What saved the book for me was the humour, it made me laugh from chapter one but that was the highlight. And for me to read a romance and not so much like the couple it's very dissapointing. Sometimes the characters were a little too much on my opinion, and altough it made them quirky, it crossed some lines and it made them a little annoying some of the times.
Overall, it was an enjoyable reading but I was expecting way more.! Preston remineded of me in some aspects and that made me have a little soft part of my heart for him hehe but he was also infuriating - like me lol

This one just wasn’t for me. The writing felt very rushed and I found both PK and Art irritating (personalities, PK’s inner monologue, etc). This is not to say that the book itself is bad. I like the overall concept of the plot, but it just wasn’t quite my cup of tea.

I loved this book! Book Boyfriend follows the somewhat clueless, but loveable PK, as he sets out to write a book to show his best friend (sometimes roommate) and potential love of his life that he can be romantic. (Spoiler Alert: It does not go the way he planned). He is generally a mess, and we spend the entire novel in his POV, so if you find clueless goofs annoying, it might not be for you.

This book was so funny, so sweet, and so enjoyable to read that I stayed up all night to finish it. And I was sad when it was over because I love Art and PK, and I just want to read more about their relationship after the book is over. The two things I wanted was more of Art and PK and more time with Art in general. We never get their perspective, so you have to pick it up from the cues that PK is completely missing.

This is a sweet, slow burn romance that spends time analyzing the ideas and tropes of romance novels. While PK is writing his book, we get to see Art discuss romance with their book club. So it gets a bit meta about romance.

All in all, it is a light read that I think is worth your time if you don't expect too much from it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

BOOK BOYFRIEND follows PK, who is hopelessly in love with his best friend, Art. Art has no clue that PK has been in love with them ever since the one time they shared a drunken kiss in college. After a break up, Art moves into PK’s apartment. When PK realizes that Art doesn’t see him as a romantic— something that they want in a partner— he starts writing a romance novel about his feelings for his best friend under a pen name. But when the novel gets picked up and ARCs are sent to Art’s bookstore, he realizes that he can’t keep his novel a secret forever. Art is obsessed with the book, and they declares the lead to be their Book Boyfriend. Eventually, Art will find out that he is the author, and that the book is based on them.
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I really like Rippers writing. It’s upbeat and a little rambly, which I find fun and endearing. I liked all of these characters, especially their friends Wade and Ray. Everyone felt fleshed out. Seeing Art’s complicated relationship with their brother and their parents was hard, but that goes to show how important found family is.
The angst in this book had me by the throat. I was so relieved when these two finally started communicating! I wish we had more scenes of them together romantically, though. As much as I enjoyed PK’s pining, I would have liked to see some of that from Art, too. I think a POV from Art could have elevated this story. I enjoyed the few hints of their feelings towards PK, but up until after the big reveal the romance felt a little one sided. Overall, though, I’m so glad I finally read this book. I’ve been waiting to get my hands on it ever since I saw the cover reveal. It’s beautiful!
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3.75/5 stars, BOOK BOYFRIEND by Kris Ripper is available April 26, 2022! Thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for sending me an eARC to review.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This romcom is cute and fumbling and awkward and I really enjoyed it. Friends-to-lovers, full of pining, omg they were roommates…. All the good stuff. It’s also very humorous and doesn’t take itself too seriously, which always means I’ll automatically like it.

(Big TW however for addiction—although I won’t be talking about that more in this review.)

I read it all in a day, which is how it usually goes for books like this, but I think it’s memorable. Is it life changing? No. But the characters are very well written—two thumbs way way up for the lovely queer rep here!—and the point of the book and it’s take on romance tropes will likely stay with me.

I loved the exploration of how a-typical, over the top ”romantic gestures” seem great in movies when you’re barely thinking about the implications and you’re swept up in the ✨magic✨ of cinema… but actually, would I like this in real life? …Fuck no. Is it creepy/self-wanky/aggressive and/or completely unnecessary when a sincere apology would be much less problematic? …Almost always yes 🤔😂.

I also enjoyed all of the narrative surrounding the actual writing process—and of course the complete mortification (and equal excitement) of somebody actually reading something you’ve written. (It also inspired me to open up the bloody googledoc already, it’s been over a week.)

I was very worried I’d hate the rambling tangent way of PK telling his story, but I actually found it very endearing and really funny in parts.

I could have done with less internal rambling monologue and more scenes/conversations with Art though. I understand that the falling in love happened a long time ago off page but I wanted read multiple scenes of them having the connection PK says they have, because I wanted to believe it really deeply. They LIVE together but we don’t often get to see them spending time BEING with each other. I don’t like just getting told that kind of stuff/having to assume it’s happening off page when it’s a romance book specifically.

However I clearly did still connect and care about them and their relationship—as we got closer and closer to the peak of drama I was genuinely so scared for this stupid idiot. Cringing internally because I knew it was going to be so fucking bad and I wanted it to go right for them both.

The resolution is handled very well though; incredibly mature writing. We love to see it.

Anyways, an easy fun read. Would recommend!

I've really enjoyed Kris Ripper's previous books, most recently The Love Study trilogy, so it pains me to say that Book Boyfriend did not work for me at all. The plot centers on P.K.'s elaborate and totally misguided plan to write a romance novel that he can use as a grand gesture to demonstrate his true love for his best friend Art. Unfortunately, P.K. is so busy scheming and engaging in various hijinks that the reader never gets a good sense of who Art is, or what "P.K. + Art" could look like. P.K.'s first person narrative goes way beyond "quirky" and into stream of consciousness and entirely self-centered. And considering Art's novel, Peak Romance, is supposed to be a brilliant, surprise best-seller, we are not treated to any excerpts that demonstrate its greatness.

By the time the HEA finally took place, I was just glad to be done with the characters. YMMV if you have the patience for a long, drawn out plot driven by the fact that the POV MC can't just tell the other MC how he feels.

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for honest review.

*3.5

This book was cute but I really did not enjoy the writing. The book also ended very abruptly. I needed more, how are PK and Art doing now? I also still don't think that PK fully understood that what he did was wrong.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I am so torn about this book. For the first half, I didn't really like the main character, he was way too bumbling and there was an exerpt of the book he went on to to write and publish and I genuinely wished that I was reading that book because it sounded like its main character was more put together than the main of this one.

And then it started to feel a bit more like a Kris Ripper book, somewhere in the middle. I even came to really love the side character of Wade who is at first introduced as this douche that Preston knew in childhood and who comes back into his life as their mothers are trying to set them up together.

But Arty... that's who I really wish had been the main character of this book, despite the fact that I usually love characters who work somewhere in the publishing sector.

Art, whose heart was not only on his--and then their, as their pronouns change halfway through the story--sleeve, but also manages to speak aloud the words that they are feeling.

I chuckled to myself at the indictment aimed at the bowels of Twitter, and it's honestly starting to make me wonder if anyone on Book Twitter ever has a good time, because this is not the first narrative I've found that includes it.

And then we get into the last third of the book, and suddenly it becomes... kinda preechy? Like, I'd really started liking both Wade and Preston, but then they have this conversation where Wade almost seems like the mouthpiece of the author criticising the way that the Grand Gesture works in romance novels, and actually is kinda harsh to Preston in telling him what he's done wrong. Preston who has just done the Grand Gesture in this story and is now parted from Art.

By the end of this scene, Preston really has no other option than to cry and then agree with everything Wade's told him, or else be the villain. Which is... sort of the narrative of that same Social Justice Warrior Tweeting above, and not something generally viewed as recreationally enjoyable.

Don't get me wrong, Preston is a huge mess and he needed to wake up to reality, but seeing him get brow beaten because he's done what every other romance novel suggests is romantic seems a bit much. It's clear all the way through that he only goes through with making a Grand Gesture because Art said that he didn't have a romantic bone in his body and Preston was trying to prove him wrong.

So this has turned into less of a review and more a response to the commentary we're given as part of this novel, something that's a really big part of the plot. And this being the way the pay off was structured just kinda... didn't work for me. I guess it's realistic that Wade being someone who has known him to be clueless for this many years might have gotten annoyed with the continuing behaviour, but yikes, pick a time to tell Preston when he isn't already down. It felt like watching a kicked puppy. And Art just ghosting Preston for weeks isn't all that woke or grown up either.

Nobody was covered in glory in this book, is all I'm saying. Which is the case at this critical point in pretty much any romance. It just would have been nice to see a bit more of that on the page in this book.

Argh, friends, this is a tough one.
Not going to lie, I almost DNF this. I'm sorry, it's definitely me, not the book. I just couldn't connect with anyone and anything that was happening in it. So I skimmed through it. Hard.
I do appreciate the queer rep, that's absolutely fantastic, but argh, what was even happening?

The writing is, uhm, all over the place. I think maybe the author was trying a bit too hard to be witty and funny and everything just went off the rails. It's just a tiny bit chaotic. I normally like this writing style, but in this instance it felt so overwhelming and awfully fractured.
I feel bad, you know, because I'm definitely not one to write negative reviews. And I won't! Because while this didn't work for me, it might actually work for you.

The book tells the story of PK, assistant editor at a major publisher, working his way through life, trying to .. I'm not sure what. Finish a novel? Get his best friend, Art, to date him? He does both, I guess, eventually. Even if he writes the aforementioned book as an experiment (I think) to show people than he can be romantic, he ends up being published - the perks of working for a publisher, I guess. The book he writes is inspired by Art so he's reluctant to tell them about it, since that would mean his secret crush will come to light.

To be completely honest, I felt no chemistry whatsoever between the two MCs. The main characters in this book, not the book PK wrote in the book.
I don't knoooow, I'm confused.
I'm also awful so I'm going to take a breather and maybe circle back on this review some other time.

Trigger Warnings: Break-up, alcohol, sex, drugs, cursing, toxic masculinity, addiction, overdose, hospital

Representation: Gay, Lesbian, Pansexual, They/them pronouns

Book Boyfriend is the story of Preston, the aspiring author, working as an editorial assistant and pining for his best friend, Art. Preston is not great with feelings so he puts them into his writing. Through a quick turn of events, Preston’s perfect boyfriend becomes a novel and Art longs for such a love, not knowing Preston wrote him. Preston’s plan to reveal this secret doesn’t go well and may cause him to lose his friend for good.

Another heart warming story from Carina Press! I loved the inner monologue of Preston! He’s funny and awkward, sweet and sensitive. His character growth was fantastic and I loved the ending! His storyline is messy and makes you so much more devoted to his success!

I loved that this book was a book in a book. There were some points where I felt like I was in the matrix! I also loved all of the side characters, especially Ray. I wish the story could have expanded more about these characters. Overall, this was a great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Absolutely adorable. I quite like how normal and down-to-earth the main characters felt. Also, learning how to apologize! It was nice seeing the love interest change their pronouns mid-book and the MC just taking it in stride and seeing that internal dialogue of correcting himself as often as it took to get it right. Lovely touch.

This title really worked for me, even though I'm at a very different point in my life from the new adult characters. What I didn't pick up from the marketing is that the main character PK [spoiler] really hurts the love interest, Art. It's not out of malice, it's just making movies in his head about what things mean between them, instead of, y'know, talking with Art about what things mean between them. The worst part of the reading experience was knowing that PK was going to do this monumentally stupid thing — which in another (to my mind lesser) book would have been treated as a swooningly romantic thing — and waiting, wincing in advance, for the grand gesture to land horribly wrong. Thankfully, maybe because I wasn't a very perceptive reader, that was only a small part of my reading time. Then PK does the stupid thing, and the book gives spaciousness for what comes next. PK needs time to grasp how hurtful his actions were; he needs a stern talking to by a mutual friend; he needs to feel big feelings and he needs to do it without spewing them all over Art; he needs some help remembering how to be a grown-up from his family. Recognizing you've done a shitty thing is itself a shitty experience, and I don't begrudge the on-page processing that PK gets — this is his story, not Art's. Then, for reasons, Art and PK find themselves roadtripping before they would have come together of their own volition, and I just loved that PK gets to start being there for Art before Art is no longer angry. Man, isn't that just how it is, sometimes? You love each other, and you're furious with each other. What a gift for someone to trust you with their anger (without lashing out, that's not what I'm talking about). Repair takes time. And I love that Book Boyfriend lets us glimpse the harm done, the impact on the person who actually did the harm, and the seriously hard work of apology. Other readers have referred to an abrupt end. I definitely think these characters have more story after the book's end, but this is really the end of the first chapter of their relationship, as it were. Not that a sequel is needed — just that I know that they'll live more, but I'm happy to leave them here.

One with an unrequited love, one with a love for flare and Romance. This book is a friends to lovers Romance with some added lobby drama, messy book writing life, and a guy who writes a book for his love.
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My Rating : 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟
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First of all, Can we all agree that having PK as your bae would be fun for life. He would make your life interesting and would make you laugh. Saying that, I think the friendship between PK and Art started off really well. The personality difference between them was quite established, but they had their own quirks, flaws and vulnerabilities. Now, I really liked Art and his Obsession with a fairytale Romance and happy ending. (Someone has to be the romantic right?) Even though PK had no clue how to handle the messy situation Art was in, the author did a good job with the balance between PK being a friend and a hot mess. (Honestly.. seriously PK ? Mom's fancy towel?)
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“I know you don’t get it. This is probably why both of us are single: I want too much romance and you don’t even know what romance is.”
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One thing I really loved? How the author talked about the publishing world and the stress every author has to go through to publish anything. I really liked seeing PK become a spiral and how he needed his friends to give him support. Especially the part where his insecurities and his unrequited love acts as an inspiration to write a whole book.(Even though Art could have helped ). Now Art as a reader and hosting a book club and talking about reader life and Obsession? YASSS I could get behind that easily. I loved the way the author gave passion and the transition from a heartbreak, moping to hopeful. (I especially loved the awkward pasta malings in the kitchen as well )
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It’s easier to do something when someone you love is upset, but I could tell that I should probably just be. So that’s what I did.
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Coming to the story and character development, I feel like even though we get to see the story and the conflicts through PK's pov, It would have made it infinitely better if we had atleast one Art Pov. Because sometimes the love felt unrequited, and the chemistry between them wasn't prominent. As for the characters, I really loved the friendship group and the support system they provided. We can all attest to the fact that while something is romantic in fiction, it's embarrassing in real life. The first half of the book was a bit slow with pacing, but it picked up the second half. I think the whole ' I'm gonna create the perfect boyfriend character and dedicate it' plot was good, BUT I felt the execution could have been better. And that ending was quite harsh and dramatic (even for a fiction). (Don't mind me I'm just salty because I liked PK as a hot mess more) . But overall, it was really cute story and I definitely would be reading more of the author's work!!
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Thank you Carina Press and Netgalley for the gifted Review copy!
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Book 67 - February 2022 / Arc / Netgalley
Tags : Best friends to Lovers, Singe Pov, Books about Authors, MM Adult Contemporary Romance

Ok. I thought PK was the most cringe-y character ever. But also the most relatable. Which is maybe part of the reason I don’t like him 🤔
I liked Art’s vibe. They were a fun character to read. I also loved Wade and his attire.

Dialogue was cringe-y especially at the beginning. I found myself frustrated with PK’s internal monologue. It was repetitive and slightly overdone for my liking.

I think this may be too close to reality for an easy, fun read. Conversations were intense and emotions were too valid (if that’s possible). Logically I understand the plot with this resolution, but emotionally I loved the grand gesture moment. For me it seemed anticlimactic.

I did appreciate the lessons that PK is kinda forced into learning (the communication between PK and Art/ PK respecting Art’s request for space/ the realization that PK was in the wrong). Important lessons for anyone to learn from and listen to.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Carina Press & Carina Adores (Harlequin) publishing for this digital ARC.

3.5 stars. It took me a little while to get into this book. PK narrates in first person and it’s basically like he’s talking to you, the reader. There are a lot of false starts and ums and sentence fragments. Once I got into the rhythm of his language, I enjoyed it. He’s definitely A Lot as a character, but Ripper has given him a big heart and a lot of humanity, in addition to his general cluelessness.

I wish we had gotten part of the story from Art’s perspective, because we didn’t get much insight into their motivations or thoughts, beyond whatever they tell PK directly (which isn’t always much). They seemed like such an interesting and complicated character.

While there is plenty of pining, this is a steam-free read and would be a safe recommendation for new adult or even some YA readers.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I have been a fan of Ripper's works ever since I began reading romance (which was only, what, two or three years ago?) and have eagerly read several of zir books. So when this popped up on Netgalley, it was a no-brainer to request. Written by Kris Ripper? Check. Messy queers who aren't perfect? Check. Talks about books a lot (the main characters work in publishing and a bookstore)? CHECKKKK.

P.K. has been sort-of-probably-definitely in love with his best friend, Art, ever since they drunkenly kissed one night in college. He's kept it to himself, though, focusing on being a good friend, and expressing his feeling through writing. When Art breaks it off with their latest boyfriend and moves in with P.K., he thinks that maybe, MAYBE he is finally ready to tell Art how he feels.

But he can't figure out how to actually say the words, so he writes them down. Which turns into a story, which becomes a novel, which he shows to his coworker, and suddenly he has a book contract? (It helps that he works at a publishing house.) And even though he's based the book on Art, and his feelings for them, he still can't tell them about anything. What if it spoiled their friendship? What would he do then?

Then it turns out Art LOVES P.K.'s book, and an author event is set up at Art's bookstore job, and P.K. decides to do something about these feelings ... and well (you guessed it), nothing goes as planned. P.K. has to figure out what he wants, and how to tell Art, and there's family drama, and .... what a rollercoaster of emotions!

This book was fun, slightly ridiculous (I really wanted to shake P.K. and just be like "USE YOUR WORDS, I KNOW YOU HAVE THEM!"), and the slowest of slow burns. There's no spice in it, which works well with the story, and lots of feelings. And pasta making. And a macaw.

So anyway - another fun book by Ripper. Can't wait to see what ze writes next!

I needed a fun distraction from the world for obvious reasons, and Book Boyfriend pretty perfectly did the trick. I will say the book goes in a little too hard in the beginning trying to be cute and funny, which comes across as a bit on the annoying side. As the book progresses, though, it settles into a better groove and gets pretty sweet. I appreciated the inclusion of a non-binary character--that felt like good representation.

2-Stars

Since its inception, Harlequin’s Carina Adores has published several excellent LGBTQ+ romance novels. Sadly Kris Ripper’s 'Book Boyfriend' is not one of them.

Others may indeed find 'Book Boyfriend' to be the “delightful romantic comedy” it’s meant to be. For me, however, it was mostly boring.

To be fair there were a few chuckle worthy moments, and one very dramatic sequence of events at the 70% mark. But the all consuming angst of the main character, Preston (PK) Kingsley Harrington III, seemed more like the amateur psychobabble of a high school sophomore than that of genuine self-reflection on the part of an Editorial Assistant in a New York City publishing house that he was supposed to be.

It was just as hard to care for the other protagonist, Art, a bookstore employee who once kissed PK in college - when they were both "wasted" - and now accuses PK of "not even knowing what romance is".

Most of the secondary characters are no more appealing.

Ripper did introduce a quip that I’m sure will be useful in my own writing…”Um, control-z all that.”

I received an Advance Review Copy of 'Book Boyfriend' from NetGalley and HARLEQUIN - Carina Press in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 33% (~100 pages)

I’m going to start this with saying that I think this book will be popular with other people. It just wasn’t for me.

This one started off kind of rough for me. I didn’t really like PK’s inner monologue, which there is A Lot of. And as I read further I realized that it wasn’t really PK himself I didn’t like. I just didn’t like the way he was about Art (his best friend/love interest). Like, Art had JUST gotten out of a relationship and immediately PK wants him to be fine and start dating him. Give him a minute to breathe.

I was interested in PK’s journey with his book and I liked the side characters, but not enough to keep reading. I was actively hoping they didn’t get together at this point, which isn’t great for a romance book. I think this may have been better in dual POV where I could see if Art was at least interested.

Also, both Art and 2 other people told PK to his face that he didn’t have the depth needed for romance which was just rude.

Heat Factor: This one’s a proper slooow burn: no sex, barely even kisses
Character Chemistry: heavily centered on PK’s pining for Art
Plot: PK’s been in love with his best friend since college, and just when he thinks that Art will finally realize PK’s the boyfriend they’ve always wanted, Art’s dismissive comments crush PK into writing the perfect boyfriend into a romance novel
Overall: This one’s for readers who like single-protagonist personal growth arcs, super slow burns, and personal accountability

Well, did I ever identify with PK! Whether he’s correct in his interpretations or not, PK is getting a lot of feedback from the people closest to him that he’s too shallow to understand romance or feelings, much less to articulate anything about them. For example, when PK is arguing with Art about his ability to romance people, Art returns:

"“I know you don’t get it. This is probably why both of us are single: I want too much romance and you don’t even know what romance is.” There was this horrible pause, this break in his words, almost like he was going to say more but decided it wasn’t worth it. That I wasn’t worth it. “Anyway, I need to get some stuff done. Goodnight.”

"And that…was it. He just walked out. Away. Down the hall. Whatever. Leaving me with You don’t even know what romance is echoing in my head."

Also, when he gives his work bestie his manuscript, her first reaction is that there’s no way PK wrote this “achingly lovely” story:

"“You really think it’s okay?” I asked, my voice small, like a little kid begging for approval.

"“I sent it to Adams. Oh my god, she’s going to kill me when she finds out you wrote it. Shit. I told her it was some random, which to be fair, I thought was true, because I didn’t think…not gonna lie, I didn’t think you had the emotional depth for something like this.” Pause. “Sorry.”"

And then his childhood frenemy tells him:

“I don’t mean to insult you, Preston, but it honestly never occurred to me that you were perceptive enough to notice complex interpersonal dynamics.”

So basically PK is just trying really hard, but he’s also a little bit self-absorbed (But also, he’s 26, okay? Like. Duh.) and incredibly socially awkward. And he’s just trying to protect himself from getting hurt. And of course, when it comes to the point, he’s the one who has to grovel, but we’re starting from this place where it feels like nobody thinks very highly of him, so it’s easy to see why:
1. He decides he has something to prove, and
2. He doesn’t feel like there’s a safe space for sharing his feelings.
As a result, this story is very much centered on PK. There’s not a ton of dialogue or extensive scenes that develop other characters in this narrative. PK is constantly thinking about proving that he can be romantic, how he should share that he’s gotten a book deal for a romance novel (based on his own life), and if it’s the right time to share his feelings with Art. That’s not to say that Art doesn’t also grow over the course of the story or that the two don’t grow together. (If we’re considering Ingrid’s metric.) Part of the reason that things go awry for PK is because Art has clearly stated that they want the huge romance gestures of fiction, but they have to realize that what’s beautiful in fiction isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in real life. And together, PK and Art need to figure out how to be vulnerable and honest with each other. They’re reconnecting as roommates again (excellent forced proximity situation) after Art’s former relationship had contributed to a lengthy separation, which creates excellent groundwork for their romantic relationship, but they need to tip the scales into the romantic connection. There’s a lot on the line for them personally, is what I’m saying.

Readers who enjoy a grovel will get a lengthy one here. And readers who like protagonists to be held accountable for their actions will likely enjoy the dark moment. Personally, I have mixed feelings about the dark moment. On the one hand, I definitely appreciate the thoughtful execution of PK taking ownership of his actions and apologizing without expectation of forgiveness or even a reply because it hangs on his realization that doing anything else is putting unasked for emotional labor on Art. It’s a level of personal accountability that doesn’t always occur in romance novels. On the other hand, I’d almost prefer an irrationality-based dark moment because the idea that one party can simply walk away for months without a single word, that a valued relationship can be completely abandoned without at least an attempt at a conversation, doesn’t inspire me with warm fuzzies after they finally make up and move on. I’m also not huge on the third-party-intervention to push the relationship back on track, though there are definitely times when someone saying “personal accountability, hello” is a good thing. Bottom line: YMMV depending on how you like a grovel to go.

The last thing I’ll touch on in this review is Ripper’s voice. This is another YMMV thing because it’s definitely an extremely conversational style, as if PK is telling this story to the reader. I really liked it. I felt like I was PK’s friend or somebody he sat next to at the bar and just poured his guts out to. It was fun, almost light-hearted, even as there’s a lot of heavy stuff being processed. Ripper has a unique way of letting us see PK’s values, even as he expresses things in an entirely relatable (for my demographic anyway) manner: "Actually, I wished he liked me more than he liked Roman. Which he should have, because bros before gender-neutral-in-no-way-sex-shaming hos, right? But in the bro vs ho battle, I’d lost hard."

And there are several nods to romance readers (not totally surprising for a meta romance story), which is fun. But I can see some readers not being as into the stream-of-consciousness narrative. (Though that makes me think of English class and Faulkner, which was not my fave - it’s not like that, it’s much more coherent. To me, anyway.) Anyway, Ripper has a way with words - no doubt about it.

SO! If you’d like to read a really emotional story in which the protagonist makes mistakes but everyone is, at the end of the day, responsible for their own behavior, this journey might very well work for you.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report. (April)