Eli is an aspiring writer that works as a journalist. He gets his "big break" when he is tasked with writing about helping a guy learn how to date and not be as awkward as he is. This guy, Peter, is a newly out guy and doesn't know the first thing about dating. So Eli takes the job on. And in the meantime, the two end up falling for each other.

This book was SO CUTE. I loved listening to the audio for so many reasons. I can't wait to read more by Mason!!

Thank you to all involved for my early copy!

I realy liked the two main characters and the set up, the friend circle was also good. I thought it ended too quickly, meaning the resolution came too quickly but I liked it.

5 stars

This was so good in so many ways and I just love that Mason Deaver has ventured into adult romance! I loved the exploration of being queer from a small town and how that could hinder the whole queer experience better available in more populated areas. Add to that the racial aspect of Peter being Korean growing up in a small southern town. But also showing that the south isn't all bad (honestly there have been many more concerning northern towns in my personal experience). PLUS we get Eli's experience as a trans man (and his nonbinary sibling!) and both MCs had supportive and loving parents which is SO NICE to see. I think we all could see what the catalyst would be for the 3rd act breakup from pretty early on in the story so I am always glad when that conflict makes sense to the plot and characters. The love though! It was so gentle and calm as it grew between the two in the midst of "dating lessons" which felt natural. And I am just a big fan of giving someone a second chance for being an unintentional disaster with good intentions.

Regarding the audiobook specifically, I believe this is the same narrator from the authors YA which is nice to see them stick together. I will say the narrator would be a fantastic NPR podcast host, such a calm and relaxing voice. Though the voice changes between characters weren't always easily decipherable, particularly Eli and his boss. Production was fantastic.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC!

4.5 ★
I really enjoyed this one! The personal character development was great. The development of their relationship from fake dating to real dating was done very well. I grew to love these two as individuals and as a couple. The only reason it is not a full five stars is because I struggle with the like secrets and lying that came with the article but that's me thing and it only took away a bit. Overall super enjoyable and I loved all the representation in mental health we got to see. I felt very connected to Peter in terms of his lack of relationship skills so I was extra rooting for him to find love. Highly recommend.

This was a fun, lighthearted queer rom-com that leans into the fake dating and “teach me how to date” trope, with journalist Eli using his budding relationship with sweet, open-hearted Peter as material for an article, without being entirely honest about it. While Eli’s motives and lack of vulnerability drew some criticism, his bond with his family adds depth, and Peter easily steals the show with his charm and sincerity. The plot itself is predictable and some side characters feel one-note, but the story still delivers plenty of humor and heart. Grief elements related to Eli’s father feel underdeveloped, but overall this is a fun, fast-paced read. The audiobook narrator does a great job bringing the characters to life, adding extra charm to the listening experience.

ALC Review: The Build-a-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver
Pub Date: August 5th
Narrated by: Logan Rozos

Thank you @harperaudio for the #gifted copy of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

After legitimately the worst first date in the world, Eli has no intentions of ever seeing Peter Park again. But when Eli realizes that his professional aspirations and Peter's desire to learn how to be a better date align, Eli starts spending a lot more time with Peter. Eli wants to write harder hitting pieces about being queer which don't quite align with his job at an online magazine known for it's clickbait titles. So Eli decides to write two articles - one about rehabilitating Peter into a better date and one that talks about Peter's experience growing up queer in the South. The more time Eli spends with Peter though, the fake dates start to produce real feelings and suddenly Eli has to figure out what's more important to him - his job or his growing feelings for Peter.

I really loved this adult debut from Mason Deaver! I thought both Eli and Peter were well rounded characters and I was really rooting for them the whole time. I loved seeing Peter come out of his shell and become more open with Eli. and I loved seeing Eli's growth through the book. Their character arcs really complimented each other.

Given everything happening in the world and this country right now, stories like this are so important. Eli is trans and that is an incredibly important part of who he is - but that's not the only part of his story. There is a lot of queer and trans joy here but Mason also doesn't shy away from harder topics. Life is messy, but this story shows how much joy there can still be. This is definitely a book to add to your TBR and shelves - or request it from your library if you aren't in a place to buy books right now! I am super excited that this appears to be the Afterlight pick for August and can't wait to get my hands on that special edition!

I really liked the narration by Logan Rozos - I thought his voice fit Eli's character really well and given that this book is single POV, I felt that was important.

Eli is in a rut. He's stuck doing a job he hates while trying desperately to get promoted to the role he really wants, all while having to work beside the man who broke his heart. His roommates set him up on a blind date with Peter, which ends up being an absolute disaster. When Peter comes to Eli's workplace to apologize, Eli's boss overhears and comes up with an idea. He wants Eli to pretend to date Peter and use the experience to write an embarrassing article. Seeing an opportunity to finally get the writer gig he's been hoping for, Eli decided to pretend to write his boss's article, while he actually works on a serious article about Peter growing up queer in the south.

3.5 stars

There was so much good in this book. It felt like a classic rom-com with a crazy, disastrous first date, fake dating, meddling family and friends, etc. The queer and trans representation was excellent and it just felt so joyous, which I loved.

Where this loses some points for me is Eli's character. I found myself getting frustrated with him at times. In particular, his attitude towards his job was hard for me. He hates the content the company produces, and he has a terrible boss who treats him horribly. He seems so confident in the other areas of his life, so I find it hard to believe that he would have stayed in that job for so long. It just made me want to scream a little bit.

The narrator did very well. My only complaint was that he played Peter almost too timid at times. It made his character feel flat in parts of the story that were very emotional.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the ARC!

Eli is stuck at a job he hates, with a boss who will never promote his. On top of that his ex also works there. To turn his luck around his friends set up a blind date for him with Peter. The date is a total disaster. His boss overhears a conversation about this and suggests he write an article about Peter. Just not the article Eli had in mind, he’ll just have to convince his boss otherwise.

For starters this is such a fun idea for a book. Its way different than other fake dating novels. Eli and Peter are pretending for themselves and not just performing for others.

They share deep conversations and personal experiences about their childhood, dating and being in the LGBTQ+ community. The characters truly jump off the page. And personally I also enjoyed the steamy scenes.

This was the first novel I’ve read by Deaver and I’ll definitely check out their other books. If it wasn’t obvious I highly recommend this one.

Read this if you like
📖Fake dating
🤍Trans MC
💫Opposites attract
🎬Movie references

*Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Audio for early copy for review*

So this took some time to hook. With very long chapters it felt like it took a while for Eli to get to the first date with Peter. However, once we got the date the book started to shine for me. Really enjoyed Peter as a character and related to him more than Eli. I liked their banter and Eli helping Peter come out of his shell. Ultimately the climax of the book was obvious once the fake dating was introduced, but I still enjoyed my listen.

I listened to the audiobook for this and really enjoyed the southern tone that the narrator added for Peter. However, the long chapters made the audiobook feel a lot longer.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperAudio Adult, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Mason Deaver for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The representation in this book is vast: trans, immigrant, queer, neurodivergent, grieving people and more. I feel like many different populations will see themselves in this book. And for those that don't- it was such a wonderful walk in other's footsteps, ya know?

The romance was everything you would need from an "oops do I have feelings for my fake boyfriend?" situation. Add onto it a lifelong career goal marred by a toxic work environment with a gross boss it really does make for a good romance novel!

Narration was really well done!

3.5/75 ish rounded up because it did make me cry once and I couldn’t stop listening. I thought this was a very sweet story— not without faults though. If I was eyeball reading it, I would have struggled- it’s third person, single POV which is my least favorite combination. The audio kept me going— not my favorite narrator, but I grew to enjoy the narration as the story progressed.

Eli kinda sucks, BUT not enough for me to say I hated or disliked him. Peter is just the best and really carried the story for me.

I enjoy spice when I read, but I almost felt the one scene in this book wasn’t needed. Or we needed at least one more open door scene to make it work better.

I feel like there were missed opportunities to make a deeper emotional impact throughout the story. “Heavier” topics were touched on but not expanded upon well enough, in my opinion.

Very how to lose a guy in 10 days/ never been kissed.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for providing me with an ALC in exchange for my honest thoughts <3

Perfect for anybody who might have watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days a concerning (read: totally healthy) amount of times in their life, The Build-A-Boyfriend Project is a fresh take on a classic story. I had such a fun time reading this book!! Eli is plugging away at a career that is no longer fulfilling (I know I've been there); he wants to write hard-hitting political + social commentary pieces, but his boss only cares for views and site visits. When his first date with Peter ends in disaster, his boss gives him the chance to write an article all about teaching Peter to date. Eli takes it upon himself to write two articles one for his boss and one about the realities of growing up queer in the rural south and it's effects on dating and romantic life. It's a real tongue twister ;)

I love that this book is so messy. I love that Eli is imperfect and still trying to figure out what he wants out of life. I love that Peter is so hot and so oblivious to that. I love that even with the jump to adult romance we still get the Mason Deaver charm. This story is full of second chances and forgiveness which makes their romance that much sweeter. It's also a story about getting to know someone, letting them in, learning to trust them, and learning that you might not be as alone as you thought. Eli and Peter go from strangers to friends to lovers and back again. It's beautiful, full of love, and maybe a good boy or two ;) I can't wait to see what's next for Mason Deaver!

I was so excited when I found out Mason Deaver was writing an adult novel! I have loved some of their other YA books that I've read (I Wish You All The Best and The Ghosts We Keep).

I loved that the chapter titles were different movies and the fact that Peter has only seen Spider-Man 2 was so funny to me and honestly made me want to go rewatch it. I loved this romcom and I'm so excited to see what other novels Mason releases in the future!

————————
thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review. all thoughts are my own.

With all of the movie titles worked into this novel, it was impossible to avoid some of the fun parallels between Eli/Peter and other movie characters. After a disastrous first date, Eli doesn't want to give Peter a second chance. But after some convincing, the two make a plan to try to turn the inexperienced Peter into a more palatable date and eventual boyfriend. The author references the makeover in She's All That & Drive Me Crazy, but I couldn't help but feel like this was almost a reverse How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Rather than starting hot and trying to shake Peter, Eli uses a series of dates to help grow Peter's confidence and teach him some tricks for keeping guys' attention.

While the two grow closer, Eli is simultaneously working on two articles for his job at Vibe, an online magazine that he has been trying to be published on for years. One article is a passion piece based on Peter's like growing up gay in the south while the other is essentially a hit piece mocking Peter's ineptitude as a dater. As the weeks go by, Eli has to decide if he wants to go forward with both articles considering how close he and Peter have become; however, the decision is taken out of his hands, leaving Eli at a crossroads with his career and his love life.

I think that this was a cute premise, and readers will know from the outset that something is going to go terribly wrong, but the third act crisis is even more diabolical that I anticipated.

I received this advanced copy as an audiobook and I have to say that I really did not enjoy the narration. It was very one note and I struggled to connect with the emotions that the characters were expressing.

Deaver's YA novels, I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST and THE FEELING OF FALLING IN LOVE were two of my favorite books in the years I read them, so I was excited to see an Adult romance novel. Unfortunately, this didn't have the same magic for me that Deaver's YA books did. Partially I think it's the premise... even if it's a trope covered in countless rom-com movies. What Eli does to Peter in order to "make it" as a writer in journalism was personally, unforgiveable. Peter did not deserve that level of betrayal, or to have his life exposed in a tabloid like that.

I did like that each chapter had a suggested movie and that Deaver includes who the movies were directed by. Eli's roommates and family were great supporting characters and I adored Peter.

Logan Rozos does a good job with the audiobook narration and I really appreciate that HarperAudio hired a trans person for the audiobook.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, HarperAudio Adult, and HarperAudio in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley for a free advanced reader’s copy. I received this copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was so ecstatic picking up this book for the first time because I knew I just needed a good, messy, late-90’s to early-2000’s rom-com vibe and this book delivered. If you aren’t prepared to sit with a flawed and self-sabotaging main character, this isn’t the book for you, but I really enjoyed that aspect. I feel like Eli was really human in how frustrating he was in the decisions he made but he also was so perfectly set up to be the kind of person who would make these kinds of decisions. You, as the audience, are kind of stuck being his well-meaning friend who wishes he would stop making choices that hurt him in the end.

I think the one flaw that this book has, in my eyes, is that I wanted more from our love interest, Peter. Peter felt almost too kind and too good in a way that felt like he never fully actualized as a full-bodied character. I loved when he and Eli were happy and together, but he felt like he was written for Eli, rather than to exist on his own. His anger is so quiet, and his discomfort never fully dissipates in a way that made me feel like he never got to let loose or feel fully comfortable. That, paired with a bit too little of Eli’s groveling and a bit too much of the narrative doing the Eli-punching in the end, is what docked a few stars for me.

Narration wise, Logan Rozos embodied Eli well but I feel like he leaned really heavily into very dry delivery to translate sarcasm, and it lent a quality to dialogue exchanges that felt flat. I would have loved to see Logan Rozos go bigger in some of his performances to add a bit of warmth to the characters around Eli so Eli, as a naturally dry and sarcastic character, stood out more.

Overall, this was a really fun read, and if you’re looking for a cover-your-eyes-but-peek-through-your-fingers kind of mess a la ‘How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days’ please give this book a try!

Overall, I enjoyed this audiobook. I think the narrator was a great choice and did a fantastic job.

Now onto the plot, it gave true rom-com vibes with a bunch of queer representation and I really really appreciated the representation and it's authenticity. The plot was very how to lose a guy in 10 days coded and I loved that aspect but Eli's aim to pull a fast one on his boss seemed ill-conceived at best and stupid at worst. His boss's decision at the end was very messed up and not okay (as is Eli's ex's involvement) but it gave Eli the push he needed to quit his job which he sorely needed to do. The biggest issue for me was that we didn't see a lot of character growth from Eli or the resolution with his career and that felt a little lazy to me. I did really appreciate that Peter didn't immediately forgive Eli for his deception and that he had to work to earn his forgiveness and replaie their relationship, but this again was something we didn't get to see.

For the characters, I was 50/50 on both of the MMCs at one point or another. Eli, the main character through whom the story is told, is a trans man struggling with his career and the direction the company he is working for has been going over the last several years. Peter, the love interest, doesn't mind his day job but wants to be a romance novelist. Overall, I liked Peter more than Eli who gave off the vibe of "I'm not the problem, everyone else is" until the end of the book when he had to face his actions head on and figure out what he needed to change about himself and his life to actually get what he wants. However, Peter's general social and romatic ineptitude also irritated me and made me think that there was some level of unspoken neurodivergence at play that heavily impacted the way his character behaved.

I would probably rate this book a 3.5 in general because I did enjoy it even though I had several frustrations at the end and that I didn't love the MC as much as I hoped I would at the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! It was a feel good story about figuring out who you are. And touched on important topics as well.

4 ⭐ 2 🌶️ 3 🎧

I really enjoyed this story. Peter and Eli were absolutely adorable, Eli's mom was amazing and I loved their friends. There were a few things I wish we got and one thing I wish we didn't... But overall I adored these two and their story.

That third act break up. Ugh. Saw it coming a million miles away and still hoped it wasn't happening... I also wish we got to see them in their actual relationship a touch more. We went from yeah, maybe we can try again to epilogue and the reconciliation felt a little rushed.

The epilogue was so perfect though and made me so so happy!!

The audio was good. Logan Rozos was great at times, but I felt like he was missing some range, especially in a third person POV MM book that made it hard to tell who was who via context sometimes. But overall I really enjoyed this listen. Thank you so much Harper Audio for the advanced copy!

Nobody ever said that they didn’t feeeeeeeeel something when they read one of Mason Deaver’s books. If I want to cry or laugh or smile or hurt or, most importantly, fall in love, I know where to go. And every single book they’ve written has hit a core memory in some way that has triggered emotions that have made the book that much more special.

The Build-A-Boyfriend Project is their adult romance debut and to say I’ve been excited to read it is beyond an understatement. Knowing how much I’ve loved and valued each of their books, I had high hopes that this book would be even better. I had getting my expectations up, because that is nothing to put onto another person, but it still happens sometimes. I’m only human.

From the very start of the story, we know that Eli and Peter are not perfect. Eli has JUST gotten out of a 7 year relationship that ended abruptly and with no explanation, as well as stuck in a dead end job. Whereas Peter has never dated… ever and can’t seem to stop working… or being stepped on by his job.

They’re both set up on a blind date that is one match from a dumpster fire and should have been the end of their story. But when Eli’s boss overhears him talking about the bad date and how Peter really needs to be taught how to be better at it, he gives him an assignment: date Peter, write a story about it, and get the promotion he’s been vying for.

There were definitely times that Eli felt a little slimy, but you could see that it wasn’t who is. He was trying to impress his boss. He tried backing out of the story so many times and once you read this, you’ll understand how that turns out. I felt horrible for him, because even though he’s trying his damnedest to get his dream job writing pieces for the website, none of them are used. They just “aren’t what the readers want.” Which is a load of BS. (This coming from someone who knows nothing about what readers of that website are going to it for.)

Peter is my poor sweet summer child. He’s a himbo (without the dating experience) with a heart of gold and he just wants love. I love him so much and want to protect him AT ALL COSTS. I’d say I want to protect them both, but I know Eli is strong and doesn’t need my help. I love them both though and am so happy for their HEA.

I will always be a huge supporter of queer stories and, most of all, those written by queer people. There aren’t nearly enough trans MC’s in romance, so having this book be so ducking good really opens up even more opportunities for trans and non-binary authors to get their stories out there!!

Thank you to Avon books for my gifted ARC and ALC copies. All thoughts and feelings and tears and pain and snotty laughing fits were my own, but if you need to see my trash can full of tissues, hit me up.🫠