thatotheramber 's review for:

The Build-A-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver

4.25

lighthearted 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

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When I first started reading, I wasn't sure if this book would be able to pull me in an hold my attention, however, the further into the story I got, the more invested I found myself. From the beginning I didn't see any appeal in Keith and I was afraid Eli would be too caught up with him to move on, but I was pleasant surprised how easily Eli was willing to jump into things with Peter, even if they were rocky and fake at first. Peter was loveable and adorable and won me over immediately. He was easy to root for.

Peter was obviously nuerodivergent of some sort, probably somewhere on the autism spectrum, and I kind of wish the book had addressed that more instead of just passing him off as a generally awkward dude. In fact, I almost wish we could have seen some parts of the story from his POV.

I also kind of disliked how the whole article issue was hanging over the romance the whole time, a bomb waiting to drop. It made it hard at times to really get behind the forming relationship because I knew once the article came to light, everything was going to get screwed up. I did appreciate that Peter didn't forgive Eli right away.

The book ended on a sweet, satisfactory high note, just the way a romance should. For Deaver's adult debut, I say it's a hit. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy.