Book Review — Twist by Kylie Scott

When his brother loses interest in online dating, hot bearded bartender Joe Collins only intends to log into his account and shut it down. Until he reads about her…

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True to Kylie Scott’s signature style, this was a FUN, SEXY, LIGHT-HEARTED romance rounded out by just the right amount of angst and feels! There was some seriously hilarious banter, a bit of a love-hate romance, and even some surprises that I didn’t see coming! The hero and heroine were complete opposites in every way. They’d met by chance online but had never seen each other in person but there was a catch — she thought he was his brother and he never bothered to correct her so when they finally met, she was shocked and understandably pissed. But when he proved himself to actually be the good guy he knew she couldn’t see, she found herself unexpectedly falling for him…

So let me explain things better here. Joe’s brother had an account on a dating site, but when his computer illiterate brother wanted to shut it down, the task fell to him. He didn’t mean to check the messages and find hers, but he did. And he messaged back. And over time, they became close pen pals — sharing much of their personal lives with each other despite having never met.

From her point of view though, she’d just spent the last several months building an online relationship with a guy who looked (based on his profile pic) and sounded (from his emails) like her dream man, but when she decided to fly across the country to surprise him with a real visit, she was horrified to find that HE was a lie. The man she thought she’d been talking to wouldn’t have been able to find the on-switch of a computer with a flashlight, and the man she’d been really talking to was his completely not-her-type-yet-utterly-gorgeous-and-built-like-Thor brother.

“I wondered how long it would take for this whole little adventure to turn into some funny story I told people. Except no part of me was amused. Not even a single cell. My Eric, the beautiful man from the Internet, didn’t exist. Not really. Because the guy who’d charmed me with long, rambling emails about life and everything was a liar. And everyone knew, you couldn’t trust a liar.”

Utterly embarrassed and devastated by the meeting, she high-tailed it out of the bar as fast as she could, walking through the rain to get to the nearest hotel so she could book the first flight back to the safety of her home. But Joe wasn’t about to let her go. Despite his undeniable mistake, he hadn’t been faking their actual conversations and he knew they had a connection and he was determined to at least show her how sorry he was.

“C’mon, I’m here. I want to help. Give me a chance to show you I’m not a total asshole.”

She was having absolutely none of it until the consequences of her poorly times walk in the rain caught up with her and she came down with a nasty flu — giving Joe the chance to show his true colors. Which he did — staying by her side the whole time and helping her in any way he could. And as he cared for her through her flu, she began to consider that he might not actually be the asshole she’d pegged him as.

But of course, her best friend didn’t hesitate to fiercely and hilariously defend her regardless of Joe’s actions…

“Shit,” he mumbled, putting [the phone] to his ear. “Hello?”
… “Yeah, I’m Joe Collins. Alex is sleeping, she’s been sick. She caught the flu.” He waited. “Ah, well…” Again, he listened. In fact, he listened for quite a while. “You’re… I… Okay, yes, I’m a raging asshole. I should never have done that to her, you’re right. But…” He paused. Then he took an almighty big breath, letting it out real slow. “Yes. You’re right, there’s no excuse for such a willful act of bastardly and I definitely deserve to be castrated and burn in hell for all eternity. Um. Who did you say you were again?” The man massaged his temple, making the muscles in his upper back move. Nice. “Valerie, Alex’s best friend. Right. Nice to meet you. Alex spoke about you a lot, when we were emailing.” Joe winced, removing the phone from his ear for a moment as a particularly loud noise issued through the cell. “Yes, I can see how that would just remind you what a jerk I am, of course.” He nodded. “No. Okay. I will never win you over with charm because I’m slime. Got it.” The man hung his head. “Yes, I’m listening. She is a goddess despite her cold, hard heart and I’m a lowly animal. Totally agree.” He started rubbing the back of his neck. “Okay. I’ll get her to call you when she’s up. Great to talk to you, Valerie. Yep… okay, got to go. There’s a whole line of people here who also need to abuse me. Bye.”
Visibly sagging, the man commenced muttering obscenities.

LOL!!! Just wait til you read that whole scene — it’s gold!

And from this point on, she decided to give him a chance. Their story was filled with hilarious banter and steamy hotness as they began to get to know each other in real life…

“What if it all goes wrong?”
“Then you go back to your old life in Seattle and forget about me.”
“I highly doubt that will work.”
… “Do you want me to leave?” he asked.
“No.”

For such a light-hearted book, I was quite pleased that things got surprisingly heavy and emotional towards the ending with a shocking event that blindsided them all. I have to say that I definitely felt that this more serious turn of events really rounded out the story and provided a great balance to the comedic side. I loved the weight that it gave their story and really enjoyed seeing them work through their hardships to find their way back to each other.

All in all, this was a fantastically light-hearted and sexy love story about two people who couldn’t have been more opposite, who met by complete accident, and yet unexpectedly found that they were perfect for each other. If you’re looking for a great romantic comedy (with feels!!) then definitely be sure to order a copy of this book!!

Rating: 4-4.5 stars. Contemporary Adult Romance. Can standalone.

• Buy TWIST (Kindle)
• Buy TWIST (Paperback)
  
• Buy TWIST (Audiobook)

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Series of standalones.