From bestselling author Kylie Scott comes the second book in her Dive Bar series 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 … 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.
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I’ve said it before and I will say it again: I adore Kylie Scott’s heroes! Joe is sweet and tough, without being overly possessive. Like Alex, I didn’t find Joe to be my usual “type” either. But I was sold when he talked about how he would deal with a waiter flirting with his date. And that he wouldn’t be interested in a woman who expected him to act any differently. Be still my heart.
I love Alex, too. She was such a relatable character for me. Especially the way she tends to stay in her bubble and avoid people. For me, this was just another hit from one of my new favorite authors.
Wow! I loved how sweet the Hero in this story was, he could still have his bad boy moments but he was sweet and giving and made me swoon! The heroine was also pretty amazing! She was stubborn and could come off as not nice but she was loyal to the bone and made everything better. Loved how other questions from the first book were answered as well. Great series!
I really enjoyed Joe and Alex’s story. They met on an online dating site and emailed for months but there were some things Joe didn’t disclose. When they finally meet in person it was a shock for Alex to say the least. Joe is a carpenter/bartender who lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and Alex is a graphic designer who lives in Seattle, Washingon. Will they be able to overcome deception and distance to make it to their HEA? There is a lot going on at the Dive Bar, drama aplenty throughout the story.
I really enjoyed this book from start to finish 🙂
I can really relate to Alex, Being somewhat of a recuse myself, i totally get why she has such a hard time letting people passed her walls & how your anxiety can kinda crush you a little but i loved that she finally gets the courage to put herself out there even if it backfired at first , i was so glad that she gave Joe a second chance.
I really liked Joe ,even tho he is a bit of a people pleaser ,i get why he did what he did but he should have told Alex the truth from the start, but not telling her actually worked out in his favor because he wasn’t Alex’s usual type & She wasn’t his either but i liked that by them getting to know each other more it was their personalities that they fell for first .
but Catfishing someone is so not cool !
What begins with a case of mistaken identity becomes a funny, sweet, and sexy romance between a quiet hero and a heroine looking for change. I listened to the audiobook in one day!
My favorite by this author.
Very, very funny! Though Alex did seem annoying at first, when she finally opened up, everything became better!
I loved this book. It was funny, sexy, quirky and an all around great read. I am enjoying this series. I definitely recommend this book, this series and this author.
Joe and Alex have some pretty interesting conversations:
“You’re comparing me to takeout?” A little wrinkle appeared between his brows.
“Definitely not. You’re the pizza in this metaphor.”
A blink. “Okay.”
“Gourmet, thin crust. We’re talking top quality here.”
When it comes to complimenting her man, Alex is original, “manly pretty. You know, hairy, and big, and hard and stuff.” I really liked this book, I loved Joe.
*Originally posted at book’s release*
I fell in love with Vaughan and Lydia in Dirty, so I couldn’t wait for the second book in the series to be released especially after reading the blurb. Joe and Alex were a hot mess at times in Twist, but with a little help from their friends, they manage to navigate the rough waters eventually.
There was a bit of a role reversal in this story in terms of the attitudes and actions of the main characters. Joe may look like hot Bigfoot with long hair and tats, but he is a genuinely nice guy who generally gets stuck cleaning up his immature brother Eric’s messes He is hardworking to a fault and a people-pleaser which can get him into trouble at times. Alex is the commitment-phobe with intimacy issues who rarely leaves her house and whose sole friend Val convinces her to take an uncharacteristic chance on traveling to meet the man she has been corresponding with online. Alex is the love ’em and leave ’em type but something about “Eric” (really Joe) convinces her to take a chance when Val pushes her out of her comfort zone only to be completely humiliated when she arrives at Eric’s birthday party and he has absolutely no idea who she is.
Joe has some serious groveling to do if he hopes that she will ever speak to him again. When Alex is struck by the flu before she can get on a plane to flee back to the safety of her apartment in Seattle, Joe gets his chance to convince her to hear him out because she is too sick to kick his butt back out the door. Alex was initially drawn to Eric’s picture online and Joe’s appearance is the exact opposite of the type she is normally attracted to, but as he nurses her back to health they try to find the friendship they established in their online interactions despite his lie about his identity. They are both surprised when that friendship not only re-emerges but also starts to turn into something more as they agree to help balance each other out. Joe helps Alex break out of her shell to experience more of life, and she helps him learn to say to no to people once in a while. Just when things are going well and feelings may have to be acknowledged, tragedy strikes and Joe withdraws into himself as guilt and an unexpected blast from his past courtesy of his petty brother’s machinations hit him all at once.
Maybe it was the fact that I read back to back stories about men who started their relationships based on a lie, or maybe I just built it up too much in my mind due to the long wait between books, but Twist just didn’t hold the same magic for me that I found in Dirty. There was still plenty of Ms. Scott’s signature humor and heat, but I didn’t experience that same connection with these characters that I have found in her past books. Alex is a bit immature at times and Joe had a tendency to bury his head in the sand rather than getting a clue a little too often, but I absolutely adored Alex’s best friend Val formerly known as Vince. She had no qualms about laying into Joe for his stupidity or calling Alex onto the carpet for running away from anything remotely resembling a feeling that may cause her to break out of her comfort zone. Oh and a guest appearance from my absolute favorite Stage Dive guy was one of the high points of the story for me too! As for Eric, that man has some serious maturity issues to deal with so his redemption ought to be interesting. Let the countdown begin to Chaser…
3.5 stars
The story took of slowly and started getting somewhere around halftime. I liked the last third most, that’s where the “action” happens. What I loved most about this story is the fact, that it’s about falling for a person’s personality/character even if we think his looks are not what we are into.
This book was a nice read, but I liked ‘Dirty’ much more.
However, it was great being back with all those great people and I can’t wait hearing more of them!
So, I began my Kylie Scott journey with the Stage Dive series. During that time, I fell in LOOOOOVE with Mal When the Dive Bar series began, I was super excited! I love series that are connected, but leave a little freedom if you haven’t finished all the books in both series. The Dive Bar series allows you this. You get glimpses of the Stage Dive members, but if you don’t know them then it’s still okay.
In Twist, we get to know Joe & Alex. When I began reading, I went in with expectations that this book would be similar to Vaughn’s story, but that was a mistake. This book has the same feel, but Joe is a completely different man and I should have KNOWN the book would be different. It was, but in a good way.
I absolutely adored Joe. He was a man who wanted to badly to help others, but in doing that seemed to lose himself. Although he makes some poor choices, he ultimately finds his way. Alex is a great person, but she keeps herself hidden from the world. She allows her past to affect pretty much her entire future. Together, they seem to find a balance that will let them grow into the future they are absolutely capable of having.
I definitely enjoyed reading this book. It didn’t bring me the same amount of laughter as the first Dive Bar story, but it did make me laugh. It also gave me a whole lot of feels – I got angry, annoyed, frustrated, and did a bit of swooning. Overall, highly recommended. If you haven’t experienced any of the Dive Bar or Stage Dive novels … GO DO IT. I’m talking about RIGHT NOW. Except, when you fall in love with Mal, please remember he’s mine