4.75 ⭐️

The Boyfriend Candidate is a funny, sweet and charming rom-com that will leave you feeling giddy and in love with the characters. The book follows Alexis who is a school librarian, who in an attempt to become more confident attempts her first one night stand at a bar. There she meets Logan, who’s the complete opposite of her, someone who speaks his mind no matter the consequences and does it with a lot of swearing 😂. The chemistry between the two is heating up but just as they reach the hotel room a lightening storm hits and they are forced to run outside, where they’re caught by paparazzi, leaving Logan fleeing the scene. Pictures are leaked of the two of them which is bad for Logan’s reputation as he’s running for the Texas governors seat, so the two of them have to embark on a fake relationship as to not impact his chances of winning. But are things really as fake as they both pretend they are, or are real feelings hidden behind the facade?

This book had me giggling and giddy the entire way, I absolutely loved the banter between Alexis and Logan. The journey of Alexis’ self love was really heartwarming, seeing her open up and own what she wants instead of always trying to please others. She’s a really inspiring character and I loved seeing her confidence grow throughout the book. Logan was completely charming and you could see how he always prioritised Alexis and said/did little things to show how much he cared. I will think about this book constantly, Ashley you are incredible!

Thank you so much to @netgalley, @ariafiction and @ashleywinsteadbooks for the copy of this book, all opinions are honest and my own.

So insanely captivating!!!

This book has everything I love in my rom-coms, from slow-burn romance to engaging and relatable characters. Alexis was so comforting as a character, and I loved her progression throughout the book and how she developed individually. Books that tackle complex parental relationships & grief also stand out for me, and I think Ashely Winstead did this beautifully!

I would like to thank netgalley and Aria & Aries for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Everything I could ever want in a romance.

Oh. My. God. This book!

Let me start by saying that I know absolutely nothing about how the American political system works so I was going into this blind. OK, so this guys is running for governer? That means less than nothing to me. But the premise sounded good and I decided it was probably worth a read.

Man, am I glad I gave this one a shot. This could actually be my favourite book of 2023.
Logan was perfect, everything I always love in the male lead. Plus, as a very sweary Brit myself, I definitely had a bit of extra love for him.
I read so many books were the female lead is a shy, introverted wallflower but the way Alexis' discovery of herself and what she is capable of has blown every other version of this out of the water.

It's been a long time since a book has made me cry (read: at least a month) but this had me sobbing and cackling in equal parts.

I honestly cannot recommend this book enough! I'm off to devour everything this author has done so far!

5 stars!

2.5 stars out of 5!

The premise of the book is amazing and I was really looking forward to reading it because of it! But I think my rating has more to do with the politics than with the romance, which is just a preference I think. I found myself skimming those sections because I found them boring at times. Other than that I did enjoy the romance, apart from the 75%-95% when they would just not communicate! It was like a third act breakup without them ever having been together and I just wanted them to talk! Lastly I did think the references to modern day culture may have been overboard: Twitter is fine; TikTok, Harry Styles and Timothée Chalamet may be a bit much?

As for the rest I did enjoy it and I found myself rooting voor Alexis and Logan. He was very charming and I really liked the first 30% of the book a lot because of the tension!

Incredible! I absolutely adored this story. I was hooked on Alexis and Logan's story from the beginning.
The political side of this book took me by surprise too, I actually found myself rooting for them and felt tense when the results were in.
The side characters were also fantastic - I wish I had a sister like Lee and a friend like Zoey!
Overall a fantastic read, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a romance with a good pace, interesting Storyline and great characters.

Oh my God. I LOVED this book. Slamming straight into the top of my list of favourite romance novels (and I read a LOT of them). The Boyfriend Candidate was properly, properly funny and dazzlingly romantic at the same time. I was completely here for the Roy Kent energy, the loveable cast of side characters, the green dresses, the librarians, the Parks and Recs references… honestly, it was like this book was written for me, just all my favourite things mashed together, a complete joy. Laughed, cried, swooned - an absolute dream of a novel. My first Ashley Winstead and now I’m off to track down everything she’s written.

I understand that the book's baseline was that Logan is running for governor, and Alexis needed to pretend to be his girlfriend to save face. Still, halfway through the story, there's zero chemistry between the two, and instead, we're carried along a string of political speeches, policies, and rallies.
There wasn't enough romance, and they felt like characters, not real people.
Alexis hates the attention, but suddenly she wants to spearhead policies and make big speeches, she even goes against their rules and decides to organize a rally without even considering Logan and the ways this could potentially hurt his image and career.
She's so selfish, egotistical, and childish, always doing things without caring for anyone, that it's hard to believe she's a grown woman and not a teenager.
Honestly, Logan was way too good and trusting with her, giving second chances when she deserved none.
She's so pathetic she couldn't put on hold her life for two mere months, no, she had to go on a public date... at a wedding with someone else? Seriously? How stupid could she be?

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.