Twist by Kylie Scott

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.  

And when it comes to love, serving it straight up works better than with a twist.

Series: Dive Bar, Book 2 | Publisher: Macmillan Audio | Narrator: Andi Arndt | Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Source: Won | Ratings: 3.5 Cups

 

Challenges Read For: Literary Pickers  Toolbox

 

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one since Dirty (book 1) fell flat for me. Although Joe was acting sneaky in the first book and I was curious to see what he was doing. Thankfully, Twist did not disappoint.

 

Here’s what’s going on. Pretending to be his younger brother, Joe Collins strikes up a conversation with a woman on an online dating site. Convinced she’s been talking to Eric, Alex decides to surprise him at his birthday party although she’s the one surprised when Eric doesn’t have a clue who she is. When Joe finally confesses, Alex feels betrayed but as time goes on, she starts realizing that Joe’s the catch in the Collins family.

 

For the most part, I liked Joe. He’s sort of this strong, silent type that goes with the flow rather than rocking the boat. Eventually, with Alex’s help, he finally starts speaking his own mind. Although there’s a moment in the book that has Joe pulling away and had me yelling ‘don’t be a douche’. I really wanted him to tell his ex to take a long walk off a short pier, but, sadly, it never happened.

 

Alex was a bit odd. She was likeable but some of her reasoning just didn’t make sense. The excuses she used for why she didn’t want to get involved in a relationship kept up coming off as juvenile and I wanted something a bit more solid.

 

I felt their relationship had a nice flow to it. They balanced each other out and brought out what the other was lacking. They could have handled a few things a bit differently but they managed.

 

So, I wasn’t a fan of when the ex-girlfriend showed up and it had the drama for dramas sake feel. I wanted Joe to put her in her place but instead he just went along with her. I know he had some things going on in his head, but still it was a poor move on his part. It would have been nice if Alex fought harder for what she wanted. The other thing that felt a bit off was how rushed the ending was.  

 

Once again, Andi Arndt delivered a brilliant narration.

 

Overall, this was more my speed than book one. I felt I had a better sense of these characters and their struggles.

Dive Bar Series

Dirty #1

Twist #2

Chaser #3