It wasn’t until I opened up the book he had bought me that I saw he’d scribbled something on the first page. He must have done it when I’d been waiting for him to pay.
Dinner?
Then he’d written his name, Noah, and his phone number.
Breaking into a wide smile, understanding then why he’d wanted to pay for my book, I realised I’d just had a real life meet-cute. In a bookshop! It was what a romance book lover’s dreams were made of.
The Plot Twist is a satisfying rom-com that is sure to please any romance bookworm.
Stevie Phillips has just landed her dream job working for a publishing company and it seems like this is page one of her new, improved life.
But her first day throws more curveballs than she thinks she can handle: there’s been a takeover and the whole publicity team has been fired. And her new boss is the last face she expected to see.
Because Noah Anderson also happens to be her ex-boyfriend.
Thrown together on a campaign for a book the rest of the staff don’t want to touch with a barge-pole, Stevie resolves to make the best of a bad situation. This is her chance to prove herself, and she’s not going to let the man who broke her heart ruin it for her.
When Noah starts hinting that there was more to their break up then him just not loving her, Stevie’s resolution starts to wobble. Getting back with your ex is never a good idea, is it? Especially not when your ex is also your boss…
Well, this book was as much fun as I had hoped it would be. I read Victoria’s previous book, The Love Interest and fell head over heels in love with her writing and her ability to know what romance bookworms want in their love stories. Her books are also proud and loud cheerleaders for the romance genre. She points out that society and the publishing industry’s opinions of romance books and its readers are often thought to be silly little love stories that don’t have much merit. But what Victoria shows readers, and hopefully also readers outside of the romance genre, is that romance bookworms are passionate about the books they read and that these books are so relevant to our world. There are so many moments in this book where it feels like Victoria is writing a love letter to romance bookworms. She gets why romance readers love the genre.
The overall story is a lot of fun. It’s this wonderful blend of workplace and second-chance romance. Poor Stevie was so excited to start her new job in a publishing firm only to find out that her ex-boyfriend, who had just up and left her, was her new boss. Stevie can’t decide what she is having a harder time getting over the fact that Noah is her boss or that he seems so different from the man she used to date. I’m not always a fan of workplace romances, but I loved this one. I think it’s because of the bookish atmosphere and Noah and Stevie working together to promote an upcoming romance book. They are both passionate about the romance genre, and their passion just leaps from the pages, and you cannot help but get excited about the plans they are coming out with. The chemistry between these two is still electric, and as a reader, I was left wondering why Noah had ended his relationship with Stevie so abruptly because it’s pretty clear that he still has some strong feelings for her. There is plenty of tension between these two, both lusty and angry. Stevie is still harbouring some major hurt feelings from their break-up, which often has her moods swinging from one extreme to the other.
I loved how Victoria used emails as a way to help readers understand what happened to cause this break-up. Without giving away any spoilers, Noah had written these heartfelt emails to Stevie, and even though he couldn’t send them to her, he continued to write to her. As a reader, we get to read these letters and see what happened in Noah’s life that drove him away from Stevie.
The romance is slightly spicy, it’s probably the spiciest book you will get from Boldwood publishing. Both of these characters tended to run hot and cold with each other. There are moments when they have a hard time reigning in those lusty feelings, but then they would often quickly pull back. In order for them to reconnect, they have to have those quiet moments where they can share those feelings, both good and bad. They also have to be willing to let the past go. I thought the relationship was believable. Victoria does a great job of building that tension while also showing readers that there is an emotional connection between the two. But they have to talk before they can jump into bed with each other. This approach fits with their characters. Noah’s grand gestures at the beginning and end of the book are the stuff of my romantic book lover dreams. That man really knows how to make a bookworm swoon.
The Plot Twist is another satisfying and fun rom-com by Victoria Walters.
Thank you, Boldwood Books and Rachel Random Resources, for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
