I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I have received this book by NetGalley and Carina Adores (Harlequin), and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review. The Pub date of the book is April 26th.

I guess I can start by saying that this book is not for me. It doesn't mean it isn't remarkable for others, but it didn't work for me. The author's writing is fluid and funny, and enjoyable, but the story didn't delight me and only gave me more frustrations than laughs as I read the pages. I didn't stop reading because I wanted to know if it would improve or how everything would be after some development, but I ended up disappointed. And maybe with the end too?

The book idea is not bad. There is fantastic LGBTQ+ representation! The story had the potential to be great, but it wasn't. The characters drove me crazy, and not in the way I like.

PK is a great character, but he was mistreated - mainly by his love interest, Art, and Wade's other annoying character. For anyone who has suffered what them has and is at the mercy of his best friend, Art is just a lousy best friend for PK (in my view), who is constantly devaluing what he does or how he works. As if PK really had to prove something to anyone or be romantic like the characters in the movies and books. For me, this broke my spirit in reading. To see how our supposed best friend treats us and not give us any value at any point in history? No.

Maybe it could have improved if we had Art's point of view in the story, but it turned out to be all from PK's point of view, and I didn't connect with any of the main characters. For me, PK deserved someone wonderful and Art his prince charming...

BUT the book can be wonderful for other people, and I won't say that I don't recommend it, because I think that everyone should read the books to form their own opinions. It didn't work for me, but for someone else, it might be one of the best - and I believe it can be.

I’m going to be honest, I’m very confused about my feelings for this book. On the one hand, I loved the writing style, the fact that it’s like you’re having a conversation with Kris Ripper as opposed to reading a book. On the other hand, this didn’t feel like a romance. Yes, there’s an HEA, but I didn’t feel satisfied at the end. I feel like Book Boyfriend is more a story about friendships and the connections you make with people, about finding your courage and strength and trusting yourself to do something that is scary and terrifying.

PK is such an interesting character and a part of me really wanted to see him through Art and Wade’s eyes, because I believe he had so much more going for him. But the best thing about PK is that everyone can relate to him and his inner monologues, his rambling and the way he functions.

Book Boyfriend is funny and endearing, it’s entertaining for the most part and leaves you wanting more at the same time. Told entirely in first person POV through PK’s perspective, you watch him go through the motions of dealing with his feelings for his best friend, writing a book about said feelings and keeping it a secret and then the guilt he has to carry as he discovers his best friend is actually obsessed with his book and the character based on himself. It’s fun, it’s unique and it has all the makings of an epic romance, I think that part is what fell flat for me.

However, as someone going through the process of publishing my first book, I felt all of PK’s struggles and panic. I felt his chaos and his worries, the struggles and anxiety. It didn’t trigger me, thankfully, but it made me happy to know that this is totally normal.

I’m definitely curious about Kris Ripper’s other books, though and might give them a try. As always, just because I didn't enjoy a book doesn’t mean you won’t and I seriously encourage giving this a try even if the writing style is completely different from what most people are used to.

BOOK REVIEW
Book Boyfriend - Kris Ripper
⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a really interesting read for me, a little bit out of my comfort zone which I’m trying to push. A really warm, feel good read that addresses the concept of feeling your feelings and being honest with yourself so you can be honest with the people you love.
PK Has been in love with Art since they were in college but he’s never had the courage to say so. One drunken kiss years ago does not a romance make. So when Art shows up on PK’s doorstep heartbroken and dripping wet is this the opportunity that PK has been waiting for? But, instead of just telling Art how he feels, PK decides to write a book and quirky chaos ensues.
Art using they/them pronouns was a challenge for me (not because I have any reservations about it but because it was new to read grammatically) and some of the dialogue sections seemed overly long but overall it was a cute friends - to - lovers, bookish romcom that people will love.

This friends to lovers story follows PK and Art. PK has been in love with Art since they drunkenly kissed one night in college, but he hasn't been able to figure out how to tell Art. After Art breaks up with their boyfriend and ends up staying with PK, he thinks it is finally his chance. Except feelings are hard and messy and instead of telling Art how he feels, PK writes a book where he can be the perfect boyfriend and can say these feelings aloud. But when PK's book starts gaining popularity, it becomes harder and harder for him to actually tell Art that he wrote it. And when PK's grand gesture crashes and burns, PK might just lose Art for good. I liked this book and I think it is a really great example of what it was trying to be, but unfortunately, what it was trying to be was not my favorite type of romance. I love a good friends to lovers, slow burn romance and this technically hit both of those criteria but not in the balance that I personally like. If you like your slow burns extra slow (like they finally get together in the last chapter slow) and absolutely filled to the brim with pining, then this is the book for you! We only get PK's POV in the story so I wasn't sure if Art was catching on to PK's feelings or not. I wanted more of PK and Art actually being friends without PK's constant inner monologue freaking out about how much he loves Art. I loved the narrative voice in this book and how it really felt like PK was telling his own story to the reader. The side characters were fantastic and I loved how integral they became to PK and Art's story. I personally prefer my romances to show more of the actual dating/relationship portion and I kept waiting for PK and Art to make that jump (which they eventually do, of course, and get their HEA). That sense of anticipation just went on too long for my liking but I think readers who enjoy a long, pining, romance will really like this.

TW/CW: drug abuse (family member, not MCs)

Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Adores for the ARC. Expected publication date is April 26, 2022

I had a hard time finding the rhythm for this book, but I think that between laughs and strange monologues I enjoyed it
.
I thought I was going to find a romance between friends but in reality it is more a book about self-discovery and seeing the person you idealize
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PK is an editorial assistant while toying with the idea of ​​writing a book after several manuscripts, the urge to write something new comes when his best friend and college crush, Art shows up on his doorstep after breaking up with they boyfriend and asks him to stay at his home for a while.
Art makes him relive everything he felt for them and seeing them suffer makes him want to do things better like offer them his home to receive they friends or his best things, even writing the perfect boyfriend
.
PK is a kind of Bridget Jones, since the book is from his point of view and all the time the reader is in his head listening to his thoughts and although many of them are funny I would have liked it to have had more dialogues between Art and Pk.
.
Both characters grow through the book and that is how they manage to see each other with different eyes and learn more about love and what they really want
.
Thanks to Carina press, Carina Adores and Kris Ripper for give me this great book in exchange for my honest opinion

Rep: pansexual MC, (questioning?) trans LI, pansexual SCs, lesbian SC


This book was so relatable and so infuriating at the same time!
PK is secretly in love with his best friend ever since they shared a drunken kiss five years ago. (Yes, FIVE! YEARS!)
So when Art is suddenly standing in his foyer, crying and looking for a place to stay because they just broke up with their partner, PK finally sees his chance.
But how will he do it? Talking feelings is pretty hard and very scary.

I absolutely loved the style of writing. PK is a total mess of unspoken feelings and thoughts and crippling anxiety.
This book is written kind of like an inner monologue of chaotic thoughts and exactly the way people actually think in the moment.
It made PK super relatable and I enjoyed it a lot. It was hilarious most of the time!
But it also made me want to shake PK a lot, because he never EVER actually talks or does the things he is thinking about.
He is so uncomfortable with his own feelings and always afraid to do the wrong thing, when actually talking would be the perfect thing to do.
It was so relatable but also infuriating at the same time.
I flew through this though.

The romance is the slowest of slow burns you will ever read in your life. The book takes place over several month of them living together, but their relationship isn’t really developing at all.
I would have wished for there to be more actual interactions between these two. Especially cute ones! More conversations and scenes with them together.
You don’t get to experience them interacting a lot, only PKs thoughts will actually show you that he is interested in Art in a romantic way.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Art isn’t developed well, but in most scenes they actually have a conversation Art is often mean and I just didn’t get any love vibes at all from them.
The romance seems pretty one sided up until the very last page sadly.

For the main part of reading this book I really loved it and was willing to give a 5 star rating.
I love slow burns, the pining, the yearning. I could even understand PKs utter helplessness.
Sometimes it just feels that it’s better to never know than to get rejected. You cannot change yourself completely to fit someone’s dream partner. They’ll either fall in love with you the way you are, or it just doesn’t happen.
The way your parents raise you is often responsible for the way that it’s not quite easy to show and talk about feelings. PK is definitely one of these people.
His parents are rich and have to „maintain their appearance“. You get why he acts the way he does.

Sadly the drama in the end was just too unnecessary and over the top for me. I finished the book and I still don’t quite understand the justification for such a massive reaction and the following drama of that proportion.
Also some things just didn’t end up making sense to me in hindsight. (More in the spoilers.)
PK can not read minds, so for me the whole situation and misunderstandings weren’t only his fault, but also Arts.

This book did a good job in showing how romance on paper and romance in real life just aren’t the same. Most epic romances that work on TV or in books just wouldn’t work in real life. Sometimes romance is cleaning the bathroom or making dinner. It doesn’t always need ballons and fireworks.
For the most part I absolutely loved this book, the ending just sadly ruined it for me a bit.

P.S.: Short note about the side characters:
I absolutely loved Maggie and her weird bird. They were hilarious!
Wade was also a gem. I loved him! Also figuring out you’re not that gay as you thought? Hiding a straight relationship from your parents? Amazing.



SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER:
I need to talk about the drama a little more in detail.
So Art is constantly mocking PK for being unromantic and how we wants romantic grand gestures from a future partner.
PK writes a book about their story, because for him it’s simply so much easier than speaking his feelings out loud. Which is pretty problematic and should probably be worked on, yes.
So when at the day of the book release and the accompanied reading PK publicly surprises Art by being the author and confessing he wrote it for them, Art freaks out.
Which, okay? Apparently they were shocked.
I absolutely HATE public declarations of love. If someone did that to me I’d probably turn around and leave.
But if you were already in love with someone and are a fan of that?
Not speaking to PK for almost TWO MONTHS after that?! It just didn’t make any sense to me.
Being humiliated in front of your colleagues? I think most people would in fact think it’s a very cute gesture and would be jealous! Not laughing at you!
Up until the very last page this romance just seemed so so one sided. I didn’t get the feeling that Art had any romantic feelings towards PK at all.
And then the conversations they had in the end.
PK says „I love you“ 3 times I think.
But Art thinks he wants everything go back to normal? Art was the one who was like „omg we kissed haha, no more kissing!“ when they kissed 5 years ago and they blame PK for never bringing it up again?!
I wouldn’t have brought it up again either! They act almost disgusted every time PK even remotely mentions them dating throughout the story.
Also if they truly had romantic feelings for PK too, why didn’t THEY just say something? It’s not a one sided conversation to have.
Don’t get mad at people for not saying something if you didn’t either.

And they were roommates.

Maybe I'm an easy sell, but if you reference drag and DnD in the same paragraph, I'm invested. I'll gladly take a peek at any book with two gay men in the description, but the moment you have them roll some dice I'll snap it up and hoard it like the queer book goblin that I am.

Book Boyfriend has the typical angst you'd expect from the "in love with my best friend trope," but it does a great job of highlighting all of the reasons PK is so into Art. It felt like an honest, believeable relationships, so all of angsty felt more meaningful and relateable, and all of the payoff felt even better. I'd recommend this to any romance reader, or to anyone lookinig into the genre.

I'm sad to say that I was unable to finish Book Boyfriend as it was written in a style that I couldn't vibe with. It's written like the reader is having a verbal conversation with our lead, PK. It's extremely informal with lots of expressions that would seem much better placed verbally. While I do think there will be readers out there that will absolutely adore this style, I had a little trouble immersing myself in it.

I also thought we needed a better introduction to our live interest, Art. He seems like a cool enough person but we hardly learn anything about him except for that he's a little mean to PK, he's sad from a break-up and he has amazing style. We also learn from PK that he and art are best friends, absolutely the best of friends, such good friends but this seems very tell and not show as I absolutely did not see this in their interactions.

Like I said, I did not finish as these (small) issues made it hard for me to continue. I'm also very sure that many people will fall in love with these characters and this book.

Thank you so much Carina Press & Carina Adores (Harlequin) for giving me the opportunity to read Book Boyfriend. I was so excited to give it a go, It's just unfortunate that it wasn't for me.

This is probably the slowest of slow burns I've ever read within the span of one book, and somehow it made all the sense in the world even though it made no sense at all. This is a main character you will want to shake, but like, fondly. He's so hopeless, but you can also only root for him to figure things out, which, you know, takes him a while.

I just can't imagine going: I'm in love with my best friend, but instead of just like, you know, telling them or asking them out, I'm going to give zero hints but write a book about them instead and hope they will catch on. And then being the shocked Pikachu meme when they don't, in fact, catch on.

I would have probably gotten tired reading this book, but the thing is, it was so funny, and the pining was SO good!

Btw, for everyone it might concern, I want to mention that this book does not have any sex scenes!

Run to get this book!
The Love Study Series Book 4 Book Boyfriend by Kris Ripper is freaking phenomenal!
After reading Book 3 The Life Revamp (much thanks to Harlequin|Carina Adores for that ebook approval also) I had to buy book one and two! Which are seriously some of the most fun reads you'll pick up!

And Book Boyfriend was just as great as the books before.
Kris Ripper has a way with words and his writing of well written characters that suck you right in from the very beginning.
They are unique and complex, and just plain wonderful.
Leave it to Ripper to write something so original, poignant, and thoughtful. 
Book Boyfriend made me smile, and sometimes that’s all it takes!
It had me smiling, caring, chuckling, and hoping for the best for two wonderful characters.
Ripper has hit all the right spots and delivered another funny, heartwarming and smart romance I could not get enough of.
This sweet, steamy, romance is one I definitely recommend!

Carina Adores, I freaking love you! Thank You!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Harlequin: Carina Adores,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for an ebook of Book Boyfriend. This one fell flat for me. The story felt repetitive with P.K.'s constant pining for Art and doing nothing. There wasn't enough moments for me to see that Art was into P.K., they just really hung out.

I needed more banter and tension for this story to be more believable.

Kris Ripper takes on the grand gesture and the grovel in Book Boyfriend.

Preston has been in love with his friend and former college roommate, Art, for years. They shared a drunken kiss in college and then Art indicated they never wanted to speak of it again. When Art shows up sobbing in the lobby of Preston’s apartment building, having just broken up with their awful boyfriend, Preston invites Art to take his spare room. He sees an opportunity to show Art that he would make a great boyfriend. But first, Preston need to let Art grieve, which frustrates him. During a conversation, Art throws cold water on the whole plan when they tell Preston that he isn’t romantic.

Preston starts writing a romance that expresses all his feelings for Art. Preston works at a publishing house where he asks one of his coworkers to read his work in progress. It spirals from there and the book is bought, edited and published. Two problems – Preston’s book is clearly about Art; he doesn’t tell Art about the book, or about his feelings (three problems?). You can see the bleak moment coming from a mile away. When the bleak moment hits, it’s anticlimactic because I knew it was going to happen. Everyone, except Preston and Art, knew it was going to happen.

This is where Ripper’s choices are so interesting. Book Boyfriend is told entirely by Preston in an almost chaotic stream of consciousness. The noise in his head is so loud you can see how he has convinced himself that what he’s doing is a grand romantic gesture. In the aftermath, Ripper allows us to see Preston’s anger and confusion, and then his deep sadness. Ze uses the readers expectations of how bleak moments, grand gestures and grovels work, thwarts them, and then makes Preston and Art grow up, take responsibility and take charge of their lives. Throughout the book, ze shows us all of Preston’s flaws, but also all the ways that Preston accepts and supports Art. Preston’s grand gesture and attempts to grovel are self serving actions, but he never stops trying to understand what went wrong and how to make it right.

I struggled with this book because being inside Preston’s head is much too much like being inside my own head – chaotic, self-absorbed, and insecure. I could see that Ripper was going somewhere interesting, and ze made the pain and frustration worthwhile. I would love to go into more detail, but I worry I am veering into spoiler territory. Discussion wise, this would be a great book club book.

Book Boyfriend is very low heat, but emotionally satisfying.

CW: a side character’s drug addiction and possible suicide attempt, toxic parenting, parents without boundaries, second hand embarrassment in anticipation of a public grand gesture gone wrong.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Carina Adores and NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Similar Books (Beta)

I think this is one of those 'it's not you, it's me' type of situations. Maybe I'm not the right target audience for this book. I don't know. I read it fairly quickly but, representation aside, I honestly can't remember a single thing I like about it, which is a shame.

One thing I can tell you is that I'm still trying to figure out why PK has people like Art and Wade in his life, when they constantly belittle him. They were awful towards PK from the beginning, with Art stating that they only sought PK's help because he was the only one who had a spare bedroom and not because he was supposedly their best friend. And with both Art and Wade stating multiple times that they didn't think PK had any speck of emotional intelligence. It doesn't matter if you say something offensive followed or preceded by "no offense", because it's still offensive.

Although I enjoyed Art's representation, I can't name any other thing I liked about them. I felt like they were always trying to one-up PK and it got boring and annoying after a few chapters. They acted like they were doing PK a favor, when it was the other way around. And don't get me started on Wade. What on Earth was going on with him being a trophy son? Yikes. The only interesting thing about him was his partner.

Reading from PK's perspective was tiring. I get what the author was trying to do but there was so much going on in his head that I ended up skipping a few descriptive paragraphs every once in a while and I could still follow the story pretty well. Not to mention that some of the expressions seemed like they were taken from a Tik Tok video. We had too much without having much at all. I wish Kris Ripper would replace some of that verbiage with signs that PK can write a book about romance because, contrary to what Art and Wade say, he actually has emotional intelligence! After reading the whole book even I am questioning the veracity of that. I also felt like their conversation where they laid it out on the table was lacking emotional depth. And what about the back and forth between being sure you're in love with your best friend but still question it by the last chapters?

I have to say, though, that I was really pleased with PK's coworker, Maggie, and his parents. They were very supportive throughout the whole story, the kind of people he should surround himself with more often.

First of all, I would like Netgalley, Carina Press, and Carina Adores for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'll be honest - I didn't complete Book Boyfriend, by Kris Ripper, in its entirety. From reading the blurb, I anticipated that this book would be right up my alley. MM romance? Check. Best friend in love with his best friend? Check. Writer MC? Check. But the style in which Book Boyfriend was written just didn't jive with me.

Some positives though: Kris Ripper is absolutely hilarious. This book was very Bridget Jones-esque and from the first chapter there were some ridiculous scenarios that just painted a picture in my head that had me cackling. Art dripping all over the floor, having only his computer in a trash bag, and PK only have three towels in his entire apartment? Hilarious! Ripper clearly got the voice of PK spot on. I felt as though it was his character telling the story, and not an author writing about a character telling us a story. That takes real skill and it was impressive.

Sadly, as the book progressed, I seemed to fall out of love with the inner dialogue moments and my attention was drifting all over the place. Even though this book didn't work for me, I have to recommend it based on the writing (the author's voice) and representation alone.

This was basically everything I wanted in a romance. It was mostly cute and fluffy, with some heavier stuff on the side. It was almost a little refreshing to see a realistic take on romance, and how sometimes what's appealing on the page is less appealing in real life. It also dealt with the messy and imperfect ways people come together and I liked that.

My one complaint is that I feel like we hardly got to know Art. This is very much a story told through PK's eyes and it makes it hard to fall in love with Art the way PK is in love with them. There wasn't even a ton of dialogue, especially between PK and Art, mostly just PK's thoughts.

I have mixed feelings about this book because there were things I liked a lot but also many aspects that got on my nerves. I loved all the humor, and I was quite frequently laughing out loud at PK's ridiculous antics. I also really liked the inclusion of all the bookish themes, which was one of the things that drew me to this book in the first place. It was fun to read about someone creating a book as their grand romantic gesture while also getting to see the process of publishing at work from initial inception through the book launch. Unsurprisingly, the LGBT representation was fantastic and diverse. I particularly liked how the switch of one character's personal pronouns was handled. It felt like an authentic, realistic reaction that was supportive of the character while also exploring the difficulties others can face in coming to terms with the change. My first major complaint about the book is that it fell short on the romance. I felt like I didn't really get to know Art, the love interest, at all, and I never felt a connection between them and PK beyond friend/roommate. The chemistry just wasn't there for me. It also didn't help that the ending was quite underwhelming. While I liked the message it sent (that romance can often be messy and awkward and grand gestures are often problematic and cover up the need to sit and have a difficult dialogue), it was done in a way that felt preachy and made Art seem pretty childish. I also wasn't a huge fan of the writing, especially in the first half of the book. It felt very stream of consciousness, which made the entire book feel like one long run-on sentence. Personally, I think it would have worked better with multiple POVs. Being in PK's head all the time was a bit much, and getting some more perspective from Art might have helped make the romance a little more believable. Overall, it was an enjoyable read despite the things I didn't like. Therefore, I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Sorry, but I'm going to mark this book as DNF after several attempts at reading it. Mainly it's the writing style. There are so many asides it really ruins the flow of the text.

I don't like giving stars for books I don't finish but I wasn't allowed to post a comment without it.

If I attempt to read the book in the future and finish it, I will amend my review on Goodreads.

Author Kris Ripper does a terrific job of balancing the heightened rom-com framework with some weightier emotional stakes. Yes, the set up is farfetched. Yes, PK is a rich kid living in Manhattan, privileged enough to be slumming it in publishing, which runs the risk of making him instantly unlikable. But once you let yourself settle into the world, the complexity starts to push through. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill romance fiction, it has more guts to it than that.

PK is an adorable mess. He’s sloppy, well-meaning and sweet. He freezes when he doesn’t know what to do. He tries to avoid awkward situations at every turn, only to make things even worse. His default emotional safe place is making pasta. He is a very relatable lead character. Meanwhile Art is more emotionally aware, more flamboyant, more at ease with who they are, but that assuredness comes from a background of struggle. Their friendship makes a lot of sense and their genuine affection reads very true, but is it enough to blossom into a romance, or will the revelation of PK’s feelings sour something so sweet?

It took a while for me to realize that none of the main characters in Book Boyfriend are particularly ‘straight acting’. These characters are queer to the core. Even some of the straight characters are queerer than the gays. When my imagination started ‘casting’ the characters, none of them were the buff Adonises of romance fiction covers, instead they were quirky kids with a variety of body types and mannerisms. They feel like people I know, not like Hollywood clichés.

One of the things I like most about Book Boyfriend is how messy it is. Situations don’t always have clean endings, even the book’s resolution takes its time despite the fact that you suspect things will all work out in the end (this is a romance novel after all). Ripper (who uses ze/zir pronouns), takes time to let the characters work through their emotions in fits and starts. When Art decides to change pronouns from he/him to they/them it feels like a natural progression and takes the other characters time to get used to the change. The dramatic third act complication neatly enhances their friendship, but keeps you wondering if it will ‘friend-zone’ them completely.

Ripper also takes the time to work through the thorny issues of ‘grand romantic gestures’ and deconstructs some romance fiction tropes along the way. There is a lot of subtle discussion of consent and honesty, as well as some unexpected characters finding ways to live their truths that don’t always follow the popular narratives.

The New York publishing setting and rom-com shenanigans reminded me a lot of TV’s Younger, if Liza had been secretly in love with Maggie (which we all know she should have been) instead of chasing after Josh and Charles. And similarly Ripper has filled the book with over-the-top characters (one character is always seen with their bird, while another behaves like a Noël Coward impersonator), but these flourishes add flavour rather than pulling you out of the story.

Book Boyfriend is an easy, fun read that’ll bring a smile to your face and maybe a tear to your eye along the way. One for fans of books like Red, White and Royal Blue. If you’re a romantic at heart you’ll find a lot to love here.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Right from the get-go I knew this was something I couldn't read based on the kind of words, phrases and terminology used and all within the first chapter. Examples: <i>"So maybe take care of it ASAP thanks."</i>,<i> "I was a little *eek emoji* about it"</i>, "I tried to muster something else to say that wouldn't sound cheerful AF."</i> - the overall feeling is that it wants to sound like it appeases to a younger crowd. That's to say that I don't actually mind these phrases, but something I'd come to expect in a queer young adult book. As far as I know, I had expectations coming into this as it being a queer adult contemporary romance?

The main character within the first few pages is thinking and talking like he's a teenager. His reaction to his best friend revealing that he broke up with his boyfriend, was "F*ck yes" and I just can't relate to that as an adult or know of any other adults that would react that way, even if they have been secretly pining for their best friend for ages. Despite whether I can relate to it or not, I guess it just feels unauthentic.

As I did not want to continue read this book and I HAVE to do a star rating here on Netgalley, I feel like giving it 3 star is fair (though I would most likely rate it lower).

This book ended up being somewhat of a mixed bag for me as I liked several aspects quite a bit and others not so much.

First, the pluses. The characters of Preston and Art are quite interesting and the author does a good job making them seem realistic overall. Several of the supporting characters are well depicted as well, especially Preston's friend Wade. The book has some interesting moments, as well, with Preston and his office mate deliberating over what makes true literature and the bad rap that romance in general can receive, with some valid points made. In addition, the book is very funny - Ripper has great comedic timing and sets the jokes up well.

But at times, there's too much of a good thing, which leads to the negatives in this book for me. The central plot point of the book was intriguing, setting up the classic rom-com trope of the characters misunderstanding one another. However, I felt it was taken just a bit too far. Even in a romance novel, which typically demands some suspension of reality, could someone be as stupid as Preston's character in keeping his book a secret from his friends, especially Art? Maybe, but I doubt it.

There are some intriguing ideas about consent in this novel, with Ripper expounding on consent in not just a physical way but in a relationship way with how people interact with one another and build trust. But where the point could have been made once, or maybe even twice, the author kept hammering the idea home just a bit too often for me, especially at the end of the book, which lost a lot of the momentum that had been built.

So, overall, I'd probably rate this a 3.5. I liked it, particularly the humor and a very nice writing style on the part of the author. I just felt the book lost a bit of steam, particularly towards the end. But I enjoyed it enough that I'll be checking out some of this author's other works.