Review: Twist (Dive Bar #2) by Kylie Scott

Twist (Dive Bar #2) by Kylie Scott

Publication Date: April 11, 2017

Page Count: 288

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin

Source: eArc from Publisher for review

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

Sigh. Joe, Joe, Joe. I loved the big fella. I really did. Even though his deception was just all sorts of wrong, I couldn't help but think he redeemed himself by the end of the book. Early on I realized that Joe was a bit of a pushover. He was there for others, no matter what they needed. He always did what was expected of him (even when he didn't want to) because he was afraid to disappoint anyone. He was just an all around nice guy. And - my shallow moment - he's pretty hot, too. Because he was so kindhearted and caring, he was taken advantage of by those close to him, and I didn't like that at all. Then Alex shows up and starts questioning his happiness, making Joe take a closer look at himself.

Alex was a great character, and I liked her, but I never really connected with her. I couldn't figure out why. Maybe it was because I couldn't see myself in her? I don't know. She was a bit overwhelmed by Joe's family and friends at first, but I like how she ultimately came to accept everyone and appreciate their meddling.

Joe and Alex were great when they were together, and I enjoyed their banter. I liked that the author showed the development of Joe and Alex's relationship by using their past emails interspersed throughout the current storyline. Readers get to see the initial attraction, even though Alex thought she was conversing with Eric, not Joe. There's not too much conflict in the story, except towards the end when something spoilery happens, and Joe acts like an ass. That aggravated me and brought my level of enjoyment down just a bit.

Overall, this was another really great read from Kylie Scott. I'm enjoying the characters in this spin off series, and I love that we still get small cameos from the original Stage Dive series.

On a side note, Eric is a total tool, and I'm a little bit scared about reading the next book in this series. I saw the slightest glimmer in Twist, and that gives me hope that deep down Eric can be a decent human being. Please let him be a decent human being!

Also, is it weird that I find Pat to be the most interesting character in this series? I love him!

My Rating: 3.5 Stars