Date Me, Bryson Keller is like the book equivalent of cotton candy, and I'm not mad at it. The set up is adorable, with Bryson agreeing to a challenge I'm pretty sure I've read in manga where he'll date someone every week from Monday to Friday, whoever asks him out first. One week, Kai asks him out, even though he's in the closet, and they build a friendship and more. There is some tension related to reactions to them being together and Kai being forced out of the closet, but otherwise it's entirely feel good. The dialog between Kai and Bryson runs a bit cheesy, but the book just made me happy so I didn't really mind. A great read for anyone looking to just feel happy for a few hours.

I love to see diversity in books and I love to recommend these books to my students. 4 out of 5 stars. Cute book. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read and review!

This was extremely cute, and I enjoyed every second of it. The writing was easy, which caused me to breeze through the book! I loved both the main characters, and the premise drew me in right away. Can highly recommend!

Kai is gay, but in the closet. Bryson has been dared to date for a week whoever asks him out first every Monday morning. After a rash decision leads Kai to out himself and ask out Bryson, Kai has to decide if being his true self and being able to date is a good or bad thing for him right now.

While it felt like it could be a bit preachy, coming-out stories are still needed and this was a pretty good one that pulled on my heart-strings at times. While the teen voices sometimes seemed a bit inauthentic, this was not a bad story. Would recommend to some teen readers.

Really love the book a lot. I thought the 2 love interest had amazing chemistry together. And the book made me laugh but also think alot.

Date Me, Bryson Keller is such a cute, fun and quick read! This book was so easy to read and I really enjoyed the fake dating trope. I loved all the interactions between Kai and Bryson. This book is perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Simons and the Homosapiens agenda.

Sadly, this was a flop for me. I had the highest expectations for it, but so many things just didn't make sense to me.

If you are looking for a cute YA love story, this might be for you! I really enjoyed it, even with its flaws. The story follows Kai Sheridan, a high school boy very much still in the closet, and Bryson Keller, one of the most popular boys in school. Bryson is part of a dare where every week he must date someone new, whoever asks him out first on Monday morning. One day, after a stressful morning, Kai asks him out. In a surprising twist, Bryson accepts, but agrees to keep it a secret to respect Kai not wanting to be “out” yet. As they go through the week, things start to happen that make Kai think, is Bryson gay?

I loved Bryson and his family. I thought they were great characters, and I wish we had gotten to see them a bit more. Kai’s family is a bit harder to love. His sister is an awesome 13 year old, and his father is quietly supportive, but his mother… Well lets just say I had some problems with her. The whole “outing” thing always makes me uncomfortable, even though I know it happens that way sometimes. But all in all, a cute love story!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Yes, some of this book is a little cringe (that last line...yikes) but regardless of that, I loved this fun little book. The romance was cute, and I’m glad it didn’t have the normal conflict of horrible communication and misunderstandings. I would read 20 more books with this “dating for a week” trope tbh.

I really enjoyed this book until about halfway through. The fake dating trope was cute, and I liked the slow burn of feelings developing, but after it turned into a more typical coming out story I was less interested. I feel like the author didn't have anything new to say. But, I'm encouraged, in a weird way, that my gay kids (although mostly boys, unfortunately) are getting the middle of the road romances that straight white kids have been getting for years. I also like that the main character was mixed race, although this only superficially affected the story.

Stevie‘s review of Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye
Young Adult LGBT Romance published by Random House Books for Young Readers 19 May 20

I haven’t seen a lot of gay young adult fiction featuring an inter-racial central couple, although there’s an increasing amount of such stories in the world of LGBT+ fiction aimed at adult readers. I liked the premise of this story a lot, and so was happy when I discovered that it also went a little way towards addressing the aforementioned discrepancy too. Kai Sheridan is the son of a white American mother and a mixed-race South African father, and is very much in the closet. Not even his two best friends know that he is gay. All this starts to change, however, when Kai gets mixed up in an ongoing dare for the most popular boy in his year to spend a week dating the first person to ask him out each Monday for three months.


Bryson Keller is from a wealthy family, the captain of the school soccer team, and – to all intents and purposes – straight. After Bryson agrees to the dare at a New Year party, the whole school is abuzz with speculation as to who he will date next. When Kai and Bryson are paired up for a class assignment on a morning that has started off disastrously for both of them, Kai spontaneously asks Bryson to date him for the week. Realising that the dare never stipulated that he could only date girls, Bryson agrees – and also agrees not to tell anyone just whom he is dating that week.

The pair proceed to go out on a series of very standard dates, made all the less ordinary by how much they both seem to enjoy them. Kai quickly finds out that his dates are far closer to the real thing than any of those Bryson has arranged in previous weeks, and it becomes obvious that the two are developing feelings for each other. They face opposition and hostility from Bryson’s friends and Kai’s family, but also gain support from Kai’s friends and Bryson’s family. Ultimately, the biggest test is whether what started out as a dare on both their parts can be translated into a real relationship, particularly given Bryson’s previously stated opinion that high school relationships never last.

I liked this book a lot, especially when it comes to Kai. I’d have liked to see more of Bryson’s point of view, and a little more acknowledgement of the existence of other LGBT+students than the one out gay guy who is mentioned along with his boyfriend – who gets very little of a look-in. I’d also have liked to see more exploration of Bryson’s sexuality: I think the possibility that he might be bisexual only came up once, and the idea that he might claim some other identity wasn’t touched on at all, in spite of the number of young people owning a wide range of labels out in the big wide world. Another author for me to look out for again, all in all.

Grade: B

While the book had its cute and sweet moments, I didn't find it to be very original or moving. The concept was good but the execution was lacking and had major plot holes. It felt like a rather juvenile YA novel. I nevertheless enjoyed how light-hearted and fast paced it was.

I haven't finished reading a novel within a 24 hour time frame in a long time, but that's exactly what happened with this book. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was an absolute delight. I adore this cast of characters, all of which I felt had their moments to shine. Kai's story and voice felt very relatable for me and Bryson was the perfect counterpart for this journey.

I loved everything about this story!!

The voice was a little choppy in the beginning, so I took a little break. When I came back to it, I never put it down again.

Very cute, secret fake dating with not a ton of angst. I know this isn't a new story, but there’s no such thing as having too many of these stories. I can read them everyday!

A good romance book, quick read. Very fluffy haha Overall I enjoyed it, though some parts did lag for me. If you like romance than I definitely suggest picking this one up! This was really cute though and I enjoyed this LGBTQ+ read.

Credit where credit is due, I picked up this book because Andi at Andi’s ABCs told me I need to. I trust her taste implicitly. Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye is a coming of age young adult book about a gay biracial teen boy. I had no idea prior to picking this up that it was ownvoices rep either. I cannot believe I almost missed this delightful book.

The premise of Date Me, Bryson Keller is that every week Bryson Keller dates a different person as part of a dare. Kai Sheridan happens to ask Bryson out on a whim and to his surprise, Bryson agrees to date him secretly. As it turns out though, Bryson has got some layers and is actually a really great boyfriend. Kai finds himself starting to actually fall for Bryson. Further complicating matters is that Kai is not out, as far as he knows Bryson is straight. Oh and also, it is senior year and they are waiting to hear back from colleges.

Okay so I loved the dynamic between Kai and his best friends Donnie and Priyanka – who happen to be dating. They all go to private school together. Donnie’s family is incredibly wealthy but he’s not at all a jerk. I just loved how supportive Donnie and Priyanka were. They’re good people and so loyal. Also, Kai can absolutely trust them.

The romance in Date Me, Bryson Keller is so sweet. I was kind of expecting a jerk moment from Bryson, but it doesn’t happen. Rather, that comes from other quarters. Kai and Bryson balance each other out really well. And if you like reading the falling in love parts, you’ll just love Kevin van Whye’s book.

I happened to read the audiobook because the library had it and that meant I could get to this book so much faster. That was a great choice. Vikas Adam is the narrator and he perfectly embodies Kai. He also takes on a South African accent while narrating the parts with Kai’s dad. I felt like the narration was so skilled and flawless. Don’t miss out on Date Me, Bryson Keller.

This was VERY FUN. It was the perfect mix of light hearted fun and sassy drama and honestly it was exactly what I was in the mood for. Highly recommend if you want to read something that is the best kind of fluffy YA rom-com.

Date me Bryson Keller

If you’re looking for a lighthearted coming out novel, this is a good choice. The premise of dating on a dare is cute and works better for the beginning of the novel. I do feel that there was too much packed into the second half. Varieties of coming out stories are always necessary, but there was a lot of complications thrown in the second half that I could’ve done without. Overall, I still can appreciate the cute romance between them and the relationships they had with siblings and friends definitely helped.

I rarely read contemporary for review but Date Me Bryson Keller really interested me. I will admit to quit liking the fake dating trope and cutesy reads. So I had high hopes for a book that is marketed as one. Except it is not.

Bryson Keller has been dating another girl every week on a dare. Two months in and Kai on a whim asks him out for the week before anyone else can. But Kai isn’t out as gay and doesn’t want to be so they date in secret. The whole explanation, the whole set up just didn’t work out. And its not an actual fake dating plot.  But hey if we were going to get the cute moments I could forgive that.

There were some cute moments but Date Me, Bryson Keller still didn’t quite work. The downfall is the writing. There is a certain lecturing tone that happens in the conversation between our character that makes it feel like this book is all out to teach us and that is why things are happening in the book. Preaching. It’s not about the characters. And it means this isn’t a light hearted cutesy read as it has been marketed as.

I would like to point you to the own voices review of Anna who explains this much better than I do.

Adding onto that is that I feel like we are getting a little bit of bisexual erasing here. It doesn’t once occur to Kai that Bryson could be bisexual instead of gay. Bryson has dated girls and genuinely seemed to like that. So he could totally be bisexual. But that never gets mentioned. Not the once.

As for the characters, they were mostly fine I guess. I liked Kai’s sister but I feel like she was just there to tell their parents they were being shit parents for Kai. That is never a good thing. And I could go rounds with the other characters as well. I wish we’d gotten more light hearted thing between Kai and Bryson. Sharing the big things is important too but you also have to connect over other thing.

All in all this is not a book that could quite sell me over.

This was such a heartwarming and fluffy read, it's definitely the feel-good book I needed right now and I'm so glad to have read it. Overall it was a great read that I truly recommend!