The Boyfriend Subscription

4.5 stars

Not only is this a new-to-me author, but this is also his first adult contemporary romance. He did a bang-up job. I felt all of the emotions of the characters; their lust, confusion, insecurities, and love. Although Teddy and Cole fall fast, it was believable to me because of how the story unfolds and how the characters are written.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I would do okay with the format. The chapters are long and few. But it’s dual POV and the POV switches within the chapters, sometimes multiple times, and that helps to keep things from bogging down.

Somehow the mix of a horticulturist who lost his booming plant business to his ex-husband’s family and is now broke and broken and a high-profile owner of a sex-positive app who is also the app’s top-earning worker is the perfect formula. Teddy grew up poor and built his business through years of hard work and his love of plants. Cole grew up rich, he was expected to step into his father’s shoes to take over the family business. Instead, he went his own way and became a success in his own right. Yet these two understand each other on a deep level. Their first meeting and the ensuing night together are sweet and build a firm intimacy between them that carries through the rest of the story.

Even when things got rough, I felt the reactions were understandable on both parts. Again with those insecurities. They sometimes keep people from thinking things through before acting. But they weren’t irrational and immature, they didn’t always react before thinking. I appreciated the realistic human emotions.

There were times when the peripheral characters got to be too much. It wasn’t that they took away from the story because many of them are integral to how things ultimately play out. I think for some reason some of their name didn’t stick for me and I had to remember who was being talked about when big things were happening. I believe that may be an issue with me and not with the writing though.

I don’t read tons of YA, but I may have to go back and read some of this author’s earlier work which is all YA. I hope he continues to delve into the adult contemporary romance genre though. I loved this book.

One last thing…I’m not usually a fan of the illustrated covers but I like to acknowledge when they work. This one definitely works. Not only do they have facial features, they are in focus and are a fantastic representation of the characters. It also doesn’t give the illusion that this is a YA book like many of the illustrated covers tend to do.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

You know what? I actually really liked this. I thought it was sweet. Yet another example of my reading tastes not matching the GR reviews.

I really wanted to like this much more than I did. The main characters acted like teenagers, the pacing was off, and there were some continuity issues.

3.5⭐️

Thank you so much to Afterglow Books and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

This was a fun, sweet contemporary romance following 2 heroes from very different worlds.

We follow one hero who is a very wealthy, successful sex worker and business owner who spontaneously asks a recently divorced, and newly unemployed, stranger to be his fake boyfriend.

I love the fake dating trope so it while always be a win for me. Plus I loved the themes surrounding sex positivity and sex work.

I also really loved that this dealt with characters in their 30s who still don't have it all together (cause relatable). These 2 come at love and romance in very different ways and both have strong feeling and emotions surround relationships.

While I loved a lot about the romance itself and the characters, the plot was... a lot. This book was drama on top of drama on top of drama.

By the end it just felt a little much. I just wish a couple of things had been dialed back. Especially since the reveal was pretty intense. It felt like some of the unnecessary drama detracted from how difficult that situation was.

I'm definitely very curious to read more from this author though! I thought the characters felt unique and real. The romance was both filled with sexual chemistry but also clear adoration and love. And the themes of loneliness and acceptance were something I think so many readers can relate to.