✔️ Fake Dating (Marriage)
✔️ Second Chance
✔️ High School Sweethearts
✔️ One Bed

-summary-
A chance run-in Vegas between high school sweethearts (Violet and Xavier) result in a hot night and a pretend Vegas wedding. It was supposed to be just one night, but to save face in an interview, Violet mentioned being married. While she didn't use his name, it was clear from the description who she was talking about; it actually will help Xavier too, as the job he wants prefers someone married. They decide to stay fake married until they both get what they want, though old feelings come back to complicate everything.

-my thoughts-
There's something kind of cozy about the author's storytelling, and it's even clearer here when both leads are back in the town where they fell in love.

The twist in the tropes were fun - loved the mashup of drunken Vegas wedding and fake dating.

And you know how much I love domestic scenes? This book had it in droves since they lived together, and it was fun to watch them go from platonic roommates to more.

This wasn't a particularly angsty second chance so the pining was fairly mild. I don't think it detracted from the story, but just something to keep in mind if you were expecting heart pain - this is more like a romcom.

Overall, a good read and a perfect one if you are doing any diversify your bookshelf challenges. 4⭐️

Steam 🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕

4.5 stars! I absolutely adore second chance romance & fake dating so I knew from the start that I was going to love this one. I especially love when high school loves reconnect & so this story had me in my feelings. I thought that this book was a great lesson that love doesn’t look the same for everyone & that relationships don’t just magically work. Violet & Xavier had very different lives as adults than what they imagined for themselves when they were kids, & that was something that did keep their paths from crossing sooner. This book was full of great moments & I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story draws you in right away & I want to be best friends with Violet & Xavier & Violet’s sisters. I highly recommend this one

🅑🅞🅞🅚 🅡🅔🅥🅘🅔🅦
🎰 The Partner Plot 🎰
Kristina Forest
#BerkleyPartner

This was such a good second chance romance! I loved the characters and that they were high school sweethearts who found their way back to each other…in Vegas of all places! This was a super fun read and a little bit spicy! 🌶️

Former high school sweethearts, Violet and Xavier, reunite unexpectedly in Vegas, waking up “married” after a wild night. Seeing potential benefits for their careers, they play the part of a happy couple, but old feelings resurface. As they navigate their differences, they wonder if this second chance at love will lead to a happy ending.

Read if you enjoy:
💕 Second Chance Romance
👩🏽‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏽 High School Sweethearts
💒 Fake Marriage
👗 Celebrity Stylist
👨🏽‍🏫 Teacher/Coach
💭 Chasing Dreams

Kristina Forest also wrote The Neighbor Favor which features Violet’s sister, but you do not need to read them in order. I will definitely be adding that one to my list!

Thank you to @berkleyromance @netgalley and @kristinaforest_ for the eARC of this book! You can pick it up soon on February 27th!

#BerkleyBookstagram #kristinaforest #thepartnerplot #BookReview #romancereaders #romancebooks #bookstagram #romancereads #romance #romancereadersofinstagram #romancenovels #romancereader #romancenovel #contemporaryromance #bookaddict #readersofinstagram #romancebookstagram #booklover #books #bookstagrammer #readromance #fakemarriage

Last year, Kristina regaled readers with Lily Greene's story with The Neighbor Favor. In this book, The Partner Plot, readers will be just as entertained with Violet's story. Violet has quite a successful career as a celebrity stylist. As a teenager, Violet fell hard for Xavier Wright, and the two thought they would be together forever. That is not how things worked out, however, and the two went their separate ways. A chance meeting in Vegas a decade later changes the course of Violet and Xavier's lives.

The catchphrase, What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas, are not words that Violet and Xavier can live by. In fact, one drunk night shapes the course of their lives forever. Meanwhile, both Violet and Xavier have career aspirations and that drunk night could actually end up having good results for the both of them.

So, what actually happened that fateful night? Well, the couple got married, but not really. However, it does not take either of them long to realize that they could play the fake marriage to their advantage. But to catch those feelings of old? Never to be happen. But, never say never.

It is always a treat to get the chance to read and review BIPOC romances, especially when the stories include engaging characters. One thing about this book by Kristina Forest, as well as her previous title, is the strong family bond the Greene family has, especially that between Violet and her two sisters. Lily and Iris. In fact, I look forward to The Love Lyric, which will be Iris's story.

Many thanks to Berkley Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this second chance fake marriage romance from Kristina Forest. It was different and refreshing compared to her first book. The romance was a slow burn that felt authentic and their struggles felt real. I can’t wait to see where book three takes us and the growth that the sisters will have together, separately, and with their mom.

In the second installment of the Greene sisters stories, we follow Violet and her first love, Xavier, who run into each other in Las Vegas ten years after their breakup. After a wild night, a fake wedding, and a little lie Violet tells in an interview, the two decide to temporarily fake being married for both of their benefit. It doesn't take long for the undeniable connection and the love between Violet and Xavier to come back into play.

I never thought I'd be into second-chance romances, but I really enjoyed this one! I loved the mix between second chance and fake dating. Violet and Xavier are both very strong characters and it is very easy to empathize with them - Violet with throwing herself into work to avoid the possibility of heartbreak and Xavier with feeling like he's wasted his potential and trying to find his way in life. I loved how we see both characters grow into themselves and with each other.

There were also quite a few funny moments that were fun to read and you could feel the chemistry between the two main characters. Overall, I had a very good time reading this and I can't wait for the next book to come out!

Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Violet Greene is living her dream, working as a celebrity stylist and traveling the world, she has everything she's ever wanted; until her fiance leaves her a week before the wedding. After navigating herself through the breakup, Violet is determined to focus on work and work alone. However, on a trip to Vegas, Violet comes across the one that got away, her high school sweetheart, Xavier. When the two reconnect and spend the night together, only to wake up wearing wedding rings; Violet and Xavier both confess they could benefit from the marriage and decide to stay together just until their careers get on track.

I enjoyed this marriage-of-convenience romcom much more than I expected! I am not the biggest fan of second chances but this one was just done right, the former high school sweethearts were both on their own paths and still trying to find balance in their lives and reunited at just the right time. I loved how their history was so important to their story and each other and aided in them realizing they could live without one another but ultimately didn't want to. The two communicated so well and while there were issues that popped up, they worked everything out together and never lost sight of their relationship despite both of them being in very important moments in their careers.

Read this book if you like:
💍Vegas Weddings💍
💍Second Chance Romances💍
💍Healthy Communication💍
💍High School Sweethearts💍
💍Dual POV💍
💍Small Town/Big City Vibes💍
💍A Dash of Family Meddling💍
💍Marriage of Convenience💍
💍Fashion Details💍
💍Interconnected Series💍

Read if you like:
🥈 Second Chance Romances
💗 First Love
🍻 Drunken Reunions
💋 Fake Dating
💍 Marriage of Convenience

I feel like this book had the making to be everything I love in a romance from a second chance romance to fake dating with a mix of marriage of convenience, but for me, the romance aspect fell a bit flat and I felt like most of the story didn’t build up the romance the way I was hoping for.

I also feel like though it was discussed it didn’t really work for the “but they have such different lives- how will it ever work”

I also wish we got more depth of feeling and longing because it was there, but I just didn’t feeeeellll it in my bones like I wanted for soulmates that came back together after years apart.

All in all, I think my expectations were too high for this one but did enjoy it. Thanks so much Berkley for my ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Partner Plot is a fun, fast read with loads of charm. It’s easily one of the best second-chance-at-love stories I’ve ever read.

High school sweethearts Xavier Wright and Violet Greene live big. They are the coolest, sexiest kids at their school, and their breakups and makeups are legendary. Their relationship is combustible - the chemistry between them burns hot and heavy non-stop, sometimes flaring up into their infamous fights but never burning out. They dream just as big as they love. Xavier plans to be the next great basketball star, Violet plans to take over the fashion world.

That they aren’t great at the long-distance thing doesn’t surprise either of them once they are at separate colleges, but everything else about the experience does. Violet, never a good student, finds her niche and becomes one of the brightest stars on campus, while Xavier, the kid everyone just knew would shine, finds himself bench-sitting his freshmen year and injured and out of the game by Christmas, his sophomore year. Determined not to be what holds his girl back, he breaks up with Violet and allows her to move on and move up.

And move up, she does. Fast forward ten years: Violet is a celebrity stylist on the shortlist for a coveted position on the thirty under thirty list of Look magazine, an industry standard. She is with Karamel Kitty in Vegas, attending an opening at a swanky new club and ensuring her client is at her most fabulous as she is seen and photographed by all the right people when she runs into Xavier again. Time falls away and from the very first moment they dance, she finds herself enthralled once more.

This scene isn’t Xavier’s life. He wouldn’t be at the club at all, but he’d won a room at the luxury resort in Vegas and treated himself and his cousin to a wild weekend getaway. As a high school teacher, he’s become Mr. Sedate and Responsible. But seeing Violet has brought to the surface the charming, reckless side of himself he has kept suppressed for over a decade. The two drink and dance the evening away - and wake up married.

Fortunately, a double check of their marriage certificate shows theirs was a fake wedding, and the rings on their fingers are cheap plastic. They agree to go their separate ways and put it all behind them. But when Violet is doing her interview for the coveted cover spot with Look magazine, her lying, cheating ex comes up, and she finds herself claiming she’s happily married in order to put the discussion back on track. She hopes no one she knows outside the fashion world will read the thing, but of course, life never works that way,

Xavier is stunned to find himself congratulated for marrying Violet when he returns to work. He gives vague answers and vacant smiles to everyone’s excitement, anxious to talk to Violet and see what she is thinking when he gets the phone call. The one he’s been waiting for that will offer him a chance to move to college coaching. The university hadn’t thought a bachelor, especially of the kind that Xavier had been while he was on their campus in his heyday, was the kind of guy they wanted on staff. But the new, responsible Xavier looked good on paper, and the addition of a wedding ring shows them he’s finally settled down. Violet, too, finds being married is helping her professionally, and they both decide to give it a few months, put on a good show of being together, and cash in on the possibilities it represents before going their separate ways. It’s the perfect plot, exactly the kind of bold move they used to utilize back in high school until they realize they hadn’t considered how much the spark between them has rekindled. When it comes time to let go, will they really be able to part yet again?

There is so much I loved about this novel. One of the best things is how the author uses her unrealistic plot point (being married is good for a career in the 21st century) realistically. It is made clear that the university coach demeaning Xavier as a singleton is being a jerk and providing him with fodder for a lawsuit. It is also made clear why Xavier is willing to put up with it; he doesn’t feel he has a lot of options to be promoted, and he sees this as his best chance. With Violet, we also see some practical applications to her wanting to be married. It’s almost impossible to use this trope effectively in a contemporary novel, but the author really does hit it out of the ballpark here.

Another positive is the maturity shown by both Violet and Xavier. I like stories about grownups who aren’t hot messes but actually know how to hold jobs, get themselves fed, and basically function as human beings. Xavier and Violet are both invested in their careers and put in the time necessary to build them. Violet’s job has especially demanding hours, and I appreciated how she is reflective enough to question how she would find time for someone like Xavier, who is based in a small town for most of the year. Major kudos to the author for showing both the good things about small towns and small-town living without in any way disparaging big cities and the high-powered careers of some of the people who live in them. Violet doesn’t see the people in her hometown as more caring, kind etc. (and not all of them are depicted in that light) than her successful friends and clients, which makes a refreshing change for most romances (and Hallmark Christmas movies). She also doesn’t tank or discredit everything she has built because of love.

Another wonderful aspect is how the author shows growth in both characters from their teenage selves while still maintaining the core of who they are. Violet is still impetuous, fashion-oriented, and a touch volatile, but she has also tempered all those characteristics with some self-reflection and maturity. She understands more clearly what she wants and what she will and won’t sacrifice to get it. Xavier is learning to be happy with the person he has become, which is so different than the person he hoped to be. He recognizes the mistakes he’s made along his path to adulthood and has worked to improve himself. I loved that as a teenager, he is all bluster and bravado and that the hallmark of his adulthood is meaningful, genuine communication.

The Partner Plot is a fabulous tale about how two people living vastly different lives can make long-distance love work. I would recommend it to fans of contemporary romance.

This was a cute “oops we got married in Vegas” story, with a twist. I loved Xavier’s students and Violet’s niece, and the ending warmed my heart. As an educator, I cringed at the inappropriate pictures Violet showed Xavier’s class, but this is fiction so pass given. My favorite scene was when he took care of her when she was sick 🥹

I’m hoping for an Alex & Iris book!!

THE PARTNER PLOT – Kristina Forest
Berkley
ISBN: 978-0593546451
February 27, 2024
Romantic Comedy

Willow Ridge, New Jersey – Present Day

Violet Greene and Xavier Wright were high school sweethearts but like many other couples who dated in high school, they split up while in college. Violet’s dream was always to be a fashion stylist to the stars while Xavier had dreams of playing professional basketball. Years later, they meet by accident in Las Vegas. Violet has achieved her goal as she is a much sought-after celebrity stylist. She is there with one of her stars to get ready for a show. But Xavier’s dreams of basketball crashed after he got injured. He now teaches at their old high school and is an assistant basketball coach. While Violet is a little uncomfortable being around Xavier, she soon warms up and they have a good time drinking and partying. The next morning, they wake up in bed together—and they are married.

Well, they aren’t really married as it’s a fake marriage license. But both had hoped what happens in Vegas stayed in Vegas. Except, Violet accidentally let it slip during a magazine interview that she married her high school sweetheart. Soon, everyone believes that Violet and Xavier are married. In the meantime, she fractured her ankle and is temporarily staying in Willow Ridge to recuperate at her sister’s house. But Xavier tracks her down to find out why she said what she did. It can be refuted easily but he has a request. Xavier is hoping to get a coaching job and the man interviewing him had indicated he wanted a coach who was married. Can they pretend to be married for a few weeks until he can secure the job?

It’s a crazy scheme to pretend to be married in THE PARTNER PLOT but it might work as there is still a lot of crazy sexual chemistry between Violet and Xavier. They had a lot of fun together in high school and appeared to be a lasting couple, but they went their separate ways after he broke it off. By then Xavier was feeling his basketball dreams slipping away and didn’t want to hold Violet back. Of course, she was angry over being dumped but she did achieve success. She even gained a fiancé at one point but after she found him cheating on her she dumped him. Now she is flying solo so acting as Xavier’s temporary wife won’t cause a problem. It’s just that everyone in Willow Ridge is happy for them. While they try to ignore the simmering attraction between them, it is hard to do when they’re living under the same roof—in Xavier’s tiny home. Readers will have to figure out how long before the one bed in his apartment becomes a shared one.

There are plenty of cute and funny scenes between Violet and Xavier in THE PARTNER PLOT. It’s clear that they still care for each other. Yet they can still bicker over the tiniest things. Readers will enjoy the characters—from Violet and Xavier to the minor characters such as their families and coworkers. It makes for a rollicking read that will keep one glued to the pages. If you’re looking for an enjoyable read that will tickle your funny bone, then look no further than THE PARTNER PLOT.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

The Partner Plot by Kristina Forest
Format: audio/ebook
Release Date: 2/27/24
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved The Neighbor Favor sooooo much I was so thrilled to be gifted this arc by NetGalley. Kristina Forest is so great at sucking you into a story right from the jump and keeping you engaged all the way through.

Violet & Xavier are high school sweethearts that part ways and cross paths in Vegas years later. Their chemistry is still off the charts and one things lead to another and they find themselves waking up with rings after a one night stand.

This book is so fun and, while hilarious at parts, really tender as well. I loved how much Forest focuses on Violet’s career and develops her character so fully. There is a lot of soul searching for both Violet and Xavier and the growth for both characters really added depth to what could have just been another fake dating second chance romance.

Highly recommend checking this book out! Narrators Aure Nash & Benjamin Charles did a phenomenal job on the audiobook so that would be a fab format to checkout as well!

3.5 stars

I loved the idea of this book. We are introduced to Violet and Xavier as teenagers who fall quickly for each other. Adult Violet begins this story not looking for love after a horrible break up, but a chance encounter leads her to fake marry her high school sweetheart. She accidentally reveal this to the whole world in an effort to bury her horrible break up in a huge feature for her career. Violet is a strong female lead who is committed to her career growth, opportunity, and easily surpasses the traditional tropes. Xavier, though not fully figured out in life, is so supportive of the goals of his fake wife that its inspiring.

All in all, I just wanted a little more from this romance. As a huge fan of the Neighbor Favor, this story failed to captivate me the way that Nick and Lilly's did. I think Xavier and Violet's love could've just been pushed a little further.

Violet gets her story, and is living her dream as a celebrity stylist. She's busy traveling the world to overcome her embarrassing heartbreak. It's in Vegas that she has a chance encounter with her one true love from High School, Xavier. In Vegas style, they wake-up with wedding bells ringing and rings adorning their hands. Would it be so bad if they "fake" the relationship for their own personal gain?

This RomCom reunites a couple at the right time to find balance for true love. Their high school love story is such an important part of the second-chance at a happily ever after. Violet and Xavier truly never loss sight of what's important in their careers to find a common ground as boyfriend/girlfriend.

The Partner Plot is a feel-good romance that shows what happens when a couple support each other.

Thank you, Berkley

High school sweethearts get a second chance at romance when they run into each other in Las Vegas and engage in a marriage of convenience in Kristina Forest’s latest contemporary romance novel, The Partner Plot.

About the Book | The Partner Plot

Violet Greene and Xavier Wright met eleven years ago, on the first day of 11th grade. Violet was late to school after a fight with her mother over her cropped sweater and artfully town jeans, which grew even more heated because Violet was already grounded. Xavier was in his first day at a new school, already the subject of interest due to his basketball skills and his gorgeous looks. From the moment they met, Violet and Xavier couldn’t stop staring at each other.

Their relationship followed ups and downs of young love—one week Violet is painting Xavier’s number on her cheek or they’re sneaking out for a romantic midnight swim, other weeks they are having a blowout fight in the school cafeteria and breaking up for three weeks, only to rekindle things when they realized how silly their fight was.

Violet and Xavier try to make it work in college, but with Violet on the west coast in fashion school and Xavier on the east coast playing basketball, things become too hard. After an injury ruins his career prospects forever, Xavier breaks it off, knowing he needs to let Violet go live her life. And that’s how things remain. Violet goes on to build a career as a celebrity stylist, and Xavier gets a teaching job at a local high school where he is also the assistant coach to the basketball team.

When their paths unexpectedly cross in Vegas eleven years later, their attraction is as strong as ever. The two spend an evening drinking, dancing, and catching up on life, failed relationships, and careers. And of course, they can’t help reminiscing about their promise right after graduation to marry each other when the time is right.

When a few drinks turns into too many, they wake up in the morning in bed together and find that they had a Vegas wedding the night before, with a photo and cheap rings to top it off. Thank goodness they find a certificate informing them it was a fake marriage! They will always have chemistry but there’s a reason things didn’t work out the first time, right?

When Violet has a big interview for a fashion magazine and the journalist brings up her ex-fiancé who cheated on her with a client, Violet panics. She doesn’t want her feature to turn into a gossip item. So she blurts out that she just married her high school sweetheart. The tidbit may have been enough to steer the interview back on track, but she wasn’t prepared for everyone in their hometown to find out.

Xavier and Violet agree to continue with the fake marriage while she is back in their hometown recovering from an ankle injury. But as they spend time together, the relationship becomes real even if the marriage isn’t. Could this fake marriage turn into their second chance to make things work?

Review | The Partner Plot

If you’re a romance reader, there is absolutely no way you’re going to be able to resist picking up a copy of The Partner Plot based on the adorable title and hot pink cover alone! Come for the cover, stay for the mash-up of two seemingly disparate tropes that somehow blend for a unique and fresh contemporary romance—second chance romance and marriage of convenience!

The opening chapter describes Violet and Xavier meeting and their relationship throughout the end of high school eleven years before the events of this book. I thought their story was really well-written. It wasn’t overly perfect—these are high school students, after all. They get in silly fights sometimes, they break up, they get back together. But through it all there is a strong sense of knowing one another and connecting when they are at this young, vulnerable age and can’t imagine ever leaving their high school bubble.

Their chemistry, love story, and break up are powerful enough that I felt invested in them finding their happily ever after. When they meet again in Vegas, I initially worried that this was going to turn into a story where they can’t stand each other but go through with the marriage of convenience, only to then rekindle their feelings. I was pleasantly surprised that was not what happened at all. In fact, from the moment they are back together, it’s clear that they both still think of the other as their person and true love.

They have obstacles to overcome. Years of separation, a teary ending, and bittersweet memories of their relationship don’t go away overnight. But the butterflies are still there, the attraction is still there, and most importantly, the love is still there. This was a perfect case of the fake marriage and then the subsequent time together being just what they needed to be able to figure out how they can make a life together work. That was not a small challenge—Violet’s job takes her all over the world working long hours. Xavier’s job means that outside of school breaks, he can’t easily travel with her.

All will come together as it should for Violet and Xavier. I loved that they didn’t have a big blow up towards the end of the story, only to realize they should be together. They knew they should be together all along. As Kristina Forest says—there are multiple iterations of a love story. There’s Violet and Xavier then, and Violet and Xavier now. The last chapter made my heart happy. A wonderful story that is light on steam but still has sizzling chemistry—both physically and emotionally!

Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes ever.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that we always had that one that "got away".
Also i myself am a second chance romance so it always tugs on the heartstrings. I like that the author kind of
Did a a flip
Flop With the character rolls. I love when the woman lead is the more successful
One and the man is the one that has to get it together. I feel like it’s super rare to see that in stories (the woman is always the mess 🙄)
I’m not usually a fan of fake dating / or in this case marriage lol but due to the circumstances and community they have to let it continue and i just loved the way it was done.
Xavier was so swoon worthy. Tattoos? Yes please. Photo in his wallet? Yes please *drool*
I loved Violet. She was such a strong character with lots of growth.
I felt this whole books was movie worthy.
This is the first book by this author I’ve read and i cannot wait to read more!

This was a really cute read that showed how much we mature with age and experience, and how the threads that link us don't break just because we change. I also love that it turned the usual outcomes on it's head - the woman hustling and working hard, and the man realizing it's the quiet thing that fulfills him.

Both of these characters are easy to like. Violet for her passion and dedication, and Xavier for his evolution and care. Since it's a second chance romance we get to hear and see the more volatile relationship they had as teenagers, and we get to see them not repeat the same mistakes as adults. It was so nice to read the comparison - the desire and attraction were there but with the wisdom of age and experience.

I enjoyed reading this over two days, and I am excited for the next book with the last Greene sister.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for the e-ARC and early finished copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars (rounded up)

TW: infidelity (not between the main couple), near-miss car accident, broken ankle/recovery, sports injury, professional burnout, overbearing mother

Rep: Black love (aka both romantic leads are Black), healthy sister dynamics, fashion industry, high school educator/coach

I wanted to start off by clarifying that THE PARTNER PLOT is the second book in a “trilogy” of interconnected standalones. THE NEIGHBOR FAVOR is the first book. I did not read these in order, as THE PARTNER PLOT, was the first one I read. While there were references to the other sisters and relationships, your reading experience is not hindered at all. I do plan to go back and read THE NEIGHBOR FAVOR, because I had a fun time with this one. The third book is coming in 2025, but read them how you want.

Okay, so basically this is a second chance romance, which can sometimes be hit or miss for me. However this one worked because, a) they were high school sweethearts (how precious) and; b) they broke up as teenagers and the reasoning why simply shows lack of maturity and was a practical circumstance. This is important because it enables the reader to root for their reunion, instead of some second chance romances that mark you want to scream at the main characters to run for the hills.

So enter in Violet, our fashionable, jet setting stylist, who is based in New York but travels wherever her clients and the industry calls her to. She has an unhealthy work life balance, as she strives to continue climbing the ladder of success and achieve her childhood dreams. Then we have Xavier, our star high school basketball player, to returned high school English teacher and Associate basketball coach. He dumped her when they were in college, but when they have a chance encounter in Vegas, their spark is undeniable.

Despite what the cover presents, a very small, yet pivotal part of this story takes place in Sin City. Wires get crossed, nuptials may or may not be exchanged and Violet and Xavier find each other wrapped up in each others worlds after nine years apart. So, can I say having a FMC the same age as me felt cozy. Hearing about what was trending when she was in high school and realizing our timelines were the same felt like I was following the story of a potential friend. This rarely happens to me when I’m reading, so if you’re in the same boat as me, it’ll feel (maybe?) nostalgic and relatable.

What I really appreciated about our two lovebirds was how self-aware and reflective they are. Truly an emotionally mature couple, while flawed, as all humans are, they really do strive to be better as individuals and as a couple. It was also refreshing to see the male lead having insecurities and not be the one with the star studded career. They both are on different paths and find fulfillment in their communities and professions, but they have to navigate what that looks like for them. There is this theme that love prevails, which may not work for some readers, but felt authentic to the characters Forrest created.

I know some people aren’t a fan of dual-POV romance stories, but I genuinely enjoyed Xavier’s voice. I think this is aided by the characters being career focused. So while this is a romance, we are following to characters at pivotal moments in their careers. Violet is struggling to keep her career from being the sole focus of her life and Xavier is battling with accepting what he has and feeling like he needs to do “more” or have a certain title to show the world he’s made it. Seeing them as individuals and not just as a couple gave them their own identity. This provided a storyline that felt relative to struggles today of working couples, even if the average couple might not have the disparities or struggles.

At moments the pacing felt a little lagging, as we do rehash some of the same themes over and over, since you know characters hardly ever community enough in romances. However, I enjoyed their respective industries, seeing the small town setting, the positive impact a good teacher can make, and the dynamics of the fashion industry from a stylist’s purview.

This was an enjoyable and overall healthy romance read. If you enjoy contemporary romances, would definitely recommend giving this one a try.

The Partner Plot is perfect for those who want a second chance romance book which really sinks into the why. Why didn't they work out? Forest is committed to the character growth. It's about that fierce quick consuming powerful love we have as teens. But it's also about the knowledge that relationships take work and commitment. It means showing up for someone on their hard days. It's also the knowledge that people change and this new person, while we see the echoes of the old, is someone else.

Thank you Berkley for the eARC of this book! This book was adorable from start to finish. The plot was very unique and I am a sucker for second chance and fake dating, so this book was right up my alley. I absolutely love Kristina's writing, and will continue to read every book she releases!!