AHHH Amazing job again by Kristina Forest!
I fell in love with Kristina's first adult romcom The Neighbor Favor, earlier this year, and I will definitely recommend THE PARTNER PLOT to everyone. A wholesome second chance story between Xavier and Violet, high school sweethearts who find themselves again in Las Vegas and their fake marriage turns into something real, both for their own professional careers, but melds into something more.
Kristina Forest writes really feel good romances, and I loved this one so much. I'm excited to see how the next book centering the last Greene sister, Iris, plays out!

When Violet and Xavier, two former HS lovers, run into each other in Vegas after not speaking for years, they did not expect to wake up the next morning with rings on their fingers. Using this opportunity to their advantage, they decide to play the fake marriage game in the public, but when real feelings resurface, can the two make it work despite living very different lives.

Kristina Forest has a very natural way to writing where I feel like this story could have unfolded in real life. I loved the second chance storyline, which was set up perfectly in the prologue. Also, the fake marriage trope allowed for great forced proximity and I appreciated how Violet and Xavier chose to be open about their feelings rather than avoid difficult conversations. If you are into fashion, Violet’s job as a celebrity stylist was also a fun bonus.

Read if you like:
-Second chance romance
-HS sweethearts
-Vegas marriage of convenience
-Forced proximity
-Only one bed
-Fashion
-BIPOC rep

Thank you Berkley Romance for the ARC!! Pub 2/27!

The Partner Plot was a lot of fun! I am a total sucker for a marriage of convenience and this book had the bonus perk of telling a second chance love story, as well! While I enjoyed this even more than Forest's debut I didn't get the overwhelming hit of romance that I crave. The plot is very heavily focused on Violet and Xavier's careers and they spend a lot of time figuring out what they want individually. While this is great in theory, I feel like the love story very much took a back seat as a result. I think I've realized one of my (many) personal pet peeves is reading a book that relies heavily on details of the character's job. Violet's fashion career was fun and intriguing but I read to escape my own job, not hear about other people's!

One thing I did really like was the glimpse of Violet and Xavier's high school relationship. It felt so real and dramatic in your typical teenage way. I enjoyed that it wasn't a perfect relationship, because what 16-year-old couple's is? It was really sweet to see both of these kids grow up and learn to communicate and be vulnerable with one another.

It was also fun to see the Greene sisters again and I will definitely be continuing this series!

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for allowing me to be an early reader. All opinions are my own!

Violet and Xavier were high school sweethearts with big dreams for the future. When Xavier suddenly broke up with Violet, she vowed not to let herself get a broken heart again. Years later, she is a successful Hollywood stylist and runs into Xavier in Vegas. They share a night and a fake marriage together, which leaves both wondering if they could have another chance. A little white lie leads to a marriage of convenience and the two of them sharing an apartment and their lives with one another. The marriage might be fake, but are there real feelings involved?

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it! There were so many tropes I love: second chance romance, only one bed, forced proximity, caring for the other when they’re sick, and marriage of convenience. The Vegas pretend marriage was a fun backdrop for their reunion. The beginning started off a bit slow for me, but once I got into it, the story flew by. I appreciated how both characters had to find themselves and learn how to get past their personal flaws. Both were flawed, realistic characters that you could root for and empathize with. I’d definitely recommend this fun lighthearted read to my fellow rom com lovers.

Thank you to Kristina Forest, Berkley Romance, and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

The book points out being bored, which reminded me that there wasn’t anything particularly interesting or gripping or unique that it offers the genre. I stopped after the prologue, which actually was 7% of the book. Feels like the pacing is off.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

If there is an "accidentally married in Vegas" book, I am going to read it. I absolutely loved that this was a second chance for these soulmates too.
Violet and Xavier were ment to be, until they weren't. Violet was off living her dream as a stylist to some of the most famous people, and Xavier has lost all of his dreams. His injury prevented him playing basketball and his pride cost him the one girl he loved the most. He didn't want her to give up her dreams for him, so he let her go and has regretted it ever since.
One chance meeting in Vegas and he knows he can't live without her in his life anymore. He has lived the last ten years trying to fill the Violet sized hole in his heart and no one will replace it but her. Their lives are so different now though, with her traveling and him being in one place all the time, could this even work?
Finding true love is rare, but it's even more rare to have someone who will fight to be with you and never give up. I feel like that is what these two have and I really enjoyed their journey.
Thank you to Berkley, Netgalley and Kristina Forest for an early copy.

Kristina Forest's writing was so wonderful! This book was filled with humor, romance, and amazing banter! I really enjoyed this story!!

Once upon a time, Violet Greene adored her high school boyfriend Xavier Wright. The two of them had big dreams of fame: Violet as a celebrity stylist, Xavier as an NBA star. And despite the drama, the fights, and the making up again, they both knew that ultimately they wanted to marry and have their happy ever after. But their final breakup in college sent them in different directions with broken hearts.

Fast forward 11 years, and Violet has recently dumped her cheating fiance. She's off to Las Vegas with her best friend and top client, Karina (or rap star Karamel Kitty), who is opening a new casino. Violet has been moving up steadily in her business and has a busy schedule even after the whirlwind Vegas trip, but everything skitters to a halt when she runs into Xavier, now an English teacher and assistant coach at their old high school, who is in town to celebrate his cousin Raheem's birthday. And after a night of drinking, talking, and dancing at the casino's club, Violet and Xavier wake up together -- naked, in the same bed, with rings on their fingers.

Though they both realize that their Vegas wedding was fake, they both find reasons to keep up the pretense of being married. For Violet, announcing herself as married in a big magazine article takes the spotlight off her recently failed relationship, and Xavier needs to appear married and settled in order to be considered for a college coaching position. But when their fake marriage throws them into closer proximity and causes them to share more about their lives, that first love returns full force.

This book follows up with the Greene family after the events of The Neighbor Favor. In that book, Violet had thrown an anti-wedding celebration after the breakup with her fiance, so to see her find true love in the mature version of her first love is rewarding. Violet carries herself with so much confidence, even from an early age and even knowing that many people would think her passion to be superficial, but she also reveals her exhaustion with the ongoing hustle her work demands -- something that also helps her open herself to what she really wants in life. Xavier has struggled with his own confidence and still doesn't quite recognize the value of where he is now, but having Violet back in his life helps him recognize his priorities much more clearly. I loved how they learned to communicate more honestly and openly with each other and how that in turn influenced how they saw themselves. Another solid turn from Forest. 4 stars.

Thank you, Berkley Romance and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

i’m debating between a 3.5 star and a 4 star because i’m the beginning i was bored but i ended up being won over by the characters. i thought it was super funny and i enjoyed karina as a side character. i thought the romance was cute but it was like so fluffy? there was smut but it was over so quickly. i guess i just expected more angst? also i’m just not in my romance era so that might also play a part idk.