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.

I really loved the premise of this book. Following Violet and Xavier in a second chance romance where they end up married after reconnecting with each other, former high school lovers, in Vegas. While I enjoyed the characters, many of the moments of dialogue and banter, there were elements to this that fell a little bit short me. I wish we focused a little more on developing their connections versus chronically what was going on in their lives professionally and personally. At times the small town plot felt overall a little bit unrealistic. On a more positive note, I do think there was an element of humor and light heartedness we see throughout the book that went a long way in my enjoyment. This book felt like a rom-com which I can always appreciate. Overall, not a favorite but would recommend for the right reader.

A celebrity stylist reconnects with an old flame in Vegas and drunkenly get married. Will lasting sparks alight?

(3.5 Stars!)
A fun twist on the "woke up in Vegas married" trope!

When celebrity stylist, Violet Greene, runs into her old high school sweetheart, Xavier, in a Sin City so far removed from their small town on the East coast, the last she expects is for the night to end in matrimony. And when both of them realize how beneficial this union is for their careers and that old habits die hard....well, sparks fly!

Having loved Forest's previous work The Neighbor Favor, I was SO excited for The Partner Plot.

Although I still prefer The Neighbor Favor, The Partner Plot had great moments and a fun premise although I found the execution loss some of the magic.

What Worked:
- The Tropes! This was a fun trope on the woke up in vegas married trope. We also get fake dating/marriage. One bed. Close proximity. Second chance romance. And it all works really well.
- Dual POVs! Being able to get into the heads of Violet and Xavier was super helpful and fun to understand their mutual pining and why they made their decisions then and now.
- Plot Foundation! The book has good bones! I feel like we understand the past and the whirlwind of high school romance, and it was nice to see them fall in love all over again with the older version of each other.
- Writing style! I love the way in which Forest writes. Her words are so easy to read and fall into the lives in which she is portraying. I couldn't put it down!
- No 3rd Act breakup!!! These two can COMMUNICATE and I love that for them!

What I Struggled With:
- The Romance. With so much emphasis on their careers, their families, and everything else, the romance kind of falls to the wayside a bit. I didn't feel their connection outside of what I was told. I wanted more fun dates, more passion, more shenanigans, and more aspects that make me believe these people should and want to be together outside of words.
-The Characters. Although I enjoyed both characters, I didn't feel overly connected to either of the MCs or feel like I truly understood them outside of what was said. I appreciated Violet's love for her job, but I wanted to see and understand more about her life outside of it. What are her hobbies? What does she think about kids? As for Xavier, I again enjoyed him, but wish we explored his mental health more and his likes and dislikes. Besides main characters, some of the side characters felt either frustratingly too involved (Violet's mom) or vastly underdeveloped (everyone else - give me more than Violet's dad stern glances).

Overall, this was a fun easy read! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have been waiting for this book the moment I finished The Neighbor Favor! I love that she is giving all of the sisters their own books. I fell in love with Violet's confidence and reliance after such a big betrayal of her ex. This was a fun read and I loved the second-chance romance trope of this one. However, I didn't feel as connected to this couple as I did in the first novel. I feel that Violet didn't try once she was better, and at times the relationship felt very one-sided for the second half of the book.

Thanks Berkley for this ARC! I really enjoyed the concept of this book, I just wish Xavier showed more confidence. I get that it was part of his story but I think one can still be confident yet humble.

I'm a huge fan of Kristina Forest's YA work and it's nice to see her transitioning into the Adult Romance. I look forward to reading the third in the series!

A high school sweethearts romance with a high achieving career driven lead reconnecting with her high school boyfriend.

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

Loved it! It's a bittersweet story of two high school sweethearts who come back together after years apart only to find themselves entangled in each other's lives all over again. The two main characters are fleshed out in terms of their strengths and flaws as well as in how their two personalities work together in harmony AND how they clash. The supporting cast is colorful and memorable as well. I only realized fairly late in the book that it is in fact the second of a trilogy, and I now definitely want to check out the first entry as well as read the third when it comes out!

For sensitive readers, there are descriptions of sexuality and dysfunctional family relationships. Other triggers may exist that I am just not recalling at the moment.

I was super excited to return to the world and characters that Kristina Forest started in The Neighbor Favor.

I really enjoy the way that the author writes her characters and conflict. It never feels drawn out or unnecessary and there is always some good communication that follows. That being said, I feel like this book focused too much on Violet and Xavier's separate problems and I felt like their time together was a bit lacking for it. We did get some really good scenes with them together but I wanted more.

Overall I did really enjoy reading this book. I hope the author continues writing for these character and we can get a story with Iris next. If you enjoyed The Neighbor Favor (one of my favorite books of 2023) then it's completely worth picking up The Partner Plot.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

⭐️⭐️⭐️½

It pains me to not give this a 4 or 5 star rating. I really enjoyed The Neighbor Favor and I was looking forward to The Partner Plot. Although I enjoyed this book, I have some mixed feelings on it.

My main criticism was that I felt like the book focused too much on Violet's drama, Xavier's drama, and all the drama because of their situations instead of focusing on them as a couple. I wanted more scenes of the two of them building their chemistry and rekindled love. All the other stuff was just distracting noise to me.

There were a lot of things that I thought were done really well in this book. All of those conversations they had about their breakup and where their relationship would now go broke my heart. There are so many more things to love than just two people loving each other. All the complications of life can get in the way. I loved that their relationship came full circle in the end and they got their HEA.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥

3.5⭐️
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! 🫶🏾
This was my first read by the author, but it won’t be my last.

Usually I eat up second chance romances. But with The Partner Plot, I didn’t fall in love with the characters as I usually do with second chance romances.

The Partner Plot follows Violet & Xavier who were high school sweethearts. Xavier broke Violet’s heart in high school and so she promised to never let it happen again! They run into each other while they are both in Vegas. After a wild night, they wake up “married.” They decide to take advantage of it and keep it going for their friends, family, and the public eye. But when feelings starts to come back, will the two plan work?

Overall, I enjoyed it. Took me about 2 weeks to read it, but still a good book. Little to no spice, so if that’s what you’re looking for, look elsewhere. Would recommend! Can’t wait to read more by the author!

- second chance romance
- high school sweethearts
- marriage of convenience

this book easily flows between a 3.5 and 3.75 but not strongly enough for me to round up.

just like the neighbor favor, this book is adorable. i really enjoy the greene sisters and i was pleasantly surprised when i saw that forest was going to continue their individual stories! both books are sweet, easy reads. easy in the sense that they're not too heavy. they're almost cozy to me.

however, just like the neighbor favor, there are some... technical issues. to me, forest relies a bit too much on TELLING the reader what is going on, especially when it comes to setting up why a character is how they are now. there are a lot of what i'll call asides where the narrative steps back from the present and tells us, point blank, what happened in the past to get us here. its an interesting narrative structure, but not one i really jive with, especially when they happen as frequently as they did in this story. they're necessary, sometimes, but felt overly long.

there was also a bit too much reliance on miscommunication, omission of communication, and assumption. i get it. if every character communicated perfectly the book would be 2 pages long. but this felt unnecessary and like we were going in a circle. did our characters learn nothing from the past? yes, but it takes one or two more steps back before they can finally fess up and talk like adults.

speaking of talking like adults... there were a couple of swaths of narrative where the characters talked at each other a lot. it felt, in certain points, like they talked like no one has ever talked before. just overly verbal, in a sense.

and yet! this book is cute! look beyond the technical issues and you've got an adorable marriage of convenience story, second chances, and just... a very cute couple in violet and xavier.

Kristina Forest’s books are an absolute delight. I was a huge fan of The Neighbor Favor and was so excited to read Violet’s story after meeting her in that book. I was even more excited when I learned this book had the “waking up married in Vegas” trope. This trope is a little bonkers, and for that reason it can be hard to pull off in a believable way. However, Forest excels at having fun with it while still grounding the story with her realistic characters as they navigate their second-chance romance.

If you’re looking for a cute romance that’ll put a smile on your face, look no further!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book hardly felt like a romance to me. The romance felt very underdeveloped, with insufficient depth.

There are quite a few things this book does incredibly well that we don’t see in other romances.

For example, there are small depictions but meaningful conversations on boundaries and consent. We see Violet and Xavier have some necessary dialogue on boundaries and consent related to what is okay to do and what is not. Things like holding hands or giving hugs, which might seem superficial to some but I think is necessary. Just because they pretend to be married doesn’t mean they can do anything and everything with each other if the other is uncomfortable. I appreciated this, as it’s not as common as I wish it were in romances. Second, I always appreciate it when there isn’t a third-act conflict, which seems to make up most romance books, adding nothing but drama, pettiness, childish behavior, and conflict that could have quickly been resolved or avoided had the characters simply conversed. There’s also how Violet and Xavier are both people with aspirations and dreams, with Violet wanting to be a celebrity stylist and Xavier pursuing a basketball journey to go into the NBA. While Violet succeeds in her field and pursues her dreams, Xavier’s dreams are cut short due to a broken Achilles. Yet, this is a little more refreshing because he doesn’t give up and continues finding ways to make up for what he lost. He doesn’t dwell on what could have been the past but instead focuses on what could be the present. On the other hand, Violet continues moving forward, ensuring she has a big reputation for herself. Seeing a confident black woman succeed in the fashion industry in a romance novel is empowering. I loved the author’s addition of feminism shown this way. Violet doesn’t forget where she comes from and acknowledges those who have helped her make a name for herself. There’s also great honesty in becoming highly involved in “hustle culture,” showing the pros and cons of giving it your all only to fall behind when you’re too tired. Still, the author shows her female main character as positive, always finding ways to compensate for her losses, keep moving forward, and not letting herself be talked down.

However, while this book provides new and necessary themes that other novels don’t, it fails to give us a successful execution of a romance, which I would say is more of this novel's primary and center point.

There’s potential, not just with the second-chance but with the good ol’ marriage of convenience. In this case, the marriage stems from a lie our famous stylist made up, which is a little flimsy, but it can still manage to capture one’s attention considering the opportunities it presents to both characters. Done out of panic and unprovoked thoughtfulness, Violet lies in an interview and states she recently got married to her high school sweetheart, who happens to be an English teacher and basketball assistant coach. Everyone knows it’s Xavier, especially those from their small town. And Xavier is quick to accept this as not only something helpful for his sake–to become an assistant coach at Riley University because, for some reason, he wasn’t able to before because he wasn’t married, and so therefore his unsettled life was an obstacle?–but also because it’s allow him to get a second chance with Violet, which is all he wants.

Yet, for a second-chance romance, the second chance felt irrelevant. If I hadn’t been reminded and knew beforehand that Violet and Xavier were high school sweethearts, I would have assumed they were strangers first who simply connected on a basis related to attraction. This only further proved why second-chance romances aren’t easy to execute. In my opinion, second-chance romances are unsuccessful without some sort of conflict or drama. You can keep your story low angst, and I’m not saying I want some childish third-act breakup that doesn’t help the cause, but the story feels a little pointless if it’s too fluffy. The way I saw it, the second chance was too…easy.

I was rooting for Violet at the beginning. I was ready for her to make Xavier fight for her once again after what he did. While their circumstances and reasoning for the breakup are the usual kind (the kind where character A–in this case, Xavier–breaks up with character B–in this case, Violet–because character A believes character B deserves better. You know how it goes), but even with that, I had hoped the author would take the route of a more complex second-chance. For me, a second chance doesn’t work if no persuasion is involved, and I never felt like this had it. Violet tells us, the readers, repeatedly that she’s not going to give in to Xavier easily, but, surprise! She does. She never made him fight for her. She never made him find different ways to make him trust him. He’s trustworthy, but just because we know that doesn’t mean she does. I never saw how or why Violet was in love, or at least developed feelings, for Xavier again besides their past. This structure is so lazy to me. It doesn’t give me enough to root for the characters when their love is based on the past and not the present. It’s evident that love stems from the past for most of the feelings. While some moments between them in the present time can add to their past love and current feelings, there wasn’t enough depth and substance. I thought the author lacked the substance necessary to make the relationship more believable, as if it wouldn’t stand tall if it weren’t for the past. I can easily say that Xavier’s point of view was more favorable than Violet’s, mostly because we know he regrets breaking up with her and never offering her an explanation, so seeing his regret and feelings for her are more obvious compared to Violet’s contradictory attitude. Violet simply gave in too easily, and I had hoped she’d put up more of a fight, especially with who she was when they were kids. Xavier described her a spitfire, and it felt like she was much more like that when they were kids than now as adults.

Adding on to that, I don’t consider this a romance like others because of the focus on Violet and Xavier’s careers and personal lives. It’s entirely realistic, which I can easily say is are bonus point to the author. Yes, romance doesn’t cure all. Yes, a relationship and a full-time career make juggling the two difficult. Yes, it’s difficult to always be on board with what your partner wants. The romance doesn’t fail to provide realisticness, which I always appreciate. However, I guess the realistic part of it is also what makes the story less succulent. There isn’t enough page time between Violet and Xavier that makes the relationship stand out, much less the development I thought was missing. A lot of time is given to their careers, such as the basketball games of Xavier’s students or Violet’s styling job with Karina (although I did love her as a side character, don’t get me wrong). Due to that, it is even more challenging to see where the romantic feelings between both leads come from. The writing also had a very back-and-forth feel to it. Sometimes the story focuses more on Violet’s and Xavier’s emotional journey and then focuses on their romantic journey, causing a contrast to the writing, It’s difficult to pinpoint a genre, as it felt like a mix of romance and women’s fiction, yet neither genre suits it. While romance may be appropriate, I thought it was missing parts of its strength, especially as it’s a second-chance romance following two high school sweethearts.

I feel like I wasn’t the right audience for this, or perhaps my expectations differed. I think anyone who goes into it with a different mindset would be able to enjoy it much more than I did.