We loved the dynamic between the two main characters. They were end game, and the reader will find themselves rooting for them throughout the whole story. We can't wait for the next one in the series to release!

This book was really fun- so many good tropes that felt well done- second chance romance, fake marriage, forced proximity. It was also really great to see how the characters had grown and matured since they dated in high school. Also fun to see characters from the first book in this series

I enjoyed the plot of two former high school sweethearts leaving their small town for college and developing other lives apart from each other, but eventually meeting and getting together again in a most unusual way.

There are tropes in this rom com that seem familiar. but the plot develops different angles that kept me interested and reading. The tangents are not totally predictable plot devices, except for the ending, of course.

The cover had me wondering about the marriage in Las Vegas, but the story line goes another tantalizing way.

An enjoyable read. I nevertheless wondered about the play by play details of the school basketball winning game and whether it would be interesing only for basketball fans.

The Partner Plot was such a quick and fun read. I’ve read many fake relationship books, but this is the first fake marriage that I’ve come across and I loved it! I also love how well the second chance romance plot of the book was written. This book kept me turning pages as we learned about Violet and Xavier’s history and rekindled flame. I truly appreciate how well they communicated throughout the book. I feel like we don’t get to see that often. Their communication, hesitations and conversations about their careers made the characters easy to relate to

Thanks Netgallery and Berkley romance for the ARC of The Partner Plot in exchange of an honest review.

“There were multiple iterations of their love. Violet and Xavier then…Maybe Violet and Xavier now?”

Plot summary:

10 years after their heartbreaking break up, Violet and Xavier found each other again a night in Las Vegas. One thing led to another, and they woke up with not only a severe hangover, but with wedding rings on their fingers. They soon find out that "being married" could benefit them both, so why not pretend for a little bit. But with both being each other’s true love, will those feelings come back? Will they take a chance on their relationship now that they live both very different lives?

Read if you like:
- High School Sweethearts
- Second chance romance
- Marriage of Convenience
- SLOW BURN
- No third act break up.

Review:

I want to start by saying that I absolutely LOVED this book, for many reasons. First, I read The Neighbor Favor last year, and while I liked it, I wasn’t completely sold. I was hesitant to request this ARC but since I liked Violet’s character in the previous book, I requested it. I AM SO GLAD I DID. This book is such an improvement from the previous one (again, not saying that The Neighbor Favor was bad, it was just not my favorite). Kristina Forest’s writing had matured so much, and the way the story was told, the banter and the moments of pining are just so good in this one. I loved how even though the story was a second chance romance there wasn’t too many flashbacks to their relationship before their breakup, but just enough to understand as a reader where they were at the time, they ended things. Both characters proved they have grown so much, and that they have learned from their mistakes. I adored Violet, how real and determined she was, and Xavier was just such a great mmc. They both were just meant to be, and I felt that through the story.

One thing I do want to note, just because I feel this could be something people don’t particularly like, is their conflict. There might be slight spoilers ahead so beware. Their conflict stemmed out of a very REAL fear. Look, I can't judge Violet and the way she handled the conflict or say, "but she is an adult she needs to communicate”, because after heartbreak, true painful heartbreak, it’s not easy to trust again, it’s more than natural to fear again. It’s not an easy thing to do. Violet needed someone like Xavier, to not only prove that everything would be okay, but to be there to lean on, and he did exactly that. He never tried to justify the past, rather he said he was sorry, he learned from his mistakes and gave her all the reassurance that this time around, they were going to make it. Which is why I love how this story developed, it’s a slow burn but it feels realistic. SURE, the whole "fake marriage thing" is part of the tropes that starts up the plot but them as a couple, and them giving another chance to the relationship that changed their lives when they were kids, feels authentic and beautifully real.

All and all, I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to see Iris’s story in the next one!

The Partner Plot is my first book by author Kristina Forest.

Violet Greene is a celebrity stylist and fashion is her life. After a messy public breakup, she’s focused on her career and trying to ignore that her personal life is in shambles. That is until she runs into her childhood sweetheart, Xavier Wright.

This was a second chance romance that many readers will enjoy. I liked Violet and Xavier, however I felt like there was a lack of connection and romance between the two of them.
I felt like the book focused a lot more on the careers and the failures of the two characters, instead of the characters falling in love for the second time.

Perfect follow up to The Neighbor Favor. I love fake marriages/dating and this one hit all the right notes, and ones that I also wasn't expecting

This was a cute and realistic rom com. The banter she second chance was understandable and made sense based on the characters. I like that there weren’t many flashback scenes and just a lot of development of the second chance friendship/relationship. The only thing I wasn’t in to was how the relationship conflict was resolved. It’s not a big deal but I felt like problems weren’t addressed and going forward they might still have the same issues. Overall I liked the writing and thought the romance was nice. Thanks to the publisher for this arc for an honest review

Read if you like:
- Second chance romance
- High school loves
- Vegas wedding
- Fake marriage
- Bipoc characters

This book fell really short for me to be totally honest. It was hard for me to believe that the characters were actually falling in love again because it moved so quickly and a lot of that growth seemed to happen off page. I enjoy the idea of second-chance romance and all that jazz, but it just wasn't believable for me in this book.

The Partner Plot was a decent read. Although there were parts of the book that felt slow, the characters made it worthwhile. I liked Violet and Xavier's character arcs and growth. It was nice to see a couple that communicated with one another. I liked how realistic and mature Violet and Xavier were. I did think there could have been a few more scenes of Violet and Xavier rekindling their relationship. I would have liked to see more scenes of them getting to know each other again. The side characters were fun and the author set up the next couple's story nicely. I was not aware The Partner Plot was part of a series. Forest did a good job of summarizing what happened with the couple in the first book. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed reading this book, as it had a more adult romance feel than the neighbor favor di. Kristina adds some spice to the story, and it's clear from the start that the characters are adults and are Black.

Xavier's life hasn't gone as planned, and he feels like he's not good enough. He's struggling to find his place in the world, and as someone who also became a teacher because it was the only option available, I can relate to him. I felt for Xavier and was hoping he could overcome those insecurities.

I always love it when I can connect with the characters in a book.

The storyline felt realistic. I also liked the way the author gave us a male main character with dealing with insecurities.

Violet and Xavier were adorable together, even though I'm not usually a fan of second chance romances. They were made for each other, and I was rooting for them to be together forever. Despite all the stress and worries they faced, they found a way to be happy and live life on their own terms.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I'm looking forward to reading Iris’ book.

4.25⭐️

I want to thank Netgalley and Berkeley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Hmm I'm not sure how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I love Kristina Forest's writing and for the most part I really enjoyed reading this book. On the other hand, I didn't feel as in love with these two as I expected to feel.

Second-chance romance is reallyyyy hard to pull off. I liked how this book didn't have a bunch of miscommunication (in the present-day) and that the two characters worked hard (for the most part) to make their relationship work once they committed to being together. But I also didn't feel connected to them and felt like often it was more telling than showing. I loved that Violet was such a career woman, but at the same time, it felt like her career ALWAYS came first before everyone and everything in her life til the very end. We don't really see her making an effort for any of the relationships in her life until the epilogue and I would've much preferred more moments of her making an effort to meet people half way throughout the book. Also, any conflict that was presented in the book would just be solved shortly after and talked about as almost an after thought.

I enjoyed how cute and anti-drama and angst this was for the most part but sadly it didn't quite meet my expectations. Nonetheless, I'll always love Kristina Forest's books and will check out future books by her (probably not Iris's book though, sorry lol).

Absolutely enjoyed this book. I appreciated a rekindled relationship as well as the ups and downs in between. There’s something about finding your way back to each other after so much life in between. I laughed and I teared up, so I’d say it was well worth the read. I’m looking for to reading more about Iris next!!

I read more romance in the winter than any other time of the year because I need light, happy reads when the outside is gloomy and cold. The Partner Plot was a great fluffy read! I always wanted to be a stylist when I grew up, but similar to Violet’s mom, my own never took it seriously and it wasn’t a feasible career path for me. That being said I LOVED reading about Violet’s life as a celebrity stylist because I have a love of fashion to this day.

One thing I didn’t like was the constant name dropping of Violet’s clothes and shoes. I understand why it was done given her career, but we don’t always need to know what brand she’s wearing. There were some parts of the book where I thought it made sense and others where it seemed like an unnecessary detail that distracted me.

One big thing I appreciated was the lack of miscommunication. It would have been really easy for the author to drop that trope in. Instead she showcased a couple working really hard to communicate with each other and working through issues. Violet and Xavier aren’t perfect people, but they work through their individual insecurities to make their relationship work. You can really feel the love between them throughout the entire book! Overall, highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Romance for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 💞

Who knew fashion and basketball make such a great pair?! Meet Violet, the fashionista and Xavier, the popular athlete with NBA dreams. These inseparable high school sweethearts share an uninhibited love and ambitious career aspirations but can their high school hopes sustain their adult realities? Years later when their paths cross during a night in Vegas, the high school versions of themselves inevitably resurface but unlike the saying, what happens in Vegas in The Partner Plot, does not stay in Vegas! Reading Violet’s and Xavier’s love story was nostalgic and reminiscent of a puppy love we can all relate to and the juxtaposition of that naive love with adult growth, perspectives, responsibilities, and consequences was realistic and made the storyline well rounded. The Partner Plot is a five star fun and romantic read with layered themes of strained family dynamics, work life balance, and reconciliation.