Carmen Sereno’s Plot Twist is a unique tale of two writers collaborating for a mystery-meets-romance novel. At first glance, Marcel comes off as a selfish, arrogant author (both by Siobhan, and in general). In time Siobhan learns there is so much more than meets the eye. The building romance between the two throughout the book is slow-paced, but rewarding. Sereno captures New Orleans with such detail that I was expecting her to be from there. I definitely want to know more about that when her book arrives into the world.

This was a slow start for me, but a good enemies to lovers book.

Certain characters I found annoying but yo get used to them.

A cute story with a unique premise that captivates you the whole way through. I could definitely see why some people wouldn't take to Marcel and thus not enjoy this book. He is extremely abrasive and mean. But, I found it quite easy to move through that with him and absolutely loved the way Siobhan handled his meanness. Rather than being aggressive back, attacking him back, fighting more, she offered a light hearted, unburdened, un-abused perspective to balance him and it was much more effective. I adored the unique story.

I obtained a copy of this book from NetGalley. This book immediately drew me in with the synopsis, I immediately got the opposite attracts and enemies to lovers vibes from the get go. This cover is very contemporary as lots of similar art styles are on a lot of popular books. I like the title, it’s short and to the point and actually, the book had many plot twists I didn’t anticipate.
I enjoyed Siobhan, natural romantic always wants to see the best in other people, she is very easy to like. However, I did find it really hard to root for Marcel. Perhaps he is just a little bit too unlikeable, the redemption arc did not sit well for me I was both rooting for and against him it felt like… I do understand the whole “mysterious” vibe he was going for and this is later revealed to be quite a dark traumatic childhood story but for me the opposites attract was great, it worked but I did not root for the romantic relationship. This is until the epilogue, I think had this not been part of the story I would feel very different. It was perfect, the redemption I was searching for in Marcel was there and I see he finally has stopped running!! A relief!
My favourite part of the novel was when they were in New Orleans, Marcel’s backstory was drip fed to us up to a big reveal which laid all the truth out for Siobhan, and the reader, to bare him in all his broken glory. I was fully immersed in Marcel’s history but also the history and the culture of New Orleans, as a woman from England and my only experience of New Orleans is in the Vampire Diaries and the Princess & the frog, this was refreshing! Also, highlighted the devastating impact of hurricane Katrina - something which I knew nothing about
Overall, the writing style is really well paced, and MY GOD WAS IT SLOW BURN. But it always left me wanting more, I would be busy doing other things and waiting for a moment to come back to Marcel and Siobahn. The side character, our main characters own True Norths’ - they are well fleshed out, they feel more than side characters and I would happily read a book about Alex, Lena and Paige. This story was very unpredictable a will they won’t they until they finally do. As previously mentioned I believe the one year time skip in the epiologue is the saving grace for me. That said, I will be recommending this to people upon its release!

3.5/5

In "Plot Twist", an established crime novelist, Marcel Black, and a debut romance author, Siobhan Harris, find themselves having to collaborate on writing a novel mixing both genres - very much against Marcel's wishes. At first, I very much despised Marcel Black's character with his condescending attitude and extreme grumpiness. However, I grew to like him throughout the novel as his perspective began to shift.

As Siobhan and Marcel navigate their creative differences and the building tension between them, the "enemies to lovers" trope came into play, much to my delight. Their banter and gradual realization of their feelings for each other add depth and warmth to the story, making their romance all the more satisfying.

However, I feel like some questions were left unanswered, leaving the end of the story feeling rushed and unfinished.

This was a slow start for me but was overall a good and cute read. Enemies to lovers and bookish vibes at always something I gravitate towards, and this book filled that for me.

A really fun enemies to lovers read.

The characters were very lovable and the banter in this book was really good. The pacing was a bit odd at places which is why I rated it 3 stars.

Marcel was a bit annoying at the beginning but he did grow on me as the plot progressed and I ended up loving him. It was just such a sweet read with a mix tough and cute moments.

I recommend this one for those who enjoy contemporary rom-coms with a lot of feel good moments in them.

I’ll admit this started slow for me. I did think the author was overly descriptive at first but now that I’ve finished, I think that might have been intentional - Siobhan’s POV is overly descriptive, and Marcel’s is too short, and lacking emotion. It improves as the story goes on and these two characters grow both personally and artistically.

This book is a slow burn in every sense, but overall very enjoyable. The author does a great job of building these two characters.

I wasn't too keen on this book at the start because Marcel's arrogance bugged me, but boy, did it surprise me! The character growth is off the charts, especially for Marcel. Watching him and Siobhan, who start off as enemies, team up to write a book together was fun. I'd totally love to read what they come up with!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!!

Siobhan and Marcel had me hooked from page one! Their sizzling enemies-to-lovers dynamic crackles with chemistry, and Sereno masterfully develops the supporting cast too.

This isn't your average romance. We get an insider peek into the publishing world, complete with the struggles writers face (major empathy points!). Prepare to laugh, cry, and maybe even swoon (just a little) alongside these characters.

"Plot Twist" is a refreshing take on the enemies-to-lovers trope, leaving you wanting more. Carmen Sereno, consider me a die-hard fan! (This book deserves more than 5 stars, but alas, that's the limit!)

A classic grumpyxsunshine story that captures you from the beginning. The characters in Plot Twist are relatable, well-rounded and it is easy to get drawn into their work, lives & drama. This novel had me wanted to trade in hours of sleep for more pages read so I could see how certain plot twists unfolded.

I didn't expect to enjoy this one as much as I did, but it was pretty good! This is definitely a more character driven book than a plot driven, coz the story completely relied on the MCs' interests, fears, and tension to take forward the novel. Their personalities clash on the internet and the forced proximity in the story is just perfect. As a reader, writer, and aspiring author, I'm always enchanted by the world of authors, and I love how this book dove into the nitty gritty bits of publication.

Love that no one's 'fixing' anyone, and the issues came up later in the story. The backstory was amazing, and the setting were beautiful. I always enjoy reading detailed descriptions of places I've never been to. Might be one of the most swoon worthy endings I've ever read. It wasn't a cliche, and so well executed! I didn't know that this book was translated until I saw it on GoodReads, so I really appreciate the translator for her commendable work.

If I'm being completely honest, I was expecting more from this book. I wanted to like it, I really did. But it fell short for me between the male main character who was insufferable, and the author's writing style. I liked the female main character, she wasn't very self-centered, and she was humble. I understand that it's inappropriate for me to call out an author for constantly highlighting the fact that the male character was black as a white woman, but hear me out. I completely support people of color in all ways, but his race just felt over-used in this book. Every single inconvenience was blamed on racism or the fact that he was black. Seriously? Also, the slow burn was done poorly. It felt like there was no chemistry between the two characters, and it was rushed when they did have chemistry. No hate for the author or the publisher, but this book just wasn't for me.

I loved this sizzling energy right from the start 4.5/5⭐️

Firstly thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Both authors come from very different genres and creating a story together was going to be quite the challenge. As the story goes on the love I have for the two main characters grew tremendously. As the author put it, falling in love with the characters and wanting them to be happy in your heart and my gosh was I routing for the happy ending.

Not going to lie, didn’t enjoy the third act break up but I understand this leading to a character development moment and big romantic gesture.

Overall a very enjoyable read which felt like real love.

The epilogue was also 10/10!

I hated Marcus. I felt like his character growth was minimal and he should have never ended up with Sibohan. She deserved more. There was excessive description throughout the entire book that made the book drag out way too long.

Plot Twist by Carmen Sereno is a spell-binding, slow burn enemies to lovers story between two famous authors.
At first I found the character of Marcel completely insufferable which was a drastic contrast to the sweet and heartbroken Siobhan but as I continued to read I uncovered the truth behind his frosty demeanor. Sereno did an incredible job of creating a beautiful slow burn love story set between the glamorous Manhattan and the offbeat New Orleans almost feeling as though I was sitting in Marcels apartment myself. The book I found slightly too much of a slow burn and was anticipating their eventual relationship from almost the moment they met. I did rather enjoy the character development given to Marcel especially in his emotionally unavailability. As a reader I would’ve like more of a backstory into Siobhan as we seen with Marcel but I did throughly enjoy the dual storytelling aspect. I enjoyed the use of some modern pop culture references in this story but found a lot of the social media references especially by Siobhan’s friends too much for me. Overall I admired this story and would certainly read more enemies to lovers stories in the future

Plot Twist by Carmen Sereno, translated by Beth Fowler is a funny, quirky, and crazy story! I could not stop laughing, really ROFL-ing my whole way through this book. The main character, Siobhan Harris, is a helpless romantic who at the beginning of the book is a struggling digital media assistant, overworked and underpaid, unable to catch a break. Marcel Dupont, the male romantic lead, is a narcissistic asshole who has just finished writing a 15 book series. Their lives get tangled together when Marcel gets bullied into starting a Twitter account and he gets into a fight with the one, the only, Siobhan Harris. Do not get it in your head that these are normal people who behave normally or appropriately for their age. They are not. Both characters are extremely odd and socially inept, yet well-developed. They are perfectly matched in the way that they're both equally unbearable. Marcel is a bit of an incel. Siobhan is a blabbermouth. Yet, together, they are two natural disasters that are hilarious, crazy, and oh-so quirky.

I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an adult romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Crossing for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If I could’ve given this no stars, it still would’ve been too many.

What has the set up of being something interesting (established crime novelist and debut romance author paired together to write a crime romance after a Twitter feud), the execution was shockingly bad. Much has already been said about Marcel Black, an on the nose name for a character that the author never hesitates to remind us that he is a Black man, but I truly thought the reviews were exaggerating.

I was wrong.

Marcel is abrasive, rude, crass and a walking stereotype of an aggressive Black man, something that is only made worse from the near-constant fetishization from Siobhan (the female MC) and her friends who both talk and act as if someone Googled “obnoxious white liberal feminism stereotype” and made them into a person. Siobhan herself is an interesting enough character, or should be, if it wasn’t so exasperating that she is so immediately taken with a man who is outright aggressive to her and never wastes a moment to insult her in every single conversation. The only reason I didn’t end up DNF was because like Siobhan, I had the idiotic belief that some things could be redeemed.

I never think that an author has to be representative of the people groups they wish to write, if they did then we’d be lesser as a society for it. However, this was such a blatant case of subconscious, if not outright, racism in writing a Black main character that I’m surprised this made it past the editing stage.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were unique and not cookie cutter characters that I have seen in most of the newer releases. There were times where I wanted to shake both of them for their actions as they both seemed a bit childish and spoiled.

The different POV of the characters throughout the book was pretty cool, especially when it comes to them writing a book from different POVs.

Overall, it was a great read that I enjoyed tremendously.

This story was a delightful escape into the world of writing, where two characters navigate their differences to collaborate on a project. While the storyline followed a predictable path, the chemistry between the characters was there. So for me it was a quick and easy read.
If you’re looking for a light-hearted romance that promises enjoyment without demanding too much, then Plot Twist fits the bill.

Thankyou to author Carmen Sereno, Amazon Crossing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Charlene 📚🤗🌸 @lastnownext