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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Screaming that this was SO fun and I had the BEST time listening to this audiobook!
Within the first chapter it being mentioned that Beau arrives to a party with the girl she's been hooking up withs panties honestly had me on the FLOOR because what do you mean Beau was just carrying around a pair of panties!!!! HAHA. One of the best scenes I've read at the start of a book because it had me HOOKED from the beginning and I was so excited to see where it went.
Beau and Charm (other FMC) both realized they were played by the same girl (Maia) so they come up with this plan to get revenge on her for kissing them both and then accepting a prom-posal from her boyfriend. This was so fun, messy, and brought me so much laughter. I think the authors did a really good job of making every character that was introduced feel very fleshed out and it made me want to read books about them as well.
Call Your Boyfriend is one of my favorite books I've read so far this summer, and if you want to read a sapphic/YA/rom-com I think this is the perfect book for you. Once you read it you can slide in my DMs so we can talk about it too btw <3
————————
thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. all thoughts are my own.
Within the first chapter it being mentioned that Beau arrives to a party with the girl she's been hooking up withs panties honestly had me on the FLOOR because what do you mean Beau was just carrying around a pair of panties!!!! HAHA. One of the best scenes I've read at the start of a book because it had me HOOKED from the beginning and I was so excited to see where it went.
Beau and Charm (other FMC) both realized they were played by the same girl (Maia) so they come up with this plan to get revenge on her for kissing them both and then accepting a prom-posal from her boyfriend. This was so fun, messy, and brought me so much laughter. I think the authors did a really good job of making every character that was introduced feel very fleshed out and it made me want to read books about them as well.
Call Your Boyfriend is one of my favorite books I've read so far this summer, and if you want to read a sapphic/YA/rom-com I think this is the perfect book for you. Once you read it you can slide in my DMs so we can talk about it too btw <3
————————
thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. all thoughts are my own.
hopeful
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:
No
emotional
hopeful
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
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love a story with chaotic lesbians, and you really can’t get messier than scheming with a girl to get revenge on the popular girl for leading you both on before developing feelings that complicate all your plans!
First off the bat, I’m gonna say it, it is truly such peak queer culture (in the worst way) to have your two main characters named “Beau” and “Charm”; like can we please return to normal names for the love of god. What happened to Sarah? What about a good Olivia? Or even a Rachel?? Get outta here with that “Beau” and “Charm” nonsense jeez Louise! Not the biggest dealbreaker but it was massively irksome.
In terms of the actual plot, I do think the story combines drama and conflict decently well under the guise of Beau and Charm’s sneaky schemes. Each decision they make, from choosing to team up, to using Charm to trick Maia, to their whole breakup plot, was made with PURE emotion in mind. And I feel like the fallout from each of those tiny decisions culminated in emotionally fraught scenes that felt authentic and real. Although the story is fairly predictable, dismantling the premise of a romance story thesis where the author convinces readers why a couple ought to be in a relationship, I still enjoyed seeing the ways that Cole & Woodfolk created moments for Beau and Charm to develop their own relationship while trying to sabotage Maia.
However, with the story being so predictable, I did feel like the pacing of the story definitely drags on for a LOT of the middle of the story. It’s already clear from the first 20% WHY Beau and Charm end up together, so the rest of the story feels like an unnecessarily dragged out miscommunication that was written a little half-heartedly. If anything, by the dawn of the third act conflict, Maia had become the character I was most invested in within this book. Her struggle to come to terms with her queer identity while battling comp het pressures as the popular girl felt like a far more nuanced and multi-faceted storyline than what Beau OR Charm had to offer.
All in all, I really love Ashley Woodfolk as an author, “Nothing Burns as Bright as You” is one of my favorite lesbian YA stores, but “Call Your Boyfriend” just didn’t work quite as well for me. And with this being my first Olivia Cole story, I fear my aversion to this story may stem from her hand in the writing. I wish Maia had been the main character, and I wish the plot had edited to have a tighter and faster pacing, but I would definitely still read more from Woodfolk in the future.
First off the bat, I’m gonna say it, it is truly such peak queer culture (in the worst way) to have your two main characters named “Beau” and “Charm”; like can we please return to normal names for the love of god. What happened to Sarah? What about a good Olivia? Or even a Rachel?? Get outta here with that “Beau” and “Charm” nonsense jeez Louise! Not the biggest dealbreaker but it was massively irksome.
In terms of the actual plot, I do think the story combines drama and conflict decently well under the guise of Beau and Charm’s sneaky schemes. Each decision they make, from choosing to team up, to using Charm to trick Maia, to their whole breakup plot, was made with PURE emotion in mind. And I feel like the fallout from each of those tiny decisions culminated in emotionally fraught scenes that felt authentic and real. Although the story is fairly predictable, dismantling the premise of a romance story thesis where the author convinces readers why a couple ought to be in a relationship, I still enjoyed seeing the ways that Cole & Woodfolk created moments for Beau and Charm to develop their own relationship while trying to sabotage Maia.
However, with the story being so predictable, I did feel like the pacing of the story definitely drags on for a LOT of the middle of the story. It’s already clear from the first 20% WHY Beau and Charm end up together, so the rest of the story feels like an unnecessarily dragged out miscommunication that was written a little half-heartedly. If anything, by the dawn of the third act conflict, Maia had become the character I was most invested in within this book. Her struggle to come to terms with her queer identity while battling comp het pressures as the popular girl felt like a far more nuanced and multi-faceted storyline than what Beau OR Charm had to offer.
All in all, I really love Ashley Woodfolk as an author, “Nothing Burns as Bright as You” is one of my favorite lesbian YA stores, but “Call Your Boyfriend” just didn’t work quite as well for me. And with this being my first Olivia Cole story, I fear my aversion to this story may stem from her hand in the writing. I wish Maia had been the main character, and I wish the plot had edited to have a tighter and faster pacing, but I would definitely still read more from Woodfolk in the future.
Ashley Woodfolk’s writing always does something for me, so I was excited to read this co-authored book, especially since I’ve heard good things about Olivia A. Cole’s writing. So, I’m pleased to announce that Call Your Boyfriend was such a fun romp. If you’re looking for a Sapphic John Tucker Must Die, this will scratch that itch. And while I haven’t seen Bottoms, this book definitely made me want to check it out. I’m always a huge fan scheming, especially when you know it’s not going to go as the characters think it will. Charm and Beau have a plan and ground rules, but of course, nothing is ever that neat and easy when actually implemented.
While this book had a fun premise, it got a lot deeper than I expected. I really enjoyed the conversation around figuring yourself and your identity out, and the ethics around involving other people in that process. Was Maia a villain or a victim? Does she deserve acceptance? All good questions that I think readers were made to sit with and decide for themselves. Being a hot mess as a teenager is also a right of passage, and I think this book did a good job of highlighting that these characters weren’t supposed to know everything and make the right decisions every time. I’ve seen people say they loved Charm a lot more than Beau, but emotionally avoidant characters are kind of my jam, so I really liked seeing Beau struggle when she’s the “expert.”
Overall, this is a good one, especially if you like characters trying not to fall for each other. I needed an epilogue badly though because I was not ready for the book to be over.
*Thank you to the publisher for the finished copy. All opinions are my own.*
funny
lighthearted
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
Ashley woodfolk did it again! This is also my first time reading olivia cole. This audiobook This story bo, charm, maya, enzo, etc was perfect. So many things happened that I will be thinking about and im glad to be able to relisten in the future.im glad I got to attend the tour in Brooklyn and luckily got a free audio credit from libro.
emotional
funny
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
I LOVED this book so so so much! The character development and connections were fabulous, and the food mentions got me feeling hungry! The revenge plot was awesome, the emotions so relatable, and the queer chaos magnificent!