// thank you so much to the publishers and the people at net galley for giving me a copy of this amazing book in exchange for an honest review!!

it took me a long time to write this review because I couldn't figure out how to put my love for this book into words. if i had to compare it to anything, i would say this book is the closest to the magic of 'red, white and royal blue'—but it's such an underrated an unique read. I absolutely loved the characters, especially the main girl. the emotional arc she goes on, discovering what matters to her, that she can demand things and make changes, but doesn't always have to, was genuinely heartwarming. i absolutely loved the romance too, i read this entire book in one go and I was screamin and gigglin all the way through. there was no contrived drama and the love interest got his own satisfying character development—what more could I ask for?

honestly, I think this book sells itself short. especially the synopsis and cover make this book seem hallmark-y and contrived when it's the complete opposite. this is one of those romance books where the story is about more than just two people. it's a story about optimism, about hope and change. it's a story about politics being a space for everyone, about inserting yourself into conversations that you may not initially be a part of. and that was really beautiful to read about. I'm still not sure if I agree with the ending to this book (plot-wise, the romance was amazing), but honestly, it was unexpected and i respect the author for taking a more unconventional route.

i hope to see everyone reading this book soon, i can't recommend it enough!

Whilst this isn’t my usual genre I found myself really enjoying this one. The plot was good, the characters were well written and I just couldn’t stop reading. It was a brilliant, slow burn fake dating to dating romance.

I wanted to like this - I had high hopes for it but it was so boring. I couldn’t feel any chemistry between Alexis & Logan, so I didn’t care about either of them. There’s also so much politics in here that the romance runs a distant third to politics and miscommunication.

I found Alexis to be almost completely lacking in personality and spine, and just pretty clueless overall. Logan was a more developed character, but while his passion of politics was established, his passion for Alexis never felt real. I would have loved to have seen things from his POV as well, as he did come across as pretty stand-offish at times.

Alexis & Logan’s one-night stand couldn’t have been any worse, until he asks her to fake date and help him in his campaign running for governor! They are faced with a few hurdles along the way and they just might find the answer is closer than they expected! Such an enjoyable light-hearted book. Alexis and Logan are both super relatable and I loved reading their story!

The Boyfriend Candidate is a whip smart, funny, slow burn romance with some of my favourite tropes (fake dating, opposites attract and forced proximity to name a few). Throw in some heartfelt politics, a few uplifting causes and a bunch of loveable characters, and you’ve got yourself a charming contemporary romance!

Although a bit predictable at times, this was a ridiculously easy read with a captivating plot. I devoured it in two sittings! There was no slow build up or long winded prologue - you’re thrown straight into the story from the off, which was a huge thumbs up from me.

Alexis being the sweet librarian with a big heart and even bigger insecurities was the protagonist we needed, especially when the plot added further depth and she showed a fiery side during heated debates and causes she felt passionate about. Throw in Logan, your traditional tall, dark and handsome guy, with a sharp tongue and a hotheaded personality, and you’ve got yourself a pretty hot couple.

I did feel a little disappointed at the end of some chapters - the ones that left me wanting more, that felt a bit unfinished or cut short. This might just be the romantic in me, or that I loved the chemistry between Logan and Alexis so much I couldn’t get enough. It’s a relatively short book, so I absolutely would have devoured a few extra/longer chapters to stretch out the scenes, but I’m a greedy reader who loves a slow burn, so that might just be me!

As a big romance reader with a ton of different titles on my shelf, I often find I get bored by the third act and start to drift off. I’m glad to say I was hooked right til the end with this one and could not put it down - this was such a treat to read and one I definitely recommend!

A fun and light-hearted rom-com that was at times a little predictable but entertaining none the less. I enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters but from the start found it difficult to believe that Alexis was the shy and timid school librarian that she claimed. She had certainly blossomed by the end of the book! A few twists and turns just about kept my interest together with lively and pacy writing.

I'm not sure how to rate The Boyfriend Candidate. I really enjoyed the beginning, and even the political aspects of Logan's candidacy and how Alexis was invested in the teachers' cause, as well as the fun characters making up Logan's political staff. However, I felt that those things took over the romance, so much that I felt that maybe a good 50% of the book at least gets lost into those things.
On the other hand, I did like when Logan and Alexis were together and it veered more towards the romance than the political business parts.
The part where Alexis and her sister Lee finally have a very much needed talk, that part got to me and I even had a couple of tears rolling down my cheeks. I absolutely LOVE siblings relationships, as well as strong friendships in romance books.
So yeah, some parts I loved, some parts I liked less.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

✨ ARC REVIEW ✨

This was my first Ashley Winstead book and it was cute, charming and surprising.

The Boyfriend Candidate follows quiet and meek school librarian Alexis who wants to do something different with her life and put her self out there. To have more adventures. The book starts with her in a bar dressed to the nines and completely out of her comfort zone.
👏🏻👏🏻 so off with a bang 🤣 or not…

Enter Logan. The complete opposite to Alexis, foul mouthed, filterless and loud just wants a drink but steps in to save Alexis from a suitor that is socially unaware.

After a night of drinks and long conversation and Alexis deciding she wants to have her first night stand, the hotel that her and Logan end up at catches fire just as things in the hotel bedroom start to heat up and they have to evacuate. Logan carrying Alexis after she twists her ankle in the rush down the fireescape stairs, bolts when he realises that there are cameras on the street leaving Alexis bewildered.

The next day, Alexis is breaking news. The ‘woman’ who political candidate by the name of Logan Arthur saved is in the photos splashed across the media.

The photos will either sink Logan in the polls or boost his popularity and also affect Alexis’ job so Logan’s team come up with a solution. Fake date until election day! I mean what could go wrong 🫣

✨

I really enjoyed this one. Logan was a grumpy FK but a total cinnamon roll. I would love to see the add for the Animal Home haha I visualised it and it made me LOL Alexis had loads of character growth and really came out of her shell. Her relationship with her sister was super cute and it was great to see at the end how much they respected each other.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars

If you love:

✨ Cute and sweet romance

✨ Fake dating

✨ Slow burn – Spice right at the end. Small but just right 🔥

✨ Insta lust

✨ Political Campaigning


Thank you @netgalley and @ashleywinsteadbooks for the ARC opportunity in return for honest and voluntary review.

I really enjoyed this book! It’s a fun lighthearted rom com with likeable characters and good plot. Bit of a slow burn but done really well. Tropes included: fake dating, slow burn, miscommunication.

I absolutely flew through this book and really enjoyed the pace and writing. Who doesn’t love a man losing his mind!

3.75 ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I could not have loved this book more!
Although I have very limited knowledge of American politics and governors/senators etc, this was 100% not a politics book and 100% a laugh out loud, swoonworthy, empowering romance novel that hits in all the right places.
I'm now going to seek out this author's previous books to read.

i thoroughly enjoyed this book as it was exactly what i needed😌
i liked the plot, the characters (not the sister though lol) and the romance. i read reviews saying the politics aspect was not accurate, but since i’m not educated on american politics, i will not comment on that.
ofcourse there were the unnecessary miscommunication trope and 3rd act breakup which i didn’t like, but who does🤷🏻‍♀️

(thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!)

If you like an 'opposites attract' rom-com then this is the book for you.

The Boyfriend Candidate follows Alexis Stone, an introverted middle school librarian who finds herself in a situation where she has to pretend to be the girlfriend of Texas' Democratic candidate two months before election day. The usual miscommunication and love triangle ensues and the ending is as you expect (and hope for) in this genre.

A quick and easy read for the summer time. I will note that there are some Britishisms thrown in for the male lead that don't quite land but these are easy to ignore.

I would advise reading some of the content warnings for this.

As always, first a huge thank you to the author (Ashley Winstead), the publisher (Aria & Aries) and NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of 'The Boyfriend Candidate' ahead of its publication date, in exchange for an honest review. Please note that my review may contain spoilers.

The Boyfriend Candidate follows Alexis Stone, elementary school assistant librarian, as she embarks on her first one-night stand. Alexis attempts to overcome the hurtful comments made by her ex - Chris - by finding a hot stranger to hook up. There she finds Logan, Alexis's opposite in so many respects - foul-mouthed, filterless... in the lead up to their rendezvous, the hotel catches on fire during a freak storm and Alexis hurts her ankle, prompting our hero of the hour, Logan, to pick her up and sweep her to the nearby emergency services. As this occurs, the news snap photos prompting Logan to run off... turns out Logan is not just a lawyer or businessman like Alexis assumed, but is the Logan Arthur, a politician challenging Republican incumbent governor in the state of Texas. To save face, Alexis and Logan agree to fake date. Dodging questions from her politician sister, Lee, and forming new friendships with Logan's team, the steam and pacing of this book is everything a person could want.

Overall, I rate this book 5 stars., I read this book within the space of 5 hours, and stayed up until 3am just to devour it's pages. I was completely and utterly hooked. I loved Alexis' character, although the miscommunication between the two protagonists was extremely frustrating at times - made me want to throw my tablet across the room. The ending was heated and the conclusion was extremely satisfactory - I was glad that Logan didn't win his political race, it would've detracted from how honest and truthful the writing of this book was, it was just plain unrealistic for Logan to win, so I'm glad the author didn't go down that avenue.

Fantastically written, beautifully paced, and perfectly steamy - this is everything you want from this genre of book! Perfect for fans of Lauren Asher.

This was really cute and I loved the shy librarian/bold politician dynamic.

Overall this was a fun story, that kept me engaged, was easy to read, and flew by all too fast!

I didn't have any expectations of this going in as I've not come across the author before but I absolutely loved it, and read it in less than 24h.

I really enjoyed Alexis's journey, not only her huge growth in confidence but also that it came along with an acceptance of herself and what SHE wanted, not what she thought others thought she should want. I felt like she stepped into herself, and that was really enjoyable to read.

I also loved the relationship between her and Logan, the way he pulled her out of herself without even trying. I liked that he didn't coach her into being braver or more confident, she just became those things with him because he saw her.

The only thing lacking in this for me would be getting to read things from Logan's POV. It was fairly clear where he was at but I'd have enjoyed something of a peek into his mind, especially as he was so clearly gone for Alexis. You've got to love a guy who just loses his mind for a girl.

Overall thoroughly enjoyed this and will definitely read more books by this author.

This was such a super cute and fun read that takes the fake dating trope to a new level. Alexis is an introverted school librarian while Logan is a very outspoken politician. She wants to reinvent herself and prove she’s not as boring as her ex made her out to be so she dolls herself up and goes to a bar for some … fun. They laugh and drink and talk and, for a minute, she thinks she’s going to get what she came for until extenuating circumstances lead to him fleeing the scene without a backward glance.

The banter, oops moments and secrets lead to a very satisfying slow burn romance happening right under their noses while they’re too blind to see it. And when I tell you the slow burn was worth it - it really was. Logan isn’t morally grey per se but he will do anything to protect the woman he falls for.

I don’t read much romance but absolutely loved this! I was totally into Logan and Alexis and really love this authors writing style. I’ve read her thrillers before which have both been 5 stars and was so pleasantly surprised that she absolutely nails romance as well! I just wish Fool me once was available on Kindle! I’ll read anything this author writes.

Thanks to netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Alexis is trying to force herself out of her comfort zone after her ex told her she was boring in bed. However, her determined attempt to have a one-night stand does not work out even remotely as planned, and actually turns out to be the unintentional first step to some important self-discovery.
First thing to note: I'm British. That isn't often a factor in my book reviews, but is in this case, because I thought Logan was written extremely well. His (often profane) choice of words was very easy to imagine in a British accent. Also, my attitude towards American politics in novels is the same as my feelings towards 'The West Wing': it's a great thing to hang a plot on and use for character development, but I really don't care how realistic/idealistic it is. So both of those definitely worked for me. I also loved Alexis's development, as she discovered she did have a backbone and redefined the relationships around her, and the obvious attraction and slow burn between her and Logan built up beautifully. I was completely drawn in to this novel; it's the first I've read by this author but it definitely won't be the last.

I devoured The Boyfriend Candidate in the very best way possible! Alexis Stone is turning over a new leaf. Desperate to put her broken heart behind her, she steps out into Austin’s single scene determined to land herself an unforgettable one-night stand. While her one-night stand doesn’t quite go as planned, meeting Logan sets Alexis’ life on a path that she never expected. Suddenly, Alexis is thrust into the public eye as Logan’s new boyfriend. Her quiet librarian life used to be all that she thought she wanted, but finding her own voice and letting her heart lead the way is showing Alexis there might just be a different story out there. I laughed, I was teary, but mostly I was tired from staying up too late to read. I couldn’t put The Boyfriend Candidate down and think author Ashley Winstead has done a phenomenal job. The Boyfriend Candidate will be this summer’s favorite romantic comedy, laced with real topics and complex ideas!

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hands down, definitely in my top 10 romances of the year!
Was I sceptical that a thriller author would be able to give me all the romantic feels? Yes. Was I proven wrong? Definitely!!
This story was amazing, I could not put this down. The pining! Oh my word, the pining had me feel for the characters. The chemistry was palpable through the page and even though this is only told from Alexis' perspective, it did not take away from how Logan was feeling. We as the reader could see it through Alexis' eyes.

It was magical, sweet, endearing and quite funny. I love Logan! One of my favourite book boyfriends and these two complemented each other so well!