The Book:
Plot Twist by Bethany Turner
Published June 15th 2021 by Thomas Nelson
Date read: June 11, 2021
The Characters:
Olivia
Best friend Fiona
Liam
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
February 4, 2003, promises to be a typical day for Olivia Ross—a greeting card writer whose passion project is a screenplay of her own. But after she and a handsome actor have a magical meet-cute in a coffee shop, they make a spontaneous pact: in ten years, after they’ve found the success they’re just sure they’re going to achieve, they’ll return to the coffeehouse to partner up and make a film together. The only problem? Olivia neglected to get the stranger’s name. But she doesn’t forget his face—or the date.
For the next ten years, every February 4 is marked with coincidences and ironies for Olivia. As men come and go and return to her life, she continues to write, but still wonders about the guy from the coffee shop—the nameless actor she’s almost certain has turned out to be Hamish MacDougal, now a famous A-lister and Hollywood leading man.
But a lot can happen in ten years, and while waiting for the curtain to rise on her fate, the true story of Olivia’s life is being written—and if she’s not careful, she’ll completely miss the real-life romantic comedy playing out right before her eyes.
The Twist:
Hamish wasn’t Sexy Irish Guy – it was actually Gus, Fiona’s eventual coworker, who looked a lot like Hamish in his younger days but hadn’t aged quite as well. I guessed that it wasn’t Hamish early on, since the book blurb says she’s “almost certain” it’s him. Gus and Olivia meet up on the ten-year anniversary and laugh about the mistake, and Gus actually is interested in Olivia’s screenplay.
Liam shows up too, and he and Olivia get back together.
The Review:
The premise of Plot Twist was a lot of fun, especially for fans of This Time Next Year. The story follows Olivia throughout a decade, but we only see her on the same day every year. And on that day, something unusual always seems to happen. This was a very quick and enjoyable read filled with pop culture references and celebrity name-dropping.
I enjoyed the plot twist–you know one is coming given the title!
Similar to my thoughts on This Time Next Year, I felt that it was a little hard to connect with Olivia and the other characters when we only got to know them on one day each year. I felt like a lot of the story was “playing catch up” from what happened in the past year, instead of getting to know the characters. It’s an interesting and unique means of telling a story, though, so it’s still a nice change of pace.
Olivia and Liam were also frustrating in that they would never speak their minds. Characters like these make me just want to shake them, and lock them in a room until they say how they’re really feeling!
I LOVE those little doodles on the cover.
Overall, this web of missed connections is a great addition to your beach bag this summer.
