What an emotional and entertaining love story! Truly, there's a lot to love about this book, from the heroine (a 35+ successful, mixed race heroine) to the hero (20-something Australian stunt man with a stutter) to the food porn (the heroine's mother is constantly cooking Indian dishes and you better believe I had to order some Indian takeout after finishing this book).

My one issue is that the couple goes from one steamy hook-up to the next and I don't know if they spent enough time together in between for me to see them actually fall in love... But if you can look beyond that, I think you're in for a fun, multicultural romance.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was such a fun and fast-paced rom-com! I also really appreciated that the heroine is in her late 30's; in most rom-coms I've read, the protagonist is usually in her 20's or early 30's. Hence, it was great to read about a more mature character who's still figuring her life out!

Thank you so much for the chance to read this e-galley. I am sure it was the timing of my reading experience, but I wasn't able to get get into the plot of the story. I did love the premise! I will certainly give this one (and the author!) another try in the future. I DNF'd at 15%

This books cover is what really pulled me in! I love a good romance book but this actually ended up being much deeper that I thought. I liked Samira and Rory, they both wanted to be their own person and authenticity was important to them. Their chemistry was palpable which is always a plus! I enjoyed the representation that we got with this book and think it is important that more books like this continue to be written!

It's an age gap romance for The Boy Toy, and if I had to sum it up in just one word, I'd say it's cute. The title, the cover, the premise, and most of the storyline - it's all cute. There is some drama, but it sort of comes and goes, and then it's back to the fun, entertaining parts of the book. Samira and Rory are only ten years apart, so it's not a shocking amount of time between them, and for a good portion of the book, they're just having fun with each other. The getting to know each other outside the bedroom came later. Of course, this is a romantic comedy, and as I mentioned, it's cute and fun. It does require some suspension of disbelief, but the pacing is good, and the characters are entertaining. Even the busybody, judgment-passing aunts had their quirks and reminded me that regardless of race or ethnicity, most of us have a couple of those meddling family members that drive us a bit crazy. All in all, this one is an amusing RomCom, and it's a pretty good choice for a weekend read.

10 stars! But then that isn't surprising, given that this is a Nicola Marsh book! She is a wonderful storyteller and does a great job no matter what genre she's writing in.

The Boy Toy was such an engaging book with fantastic characters that were fun to meet and begin to know. Samira and Rory were my favorites! I also loved that the author tackled important, topical subjects like interracial marriage, someone dealing with a stutter, and infertility. A good look at subjects like this helps to make people more aware, and in my opinion, more empathetic.

Thank you Nicola Marsh, for writing such a great story. This book rocked.

Tnis was a great interracial couple representation. When a one night stand turns into a dialect training with Samira the next day, i was a goner. I wanted the 2 of them to marry on the spot. Thank you for the NetGalley advanced reader copy.

I struggled to get through the first part of the book but once I got hooked I was committed to Samira and Rory. I enjoyed the older woman younger man relationship and also loved the cultural background in it as well.

If you are looking for a book that has a super hot main character with a little insecurities, look no further! I love The Boy Toy for many reasons, I loved the Dual POVs, Age Gap, Unplanned Pregnancy and the growth between Rory and Samira. I want to go to Australia so bad as well so the location of the book was also a plus! I cannot wait to read the next book.

Was not able to read before the publish date, my library has purchased several copies of this book and it seems to be doing well.

Started but have not finished at this time, do not plan to resume reading at this time but hopefully will finish in the future - had a hard time getting hooked into the story. Hoping to try again from the beginning soon.

This was unexpected to say the least. I think it delved into deeper topics than I originally anticipated. This was an overall good read, and I'd love to read more of this author in the future as well!

I felt like this book's title and cover indicate a far lighter, fluffier read than what you actually get. The first half of the book was about what I expected and I was really enjoying it, then BAM, surprise miracle pregnancy that wasn't even hinted at in any of the descriptions or blurbs. And of course, no one can just communicate their thoughts and feelings so everyone spends the second half of the book assuming completely wrong things and keeping secrets that shouldn't be secret. Somehow, these two people, who had some admittedly hot sex but who could barely have a conversation with each other, decide they're in love in the end. Nope.

Trigger warning: infertility, miscarriage, premature birth

Oh I just adored this one, my first by Nicola Marsh but definitely not my last! It was the type of fresh romance we all need right now, with interesting and diverse characters as well as interesting and complex issues. I didn’t realize how much I would like an age gap trope but apparently I really do?! Loved that Samira was older as well, the older man/younger women has been done to death for me. Besides that fun angle you have a first for me, a hero with a stutter and man did I swoon hard for Rory. The fact that both Rory and Samira were grappling with their individual problems and working on themselves was great to see, not everything explored here was solely about them as a couple and I appreciated that they were working on themselves, I found them both to be incredibly relatable. Everything I want in a romance was here, heat, passion, communication, tender moments and lots of fun!

This just didn't end up being something I was interested in after all. There's so much adult romance that it really takes something fresh and new to draw me in. I liked the age difference representation but I just wasn't in love with this story unfortunately.

OH HECK YES THIS BOOK WAS EXCELLENT!! Loved this steamy read so much!! Call it covid brain but I really enjoyed that this took place in Australia (did not realize that until I started reading, haha) and I LOVED that we had a fabulous Asian heroine! I really love when a character has an awesomely developed cultural background because it's something I can related to and I love learning about new cultures (and there's always food talk which is a huge yummy bonus). I was NOT expecting her to embrace the unforeseen situation (no spoilers lol) but am quite happy with how everything played out. Such a great read!

The Boy Toy by Nicola Marsh was a DNF for me. I wasn't a fan of the pregnancy element of this book. The book started off well but just didn't work me.

This was delightful and so sexy! As a woman approaching 35, it’s so nice to have a romantic heroine in my age range! Also I love the older woman/younger man age gap! Quite refreshing! I absolutely adored Samira! I love how she was hell bent on not caving into her mother’s sense of Indian tradition yet turned to her when she needed her most. The fact that Sam’s mother ended up being such a huge support system despite her traditional views was wonderful! The romance? Omg SO GOOD! I thought Rory was such a sexy sweetheart! I love me a hot younger man! The story went in a slightly different direction as I originally thought, but that’s a good thing! It also had a good amount of steam! All around a fabulous contemporary romance!

Overall good read- Multi-cultural. Nice insight into Indian Culture and seemed accurate. Also a "second chances" romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, & Penguin Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

Man, these illustrated covers get you every time! I've got to stop going into them with certain expectations - not that romance can't and doesn't delve into deeper topics, but I would almost put this one into contemporary fiction (very similar to Ties That Tether, which I read right around the same time and frankly keep getting confused with this one).

I thought the characterization was done nicely for both the MCs and the supporting cast of characters, especially because I often found myself having very strong feelings about their choices which I don't do if they're not written well.

I enjoyed the plot and appreciated the sensitivity to all the content/trigger warnings discussed in the plot (see end of review).

Overall I would definitely recommend this one, but if you read it and Ties That Tether (also recommended), maybe read them a couple months apart.

Content Warnings: Miscarriage, Infertility, Stuttering, Infidelity