This is the kind of book that sparks a reading slump. I don't see how any of my next reads could measure up. The Borrow A Boyfriend Club was that good.

I tend to start skeptical. It takes time for me to believe in a romantic relationship, but not with Noah and Asher. From their very first encounter, I was rooting for them. Their relationship was so beautifully vulnerable.

I am obsessed and will remain obsessed for the foreseeable future.

Bottom line: I am now Page Powars' newest fan.

I loved a lot about this book. There were slow times at the beginning but once it got going I felt like I had to finish it immediately. There were a lot of journeys for the main characters in this book. My favorite was Noah's journey to accepting himself and not feeling like he has to prove himself to everyone around him. This is aided by Asher who realizes the ridiculous standards his brother made up dont have to dictate his life. The club itself is hilarious and I loved the characters within it. We also love acceptance with no questions. Big fan.

Have I ever read a book more chaotic? Perhaps not. A bunch of VERY enterprising teens run a secret "Borrow a Boyfriend" club under the guise of an Italian club in high school. Don't ask too many questions about how they manage to keep this secret to the teachers when all of the students know, and just go with it, because this is an extremely fun read.

Our main character, Noah, has just about three braincells, and I love him with all my heart. I don't know how I came to adopt two fictional trans teens named Noah with zero braincells (the other being the MC from Meet Cute Diary). If I got a dollar for every time this happened, I would have two dollars, but it's weird that it happened twice.

Noah wants to join the club to prove he's really a boy, and over the course of the story he learns that maybe he doesn't have anything to prove. So there's definitely a message to this book, but it's also just a HILARIOUS read full of nonsense and hijinks, that had me laughing out loud. I was especially just so entertained by how extremely seriously these teens take themselves, it was pure gold to read about.

4.5/5 (rounded down to 4)

CW: bullying (recounted), transmisia, mugging (recounted), queermisia

I would like to thank Random House Children’s, Delacorte Press and NetGalley for inviting me to review a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Page Powars’ The Borrow a Boyfriend Club illustrates the scenario of being able to “rent” one of the most popular guys in school for a date. With trans teen Noah Byrd aiming to prove he’s one of the guys at his new high school, Noah has to not only go through the various rounds in the club’s strict membership process and then ensure them a win in the school’s annual talent show. While that might seem difficult as is, he also has to do it while attempting to woo the club’s arrogant president, Asher.

I have to admit, I’ve never read a book quite like Powars’ The Borrow a Boyfriend Club. Powars is able to come up with a unique and interesting book concept to bring to the YA space, especially for YA rom-coms, and I think this concept ultimately works for Powars. The dynamics between the club members was great and I really enjoyed getting to learn more about the intricacies behind the club’s history as well as the great lengths it takes to stay a secret.

For readers that regularly read rom-coms (such as yours truly), Powars’ The Borrow a Boyfriend Club is a good pick for fans of the fake dating (i.e. the whole point of the club), forced proximity, and enemies-to-lovers. While the plot more so focuses on Noah aiming to get accepted into the club, Powars does leave in moments of banter and a handful of swoon worthy moments when highlighting Noah and Asher’s relationship.

You also get to see some solid character development in Noah and Asher throughout the book as Powars details their motivations behind the club. With Noah wanting to be accepted for who he is and Asher wanting to live up to his older brother’s legacy as the former president of the Borrow a Boyfriend Club, both of them get their time to grow and change as the events from the book occur.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Borrow a Boyfriend Club and I will be keeping my eye out for Powars’ future works.

This was a beautifully done young adult novel, that I was hoping for when I read the description. The characters were well written especially since they felt like real people. Page Powars does everything that I was looking for and I’m glad I read this.

I have been SO excited about The Borrow a Boyfriend Club since the moment it was announced and I found Page Powars on social media. This was just everything I wanted it to be and more. I love, love, love the characters, the tropes, and the story. I had so much fun reading this and I can't wait to see what else Page Powars writes!

A fun and refreshing debut! Lots of super fun characters and a unique premise. Thank you Netgalley & Delacorte for the ARC!

THE BORROW A BOYFRIEND CLUB is, in my opinion, exactly what a YA romcom should be. With an authentic (and at least a little chaotic) teenage voice, Page Powars explores some important themes (like queer & trans struggles) in a lighthearted and nuanced way. I loved the sometimes ridiculous jokes, the romance and friendship elements, and Noah's journey overall.

In short: I laughed, I swooned, and I related. This debut is not to be missed, and I already can't wait for more books by Page!

The Borrow a Boyfriend Club by Page Powars
🦖💘

“Everything clicked into place. Football and Lamborghinis, two things the boot country was known for in America besides pizza and pasta. So, in other words, they were fronting as an Italian club.”

I thought The Borrow a Boyfriend Club would be such a fun read, and I was absolutely right! From the get-go, I loved the characters and I really enjoyed the light “enemies to lovers” trope - though it was pretty clear that Asher never hated Noah. 🤫

The over-the-top corniness of the way the BaB club disguises itself as the mega-manly Football and Lamborghini Club was genuinely hilarious to me, and all of the side characters had a lot of depth despite not being on-page super often. I had so much compassion for both Noah and Asher, and I just wanted to give them both the biggest hug.

I really liked that Page Powars touched down on how difficult it can be when your parents support you as a trans person, but don’t really go out of their way to learn about your identity and what it means. I’ve experienced that myself, so some of Noah’s frustrations really hit home. Sometimes apathy can be almost as painful as outright disdain.

All in all, I really, really loved this book. Huge thank you to @penguinrandomhouse, @netgalley, and of course, @pagepowars for giving me to opportunity to read The Borrow a Boyfriend Club before release day! I am honored. 🥹

STARS:
⭐️strong story? Yes! I was very invested the entire time, and it was just such a fun premise.
⭐️compelling characters? Yes! Everyone felt very realistic and I really enjoyed being in Noah’s head.
⭐️enjoyable writing style? Absolutely! Noah was a great narrator and a lot of his inner monologue was so funny!
✨did it make me think/have strong emotions? Yes! Especially the tension Noah was feeling toward his parents.
⭐️recommend? 100% yes. If you’re a fan of enemies to lovers/Hallmark movies/Ouran Host Club/slow burn stories, this is definitely one for you!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨(4.5/5 stars)
adorable cover art by Steffi Walthall (aka @just___steffi)

so i had a lot of fun with this. the concept is very much like a classic teen movie, and i THRIVE with that kind of stuff.

this is for you if you like:

✅ enemies-to-lovers
✅ fake dating
✅ found family

noah goes on a journey where he learns that he’s enough for the people around him, and now it’s time for him to be enough for himself.

Asher, the club president and Noah’s love interest, was great as well. he has his own little arc that sets him aside from the stereotypical love interest.

their banter and fake dates were some of my favorite moments. there’s a strong chemistry and connection between the two of them that feels authentic. i love when characters feel like real people!!

everything comes together really well and this is an incredible debut! page is already teasing his next one, And They Were Roommates, which i will be SEATED for!!

*3.75 stars
This book definitely reminded me of a certain anime, but that wasn't an issue for me. Overall, I liked Asher, but I didn't love Noah at times. However, I did like the cast as a whole and the romance. Miscommunication isn't my thing, but it wasn't REAL miscommunication, just awkward at times. Romance: good. Characters: Good/decent. Plot: Mixed. All in all, good just not perfect.

Noah Byrd has just transferred to Heron River High after feeling overwhelmingly frustrated by the regular misgendering and deadnaming he experienced at his old school. But he enters his new school feeling like he has to prove himself as a real guy. And how better to do that than to apply for the manliest sounding club at school? Turns out, though, that the Football and Lamborghini Appreciation Club is actually the front for the Borrow-a-Boyfriend Club -- and Asher, the kind-of-a-jerk club president, is making it really tough for Noah to become a member. Noah persuades Asher, though, by offering to help the club win the school's talent show. His first hurdle? He has to romance Asher to get any further with the club.

I enjoyed the characters, especially the supportive camaraderie within the club, but overall I had a difficult time getting invested in the plot. And because I can see that the writing is good, I have to conclude that this is truly one of those times where I have to say that I'm not the prime audience for this book, and I am not going to write anything to bring the book down. I'll still give it four stars because I enjoyed the ending, but look to other reviewers for a more detailed and appreciative review.

Thank you, Random House and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I’ve been waiting for this book ever since the author posted his very first video on tiktok in 2021. When yesterday I woke up to the Negalley email telling me I had been approved for an ARC, I had to start it right away.

Initially, the idea of a ‘Borrow A Boyfriend club’ felt silly — in good way. I really liked the idea of it, and the different people and types were pretty fun to discover. In the end, the club actually felt like a family, and I would honestly read 100k more words of just slice-of-life fluff, with the club just doing its thing (especially now that the rules have changed).

All characters ended up growing on me, and it’s actually really hard for me to like a full cast of characters. Noah was honestly one of the best main characters I’ve ever encountered, and Asher was pretty amazing too (I do hope the poor boy starts going to therapy tho…).

I’m nonbinary, and I came to this realization after I had already finished high-school, so my experience does not directly relate to the one in the book, but seeing Noah have to go through transition during school, and seeing how hard he tried, felt very real and raw. The fact that he felt the need to reject anything that felt remotely feminine, the need to prove that he is boy enough… seeing that in a book was amazing, and it made me extremely emotional. Everything Noah felt, I felt in the exact same way, and I kept hurting with him during the story, especially when the doubts about his parents’ support of him appeared.

But this book is not just about the reality of being trans, it’s also about trans joy!!!

I absolutely adored (and appreciated) that there really isn’t any transphobia on page. We are told that some things happened back at his old school, but no one misgenders him, or deadnames him in the story, and everyone who finds out he’s trans is really supportive and sweet about it.

Feels special to fall in love with another trans book.

I will be filing for custody of Noah and fundraising to cover Asher’s much needed therapy. I cackled and full on snorted my way through this book, but intertwined with the excellent humor is a heart so big it made mine ache. It was so outstandingly special to see a trans main character be loved the way Noah was. Yes, he has his struggles and yes they do relate to his identity, but there is so much acceptance there as well, so many good people surrounding him that love him for who he is. I want to give him a hug, the little dork that he is, along with Asher, the grumpy dino loving love of my life (he wears RINGS come ON). And, and, and there are some kissing scenes that immediately shot up the list of my favorite kissing scenes; Noah and Asher’s relationship was perfect.

So, really, what I am saying is I want to paint this book on my skin I love it so much. I’d eat it whole if I could. So it is very very good.

Now, for my unhinged pitch: What if Lemonade Mouth was not a band but a group of boys running a boyfriend business.

The Borrow a Boyfriend Club is such a joyful, uplifting, hilarious read. It's impossible not to root for Noah as he falls in love and grows as a person, and the relationship dynamic is wonderfully mortifying (poor Noah REALLY goes through it as he woos Asher and learns what it means to be a member of the club). I was howling on every other page—the voice is so distinct, sharp, and witty. This is a total comfort book, with its themes of self-acceptance and found family, and I can't wait for Powars's next.