{"id":61690,"date":"2021-10-12T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=61690"},"modified":"2021-10-12T07:23:09","modified_gmt":"2021-10-12T11:23:09","slug":"release-arc-review-boyfriend-by-sarina-bowen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=61690","title":{"rendered":"Release &#038; ARC Review:  Boyfriend (Moo U) by Sarina Bowen"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"61691\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?attachment_id=61691\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Now-Live.png?fit=800%2C800&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,800\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Boyfriend Now Live\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Now-Live.png?fit=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-61691 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Now-Live.png?resize=549%2C549&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"549\" height=\"549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Now-Live.png?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Now-Live.png?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Now-Live.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Now-Live.png?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Now-Live.png?resize=650%2C650&amp;ssl=1 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 549px) 100vw, 549px\" \/><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Boyfriend by Sarina Bowen is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3jnsum9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3jnsum9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/BoyfriendApple\">Apple<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/Kobo-boyfriend\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo\u00a0<\/a> | \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/Nook-boyfriend\">Nook<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/Google-boyfriend\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Google<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/Audible-Boyfriend\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Audio<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><!--Yasr Overall Rating Shortcode--><div class=\"yasr-overall-rating\"><div class=' yasr-rater-stars'\r\n                           id='yasr-overall-rating-rater-87ea98ee6b9a7'\r\n                           data-rating='4'\r\n                           data-rater-starsize='32'>\r\n                       <\/div><\/div><!--End Yasr Overall Rating Shortcode--><\/strong><\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"\">The hottest player on the Moo U hockey team hangs a flyer on the bulletin board, and I am spellbound:<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong><em>Rent a boyfriend for the holiday. For $25, I will be your Thanksgiving date. I will talk hockey with your dad. I will bring your mother flowers. I will be polite, and wear a nicely ironed shirt\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Now everyone knows it\u2019s a bad idea to introduce your long-time crush to your messed-up family. But I really do need a date for Thanksgiving, even if I\u2019m not willing to say why. So I tear his phone number off of that flyer\u2026 and accidentally entangle our star defenseman in a ruse that neither of us can easily unwind.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Because Weston&#8217;s family is even nuttier than mine. He needs a date, too, for the most uncomfortable holiday engagement party ever thrown.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">There will be hors d&#8217;oeuvre. There will be faked PDA. And there will be pro-level awkwardness\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><em>Boyfriend is a full-length stand-alone romance for Weston and Abbi!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"61692\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?attachment_id=61692\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-1.png?fit=700%2C366&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"700,366\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Boyfriend Teaser 1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-1.png?fit=150%2C78&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-61692 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-1.png?resize=568%2C297&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"568\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-1.png?w=700&amp;ssl=1 700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-1.png?resize=100%2C52&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-1.png?resize=150%2C78&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-1.png?resize=600%2C314&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-1.png?resize=650%2C340&amp;ssl=1 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3jrBZAA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><b>4 short and sweet stars!<\/b><\/p>\n<p>This book started life as a novella in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=56641\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>\u2019Tis the Season for Romance<\/i><\/a> anthology that was released for a brief time in 2021. I loved meeting Weston and Abbi then, and was thrilled when I learned that Sarina Bowen was expanding their story into a full-length (though still rather short) novel.<\/p>\n<p>Abbi is a college student who works at a local sports bar where the college hockey team hang out \u2013 providing her with the perfect opportunity to perve on her crush, hockey player, Weston. When she learns that Weston hires himself out as a fake boyfriend for Thanksgiving events, she jumps at the random opportunity and hires him to accompany her to an awkward family dinner.<\/p>\n<p>Weston is thrilled to pick up his \u2018date\u2019 for Thanksgiving and learns that it\u2019s the hot waitress from his local bar. Over the course of a car ride and a family dinner, the two of them banter and flirt, and Weston is the perfect \u2018boyfriend\u2019 when he meets her family. They get on so well, that when Weston needs a date to go home to his family for Christmas, he invites Abbi to return the favour and come along as his fake girlfriend.<\/p>\n<p>I love a fake romance set-up, and these two are so freaking cute together! They have moments of awkwardness, but their friendship is easy and natural, and their banter is so much fun. And when the trips are all over and done with and neither of them are ready to say goodbye to the other, their friendship continues, and their not-so-secret attraction builds until they finally decide to act on it.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>I\u2019m driving her wild, and I feel like a superhero. If the superhero were a super horny, college guy who\u2019s fallen deeply in like with his fake girlfriend.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I love these characters! Abbi has had a really hard life but she\u2019s brave and strong, and I love her resilience and determination. Weston is a genuinely good guy, and he\u2019s so much fun. He\u2019s exactly who Abbi needs. But while Abbi is desperate for love and a connection with somebody, Weston actively shuns love and doesn\u2019t want a relationship. They have a lot they need to figure out, and it\u2019s a gorgeous journey watching them do just that.<\/p>\n<p>This is such a cute read. It\u2019s quite short (only 265) pages, so it moves pretty quickly, but there\u2019s still quite a bit of depth in Abbi and Weston\u2019s backstories. There\u2019s a bit of drama and minimal angst before a very satisfying ending, and I finished this book with a big smile on my face.<\/p>\n<p>4 stars.<\/p>\n<p><i>An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"61693\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?attachment_id=61693\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-2.png?fit=700%2C366&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"700,366\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Boyfriend Teaser 2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-2.png?fit=150%2C78&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-61693 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-2.png?resize=570%2C298&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"570\" height=\"298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-2.png?w=700&amp;ssl=1 700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-2.png?resize=100%2C52&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-2.png?resize=150%2C78&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-2.png?resize=600%2C314&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Boyfriend-Teaser-2.png?resize=650%2C340&amp;ssl=1 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 570px) 100vw, 570px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>For more great reads, check out our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?page_id=47061\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sarina Bowen Author Spotlight<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Boyfriend by Sarina Bowen is live! Amazon\u00a0 |\u00a0 \u00a0Apple\u00a0 |\u00a0 Kobo\u00a0 | \u00a0Nook\u00a0 | \u00a0Google\u00a0 | \u00a0Audio &nbsp; Blurb The hottest player on the Moo U hockey team hangs a flyer on the bulletin [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1132,25,13,9,29],"tags":[59,48,378],"class_list":["post-61690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fake-relationship","category-friends-to-lovers","category-new-adult","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-review","tag-sarina-bowen"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Boyfriend.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-g30","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}