I was given a chance to read an arc this by Netgalley, Erin LA Rosa, and Harlequin Trade Publishing.

I was very into the beginning of this book. I thought I was really going to enjoy it but I hit a wall about 60-70% through the book where I felt it really lost steam. I enjoy a lot of the tropes in the book (ex, one bed) but I felt that the author put too many tropes in the book and had to rush to tie up all the loose ends of the book. Also, I understand the book was trying to be with the times using TikTok but it seemed unnecessary to reference it and use it so much.

Oh this was a good book. I mean GOOD. My heart felt so so full when realizing not only how good the writing was, but the building of the relationship (and how HEALTHY it was), the open communication over life drama, the TROPES, the inside jokes 😩

Things that I LOVED about this book:
🔸the one bed trope
🔹the best friend’s brother trope
🔸no third act breakup
🔹healthy communication
🔸the interactions with her exes (the “unfunny comedian” got me)

➖➖➖
Quote that made me laugh:

Dash felt inclined to say, “Don’t bring up tractors in front of Sophie. She has a Pavlovian response.” Sophie’s mouth quirked up in a smirk as she elbowed him. “Please don’t mention my kinks in front of company.”
➖➖➖

⁉️Honestly, if you are on the fence about reading this then I say go for it because it had a cute relationship, no third act breakup, no dumb miscommunication, and the writing was perfectly paced. READ IT.

📆The book’s published on November 14, 2023 so mark your calendars!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing this ARC!

Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa

The chemistry and tension between Sophie and Dash made this a page turner just like the first book about Sophie’s sister, Nina.

The heavier topics discussed were done very tactfully; addiction, self sabotage, chronic illness, as well as other topics such as: love (regardless the gender), difficult family, and loss, were all explained wonderfully. As a standalone book, “Plot Twist” was overall well done, however I recommend reading the first book in the series: “For Butter or Worse” to have a better grasp on the story, and especially the characters.

The author always nails the banter in their books; the sweet and spiciness of this book is filled in with meaningful, heartfelt parts, and the interactions between Sophie and Dash are the cutest. They both go through self discovery which was very relatable, even the returning bonus characters are an amusing group; I was happy to see them sprinkled in the storyline again.

I loved Dash and Sophie’s story, and I highly recommend this fun, fast read. Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a chance to read this. All reviews are my own, and I can’t wait to buy this in stores November 14th 2023; it’s the perfect heartwarming story for when the weather starts to become cold.

Tropes mentioned:
Addiction rep
Chronic illness rep
Dual pov
Falls for the landlord
One bed
Friends with benefits
Best friends brother
Ex movie star
Romance author
Pan sexual


*** this review will be posted Monday evening June 25th

I enjoyed the first book in this series so I had high hopes for this book and they were not met. The references where terrible and way to cliche. It’s overly tropey. To me it read as if someone had AI watch Booktok videos and then make something based off what was said. All the things people like with none of the plot, character development, or really any substance. Only finished this book so I could review it honestly and say I read every page.

Perhaps I was not intended audience for this book but I wasn't a huge fan. I think many readers will enjoy the story and the romance. It wasn't my thing.

Love love looooved this one, so happy to have been able to read it! I loved the banter between the characters and it was an all around feel good story

I am usually not so into books where the problem/conflict is evident from the very beginning of the book, but PLOT TWIST convinced me to continue on as I happily consumed my favorite tropes, fell in love with the incredible female friendships, and obviously, fell for the main characters too. This was such a wonderful little story that delved into heavy issues like alcoholism and trust issues, as well as complex family dynamics, in such a way that on the surface, it was just a small town romance, but under the surface, it was so much more. 10/10, beautiful writing, beautiful story, and beautifully written characters,

The prevailing thought/feeling I have about this book is "meh." Honestly, I did not care enough about any of it to form any particularly strong opinions. Dash and Sophie were meh characters. Their relationship was meh. The side characters were perhaps a little less than meh (I would have loved to have seen a little more development in Dash's siblings especially).

The only part of this book that registered as a little more than meh in my opinion was the portrayal of Dash's sobriety, which was fine. But really, that aspect was dragged down completely by the mediocrity of so much of the book. I didn't dislike this book, but I didn't enjoy it. 2.5/5.

I liked the very beginning of this book and then it kinda dwindled for me right around the middle point. It got a little repetitive and I lost interest. While I liked romance between Sophie and Dash, there was a real missed opportunity to let them stew in that mutual pinning a little bit more. Overall this a cute and spicy book but the story line was a bit dragged out and should've been more concise.

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

Plot Twist is about a romance writer who has never been in love and a former child actor struggling with staying sober. I thought the representation of alcoholism was accurate and tenderly depicted. It's so hard to write about a situation like that without it seeming like a way to just add drama. But I thought Dash's story felt authentic and warm. Sophie is a sweet character, if cringey at times. There were moments that the story felt a little unbelievable and some of the characters were over the top, but all in all this was a nice sweet & spicy read and I'd recommend it. Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc.

Erin La Rosa seems to be covering a lot of my favourite tropes in her books and I am not unhappy about it.

Dash is grumpy. And crafty. He has issues, and I love him so much. Seriously, so so much. He is a former actor, current crush of this reviewer and honestly, he and Sophie are amazing.

Sophie is a writer, so I can identify with that. And with writer’s block.

Dating your best friend’s brother though? Phew, she’s looking for trouble with that one, poor Sophie.

I had a real hard time putting down this book, needing to know what was going to happen with Sophie and Dash, and Nina, and all the rest.

Dash’s mother though? Ugh. I just could not with her. How someone could do what she did to her own son is absolutely despicable?

This book was a delight and a half.

This was a super sweet, sexy story that had me nonstop reading once I started. This was my first book from this author and it wont be the last one. I love that it has my favorite trope, grumpy x sunshine. I would recommend people that likes friends to lover romance and likes pop-culture references.

Thank you Netgalley and Canary Street Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

It's cute, it's spicy, and it dives into some complex topics. The tone is both cheesy and serious, and social media plays a huge role in the plot. The writing style is fun and the story is fast paced, it just wasn't really one of those books where I was desperately invested in the outcome, because I knew what was going to happen. It was pretty predictable. Tiktok was mentioned so many times I lost count, and that was kinda weird honestly. The investment in social media from Sophie was like, the level of investment in social media you expect from a 16 year old.

Overall, it was cute, just not my cup of tea.

This was such a sweet and sexy read! I nearly binged it within one sitting, and that’s a rarity! It gave off major romantic comedy movie vibes, which is why so loved this one a lot. I did enjoy the connection between Sophie and Dash, they were absolutely adorable together.

Book : Plot Twist
Author : Erin La Rosa
Pub Date: 14 Nov 2023

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The things that exited me and I loved so much about this book :
- Dual POV
- Just the right amount of spice
- A fun romance about a romance writing looking for romance herself
- The realism in the issues and problems within the book

When I was finally able to, I sat and read this book in one good sitting and couldn’t put it down. The storyline was great, I laughed a lot and I felt the emotion the characters were feeling. Please know that there are a few TW’s in this book of alcoholism and addiction.

This is definitely a pre-order/ready-to-buy book and it needs to be on your reading TBR. I can’t wait for the next book that this author puts out.

ARC BOOK REVIEW
🌸forbidden love
🌸bestfriend brother
🌸friends to lovers
🌸grumpy hero Sunshine Heroine
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice🌶️🌶️🌶️
This was such a cute rom-com fluffy book that you would want to cuddle up on the couch with some hot cocoa . I loved the characters development and that plot was so perfect and I loved the little twist that were there right from the jump I don’t think this book was missing anything. I would highly recommend this book to others.

I wanted to like this book. It sounds like a really cute rom-com but it fell insanely flat for me. First of all, I say DO NOT read this book if substance abuse is a trigger for you. I know Dash's sobriety is mentioned in the synopsis, but I didn't realize it was going to be such a major plot point, and although I don't personally struggle with sobriety, it's not something I care to read about.

I also really struggled to like both Dash and Sophie. Dash is extremely extremely boring - he does pottery, and makes candles, and wallows in his feelings. None of his decisions really make any sense and although I love crafting and hobbies, it just wasn't that exciting to read about in a romance lead.

And then there's Sophie. I really loved the idea of her meeting up with her ex's and documenting it, but there was very little to actually unpack here. Her meetings with her ex's were very short and boring and also badly documented. Realistically, I don't think Sophie would have any followers on this story of hers but hey, I'm not an influencer. Most of her meetings with them were over in minutes, and the only one that was actually interesting was never really looked into again. One of her ex's did something AWFUL, and when they couldn't get ahold of him to confront him about it, it was just never mentioned again?

There was also know real insight into why Sophie was closed off and had trust issues. I figured these would be explored more but again, pretty glossed over by the end.

And then there's the sex scenes...now I saw a review talking about how "spicy" this book is and I disagree entirely. Theres three scenes total, one that is relatively tame, one that is some weird grinding scene, and then the actual sex scene. I was so entirely uncomfortable reading this sex scene. The dialogue was awkward and the descriptions of what was happening was weirdly detailed. I have never skimmed a chapter of a book faster in my life. (fyi this isn't a prude thing okay, I read plenty of fantasy smut this was just weird) (but apparently my brain thinks dragon demons and humans getting it on isn't weird so take that how you will)

I also have learned of a very specific trope that I will no longer be reading, and that is the romance author as the romantic lead. They always get a book published, they always talk about overusing tropes and book boyfriends, and it just feels like such a self insert and I'm not down with it.

Romance novels also usually have the moment of major conflict that breaks up the characters and has you wondering if they can come back from it - and in this book I never would have guessed that our leads were mid to late 30's based on how this went down. I'm obviously not going to spoil the actual scenario but it was the equivalent of this:

"Wow I've only known you for about a month and you didn't tell me that you write book reviews for fun? How could you keep such a major part of your life from me? THE BETRAYAL! WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU BEEN LYING ABOUT?"

It was extremely childish and I had to physically get up and walk away from my kindle, I also scrolled back to the beginning to confirm that yes, Dash is written as a 36 year old man and not a 19 year old boy.

Overall, this book fell extremely flat for me, and is probably not a romance series or author I will pick up again.

I really enjoyed the plot of the story (romance writer who has never been in love falls for her landlord who happens to be her best friends brother). The story line was really enjoyable, and there was a spicy scene with a line that was just perfect. However, there were some instances where I thought the book could have been done better. Timing wise I thought the book was a little long and based on the story I expected to be further along than I was. Other than that it was a very enjoyable read.

I will add before I begin my review, that there is a companion novel written prior to "Plot Twist" that focuses on the romance of our main character's sister - the book is "For Butter or Worse". Throughout PT, I didn't feel super into the characters - they were well written but I wasn't very invested in their love story. I wonder if I had read the sister's story previously, if that would have impacted my feelings.

That being said, the book was spiiiiiiiicy, and that saved it for me. If you're looking for a quick read that's liable to make you blush, this is a good choice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.

I just couldn’t get into it. I can definitely see the appeal for others, but unfortunately it just wasn’t clicking for me.
This is not me saying I dislike this book, or think it’s bad at all, it’s just not for me.
I had a difficult time bonding with the characters, which in turn made it difficult for me to feel their chemistry. 3rd person writing has to be spectacular for me to love it.