Plot Twist: A Small Town Second Chance Romance

by Shayla Sullivan

Amelia Brooks didn't plan to scatter her novel pages across Main Street like literary confetti. But that's what happens when you finally decide to write your story and the mountain wind has other ideas.

Now she's camped out in Cole Anderson's bookstore-café, writing about love and loss, and falling for the man who hosts her writing group and makes her believe her words matter.

As deadline approaches and her heart opens, Amelia has to decide if she's brave enough to share the story that might heal them both—and write a new chapter that includes forever.

Tropes: Small-Town • Widowed Heroine • Friends to Lovers • Forced Proximity • Found Family • Second Chance

112 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 18, 2025

Reviews

[Chandra Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever stood at the edge of something new—grief weighing heavy, courage trembling in your hands, hope flickering like a weak candle—Plot Twist by Shayla Sullivan will feel like someone gently placing a warm mug in front of you and whispering, You’re not alone.

Amelia Brooks didn’t expect to lose her husband, and she certainly didn’t expect her unfinished novel to go cartwheeling through Main Street like confetti thrown by the universe itself. But that whirlwind moment leads her straight to Cole Anderson, the café/bookstore owner with a broken heart of his own and a life reshaped by betrayal. Two people grieving different losses, two stories unfinished—until fate scatters pages and gives them a chance to write a new one together.

Amelia is soft, raw, trying her best just to breathe through the guilt and the “what-ifs.” Cole is steady warmth disguised behind heartbreak and fresh coffee. Their connection builds not with grand gestures, but with shared spaces—quiet tables, scribbled pages, late-night vulnerability, and the comforting hum of a bookstore where stories live.

This isn’t just a romance. It’s a slow rebuilding.
A journey of creativity, courage, and stepping back into the world one page at a time.
A reminder that grief doesn’t vanish—it transforms us. Sometimes into something braver.

Why this book stays with you:
✨ A tender portrayal of healing after loss
✨ A love story built on friendship, creativity, and trust
✨ Cozy bookstore/café vibes that feel like a warm blanket
✨ A beautifully relatable celebration of writing, vulnerability & second chances

As Amelia’s deadline approaches, we ache with her. When she learns to share her words, we cheer. And when Cole and Amelia start rewriting their lives side by side, it feels like watching two wounded souls find color again.

Plot Twist is a heart-soothing novel for anyone who loves:
☕ Bookish love stories
💔 Healing after heartbreak
📝 Writers & creativity themes
💞 Slow-burn connection with emotional depth

By the final page, you’ll believe that stories can save us. That letting go is also holding on. And that sometimes the most beautiful chapters are the ones we never planned.

A book to savor, to underline, to hold close.
A story reminding us that life’s plot twists can break us—but they can also put us back together. 💛.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cait's Reading Nook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot Twist by Shayla Sullivan is the story of Amelia and Cole. Amelia is a writer and Cole owns a bookshop. Amelia is working on her novel at the bookshop with a writing group.

While spending time in the cafe, she connects with Cole, and her heart opens up to love again while . Both Amelia and Cole are on their own healing journeys. Writing is what brings them together and helps them process and share their feelings.

I enjoyed how hopeful and heartfelt this novella was and the connection Amelia and Cole formed. I thought the pace of the build of their connection and relationship was well paced in the novella.

This was the first book I read by Shayla Sullivan and look forward to reading more! I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.