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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love the characters and worlds that Mason Deaver writes. There's queer and trans joy. The affirming family helped! There's self-discovery and room for mistakes and forgiveness.
This love story is a slow burn that starts with strangers to friends, and I always enjoy those. There's also the trope of dating lessons. Swoon.
With the single POV from Eli, Peter can come across a bit too sweet to be real. But that's what I like in my romance!
I do think this new adult debut didn't have the same emotional depth that I've felt from Deaver's YA books.
This love story is a slow burn that starts with strangers to friends, and I always enjoy those. There's also the trope of dating lessons. Swoon.
With the single POV from Eli, Peter can come across a bit too sweet to be real. But that's what I like in my romance!
I do think this new adult debut didn't have the same emotional depth that I've felt from Deaver's YA books.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content, Transphobia, Alcohol
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had a time! I laughed, I cried, and yes, I even got a bit angry! You’re in for an emotional rollercoaster with Mason Deaver’s upcoming release, The Build-a-Boyfriend Project! This rom-com has everything you could possibly want in a queer love story. One of the standout features for me was how Mason cleverly named each chapter after a movie that perfectly matched the unfolding events. It added such a fun twist!
What really captivated me, though, was how beautifully Mason wove themes of self-discovery throughout the narrative. It’s so well done and adds depth to the journey. This book is a fantastic addition to the growing representation of Trans main characters in romance! Trust me, you absolutely need to add this enjoyable rom-com to your must-read list! You won't regret it! Thank You Avon Books for the eARC!
What really captivated me, though, was how beautifully Mason wove themes of self-discovery throughout the narrative. It’s so well done and adds depth to the journey. This book is a fantastic addition to the growing representation of Trans main characters in romance! Trust me, you absolutely need to add this enjoyable rom-com to your must-read list! You won't regret it! Thank You Avon Books for the eARC!
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A very cozy and emotional read🤍 both MCs are so amazing in their own way, both so adorable and sweet.
The fake dating rope is definitely one of my favorite, it was very easy to get sucked into the whole story and the setting. Engaging, funny, a little bit heartbreaking, with trans rep- a great book for all mm romance lovers.
With many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager & NetGalley for the eARC 🤍
The fake dating rope is definitely one of my favorite, it was very easy to get sucked into the whole story and the setting. Engaging, funny, a little bit heartbreaking, with trans rep- a great book for all mm romance lovers.
With many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager & NetGalley for the eARC 🤍
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Avon & Harper’s Voyager, for letting me read an eARC of this book! This book releases on August 5, 2025.
In this book we follow Eli, reeling from a breakup he goes on a blind date to try and get himself back out there into the dating world. In comes Peter, Eli’s blind date. Peter makes a bad date worse when he arrives an hour late, spills food on Eli & then takes a work call in the middle of the date. They plan to go their separate ways until Eli’s boss suggests that he write a piece about the horrible experience. Eli’s boss suggests it as a build a better boyfriend project & suggests that Eli “fix” Peter. In return, Eli’s boss promises the long coveted writers job that Eli has been longing for. This begins our fake dating setup. Will Eli get the job, or will he find happily ever after?
I enjoyed this book a lot! I’ve read some of Mason Deaver’s YA, so I was so excited to read an adult book from them. I thought the writing was great, this book was so compulsively readable. I loved watching Eli & Peter get to know each other and slowly fall in love! I loved our side characters as well, they were a necessary support system for Eli. I think that this book was just missing a little more conflict resolution? I was expecting things to go a different way towards then end, and maybe have it dragged out a little more, but that didn’t happen. I’m not upset about the ending, but it didn’t resolve the way that I was expecting it to resolve.
Overall, I had a really fun time with this book! This was a solid 4 star read for me. I’m excited to see what more Mason Deaver has in store.
In this book we follow Eli, reeling from a breakup he goes on a blind date to try and get himself back out there into the dating world. In comes Peter, Eli’s blind date. Peter makes a bad date worse when he arrives an hour late, spills food on Eli & then takes a work call in the middle of the date. They plan to go their separate ways until Eli’s boss suggests that he write a piece about the horrible experience. Eli’s boss suggests it as a build a better boyfriend project & suggests that Eli “fix” Peter. In return, Eli’s boss promises the long coveted writers job that Eli has been longing for. This begins our fake dating setup. Will Eli get the job, or will he find happily ever after?
I enjoyed this book a lot! I’ve read some of Mason Deaver’s YA, so I was so excited to read an adult book from them. I thought the writing was great, this book was so compulsively readable. I loved watching Eli & Peter get to know each other and slowly fall in love! I loved our side characters as well, they were a necessary support system for Eli. I think that this book was just missing a little more conflict resolution? I was expecting things to go a different way towards then end, and maybe have it dragged out a little more, but that didn’t happen. I’m not upset about the ending, but it didn’t resolve the way that I was expecting it to resolve.
Overall, I had a really fun time with this book! This was a solid 4 star read for me. I’m excited to see what more Mason Deaver has in store.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Avon, Harper Audio, and LibroFM for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.
I'm so glad to see Mason Deaver entering the adult romance space. And I enjoyed not only that Eli was a trans main character, but also that the trans representation was not the point of the story. It was referenced when appropriate, but by and large the story was a romance about looking for love and feeling awkward dating.
Eli goes on a blind date with Peter, unaware that it's Peter's first date ever. And wow does Peter ever mess it up through one rude action after another. Ultimately, Eli offers to teach Peter about dating in exchange for being able to write a story about him for his Buzzfeed-like online newspaper.
I enjoyed the romance between Peter and Eli. And I thought both of them made each other better. But I felt I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Eli did some shady, dishonest things. I knew they would come to light, and I felt physically ill at times waiting for what exactly would go wrong. I prefer fewer secrets and more honest in my romances. But this was such a well-written story with such a strong ending that I still rated it highly.
Logan Rozos narrated the entire audiobook. I was incredibly impressed and had to double check that I hadn't missed additional narrators in my notes.
For the nerdy boy lovers. Cringe, but in a cute and endearing way. Need to have a little “I can fix him” energy for this one.
Thanks NetGalley for the audiobook arc!
Thanks NetGalley for the audiobook arc!
I was so looking forward to this… and sad when I realised I was underwhelmed.
The Build-A-Boyfriend Project comes with a good idea and premise and I’m here for the representation. That being said, while it is genuinely not a bad book, I struggled so hard with the MMC and how he treated the love interest that ultimately, it just wasn’t for me personally.
The main trope itself, a pretend relationship to write an article about, is nothing new and can work well. Especially since it was communicated that there would be an article and no one was deceived right off the bat.
Sadly, it was the MMC that I struggled with - The more I read, the more conflicted I felt about Eli.
He’s not a badly written character per se, he’s just not very likeable to me...
Don’t get me wrong, I love a confident character, especially with the trans rep. But it started feeling uncomfortable when that confidence became self righteousness towards Peter, the fake boyfriend.
Eli is flippant and dismissive and frankly condescending most of the time. I honestly felt as if he was so unhappy with how he was held small by his ex and boss that he transferred that power issue onto Peter. Somehow, the whole plot turned into Eli 'fixing' Peter by criticising everything about him.
There is little respect for him as a person (like taking a picture after being asked not to?) and while Eli says he finally gets to know the real Peter, to me it felt like what he saw was just the version he wanted Peter to be.
And on top of all that, Peter is such a sweet character! Sure he has his issues, admits to them too and is willing to improve, but at core he is a great person who's traits are easy to dismiss as wrong or quirky when they really shouldn't. (Like not understanding sarcasm? That’s not a shortcoming and it rubs me the wrong way).
As you can tell, I have very strong feelings about this and while it is a romance which means it has a HEA, I feel like Peter deserved much more. The premise, the idea - they weren’t bad by any means. I think it was just too much damage done by the time the HEA happened and with all the self development Peter was willing to, it just didn't feel like Eli's character progressed enough.
All that being said: It was not a bad book. It was well written, the characters were thought through, even if I struggled, and the plot in general worked.
The writing was good too and I enjoyed the audiobook version of this. I loved the narration.
I genuinely hope this book finds the people that love it more than I did! It might not have been for me but I know it will be for others. And honestly, I really love Peter and since I wanted him to get the HEA he wanted, at least for that I could find some peace with it.
Thank you to NetGalley, Mason Deaver and HarperAudio Adult for an ALC of this book
The Build-A-Boyfriend Project comes with a good idea and premise and I’m here for the representation. That being said, while it is genuinely not a bad book, I struggled so hard with the MMC and how he treated the love interest that ultimately, it just wasn’t for me personally.
The main trope itself, a pretend relationship to write an article about, is nothing new and can work well. Especially since it was communicated that there would be an article and no one was deceived right off the bat.
Sadly, it was the MMC that I struggled with - The more I read, the more conflicted I felt about Eli.
He’s not a badly written character per se, he’s just not very likeable to me...
Don’t get me wrong, I love a confident character, especially with the trans rep. But it started feeling uncomfortable when that confidence became self righteousness towards Peter, the fake boyfriend.
Eli is flippant and dismissive and frankly condescending most of the time. I honestly felt as if he was so unhappy with how he was held small by his ex and boss that he transferred that power issue onto Peter. Somehow, the whole plot turned into Eli 'fixing' Peter by criticising everything about him.
There is little respect for him as a person (like taking a picture after being asked not to?) and while Eli says he finally gets to know the real Peter, to me it felt like what he saw was just the version he wanted Peter to be.
And on top of all that, Peter is such a sweet character! Sure he has his issues, admits to them too and is willing to improve, but at core he is a great person who's traits are easy to dismiss as wrong or quirky when they really shouldn't. (Like not understanding sarcasm? That’s not a shortcoming and it rubs me the wrong way).
As you can tell, I have very strong feelings about this and while it is a romance which means it has a HEA, I feel like Peter deserved much more. The premise, the idea - they weren’t bad by any means. I think it was just too much damage done by the time the HEA happened and with all the self development Peter was willing to, it just didn't feel like Eli's character progressed enough.
All that being said: It was not a bad book. It was well written, the characters were thought through, even if I struggled, and the plot in general worked.
The writing was good too and I enjoyed the audiobook version of this. I loved the narration.
I genuinely hope this book finds the people that love it more than I did! It might not have been for me but I know it will be for others. And honestly, I really love Peter and since I wanted him to get the HEA he wanted, at least for that I could find some peace with it.
Thank you to NetGalley, Mason Deaver and HarperAudio Adult for an ALC of this book
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
How Mason Deaver tells stories is always engaging. He has the ability to write unlikeable characters that grow and learn from their mistakes, and somehow they end up likeable. Both Eli and Peter are both getting in the way of who they want to become and they help each other throughout this novel.
Eli is brash and stuck-up in the beginning of the book but he learns how to become a better person, allowing himself to take the next steps in what he wants his career to become while learning that it's not only everyone else that was causing problems, he was too.
Peter is clueless and loveable from the beginning but, slowly is able to step out of his shell and become comfortable in who he is and what he wants his life to be.
I think this novel is a great look into how relationships can allow you to become the best version of yourself. Having someone willing to help push you in that direction is something worth pursuing.
The audiobook narrator also added an enjoyable element to the story. Truly portraying the emotions that the characters felt and bringing them alive.
Eli is brash and stuck-up in the beginning of the book but he learns how to become a better person, allowing himself to take the next steps in what he wants his career to become while learning that it's not only everyone else that was causing problems, he was too.
Peter is clueless and loveable from the beginning but, slowly is able to step out of his shell and become comfortable in who he is and what he wants his life to be.
I think this novel is a great look into how relationships can allow you to become the best version of yourself. Having someone willing to help push you in that direction is something worth pursuing.
The audiobook narrator also added an enjoyable element to the story. Truly portraying the emotions that the characters felt and bringing them alive.
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4/5 ⭐️s
🌶️1/2 - low to medium spice, minimal explicit scenes
LOVES:
- If you’re a major rom-com movie buff, you’ll love all the references!
- Personally, this was full of fun activities that I love! Rock climbing, romance novels, a jazz club, bowling; it’s fun to read about characters doing things you feel connected to
- Peter was such a mess, but I found him very endearing 🤭 It was so nice to see him grow into his confidence.
- I absolutely loved the way Eli’s parents dealt with him coming out. It couldn’t have been more perfect and it’s so nice to see such a great example of exactly what to do when you have a trans offspring.
- There was minimal spice, but the spice that existed was really well done. I would’ve happily read a lot more of it 😍🌶️
- The lies and deceit were tough to read after a while, but I appreciated that Eli owned up to his mistakes and tried to do the right thing in the end.
- The bravery theme and going after dreams that seem out of reach was threaded effectively throughout
CRITIQUES:
- Eli was delusional about his job and his a-hole boss and that got to be extremely frustrating for me 😑
- I really enjoyed the ending, though I wanted a bit more of an update about how things were going for Eli
This was super cute with plenty of great things going on. I particularly enjoyed seeing Eli’s perspective as a trans man and Peter’s experiences as a Korean-American gay man.
Thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books, & Harper Collins for the advance copy 💝 Releases August 5th!
🌶️1/2 - low to medium spice, minimal explicit scenes
LOVES:
- If you’re a major rom-com movie buff, you’ll love all the references!
- Personally, this was full of fun activities that I love! Rock climbing, romance novels, a jazz club, bowling; it’s fun to read about characters doing things you feel connected to
- Peter was such a mess, but I found him very endearing 🤭 It was so nice to see him grow into his confidence.
- I absolutely loved the way Eli’s parents dealt with him coming out. It couldn’t have been more perfect and it’s so nice to see such a great example of exactly what to do when you have a trans offspring.
- There was minimal spice, but the spice that existed was really well done. I would’ve happily read a lot more of it 😍🌶️
- The lies and deceit were tough to read after a while, but I appreciated that Eli owned up to his mistakes and tried to do the right thing in the end.
- The bravery theme and going after dreams that seem out of reach was threaded effectively throughout
CRITIQUES:
- Eli was delusional about his job and his a-hole boss and that got to be extremely frustrating for me 😑
- I really enjoyed the ending, though I wanted a bit more of an update about how things were going for Eli
This was super cute with plenty of great things going on. I particularly enjoyed seeing Eli’s perspective as a trans man and Peter’s experiences as a Korean-American gay man.
Thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books, & Harper Collins for the advance copy 💝 Releases August 5th!
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mason Deaver's adult debut is a fun and entertaining read. I absolutely love Peter and related so much to his childhood. Eli was an interesting protagonist, even if the plot of the story was pretty predictable. I love a good queer fake dating/teach them to date story, and this is no exception. I wish there had been some kind of consequence for Eli's boss because, yeah, Eli ultimately screwed up, but that boss was awful. Anyway, much fun was had while reading this and I can't wait to see what Mason Deaver writes next!
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.