4 ✨

Tropes:

♡ Fake accidental marriage
♡ Second chance
♡ High school sweethearts
♡ Forced proximity
♡ City girl x small town guy
♡ One bed

This is my first Kristina Forest book and I loved it! I know this is the second book in her series about the three Greene sisters but since I never got around to reading the first one about Lily, I thought it wouldn’t matter if I just started with Violet first and then read Lily’s after and that turned out to be correct. Now I know things about The Neighbor Favor so I wasn’t complete in the dark when I started The Partner Plot and I’m so glad for that.

I love a good accidental marriage in Vegas story but this one took a different turn, in which Violet and Xavier were high school sweethearts and they actually didn’t get married for real, it was just pretend. But then when Violet, who’s a stylist for the stars, gets in an accident and hurts her foot, she moves back home to Willow Ridge and there she meets up with Xavier again. But they lie about being married for real to her parents, when Violet mentions in an interview that she married her high school hook sweetheart recently to get out of questions about her cheating ex-fiancé.

Everything about this book screamed second chance in the best way possible. Thea couple had a heart-wrenching breakup when they were young and they haven’t seen each other for almost a decade. They both also her big career plans, but only one of them reached them, so we also got the big city girl x small town boy trope which I also love.
Violet and Xavier were meant to be and it was just a matter of time before they found their way back to each other. It’s clear to see they only ever loved each other and any other people that came into their lives romantically were simply just replacements for one another. The love story in this book was very sweet and wholesome and I can’t wait to read Iris’ story.

Here’s the thing:

There are too many books and not enough time in the world. My ADD is outrageous, and if you can’t grip me in 2 chapters, I will lose the plot I fear. Now here we are still waiting for a review. Well, here is what I have right now. Even if I were to “choose not to review” it counts that ratio so let’s chat about it.

This was sadly a DNF for me. I could never get into the story. I’ve read others in the series but this one just lost my interest and couldn’t get back into it.

Is it too high fantasy? No. Did I dare dream of how book 1 was? Possibly. If I return I will provide additional updates and thoughts.

this was such a cute second chance, fake marriage of convenience type book. we get a dual pov, with a touch of a dual timeline showing stylist to the stars, Violet, and high school english teacher and assistant basketball coach, Xavier, as adults and their time together in high school. after a messy breakup in college, they reconnect many years later in vegas and wake up next to each other with wedding bands on and no recollection. they realize it was fake, but then violet gets asked questions about her awful ex during an interview and decided to say she ended up marrying her high school sweetheart, then the lie kept spiraling. it helped violet seem like she wasn’t bothered by anything her ex fiancé was doing, and it helped xavier show a potential boss that he could settle down. it was so lovely to see how it went from a fake marriage to them actually falling in love. it was done so beautifully and respectfully. i LOVED the scene of him taking care of her when she had food poisoning. the communication or lack thereof is one of the only reasons it didn’t hit a 5 star for me.

The Partner Plot by Kristina Forest is a second-chance, fake relationship romance with all the swoons.

Violet Greene and Xavier Wright were perfect together in high school. It’s almost love at first sight. The high school flashbacks so perfectly capture to dreamy optimism of teen years, with Violet’s plan to be a celebrity stylist and Xavier to be an NBA superstar. But what happens when only one person’s dreams comes true?

It’s been years since Violet and Xavier have seen each other but after a drunken fake marriage in Vegas leads to a fake relationship, they’re both left with some very real feelings. But the question becomes, can they make it work when their lives ending up being so different?

This book is fast-paced, romantic, and a perfect beach read! While this story does refer to the first book in the series, you could read it as a standalone as well. Plus, for those that don’t like it, there’s no third act breakup!

4.5/5

This was such a cute follow up to The Neighbor Favor! When I met Violet in TNF, I knew I would love her book and I was right! She’s such a strong FMC and I could relate to her a lot (people pleaser + burnout problems galore!).

Xavier is such a charming love interest! I love that he supports Violet and was always positively pushing her.

Their relationship was also very cute! I was never much for a second chance romance, but after this book, it really changed my mind! I love that they talked through their issues and that their love story very satisfying ending.

I can’t wait for more from Kristina Forest!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
This was a wonderful book and I'll be purchasing it for the library!

Short synopsis: After running into her high school sweet heart in Vegas (and pretend marrying him), Violet pretends to be married to him for a magazine article.

My thoughts: It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize this is interconnected with The Neighbor Favor (which I adored), but this one was just as good!

I loved watching Violet and Xavier’s relationship re-develop as they got to know each other again. I loved how they were both so willing to bend to allow each other into their already established lives.

This was so much more than just a romance story. I absolutely loved the inside look into Violet’s career as a celebrity stylist, and how hard she worked to get where she was. I also loved that even though Xavier wasn’t able to follow his dreams of playing in the NBA he still found a way to follow his passion by coaching basketball.

I cannot wait for Iris’s story next!

Read if you love:
- Second chance romance
- High school sweethearts
- Fake marriage
- More than a romance
- Interconnected series

(catching up on reviews) - I was so excited to get my hands on Forest's newest release The Partner Plot after LOVING The Neighbor Favor. I really liked both characters separately and their relationships with side characters, but I didn't totally love them together. I think it is just because I didn't have enough scenes of them just being a couple without all of the drama. Hoping there is another book coming because I still love how Forest writes her MCs

What a cute premise. Not just a fake marriage, but a legally real but pretending to be in love marriage. I always like when an author takes a tried and true trope and pokes it just a little. A second chance romance that shows how strong the pull is to our first loves.

I smiled and rooted for Violet and Xavier. This one was spot on for the rom(ance) and the com(edy). I always wonder how it will play out when I read a new to me author in a favorite genre, but this one was a winner. I felt their chemistry and believed their reasons to hesitate to try again.

I flew through this one as it was engaging and easy to read. I'll definitely pick up the author's next book.

I love this book and even though the series isn't complete yet... The Partner Plot is my favorite. Violet was just my type of girl, I also loved that she worked on fashion. It was just a fun well written character. Xavier is the typical make lead in Rom-Com. Written fine and shy with little to no arrogance. A former basketball player turned teacher he gives all the small town boyfriend vibes you could wish for.

Kristina Forest just knows how to write that swoony romance that has your feet kicking. She writes romance so beautifully that it feels like these characters are people in real life. It’s the perfect blend of romance and a bit of spice and it’s super endearing. I enjoyed this a lot!

I don’t typically like second chance romances, but this one worked so well for me! Maybe because of the marriage of convenience trope. It was so fun and I’m definitely going to read The Neighbor Favor asap.

I loved the dual POV and the communication between our FMC and MMC! The chemistry was great.

Thoroughly enjoyed this read! It was a great follow up to The Neighbor Favor. I look forward to the next one Forest releases!

This was a cute and cozy romance story with a small town vibe and city life! I love Xavier and Violet! I also love that we get a different profession of the fashion industry…how that hinders people from having a relationship or making a choice between career and love! Overall a great easy read! Will be reading the next book!

I was so excited to read Violet's story after reading the first book that featured her sister (The Neighbor Favor). This was a cool second chance romance. and man Xavier ... sounds FIIIINE lol. I really enjoyed reading this book! would recommend to ANY ROMANCE LOVER!

I absolutely adored The Partner Plot!

Kristina Forest has roots in YA, and it shows in the best way—the plot of this story was very well developed, and the characters have the polish that is typically reserved for YA romances. These characters feel so realistic and human and flawed and dynamic that even in their most tense moments I never grew tired of the story. I do think that the book could afford to be about 50-80 pages shorter, however the overall flow and pacing of the story was perfect.

I haven't read The Neighbor Favor, which is somewhat of a companion novel to this one, but I absolutely will be reading it very soon. Forest's ability to write characters who ride the ebbs and flows of life and take care not to intentionally harm others in the process is magical.

4.5 ⭐️s
2 🌶️

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

This was such a fun read! I loved the second chance vibes, and who doesn't love a marriage of convenience? Mostly I loved how different Vi and Xavier's lives were but how much they supported each other and loved each other anyway.

A fun back and forth between two high school exes. We get a story that starts in high school. Their beginning (which is adorable) and their banter. Then we fast forward to 10 years later where they had a bad ending and haven’t talked to each other in years. By a chance meeting, a hilarious fake wedding, and sparks that will fly and sizzle, we get to see their HEA!

I actually dnfed this right before the third act breakup. I wanted to like this so much because I loved the neighbor favor but this one just didn’t work for me. Also the whole time I kept thinking “I wouldn’t get back with my high school boyfriend even if there was a gun to my head” so yeah

I love second chance romances and this one definitely hit all the right notes for me. Violet and Xavier are high school sweethearts who find each other again in that unlikely of places, Las Vegas, and get married. I don’t love the “marriage of convenience” trope but I think the plotline worked well enough for this book.

There was plenty of chemistry between Violet and Xavier. I enjoyed the dual POV. And major bonus: no third act breakup! They were busy navigating their lives and communicating.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for this eARC. The Partner Plot is out now.