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sanawrites's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-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
5.0
Release Date: 26th March 2024
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Content Warning: Off-screen sexual assault and violence
The Boyfriend Subscription by Steven Salvatore is a contemporary queer retelling of Pretty Woman (1991) that follows the love story between Cole Vivien and Teddy Hughes. Cole is the CEO of a queer sex working app called VERSTL from LA who is in New York for an event to promote his company and collaborate with a potential investor. On the other hand, Teddy is a botanist and author who had made his home in New York in the last few years until his marriage ended and his plant business went down with it.
Both men find themselves running from their pasts, they find solace in a local New York bar and cross paths. After a fun evening out, Cole propositions Teddy to be his fake boyfriend for the week to impress the investor at a business meeting and his family at a wedding.
The Catch? Cole Vivien doesn’t kiss or fall in love. Will the sparks flying between them be enough for Cole to break his lifelong rules for Teddy?
***
I would like to firstly say: I LOVED this book! This is really brilliant as far as modern retellings of a beloved classic film goes. Steven had wonderfully adapted this book to follow the movie’s beats to keep the heart of Pretty Woman while refreshing the story to reflect our contemporary times. Teddy and Cole feel like their own characters while sharing similarities to their film counterparts. I would say the same for the plot, it feels like their very own love story.
Speaking of our characters, I liked how Steven had mixed and matched traits, backstories and personalities of both Vivien and Edward to instill into Cole and Teddy. You can’t really pinpoint who is supposed to be Vivien or Edward which makes them stand on their own as original characters.
Cole Vivien truly felt like the love child of Vivien and Edward. He felt like he embodied most traits from the original film’s couple. From sharing Vivien’s name, No Kissing rule and line of work while holding Edward’s CEO position and inheriting his Daddy Issues. On the other hand, while Teddy shared Edward’s name, was the hired ‘escort’ in the position and was given his own version of Kit. I really liked the original touch to Teddy by making him a botanist and author. These two also felt very real and new. Steven giving them little idiosyncrasies like Cole’s obsession with crystals and using them to cope and Teddy’s botony metaphors breathed life into them.
Of course, every good book is supported not just by their main characters but strong secondary characters too. As mentioned, we have a new version of Kit who is just the coolest Black lesbian a part of a triad I have ever read! She is the best friend anyon can ask for. Jason is…. Jason. Not to give anything away, you just have to read how everything
plays out with Cole’s best friend. He was definitely well suited for the role he was given. I also loved Mallory, Cole’s sister. She was a new addition just for the retelling and she fit right in!
Onto the plot, Steven Salvatore has crafted a very well fleshed out version of Pretty Woman. The book format allowed them to have more depth and nuance than the original film and characters. The conflict and stakes in this story also felt much higher than the film. My main two complaint with this near perfect book is that 1) I wished it was longer. I could have read about Cole and Teddy forever. 2) As per the warning, I hoped for a better conclusion for the sexual assault and for the perpetrator to face actual consequences. I think a longer book could have covered this while giving us more time with Teddy and Cole.
Other than that, this was a wonderful book that has made me a new fan of Steven Salvatore. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves classic romcoms and of course the fellow queer people in our community, this one felt so true and relatable for us. Happy reading to everyone!
Thank you to Steven Salvatore, Afterglow Books by Harlequin Romance and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Off-screen sexual assault and violence
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