A Twist in Fate

by Layla Beretta

Ivy Banks, a future nursing student from London, has been saving for months to visit her best friend, Bailey in Pennsylvania for the summer working at a camp in the town Bailey grew up, Lake Sylva. However, when she arrives the last thing she expects is to be paired up with her best friends brother, Lucas Miller. The more time she spends with him, the more attached she grows. How can she survive the summer knowing everything will inevitably end? The only way it would ever work is through a twist in fate.

Genres: Romance, Summer Reads

319 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2025

Reviews

[caitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was possibly the sweetest thing ive ever read, the way that lucas treats ivy is so adorable and “sunshine” omg omg 🥹🥹 my only downfall with this was there are a few minor typos throughout and the ending kinda felt as if it contradicted itself

[Allie (Matching with Vegas) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I read this in one night and in one sitting?
Yes

This book was amazing to me and just because of the fact I read it in one sitting is what makes it a five star book but the MMC reminded me so much of my boyfriend like I swear to yall it was insane
But I related so much to Ivy and weirdly Mila in the first couple chapters (yes I did relate to a 9 year old but in the wise words of Mrs. Bea Arthur/Dorothy Zbornak in the episode of golden girls Stand by your man “WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE ME?!?”)
But I ADORED this book playlist and just the overall structure of the book
Im pretty sure this is her debut book too
So…idk I think thats pretty good but thats just me lolll

Have an amazing day lovelies,
Allie

[esme mae (taylor's version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

this book just really infuritaed me....that's all i can say. the plot line could have been so good, and could have been so cute but it just wasn't!

[Sienna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 rounded⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

“I am in love with you ivy banks. And nothing in the world can change that. I will still be in love with you if you break my heart and leave. I will still be in love with you if you live halfway across the planet. All I am asking is that you will love me too. I don’t care what we do or where we love one another. Your worth everything. You are everything.”

Ahhh Criminally such an underrated book. It was soo cute, and the summer vibes at summer camp! Didn’t know how much I would love this book until I read it! I love the fond friend group. There everything I hope I can have a group like that! Then ivy my Shaylaaa she deserves everything she’s so relatable! And Lucas you are actually everything.

Overall I loved this book I ate it upp, and hope in the future we can get the others books to! (The friends I’m talking about)

Book available on KU!

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book after I saw the author on tik tok. It was a cute summer romance, but nothing special for me. I found the behavior of the sister kind of strange and annoying. I liked the Twist, it was the perfect ending.

[Emma Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really hoping to enjoy this, however the combination of the many typos (as well as the use of the wrong names in places) and the naivety of the plot made it a really difficult read for me.

I appreciate that the author is very young and that is it very impressive to have written a full book alongside studies etc., however I really had wanted to be wowed by this book and sadly this did not happen.

The plot & its twists felt very unrealistic, specifically at the end, and due to this I never felt captivated or as though I fully understood the characters.

It is worth mentioning that I did adore some of the poetic descriptions and wording used, and that I’d love to see this author progress in the future with more experience (and better editing).

[TJ]

I think this is the sweetest book I have ever read, everything about this book is perfect :)

[esme⭐️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

ugh this was actually everything the sweetest cutest book ever i could cry

[taylor nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

ahhh! This book is so freaking adorable. I caught myself smiling multiple times throughout this book. I love how they are both so in love with each other. i could barely explain how this book made me feel earlier. I would rate it 4.5 stars

[Jude Hawkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot call this book a Novel. I really cannot.
Look, I understand, with great sympathy, that writing a book is an arduous task which requires diligence, discipline and ardent dedication. But, not only do I find the entire production and formation of this “book” second-rate and shoddy, but overall extremely insulting to authorship.

The character construction is lousy and callow.
The entire plot is an identical reminder to some sort of slap-dash Netflix Romance Teen series, which once you begin to watch, you most likely beg for it to end, or consider physically pulling your eyes out. It’s conspicuous in its plot that it is written by a 17-year old influencer-type. The entire characterisations and overall homodiegetic narrative is just puerile and far from ineffable or interesting. There seems to be a proclivity in this book to follow exceptionally expectable and predictable plots, which yet so many other superior authors have used.

The small, nonsensical doodles on the pages are just bizarre and bewildering……. Is this a toddler’s bedtime story or a teen-fiction book. Now, I must make it clear, I would never read a Romance or Teen- Fiction book, simply due to the fact that it is far from profound or captivating. But, I wanted to simply due to the girl’s promotive monopolisation on TikTok. From the get-go I could tell it was an asinine and substandard book, simply from the cover. Now, they say that you should never judge a book by its cover, but in this sullen case it is most apt.

In conclusive terms, I do not recommend this book to any other readers out there, despite the magnitude of your intuitiveness. The writer tries so desperately hard to engross the readers with a “twist” in the utterly farcical plot, but fails so miserably. Utterly, utterly boring and mediocre. It’s insulting the literary canon.

[annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

☀️˚⋆ ʚ 2.75 stars

— this is a dnf for me. i san the author on tiktok and was so excited to read her book because it seemed so cute and it was on KU aswell so it was perfect. unfortunately i found it really corny at around 30% and dnf’d it at 35%.

— from chapter 4, the mmc already has a pet name for the fmc, who he has only known for a week. he is flirty with her even when she tells him not to be and he just genuinely became a corny and annoying character to me.

— the fmc however was super sweet and i honestly love her. she’s similar to me in a lot of ways which made me feel connected to her. one thing i do think i need to add about her character though is that some of the british interpretations didn’t seem right to me. i’m not exactly sure where the author is from, so maybe we have different perspectives, but it didn’t feel like ivy was fully british. idk, my opinion

— i also found that the book is supposed to be about bailey and ivy having a summer together but ivy falling in love on the way, but instead it just felt like the author only wanted us to know about what happened between ivy and lucas. maybe i would have found more best friend scenes along the way if i’d made the effort to read more, but unfortunately it js wasn’t for me.

— i feel like 2.75 is def generous for a dnf, but i appreciate when people take the time to read my book and give good reviews. kudos to layla for publishing her first book.

[XOXO · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t got much to say about this book besides that I absolutely completely and entirely loved and adored it. Lucas and Ivy are the definition of the cliche couple and all the cliches like, accidentally touching each other, looking into each other’s eyes and totally loosing themselves. And as someone who is not a big fan of cliches I loved this book and everything that goes along with it!
This book is really recommended to all Lynn Painter fans out there because this author is really amazing and I can’t wait to find out what she writes for her second book

Layla you did an amazing job as a debut author who is simply 17 years old, you truly blown my mind away

[Laila Latif · Rating 1 out of 5]

I understand that she’s young but there should still be some editors or someone seeing the mistakes she’s making. I’m younger than her, and I know I’ve got much to learn in the future, though if I’m spotting her grammatical mistakes then that’s a problem. The story was sooo mid and I don’t want to be rude because of her age and how this is her first book ever, and it’s hard to write a book, but everything was just so messy. She kept repeating things over and over again, the plot was kinda stupid and unoriginal and it felt like a grade 6 student wrote it. I’m sorry but I’m giving this 1 star only because I was able to at least read the whole thing without dnf-ing it.

[indira zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading A Twist In Fate by Layla Beretta!! I loved the camp setting so much. This kind of reminded me The Kissing Booth!! There were so many cute and lots of emotional moments. The only reason why I gave “A Twist In Fate” 4 stars was because there was lots of typos and grammar mistakes. Besides that i loved this book and will be reading all of Layla Beretta’s future novels!!

[Sasha Celine · Rating 5 out of 5]

so adorable 🥹🥰 i loved ittt!!!

[Aoífe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t get enough of ivy and Lucas they were so cute, there is no way this book was wrote by a 17 year old. It’s too good, honestly one of the best books I’ve read in a while, if I could I’d rate it a 6 star because the amount of emotions this book made me feel is insane. I always loved movies with summer camps and reading books with them is even better, I now wanna spend my summer at camp sylva. I do have to say my phone started playing on my headphones careless whisper and when they broke up, it played the line, “and I’m never gonna dance again, the way I danced with you.” In all honesty I loved this book, if I could inject it into my veins I would. I can’t wait to get laylas next book, I’m genuinely so excited. I read it so slowly because I never wanted it to end but I love this so much, keep writing Layla, you’re amazing at it.

[Madisyn Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book and I’ve never finished a book so fast. I could not stop reading and cannot wait for the second book!!

[Karina Cho · Rating 1 out of 5]

i was so excited to read it, and i found countless spelling errors, even on the back..! the sentences felt so long, and the writing was cringey at points. i can say it is impressive that a 17 year old got published….but it’s a self-published book. not surprised. layla, you’re amazing, and you have so much potential, so where is it??? there were some small snapshots that she posted that convinced me to buy it ($17!!) that were written beautifully, but now i see why she chose only those. this book was not impressive at all, my 16 yr old sister would write more descriptively. (my honest review, sorry, i’m being harsh)

[Theresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

IM SORRY, I really needed a very quick book to finish in 2 days. I read two chapters and basically every sentence was so hard to read because of the amount of typos. Maybe I should keep reading? But for now, it’s a DNF 💔

[rosie xo]

I ended up dnfing it BUT it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the book or the writer it is more so just because I wasn't in the mood to read a summer camp romance.
But I would say the only thing that I didn't enjoy was the writer did over explain alot. For example, she would write whole paragraphs on the side characters and for me that was not necessary.
But I would recommend this book to younger audiences as I think it would be good for them but maybe not so much for older ones.
And to the author!
You are only young, so keep writing and keep making books!!
:)

[holly ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf, the idea is really cute i just didn’t really like the writing style

[Viktoria Chipova · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐ | A Twist in Fate
Author: Layla Beretta

Status: DNF (High Quality but Not for Now)

The Verdict: Good Writing, Wrong Timing
It feels strange to give 4 stars to a book I didn't finish, but I have to be fair. Unlike the influencer "cringe" or the "cloud palace" fluff I’ve been reading, this actually had substance. The prose was tight and the stakes felt real. However, my brain is so tuned into John Locke and Atomic Habits right now that even "good" fiction feels like a distraction from the real-world knowledge I’m craving.

Why it earned a 4/5 despite the DNF:
Sharp Execution: The writing didn't irritate me. It lacked the flowery, unnecessary descriptions that made me quit Daughter of the Moon Goddess. Beretta gets to the point.

Intriguing Concept: The "twist" in the fate of the characters was actually clever and well-plotted. It didn't feel like a cheap trope; it felt like a calculated move.

Competent Characters: For once, I didn't feel like I was reading about a whiny teenager. The characters had a sense of agency that I usually only find in my favorite non-fiction or in Holly.

So, why stop?
The "Yanev" Effect: After reading about 200 names that changed the world, I’m finding it hard to stay invested in a fictional series. I kept thinking, "I could be learning something factual right now." * Series Fatigue: Knowing this is "Book 1" felt like a commitment I wasn't ready to make. I want the immediate density of James Clear, not a multi-book journey.

Final Thought: This is a high-quality read. If you’re in the mood for a well-crafted story with actual logic, this is a winner. But for me, it’s a "right book, wrong time." I’m putting it aside not because it failed, but because my focus is elsewhere.

[Dani Thorpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beta Reader review!

What can I say about this wonderfully sweet and caring book that will beckon you towards its Amazon page? Perhaps its insanely lovable, caring and charismatic characters, or its flowy, captivating writing?

A Twist In Fate is a book I wished that I read a bit faster than I did, but the fact is, I read it slowly because I didn't want it to end. I didn't want to be without these characters, much like Ivy and Lucas didn't want to be without each other.

This book is certified to tug at your heart and think, 'Damn, Lucas is insanely charming.' And Ivy is also a very relatable character. She has to learn to come to terms with leaving Lake Sylva and being without Lucas, a boy she has grown to like, and love.

The setting of this book is also amazing. Lake Sylva is described so vividly and it is making me want to go there!

All the side characters (most notably Alec and Violet) are not just there for filler, but they're a key part of the story and quite funny. Alec just loves his granola!

Overall, I implore you to sprint to Amazon and buy this book right now, and consequently read it in one sitting, because it is one of those books.

[Lily H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great book. One of the best books I have read in a while. As a UK girl it is nice to read a book that I feel like I can resonate with. I connected with lots of the elements of this book as I felt/ experienced similar things myself.

Absolutely love this book and it only took me a few hours to read as I was so engrossed in it. It was written very well and was very easy to read.

One small detailed I really liked is the way the author has written the dates. They use the UK date metric when the UK character POV was explored and the American date metric when the American character POV was explored. Such a small detail but I thought this was a very clever touch. This to me showed how the characters are different from different countries but ultimately they are together then and there in the book doing the same things on the same date.

I loved the doodles throughout the book breaking up the story.

I cannot wait for the next one in the series to come out!

[Rebecca Ainger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I quite enjoyed this book. I haven’t read properly in years so I recently bought a Kindle to try and get back into it and this was the first one I read. There are definitely things that can be improved, there are some typos and incorrect spelling but overall considering it was written by a 17 year old I think it’s quite impressive. Better than I could’ve done at 17. It’s not perfect by any means but definitely a sweet, wholesome story. It’s not the most eventful so if you prefer a more active storyline then it may not be for you but it’s a nice, relaxing and wholesome story. If you just want a simple and cute story I think it’s worth giving a go, not everyone’s cup of tea but I genuinely quite enjoyed it.

[Vera Legaliden · Rating 1 out of 5]

This “so called novella” is at the borderline of a teenage writeup. The aspect is simply a feminine fantasy of boys. The characterisations are nothing but farcical. There is a complete lack of depth, and insight into any of the characters. The plot is a Great example of slipshod. Clearly, the so called author, is a privileged child living in her Netflix dreams but this book is misfire! The writer tried so desperately to be witty and unique but seeming that she’s published her book, it’s scarcely likely that she will ever change techniques and methods. Hopefully the next will impress me. Layla seems to circumspect of producing a book with a reasonable depth. Congratulations x

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this book in one sitting!
For Laylas first book i am beyond impressed with the storyline, characters and the overall layout of this book.
The Nicknames and personality this book includes made this such an enjoyable and heartwarming read. The visible bond not only between ivy and Lucas but ivy and bailey really shows the love she has for her best friend.
The mention of some of my favourite movies in this book made it even more special and i cannot wait for book 2 to come out.

Layla should be very proud of herself and i am so glad i got to experience this book💗

Keep Writing x

[Ava · Rating 1 out of 5]

I understand how hard it is to write a book, and that she’s a teen author, but I could not for the life of me finish this. Genuinely had me rolling my eyes every second, Lucas frustrated me so much and I couldn’t tell you why. Maybe just how he was written, and every dialogue felt rambled in a way. As if she wanted to say two things in one sentence but shoved it in one if that makes sense. And yes I really do feel that most people only say they enjoy this book because she’s a teen author and just wanna support. Only had to dnf one other book in my 3 years of reading and really didn’t wanna dnf one this year so I tried so hard but I just could not. Really wish someone coulda told her 💔

[Dayana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually loved this. Ivy and Lucas’ romance was adorable, I love how we get a lot of the kids like asking them if they’re together it’s so cute. The end when Ivy was going to leave and she’s saying goodbye to the girls was actually so sad like awww. The found family aspect was the cutest. When Bailey found out I actually screamed into my pillow but it’s fine. Other than a few grammatical errors (because who am I to judge on some tiny mess ups) this book was the cutest thing ever and I can’t wait to read more from Layla!!

[Benthe V. R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh god, I really wished to like this book, but in my opinion this book has some small problems. The romance was cute, but for me it felt kind of annoying. There were also some minor typos in some of the sentences which made some of them harder to read.

Besides this is that there is definitely a twist in fate. So I would rate this book 2.5 stars.

However, I do think that Layla is very talented. So I hope that she will continue writing more books, because she is really talented while she is just 17 years old.