Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me an ARC via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
4/5 stars.
I liked this one! The plot was fun and engaging, and I liked seeing the character development between Chloe, Drew, and her family.
I thought Chloe was a pretty relatable character in some aspects, but I did wish that she would have stood up for herself, or shown her parents who she really was much sooner. I’m not of the same ethnicity as Chloe, so most of the major plot points weren’t personally relatable for me, but it was still easy to connect with her emotions over these issues and situations. I kept feeling like so much had happened and then I would see that I’d only gone up 10-20% in the book which gave it a sense that it was going to be dragging by the end. I did find that the end seemed a little bit drawn out, and I felt that there were some unnecessary things that could have been taken out and it still would have been the same.
I liked the evolution of Chloe’s relationship with Drew. All the inside jokes were funny and the way that they were able to transition from fake to not fake was handled pretty well. I would have liked to see more about Drew’s family, but what we did see fit the story well.
Chloe’s parents were both funny and also kind of frustratingly horrifying! I felt at times like they were the stereotypical depiction of Asian parents that you see on TV, so I’m not sure how realistic the portrayal was. I’d suggest trying to find an Own Voices reviewer and asking them! The issues between Chloe and her parents were frustrating for the most part, and also quite sad because they couldn’t seem to see eye-to-eye.
I’d recommend this one if you’re looking for a fun YA contemporary romance with some pretty hilarious moments.

Just finished reading RENT A BOYFRIEND by Gloria Chao. I received this ARC from simonschusterca via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Official publication date is November 10th, 2020.

#BookReview 📚
Chloe aka JingJing is nervous to introduce her parents to her boyfriend Andrew, cause she hasn't even met him yet. She hired him from Rent for Your ’Rents, for the Thanksgiving long weekend. The company specializes in providing fake boyfriends, to impress very traditional Asian parents. Apparently it's a very popular market.

When Chloe rents Andrew aka Drew, she has a simple goal. Convince her parents he is worthy of their approval, so they’ll stop pressuring her to accept a proposal from Hongbo, a wealthy bachelor douchebag in their community.

However when Chloe starts to fall for real Drew—who in real life is definitely not ’rent-worthy—her life begins to unravel as she is caught in a huge web of lies. Will she be able to live with the mess or will she stand up to her parents and fight for what she wants?

A cute read, but one I probably wouldn't pick up again. Her parents gave me a headache with all the nagging, complaining, and put downs, but Drew made up for it!

Mooncake points all around! Ya'll this book was ADORABLE! College aged fake dating with Chinese/American representation. Chloe and Drew were great MCs and I enjoyed their duel POV. And while their story was cute and giggle worthy at times, there were deffs some harder hitting aspects to the book (the MCs relationships with their often toxic af parents). Rent a Boyfriend releases Nov 10th, and I'll have a more full review then! Thanks to S&S and Gloria Chao fo the eARC!

To be honest, if I ever found myself in a similar situation to Chloe (Jing-Jing) Wang, I would absolutely take advantage of the Rent for Your ’Rents services and hire a fake boyfriend. While I’ve never had my parents, try to marry me off to an awful playboy and bully just because his family is crazy rich, there were definitely several elements about Chloe’s story that resonated with me. For instance, I am well acquainted with the type of parental emotional manipulation and guilt trips that her mother makes use of. Also Chloe’s struggles with trying to balance her true self with what’s expected of her is something I’m sure countless children of Asian immigrants could relate to at some point, especially when they were or are university/college students. Rent a Boyfriend is Gloria Chao’s third YA novel, and it shows. Compared to her previous books, it is much more focused in terms of story and characters choosing to focus mainly on Chloe and her parents while showing us bits of Drew’s life. It would have been nice to get to know Drew more outside of him and Chloe, but this book was more of Chloe’s story. I did however love that this book had an epilogue as we get to see how Chloe moves forward with embracing both her “Chinese” and “American” sides and using her experiences to help others like her. I also appreciated how the dysfunction in both hers and Drew’s families hasn’t magically vanished, instead Chloe has gotten better at setting boundaries with her parents while Drew has made small steps with his family. Overall, while the romance definitely veered towards cheesy and over the top I enjoyed how this book showed us some complexities of parent-child relationships and how the community you grew up in affects your beliefs and who you become.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC. Rent a Boyfriend is the second book that I've read by Gloria Chao and she did not disappoint. This book was funny, light hearted as well as hit some more serious topics. I gave this book a 4 stars because I enjoyed reading it but felt like the romance happened so suddenly when the author had enough time in the book to make it gradual.

This book shows what like with Asian immigrant parents can be like from the toxic beauty standards of not looking good enough to find a husband to the tight knit community that helps each other out with mouth guards.

<spoilers>

I am surprised Hongbo didn't ooze slime out of his pores because he is actually a slimeball. I can't believe he took Chloe to a strip club on a date and expected her not to have an issue with that. I assumed he needed to marry her so he can get his inheritance but wow, he knocked up some poor girl and his parents need his reputation to be preserved. It is terrible that Cloe's parents agreed to have their only daughter get married to such a guy and they knew why. Not that I agree with this, but I can see where they are coming from because they want to make sure that Chloe is taken care of financially (which is what majority of immigrant parents want for their kids- a better life and more opportunities than they had.)

I feel like the feelings between Chloe and Drew developed too quickly. One minute they are professional for the job Drew was hired for and then suddenly they basically look each other in the eyes and are like "I have strong feelings for you". I wish there was more of a build up for their romance, like they were friends for a bit and then had a relationship or just anything other than how it happened. This was the biggest let down of the book for me. I do like their relationship once it was developed, how they had some inside jokes and could easily go from serious talks to jokes. They had their issues (like Drew not going to college which I feel like Chloe kind of cared about and her issue was kind of just swept under the rug) but they were realistically handled.

One of my favourite lines in the book would have to be when Chloe tells Drew "sometimes you have to be your own knight in shining armor." Chloe doesn't sit around and wait for someone else to fix her problem, she takes action and uses Rent for your 'Rents to get Hongbo out of her life. It also inspires Drew to actually start putting his work out there are truly pursue art. I think that this is an important lesson that we are in charge of our own destiny and that we can't sit around and hope things will work out; we have to take action.

</spoilers>

Overall like American Panda, I really enjoyed this book. I could relate to some of Chloe's worries about making her parents happy even when you are miserable. It was realistic in some aspects but some parts of the plot moved quickly in my opinion. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a rom-com book with Asian protagonists (refreshing in a genre that needs more diversity). I still liked American Panda better than this but it was still a good read.

It was pretty cute and hilarious! I loved the way this played out like a romcom or a netflix flick—it definitely gave me to all the boys i’ve loved before vibes. The plot was predictable but that was to be expected for a teen contemporary. More importantly, the romance was very fluffy and the family dynamics had me rolling. Super quick read.

Rent a Boyfriend is my third book by this author. It is a contemporary romantic comedy. But with a younger feel. It is not really YA (the narrators are 19 and 21). It focuses on the cultural aspects of being a Taiwanese American and dealing with Asian parents.

The narrators are 19 year old Chloe (1st person POV). And 21 year old Drew (1st person POV).

Chloe's family lives in Palo Alto, California. She goes to school in Chicago. The book's main focus is on the different holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chinese New Year...).

I have enjoyed this author's previous books. And I really like experiencing different cultures. The idea of Asian people having to rent boyfriends to please their critical parents is a crazy but fascinating idea.

I was a bit confused at first because it does not tell us the heroine's age until 1/3 of the way through the book. Honestly from what I read I thought that she was a few years older. So I wish that had been made clear earlier.

I enjoyed the idea of this book. The beginning was maybe a bit slow for me. But overall it was cute. The ending was super strong. The last 10% was my favorite.

Gloria Chao manages to strike a balance between a cutesy rom-com and an emotional book with every book of hers that I've read (the other Chao book I've read is American Panda). I love that her female characters all seem to study business fields and that both of her books have college-aged characters. There's always a central theme of struggling with toxic parents' expectations and oh boy does she do it well; I'm always super uncomfortable reading about the parents' toxic traits. I liked that Rent a Boyfriend's male love interest wasn't pursuing a college degree because I feel like that representation is rare. If you love those cute romantic moments during holidays, this book is full of them.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with an ARC.

This book was such a quick fun read. I could not put it down, I managed to finish it in less than a day.

First of all, I loved learning more about Chinese culture and customs. The portrayal of familial relationships in this book simultaneously broke and touched my heart. As a child of immigrants myself, I found myself connecting with this book despite growing up in a different culture.

This book also talked showed the realities of going against familial and cultural traditions and norms. Not all families are accepting of their children's life choices and expectations are always sky-high. Some families are able to slowly adapt to these choices, which is great! It is always hard to disappoint your parents, even if the choices you are making are what's best for you.

Lastly, the romance in this book is so sweet! I loved the idea of "renting a boyfriend", it was such a cute trope. Drew and Chloe have such a heart-warming love story from banh mi dates to thwarting unwanted advances as a team.

Overall, a good book! A must-read, especially if you enjoy learning about different cultures. It comes out on November 10th, so make sure to pick it up!

Trigger Warning(s): Fatphobia, parent with cancer, and misogyny.

Disclaimer: I received an E-ARC via the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rep: Chloe and Drew are Taiwanese American Christians.

My Review: I really struggled with this novel.

The beginning was very awkward (given the whole situation), but intriguing. The point of view shifts were a bit stiff at first. Though I got used to them after awhile.

Chloe and Drew were well fleshed out characters and I couldn't help but root for the both of them.

My biggest issue was that it never actually felt like a rom-com to me. Most of it was like I mentioned awkward but not humorous. Despite this gripe I couldn't reading simply because I was invested in Chloe's storyline. Particularly the mystery surrounding her relationship with Hongbo.

I'm actually really happy that I stuck it out! The journey was worth it.

Recommend: I recommend this book due to the rep, and romance.

I think a lot of Asian American's will relate to Chloe and Drew's commentary on the community. And the character development as well as the romantic journey was worth it!

I had a lot of fun reading this book! Chloe and Drew had amazing chemistry – even if their relationship started out being fake, they were clearly so great together. They both had a lot of baggage to deal with and expectations weighing on them. I really appreciated how they helped each other work through all of this. There were mistakes of course, but I think that made this new adult romance feel more real and gave it more emotional impact.

Both Chloe and Drew talked about how their culture and community affected them and shaped their lives and choices. I enjoyed reading about perspectives very different from my own. These two characters were really cool! Chao did a really great job of showing the deeper parts of Chloe and Drew through all the little details and the adorable interactions between them. Their texts were hella cute. They also had a lot of thought-provoking discussions and were exploring young love together.

I would totally recommend this read to anyone who likes their romance books with a side of family drama and emotional vulnerability.

A super cute story line, and absolutely love that is an Asian American YA novel. It hits bang on for a lot of cultural aspects, which is great to see. Loved seeing the narrator’s relationship progress with Andrew: overall a very sweet story and a chill read.

I'm tempted to rate this half a star higher because of all the delicious food descriptions. Someone please feed me.

Okay, seriously. While Rent a Boyfriend left me somewhat underwhelmed in quite a few ways, the representation of Asian culture- food obviously included- did not. As a half-Chinese gal myself, it tugged at my heartstrings to see the family and societal dynamics I know so well play out on the page. Chao did an incredible job making Asian culture seem approachable and more understandable to those who didn't necessarily grow up with those norms, whilst also creating an atmosphere familiar to those who did.

The family dynamics seem especially important to mention here. They play a very large role in the novel itself and in Chloe's life. Seeing her struggle with her parents, who have different (albeit well-meaning) views of what's right and wrong for her, was something that I think a lot of Asian girls can relate to. Mrs. Wang especially touched some places in my heart, as I see bits of her in my mom and grandma. I appreciated Chloe and Drew acknowledging the problematic and outdated pieces of Asian culture while still keeping in touch with it.

Unfortunately, that is where my joy ends. Within the romance, I did find Chloe and Drew's characters likable and well-written. Together, they made a very cute pair. Their relationship was, for the most part, healthy (or as healthy as it could be, given the circumstances), and it was clear that they had mutual love and respect for each other. So really, the romance in Rent a Boyfriend certainly wasn't bad. It just didn't bring anything new to the table. I felt as if I had seen this relationship play out a million times before. The one thing I wish Chao would have done that would have made this particular romance different in a more noticeable way is to have let Chloe and Drew take a little longer. I felt as if their implied chemistry was forced upon me from the moment they met, and then developed. I've seen this way too often within contemporaries, and it would have been so nice to have a break from that- develop the chemistry first. Acknowledge it second.

As far as the individual character's storylines go, I was engaged, if not invested. Chao could have benefited from unravelling things over a slower span of time and having a few less emotion-dumping (like info-dumping, but with emotions that the author forgets to show instead of tell) monologues, but all in all it was certainly an enjoyable and emotional experience.

Essentially, there is nothing I hate about Rent a Boyfriend. It's funny, relatable, cute enough, and a good representation of Asian culture. But there's nothing I love either, and nothing that I think is anything new to the romance genre. However, I look forward to reading what Chao puts out next.

Recommended to any fans of American Panda, Chao's first book.

I liked this book!! Jing Jing (Chloe) rents a boyfriend to impress her parents and have them get off her case about marrying an annoying rich boy from her church. She orders a “Rent A Boyfriend” from a website that specializes in Asian dragon parent approved boyfriends and meets Drew. It was a cute story but I found that because my Mandarin is really bad, sometimes when they spoke Mandarin in the book, I didn’t understand and there was no translation.

This was a really sweet fake boyfriend story with some deeper themes about Taiwanese culture and parental expectations thrown in. I loved that harmful comments about appearance and worth being tied to a man were countered, but in a way that explored where those attitudes are coming from. It was impressive how deep the author went into about the logistics of this fake dating app — I understand the practice isn’t new, but in the book they have a full-blown professional organization with background checks to make sure you don’t have any connections, classes to learn new skills, and questionnaires to get you filled in on all of the background information. That’s the kind of detail I love to see.

I received an early e-arc of Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rent a Boyfriend was a quick read for me, I initially requested this title because of the fake dating trope as well as having a diverse cast but the story took the faking dating up a notch with Chloe renting a boyfriend to escape an arranged marriage by her parents.
This book was funny, dramatic and I was smiling as I turned the pages. I liked how short the chapters were and the incorporation of text and voicemail conversations. I also liked that Chloe was an older protagonist as she is 19 and attending university. I liked Drew's character a lot, I connected with his passion for pursuing an artistic career and liked that he incorporated his culture with his art.
I think that if you liked Crazy Rich Asians or Loveboat, Taipei you will also like this title. Overall I gave Rent a Boyfriend 3 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.5 stars! (Or maybe mooncakes would be more appropriate!? 🥮🥮🥮✨)

Some of the lighthearted parts of this book were laugh-out-loud funny and SO relatable. The rest was clichéd and saccharine as hell and waaaay too sappy for my tastes.

Some of the painful bits were moving and poignant and SO relatable. the rest was over-the-top and cringey and a little heavy-handed.

◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️

I was trolling YouTube the other day when I came across an interview with Constance Wu in which she says something that really hit me hard. She talks about how she didn’t tell her parents about a traumatic event that had happened to her at school, and when the (white) host asks her why, she explains, simply, that she wanted to protect her parents. That it’s a dynamic that forms between immigrants and their children: we want to protect them as much as they do us.

This was certainly the case in Rent a Boyfriend. Chloe Wang leads a double life: in Chicago, she’s Chloe, econ major with a fiery personality. In Palo Alto, under her parents’ roof, she’s Jing-Jing—meek, deferent, and unsure of herself. As Jing-Jing, she’s supposed to be engaged to a dude her parents picked out ages ago, the misogynistic and superficial Hongbo. So Chloe decides to take drastic measures: she’ll hire a fake boyfriend. Enter Drew Chan, the sweet and sensitive artist who’s been disowned by his family for daring to pursue his dream. When the two of them become friends—and then more—they both find the courage to navigate paths that never seemed possible before.

◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️

What I appreciated most about this book was its embracing of ambivalence. As a child of Chinese immigrants, I know. I know how our relationships and love are complex and painful and filled with contradictions that don’t make sense to most people, but are nonetheless very, very real.

It’s a daunting task to try and represent this sort of dynamic complexity, and Rent a Boyfriend does an admirable job of capturing a piece that really resonated with me. In fact, I think it will resonate with anyone who’s had to straddle two worlds: the one dictated by people you love, and the one you wish to someday carve out for yourself and yourself only.

Chloe and Drew don’t shy away from calling out her parents’ problematic beliefs when they crop up. The book is unafraid to critique the toxic aspects of Taiwanese/East Asian culture, from fatphobic body-shaming to the belief that a woman’s inherent worth lies in her dating (and marrying) a suitable man. Chloe drags her mom’s fixations on thinness and moral purity, and the book examines the stigma that Taiwanese culture attaches to dropping out of college.

There were MANY Asian-themed puns and so much good food that my mouth was watering. Chloe and Drew have some hilarious text banter, and the humour in this book was so much crasser than I was expecting!!! It was awesome. Even if I had to read the words “shrivelled vagina” like eight times.

Bottom line: Rent a Boyfriend is essentially an amalgam of subtle asian traits memes and it really made me feel seen.

Read in August 2020
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was funny, heartbreaking, and real ❤️ Both characters struggled with their mental health, but still pursued their passions and dreams.

I received an e-galley from Simon and Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been meaning to pick up a Gloria Chao book since her first novel came out but I never got around to it. When the opportunity to read Rent a Boyfriend arrived, I knew that it was time to finally do so. And I was not disappointed at all.

Rent a Boyfriend follows a young Taiwanese American college student, Jing Jing or Chloe, as she hires a boyfriend to convince her parents to back off from an unwanted proposal from their tight-knit Taiwanese community in California. This hired boyfriend has been trained in how to deal with all sorts of parents and together, they find that there may be something real underneath all the acting and lies. It’s another take on the fake dating trope but with an Asian twist to it, highlighting the culture and the real practices that occur for many Asians as they deal with the familial pressures to date and get married.

I want to start with that fact that I was already completely taken in from the very first chapter. The Chinglish used, turning English expressions with Chinese words (mooncake points), and even a reference to Salonpas was just so endearing to me - there was a familiarity to this character and her family that I felt and immediately felt kindred to. I loved that Gloria Chao chose to include accents on the Chinese words and found that it actually helped me figure out quickly what the word was, though the context helped. For those who don’t know Chinese, the context and the explanations would help - as would the glossary at the very end of the novel. This is sure to be a hit with everyone who has ever felt parental pressure for how to live their lives - something that I believe goes across all cultures, though perhaps in varying degrees. Which is true even amongst the Asian communities themselves, as was evidenced by Jing Jing and Drew’s own experiences.

I’ll definitely be recommending this book to others, and now I’m even more eager to read the first two novels by Gloria Chao.

Thank you for Simon and Schuster Canada for the e-galley.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Rent a Boyfriend in exchange for an honest review.

Rent a Boyfriend was so cute! Chao takes what could have been a simplistic story and uses it to give us two lovable, realistic-feeling protagonists. I love how neither Chloe nor her parents are ever portrayed as the 'bad guy' in their relationship. This felt like a very real family facing some very real conflict.

My one complaint would be how quickly these two fall in love. It's written as if it's a slowburn but for some reason we go from "fake relationship" to "oh shoot I love him/her" to "let's slowly become friends" to "oh shoot I like him/her" to "let's become more than friends". See the problem? I get wanting to make it clear that they're both attracted to each other from the get go but you can do that without having Drew thinking about how wonderful and amazing Chloe is (especially because as a reader who was inside Chloe's head, even I didn't know her well enough to agree with him at that point) and I was genuinely confused to find that I still had 80% of the book left to go. We quickly shift back to slowly building up a relationship so I don't get why this wasn't just a slowburn instead of trying to be insta-love and a slowburn at the same time.