Ivy’s been writing fan fiction over a year because she can leave the real world behind for a while especially since she and her best friend and crush, Mack, aren’t talking. Ivy’s parents are away for a few days and when she wakes up one morning Weston, one of the super heroes she writes about, is in bed with her. When Ivy doesn’t go to school Mack says she knows something is up. Ivy eventually tells her good friend Henry and they wonder can Ivy write Weston out of reality. Mack finds out about Weston and tries to help them. Can they get rid of Weston? Does Ivy tell Mack her true feelings for Ivy?

if you’ve ever had a fanfic era, this book is for you!

it’s dual timeline, and i don’t know if it’s just me, but one half feels like a story story and the other half a fanfic, which is something i never knew i needed till now

like, this gives me allll the fanfic reading feels! like i am still in full denial that i was once (okay okay and still am) a fanfic girly but after reading this… i’m like… yep i have definitely read fanfics featuring all these tropes mentioned

thank you so so much wednesday books + netgalley for the e-arc! totally worth the lack of sleep from reading it in one sitting and i’m so freaking honoured to be an early reader!

Could this be my new favorite romcom??

Yes. Yes it's my new favorite romcom.

In the perfect guy doesn't exist, Sophie Gonzales demonstrates that she's a master of satire. As someone who cut my teeth on fanfiction, this book was written for us. There isn't a trope she doesn't lampoon, and the amount of blink-and-you'll-miss-it references make me tempted to start it all over again from the top.

When Ivy's parents go on a business trip across the country, she's looking forward to hanging out with her best friend Henry and watching their favorite show, H-MAD (Hot, Magical and Deadly. If you want an indication of just how self-aware and glib this book is, that's all you need to know). Her plans go slightly awry when she wakes up to find that she somehow accidentally brought the main character of H-MAD, Weston, to life. Only he doesn't act exactly like the Weston from H-MAD. He sort of reminds her of . . . the version of Weston she writes in her fanfics. Ivy has to rely on not only Henry, but Mack--her ex-best friend and ex-crush--to hide Weston and figure out what to do with him.

As I mentioned, this book is heavy on the satire, and it's flipping hilarious as a result. My favorite scenes are the ones that center Mack, Ivy and Henry, because the chemistry those had was off the charts. Speaking of off-the-charts, the romance between Ivy and Mack had me kicking my feet and screaming into my pillow, which is funny because I'm usually a fan of smut, and this book is on the younger side of ya without any smut in sight. But there's plenty of angst and longing to make up for it. The stand out character for me was the super sarcastic Henry. As for Weston, he was the perfect amount of off-the-wall ridiculous.

My favorite part of the book, though, was the razor sharp commentary on the tropes we find romantic, and how we find comfort in fictional romance by inserting ourselves into it, but often by imagining scenarios that we wouldn't actually enjoy in reality. But if it sounds like it's ripping into the romance genre, rest assured, it isn't. The book actually strikes the perfect balance of examining romance, fanfic and fandom, and what purpose it serves in our lives, while poking fun at the more ludicrous parts of it.

Honestly 10x better than I expected based on the premise, and I was excited based on the premise. GO LESBIANS!!!!!!!!!!