The Build-a-Boyfriend Project was so stinking cute!!! Eli and Peter was adorable, and their story was just so sweet. Plus I'm a total sucker for fake dating and this was *chef's kiss*

This was a fun, heartfelt queer adult romance. Deaver covers some tough topics while keeping the atmosphere of a classic rom-com. I appreciated the complexity of the relationships throughout the book--both the ones that work and the ones that don't.

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

This was a very lovely LGBTQIA+ romance! A fake relationship/friends to lovers trope, there was some spice but it was pretty low on the spicy scale. It's a quick, fun read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC and a chance to read this heartfelt piece of work.

This is the perfect romcom book! The cute, funny banter between Peter and Eli made this an easy read. I love how you could see that the two of them bring out the best verisons of themselves without even really trying.

Peter and Eli's character growth was heartfelt and inspirational. My favorite aspect of the book was seeing the two characters become better versions of themseleves because of how the other person inspired them.

I love Mason Deaver, okay, and this was SO. SWEET.

Thank you for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I am working through my backlog, and will be momentarily posting reviews for the stories I have yet to get posted but have finished reading.

When a struggling journalist meets a bumbling techie, the worst date in the history of ever occurs—is it possible to salvage this situation and build the perfect boyfriend?

Eli Francis is stuck as an executive assistant at an online magazine by the name of Vent. He dreams of being a full-time writer, but he hasn't caught a break. Eli's also hung up over his ex-boyfriend of seven years, Keith. When his roommates get sick of his mopey behavior, they set him up with the gloriously handsome Peter Park. Unfortunately, the date is an epic disaster that only has Eli feeling worse. That is, until his boss takes interest in the incident and begs Eli to give Peter a second chance and convinces him to secretly write an article about how Eli is fixing up Peter to be a better dater. As Eli and Peter's fake-dating arrangement begins, Eli believes that he'll finally have the article that will grant him the promotion he deserves. But putting yourself in a fake relationship is never easy on the heart, especially when one has a hard time opening up to others. Will this end in disaster for the two men, or will their hearts manage to come out of the encounter unscathed?

This book showed up unexpectedly in my inbox one day, making me feel as though I had no obligation to read it. However, the title and the cover caught my eye; I tend to love MM romances, so I couldn't logically pass this one up. And boy am I glad I didn't. This story is filled with so much humor and heart, while also offering a window into what it is like to be a member of the queer community in various different ways. There are some very serious themes, and the romance has a realistic arc despite it also giving a rom com experience that made me want to kick my feet and giggle constantly.

From the very start of this book, I really liked Eli as a character. Seeing him stuck in a secretarial job that places so much burden on his shoulders made me pity him, but it also made me curious to see how his life would change throughout the course of this novel. The first few chapters honestly reminded me of "The Office," which I found to be quite fun. Seeing how stuck Eil was on his relationship with Keith really had Eli starting this book really down in the dumps. I think it is so easy to feel like a failure in today's society which expects one to be successful as soon as they graduate from college. Eli is certainly entering mid-life crisis territory, and I found this relatable despite the fact that I'm not even twenty yet.

When Peter finally entered the scene, I couldn't stop giggling. Their first date is an absolute disaster, but it is easy to tell that Peter is such a sweet boy who is truly just inexperienced. I loved Peter pretty much from the first interaction, so it was easy to start shipping these two early on.
After the two boys make their dating pact, the story truly comes to life. The dates that these two go on are all so cute. From ice skating, to bowling, to rock climbing, to jazz clubbing, the experiences that these two collect are priceless and adorable. The general bantering and flirting between Eli and Peter was so funny, and it had me wondering just how far this fake romance would go before it all fell apart.

Speaking of falling apart, I actually didn't hate the third act conflict in this story. It felt very reasonable, and I totally understand why both men made the decisions that they did. I don't fault either of them; I honestly would have accepted if their relationship didn't pan out in the end. This book really plays on classic rom com movies, but it does a great job of showcasing how real-life romance isn't like it is in the movies. The epilogue was pretty adorable though, so I'm not complaining about how everything panned out.

The way that this book dives into how being Asian and gay intersect with one another and often make it even harder to just exist in society was heartbreaking. I'm so glad Deaver also made it a priority to highlight all the good experiences that Peter had growing up in a Southern red state; they handled the nuances and complexities of interconnected identities so well.

I must admit, I wasn't a huge fan of all the steamy scenes in this book. There are only like two major ones, but they were still a bit too much for me. Some spicy scenes are starting to grow on me, but I still really don't like dirty talk while in bed; it just makes me really uncomfortable, so it was a little hard for me to get through these scenes. I did think they were an interesting learning experience about trans expectations and courtesies in the bedroom, though.

Overall, I found "The Build-a-Boyfriend Project" to be a fun MM adult rom com that offered plenty of insight on the publishing industry and the queer community. The fake dating element was pulled off well in this one and I didn't mind the third act conflict. Both Eli and Peter are great characters, and I came to love them both in their own right. This is my first introduction to Deaver's work and can say with certainty that I will definitely be checking out more of their work in the future!

I desperately wanted to like this book, but it fell a little flat for me. The fake dating part seems complicated and far-fetched and as soon as Eli proposed it, I knew exactly how it was going to go wrong and struggled to make myself keep reading because I knew I was going to be inevitably disappointed. Eli seems self centered and like he's still caught in college-age indecision when he's supposed to be an adult with serious relationship and life experience. Peter is an absolute delight and a lot more relatable than Eli. The end of the book and the resolution was frustrating too. It felt like it was too-little, too late and the therapist approved speech. It didn't feel true to either Eli or Peter.

Welp, I recall crying at least twice so THANK YOU Mason Deaver….
But in all seriousness, I absolutely loved The Build-a-Boyfriend Project (4.5 stars). The best part of this book, to me, was how the author crafted their main character and love interest (Eli and Peter) in a way that felt so real and relatable, as if they could walk off the pages of this book and into our world. Their identities as marginalized members of their communities were fully fleshed out and at the forefront of the story, rather than just anecdotes to the overall plot, which I appreciated. Overall, The Build-a-Boyfriend Project was so heartfelt, funny, and sweet, and is by far my favorite romance read of the year.

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

This book had me uncontrollably sobbing at 6 am even thought it’s a quirky cute fun romcom. Prepared to have your heart ripped out! The concept of this book was SO CUTE. Both main characters felt raw and real and diving into both their struggles felt so realistic. I originally read this for the Trans Rights Readathon and it gave me a better perspective on how a trans relationship works. I also loved that we got the background story and struggle of the love interest. Even though the ending was a bit predictable, I still enjoyed every second of it!! Can’t wait to check out more from this author!

Ooooh I loved this!! I love Mason Deaver’s work and this really hit the mark. The characters are very well-developed and it was great overall :)

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

This book is the definition of a chaotic meet-cute turned soft, unexpected love story. Eli’s stuck in a dead-end job, still nursing heartbreak, and definitely not looking for love—until a disastrous blind date with awkward but sweet Peter turns into a fake dating scheme for the sake of an article. Or so Eli tells himself.

The setup is fun, the banter is sharp, and the slow-burn romance? Absolutely worth it. Peter is charming and vulnerable, and Eli’s journey toward both love and self-worth is genuinely heartfelt. It’s sweet, queer, and surprisingly emotional in the best way.

This book was interesting, and I picked it up due to the meet-awkward first date disaster I definitely related to that s0rt of awkwardness that Peter has from growing up sheltered. It's so hard to grow up and come to terms with all the formative queer things everyone seems to know BUT YOU. I appreciate the representation, both in a variety of queer identities and races, and also in queer perspectives, as well as family structures.

The pacing was a bit slow, however, and I actually went to read other books and come back to this one later. I wish the characters were a bit more fleshed out and well-rounded, had more depth to them. That said, I'm grateful books like this exist, and I am glad stories like Peter's are being told.

3/5, and thank you to NetGalley for this E-ARC

At this point, if consider myself a Mason Deaver fan. This is my third read by then and so far, I've enjoyed them all.

I've consistent found their writing, and especially their characters to be cozy and heartwarming, even when they occasionally have unlikable qualities. Deaver's characters are full and rich and are the driving force behind their stories so if you're big on great and likable characters, I'd recommend this one.

Even though this is an adult romance (Deaver's first), it did still have some YA vibes. I don't inherently dislike that, but I do kinda wish Eli had been a little bit younger to help support the less complex writing style in his POV. Maybe I'm too old to judge this, but his pesos felt more like 24 than nearly 30 to me.

Another note on the "adult" aspect of this book: There is really only one and a half spicy scenes (one spicy, one almost spicy) and while I don't personally love spice in my books, and this one didn't shy away at all from the descriptions, I also really appreciated that the scene sorry of tied-in/ for with the character arcs very nicely. It really helped the scene not feel unnessecary and gratuitous while also not having any content so vital to the plot that it wasn't skippable for sensitive readers. In other words, I think it was really tastefully done even though some of the characters seemingly have some fairly kinky preferences/ideas.

I don't really have any deeper thoughts on this one. It's a very straightforward (or maybe queer-forward?) romance. It's sweet and fun and full on cozy/ guilty pleasure reading. And these two characters will probably stick with me for quite some time.

I’m giving this a 4.5 rounded up and I only taking a half star away because I reeeally craved some comeuppance for Michael and Keith and their BS. Everything else I loved from this. I’ll be making a longer video review for it but the arcs in this are great. The second hand embarrassment I got for the first date was so real. A lot of both Eli and Peter’s personalities were very relatable to me in terms of their insecurities and thought spirals. This has great angles on representation from a variety of intersectionalities. I think I would have liked to see more from the ending with Eli and where he was at in the end even though we did get the answer for Peter which was awesome. I think just having a moment showing Eli more success or possibly vent shutting down or something would have made this a whole five star but I was left lacking a little there. I don’t care if that’s not realistic it’s fiction and I need to live vicariously through someone going right for someone when my own life is as messed up as it is.

"The Build-a-Boyfriend Project" is a really fun and cute read. Peter is a great character, endlessly endearing and such an awkward sweetheart that you just want to reach into the book and give him a hug. Eli is also a good character, though I struggled sometimes with his line of thought and motivations -- it was easy to see exactly where it was all going to blow up (in quite spectacular fashion) and he was quite arrogant about how right he was and how nothing would go wrong. Which, I will admit, is the point of his character so that he can develop, but knowing their love would need to hit a rough patch before it could properly bloom made me anxious for a good portion of this book and hoping against hope this would be a happy ending. Overall, this an enjoyable read and I think a very strong start for an author branching into the adult romance space!

Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for a free and honest review.

Though this book is good as a adult debut but for me?? I just couldnt stay connected to it. I wanted to enjoy it to my fullest but I just couldn't.

Eli Francis is stuck in an assistant position at the online magazine Vent when he should be a writer, with a boss who keeps dangling a promotion but would rather he just fetch the coffee. Oh, and he’s working alongside the ex who has had no trouble moving on. When Eli’s roommates push him to date so he can get over his ex once and for all, they set him up with Peter Park. The date is a complete disaster, and further proof to Eli that love isn’t for him. But when his boss overhears Eli recounting the catastrophic night, he suggests teaching Peter to be a better boyfriend through a series of simulated dates so he can write an article about it. As he teaches Peter, the lines between what’s real and what’s fake begin to blur.

Mason Deaver never misses!!!

It has been a while since I last read a Mason Deaver book, so The Build-a-Boyfriend Project reminded me how much I love their writing. Officially joining @atmreads ’s agenda of making everyone read more Mason Deaver and read this book!!! 🙂‍↕️

This book is Mason’s adult debut, and I think it features everything that makes their YA so great, but honestly, even better. It has the same heart as The Feeling of Falling in Love, and even I Wish You All the Best, and that any good romance should have, while also being very grounded and nuanced.

I love a fake-dating/practice dating trope, but a lot of times they feel a lot unrealistic, which is not a problem for a romcom, but sometimes!! they just don’t make any sense. That was not the case with this one! Would this happen in real life? Probably not. But it made sense for the characters and the overall plot, so it didn’t bother me.

My favorite aspect of Mason's work is that their characters feel very real. They're messy and complicated, and sometimes, unintentionally, treat people horribly, but make up for it in the end. A lot of people don't like that, which is why I think TFOFIL is sometimes divisive, but I don't care, I love it!! Personally, I don't want to read a romance where people are nice and everything is fine all the time. I love me some mess!!! And The Build-a-Boyfriend Project definitely delivered on that.
.
Eli can be a very frustrating character to read about, he does some shitty things in this book, but I still loved him! But Peter is just all around a wonderful sweetheart, who never did anything wrong in his life, and I thought they were very sweet together!!
.
This felt like such a classic rom-com, and I loved it so much. Probably my favorite Mason Deaver? Though I still need to read the Cupid book. I hope they write more adult romances!!!
.
Also, I'm not saying that I gave this a full extra star because of the scene where Eli calls Peter a good boy, but also I'm not not saying that y'know 🥸 Oh also!! Every chapter features a movie title, which was a really fun touch, but also every movie listed slapped!!

Brief synopsis for this book: Eli Francis is stuck in life. As a way to further his career, he decides to write an article about a first date gone wrong with Peter Park.

I love Mason Deaver's works, and their new adult romcom book "The Build-A-Boyfriend Project" is yet another perfect read!

I think fans of classic romance movies and romance books will adore this novel, it has everything you'd possibly want in a book like this.

This was super cute! I actually liked it quite a bit. The characters were super sweet and I love a fun awkward character.