Nikki Stone has writer's block. As a romance author, this isn't the first time, but after her book gets shredded for sex scenes written like “someone who's never had sex before" she's stuck. The problem? She’s a demisexual woman who has never had sex. The solution? Listen to the advice that she just needs to get laid. But after trying and failing on her own, Nikki turns to the one person she trusts can help her get some hands-on her friend and roommate James.
James Warren is perfectly happy with his life. He enjoys being an assistant manager/bartender at The Sleepy Siren, having casual hookups with people he isn’t attracted to as a demisexual man, and living with his three closest friends. He definitely doesn’t have any desire for something more. And he’s definitely not in love with NIkki Stone. Even if he can’t stop thinking about her–their shared caffeine addiction, her magpie tendencies, and definitely not her massive brain.
But when Nikki realizes he might have the perfect expertise to be her sexy mentor and asks him for help–telling him she’ll ask someone else if he says no–what can he do but say yes? With time ticking towards her deadline–and her publisher’s last extension coming to an end–it’s now or never. As the two of them explore each other’s bodies during their spicy lessons, while trying to keep their hearts out of it, they’ll realize that maybe there was more to their friendship all along.
Emily B Rose grew up addicted to storytelling in all its forms, and always knew she would have a career in something creative. With a bachelor's degree in creative writing, she settled on books as her favorite form of storytelling, though you will still find her glued to the tv watching her favorite sitcom or nerdy movie series, or belting show tunes in her apartment (to the annoyance of her cats).
California born and raised she can be found wherever the closest beach or bookstore is, or curled up at home trying to convince her cats to cuddle with her 24/7.
Emily is a proudly fat, demibisexual, ADHD woman who wants her stories to reflect people often ignored, especially in love stories. She hopes her books will make people feel less alone, and affirm that everyone deserves the love story of their choosing.
A huge thanks to the author for allowing me to ARC read this. ♥
CW: Sexual Content, Drug Use, Depression
4.5 /5 Stars
Alright, let's try to get all of my thoughts into sentences that make some form of sense. And let's do that by letting you know that I'm def the target audience for this book. I'm a fat, depressed asexua person and I - and I need to stress this, because it's less comon than you think - adore, no absolutly love, when a book lets it's main characters *gasp* TALK about what they enjoy during sexy time. Consent is ducking sexy. Let's make that a trope.
I will be honest, I was a tiny bit scared if the sex scenes would work for me. Simply because I fall on the repulsed side of the ace experience and have a difficult relationships with sex scenes. Meaning, they aren't doing anything to me. Best case, I find them funny. Worst case, I have to skip. Exceptions apply. For the Plot is one of those, because there's just a lot of care put into the comfort of the people involved. The so-called consent I mentioned above. Actuall communication. I can't give you feedback about the quality of the smut. Nor can I share if you'd find it hot whatsoever. That's not what I'm here for. But I can tell you that it's good stuff.
We talk a lot about demisexuality in this one, simply because this is a Demi4Demi book which in and off itself made me smile. We talk a lot about the different ways people can experience attraction and their demisexuality in general and lucky for me, while I'm, again, ace and not demi, I did find a lot of relatable stuff in the way our female lead felt. I never felt like I was lectured, because we manage to include the demi stuff so naturally into scenes that I was always looking forward to when it got brought up.
I also want to briefly mention the way we tackle body-positivity in this one, because, oh my, was I a huge fan of the way it was done.
I really enjoyed this one a lot, until we reached the maybe 88% mark or something and there's a really *sigh* not needed conflict happening. Like, my guy, she's got 1 week to finish this book. And she's got depression and ADHD - which are not an excuse for what she says - b u t. James, I'm sorry, but I feel like I borrowed all of your brain cells during that conversation. Like, if he had looked at it logically for more than 3 seconds, than he would have realised that NOW was NOT THE TIME to be jumping her with that. I was really annoyed at him during that because it was HE who kept on saying how important communication was. And it was he who tried all book to be supportive and understanding and who never made me feel like he would just take all that understanding and throw it out the window.
I'm still going to give this one 5 goodreads stars, simply because I literally loved everything else.
This book was written with lots of love and you can feel that in every page. It's got amazing representation and a great story to accompany it. Would and will def reccomand going forward.
Nikki is a romance author, and a pretty good one. At least, she thought she was until a video review of her book said that the sex scenes sounded like they were written by someone who has never had sex. Then the review went viral. Ouch!
This wouldn’t really be a problem, except that Nikki hasn’t ever had sex, and now she feels like getting laid might be the only thing that can cure her writer’s block. But Nikki is demisexual, so it’s Hard to find someone she wants to be with. If only someone could just teach her what she needs to know about sex. Cue James, one of Nikki’s roommates and casual sexpert. Annnnnd he’s also demi.
Nikki knows it’s a stupid idea to even consider what she’s thinking…
I am not sure that I’ve ever felt MORE SEEN in a book than I have reading For The Plot. Rose writes about demisexuality and the uncertainty that often accompanies it in a way that is accessible for all readers while honoring the lived experiences of the demi community.
The bi and overall queer rep in this book made my queer little heart so happy. That plus Rose’s body diversity and plus sized main characters makes this the kind of book that I wish I had as a new adult— life wouldn’t have felt so isolated.
The story right off the bat gave me New Girl vibes, and they carried throughout the story. The writing is clever and had me giggling and even laughing out loud. The characters were lovable, the banter was bantering, and Nikki and James were so relatable that I had to give this cozy story 5 stars.
This book was so full of tropes and spice and green flags that I could not put it down!
Romance writer Nikki just received a bad review questioning her own experience and the plausability of her sex scenes, which has triggered an awful case of writer's block. Naturally, the solution is to get laid. Who better to help Nikki with this problem that roommate, friend, and fellow demisexual James.
I loved how this author wrote different experiences of demisexuality with such nuance. Nikki and James were so consistently careful about checking in with boundaries and consent. The way that James doesn't even flinch when Nikki is too in her head to finish without assistance was such a great scene.
I can't recommend this book enough, I already want to read it again. This series is going to be fantastic.
I really enjoyed this cute romance, this was a book clearly written with so much love!
The book has wonderful Bi and Demisexual rep and mentions different variations of how people experience their sexuality which I appreciated.
This is a great romance for beginners, there's not too much going on and the chemistry within the characters is built through friendship which is enjoyable.
Initially, I had mixed opinions on this book, but in the end, I didn't really like it. I appreciated the representation it had for depression and ADHD. The way those showed up in the main character was very relatable to me. However, the romance between the two main characters didn't work for me. I felt like they didn't have much of a personality outside of their jobs and their developing romantic relationship. That really made the book fall flat for me.
The initial setup was a fun idea; the two main characters, James and Nikki, are roommates, and they want to help Nikki, who is a romance writer, through her writer’s block. They end up having sex together to help her experiment with writing sex scenes and romantic scenes. Other than that, though, not much happens in the book. They stay inside most of the time, they work, they spend time with their roommates, and Nikki has some conversations with her family and her literary agent. Outside of that, there is not a lot happening. This was frustrating to me, because I prefer romance books where the characters also have things going on in their lives outside of their romantic relationships.
There was also a third-act conflict that came out of nowhere about 90% into the book, which always frustrates me. Sometimes it makes sense for a romance arc to have some conflict near the end, but this one was handled in a very clunky way. It frustrated me even more because it was resolved way too quickly, without the characters doing any real work to gain new insights about themselves or their relationship. The happy ending did not feel realistic to me.
In the end, this whole book really fell flat for me, which was disappointing because I was really excited to read a story with a romance between two demi-bisexual main characters. Ultimately, this book just left me feeling frustrated and disappointed.
Note: I received this book as a free Advance Reader Copy. All opinions are my own.
Look, I really wanted to like this, and I'm so sad I couldn't give it a higher rating. I absolutely love the cover and was so excited about all the representation in it. But unfortunately, this book just did not work for me.
There's a LOT of sex scenes in this book, and the sex scenes are well-written. But there's just not enough plot between the sex scenes. Every scene between sex scenes felt like filler to just set-up the next sex scene. The story is told in dual POV between both Nikki and James, but James had 0 character arc of his own. The first few chapters from his POV is him trying to deny his attraction to Nikki, then after she asks him to have sex with her, he thinks "I don't want to sleep with her because then I'll fall in love with her" immediately, so his denial in the first couple POVs was just irritating. It's only at the 50% mark where he has any kind of explanation as to why he couldn't just tell her he had feelings for her from the get-go, and in that same chapter he admits to wanting a better job. At that point, I was thinking, "Finally! A character arc of his own!" but he basically gets the new job he just realised he wants by his next POV chapter, and it was all such a big nothing.
I appreciated the representation in this - that was the main thing I was looking forward to and it did deliver on that. But it also kind of felt like it was being written for an audience who had never met a fat, or ADHD, or demisexual person before in their lives and this book was meant to educate them on the subject. I swear there were at LEAST 3 separate paragraphs talking about "misconceptions about demisexual people" that all basically said the same thing. The only rep in this I knew nothing about was James's chronic gastritis, but that's barely a blip in this story and I can't say I learnt anything new about it.
There's also a scene near the end where they get high and start a fire that really just pissed me off. It was meant to be funny?? instead of serious, but that's not my kind of humour at all, and it's just one scene and then never addressed again. And then the third-act-conflict/break-up only happens in the last 90% and is resolved SO quickly, it didn't feel worth the effort.
Besides all that, I really wanted to give this book at least 3 stars. But then the epilogue was about one of the side characters, setting up what I assume is a book for him instead of actually giving a resolution for the main couple, and I HATE when books do that. I always drop a star rating when books do that, so that's why this got a 2 star review from me.
This was literally the cutest romance that I have read in awhile, and I think this will hold a place in my heart with how much I felt seen in this book. Now, I am going to be honest, I did not anticipate that I would be chosen to do an arc read for this book, but when I saw the posts about this being a fat, bisexual and demisexual representation book, I just knew that I had to apply. I felt connected to all of the characters that was in this book so quickly, ESPECIALLY Nikki. Omg, the way that the author wrote about Nikki in every aspect was so beautifully done and I felt seen. I love how Nikki explores the relationship that she had with her body and how she describes her demisexuality, which helped me understand the different perspectives on this spectrum. Whenever Nikki talked about her experiences and struggles with certain aspects in her life, I was shocked at how much I understood and connected with it, having experienced a lot of things myself, and it made me feel like I wasn’t alone in my own little chaotic world. Honestly, Nikki’s journey throughout this book brought out so much emotion in me with things that I have experienced and making me even see some of my experiences that I had a hard time understanding into a new perspective that I never even thought of, and it just made me appreciate and love this book even more! Now, James was literally so sweet, funny, beautiful, handsome, and everything I could have hoped for in a mmc. I loved his chemistry and friendship that he had with everyone in the apartment, and oh my god, the way that he spoke to and about Nikki literally had me tearing up, because James speaking about how he loved and admired and adored everything Nikki is exactly how I dream of someone feeling about me. Their love and chemistry was literally so perfect, and I ate up every second of this book! The friends to lovers trope will always be my favorite, especially with one of the mcs being in love with the other the entire time and trying to deny it; it just makes me kick my feet. Also, all of the other characters in this book felt so real and organic with their friendships together as roommates, and I love how Collin and Will were there for both James and Nikki in their hard moments. That ending though with Collin took me off guard but it was actually so sweet!! I am absolutely ready to read the rest of this book series! I can’t wait for Noah’s story!~
This review is of an ARC provided by the author through BookFunnel.
I am very disappointed in the fact that I felt I needed to DNF this by about the 25% mark, but it was at that point that the things that irked me about the writing were getting hard to ignore. Synopsis-wise this sounded like the perfect book for me, and that’s what made it all the harder to put down for good. But I found that the frequent asides made by the characters to point out some lesson about social justice verbiage very annoying. Mostly because it made me wonder who exactly this book was for. People like me who are queer, mentally ill, disabled, poly/sex positive, etc. don’t need things that we are acutely aware of pointed out directly like some “The More You Know” PSA. And I’m pretty confidant that anyone who is unaware of common pejorative terms and their potential harm would likely never pick up this book or put it down quite quickly for other reasons that conflict with their rigid view of how the world should be.
Beyond that, I found the book mostly enjoyable. I liked the look into how individual a person’s definition of demisexuality can be, and the dialogue was very fun and engaging. I feel that spending so much time in Nikki’s head at the start could have been interspersed more with interactions with other characters, but I know that is a personal preference of mine so many readers may not find an issue with that.
I do hope that more people will pick up this book and give it a try. It just wasn’t a writing style I enjoy but the plot and characters seem solid. Thank you to the author for the advance copy and I wish you success.
I really enjoyed the way that Emily B Rose was able to capture heavy topics like sexual exploration, self-discovery, mental health, and body neutrality in a way that felt lighter.
In this book we see the story of Nikki and James. Nikki is a romance writer and is struggling to write her third book. Of course, writing spicy scenes without having experienced any spice can be *ahem* tricky! Asking her roommate James for some lessons seems like the best solution. I mean what could go wrong?!
If you are looking for “new girl” vibes, a feel good story, super spicy scenes, and a safe space to feel seen... this book is for you!
**Fat Representation**
Something I enjoyed about this book and fat representation in particular, is that Nikki spends some time critically thinking about how she feels with her body. You see her character explore concepts such as body positivity and body neutrality. I thought it was interesting because in the writing this self-reflection seemed very intentional and overt. Nikki seemed to have a more realistic relationship with her body in that she cares for it but still struggles some days with body image.
Another thing I enjoyed would be how Nikki and James described their bodies. General descriptions included things like stretch marks, cellulite, Nikki’s stomach hanging over her hips, and James's soft belly. Again, the wording felt very intentional and realistic. As always, I appreciated that weight/size was not mentioned and the reader gets the opportunity to imagine Nikki and James as they see fit.
3.5/5 ⭐️ Thank you to Emily B. Rose for allowing me to be one of her ARC eReaders! Happy pub day to For the Plot!
This was a quick and fun read. I was sucked in and read it in one sitting. It was sweet and hot with some of the best open door sex scenes I have read by in works that aren’t ao3 ff, if I’m being blunt. I have faith that our Nikki had everything she needed to write a book that impresses even her most experienced of readers.
I honestly think this book could have benefited from being a tad longer, particularly in the third act. The conflict and resolution could have both been longer in order to be more impactful on the reader. I think our two main characters had great individual growth and they’re story arcs are heavily influenced by their relationship, but I do wish their romantic relationship was a tad bit more developed.
I am interested to see what Emily B. Rose does next. As a late diagnosed neurodivergent fat double demi, I think this was great representation. On occasion a little info-dumpy, but that feels purposeful in Nikki’s voice as an ADHDer (sometimes i wondered if she was an AuDHDer!). I particularly liked seeing how rejection sensitive dysphoria played out for Nikki and Collins. It felt so reminiscent of how I feel when I receive even the most simple of rejections, even about things I didn’t put much weight on. Lastly, I also enjoyed meeting Nikki’s family and what a grounding force they are in her life (fitting since this series is focused on the Stone siblings!)
When romance writer, Nikki sees a viral review of her book saying that her 🌶️ scenes are written “like someone who has never had s3x before,” she begins to spiral because that assessment is actually true. In an attempt to break out of her writing slump, she decides that she needs to get laid — for the first time. But she needs to find someone that she trusts. And who does she trust, but her friend and roommate, James. What could possibly go wrong?
The idea of a virgin romance writer that asks her roommate for s3x lessons instantly hooked me. And I was not disappointed. 🔥 There are some New Girl vibes and I absolutely loved the demi, bi, plus size, neurodivergent and depression rep. in this story.
The relationship between the MMC and FMC is a messy and chaotic, but also very supportive and sweet. The MMC, James is a walking green flag — he is tremendously supportive and patient, always putting Nikki’s comfort and safety at the forefront. This man is a king of consent. 👑 As for Nikki, although she struggled to manage her ADHD and juggle relationships & work throughout the story, I really enjoyed how raw and messy her character is.
The chemistry between the MCs is fun and flirty, the spice was quite nice 🌶️🔥 & there were a few moments that felt quite emotional. Overall, For the Plot is a fun, spicy, well-rounded RomCom & I recommend!
As with many of the fun books I've read this summer, I stumbled across a Threads post asking for ARC readers for a friends/roommates to 'sex lesson' lovers romcom, with fat, queer main characters who also have various hidden physical and mental health issues, I immediately signed up.
But then I found out he's a simpy, consent king/manwhore with slutty little glasses and a filthy mouth, and I was super down to read. And James does not disappoint! I love how supportive and affirming yet totally raunchy he is with Nikki, and have now claimed him as my new book boyfriend. 😁
I connected with Nikki in a lot of ways, even though I'm considered neurotypical and she isn't. There were several quotes that really hit me, but most especially when Nikki says how easy it is to never leave the house when you work from home, especially if you have mental health struggles... Felt that one deep in my bones.
I'm definitely looking forward to reading more about the Stone siblings (and hopefully James and Nikki's two other roommates) in the rest of the series! Oh, AND there's a song for each chapter so ya know your friendly wistful witch has compiled a playlist! 😉
Oh no you fell in love with your friend who's teaching you how to have sex... how unfortunate!
For the Plot is Emily B. Rose's second novel. It's very much New Girl but make it queer. The MCs are demibisexual but experience their demisexuality differently, which I really enjoyed because demisexuality is a beautiful, individual experience. Nikki is highkey relatable as someone who struggles with depression and concentration. The fact that amidst everything she has family and friends who refuse to let her struggle alone is like a warm hug. James is a big softy! I loved this consent king A LOT. Just beautiful!
I'm always a sucker for sex lessons because they allow characters to explore physical intimacy and communication in a completely new way. I like that Nikki is constantly reminding herself that virginity is a made up concept. The negative review and bookish community might be a little meta, but it allows us into Nikki's head throughout the book. We know why she seeks lessons with James, but it also gives her something to fall back on when she doesn't want to acknowledge her developing feelings for James. Overall, I was very pleased with the tension and development of their relationship.
There were a lot of things I loved about this book, and some things I thought were a bit meh. The author's writing style is a bit bland for my tastes, that sort of debut author feel I get from some authors, except I don't think this author is a debut author. I know that sounds, bad, but it was a more simple book. Definitely an easy read for sure. The New Girl vibes were really there though and that was one of the things I loved about the book asides from the demisexual, bisexual, and ADHD rep. It was also mentioned that James has Chronic Gastritis, but other than just being mentioned, we didn't really get to see any of how that affected him. I loved how easy it was to relate to Nikki, and there were a lot of things about her personality that just clicked. I wasn't really fond of the way the two of them gathered themselves regarding their relationship status, and how whiny James seemed about being rejected, despite Nikki being the one who had rejection sensitivity disorder, and I didn't like the way she snapped at him just because she was upset. I'd be curious to give another book in this series a go, and I appreciate the author for giving me a copy of this ARC!
This was a fun read! It’s Emily’s first foray into contemporary romance and it was quite the enjoyable one.
For the Plot was a friends to lovers romance brimming with representation! It covered everything from queer relations like being bi and demisexual to chronic illness and ADHD rep. I found Emily’s insight into being demi-bi fascinating, and it taught me to see that identity in a way I hadn’t before.
I liked the relationship between James and Nikki and found it very sweet. Friends to lovers is a fave trope and you could really feel the love between them, even before they started their s3x lessons. Lessons that were both tender and also hot af, might I add.
The third act breakup was rough!! But it shone a spotlight on how certain neurospicy brains work too. It broke my heart the way Nikki was self-sabotaging and I’m glad it didn’t take long for these two to get out of their own way.
I’m looking forward to what Emily writes next! Hopefully, after the ending, it means we’ll be getting a Collins story and I cannot wait to see it unfold.
For the Plot by Emily B. Rose was everything I hoped it would be. Both of these main characters are demisexual but experience it in different ways, and not to mention, they are both bisexual!
Nikki Stone, a romance author, is struggling with writer's block following a viral bad review. James is one of her best friends and roommates, who may or may not be hardcore crushing on Nikki! Nikki is backed into a corner with her deadline for her new book and decides that James is the best person to ask for help from.
I, for one, had a great time reading this book. I loved the representation of ADHD, depression, and sexuality. I would have liked more character development, particularly in showing what these characters were like outside of their work, but that didn't ruin the book or plot for me. I loved the silliness of the FMC Oh, I'm a virgin and need f*** for research and then the MMC taking it up a notch by saying we should date for "research." These characters felt relatable in a way that made you want to read the story. I also appreciated the way both characters talk so lovingly about their bodies and each other.
Overall, there are so many parts of this book that worked to have such a fun time reading it, and I am excited to see what Emily B. Rose has in store for us! I would recommend picking up this book and giving it a read!
This started out so strong and I'm sad it ended up falling flat for me. Initially, I loved the Queer New Girl vibes, I thought the setup was strong, and it really seemed like everyone had great personalities and that I was going to fall for these characters hard (I mean, I check so many of the included representation boxes this book could have been written for me specifically). But, at some point, I realized that it just was fizzling out. There wasn't any tension or really plot (a little ironic with the title), and the writing felt like very tell not show (in how that phrase feels to me, I think it's very much a YMMV feeling). There was also some very wishy washy points. James LOVES his job even though some people might judge him and a couple chapters later he's thinking he's pretty done with bartending. And he has never even looked at Nikki that way to he's always been in love with her - I think this may have come from trying to cram all of New Girl in one book. If you want a very light/easy read with more vibes than plot it might work better for you!
There were a lot of things I loved about this book, and a couple of things that missed the mark for me. Overall this was an enjoyable quick read. I loved the representation in this book – body positive, fat representation, depression representation, ADHD representation, demibisexual representation... all of this was great to see and done in a great way. I especially appreciated the way that Nikki’s size was acknowledged, but was a very realistic relationship with body positivitiy.
I wished there had been more substance to the overall plot, outside of the sex lessons. I appreciated these parts of the relationship development, but I would have liked to see some more outside plot that the two characters were dealing with. I think the book would have benefited from being a little bit longer, both to add other plot elements and smooth out the third act/third act breakup.
Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was adorable! I loved getting to know Nikki and James, and living inside of their minds for a book. It was kinda cute how their lives mimicked what Nikki was trying to write, but she just couldn't realize it. I did want a little bit MORE pining from her side, but as an ADHD and demisexual person myself, I can also understand how those feelings could go unrealized until someone says they like you, and then you're like "oh shit I like them back". Overall, it was super cute, and I loved the Bi/Bi rep, as well as another ADHD demi person!
I also loved the pace of the sex lessons. I liked how they didnt immediately jump into penetrative sex, and started with just kissing and learning each other. With most sex lesson books, they immediately jump into things, so it was nice to feel the tension and let it slowly grow.
Loved this book, and I'm excited to read about the rest of the siblings!
Nikki is a romance author who is having trouble writing her spicy scenes because she’s actually a virgin. When you’re an author and you need to know more about a topic to write it, of course you do your research. As a demisexual she’s having trouble finding just anyone to get some experience with so she turns to her roommate and fellow Demi and bisexual for help. Super simple and casual, right?
Love love loved this book. Everything about it. The fat rep, Demi rep, bi rep, ADHD rep. Literally everything was *chef’s kiss* amazing spice and hard topics found family and real family. Every character dynamic shines and I want a million books about every single one of them! Nikki and James were the cutest and most clueless of course but it was so endearing and there wasn’t even any annoying angst just throwing everything in and then sometimes it takes some time to shake out. I devoured it in a day and I’m ready to go read it again it was so good. Do it!
This book just blown my mind. Since the very first pages I was completely hooked up. It was a cute, romantic AND SUPER HOT love story! I fell deeply in love with both the main characters. They’re just so beautiful together, their chemistry intense!
The relationship between all the characters was organic and real! So it made the whole story much more compelling!
What I really appreciated of the book was how the author described perfectly demisexuality and all their sides. How people feel, how they feel sexuality and love. In addition, the importance of body positivity was central in the whole story, because the author encourages everyone to love their body, despite their flaws and the fact that society wants us in a certain way and it made me feel represented and understood!
This book had a ton of potential, and I was super excited to read it. I identify a lot with the characters, especially Nikki. At times reading her thoughts felt like reading my own.
That being said, the book ultimately fell a bit flat for me. It felt really insular, with not much going on outside of the MCs’ relationship. There was occasional dialogue that felt uncomfortable. Nikki’s writer’s block was only solved towards the very end, very quickly, which felt like an odd choice when it was such a central issue and the whole reason she and James began being intimate.
I liked many of the foundational elements, which is why I felt it held so much potential, but they just didn’t ultimately come together for me.
I’d recommend fellow “New Girl” fans give it a shot. It wasn’t for me, but it might be for you.
If you’re looking for New Girl meets struggling author meets great representation, then this is the book for you!
The representation in this book is just so good! I loved how both MCs were demisexual and we got to see what it was life for the two of them. It really was a great representation that sexuality is a spectrum and we all have our own preferences.
My favorite part of this book was the consent. Like, I know, that’s not the hot and heavy part people come for but it was fantastic. James and Nikki do a wonderful job communicating in the bedroom and show some healthy conversations around intimacy. Those convos aren’t always included in romance novels, so it was nice to see here. I also loved Nikki’s twin and hope that maybe we’ll get a book about her!
Overall, I enjoyed my time reading For the Plot and I can’t wait for the next book in the Stone Siblings Series.
I received an ARC of this book to read and review.
This book is a quick and heartwarming read with a lovely bit of spice. I’m such a sucker for demi/bisexual rep in a book, and For the Plot delivers both (plus an ADHD FMC whose struggles hit a little too hard at points). The chemistry between James and Nikki is absolutely swoony. I was kicking my feet and getting butterflies on their behalf throughout the story. The secondary characters were just as lovable as the MCs.
⭐️: Barely finished, almost DNF ⭐️⭐️: Finished, but was nothing wonderful ⭐️⭐️⭐️: Enjoyed, but would probably not read again ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Highly enjoyed, would likely read again ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: This book is now a part of my regular rotation to re-read and/or changed my brain chemistry
I absolutley loved this story. Nikki is a romance writer trying to complete her third book on a deadline, but can’t get there. As a demisexual who hasn’t had a sexual experience with another person yet she decides to explore that side of her. After a failed attempt, she decides her roomate and friend James, a fellow demisexual, is the best option to help her explore sex in a safe and comfortable enviroment. I loved Nikki’s complex character her journey of self-discovery, her struggles, and the relationships with her family members. James is a sweatheart, the biggest green flag. He is a consent king and represents a different side to demisexuality than Nikki. I really enjoyed them together and can’t wait for more in the series.
This was a nice and short romance book focusing on a demisexual boy and girl who agree to a friends with benefits situation to help her with her writer's block as a romance author. The plot is a classic trope of taking lessons to learn or improve one's sexual abilities. The characters were really charming and open, especially as they learn more about each other. The representation of sexuality, mental health, and different disabilities was absolutely brilliant on its ake. The romance didn't feel forced, but I wish for a little buildup to their truth. Overall, this was a very eye-opening book into the world of different sexualities and attractions with plenty of spice.
I loved how genuine this book felt. Nikki is instantly likeable and real, and her journey resonated with me. The prose is super voicey and addictive—especially in Nikki’s POV—making it so easy to fall into her head and heart. I even learned a lot about demisexuality and rejection sensitivity—it’s not every day a romance both entertains and teaches me something new. I came into this expecting pure vibes, but found much more: emotion, heart, and real character depth. Even though there’s a bit of chaos along the way, it always circles back to what matters most—connection and feeling—just like every good romance should.
Y’all, if you loved the sexual frustration and neurospicy shmex lessons from Katie Duggan’s From The Start … read this book 😤
“I’m going to take my time with you, darling, so I need you to be good and let me.”
We have: Plus sized FMC AND MMC Virgin FMC Roommates/friends to lovers He falls first and HARD “Teach me” Dry humping 🙏🏼 and the eventual he 🏁 in his pants “Spit on it” 🫠 MIRROR SCENE Toys are teammates!!!!! ADHD rep Demi/bi rep New Girl vibes
As someone on the asexual spectrum, I greatly enjoyed seeing two representations of demisexual experience in one book. It made me feel seen while also allowing me to understand another’s POV. Overall, I really enjoyed James and Nikki, though some parts were a bit slow/unnecessary to me.
This was a DNF AT ABOUT 30% for me. I really wanted to get into the story, especially because of the representation, but there were so many errors and typos. It was very disruptive and I wasn’t able to invest in the story. I may try again in the future, but for now I will not be continuing.