Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Plot Twist

Plot Twist centers on Sophie, a romance author with writer's block who's never been in love working on her second book, and Dash, her best friend's brother, landlord, and Hollywood royalty who is secretly doing everything he can to stay sober.

This book was absolutely delightful. It touches on very real and deep topics while maintaining a playful and adorable love story. Sophie is a hard-core people pleaser often to her detriment: she loses herself in her relationships and as part of that doesn't have a whole lot of confidence in who she is as a person or what she is capable of. Dash's family is Hollywood royalty. He grew up in the limelight and was taught from a very young age to play his part in order to avoid any semblance of scandal. The pressure to be someone he isn't led him into alcohol addiction. Because that pressure to conform came from his family, he is uncomfortable telling them about his struggles and efforts to stay sober.

Dash and Sophie become each other's safe space. Sophie allows Dash to see the real her and he encourages her to be and do everything she wants to do. In the same way, Dash opens up to Sophie in a way he doesn't with anyone else. She sees the struggles and the progress he has made with his addiction and doesn't judge Dash the way he judges himself. They both see how amazing the other is, what they are capable of, and make every effort they can to support the other.

This is just so, so good.

However, while there is a lot of good representation in here (disability, sexual orientation), just about all of the characters are white. This is my first book by la Rosa so I'm not sure if this is endemic to her work but I think it is something to be aware of.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ (4.25)

🌶 🌶 🌶

Tropes: best friend's brother, opposites attract (grumpy/sunshine), only one bed, forced proximity, secret identity, friends to lovers

Content Warnings: alcoholism and relapse, toxic family, stalking

#PlotTwist #NetGalley

Content Warnings

algeneral's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Plot Twist is a beautiful story of finding yourself and learning that you are worthy of love. Erin La Rosa’s story of two flawed but relatable characters stars writer Sophie and actor Dash; both trying to figure out who they are and trying to get our of the shadow of successful siblings. Sophie is struggling with writer’s block and the idea that she has never been in love and Dash is dealing with personal problems including an overbearing mother and Hollywood actor father and upcoming film star and director brother. There is heartbreak and betrayal, but also the story of finding the best of you even while going through the lowest of lows.

eArc received through NetGalley. Thank you to Harlequin Publishing for the eArc and Erin La Rosa for the wonderful story

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bellajune819's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

sarahmcg's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This was a fun little rom-com. Here’s what to expect:
- FWB / best friend’s brother / one bed
- A lot of references to TikTok and social media in general
- A romance author who’s “never been in love” and now has writer’s block
- An ex-actor from a famous family working hard to stay sober
- Pansexual FMC
- The FMC also has a pacemaker and it wasn’t really part of the plot but I thought it was nice to include because I feel like that’s not commonly represented, especially in younger people

Some of my critiques would be:
- Some of the pacing just felt off to me, I kept looking at how far I was in the book and then I was like “Omg I’m only at 50%???”, just felt like it dragged at times
- This book was spicy (which I love!) but I didn’t like the smut writing 🥲 just some words that really make me cringe and made it so that I couldn’t enjoy
- Some really cheesy / punny lines (which again, I don’t normally mind but for some reason they made me cringe!)
- For how old the main characters were, I felt that they were very emotionally immature at times, including interactions with each other & their friends/family

So, I did enjoy the book at times! Other times I just wanted to finish it and be done. The MMC (Dash) was working through some really serious shit, and the friendship and then vulnerability he developed with the FMC (Sophie) was really nice to watch since it didn’t seem like he normally let people in close like that.

I would add that if alcoholism / sobriety / relapse & rehab are anything you’re sensitive to, proceed with caution. But if you like reading about others’ (albeit, fictional) experiences, you may still connect with this book. Message me if you want details!

I’d recommend this to people who like Tessa Bailey, Elle Kennedy, and the like.

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