Twist by Kylie Scott (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)
Published by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty, Limited on March 28th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Contemporary Women, Fiction, Love & Romance, Romance
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Click here to buy the book from Amazon •Booktopia • Book Depository • Angus and Robertson
When his younger brother loses interest in online dating, hot, bearded, bartender extraordinaire, Joe Collins, only intends to log into his account and shut it down. Until he reads about her. Alex Parks is funny, friendly, and pretty much everything he's been looking for in a woman. And in no time at all they're emailing up a storm, telling each other their deepest darkest secrets ... apart from the one that really matters. When it comes to love, serving it straight up works better than with a twist.
Alex Parks is not the kind of woman who acts spontaneously but after a few months of chatting to Eric online she decides to take a chance and surprise him at his bar. Too bad it’s Alex who gets the shock of her life. Eric has no idea who she is and it turns out that Alex has been confiding in Eric’s brother Joe under false pretences.
I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much or blushed so hard – Twist is the ideal combination of romance and humour. Set in Kylie Scott’s Dive Bar series but also perfect as a standalone, Twist is one of those books that once I started I didn’t want to put it down. And upon reaching the end I wanted more despite the ending being perfect for the characters within the story.
One of the things I like most about Twist (and what I love about Kylie Scott novels in general) was how real, flawed and entertaining the main character was . Alex is an introvert who spends more time imagining the life (and house) she wants rather than acting upon her dreams. She’s no perfect but she is strong when she need to be. She makes mistakes but what makes her such a great character is that she learns from them and won’t be making the same one twice. She loves with all of her heart and is a fierce protector of those she cares about.
The relationship between Alex and Joe was a fun one to read. Due to Joe’s deception, there’s trust issues and all sorts of messy relationship drama for the couple to figure their way through. But unlike other books with a similar theme, their relationship is angsty in an entertaining way rather than an emotionally draining way. The banter is fun combined with intelligent and sexy (they give me character envy. I wish I was half as smart and entertaining as they are!) with their spark evident from their first meeting. The more steamy scenes are delightfully sexy with a touch of humour.
There are appearances throughout the novel from other members in the “Dive Bar” family (including Vaughn and Lydia from Dirty – Dive Bar #1) and I loved reading about them and their role in Alex and Joe’s story. Alex’s best friend Val was a great addition to the story and I loved the relationship she and Alex had, and her inclusion to the novel (as well as her backstory) felt right to be included.
Overall – I loved Twist. The characters feel like real people with real problems just magnified a bit. The dialogue is smart and sexy with a good dash of humour and the sex is just.. well there’s a reason why Kylie Scott has been voted Australia’s Favourite Romance Novel. She’s just that good at what she does and Twist is no exception.
Many thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia for the review copy.
