Book Review: The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead

About the Book:

Title: The Boyfriend Candidate

Author: Ashley Winstead

Page Length: 384

Publication Date: May 9, 2023

Publisher: Graydon House

Synopsis: A laugh-out-loud rom-com about learning to embrace living outside your comfort zone.

As a shy school librarian, Alexis Stone is comfortable keeping out of the spotlight. But when she’s dumped for being too meek—in bed!—the humiliation is a wake-up call. She decides she needs to change, and what better way to kick-start her new more adventurous life than with her first one-night stand?

Enter Logan, the gorgeous, foul-mouthed stranger she meets at a hotel bar. Logan is audacious and filterless, making him Alexis’s opposite—and boy, do opposites attract! Just as she’s about to fulfill her hookup wish, the hotel catches fire in a freak lightning storm—and in their rush to escape, Logan is discovered carrying her into the street, where people are waiting with cameras. Cameras Logan promptly—and shockingly—flees.

Alexis is bewildered until breaking news hits: pictures of her and Logan escaping the fire are all over the internet. It turns out Logan is none other than Logan Arthur, the hotshot politician challenging the Texas governor’s seat. The salacious images are poised to sink his career—and jeopardize Alexis’s job—until a solution is proposed: to squash the scandal, he and Alexis could pretend to be in a relationship until election day…in two months. What could possibly go wrong?

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon

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My Review:

The Boyfriend Candidate is a fun contemporary romance that follows a librarian and a politician who engage in a fake relationship. The story begins as a shy, introverted librarian named Alexis decides to step out of her comfort zone and have a one-night stand. However, it goes horribly wrong when the hotel catches fire, and Alexis is carried out by her almost hook-up Logan, who is also running for governor. The next day, Logan’s team convinces Alexis it would be in their best interest to pretend to be dating. That way, both of their reputations will be preserved, but neither expects to fall for the other.

I really enjoyed this quick and entertaining rom-com. The characters are layered and dynamically developed, and I especially liked Alexis. A self-conscious woman with low self-esteem, Alexis finds her voice over the course of the story. She becomes more empowered and involved in the political arena where she is able to invoke change. I liked seeing her become more confident and self-assured as she moved out of her sister’s shadow. Plus, Alexis is super passionate about books, reading, and literacy, which speaks to the bibliophile and teacher in me.

Logan is the opposite of Alexis. Extroverted, outgoing, loud, and foul-mouthed, Logan is officially my new book boyfriend. He’s super swoon-worthy, and his feelings for Alexis are fantastic! I thought Alexis and Logan had amazing chemistry right from the start. They have such a wonderful connection, and I loved seeing the ebb and flow of their relationship from an almost one-night stand to fake dating to more.

I also love the focus on literacy, reading, and education. The story includes a lot of political situations, which isn’t usually my favorite, but I didn’t mind it in this story. It didn’t overtake the plot, but it is a main focus. Plus, there are some great conversations about relevant issues that affect our society, like the banning of books and the lack of funding in public schools.

Overall, it’s a fun rom-com with amazing characters, a lovely and steamy opposites-attract love story, and important messages. Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book. all thoughts are my own.

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Rating:

Favorite Parts:

• The romance.

• The character development.

• The messages about reading, libraries, education, and literacy.

Tropes:

• fake dating
• miscommunication
• opposites attract
• forced proximity