The Plot Twist by Eleanor Goymer had such a fun premise, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. The idea of two authors swapping genres—one a rom-com writer, the other a crime novelist—sounded like the perfect setup for witty banter, hilarious mishaps, and maybe even some deeper exploration of creativity. Instead, it felt… predictable.

Allie and Martin, our two protagonists, are fine, but they never really felt fully developed. Allie is your typical quirky-but-stuck heroine, and Martin is the brooding, slightly grumpy love interest. Their chemistry felt forced at times, and while there were moments of charm, I never truly believed in their relationship. The genre-swap concept also ended up being more of a background detail than a driving force, which was disappointing.

The pacing was another issue. The middle of the book dragged, with too much focus on internal monologues and not enough actual tension or plot development. And the ending? Completely predictable. I don’t mind a familiar rom-com structure, but when you can see every plot point coming from a mile away, it takes the fun out of it.

Overall, I really wanted to like this book, but it felt like it was trying too hard to be clever without actually delivering anything fresh. If you love light, easy romances and don’t mind a very predictable storyline, you might still enjoy it. But for me, it just fell flat.

Thank you to One More Chapter, NetGalley and author Eleanor Goymer for this eARC

The premise of The Plot Twist sounded so great and I was super excited to read it. Unfortunately I didn't like it quite as much as I had hoped.
I loved the part of the story between Allie & Martin. I loved how their relationship developed and how they became so important to each other.

The romance between Allie and Will was fine. They had some cute moments, nothing earth shattering, but it felt like a real relationship could develop.

My main problem with this book was our MC, Allie, herself.
She is in her 30s but behaves, and makes decisions as if she is 15 years old and then just like a teenager doesn't take responsibility and blames everyone else.
She pretty annoying, obtuse and selfish. Sadly there was little character development so I could never really root for her.
3.75 stars because of the side characters though.

2.25 stars!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC!

Firstly, I want to say that it was a quick and sweet read. Secondly, that despite the title, there was absolutely zero plot twists. The plot was boring and predictable. Two main characters lacked chemistry, it felt like their relations was forced. To me, it felt like every relations in this book wasn't 'real'. It missed emotions and in the end that was the main thing that made me want to DNF it (I didn't).

The Plot Twist follows Allie, a romance writer as she navigates a writer's block while undergoing a breakup. Then, to make matters worse, her editor leaves the publishing company under suspicious circumstances.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I've been stuck in a bit of a reading slump, and this got me out of it. I enjoyed the friendships, particularly between Allie and Martin, another writer with a concerning bout of writer's block. That said, the romance was quite underdeveloped. There was a lot of potential there, but it felt a bit like the book gave so much to other aspects that the romance fell to the wayside and was a bit rushed.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Eleanor Goymer, and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Romcom author Allie crosses paths with a bestselling crime novelist Martin Clark at a party, they discover they both have really bad writer's block, overdue manuscripts and zero words to show to their editors.

As deadlines are quickly approaching, Allie and Martin decide to switch things up and tell each other’s stories. In the process, Allie not only gains a father-figure in Martin, but also meets the very handsome events caterer Will. Will he be the answer to the leading man-shaped hole in her life and her lack of spicy material? What could possibly go wrong?

A sweet and light hearted romcom. It was predictable at times, but I still really enjoyed it!

This was a simple, fun, easy and quick read. The perfect type of book for your holiday, beach, pool kind of read. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed, and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I'm sucker for a book about books and this is no different. I love the plot and characters but not so much the pacing, which felt slow from time to time.

I really enjoyed this book and the characters.!I’d recommend to anyone to read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC of The Plot Twist in exchange for an honest review.

On the surface, I loved everything about the premise for this book. A romance novelist who doesn't believe in happily ever after and has quite frankly given up on finding her happy ever after...who happens to possibly find the solution to her writers block and spicy storylines in the form of a handsome events caterer named Will...what's not to find intriguing there? This was set up to be an out of the park smash hit! Sadly, it just never got there for me for a couple of reasons.

First off, most of the book consisted of inner monologues from our main character, Allie, that drone on and on with so much self depravation I found myself wanting to just shake her because her character was a real buzz kill for most of this book. On top of being quite the negative Nancy, Allie also made so many outwardly stupid decisions (all while having the inner dialogue with herself that she knew said decision was wrong), but she just never seemed to learn her lesson and that was just annoying from a readers standpoint. It honestly got to the point where she had made so many dumb choices where I honestly didn't want Will to come back to her because this lady is a walking red flag on so many fronts!

Secondly, speaking of Will, despite Allie's sudden attraction to Will after a publishing party, her actual interactions with Will throughout the book are incredibly limited and in some places, non-existent. The reader has no real reason to believe that there is actually any basis for a connection here. There is only one brief glimpse into a real conversation between the two of them, but this is just before Allie confesses all of her massive screw ups that land her in hot water. Beyond that, we have no basis or building block to believe Allie suddenly believes in love and happily ever after again all because of some deep seeded connection with Will (which most certainly is not conveyed in the writing).

Despite things falling short with Will, I really did enjoy the companionship Allie has with her mentor writer, Martin. Martin is a much older author with the same publishing company who is also struggling to write his next best selling crime novel. Martin also happens to be experiencing some personal issues with his wife, and Allie and Martin make a deal to trade storylines and provide inspiration to each other to help get the other to their publishing finish line in time. Martin almost serves as a pseudo father figure for Allie, who lost her father several years ago and I find their connection and relationship rather endearing a wholesome.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The premise really was encouraging and I had very high hopes for where this would go, but in all honesty, it just fell flat for me. Will's character really did seem like a sweetheart from what little we learned about him and I wish I would have seen more interactions between Allie and Will. I'm not even upset that there was zero spice in this book! I was just expecting more of a compelling storyline to make up for the lack of romance. At least we'll always have Allie and Martin's adorable relationship to look back on fondly :) I have to give this one a 3.5 out of 5 rounding down for me.

This wasn’t for me - I think the idea had premise and the writing is actually good but it’s a book that is a story about romance writing with a very small romance sub plot

Mostly the characters annoyed me and therefore I couldn’t get into it much - but if your into fiction more than romance you may adore this

I was really excited to get the ARC for this book and I liked it. I thought the young romance writer / older crime writer dynamic was unique and adorable. The romance was sweet and the characters were generally likable.

If you're looking for a light, easy read, this could be a great book for you!

Eleanor Goymer you deserve a kiss on your forehead and I hope that your pillow is always cold on both sides! This was a very lovely book to read! It’s got everything! Banter! Romance! Adorable Characters ! A very entertaining book to read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins and One More Chapter for allowing me the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. 3/5 stars ⭐️

The novel “The Plot Twist” by Eleanor Goymer has a really fun plotline. Allie, the FMC, is stuck. She is stuck in her relationship and stuck with her writing until she meets Martin an older author who is in a similar situation with his marriage as well as his writing career. Soon Allie finds herself dumped, seeing someone new and working with Martin to inspire each other’s writing in their respective genres. Plot twist though, the main character, Allie, is seeing someone whose name is Will and happens to be Martin’s son. This shouldn’t be a problem except Allie decides to keep her link to both men a secret.

I really loved Will as a character as well as Martin and Angie. With regard to Allie, I liked her as a person and as a writer but some of her decisions and the way she treated people at times was not my favourite parts to read. I found the chemistry between Will and Allie was steamy but I also found we didn’t get enough relationship building for these two within the plot. I loved the secondary relationship/friendship that developed between Martin and Allie as well of the subplot of corruption in the publishing industry. What I did find was because of these interesting plot lines the romance became an after thought at times. There was a lot of third act breaking up and miscommunication as well but it was handled fairly well. The plot line and character development alone was enough to have me giving it 4 stars and if we would have had more of Allie and Will’s relationship it could have easily been a 5 star read for me.

Allie and Martin are both authors who decide to switch which kinds of books they write. Allie (a romcom author) switches to writing crime novel, while Martin (a crime novelist) takes a turn at writing romance. While the book and plot was pretty predictable, the story and the romance was still pretty sweet. I didn’t really connect with the FMC, but that doesn’t mean other people won’t.

A very special thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and One More Chapter for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️ 2/5

"This love story is a work in progress." ..... anddd it is still a work in progress, unfortunately.

This felt like it was going to be a really good read, but then the pacing kicked into its own gears, and I was left feeling emotionally empty.

Why?
I am so glad you asked:

👉 It felt like I was expected to be emotionally invested at certain points, but I just wasn't because the author didn't spend enough time or dialogue to build up that chemistry and tension between the characters. This wasn't a romance story. It was just simply a story where two people meet and become good friends.
👉 The FMC was annoying to read and had me believing that the reason she was single was because of how dumb her reasoning skills are.

But, it wasn't all bad, I guess.
🫠 It held enough intrigue that I was able to finish it.
🥲 The cover was nice.
😊 The premise had promise.

Overall, some romance readers who read fast and aren't bothered by much will most likely enjoy this. It wasn't for me, though.

A romance book about a romance author? Sign me up!

If you're after a clever and captivating read, check out THE PLOT TWIST by Eleanor Goymer. The writing style is sharp and characters fully fleshed out. I loved the twists and turns of the story and the pacing was consistent throughout.

I found all the characters relatable and likeable, and found the setting of a publishing industry enjoyable.

I loved how cosy and full of light this story was - check it out!

Thanks to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC! Opinions are my own

‘The Plot Twist’ by Eleanor Goymer is one of my favourite specific tropes - romance author desperately seeking inspiration from their own unsatisfying love life and eventually finding the one… but brings a fresh flavour by introducing inspiration and lust as two separate people.

Author Allie is facing writers’ block and a looming deadline emphasised by her awful new editor when she meets two men at a party - elderly crime author Martin who becomes her writing buddy and sexy waiter Will who might just be the man of her dreams. The book charts Allie’s journey as she chases happiness and works to finish her novel, facing a few unexpected plot twists along the way!

The three main characters were really likeable, and I found Allie particularly relatable. I also really enjoyed the publishing industry setting and loved the compelling workplace drama. A few events were unpredictable and this book felt quite unique.

The writing style itself was quite speech-heavy and I felt that the pacing was quite slow… the characters (and the burning need to see just desserts for the villain of the piece) kept me reading, but I think it could have been snappier.

This gets three stars from me. If you love books about authors, contemporary romance and interesting characters, this is worth a read! It felt lighthearted and cosy and put a smile on my face. It’s my second book from this author and I would pick up another (especially if the cover is as beautiful!)

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

this one...unfortunately fell flat to me. gosh i wanted to love this book SO much more. the premise, the characters, i was so intrigued by the synopsis and fun cover. gave me "book lovers" by emily henry very quickly just looking at it, so obviously, i was EXCITED to read this.

BUT thats where the comparison stopped. the characters had very little chemistry and honestly very little romance to even show any chemistry. they just never seemed to work, so their relationship just seemed off to me, almost like i was waiting for them to break up and find other people to truly be happy in the end.. allie was also somewhat irritating and very childlike in a lot of ways for me.

the romance, plot and scenes sometimes were just weird for me...the pacing just wasnt right. i feel like this book had such high potential and just missed it on a lot of marks. it had moments i really loved and the found family trope / theme in the book was what really brought the rating up for me, i felt that was beautifully done.

thank you avon books for the arc.

Undecided between 2.5 and 3 ⭐ because I feel cheated on the romance aspect.
It's written really beautifully and the story is well- developed but for a romance book, there are very few really romantic parts. It feels like most of them are skipped over or just summed up in a few sentences.
On the other end, the mentorship plotline has a lot of space here and it feels like the author liked it better than the romantic one so maybe the story should have focused only on the former. Not all books to be appreciated nowadays have to incorporate a romantic pair: the found family trope is there for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Thank you One More Chapter and NetGalley for this eARC.

Some of the things that drew me to this book were the plot blurb that I read before requesting and cover. Unfortunately, this book did not live up to my expectations. My favorite part of the book was the relationship between the FMC and Martin as they related to one another over their shared love of developing stories. The romance was not it for me. I wanted more of the MMC, Will.
If you are looking for a predictable, surface romance, this may be the book for you.

2/5 stars