4.5 stars!

Now this was a fun romance!! The whole time I was reading this, I was so happy! Alexis is such a great main character and her dedication to education was so inspiring. I also loved Logan and his unique personality for a governor candidate. There was funny banter and the fake dating was awesome.

I'm docking half a star due to the fact the main issue was lack of communication which often makes me want to pull my hair out, but here it did really work with the story.

I'm forever impressed that Winstead can write seamlessly across genres. From romance to dark thrillers, her writing is incredible. I can't wait for more from her soon!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I’ve always been a fan of Ashley Winstead’s thrillers and I was a little scared to read her romance books but omg I’m so glad I gave it a chance! I loved reading a book about a couple who pushes each other to be a better version of themselves! Also appreciate the 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 in this book: the climate change issues, the animal shelter highlights, and most importantly, this book is a shoutout to all the loving 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 out there! I’m not a super fan of 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲s but the use of this storyline worked so well for me in this book too!

This book has everything: fake dating, intense chemistry, an engrossing storyline, and two incredibly affable characters. Oh, and did I mention the chemistry? Needless to say, I adored this book! The only aspect that wasn't entirely my thing was the constant miscommunication between the characters, which I wish had been toned down a bit. However, the fake dating trope and the slow-burn romance had me completely smitten. Logan's quotes were so adorable that they made me scream with delight.

When school librarian Alexis finds herself in compromising photos with gubernatorial candidate Logan, the two agree to fake date until Election Day.

So I liked this, but like TALK TO EACH OTHER. It drove me crazy. I know part of the miscommunication was because Alexis hadn’t found her voice yet, but come on. I also appreciated the focus on education/educators, but rolled my eyes so hard at Alexis’s principal just giving her a day off a week and a raise - never going to happen. Maybe I’m too close to the situation as a “retired” school librarian?

Brilliant plot, absolutely one of the most captivating reads I couldn't put down! I would definitely reread it again.

This was a really cute rom-com with a fake dating premise. I loved how Alexis and Logan meet and how it turned into this whole whirlwind. A little bit more politics in a romcom than normal but as I agreed with all of Logan's idea it was totally fine! I look forward to reading more from Ashley Winstead in the future!

The writing was excellent and was so easy to follow and the characters were fun in their way but has a few issues in my opinion. It took me a while to really get into it and to find it enjoyable but I ended up liking it after a while.

"The Boyfriend Candidate: A Sizzling Slow-Burn Romantic Comedy" by Ashley Winstead is a fun and flirty romance that'll leave you swooning as you root for the perfect match.

I would give it 5 stars! Ashley Winstead is one of my new fave authors, having read Fool Me Once and now The Boyfriend Candidate! I am excited to read her thrillers, I have them waiting for me, haha. I loved Alexis and Logan's story and the snippets we got of Lee and Ben. Can we get a Will book next?!

As a teacher, I do not really know how to express the WAY I feel about this book... and as a reader I also have struggles figuring out how I feel about this book.

I do believe, after reading this, is that I'll stick with her thriller works going forward because mayhap the political field romance isn't her strong suit or my taste... and I don't feel like figuring out the true answer here.

An awesome slow burn, fake dating contemporary romance between Logan and Alexis. This book made me slightly interested in politics which is hard to do these days! If we had Logan as a candidate maybe more people would be interested too!

The miscommunication between Logan and Alexis was extremely frustrating, but made sense for the plot to develop.

I'll be honest I do not vibe with books that have any kind of political themes but I loved Fool Me Once so I took a chance on this and I'm so glad I did! I absolutely LOVE fake dating tropes and how authors can make them believable and I truly think this could happen in real life. Event hough this is a slow burn you can defiantly feel the pull these characters have towards each other. I loved watching them open up to each other and how Logans "player" persona wasn't what everyone thought is was. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves book that build a strong relationship between the main characters.

LOVED THIS STORY! Great plot. Alexis Stone is a reserved librarian who finds her bad ass self and I just loved it.

This was such a fun read! I can't wait for more by this author. I would absolutely recommend! If you are looking for a book to get you back into reading. This is it!

I decided to DNF this one as it was ultimately not for me. The first few chapters were awesome, and then the story became a boring, forced political bible. I'm fine with some politics, but not every plot point, conversation, and even romantic connection being politically driven. I'm giving a 3 star neutral rating on NetGalley and will respectfully not post elsewhere (as I didn't actually finish the book and can't give a comprehensive opinion).

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

My Rating: 3/5 Stars

My Review:

I received a digital ARC of this book from HTP Books in exchange for an honest review and place on this blog tour – thanks!

As a future librarian, I would be doing myself a disservice if I did not read every book I could about books, libraries, and librarians. So when I saw the MC in this book was a librarian, I jumped at the chance to be a part of promoting it. The Boyfriend Candidate is a messy and cheesy rom com, that is as fun as you let it be. It was a lot at times, but letting go of the technicalities made it a more enjoyable read.

This is not to say that there wasn’t things about this book that I wish were different. I felt like there could have been more research/attention spent on Alexis’s and Logan’s careers. There was a lot of plot holes of convenience regarding that, which I hope will be resolved in the finished version. There was just something off in the way Winstead chose to portray that aspect of this story and for Alexis, especially, her ending career wise was disappointing to me. It was also a bit misrepresentative of the education involved in becoming a librarian, which irked me, whoops.

Moving past that, this book had such a wonderful cast of characters. I don’t think there were any that I did not enjoy. Though told through Alexis’s perspective, I felt like we got to know most of the cast well enough by the end of the novel. There were many sweethearts throughout (I loved Muriel so much) and I thought that their interactions balanced out the story.


I also really enjoyed the building of Alexis’s relationship with her mother and sister throughout the novel. It was a well rewarded decision to focus on that aspect of her life, in terms of how she is still growing and discovering who she is and where her current ideals come from. I would have liked to have spent a bit more page time applying these changes to her relationship with Logan, but alas.

All in all, this was a fun read that I am sure many other readers will devour once they pick it up.

The Boyfriend Candidate released May 9th, 2023

This is one of the best romcoms I've ever read through netgalley. It was funny, sexy, and entertaining. I honestly could not stop reading.

I found the characters relatable and likable. The FMC was a bit naïve, but I still rooted for her and enjoyed her arc.

4.5 stars.

This is a first time read for me by this author, so I didn't know what to expect when I picked it up. Alexis has been leading a bit of a boring, ho-hum life, and when her boyfriend dumped her for that very reason, she realizes she needs to change things up. She decides to have a one night stand. She meets Logan at a hotel bar, who is the complete opposite of her, and she decides he is the one. But hooking up with Logan gives her more than she bargained for when pictures of her and Logan surface all over the internet. In order for both of them to save their careers, they pretend to fake date - just for a couple of months. There's no harm in playing this charade for a couple of months, is there? Unless of course real feelings begin to develop and the chemistry between absolutely sizzles.
Fake dating, likable characters, and an interesting plot kept me turning the pages of this humorous and fun story. I think the writing was well done, it kept me engaged and interested till the end. I enjoyed the story and hope to read more of this author's work. Glad to have had the opportunity to read this delightful fun story!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

This was a really cute rom-com with a fake dating premise. I loved how Alexis and Logan meet and how it turned into this whole whirlwind. A little bit more politics in a rom-com than normal but as I agreed with all of Logan's idea it was totally fine! I look forward to reading more from Ashley Winstead in the future!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Fun, good, beautiful


Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”