After being called boring by her ex, Alexis is looking for a one night stand to prove him wrong. She meets Logan and things are going according to plan- until the hotel gets struck by lightning and photos are taken of her and Logan fleeing the hotel by the paparazzi. It turns out Logan is running for governor and a one night stand is not the campaign booster he was looking for. Alexis and Logan begin fake dating to avoid harming his campaign.

Oooook this was a CUTE read. What I loved:
-the banter. The on camera teasing/pranking was adorable!
-fake dating
-Alexis is a LIBRARIAN
-loveable characters
-family relationships
-character growth throughout
-despite fake dating a politician, Alexis definitely has her own influence/role

This was a super cute read that I enjoyed immensely. Highly recommend! 4.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the advanced reading copy.

This had so many complex elements - a MC librarian fighting for educators' rights, some realistic workers' union drama, the Texas political scene - but they all played together really well and built towards a central goal. The reason this book isn't higher for me is that [SPOILERS FOLLOW]: the second love interest that is introduced never gets a comprehensive enough introduction or development to be truly believable, he is 100% just there to advance the main romance. Otherwise, this was cute and fantastic! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

Ashley Winstead really found her romance voice with this her 2nd rom com. I absolutely adored it! Started reading it again as soon as I finished. What an interesting setting for a romance novel - the Texas political scene. And...I'm not mad that her heroine Alexis is a librarian. Randomly, I had no idea what "euphoric beverages" are - had to look them up. And I placed an order so I could try them!

5 huge stars!!!! Ashley Winstead is so incredibly talented is so many genres! Whether it is an edge-of-your-seat thriller or a swoony romance novel, Ashley Winstead absolutely does not disappoint! Her latest read, The Boyfriend Candidate is a romance novel that’s filled with of sweetness, laugh out loud humor, and a depth filled storyline that had me at hello! Centering around a school librarian and a gubernatorial candidate who after an blissful evening together, they mutually decide to “fake date” for the betterment of their careers—it was at that point that I was completely hooked!

This novel was a total and complete 5 star romance novel! The storyline was well paced, I flew through this book! I found both the primary and supporting characters were extremely endearing! I loved that The Boyfriend Candidate was a sort of spin-off of Ashley’s other romance novel Fool Me Once—you definitely don’t need to read it prior, but if you love The Boyfriend Candidate as much as I did, I highly recommend you check it out! I am already looking forward to Ashley Winstead’s next novel!

hi, i binged this book in a day 🥹🙌🏼🫶🏼👏🏼 4-4.5 stars on Winstead’s latest for me! i am so torn on if i liked this or FOOL ME ONCE more… a great problem to have 🤪🤓

if you read Ashley’s romance debut FOOL ME ONCE, you’ll see the similarities and character crossovers in THE BOYFRIEND CANDIDATE. i’m forever impressed by authors who can write across multiple genres (yes this is the same author of THE LAST HOUSEWIFE and IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE). the talent!!!!

THE BOYFRIEND CANDIDATE had everything i want out of a romcom—some laugh out loud moments, it’s believable andddd it’s deeper than just a romance. this fake-dating trope romance also has so many fun side themes—the MC loves reading, sister themes/family relationships, character crossovers from FOOL ME ONCE (the MC is the sister of the MC in FOOL ME ONCE), a sexy library scene in the stacks 👀, a more relatable MC, knowing your worth/believing in yourself and putting yourself first, doing something you’re passionate about and that makes a difference, dealing w grief and loss (the acknowledgements w Ashley’s dad🥹). see?! MUCH more than just a romcom!!

similarly to FOOL ME ONCE, TBC covers politics again but in my opinion it’s not as heavy as in FOOL ME ONCE since the MC isn’t a politician, instead her fake bf and sister are. heads up there bc some of you have asked or called that out as a “dislike” in FOOL ME ONCE!

full review to come closer to pub day. sooo grateful to Ashley & her publicist for getting this in my hands early AND partnering with me on the cover reveal 🥹

add this to your spring TBR and let me know what you thought!!

This was such an interesting take on the fake dating trope. I think the political aspect was really well managed and is a tricky line to walk that Ashley did masterfully.

I felt at times the story went too deep into the campaign itself but I do appreciate that this helped develop and grow Alexis.

I also love a slow burn that gives a little bit of flame right in the beginning and little sparks throughout which helps to sustain us until the payoff at the end!

This was fun and cute and fluffy which is exactly what you want in a rom-com. Could there have been a bit more spice and a bit less longing? Sure. I also felt like the politics could've been mentioned and examined more carefully and clearly - I think there were a lot of assumptions made that everyone knows everything about Texas politics, etc. and I didn't - but again, this is a rom-com, I didn't really pick it up expecting a Texas political primer.

My only knock really is that they have "rules" in the beginning, and then the rules aren't brought up again until close to the end - and I get it, I love the rule trope - but by the time we come back around to it, I'd forgotten the rules, and I never got the sense that our leading lady really cared or gave them a second thought either, considering it's the major folly for the hero and why he waits so long (but seriously, SO LONG) to make a move, I wish that they'd been mentioned a bit more throughout.

This was fun, I will be reading it again.

Alexis Stone is such a fun character!!
Fake dating is my absolute favorite trope, and this is a solid one! Miscommunication is a hit or miss for me, but this one was done well. The politics weren’t so heavy in this one. Loved it.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I loved this book so much!
Shy, bookish Alexis Stone decides to have a one-night stand one year after her boyfriend cheated on her, broke up with her, and insulted her skills in the sheets. Armed with a killer outfit and some confidence, she avoids a creepy dude with the help of a handsome stranger. Logan (said stranger) ends up being more than she bargained for, as a freak accident at the hotel forces them into an arrangement to spare Logan's reputation. Alexis gets a taste of Logan's life and what it means to be the opposite of a "mousy" librarian!

This book has a few of my favorite tropes! I was nervous about the amount of political talk, but it fits in really well with the story. Alexis and Logan are both fun characters and their chemistry is AMAZING! Loved this book, I would highly recommend!

Ashley Winstead did it again! She has quickly become one of my favorite writers. The Boyfriend Candidate is a "spin-off" to her debut romance novel, Fool Me Once, and it did not disappoint. I LOVED Fool Me Once, so reading about Alexis Stone was such a treat. First things first, The Boyfriend Candidate can be read as a stand alone novel with ease. However, Winstead's previous love birds (Lee & Ben) are the cherry on top! They make more than a few cameo appearances, and references to their "love story" are peppered throughout. If you haven't read their story it is OK. It simply is an IYKYK situation, which I really enjoy.

Winstead is back at it blending a classic romance trope with a touch of Texas politics. It is so evident in her writing that she herself is a lover of books and words. She adds in with purpose two things I am passionate about..., a teacher's room romance book club and standing up for banned books, Let's not forget a few music mentions like Wreckless Eric's song, Whole Wide World, and of course, Amarillo By Morning...a nod to all the cowboys and maybe even the 4-H kiddos (Logan). You need to read the book for that part to make sense. She is so great at effortlessly bringing awareness to hot topics while at the same time teasing readers with an off the chart romance!

Alexis and Logan stole my heart. The both truly came into their own as their stories unfolded.. Their fake dating, political dilemmas, and personal baggage make them so much more than a hot politician running for Governor and a small town school librarian. I loved how Winstead kept their "fake" relationship piping hot with conflict and a whole lot of sexual tension. She created a significant amount of "anticipated steam" that kept the pages turning and turning all day long until I reach the end ...SWOON!. I was DYING for these two to pull-it-together and just get together!!!! .

The Boyfriend Candidate is a must read this spring! I am hoping there is a third book in this Texas romance world Winstead created and I even have bets on who it will be about!!!!

4 Stars The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead was a fun fake dating romance with a political twist. Shy elementary school librarian Alexis Stone decides to challenge her cheat ex-boyfriend’s assertion that she’s timid and boring in bed by going out to have a one night stand. Instead of a one night stand, she get’s an almost one night stand that is interrupted by the fire alarm and her face splashed across the tabloids with a picture of her being carried out by her almost hook up—who happens to be Logan Arthur, the young politician challenging the incumbent Texas governor. In order to change the story that Logan’s a playboy, his team suggests that he and Alexis fake date until the election. Two months of fake dating in front of the cameras, how hard could it be? For an introvert like Alexis, it seems daunting. Especially when the lines between what’s fake and what’s not start to blur.

I’m a fan of the fake dating trope, especially ones where the characters obviously have real feelings for each other and are fighting it so far. It was easy to see that Logan had real feelings for Alexis from the beginning, but was trying to protect himself from experiencing another heartbreak during another election. Logan was such a sweetheart though, despite his fiery temper and swearing about the causes he’s passionate about. Logan and Alexis seemed like such opposites at first, but like Alexis realizes, they are more similar than not. The ending got a little bit predictable, but was satisfying nonetheless. Recommend this one!

This book was so fun to read. As an educator, in Texas, I had a little laugh at some of inaccuracies of the educational system here and how it’s run and some of the names, but I chalked it up to this is a fun reading piece. Not an official document. That is why I gave it 4 stars. Overall, super cute and I enjoyed the characters.

I saw this cover, and knew I had to read it. I had a feeling it was going to be adorable. With it being set in Texas, I wanted to read it more. I loved the chemistry between Alexis and Logan. It has a super fun beginning.
The negative, is that I feel it was more political, less romantic storyline than I expected. I read to escape politics and other stressful things in reality. The cover should’ve made it obvious, but I was hoping it’d be more like how Devon Daniels wrote her book Meet Me in the Middle, where it’s romance and a sprinkle of politics. For me, the romance was great, and I pictured Logan in my mind as someone looking/sounding like, Aiden Turner.
He’s a politician, she is a school librarian. Everyone can agree teachers and librarians are important and could use more funding. There’s fake dating and a very brief dating triangle.
I loved how the book started, it was fun and adventurous. I was immediately wanting to know what happened next.
All in all, I think it’s one to grab. I enjoyed it.

The Boyfriend Candidate builds on the world of Texas politics that Winstead started in ‘Fool Me Once’. Alexis is the MC’s sister, who decides to celebrate the anniversary of a last breakup by having a one night stand at a fancy hotel bar. She meets Logan when he saves her from a creep, and they hit it off. The night goes great until a weather disaster strikes, and a fake dating trope ensues. This was great, and had very relatable issues for both Alexis and Logan.

I love Ashley Winstead's thrillers. However, both of her romance books I have read have fell flat for me. I will continue to read her thrillers, but I think I need to walk away from her romance. The characters just seem so fake.

Ashley Winstead is a genius. She goes from the darkest most disturbing thriller (The Last Housewife) to the cutest most amazing romance!


I’ll read absolutely anything she writes.


This book can totally be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading Fool Me Once first. We have some characters from that book that I think are important to know about!


Alexis is a shy book lover and her ex-boyfriend said she was boring in bed (!!). She’s determined to change that about her. She goes to a bar to find her her first one night stand.


Little did she know she’d end up meeting Logan Arthur - a hot democrat politician running to be the next Texas governor. The cameras follow him everywhere since he used to be a bit of a…womanizer?


But it’s better for his campaign to become a serious man in a serious relationship. So, Alexis and Logan start fake-dating (My favorite trope!)


The attraction between them is INSANELY (hot). I was 100% invested, and I was reading sooo fast because I just HAD to see them together. And there are sooo many cute moments in this book.


I cannot rave more about it. Just please do yourself a favor and read this book! You’ll fall in love with Logan. It;s impossible not to!


4.5 star

I really enjoyed the story. I lamented that it stuck with tropes rather than subverting them, as there was a lot of potential to craft something more unique and still authentic, but it still was a great story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.

"𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌. 𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒖𝒔 [...] 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍. 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆."

I couldn't have been more excited to learn that Ashley Winstead was writing a companion/sequel novel to her romance debut Fool Me Once. It lived up to my expectations and then some.

I absolutely related to Alexis for so many reasons: her love of books, her passion for education, the fact that (despite her sister) she doesn't follow politics much, her love of rules that make you feel safe and comfortable, alongside her empathy for those around her; I saw her as a female version of myself. I love a fake dating trope and watching Logan and Alexis' relationship grow from work partnership to friends to something more. There were lots of little callbacks to the first book, alongside Lee and her friend group who act as big sisters. The humour is out in full force, including the one night stand that wasn't (hello Ruby Dangerfield!), the Pretty Woman media coaching, the Lee & Ben role play scene and Nora using Ben's fashion sense as inspiration for Logan. The steam builds slowly throughout with a lot of payoff, as Alexis not only learns to love Logan, but most importantly, herself. Winstead's story and writing had me flying through the pages, swooning, laughing out loud, and tearing up.

The Boyfriend Candidate is a story of believing in yourself, fake dating, sisters, going outside your comfort zone, finding where you belong and opening your eyes to see it. It's an unputdownable book with characters you can't help but love. I'm not ready to leave the Stone sisters and their beaus behind - time for the third book with all of them (can we get WIll's story too!?). Thank you to Ashley herself, Graydon House Books, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Ashley Winstead can do no wrong! I love her writing style and that her romance books are about so much more than girl falling for boy. The Boyfriend Candidate is well-written, funny, and tender. Alexis Stone is a relatable MC that you can’t help but root for. Logan is charming, handsome, and so smitten with Alexis from the beginning that you can’t help but swoon. Add in the fake dating, politics, and slow burn and I was hooked!

My favorite thing was that the story is about Alexis finding herself and realizing what she’s capable of and what she deserves. We can a ll relate to not feeling good enough and needing some encouragement.

Thank you to Ashley Winstead, Harlequin and Graydon Publishing, and NetGalley for an eARC.

⭐⭐.5/5 -- I went back and forth on my rating for this one so many times.. there's a lot that I liked, but the overall vibe of this rom-com had me rolling my eyes. Can we just get through a romance novel without pandering? Does anyone enjoy having a political debate in their head while trying to read a romance?

THOUGHTS:
- When it comes down to reviewing books - something I’m emphatic about is trying to judge the quality of the writing vs. deciding whether I do or don’t like the book based on the content. Just because I don't like a book doesn't mean it wasn't well written. When it comes to The Boyfriend Candidate, the content was quite frankly annoying and purposefully meant to appeal to a specific type of reader.
- While I am 100% behind the fact that the USA’s educational system is broken, in serious need of reform and higher budgets for teachers, supplies etc. .. that’s something I think feels like a soft no brainer that politicians throw around for clout but usually gets no where right? *climbing off my mini-soap box now lol…* --->>>

The problem I encountered while reading is that when I start coming across more touchy subjects ~ like what kinds of banned literature should be allowed in schools ~ it makes a book realllllly hard to rate. Am I reading a romance novel, or am I reading a poly-sci theoretical dissertation? Do the people who read my reviews think that a good review means I agree with the subject matter? Did I even enjoy it?

The fact that these highly debated political topics made their way into a romance novel meant to be an escapist-style read?? Just didn’t fit the bill for me to consider it truly ‘enjoyable.’ I’d also like to point out the irony of the party the author obviously supported getting mad that the other party was doing objectively shady stuff… while the candidate was LITERALLY doing the same thing to make himself look better. The hypocrisy of politics never ceases to amaze me… lol it comes from BOTH sides of the political spectrum in so many different forms it could be turned into a drinking game.

Maybe this is your thing, and you’ll be totally fine with it? So this is how I’m going to rate this book:
- Writing Style: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (Super easy to follow and parts were definitely fun. Literally booking the hubs and I’s next weekend getaway for wine country in Fredericksburg, Texas! ) Again, though, while easy to follow the plot, some of the subject matter was a littttle too distracting to really be considered a ‘fun’ read.
- Character Development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 - While the FMC’s character definitely grew in the ‘learning to stand up for herself category’ - the beginning, where she’s so timid and afraid to speak up, was ~ so cringe ~. That cringe factor persisted in the drama she willingly created herself. The 'I'm so meek and mild and can't stand up for myself' trope is SO overdone.
- Content: ⭐️⭐️.5/5 - The Boyfriend Candidate, while a decent rom-com-Lifetime-movie-in-the-making, felt like an overall pandering mess. I loved that the FMC seems to genuinely care about her students, her role as an educator etc. it was heartwarming to read that because I can still remember the great teachers/librarians that I had! The rest of it though..? Meh, and the storyline has a soft ending that didn’t give me any warm and fuzzies?

I had high hopes for this one, and I think the author has potential! Maybe I’ll like her next work more? If you loved Ali Hazelwood’s Love on The Brain, you’d love The Boyfriend Candidate! 🖤🖤

**Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon House, and NetGalley for this advance reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. - SLR 🖤