Cover Image: Her Book Boyfriend

Her Book Boyfriend

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I have such an addiction for YA novels, particularly the butterfly inducing romance ones, where the shy nerd gets the popular hero or the ugly duckling is revealed as the beautiful swan that she always was. In Her Book Boyfriend by K.R Grace I was given a mixture of all of my favourite sub-genre tropes but I won't disclose which as you really need to read this lovely High school romance for yourself.
The heroine, Mace is the quintessential quirky book-nerd, she's intelligent, a bit of a dreamer but as loyal and loving as you would want your female protagonist to be. She has her circle of close friends, all of whom have their own wonderfully weird personalities but it's the strength of the relationship and the many different layers of the friendship between Mace and Cam that steals the focus of the book.

'"I can't got through life only known as someone's friend or someone's daughter. I need to be someone's world. It might be a foreign concept to you, but I crave it."
"But a romance novel Mace? Those things are nothing but unrealistic fantasies."'

And so begins Mace's quest for a book boyfriend, that is as heroic, dependable, loving and swoon-worthy as the heroes she reads about daily in her romance novels.
There where many aspects of this book that I absolutely adored. Mace's character for one. Her wit and intelligence sparkle off the page but she is also very human, flawed and sometimes a little one dimensional in her way of thinking and labelling people. I did have a bit of an issue with how she does Cam's dirty work for him, I felt like she maybe relished that role a bit too much, any normal friend would have had a come to Jesus talk about his attitude and behaviour rather than enabling him. Cam was the typical bad boy player with a heart of gold and because he played into this stereotype, I never felt like we got to see the real him, just this swaggering cocksure guy and his suddenly evolving feelings for a certain someone. And this is where we needed a dual point of view.
This is a fairly straight forward romance but what makes it so enjoyable is the use of very funny dialogue and characterisation of Mace and the side players. The plot is a little flimsy and I feel like so much more could have been made from the material given, expanded upon and made into something even better, at times certain situations felt rushed and I feel, given how it ended, that the reader would have benefited from an epilogue set in the future, but over all Her Book Boyfriend was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
I'll definitely be picking up the next book in this series

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Funny. Somewhat relatable main characters with very relatable issues.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book. I am giving an honest review of what I read.
Her Book Boyfriend is a sweet and funny read. K. R. Grace has a nice writing style that is pleasing. Mace is her main character, she is looking for a boyfriend to take her to the prom, but she has come up with her own criteria in finding one. Since her whole life has basically been academia all she knows about men is from books that she has read. So of course, it's where she goes to first to make a list of what she wants in a man/boyfriend. The book finds humor in what Mace thinks she wants and needs. The way in which she eventually finds her "man" is a fun, sweet read. I like that the author kept Mace realistic in her mindset. She builds from her experiences in the her life and creates her list from what she knows. I hope you check out this read! It's worth the time.

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Her Book Boyfriend was a cute book that was perfect to read next to the pool. This was a sweet and quick romance story that definitely put a smile on my face!

Macey, the main character, was easy to relate to. I loved her passion for romance novels and books in general. I am a sucker for stories where the main character loves to read, so I was automatically drawn to Macey because of that. I had a little hard time understanding why she went after the guys she did in this book considering she didn't seem to know any of the guys. I also didn't like some of the other decisions she made in regards to other classmates. However, I thought she was a good character overall.

The romance element of this book was very cute. I thought Cam and Macey made a really sweet couple. I love the friends to lovers trope, so I was shipping Cam and Macey right from the beginning! Their romance might have been a little cliche, but I was eating them up! I wish this book could have been a little longer so I could have more time with them as a couple.

Overall, this was a fun and quick book! I would be intrigued to see what happens next in this series!


3 / 5 Fangs

*This ebook was given to me in exchange for an honest review. *

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This book was funny and cute.
A girl, Macey, is in high school. She is obsessed with books and she does not understand why guys are not asking her out. She decides that she is going to get a date to prom and the way she is going to accomplish this is by doing ten things that people do in romance books to get a boyfriend. This list that she creates is pretty strange, but she takes it seriously. Especially because she would have to go to prom with her best friend if she loses the bet.
Cam, who is the best friend is in love with Macey but it does not show because he is always making out with every girl except his best friend Macey. He makes a bet with Macey because he secretly wants to date her, but does not know how to tell her.
This book is an awkward romance novel, but it describes the feeling of being in love with your best friend perfectly. You will laugh, you will cringe, you will want to slap the main characters, but mainly, you will be able to relate to this love story in some way.
I received a free copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

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Rating: 3,5 stars

Her Book Boyfriend is a fun and cute read, which you shouldn't take too seriously.
It's about a teenage girl who loves reading, isn't a star in socializing and has never had a boyfriend. Before prom happens, Macey - our MC - wants that to change. The way she's planning on changing it? She's going to follow the tropes that occur in the novels by her favourite author.

The characters in this book weren't all that special, besides Macey and Cam - Macey's best friend. They were both likable, despite the walking clichés they were (especially Cam). I loved their friendship, and all the small aspects it brought. (I totally squealed several times while reading this book)
I gotta say though, Macey's list of tropes was kind of ridiculous and the ending was too but I caught myself enjoying and smiling while reading Her Book Boyfriend more than I (should have) thought I would.

All in all, I stand by what I said in the beginning of my review. It was a cute read, but don't take it seriously.

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Fast read by a new author to me. I loved the idea of the series and looked forward to reading this one. Macey and Cam's relationship started way back when they were in diapers. They are best friends and see to be a ying and yang to each other. Cam was very personable and I liked how he was with his family. Macey was also good with her family but seemed to be more academic oriented than friend. She did have some close friends but not the most popular in school. Wen Li was a very funny addition even though she was very much in the background. The potential boyfriends were the issue. At least the majority of them were. Macey didn't make the best decisions with them but they were in your face textbook jerks. Jaxon and Evan's were completely out of place with how they were to her at first. It just didn't flow well with the severe personality flips. The prom-posals from some of the jerkier ones just seemed off and creepy. I would have given this one a much lower score if I hadn't loved Cam, Mace, and their friends so much. I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

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Solid 3.5 Stars

This book was a very cute, very typical YA novel. The story flowed well and the characters were interesting.

Macey was a fun h. I liked that she really threw herself into her list even though the majority of it was pretty ridiculous. I know some other readers had some issues with some of the tasks she put on her list, but I think that was kind of the point- to put the usual book boyfriend situations to the test. I thought it was hilarious that she got shot down a lot. I liked the diversity in her group of friends, but I agree with other reviewers in saying that Wen Li's character was a little offensive.

I liked Cam despite the ridiculousness of making Macey "break up" with his hook ups and I didn't really buy his rationale for it at the end of the book. He was a fun character and I liked his banter and camaraderie with his friends.

I will say I didn't understand all the promposals at the end and I kept thinking maybe Cam had put them up to it, but it was pretty random and left me confused. I would have also liked to see more of Cam and Macey together at the end.

No there wasn't anything deeply profound about this book and you won't learn any big life lessons from it, but if you take it for what it is- a fun, quick YA novel- and you don't look into it too deeply then you will definitely enjoy it.

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When I first read the blurb for this book it looked it could be such a light and funny read that it made me want to read it even if I haven't been that much into young adult recently. Right now I kind of regret requesting this book because I ended up not liking it at all... actually, I spent most of my time rolling my eyes with how ridiculous some things were.

Here's the thing, I didn't like the main character, Macey, at all. In the beginning I thought she could be one of those relatable characters but, to be honest, she ended up being so immature and not that smart... even if anyone said she was smart. Macey is a book lover, and I loved that about her, but let's be honest... does anyone really believes that relationships in books are realistic?? Because they aren't but she still decided to prove she could find the perfect boyfriend by using book tropes (and the worst ones... arranged marriage, really?? WTF was in her mind?). It was obvious from the beginning that she would "fail" (even if she got a boyfriend in the end -_-') but the worst thing in her plan is that she didn't even try to know the guys she was trying to date. One day she could be looking at one guy and the next day, after one of her ideas failed, she would get her eyes in another guy she barely knew. It was so stupid. And don't even make me talk about the time she tried to date a girl just because she couldn't get a date with a guy. That was beyond ridiculous and really offensive. However, it was not as offensive as when she outed a guy for no reason at all. I just think this book had a lot of problems especially in terms how girls were treated because there was also a lot of slut-shaming and I hated it. I also think that Macey was a hypocrite because she slut-shamed every girl who "dated" her best-friend, Cam, but she was always breaking up with those girls in his place. And let me tell you that he dates a lot of girls and had some really intense make out scenes in public places. Do you know who Macey always talked trash about?? The girls... obviously -_-'.

To be honest, the only thing I really liked about this book was the relationship between Macey and Cam. I loved how much they supported each other but I hated how Macey treated Cam when he told her something she was expecting to hear. I think she was a little brat for stop talking with him and blame him for everything. Ohhh, and hear me out... when that happens Macey tells her mom she tried to talk to Cam but it didn't work out because in her mind running away and ignore her best-friend for days is trying to talk about what happened.

Overall, I really had a lot of problems with this book. It was a fast read and it flew easily but I can't give it a high rating because I didn't like the story at all. I think this book was ridiculous and Macey was even more ridiculous. I also didn't like all the slut-shaming and how offensive it could be sometimes. Because of that I can't recommend this. I did see a few good reviews so if you think you might like this sort of books go at your own risk.

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Her Book Boyfriend is my first book from author KR Grace. I really like stepping outside my normal genre of books and reading something different.

Overall, Her Book Boyfriend was a short, cute read. I did feel that the author toed the line with some issues that could be border line offense. For example, the treatment of an Asian student wasn't cool with me!

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This is the first book that I have read by K.R. Grace and I will admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it. While the story is considered young adult, it had a great plot to it and I loved the characters. Our H/h have grown up together and their families have lived across the street from each other since they were babies. That is a bond, that is truly hard to break. Now both seniors in high school, Cam is the bad boy rock star and Mace is the intellectual book nerd, while opposites to some they have a unbreakable connection.
This is a tender-hearted read and I read it within an afternoon. I loved how Macey goes through her list of 'How to find a Boyfriend' and then realizes he was there the whole time.

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A short, cute young adult read.

While it is fairly predictable, there are plenty of fun and tender moments which balance this out.

The story focuses on Macey ('Mace') and Cam's friendship and how it changes when Macey decides to use tropes from her favourite romance author's novels to find a boyfriend prior to prom.

Overall an easy to read teen romance, with enough heart to be enjoyable... that I suspect would make a great teen movie, particularly if the next books in the series focuses on other members in the group of friends and includes information on the main characters of previous titles.

However, my concerns with the storyline are: the fairly stereotyped way the other characters interact with Wen Li - an Asian exchange student, and the casual way that Cam gets Macey to break-up with his multitudes of girl friends, and the rather callous way she goes about doing it.

With thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

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This book is so sweet and I love the list. It adds an expectation for the reader to figure out what crazy or silly stunt is coming next in this crazy dating experiment. I love that she was always there for Cam no matter what the situation was. That is a best friend relationship and that cam was there for her when she needed him. I do wish there was some type of epilogue that mentioned his first concert and maybe a promise ring before she left for college. All of the prom-posials were super funny since those dates were epic fails and yet none of the guys realize it.

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The description for this book put me in mind of a chick flick I would really like, so I couldn't resist. Turns out, it is exactly the light and fluffy read I was craving. I'd actually really like to see this turned into a movie. Just putting that wish out there.

As this kind of story goes, it was predictably predictable. Not a bad thing. I actually really look forward to the next book in the series.

Macey was the perfect contemporary romance character model. A little quirky, clueless to her own appeal, relatable, and witty. I thoroughly enjoyed her pop culture references like her "Chandler smile."

I started a little annoyed by the idea of a guy having his female best friend do all his breaking up for him, but I got over it. In the end, my only issue with this book was the amount of errors in the writing. It was like autocorrect had a bit of a hay-day at times and somehow went unnoticed. It was just at random times it was as if intended words were replaced by very similar ones. Like "sense" ended up as "since" for example. That kind of thing. In no way, even remotely, a deal breaker though

I recommend this to any contemporary romance fans looking for a quick and enjoyable read.

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The premise of the story is cute, but the execution - not so much. I stopped by 30% because I both found the main character annoying and aspects of the book fairly offensive. The main character, who is female, not only seems to accept her male best friend's objectification and mistreatment of girls but actually helps him do it. She views other girls in a negative light and as if they deserve this mistreatment. Then, she finds it annoying when a guy she attempts to attract by acting like a damsel in distress actually respects her ability to handle situations on her own. Plus, the characters' attitude toward an Asian student at school seems to be heading in a racist direction. Don't really need any of that right now.

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Her Book Boyfriend (The Awkward Duckling #1)
K. R. Grace
My Review: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ❣
Mace is smart, sassy, pretty and funny. she wants to find a boyfriend to take her to prom. Mace has never really looked for love before because she has been too busy with school work. She wants to find the kind of romance they write in books, and therefore, turns to them for advice. This is a how to book, only with bad advice. The ending is predictable, but the journey is worth reading. You see it's hard to find a boyfriend when your best friend takes up all of your time.

The chapters are complex, and diverse giving more than a romance story.

This book gave me a new favourite quote (this totally describes me!)

"I'm a book junkie. I admit it. If I don't have a book in my hand, I will die. It's called Bibliomania. Look it up."

I really enjoyed Her book boyfriend. It was funny, Witty and loveable.

K. R. Graces author info also brought a smile to my face.

This was a good start to a new series; The Awkward Duckling. It describes this book well, and I can't wait to read the next one.

4.5 stars out of 5. *ARC received in exchange for a fair review*

Paperback, 144 pages.
Expected publication: August 25th, 2017.

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♥♥ 4 Sweetheart Stars ♥♥

Let's take a minute to talk about this cover. Seriously, how cute is it?! Like, I actually see her as myself and I love it. You know that seen in Eclipse where Bella reads in the clearing? Stop judging, but this is totally her -- the real Bella, not Kristen Stewart, thank you very much.

And the title! It calls to all those romance junkies out there who love to find love over and over and over again, amiright?? I mean, I'm happily married and I want a new book boyfriend every other day...

So yeah, this one surprised me. I don't know if it was me or what but I didn't catch that this was a high school romance. I haven't read one of those since...well, since I was in high school. And you know what? It was really good. It was cute, and the characters stole my heart, and yes, it felt a little high school, but not in that unbearable God-why-am-I-reading-this-immature-drama-crap sense. 

Macey takes a dare from her best friend, Cam, that if she doesn't find a guy who fits "book boyfriend" material, then she has to go to prom with him. Yeah, this kind of gives away the fact that he likes her more than as a long-time best friend, and yeah, she's a little dumb for not seeing this. But if you can get over this little tidbit, then you're in for a cute ride. Macey finds herself going through a list of qualifications that a book boyfriend would fulfill, and the results are funny and cute. I thought the climax was a little overdone, but given how short the book is, this didn't really bother me. I really liked Cam and Macey together. They have this comfort level that not many H/h pairings have because of how close they are, and it made my heart melt a little bit. This really only took me a couple hours to read (and for someone who reads so much, I really do read pretty slowly....), so all the little things that might have annoyed me much more had it been a normal length book didn't bother me at all. I all can say is that this is a super cute read!

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DNF at 65%.

Recently I've enjoyed YA novels more than most other genres and this sounded right up my alley - high school rock god best friends with the school nerd - I mean what's not to like, right?

Macey is the nerd in question, but as high school draws to a close she realises she runs the risk of having to attend prom with some random dude, rather than with a boyfriend. As any true nerd would so, Macey decides that she will adopt the tried and tested approach to winning guys found in her favourite romance novels (yes, she's supposed to be ultra-clever but she thinks romance novels are a realistic way to meet 'the one'). Macey's best friend Cam is a budding rock god and, according to Macey, man-slut who has had his tongue down the throat of practically every girl in the school. This charmer then gets Macey to break up with the girl, most of the time he doesn't he know their names!

Cam bets Macey that she won't find a boyfriend using the dubious advice from her romance novels - if he's right she'll go to the prom with him.

I stuck this out to 65% at which point Macey did something so heinous that I wouldn't have finished the book even if I liked it(view spoiler). I found Cam to be unrealistic and devoid of character. Macey was so full of herself and how amazing she was that she was totally obnoxious, for example:
"Roll with me here. I'm sort of the cool nerd, which means I need to date above my status. So I need jocks."
And she revelled in breaking up with girls on Cam's behalf and doing it in a fiarly brutal fashion.

Don't even get me started on all the caricatures that Macey tries to foist herself on - she didn't even like any of them, she decided they would be the next "one" - or her so-called friends who all come with a label, I found the characterisation of poor Wen Li borderline racist and certainly offensive.

Suffice to say that I didn't like this book!

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Cam and Macey were the cutest. I loved hoe she tried to use one of her romance books to snag a boyfriend. So funny. This book is a must read for fans who love reading about friends who end up in a relationship.

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In the beginning, I had a hard time finding myself getting into the book. It started off as something else than I expected and I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not. Then, as I continued, I enjoyed the story and the main character Macey - a nerdy high school student you'll find yourself relating to. And her male best friend Cam had some swoon-worthy scenes, too.

Please don't get fooled by the title, though. Sure enough, there's a reason why the book is called Her Book Boyfriend, but to be honest, there wasn't a lot of book nerdy references or whatever else I'd hoped for. There's a quote in the end, saying Macey finally got her book boyfriend, but I didn't feel that at all. Macey's obsessed with an author and thinks she's got the recipe to catch herself the perfect boyfriend for prom. So she makes a list, thinking if she goes through all these types of guys, eventually she'll land herself something like the fantasy book boyfriend.

By the end of the book, I didn't realise how many guys there were until she counted them all. It's funny how if she had been described as a mean girl, the reader probably would have had the impression she was a slut, but since she was always a cutie, you won't get mad over it. Toward the end, I had some problems with how she finally realized none of these guys were it for her, but well... I wouldn't have had seen another option for it either.

I liked the part when Macey decided to go for the other sex. That was beyond hilarious and just the kind of scene light and easy romance novels like this one need. That's what makes them so special - always a good laughter. And unlike many other female main characters, she got along great with children. The friendship between her and Winter - Cam's younger sister - was adorable.

Speaking of Cam, I wonder what happened to his family situation after the book ended. I am curious to find out, but on the other hand I don't want to pick up the sequel, Her Hollywood Boyfriend, because I am not a fan of band romances at all, especially the teen kind. Thinking about Cam now, I think the title of the book might be justified. Reading about his change of heart makes sense for the title to be Her Book Boyfriend, I guess.

Despite my usual hatred for most friend characters, there wasn't a single one that I disliked with this novel. The amount of dialogues are fine and the reader gets the impression that they'd all have each others backs if it was to decide. And then there is Wen, a cute girl who never talks. Granted, it's predictable thinking of when she'll eventually start talking, but I still kind of liked her. The gestures described were so much fun.

Also this mind sound superficial, but I love the cover. It's simple, yet something I'd want to be seen on my real-life shelf. And the writing was great! Every so often I want to read a book like this one but can't get along with the author's voice. If I find another novel by K.R. Grace with a description that makes me think I could enjoy the book, I'll definitely read it!

So, if you're looking for a sweet, light romance with a nerdy YA heroine and a predictable, yet super fun plot, you might think about picking up Her Book Boyfriend.

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