I’ll give two stars since I did finish the book but I would be hard pressed to find a more infuriating and foolish lead character and she might not even be the most ridiculous person on the story!

I loved the concept of the book with the missed connection with a movie star and the drop in every year on the fated meeting date but the characters were just so so bad.

Fiona, the best friend, is beautiful and perfect and has cartoonishly exciting and glamorous jobs that she just hops between easily with no explanation of how or what her qualifications might be and she dresses in designer fashion and offers to support her broke friend but yet also can’t afford her own apartment even when she’s 40 years old?

And our lead character Olivia dumps a sweet, charming, successful, seemingly perfect man who loves her for no reason at all and then spends literally the next ten years moping after him EVEN THOUGH HE REPEATEDLY TELLS HER THAT HE IS MADLY IN LOVE WITH HER.

Oh and Olivia, who we are meant to think of as sort of a loser-ish, quirky sidekick type is also almost completely indifferent to George Clooney and several other movie stars wanting to flirt with her at a cocktail party where she is thrust into the spotlight as part of a bachelorette auction in place of Charlize Theron (!!!’) who had to drop out. OK that’s totally normal. (Seriously they don’t even treat this plot point as comedic! It just happens like it’s normal!)

Leading man Liam deserves much better that this woman.

I see in some reviews that this is supposed to be some kind of Christian fiction? I don’t get that at all
Unless the only qualification for that tag is that there’s no sex in it. ( )

This is categorized as "Christian fiction" because of the publisher but honestly, it's not. I know that label can be off putting (I wouldn't have picked it up if I had seen it) so I figured I'd say that right off the bat. It's also not quite a romance. Instead it's a story of a screenwriter who has a chance encounter with an actor in a coffee shop, and they make a pact to meet again in 10 years to make a movie. So the story spans a decade but the reader is only given glimpses of that time, one day a year - the anniversary of the meeting in the coffee shop. Interesting premise, and I loved the ending. But the entire time I wanted to scream at the main character to just communicate, dammit! ( )

I received an ARC from Net Galley, and I'm honestly not sure how I felt about this book. I think it had a great premise, but I felt let down by the plot. Olivia's relationship with Fiona just didn't make sense to me. It felt weird for them to be childhood best friends yet all this random tension between them. The time jumps also made me confused about Olivia's love life. Like one moment we were suddenly learning she had been cheated on by a guy named Malcolm, which would mean something if we knew who he was, but we didn't so it just kind of felt like it was just there. There were a lot of moments where I had to just remember the point of fiction was to suspend your disbelief, but I still found it hard to believe Fiona landed all these amazing jobs without any real experience (Vera Wang??) and that Olivia would just run into and have all of these celebs falling for her. By the end, I just really wanted her to see Hamish so having it NOT be him and also her ending up with Liam was just weird. It felt odd for her to end up with him considering how it had hurt her relationship with Fiona previously. In short, this book raises some questions but it's still good if you're looking for a nice quick read with lots of quirky moments. #netgalley ( )

Plot Twist has shot its way to the top of my favorite Bethany Turner books. It contains Turner’s humor, heart, and pop culture references but takes it to the next level with a chance meeting with an actor and a timeline that spans ten years (sprinkle a little bit of nostalgia into the mix, here).

And a character can grow a lot in ten years, but also have a number of setbacks along the way. Olivia experiences both. One of the best things about this book was the friendship of Oliva and Fiona. The two of these ladies know each other well and truly care, even in the messy times.

My other favorite thing? The will-they-or-wont-they romance that spans the years. There’s something about a love the perseveres and persists through the ups and downs (in both people’s lives) finally coming to fruition. And Turner illustrates this so well in Plot Twist, I couldn’t help but fall a little in love with Liam myself.

Disclosure statement: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. ( )

With the way the world has been lately, it was such a relief to find a rom-com that truly took me away on a journey that spans the course of a decade. Oliva Ross has a pretty mundane life writing greeting cards for the Heartlite company that provides a certain type of stability, which she appreciates. Her best friend Fiona's life is far more glamour filled and Olivia likes it that way. Her boyfriend Liam is swoon worthy, but their relationship is more complicated than it might first appear. Life in LA is unpredictable and often inexplicable for Olivia and her circle.

A series of crazy events are set in motion that will spur Olivia on to fulfill the dream she's had for some time--writing her own screenplay. The beginning of the book sets up the dominos for the years to follow, so while it might seem overwhelming at first with details, STICK with it! Trust me, it gets even better as time progresses. I hate to give too much away, because once you think you've got it all figured out...there's yet another PLOT TWIST! There's lots of laughter, struggles, real life issues and relational drama around every corner.

Fans of Turner's work will appreciate the subtle nods to pop culture, relationships with depth and dimension, and the twist of the unexpected. If you've read any of her earlier works, you have an idea of what to expect...but "Plot Twist" reveals a bit more maturity. There is not a clear faith journey for these characters, but it is a clean fiction read. (For those that care to know, there are a few mentions of alcohol and a character drinks, but it is only during one portion of the book.)

This book is a great summer escape read. You will lose track of time (and possibly lose sleep) if you try and finish this one before bed. ( )