Rent a Boyfriend

Rent a Boyfriend started out rough for me.

It jumps right into the action, which was fine. I was looking forward to this book because fake relationships are my absolute jam, my favorite trope, by far. So, as far as I'm concerned, the quicker we get to the pretending, the better. The drawback? You don't know the characters well.

As I read Rent a Boyfriend, I couldn't help thinking that it read more like fanfiction than a novel. I can't put my finger on why. The overly dramatic thoughts and scenarios? Probably. Hongbo, the impetus for Chloe renting a boyfriend, was a straight-up jerk-boy caricature in his first scene (which got the point across that we don't like him, but it was a bit ridiculous). There was just something about Chloe and Drew's thoughts and dialogue that just felt stilted and unrealistic – and (like I said) mediocre fanfiction.

As the book went on, however, I liked it more and more. The writing/dialogue still wasn't great, but as it delved more into Chloe's identity and her relationship with her parents, I connected with the story and characters more. Also, for a book that involves a crazy amount of lying, Chloe and Drew's communication was the best I've seen in any romance book in a long time. It was refreshing.

Overall, mixed feelings. The writing and language felt awkward and stilted for the whole book, but Rent a Boyfriend delved deeper than I expected it to and redeemed itself a bit.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.