Reviews

Boyfriend With Benefits by Allison Temple

janetted's review

4.0

A short, sweet, fake boyfriend/friends to lovers story that had me laughing out loud. Love Allison Temple’s sense of humor!

mal_bookdragon's review against another edition

4.0

Sweet and sexy quick read

Good read. One thing besides a slightly predictable plot was the fact that it was single POV from Baileys perspective. I would have loved to see in Gordo’s head because he’s my favorite kind of hero. Still worth the read.

amyaislin's review against another edition

4.0

This was awesome and I loved every second! Bailey and Gordo were utterly perfect for each other. The audio narration was great and I found myself laughing out loud quite frequently.

But...what happened to Lachlan?

dith_kusu's review against another edition

4.0

The humor was really fun and I liked the writing style of this author, this is the first work I've read of hers and would look into more of her stuff. Was feeling myself heading into a reading slump there and this made for a nice breezy break that's maintaining my reading focus in between big intimidating books. The idea of this mysterious hippie ish reptile loving Viking large redhead bearded guy of a roommate in Gordo here who is a secret "independently wealthy" ex-tech guy, and the main POV of Bailey the go-getting corporate grinding VP of sales who kickstarts the age-old favorite trope of roommates turned pretend boyfriends turned hookup and real boyfriends, is delicious. To me, this was really cute and fun, and their trip to Vegas, Gordo's eccentricities, there's only one bed in our luxurious suite with the direct view of the Bellagio fountains, that's all a ride. But the second half where they actually become something more and Bailey works out his issues with his messy corporate workplace, all seemed rushed and not as well developed as the fun of the first half. Didn't get enough of a sense of Gordo's character in how and why he harbored feelings for Bailey before this Vegas retreat, not enough buildup behind them exchanging "I love yous" where before they were only just figuring out they liked sleeping together besides just being the platonic roommates that they were for the past two years. Bailey's also not the nicest main character, which fine. But while some of his career ambitions clouding his moral judgment for a time in the storyline, can be understandable, he doesn't come to his decision regarding his job from a place of rightness, but because of information revealed that he would've been set up at his work anyway and quitting was better for him anyways. No update either on what ended up happening to Bailey's work friend and ex-boss Lachlan? What was the whole deal with Bailey encountering a rogue chihuahua, was that just to foretell his animal sanctuary future? IDK. But overall this was a quick and fun time, more potential in the sheer cuteness of the premise than its execution being fully heartfelt, that's still got me hoping that the caliber of lovely human being that is Gordo the large redheaded secretly rich softie with the big heart, actually exists somewhere out there in the world.

savannahjostock's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

dithkusu's review against another edition

4.0

The humor was really fun and I liked the writing style of this author, this is the first work I've read of hers and would look into more of her stuff. Was feeling myself heading into a reading slump there and this made for a nice breezy break that's maintaining my reading focus in between big intimidating books. The idea of this mysterious hippie ish reptile loving Viking large redhead bearded guy of a roommate in Gordo here who is a secret "independently wealthy" ex-tech guy, and the main POV of Bailey the go-getting corporate grinding VP of sales who kickstarts the age-old favorite trope of roommates turned pretend boyfriends turned hookup and real boyfriends, is delicious. To me, this was really cute and fun, and their trip to Vegas, Gordo's eccentricities, there's only one bed in our luxurious suite with the direct view of the Bellagio fountains, that's all a ride. But the second half where they actually become something more and Bailey works out his issues with his messy corporate workplace, all seemed rushed and not as well developed as the fun of the first half. Didn't get enough of a sense of Gordo's character in how and why he harbored feelings for Bailey before this Vegas retreat, not enough buildup behind them exchanging "I love yous" where before they were only just figuring out they liked sleeping together besides just being the platonic roommates that they were for the past two years. Bailey's also not the nicest main character, which fine. But while some of his career ambitions clouding his moral judgment for a time in the storyline, can be understandable, he doesn't come to his decision regarding his job from a place of rightness, but because of information revealed that he would've been set up at his work anyway and quitting was better for him anyways. No update either on what ended up happening to Bailey's work friend and ex-boss Lachlan? What was the whole deal with Bailey encountering a rogue chihuahua, was that just to foretell his animal sanctuary future? IDK. But overall this was a quick and fun time, more potential in the sheer cuteness of the premise than its execution being fully heartfelt, that's still got me hoping that the caliber of lovely human being that is Gordo the large redheaded secretly rich softie with the big heart, actually exists somewhere out there in the world.

fairyfaum's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

endemictoearth's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.5

Something about this one didn't quite click for me. It was too focused on the business/business rivalry, and not enough on the relationship. I kind of couldn't understand why Gordo liked Bailey so much, seeing how he'd basically ignored him and taken him for granted their entire friendship. And then everything was too neatly resolved.

I think if this story had been told from Gordo's perspective, I would have enjoyed it more.

lillian_francis's review against another edition

5.0

Allison Temple never lets me down and this time she's written one of my favourite character types in Gordo. A ginger, bearded, mountain of a man that bakes and loves animals. But Gordo is not the POV character for this story, that is his roommate, Bailey, a ball of pent up work stress whose childhood bully has recently made a reappearance.
Even with Bailey's blinkered POV the fact Gordo cares for him is obvious to the reader. So when Bailey asks Gordo to be his fake boyfriend for a weekend work shindig there is only one way for this to go.
Their road to a relationship is fun, infuriating and lovely. I adored the epilogue and the change Gordo made to Bailey's life.
FYI: I'd love Elias story. And I wish I knew what happened to Lachlan. And that chihuahua's daddy.

cadiva's review against another edition

4.0

I do love a good fake boyfriend romance and this novella from Allison offers up one which hits all the right notes.

Bailey took a bit of warming up to, which I really appreciated.

This book twists some of the usual plot steps to give the reader a pretty neurotic character who is pretty much a workaholic and occasionally a bit thoughtless.

Gordo, on the other hand, is a bit of an enigma and I loved his chilled way of life. Bailey's nemesis Jake was a slimy creep and I liked how his plotline ended.

Overall this was an enjoyable and easy read and I wouldn't mind catching up with Bailey and Gordo again!

#ARC kindly received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.