Member Reviews
Oh wow! I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this!
I’m not usually huge on second chance romances, but I picked this one up because of the accidental marriage trope. It sounded like a fun twist on a second chance romance, and it was! I liked how most of the romance took place in the now, and it didn’t feel like we were constantly in their past relationship.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Berkley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review
QUICK SYNOPSIS: Two former high school sweethearts get a second change in this romance novel which is the second book after Kristina Forest’s book The Neighbor Favor. Violet Green is a Hollywood celebrity stylist & Xavier Wright is a high school English teacher and basketball coach. Randomly, both end up in Vegas where they share one wild night where they get “married”. After an accident that leads Vi to stay with her new fake husband, old feelings start to rise. Are their major lifestyles enough to keep them together and they’ll finally get the happy ending they planned all those years or will they be doomed from the beginning?
I enjoyed this book. (Honestly, look at the cover 😍) I was literally kicking my feet, giggling with a big kool-aid smile plastered on my face the entire time reading. So cute! You do not need to read the first book in this series, it can totally be read as a standalone novel!
First of all, I am Violet’s biggest fan, I loved her character in The Neighbor Favor, I was hoping we’d get her story after reading that book in the early spring. Xavier was a breath of fresh air for a MMC, he had his faults and insecurities but he was man enough to apologize and admit his mistakes in the end. The coach Xavier was applying to work with was a HUGE ick. I still don’t like Lily and Violet’s mom, whenever she’s on the page I roll my eyes. 🙄 LOL, but I know it’s all out of love. Can’t fault her for being old school & caring I guess.
Things I loved:
✨ Second Change Romance 🩷
✨ Marriage of Convenience 💍
✨ Dual POV 👩🏾🤝👨🏿
✨ Small Town Vibes 🏠
✨ High School Sweethearts 👩❤️💋👨
✨ Hot Teacher 👨🏾🏫
✨ Boss Babe 💅🏾
✨ He takes care of her when she’s sick. 🥺
✨HEA ♾️
Honestly, i loved this book so freaking much.
Kristina Forest is such an amazing romance author. I would for sure recommend ALL audiences to read this book. This book is especially excellent representation for positive Black love. 🖤 I cannot wait for the next book “The Love Lyric” for Spring 2025.
Pub date: 2/27/2024
Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Spice: 1/5 🌶️
Read this if you like:
•high school sweethearts
•second chance romance
•fake marriage
This book was SO cute. They grew apart and ended up back in each others lives. This was so heartfelt and I loved every minute.
Thank you NetGalley & Berkley for eARC in exchange for an honest review.
"If there's a 'Vegas-accidentally-married' book out there, count me in! I adored the second chance aspect in this love story. Violet and Xavier, destined for each other until life took them separate ways.
Violet chased her dream as a stylist to the stars, while Xavier's basketball injury shattered his ambitions. With noble intentions, he let her go, never wanting her to sacrifice her dreams. A chance encounter in Vegas reignites his passion for her, but a decade has reshaped their lives. She's a globetrotter, and he's rooted in one place. Can their love still thrive?
True love is a rare gem, but having someone who'll fight relentlessly for it is even rarer. Their journey encapsulates this beautifully, and I savored every moment."
The Greene sisters are back in The Partner Plot! Now that Lily has found love, it's Violet's turn. And apparently young love doesn't die, because when she unexpectedly reunites with Xavier, her high school boyfriend, sparks fly! Both of them have grown up and found successful professional paths, but they are missing what they use to have. Can they find it again, but this time as older, more emotionally aware people? The slow burn and twist and turns of their relationship are fun and delightful!
A heartwarming contemporary romance with some of the most adorable characters I’ve ever come across, this book filled me with so many emotions as I read it; from happiness to skin-prickling angst, from laugh-out-loud humour to outright heartache, that I found myself loving every single millisecond of it.
This was fine, but just so low stakes and no real steam or chemistry.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.
I will always love a marriage of convenience story. I loved how we got both a small town romance intertwined with the big city romance because that perfectly encapsulated Xavier and Violet’s personalities. I will be the first to admit I am not the world’s biggest second chance romance person but I liked how Violet and Xavier were never antagonistic towards one another even though they were working through their own heartbreak. Overall I do think I related more to Lily’s personality in her book as opposed to Violet and how large and in charge she was but it was an interesting story and FMC nonetheless. And I absolutely loved the scenes with Xavier and his students; I love a marshmallow of a MMC.
Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this arc.
It took me awhile to sort of get into this book and I’m not sure I ever reached the point of really getting invested in it. I liked Violet and Xavier; I just didn’t buy in to their rekindled romance. This book focuses so much on their careers and their mistakes/failures, and they just don’t get the page time needed to convince me that they really fell back in love. Does that make sense?
That said, I DO believe that this could be something that would happen in real life to someone, just not someone I know. So maybe this is where I struggled. For me, I didn’t feel like the book gave a good enough reason/feeling to make their relationship work. I did like how Violet helps Xavier realize his own value, and how she recognizes she wants more from life than a fast-paced life of helping celebrities with their glam. I just feel their actual relationship could use more focus than all the career stuff.
I definitely believe people out there will love this book, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
This book really exceeded my expectations. This is the second book in a series. I definitely enjoyed Violet’s story more than Lily.
A Second chance romance with high school sweethearts?Yess pls. I can see this being Rom Com movie for sure. They got fake married in Vegas after being apart for 10 years, & Had to keep up the lie. They ended up rekindling. The chemistry and love between Violet & Xavier had me blushing and swinging my feet. ☺️
I wanted them to win sooo bad. @ one point in the book I was a little worried but it wrapped up so nicely omg. 🥹 Not much spice but I’m not even mad about it.
I can’t wait to read Iris’s story.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Thank you for allowing me to read this arc - I fell in love all over again with Kristina Forest! She is that girl for this one! I truly enjoyed reading about Violet! I was a bit worried about my girl after reading Lily’s story, but she came back strong and on top! I love fashion, basketball and I love being a teacher so I have a personal connection to both characters! The fake marriage, second chance love romance was top tier and I really enjoyed it. Kristina gave enough details but not too many to drag the book down. The build up of their history as teenagers was chef kiss and the night they randomly ran into each other in Vegas was everything! I was rooting for them to keep pushing through all weapons formed against them, especially Shelia! I will be purchasing this book when it release so I can have it on my self! Releasing 2/27/24 and I can’t wait for Iris’ story to drop!!
Enjoyed this light read. Interesting characters and careers, second chance love story. Enjoyed the previous book, focusing on sister Lily, a bit more, perhaps I just related to Lily’s interests more. Fashion and basketball aren’t as relatable to me, but I did enjoy Xavier finding a love of teaching. Liked that we got a bit more of Dahlia’s character here. Looking forward to the next story about Iris.
Once again, thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Kristina Forest did a fantastic job of quickly building the history of the two characters and making their feelings and relationship believable without bogging down the book with unnecessary details.
The two main characters were former high school sweethearts, and the prologue was done extremely well.
I really enjoyed the depth of the characters, the believable chemistry, and of course, the fake marriage. Who doesn’t love a good fake relationship?!
The pacing at the end felt a bit long, and I struggled with the resolution of their relationship troubles. It felt like the struggles they were having were glossed over, and the answer was, “we love each other enough to just deal with it.”
We never got to see that truly resolved, as the main characters just kind of tolerated the distance and the lack of communication. Love conquers all?
For that, I did lower the rating to four stars, but I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoyed contemporary romance, fake marriages, and Vegas mistakes!
--To Violet Greene, fashion is everything. As a successful celebrity stylist, she travels all over the world, living out her dreams. Professionally, she’s thriving, but her personal life is in shambles. Xavier Wright did not expect to run into his high school girlfriend Violet—the girl he once thought he’d marry—on a birthday trip to Vegas. They feel young and reckless as they party the night away—and reckless they clearly were when the following morning, they wake up beside each other with rings on their fingers.--
I enjoyed The Partner Plot for what it was. This was a second chance romance that many people will love, and it included different emotional factors that I love in a romance book, such as the feeling of nostalgia and communication that evolved throughout the book. Although I fell in love with Violet and Xavier, I do not think that this is the romance for me. I did not feel a deep connection towards the two characters while they were in a relationship, and the book focuses a lot more on the careers and failures of the two characters instead of the characters falling in love for the second time. However, if you do like romances that feature a realistic relationship, I think you will adore this one. Personally, I prefer a little more escapism. Also, I really wish the members of their small town community knew how to mind their own business 😆
Thank you so, so much to Kristina Forest and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC. This title is expected to be released in March of 2024!
Kristina Forest really is that girl.
This book had ALL OF MY FAVORITE TROPES and it had them so effortlessly. Not once did it feel forced. I love every single second from start to finish. She truly did her big one with this.
PS, don’t go and call your high school sweetheart after reading this. DON’T DO IT!!
I am such a sucker for these types of books now.
I LIVE for the romcom style contemporary books. This second chance, accidental marriage was TOP NOTCH.
Violet and Xavier truly complimented eachother well and I would actually really love for this to become a movie. It absolutely should be.
Violet and Xavier met in high school and were immediately drawn to one another. They shared an instant connection. (think, Alicia Keys - Teenage Love Affair vibes.✨)
Years later Violet has accomplished her childhood goal of becoming a stylist to the stars. She works extremely hard and while that has done wonders for her professionally, her personal life is lacking. She’s bouncing back from heart break and coming dangerously close to professional burnout.
Xavier is a high school english teacher and basketball coach. While on a birthday trip in Vegas he runs into Violet and sparks fly. They have a reckless night celebrating their reconnection. When they wake up with rings on their fingers they are both left with feelings and questions that need answers.
I truly enjoyed my time with these characters. I love Kristina’s ability to evoke so much nostalgia from me when reading her books. From the fashion described, the slang used at times and even music choices she always brings me back to my adolescent years in the best way possible. I loved that we were able to get Violet and Xavier’s story both in the past and in the present. It made their romance so much more believable.
The side characters were just as intriguing. Karina aka Karamel kitty is hilarious and anytime she’s on the page it’s a good time.
I can’t wait to read the next book in this series and thank you to netgalley for gifting me this ARC.
Movie worthy plot! This book was great! A fun, banter packed book for rom-com lovers. A second chance romance, with will they/won’t they vibes is how I would describe it. The characters both learn self love and growth throughout their journeys so it was nice to see character development. It’s honestly just such a fun read! Something I can see giving as a gift!
I received this ARC via NatGalley and Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.
A second chance romance loved you since forever story? Plus a fake marriage???? Sharing one bed??? I mean can the plot get any better! This book was troppin’ and I was here for it. Violets story was everything! If you read the first book in this world you know she had a wild ending in the last book. I was so happy to read her story and that of Xavier. I think this book will tug at all your heartstrings.
I once again loved the sister and friendship relationships in this book and I really hope we’re getting a book about the third sister because I need to know about Iris’ happily ever after.
Kristina Forest knows how to bring you into a story and not want to put the book down. This is a sensational book and I think will be perfect for winter!
Kristina Forest continues to write stories that are thoroughly charming and delightful! While the “accidentally married in Vegas” trope isn’t one of my personal favorites — it trips my personal nightmare wire — Forest’s fresh voice and deft characterization work really made that trope sparkle here. The humor, romance, and plot weave together brilliantly for a thoroughly entertaining read.