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brittanica_bold's review
4.0
As the palest beach-lover you will probably ever know (seriously, I don’t tan, I just burn and then freckle…d@mn these Irish genes), I am a big fan of Hawaii. Yes, I’ve only gone once, and yes, I only visited two islands, but I fell in love with the lush nature and hiking in Kauai to the point where I’ve basically been planning my long-awaited retirement since then.
Recently I read Picture-Perfect Boyfriend by the fabulous Becky Dean, and I was transported back to Hawaii! This was such a cute, fun little read with just enough snark and heart to make the YA-lover in me blissfully happy.
Let’s see what it was all about!
What I liked about the book:
1. Becky Dean writes FMCs that I genuinely love and care about. From Britt to Kenzie, I feel as though these characters are like my little sisters. I go along with their shenanigans, but at the end of the day I just want to hug them and tell them everything will work out and they should just be their lovely selves.
Speaking of which, I loved how much Jake/Jacob/Liar McLiarFace encouraged Kenzie to be herself and seek her own passions outside of what her family thought. He was the encouraging MMC we all need in a YA book boyfriend.
2. I loved our MC’s snarky/flirty back and forth throughout the entire book. It was so fun to see their conversations play out, especially as they were walking that line of needing to know enough about each other, but trying to keep their secrets to themselves.
3. I loved the mystery component of the book and how we didn’t know how the heck this Jacob guy was for a good portion of it. I found this a fun addition to the story. Who doesn’t love a good mystery!?!
4. The Hawaii descriptions were so good, I felt like I was visiting the islands again and going on the excursions with the family! I really loved this setting and the details that Becky put into describing it.
What could have been better:
1. I did not like any of the side characters besides Kenzie’s grandma. She was super fun and definitely acted as the comedic relief at a lot of tense moments.
Neil was fine I guess, but he was a super vanilla dude. I guess his best quality was that he wasn’t problematic? Is that a ringing endorsement for a character these days? Probably not, but at least he wasn’t a terrible person like most of Kenzie’s family.
2. Ok, this got really repetitive at times. I felt like Jacob and Kenzie had a lot of the same conversations, and Kenzie had a lot of the same thoughts throughout the book. There were quite a few times where I would read a chapter or two, and then come back later to read they were on a different excursion having a very similar conversation. I often thought to myself, “Am I rereading things? Did my Kindle bookmarking not work?” But, alas, no, there were just a lot of conversations that were very similar.
Final Thoughts:
Cute and fun YA romance with the added benefit of Hawaii!
Final Rating: 4 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and Becky Dean for the advanced copy of this book. The review above is reflective of my own, honest opinions.
Recently I read Picture-Perfect Boyfriend by the fabulous Becky Dean, and I was transported back to Hawaii! This was such a cute, fun little read with just enough snark and heart to make the YA-lover in me blissfully happy.
Let’s see what it was all about!
What I liked about the book:
1. Becky Dean writes FMCs that I genuinely love and care about. From Britt to Kenzie, I feel as though these characters are like my little sisters. I go along with their shenanigans, but at the end of the day I just want to hug them and tell them everything will work out and they should just be their lovely selves.
Speaking of which, I loved how much Jake/Jacob/Liar McLiarFace encouraged Kenzie to be herself and seek her own passions outside of what her family thought. He was the encouraging MMC we all need in a YA book boyfriend.
2. I loved our MC’s snarky/flirty back and forth throughout the entire book. It was so fun to see their conversations play out, especially as they were walking that line of needing to know enough about each other, but trying to keep their secrets to themselves.
3. I loved the mystery component of the book and how we didn’t know how the heck this Jacob guy was for a good portion of it. I found this a fun addition to the story. Who doesn’t love a good mystery!?!
4. The Hawaii descriptions were so good, I felt like I was visiting the islands again and going on the excursions with the family! I really loved this setting and the details that Becky put into describing it.
What could have been better:
1. I did not like any of the side characters besides Kenzie’s grandma. She was super fun and definitely acted as the comedic relief at a lot of tense moments.
Neil was fine I guess, but he was a super vanilla dude. I guess his best quality was that he wasn’t problematic? Is that a ringing endorsement for a character these days? Probably not, but at least he wasn’t a terrible person like most of Kenzie’s family.
2. Ok, this got really repetitive at times. I felt like Jacob and Kenzie had a lot of the same conversations, and Kenzie had a lot of the same thoughts throughout the book. There were quite a few times where I would read a chapter or two, and then come back later to read they were on a different excursion having a very similar conversation. I often thought to myself, “Am I rereading things? Did my Kindle bookmarking not work?” But, alas, no, there were just a lot of conversations that were very similar.
Final Thoughts:
Cute and fun YA romance with the added benefit of Hawaii!
Final Rating: 4 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and Becky Dean for the advanced copy of this book. The review above is reflective of my own, honest opinions.
kristenbarfoot's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
ingrid_hennig's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
smalltownbookmom's review
4.0
This was a fun YA fake dating vacation romance that sees an aspiring nature photographer Kenzie giving it up in order to please her parents and pretending she's dating a fellow future optometrist like her father.
Set in Hawaii, the scenes of this book were breathtaking and had me itching to book a plane ticket. Kenzie and her fake boyfriend, "Jacob" go on the best adventures and I was so jealous! The deception naturally comes to a disastrous reveal and Kenzie ends up falling for her fake boyfriend but it was a good book about sticking up for what you love and not giving in to others' expectations.
Many thanks to @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review. This was good on audio narrated by Caitlin Kinnunen. Definitely recommended for fans of Falling in love with Max Cooper or Tilly in technicolor and my new favorite by this author!
Set in Hawaii, the scenes of this book were breathtaking and had me itching to book a plane ticket. Kenzie and her fake boyfriend, "Jacob" go on the best adventures and I was so jealous! The deception naturally comes to a disastrous reveal and Kenzie ends up falling for her fake boyfriend but it was a good book about sticking up for what you love and not giving in to others' expectations.
Many thanks to @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review. This was good on audio narrated by Caitlin Kinnunen. Definitely recommended for fans of Falling in love with Max Cooper or Tilly in technicolor and my new favorite by this author!
kawarwick's review
4.0
Good story for tweens and teens. Don't we all wish we could create our own picture perfect boyfriend.
heyitsmagicallysarah's review
4.0
Coming from a family of optical nerds, I was excited to dive into this story!
It’s a perfect beach read, you’re hooked right away and the story moves quickly to keep you interested.
Kenzie and Jake are a great match and it was really lovely that the story focused more on discovering who we are and where our passions lie and not just your traditional fake boyfriend to real boyfriend trope.
I love that Kenzie had a solid group of unexpected support in her corner and thought it was really unexpected how it all played out.
Thank you to Random House for this ARC!
It’s a perfect beach read, you’re hooked right away and the story moves quickly to keep you interested.
Kenzie and Jake are a great match and it was really lovely that the story focused more on discovering who we are and where our passions lie and not just your traditional fake boyfriend to real boyfriend trope.
I love that Kenzie had a solid group of unexpected support in her corner and thought it was really unexpected how it all played out.
Thank you to Random House for this ARC!
sogladtoreadyou's review
4.0
Kenzie is a high schooler, who hopes to make a career out of photography, but her parents want her to have a stable career like her father. Kenzie’s father is an optometrist, who’s father was an optometrist and Kenzie’s sister is studying to become an optometrist. She feels the pressure to be perfect and be like her perfect older sister that Kenzie makes up a boyfriend who’s perfect in the eyes of her parents.
While arriving to Maui for the family vacation, Kenzie’s “boyfriend,” Jacob Miller shows up and surprises Kenzie. He knows every detail she has told her family about her boyfriend. He seems perfect, but who is he?!
Will Kenzie ever find out who Jacob Miller really is? Will her family find out? More importantly, will Kenzie finally come clean about her hopes to become a photographer?
This was a very cute read and parts were pretty funny. I did think this book was pretty predictable, but not in a bad way. It was very enjoyable and I was curious as to who Jacob Miller really was. I could be old school, but I did think that Kenzie was very young to be bringing a boyfriend to her trip; it felt like she should have been in college or older in that aspect, but kids are different from when I was growing up.
While arriving to Maui for the family vacation, Kenzie’s “boyfriend,” Jacob Miller shows up and surprises Kenzie. He knows every detail she has told her family about her boyfriend. He seems perfect, but who is he?!
Will Kenzie ever find out who Jacob Miller really is? Will her family find out? More importantly, will Kenzie finally come clean about her hopes to become a photographer?
This was a very cute read and parts were pretty funny. I did think this book was pretty predictable, but not in a bad way. It was very enjoyable and I was curious as to who Jacob Miller really was. I could be old school, but I did think that Kenzie was very young to be bringing a boyfriend to her trip; it felt like she should have been in college or older in that aspect, but kids are different from when I was growing up.
annaaugustineauthor's review
5.0
So cute! But holy cannoli the parents stressed me out! Let the girl do what she loves!
morgangiesbrecht's review
5.0
This story was the perfect summer afternoon read! I mean, a Hawaiian vacation with sightseeing, photography, plenty of humour, and so much good food? Yes, please!
Kenzie & Jake were super fun. Kenzie’s parents & her sister totally stressed me out, haha. But Gran & Tyler & Neal more than made up for it!
There’s a huge amount of lying in the premise yet it isn’t condoned in anyway. And the characters have to confront & come to terms with their mistakes. Which I thought was so well done!
While this a cute YA romance, it’s so much more. It’s deep and the themes hit hard. People-pleasing and reinventing yourself to make others accept you isn’t the answer. You have to be brave and face the truth.
“‘Listening to someone talk about what they care about isn't a false boyfriend thing, Kenz. It's a decent-person thing.’”
.
.
“‘If you're constantly living for others, you'll miss out on so much.’”
Kenzie & Jake were super fun. Kenzie’s parents & her sister totally stressed me out, haha. But Gran & Tyler & Neal more than made up for it!
There’s a huge amount of lying in the premise yet it isn’t condoned in anyway. And the characters have to confront & come to terms with their mistakes. Which I thought was so well done!
While this a cute YA romance, it’s so much more. It’s deep and the themes hit hard. People-pleasing and reinventing yourself to make others accept you isn’t the answer. You have to be brave and face the truth.
“‘Listening to someone talk about what they care about isn't a false boyfriend thing, Kenz. It's a decent-person thing.’”
.
.
“‘If you're constantly living for others, you'll miss out on so much.’”