The story about two writers, Becca and Riley, that they meet on the internet, and they catch it off immediately. Riley invites Becca to Ireland for a summer writing retreat, and Becca accepts it, since she just lost her best friend and found out that she was engaged to her first love. But when Becca arrives to Ireland, there comes the so-called plot twist: Riley is not a woman, as Becca thought. After some reconsideration, she decides to stay with him while they both work on their books.
This was a light, feel-good read, perfect for the summer. Keenan’s writing style reminded me of Emily Henry’s a lot, which was a good thing. The story is really interesting, refreshing, funny and cute. Riley is super charming, and Becca is special in her own way.
What bothered me was the communication between Riley and Becca since they couldn’t talk things out. They were good at communicating and solving problems with other people, but not with each other. There were also two side characters that bothered me (Eimier and Jamie), but this only proves that the writing and the character development is good.
If I draw the line, I’d recommend it for a light summer read, especially if you like Emily Henry and/or Catherine Walsh.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc of this book!

3 and a half stars rounded up to 4 stars!

Becca, a teacher and an aspiring writer, is having a bad summer and needs something and somewhere to take her mind off things.
Her best friend, Rae, suffered a terrible accident and is now no longer here, her ex is now back in the picture and her job is falling apart. So when Riley, her author friend, invites her to the Irish countryside she decides it will be the best thing for her… even though they’ve never met before!
Happiness is never that simple, though. Riley is not who she thought and now she doesn’t know if she wants to stay in Ireland. However, is this the start of a beautiful love story or something else entirely?

I devoured this book! For fans of Emily Henry this one is definitely for you. I really enjoyed the story line and the development of Becca throughout the story. I would’ve loved to have read a little bit more about Becca’s happiness towards the end and how she has healed from her traumas but I still really enjoyed it. The characters are very lovable and I loved how Becca gained many relationships throughout the book.
Definitely recommend and will definitely love to read more from Breea in the future!

Becca Taylor is having a time! After her best friend dies unexpectedly she takes time to visit a new female friend she met online but, hasn't met in person yet. That new friend just happens to be a hunk of a man! This was a bit of a slow burn and I would have liked more of a romantic build between Becca and Riley but, what can I say? I'm always a sucker for a HEA.

I wanted to really like this and get hooked, but it sadly was rather flat and lacked a bit more chemistry and tension to make this a good read.

Did I see the plot twist coming from a mile away? Yes I did. Did I still enjoy the book anyway? Absolutely! I really felt for Becca. She is really going through a tough time. Her best friend dying and discovering that her best friend was dating (almost marrying) her hated ex? A getaway to Ireland to do some writing on her book is a good idea right?? In comes the plot twist, but it is after the plot twist that things really get interesting.
Overall this was a nice sweet romance. I felt the author did a great job with the anguish and heartbreak of losing a best friend but I felt they could have done more with the side characters.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Headline and Breea Keenan for this early release copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was pretty good, but I found it a little boring at times. My attention span had a hard time getting past chapter six at first, I'm not a huge fan of long text conversations in books, but other than that, it was a pretty solid read.

Quite sweet but wasn't blown away by it. I'll definitely keep an eye out for future books from this author but I wasn't convinced by the chemistry, mostly because it was a bit too sweet without any edge to it.

I really wanted to love it but just ended up liking this book. There were too many plot twists and side stories and not enough time spent on building a romance between Riley and Becca. It felt like a lot of the time there was a brief moment of chemistry but it was brushed away quickly so when they do finally kiss, I was surprised because I didn’t feel the build the way I usually do while reading romance. I did love Ivy and found myself laughing out loud at the parts she was in but otherwise I never really felt attached to any of the characters or their backstory.

I was provided an EARC of this book through NetGalley and the publishers for my honest review.

A bit of slow burn, but keep with it as ends up being super cute with loads of good chemistry
When Becky losses her best friend in a car accident she is totally distraught.
She is even more distraught when she discovers at her funeral,that her bets friend was dating her ex.
She needs to get away and she she receives an invitation to go to Ireland and stay with her online author friend she jumps at the chance.
They are both struggling writers and it seems the perfect solution
But is once again astounded when Riley, she discovers is a handsome man and not a woman as she thought.
She settles into the Irish way of life, they both encourage each other to work on their novels and even start their own writing retreat.
Loved the storyline and the blossoming relationship between Becca & Riley.
Had Beth O’Leary vibes about it.
A fabulous debut novel, definitely an author to keep an eye on.
Thanks @breeakeenan @headlinepg & @netgalley for the fabulous debut read

3.5 ⭐️
I think the idea was really great. I really liked the banter and all the writer talk they were doing. But the story was not well executed.
There was so much angst in one part and then abruptly, without any lead up, they would resolve the issue, and then a few pages later, the same thing would happen.
Seriously, there was no build up of tension and anticipation when they first got together. They were just talking, and then it just happened.
It felt like the author just wanted to throw in a random scene just to appease the readers.

This was a lovely read.

Following her best friend’s death, writer Becca takes up an offer to escape from her problems and stay with writer friend, Riley. Only…..Riley isn’t quite what she was expecting.

This has a wealth of emotions, shock, betrayal, friendship and a slow burning affection. What happens when a grieving and aspiring children’s writer finds herself falling for a charming and hopeless romantic? Sweet and softly simmering, this romance was a gentle look at grief, moving on and chasing dreams.

"𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳. 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴."


Man.... was this book A. RIDE.

In a good way. lol

I can't give full review without giving away 1000 spoilers. But what I will say is that I did really enjoy this book.

There is a lot of uniqueness to this book. And one them is that it's like book-ception. LOL where you have writers, specifically romance writers, who are blatantly calling out things like tropes and happy ever afters.

And while this is technically a romance, it's also a LOT about finding yourself (especially after loss), navigating grief, and just overall finding your place in the world.

A huge thank you to @headlinebooks and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review! 😍
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#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #plottwist #breeakeenan #book21of2024 #whatsnikkireading #ireland #scotland #friendstolovers #griefandloss #headlinebooks #netgalley #advancedreadercopy

This was a quick read similar to an Emily Henry book, although I definitely cried more at this one. I felt Rae's death as if she were my own best friend.

The plot twist for Riley being a man and their blossoming relationship was perfectly executed and the betrayal of Drew and everything his character was involved in was a lot.

The book had a lovely ending and I really appreciated the relationship that she had with Adam by the end too.

The betrayal, the second chance, the tropes, the loss and grief through this book - it was a lot (in a good way) and I'm sure I'll still be thinking about this book for a while to come.

Plot Twist is the first novel by Scottish journalist, poet and author, Breea Keenan. Glasgow primary school teacher and aspiring children’s author, Becca Taylor is dealing with feelings of profound grief and betrayal. At her best friend Rae’s funeral, she learns that the ex-boyfriend she could never forgive had been about to marry Rae. alternating

The best way to sort out her head, Riley O’Connell suggests, is to spend the summer in a small Irish village working on their books together. Becca met Riley, a published romance author with a very full-on four-year-old, an even more impatient agent, and a bit of second-novel writer’s block, through a social media writers’ group. Impulsive, drunk-made arrangements see her on the ferry to Rathcliffe.

But when she arrives, she discovers that “Riley – the yoga-loving, long-skirted, clean-living, romance writer I’d envisaged – was not a she at all. Riley was a he. A tall, broad-shouldered, messy-dark-haired, green-eyed, athletic, manly-man.” She can’t stay, surely? But Riley counters: it’s not the nineteen forties, and there’s a spare room in Bellinder Cottage, the setting is gorgeous, and little Ivy begs her to stay.

What follows is a delightful romance that starts off predictable, then takes a few surprising turns before the obligatory happy ever after. Some well-worn romance tropes come into play: friends who become lovers, lovers who become friends, exes turning up to put a fly in the ointment, being forced to share a room, and grand gestures. An impressive debut.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Headline Publishing

This started out so well! I really giggled so hard at bits and pieces in the beginning. Everything went great until about the middle section when the flashbacks started and Becca lost my sympathy a little bit (more than a little bit honestly because she still blamed Drew for their break up when her behaviour was selfish and self centred and then Drew... I thought I might feel for Drew but by the end I couldn't stand him either).

I really liked Riley. Though, I must mention the chemistry wasn't their for me between him and Becca. They worked as friends but I just didn't feel more was there between them.

I'm a sucker for drama and third act break ups but there's such a thing as too much. The three (two and a half?) break ups did my head in for sure. Exes all over the places, everybody assuming, everybody changing their minds... And on top of it, how the last break up was resolved was way too easy for me.

Anyway, this is a quick read, more of a woman's fiction (though, I don't feel like Becca is reflecting enough for that...) than romance really. It doesn't hurt to read it, the characters are nice for the most part and the story is alright. Oh and Ivy is an absolute blast, the best part of the book.

I really liked it. The way the author deals with the emotional plot lines without making it overly dramatic is something that I enjoy. The fact that the main character is a bookish person was enjoyable, but the MMC being bookish made the story even better. Ivy was a lovely character, too.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this book
I liked where the story was going but the problem is that I was going to at least get a good plot twist, the story wasn't anything out of ordinary we have the female main character that goes to the city where her best friend used to work something that reminds me of hallmark movies we get to see how she recovers of some events that happened to her. It was a little meh until the last chapters where I felt that things started to get interesting. I was just soo mad for some things that happened and how the male character reacted to them, it made me root for the main character to just end up alone, without a partner.
The epilogue, I get it there are people that do that but it just wasn't for me, also I like my epilogues a little more into the future, finished this book two days ago but I wasn't sure what I could say about this book.
This book is for people that like a little bit of drama and like books about books or the process of writing a book, loved the cover of this book but I felt that something was missing

This was a cute read for me. At first it gives off sort of like beach read vibes as the main characters are both writers and wanting to finish a book they’re writing. The first I’d say 75% of the book was fun and entertaining. However the third act breakup was not it. I feel like it was so unnecessary and it actually just made me dislike the mmc sorry :( Also towards the end I feel like there’s so much going on and it felt like it’s just thrown into the last few chapters. I do like the other characters tho. And the writing style is very fun and easy to read, I liked it. It’s such a cute and easy read I feel like.

Read from March 21st, 2024 to March 27th, 2024. Written on March 28th, 2024

~3.5~

NEW BOOK RELEASE ALERT!!

What an amazing debut! I am so happy that I got to read this book ahead of its release and share my thoughts about it.

So, first off: wow. I am truly amazed with this book; its characters, storyline and writing are filled with such emotion, it genuinely gave me so much pleasure to read this. It was funny, warm, emotional and a great mix of it all; the cosiest of book soups!

Now, I didn't really enjoy the fact that we kept moving back and forth in the story. It felt out of place at times, even though it did answer some questions while reading. Also, the so called "grand gesture" from the main male character was...lacklustre, after all that happened, I expected something a little bit less more strong and with more meaning to it. Apart from that, I can't really remember anything else that I disliked about this.

Now, I was not expecting to cry while reading this, especially to cry the way I did (which was a lot). No spoilers here, but if you pick up this book, you'll know what I mean. That alone had so much more power than I could ever envision this book having.

For a good with such a happy cover and fun title, I was not expecting such a deep story. I guess you could say it was a great plot twist! Sorry, I'll leave now. Thank you so much for the opportunity and all the luck for the literary career of Breea Keenan!

Signing off,
B.

(Free ARC from NetGalley and Headline | Headline Accent that I chose to review after reading)

this rom-com is witty and funny, great flow throughout and this was really an enjoyable read. you wouldnt be disappointed if you picked this up.