Title: Book Boyfriend
Author: Claire Kingsley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: April 4, 2017
Format: Kindle/eBook
Source: Amazon
Rating: 5 FREAKING Stars!
Claire Kingsley's Book Boyfriend--what an amazing story! I'm not just
saying that because she happens to be one of my favorite contemporary romance novelists. The concept for this book is sheer genius and is executed beautifully. The story is romantic and sweet, super funny and witty, and still manages to squeeze in those sizzling, sexy moments that readers love to devour with every word. Some of those sexy moments even occur during a few of the most hilarious conversations between the two main characters, Alex and Mia. Personally, it has been quite a while since a book made my cheeks hurt from gushy smiling, and not to mention the times I was caught up in stomach-grabbing laughter. Of course, the story also made my heart swell with "all the feels." The writing is incredible, and I'm still trying to recover from my romance-induced coma! If I wasn't already a fan of Claire's writing, this book definitely seals the deal. Readers will be won over by this cleverly humorous, romantic, and sexy story that exemplifies Kingsley's idea of a book boyfriend.
What a master Claire is at creating the ultimate book boyfriend with every story she writes. She's already given us Braxton (Always Have), Ryan (Must Be Love), Gabe (Could Be The Reason), and now we have Alex Lawson. He is a true testament to the word swoon-worthy. Alex is smart, gorgeous, caring, strong, charismatic, and will do anything for his family. Anything--including writing romance novels under the female pen name, Lexi Logan. Alex is working as a consultant, a job he despises, but desperately needs money to pay for his father's medical care. His sister, Kendra works in publishing and suggests that writing romance novels is a good way to earn more income. Hesitantly, Alex sets out to see if he could do it, and before long, he has a completed rough draft of a romance. His sister is floored by the material he's written and is determined to see his novel published. This marks the beginning of Alex's career as best-selling author, Lexi Logan. No one, except Kendra, knows about his secret life as the popular female writer.
Naturally, beside every book boyfriend is a woman who complements him. Fortunately for Alex, that woman is the cute and adorably awkward Mia Sullivan. Mia...Mia...Mia. What can I say? Wishing that she and I could hang out as besties is an understatement. Mia is like a breath of fresh air. She's friendly, she's lovable, and she's exactly what's missing from Alex's life. I was totally rooting for her all-the-way. Mia is the kind of heroine who could easily be considered the quirky "girl next door." She's intelligent, beautiful, a total bookworm, and funny in the cutest way possible. As Claire so adequately puts it, "she has just a little bit of trouble making sure that her brain keeps up with her mouth." Our Mia may be just a bit off center, but she is definitely no push over. How awesome is it that Alex absolutely loves how honest she is and expresses exactly what's on her mind? "You guys would love her. She says the funniest things. Stuff pops into her head and she talks, and then gets all cute and embarrassed, like she didn't mean to say it out loud. It's really adorable." I, too, love that Mia speaks her mind and doesn't think twice about standing up for herself.
Okay, so she's not as graceful as most, knocks things over, and tends to "trip over thin air." Here's one of my favorite and one of the funniest scenes ever to spill from the mind of our "Clever Claire":
Alex has just walked her to the door after their date, and her cat, Fabio-- yes, Fabio is "cock-blocking" the entire time. He's doing the non-stop whining and scratching at the door the only way a cat can. Finally, she decides that she needs to get inside her apartment and deal with her obnoxiously fat cat. She has another highly appropriate nickname for the little feline. In true Mia-form, she becomes tangled up somehow and actually manages to step on Alex's foot! Of course, she's embarrassed, and is unable to control what comes out of her mouth next. "I ... this was ... I should probably go in and deal with my p*****, oh God ... I mean my cat."
Seriously? Funny doesn't seem to quite cover it. The things that just fly out of Mia's mouth--especially when she's flustered--are hilarious.
Alex and Mia together are just perfect. These two first meet in the best place possible--yes--in a book store. Of course, they totally collide into each other and books scatter everywhere. Alex is absolutely and unexpectedly blown away by Mia. "Okay, so she's not just attractive. She's beautiful. Not in a traditional way, but maybe that's why I can't stop staring at her ... her hair is full, and a little messy, and her eyes are gorgeous. She pushes her glasses higher up her nose, and I can't help the little smile that twitches my lips." Unfortunately for Alex though, he has no idea that Mia is the same girl he chats with online when he's using his alter ego, Lexi Logan. He figures that part out after their first date. Therein lies the dilemma: Mia has another job at a hospital, but also writes a book blog under the name Bookworm Babe. She and Lexi Logan have formed an online friendship. Alex feels torn and wrestles with the idea of coming clean to Mia. He realizes there could be hell to pay if Mia finds out about this before he is able to tell her the truth.
Like a true Claire novel, this book is definitely not without its hot moments though. I mean off-the-charts, all-kinds-of-sexy and steamy moments.
The smoldering look Alex gives me when he picks me up sends a cascade of sensations thrumming through my entire body...a shiver races down my spine... It's just a look--a subtle narrowing of his brown eyes... his chiseled jaw set in hard lines. His eyes devour me. I know, in the depth of my soul, that he's thinking very dirty thoughts right now... One side of his mouth curls up, ever so slightly, in the barest hint of a smile. The intensity never leaves his eyes, and when he speaks, his voice is rich and deep, flowing over me like warm honey. 'Hi, beautiful." Oh. My. God.
That's right Mia--Oh--My . . .! Anyway, one can only imagine where things go from here. Let's just say the heat index should put temperatures at 100 plus! If readers weren't already in love with Alex and Mia, by this time they will be. Oh...and remember that awkward girl Mia? Yeah, not so much so she and Alex are skin-to-skin. She really holds her own; and that's saying a lot with book boyfriend, Alex Lawson in the mix. When this couple comes together, the scenes are hot enough to set your kindles on fire or have your pages go up in flames. Claire just continues to show that she can write sexy heroines and panty-melting heroes like no one else.
When Claire writes romance, she really writes romance, and she does it by pulling out all the stops. Alex's career as a romance writer is so perfectly interwoven-seamlessly and flawlessly-in the actual romance of the story. My words about this book couldn't possibly come close to describing the pure magic in this story. Mia: "Hear me out. Our romance was right out of a book. Gorgeous, swoon-worthy hero. Heroine who feels out of her league. Lots of big feels. Crazy hot sex. He swept me off my feet and even managed to catch me when I tripped--most of the time. We were ridiculously compatible and everything kept escalating, as if nothing bad could ever happen. Until... Alex: Until? Mia: Until, just like in a book, we hit a crisis.
And if you couldn't see Alex as the ultimate book boyfriend before, how about now? He writes: "She's like the best book ever written. I want to run my fingers down her spine. I want to turn her pages and read her truth, savoring every word. I want to be the one who gets to read the secret parts, the chapters she only shows with great trust. And when I'm finished, I won't shelve her. I won't put her back with the rest to collect dust, while the memory of her words fade. Not only do I want to read her over and over again, I want to help her write the rest." Wow! Nothing else to say other than just wow!
Claire. Claire. Claire. What a creative genius you are. I think somehow the romance fairies have sprinkled you with a whole lot of magical romance fairy dust. I loved everything about Book Boyfriend and did NOT want it to end. I want to be invited into Alex and Mia's story forever. That epilogue though? It was simply beautiful. This is the kind of story that will stay with readers long after the book is closed, or the kindle is turned off. Unforgettable!
Ratings
5 Stars: Excellent! Amazing! Get your copy now!
4 Stars: Liked it a lot! Reading recommendations!
3 Stars: Pretty good!
2 Stars: Just okay...
1 Star: Sorry, but this wasn't very good...