I couldn’t really get into this. The writing style definitely is geared toward a younger audience than me (it does say teen), and a big part of that is the characterization of Ellie, the protagonist. She’s very naive in a way that reminds me more of middle school than a senior in high school. I didn’t feel much about the other characters either. Anyway, I’m disappointed in this read. But thank you again for the publisher for providing me a copy of this book via NetGalley! (And I still think the cover design is adorable!!)

I was drawn to this book right away from the cover, which is genuinely one of the best YA romance covers I've ever seen. I know that my 13-year-old self would have taken one look at that and bought it in an instant. And the book itself was just as wonderful. Especially during COVID where travel is not possible, it was fun to escape through these characters and travel through their eyes.

This was such a sweet, fun YA romance! Perfect for anglophiles or fans of study abroad books like Anna and the French Kiss. I liked the sort-of-twist where the “hot British boyfriend” was not actually the love interest in the end, but it didn’t cause the angst of a normal love triangle or leave me feeling bad for Will. Ellie had such an easy, authentic teen voice and it was so fun to see England and first love through her eyes. Looking forward to more from Boyce in the future!

Ellie us had a bad time of it and got stabbed in the back by her BFF to boot. She decides she will not be the laughing stock of her school or social media, she will go on the study abroad trip and meet a cute British boy and get her first everything. She gets what she wants, but does she realize in time that this opportunity is much more than it seems? She is actually not a dummy and has talents that could take her to college. And Will might be adorable, rich, and have that British accent, but is there an admirer that she hasn’t considered? This YA drama is full of the angst and lovable characters that teens will like.

While the study abroad program sounded like a dream to me, the main character was a nuisance. I can understand wanting to start fresh, but it was irritating just how neurotic she was. Her ideas of perfect, made her unlikeable at times. The cast of characters surrounding her made the story much more interesting. The main character made this a hard book to swallow at times. I wish we could of seen more of the real Ellie, not Elle.

One reason I wanted to read this book was because of the cover. I just love it! The second reason is because of the title. It had me hooked. Although the plot didn’t go as I had expected before diving in, it still had it’s cute moments.

Ellie wants to break free after an embarrassing moment. Honestly, who could blame her? I would want to get as far away as possible! A spot opens up for her to take a trip of a lifetime to England and she doesn’t waste time planning for it.

As the main character, I didn’t mind her. She had good development and learned a lot of things about herself and relationships. I also liked all of the adventures she took and the friends she made along the way who also helped her realize a lot as well. They were good minor characters and I liked each one.

When it comes to the romance, I just didn’t feel it. Don’t get me wrong, there were cute moments but the relationship happened quickly. I do get that she was looking for something after the embarrassing video but I also feel like you would be more cautious because of it. She does learn through this particular relationship that maybe what you are looking for is actually closer than you think and maybe what you think need isn’t what you really need. I did like the message but the sparks just weren’t there for me even with the second relationship although I liked it more than the first. At least she could be herself which is always important!

Besides the romance, the plot is filled with traveling and a lot of schoolwork. I think the traveling parts where they were sight-seeing could have been more descriptive but the book is mostly about the romance so it makes sense.

Overall, it was good and had it’s cute moments. I can see it doing well with readers.

This is between a 3-4 star book. It's super cute, but also super predictable. I think Ellie was both a charming and annoying MC, but she came into her own over the course of the story as she figured out what she wanted. Dev is adorable, Will is a douchebag, and the cast of supporting friend characters was excellent. Teenagers were teenagers and did dumbass teenagery things, as one would expect on a trip abroad, but it was all very mild and clean.

Very cute, fun, quick read that was an excellent choice for the end of this never ending year.

Definitely a sweet read and maybe a little cliché but it was the perfect winter read for getting your mind off the cold, dreary weather. I haven't read anything from this author before and I really liked her writing so I think I would read more from her.

This book is total candy.

Ellie is the new girl at Waterford Valley High. When the boy she thought was going to ask her out winds up asking her one friend instead, her rejection is recorded and splashed all over the internet. The only thing she wants is to run away, which she does semi-successfully by hopping last minute onto a study abroad semester to England. There she meets a posse of new friends--Sage, Huan, and Dev. She also meets Will, an impossibly hot British boy complete with Jaguar, impeccable fashion sense, about as much money as the Queen, and a toxic relationship with his father. Ellie falls hard, but makes a major mistake going in: she reinvents herself for Will, and asks Dev to help tutor her on all things a British boy might like (cricket, primarily) in exchange for helping Dev snag Sage.

Things go how you think they're going to go. The book doesn't pull any surprises, but that's not really why we're here. Initially, Ellie was a little too vacuous for my liking--given she did a super successful job of ridding herself of interests and plans and dreams in order to not get made fun of because being a teenager can be brutal--but somewhere about halfway through the book becomes un-put-downable. The book's primary message does eventually shine through: you can be whole without someone else's validation, and someone is liable to fall in love with you AND your weird quirks, so don't settle. You just have to embrace the unicorn within.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Teen for letting me read this book.
First off the cover is so ADORABLE 😍.
I really liked the main character, she was fun. I think the love interest seemed a little too old for her tho.
But this book was a really good cute book.

This book was cute. As someone who once did a study abroad in England, I understand the appeal of the hot british boy and how their accents can be a little too beautiful. I loved that Ellie finally figured out that maybe the one she thought she wanted wasn't really who was best for her. very much a British twist in anna and the French kiss

It was a cute story that I, unfortunately, did not finish. While it would hold the attention of my students, it followed a classic trope of girl-meets-international-guy but he's not that good for her, misses what's under her nose the whole time. Or so I assume. I'm sure I will try to finish it before April, but I was distracted by other books presented. I didn't root for the main love interest, as he doesn't set good examples of girls and what they should allow from a relationship.

Ellie's cringe-worthy encounter that kicks off this book makes readers anxious to escape the humiliation with her, and root her on to take up the opportunity to study abroad in England. From there, it's a trip and a treat to follow Ellie's adventures at Emberton Manor. The friends she makes in the new setting are sincere and a refreshing look at how sometimes we have to leave 'friends' behind to make better ones. Ellie not only learns about herself in this new setting with new friends, but we get to swoon along with her when she meet the titular character. A sweet, heartfelt story with a very satisfying ending - will please fans of Anna and the French Kiss, Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, and When Dimple Met Rishi. Thank you Netgalley for the #eARC to review!

What a delight! This book spoke to me as both an educator of young adults and to a former version of myself who came back for a while as I read.

My students are the same age as the first-person narrator Ellie, dual credit college-bound seniors. Boyce realistically captures the three states of being in that age. Many of the supporting characters who study abroad with the narrator are the driven young adults who already know who they are and have A PLAN. Most of the narrator's friends when we first meet her are of the group who consciously choose to do whatever feels good because that's who they are. The narrator, however, is that frustrating teen who has no clue who she is or what she wants, so she just jumps from one often cringey action to another on pure survival instinct.

Ellie's coming-of-age adventures grow from these often wrong, usually selfish choices. She's sympathetic though because she has a genuinely warm heart, an endearing sense of wonder, and the courage to keep trying to survive and then thrive. You'll want to shake her sometimes, but you'll always root for her.

This book's genre also provides a safe space to explore very real issues that make youthful mistakes so much more dangerous for this generation. You know that Ellie and her friends will get their HEA, so Boyce can develop and warn about issues like cyberbullying, academic pressures, picking the wrong partner for the wrong reasons, and losing loved ones and yourself without scaring off the more sensitive readers.

On a personal level, I was about 35 pages into this book, thinking how very, very familiar the study abroad setting was. I had experienced a semester abroad in a place just like this. Emberton Manor was triggering memories of Harlaxton Manor in Grantham, England with every room description. I creeped the author's Instagram, and there, from Oct. 2019, was a photo of the exact place I had studied. In fact, at certain points in the book, I thought, "Was she over there in my class?" I had a 4th floor room just like Ellie. I too know the exhaustion of trying to haul three suitcases up all those stairs because the lift was broken my semester. Nothing, no Stairmaster even, prepares you for the burning quads of English manor stairs. It is a testament to the author's descriptive powers that I knew exactly where she was. Note to the readers who will say that it's unrealistic to just meet a Hot British Boyfriend on your first trip to town. It's really is so realistic. I'm pretty sure the boys of Grantham wait each semester for the new crop of American girls and have done for nigh on 50 years. Any Harlaxton alum should enjoy this book just for the trips and side trips down a vivid memory lane. I know Ellie will look back on her time at Emberton with the fondness for who she arrived as and the changed person she left as just as much as I did.

I really started out excited about this book and then I met the main character Ellir and I was sure if it was the book for me. I decided to give it a chance and im glad I did because Ellie grew on me with each new experience and friend she made on her European adventure. This was a cute rom com with a nice cast of characters. It read quickly and had some cute and swoony moments. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hot British Boyfriend is a cute romance. After an embarrassing encounter with her crush at a party, Ellie does what anyone who is in an embarrassing situation wishes they could do: she flees the country. Ellie joins her school's exchange program and spends a semester in England taking honors classes, which she isn't used to. Ellie discovers the best way to get over her embarrassment and convince her classmates back home that she is doing just fine. She finds a hot British boyfriend and starts posting the photos to Instagram. But as the semester goes on, Ellie has to decide where she and her new boyfriend are really a match AND what are they going to do when she returns stateside.

A cute, fun teen-romance story. Though the description says this can also be for adults, I do not actually think anyone above the age of 20 would enjoy this book too much. It can be quite childish at times, but that's fine because it works for the target audience. Also, it was quite predictable.

A slow beginning, but it made up for it by the middle, and the end kept me thoroughly captivated.

I liked the idea of this novel, and I think the execution was done very well! Would recommend to any fan of YA literature or romance.

Kristy Boyce's book HOT BRITISH BOYFRIEND if full of wit, hilarious banter, and swoon-worthy moments. Teems will have many laugh out loud moments as they join Ellie Nichols on her high school’s study abroad trip to England and her quest to find a hot British boyfriend.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Teen for an e-arc.

I enjoyed reading Hot British Boyfriend. Although it has some more mature themes that will keep me from purchasing it for my middle school library, I did really like the character development of Ellie. I liked that the story encourages people to be themselves and not worry about what others think of their hobbies, dress, or what they like. Some strong language and discussing teens thinking about sex.

I think this book had a stronger middle and end than it did beginning. At the beginning, I don't think I was super sold, but I kept reading because I don't usually DNF, and it redeemed itself! A cute, light romance for teens. Ellie (Elle) is all of us as melodramatic teens for sure!