Unfortunately this one fell flat for me, I found the characters hard to connect with as well their relationship not believable. The plot twist really threw me as I was not expecting that and quite frankly not sure it was necessary for this book.

I did enjoy that Samira and Pia were both physical therapists as well as speech dialect coaches and emphasizing that within the book was great to see as well as Rory's stutter which was incorporated well into the plot. I was disappointed though going into the book thinking that was the main issue that would arise so the plot felt unconnected a bit for me with that issue. Really enjoyed the short chapters, writing style and cover.

Well written Romance with great love scenes and chemistry. I loved that we got to see how other cultures approach marriage and how that translates into the later gnerations of immigrants that have to assimilate while keeping their heritage alive.

The BOY TOY was my last book of 2020. It was the perfect book to end the year with. Lite, funny but also a mix of culture and family.

The book was also a little unexpected. I thought I was picking up a lite and fluffy read but ended up with a book about more than romance. It showed culture. It showed family dynamics. What do we do as children to make our parents happy? The author gave us a take on arranged marriages and the pressure the children take on to please the parents.

If you are looking for more than just lite and fluffy check out the BOY TOY by @nicolamarshauthor.

Thank you @nicolamarshauthor and @berkleyromance for the gifted book.

I love a good age gap read and found The Boy Toy interesting for that and also the culture aspect of the book. The author did a good job creating interesting characters but the storyline needed something more. Infertility was the overall thread of the book and could be a trigger for some. I felt this overtook the romance between Samira and Rory.

Samira is a successful therapist who has found her way back home. I loved reading about the Indian culture and food! I loved the descriptions of colors and smells. The relationship with her mom is a bit strained but they are working their way to heal.

I liked her determination and drive. She was a women who knew what she wanted but she also held on to traditions of her culture.

Rory had a take charge personality initially but this self-assured trait didn’t last long. He seemed to cower when I wanted him to fight.

He didn’t have a good relationship with his father and because of this I felt he had a chip on his shoulder. He never opened up to Samira throughout the novel. I felt like I never got to know his true personality. I also didn’t understand why Rory had to live in poverty to support an organization. I’m sure Samira and Pia could have worked with the clinic to help this cause as it affected Rory.

The ending was sweet and exactly what I was looking for for this couple. It was a much needed HEA for this couple.

When going into this book I thought it was going to be a light fluffy read but it went way deeper then I thought it would. It brought out struggles that are not talked about enough in books which I adored. In all I just liked this book the last bit of the book was questionable. I would still defiantly read another book by this author, I loved her writing style.

3.5 I’m surprised I haven’t seen this one around more it was super cute and I loved that it had a heroine in her late 30s! A nice surprise was how steamy this was right from the start making for amazing chemistry between Samira and Rory. I’ve been reading so many romances based around Indian culture and I’ve been adoring them all it’s so nice to see diversity in romance. I listened to this on audio and loved the Australian accents especially Rorys 🔥🔥🔥 would definitely recommend.

How can you resist a hunky Australian stunt man? Or haow can you reist a book about one! This is a fun romcom with a lot of heart. It also takes on different cultures, speach impediments, age gaps, and interatial relationships in a fresh, thoughtful way while keeping the entertainment value high..

Boy Toy follows an older heroine, which is unconventional for what the romance publishing industry usually goes for. I love to see that. Samira, a 37 year old Physical therapist, moves to Australia from L.A. Rory, a 27 Australian stuntman/tv personality and Chris Hemsworth lookalike, is her love interest. This story deals with a woman struggling with guilt and shame after a broken marriage and discovering a healthy relationship. I can see this story being very cathartic for those that have been through divorce, infertility, and the shame that society places on women.

WHY DID I LISTEN TO THE BOY TOY BY NICOLA MARSH?
Honestly, I have been on a roll listening to contemporary romances via Libby and Hoopla and Libro.fm, so it just made sense that The Boy Toy by Nicola Marsh would work wonders for me via audio. As for the book, I specifically wanted to read it because the summary sounded interesting. I don’t often read romances where there is a little bit of an age difference

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
Samira is a successful biracial physical therapist with a specialty in speech therapy. She is also 37 and a divorcee. When the book opens, Samira has flown back home from LA to Australia to help her cousin start up her medical practice. Samira is out at a bar when she receives unwanted attention from a man who just won’t leave her alone. This guy, Rory, steps in to Samira’s rescue. The two fall into bed together and it turns out they’re pretty compatible. Oh and did I mention that Rory is a stunt man. The two do not expect to see each other again.

That is, until Rory shows up at Samira’s cousin’s practice to receive help from a dialect coach. You see, Rory has a stutter and is up for the role as a reality TV host. His referral for dialect coaching puts him at Samira’s work place, and he puts two and two together. Samira is an utter professional and does not take him on as a client. However, she does happen to take him on as a hook up buddy. FYI, Rory is in his twenties, so he’s younger than Samira. Still, as it turns out, Rory and Samira just might be a perfect pair.

WHAT DID I THINK OF THE BOY TOY?
I think that The Boy Toy by Nicola Marsh worked for me because I could relate to it quite a bit. I mean, okay my husband is only two months younger than me. Also I am not nearly as successful as Samira. However, not to get too into the weeds, but for a portion of the book Samira is pregnant and while listening to this, I was also pregnant. And well, the scene that is super significant at a specific week is the exact same week that I was at while listening. I also loved the relationship between Samira and her mother as well as the realizations that Samira comes too.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The audiobook of The Boy Toy is narrated by Nathaniel Black and Shiloh Gray. Both narrate with Australian accents, which I will admit I did not expect at first. I had to listen to this essentially at a slower speed than I normally listen to – 1.25x just to be able to process and understand the accents. However, the audiobook is a pleasing listen, very pleasant on the ears. And I thought the narrators were well chosen for Samira and Rory. This audiobook is 9 hours and 25 minutes long and feels like a quick listen.

Samira é uma mulher que corre da mãe por um bom motivo: ela quer, de qualquer forma, arrumar um marido para ela. Um bom marido e Indiano, como ela.



Divertido e leve “The boy toy” é uma leitura rápida e com o plot de uma mulher próxima dos quarenta anos e um homem mais novo. Geralmente, quando existe uma diferença de idade entre os personagens, estamos acostumados a ver o homem como a figura mais velha.



Em “The boy toy” temos vários clichês deliciosos em um só livro. É daqueles que você lê em apenas uma sentada e ainda garante algumas gargalhadas.



Samira é australiana e passou muitos anos morando nos Estados Unidos por opção. No início ela só estava fugindo para se recompor após um acontecimento ruim em sua vida, mas quando ela retorna temporariamente, sua vida dá uma grande virada.



Ela não esperava que uma noite com o extremamente atraente e sexy Rory a colocaria em uma situação incomum. Rory é um personagem masculino atraente, jovial, mas que tem uma pequena dificuldade e precisa de ajuda. E quem vai ajudá-lo? Rsrsrs



Você se envolve com o casal muito rápido e é gostoso ver os sentimentos dos dois crescendo. Não é um romance apenas sexy. É envolvente, pois os dois tem química de sobra e se tornam muito companheiros. Rory é o total oposto do que a mãe de Samira deseja e busca para ela. Desde a profissão às diferenças culturais e de idade. Samira também tem um história pessoal que pode ser dolorosa para muitas mulheres. Poderia ser um livro cheio de drama, mas o mais gostoso é justamente a autora não optar seguir por esse caminho.



Fora que precisamos de mais livros com mulheres com mais de trinta anos como protagonistas de romances assim, afinal, a vida não para nos vinte e poucos anos. Uma leitura rápida, mas que aquece nosso coração trazendo uma mensagem de que nunca é tarde para o amor e que todos nós temos alguma dificuldade para enfrentar, mas quando dividimos com alguém que realmente tope estar ao seu lado, tudo se torna mais leve.

I really, really liked this! It was a great audiobook, and the Australian accents are so fun!

Samira is a 37-year-old Indian (with a meddling mother) physical therapist who is home from Los Angeles (where she fled to after her divorce) to help her cousin open up a new therapy clinic. Rory is a 27-year-old Australian stuntman (and hopeful reality tv show host) with a stutter and a passion for helping less fortunate kids with their speech issues. They have a one-night stand that neither soon forgets. After a chance second meeting, they start “dating.”

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I loved the twist in the story. I love how this is told in alternating points of view, so you hear from Samira and Rory. I loved Samira’s mother - I really do love books with meddling aunties! I highly recommend the audiobook!

Not only was this book cute and just what I needed to read right now, but it also took on serious issues, such as infertility, speech impediments, and arranged marriages in other cultures. But at the base, it's a love story about two people who don't want to be in relationships because of their own insecurities and past issues. I really liked this book, and I will definitely be reading more by Nicola Marsh!

The Boy Toy was a really good story. When Samira meets a guy in the bar and has a one-night-stand, she doesn’t expect to see him again. However, there he is, in her office, seeking a dialect coach. Needless to say, what was supposed to turn into a one-night-stand becomes more of a fling. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing if he wasn’t a decade younger than her, and not of Indian descent.

I really liked that this story not only focused on the romance, but there was a lot of that Indian richness to it. Samira hasn’t been home in a long time due to her past. When she was young, she allowed her mom to set her up with the “perfect” guy, who turned out to not be so perfect. Samira has resented her mother for that, but has recently come back home to make amends. We get to meet some nosy auntie’s during her return. As well as be witness to her mother setting her back up with another “great guy”. Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t put quotation marks around that since Manny was actually a pretty stellar guy. I won’t lie, there were points where I got confused as to who I was rooting for and was hoping for Manny to find a happily ever after. Anyway, between the traditions of the Indian culture and the talk of all the delicious food, I really enjoyed that aspect of the story. It made Samira more full-fleshed and less of a character on the page.

This was a pretty good romance. You had a really great guy as the leading man. The heroine was also pretty stellar. There was the added bonus of rich culture on Samira’s side. As well as Rory needing speech therapy due to his stutter. I can really appreciate that the author not only incorporated her culture into the story, she also incorporated herself into this story as well. Between her mixed heritage, profession, home city, infertility issues, and growing up with a speech impediment. I think it’s very admirable for her to put so much of herself in this story. I look forward to seeing more from this author. I hope that Manny gets his own story soon because I feel like he deserves it.

I hope this won't be too much of a spoiler, but unplanned pregnancy plots are generally not my jam. It's just not...and YET. This book drew me in and while I still don't love that particular trope, there was just so much MORE that this romance had to offer: interracial romance, daddy issues, overcoming childhood trauma and speech impediments, familial expectations, subversion of age tropes...I was impressed.

I've been struggling to get into contemporary romances lately, but I was really hoping to love The Boy Toy. I secretly love accidentally pregnant tropes in romance. Unfortunately this one didn't grab me as much as I hoped when I started it last month. I haven't picked it up since, so it's a DNF for now. Planning to try it again at a later date!

The Boy Toy was such a fun a refreshing romance. I love the see underrepresented communities in the spotlight. Samira is a strong, independent Indian woman in her late 30's. This book does an amazing job of blending the Indian culture into a love story everyone can relate to.

This was a fun, relatively light rom-com featuring two likeable characters. I appreciated how the author wove in the female protagonist's culture and the part that it played in her decisions about relationships. I wasn't the biggest fan of the plot development in the middle of the novel, but it was still enjoyable to read.

I received a book through Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

When I picked up this book and immediately starting reading about mother/daughter drama I was like I can't! And though the mother/daughter drama plays a role in this story, Sam's mother really is a loving, caring mother and I actually really grew to like her.

Samira's backstory is that she was raised with an Indian mother and Australian Father in Melbourne. After her disastrous marriage ended when Sam was in her 20s, she fled to America and has only been back home once to attend her father's funeral. Sam blames her mother for pushing her to marry such an ass.

Now Samira is back in Australia for 6 weeks. After meeting Rory, who is 27 and 10 years her junior, Samira decides to enjoy herself and open herself up to the chemistry between them. Rory is totally wrong for her in so many ways, or so Sam thinks. Rory is to young, to white, to Australian, and living so far from her new home in L.A.

Rory has his own struggles. He was raised by a father who was displeased and distant. Rory's acting career is at a divide. Will he leave behind stunt acting for speaking roles even though he has a stutter? It's his biggest fear.

As Samira and Rory spend time together, they develop a relationship beyond physical chemistry. And it's not long before they are changing their vision for the future to include each other.

*Trigger Warning: This book deals with infertility and (view spoiler)

This was a fun & fast read! THE BOY TOY tackled a lot of big topics: an older woman/younger man age gap, cultural differences, unplanned (& unlikely) pregnancy, parental expectations, and more. I particularly loved how Nicola Marsh wrote the hero, Rory; the focus on growing up with and overcoming a stutter, exploring his self-consciousness and self-worth, was really well done. The inclusion of so many elements of Indian culture (and the drool worthy food descriptions!) made this one stand out from some of my recent romance reads.

I’ve heard amazing things about Nicola Marsh’s thrillers, and I can’t wait to pick one of them up next.

Not your cookie-cutter romance novel, and with more depth of character than I expected. There is an artful blend of chemistry, handling of family expectations, cultural traditions, societal norms but also less talked of subjects such as trouble with fertility, and a couple with a significant age gap with an older woman and younger man.

Samira is a physical therapist who has come back home after running away to LA. After a failed marriage, Samira is in a relationship funk when she meets a very attractive man at the bar and thinks she might be up to a one night stand. Fate has other plans and this man she never planned on seeing again, may be around more than she thought. Not only that but her strained relationship with her mother is not improved by Samira's unwillingness for an arranged marriage and seemingly unconventional ideas.

I can honestly say that I quite enjoyed this read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are all my own.