This book has an amazing synopsis and set up. I mean the title says it all – Grumpy Fake Boyfriend! I was really all in before I even got to the book. I love grumpy heroes, as long as they are jackasses. And fake boyfriends? Also in! And here the fake boyfriend is the brother’s best friend! It’s like romance trope heaven…and there were a lot of really great aspects to this book. But I didn’t feel like it all came together in the end.
What didn’t work for me was how young the book skews. It read as more of a college age New Adult book for me – which I enjoy actually. It’s just that these characters were meant to be older than that. And more established in their lives. So I couldn’t get a good grasp of who these people were supposed to be. The two characters bickered so much they seemed more like siblings on a road trip. Then they immediately switched to over the top pretend love to convince those around them they were in a relationship. Which I get was the point since they were pretending. But it just didn’t work for me.
I did really love how grumpy Will was. Grumpy men in romance books are just my thing I think! And I loved that he was a sci-fi writer. This had a lot of promise and I loved the diversity in this book. I will definitely be reading book 2 which is out later this year to see how that one continues.
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewer: Melinda
Title: Grumpy Fake Boyfriend
Author: Jackie Lau
Release Date: May 22, 2018
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