The perfect YA book concept doesn’t exi–

Okay, that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, but you get my point. The premise for The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist sounded so wild and fun, I had to check it out. Protagonist Ivy finds that her favorite fictional hero Weston Razorbrook has come to life — but something’s off. It’s not just the character but the fanfic version of the character Ivy wrote. He’s literally made for Ivy, yet it doesn’t take too long for Ivy to realize he may not be exactly what she wants.

Needless to say, having a character like Weston in the house isn’t easy, and Ivy recruits her best friend Henry and ex-best friend/crush Mack to help. In the TV show Weston’s from, he has magical powers (think Avatar: The Last Airbender mixed with The Mortal Instruments), but Ivy’s Weston is magical in how freaking hilarious he is. I mean, he’s written by a teenage girl, so he’s ridiculously cringey. And I loved it. What I loved even more, though, was how the trio of friends reacted to the cringiness and how they scrambled to take care of him.

Meanwhile, Ivy’s feelings for Mack resurface, making for a sweet mended friendship and cute sapphic romance. There actually isn’t too much romance going on, which I was fine with, since the book is more about Ivy and her journey. She’s a super flawed protagonist, and she knows it. I related to her anxiety and insecurities so much, and I understood how it made her sink into fantasy. It’s comfortable in fantasy, but as she learns, her reality is the place to be.

Sophie Gonzales has done it again. I shouldn't be surprised because this did sound right up my alley, but it definitely delivered. I had so much fun reading this book, I can't even begin to describe it. This book was also just such an addicting read, and I had a hard time putting this book down.
I really liked the main story. I thought having the fanfic version of your favourite character coming to live is just such a fun concept, and I LOVE how Sophie Gonzales decided to execute it. It felt very realistic, and I also love how it's obvious throughout the book that the main character used fanfic solely as an espcape from her biggest insecurities. Ivy's character growth throughout this book was also just really well done, and I loved reading from her perspective.
Although I do have to say that Henry absolutely stole the show in this book for me. He's Ivy's best friend, and he so fucking funny and relatable. Every scene he was in was an instant favourite. I also really loved the friendship between him and Ivy. They just had this sweet connection, and I truly think they were the definition of platonic soulmates.
That brings us to Mack, and that aspect on this book has left me with some mixed emotions. I do love a friends to enemies to lovers storyline, but I just had a hard time understanding their friendship. We do get some flashbacks to the past, and I really liked those aspects of the book. However, all I could see in those parts is that this was just such a toxic friendship. Ivy had such an unhealthy codependency on Mack, and Mack barely seemd to tolerate Ivy until she became friends with Henry, and all of the sudden Mack gets really possesive over her. So yeah, it's extremely toxic, and I just didn't understand why they were friends to begin with. That connection just didn't seem there, and it was even more obvious because there is just such a strong connection between Ivy and Henry. It also annoyed me so much because it doesn't actually get adressed in the book. So yeah, I never understood their friendship. However, I do think the hate to love aspect was decently done in the story. It isn't the main focus of the book, and I do wish we got a little more of it in the book just for me to be completely sold on it, but I didn't completely hate it.
So yeah, I did thouroughly enjoy this book. I do think the main focus of this book was extremely well done, but it's just the romance I guess that I just don't know how to feel about it. I would definitely recommend this though because it was just so much fun, and also just extremely funny.

I recently finished reading this book and it had me laughing out loud. I thought the character development was well done and enjoyable, and the plot was cute and heartwarming. The fanfiction character coming to life was a unique concept, and the execution was fantastic. The book accurately demonstrates how romantic storylines in media are not always accurate portrayals of real life, but with a humorous tone. In general, the book was well-written and entertaining. It was the perfect mix of humor, emotions, satire, and silliness, and definitely lifted my spirits. Reading this book was a delightful and fun palate cleanser from some of the darker material I've been reading lately.

The Perfect Guy Doesn’t exist is a cute story of Ivy writing fan-fic of her favorite guy & realizing that sometimes reality is better than fiction.

I love Sophie Gonzales' books and am always thrilled to read a new one. The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist is funny, charming, and effortlessly queer, as Gonzales' work always is, but goes in a quirky new direction with a fantastical element: lead character Ivy is a fanfiction writer who finds the subject of her fics, teen fantasy drama love interest Weston, has magically appeared in her bed. As someone who grew up in online fandom and has read fanfiction for years, I love the fanfiction focus and the unique way Gonzales utilized it, and overall this is a really fun book.

However, this wasn't my favorite Sophie Gonzales book, largely because I usually find her work to have a more realistic level of teenage maturity and emotional intelligence than many YA writers, which I found missing here. The voice felt sillier and more immature, which put me off the book a bit, especially in the beginning. I love how her voice usually captures how sharp and smart teenagers can be, and how her characters usually feel like very real teens.

Absolutely loved this book! I read it in one sitting! Thus has become a one click author for me! Thanks to the publisher

3.5 stars

Transparently, it took me a little bit to get into this one, but staying the course paid off. This has some great messaging in the end.

Ivy, the m.c., is home alone for a week, which is super convenient when Weston, the focus of her fanfic!, appears in her bed one morning. There's clearly something magical happening in terms of the sudden appearance of a whole person (and shocking disappearance/reappearance of his new outfits, not to mention his intriguing use of mind control), but the romantic possibilities between them? Well, those are anything but magical. The shocking changes in Ivy's environment give her a great opportunity to assess her relationships - platonic and otherwise - and to come to the titular conclusion that 'the perfect guy doesn't exist,' even when you create him yourself!

I have mixed feelings about this one. While I loved the fanfic element and the messaging toward the end, this had - for me - a slow burn in the beginning and some generally creepy stuff relating to a guy suddenly appearing in Ivy's space. Readers really need to suspend disbelief - that's a central theme - and I had a hard time doing that at certain points.

Overall, this wasn't my favorite, but I enjoyed the read (listen) enough. I will recommend it to students who are looking for a nice fanfic infusion in their YA!

I am withholding my review until the SMP boycott is resolved.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read.

3.5 rounded up.

A fun YA queer romcom with a paranormal twist. Bisexual fanfic writer Ivy is home alone and lonely while her parents are on vacation, somehow one night she manifests one of her favorite fictional characters who suddenly becomes a big headache in her life. With the help of her best friend Henry and her ex-friend and former love interest, Mack, Ivy has to figure out how to get rid of this unwanted and increasingly troublesome 'guest.' Full of antics and a bit of second chance romance, this was an entertaining read and great on audio too. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a book for fan fiction lovers. Such a good idea. It was a quick cheese romcom. It wasn’t my favorite by the author but I was still entertained.

i'm definitely too old to be reading this book, the characters felt very immature. lack of communication is prevalent

This is a YA romance where a young fanfic writer somehow writes her favorite tv character into real life. The story alternates between the past, showing how Ivy and her best friend and neighbor (and crush) Mack fell out, and then the present, where Ivy is dealing with a magical entity who is living out Ivy's fanfic plots. As you might be able to guess, Mack is roped into helping Ivy and Ivy's (new) bestie Henry figure out what is going on, and it turns out that Ivy and Mack might not hate each other as much as they thought... This was definitely a fun, light-hearted romp, but I didn't feel like there was much substance to the main characters or credible ties between any of them. I have a feeling this is one of those YA novels that I would have enjoyed more as a young adult than I did as a 50-year-old. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for a digital review copy.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books in exchange for my honest review.

As a queer, coming-of-age, friends-to enemies-to-lovers story this works pretty well. As a fanfic fantasy, not so much. I found myself invested in Ivy and Mack and Henry’s dynamic and totally checked out for most of the stuff involving Weston and anything to do with H-MAD. It felt more juvenile than I was expecting, and a lot of the humor missed the mark for me. My biggest issue was with the alternating flashback chapters, which gave me some major emotional whiplash — I think there is a way to integrate dual timelines while still allowing the falling out and re-building of this friendship to feel less jarring. Still a fun, original, and quick read that will probably work well for its target audience.

What I liked: I enjoyed the stark difference between the two lead characters. I thought the twist of Weston’s personality and storyline changing by the day was a fun addition! I wasn’t sure that this premise would have enough meat on its bones for a whole book but I was pleasantly surprised!

What I didn’t like: I found myself distracted quite a bit. This was written on the younger side of even YA and I had a hard time becoming fully invested due to some of the extra-teenage emotional processing.

Cute book, fun and great characters. The romance was alright, not my favorite but I liked the characters so I wasn't super upset. I'd rate this 4 stars

Holding my review until the SMP boycott is resolved.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I usually love Sophie Gonzales, so I was disappointed to find that I didn't enjoy this book. It was a bit too much in terms of childish angst and drama. I don't even think teenage me would have found it bearable!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy.

I think at another time in my life, I would have really enjoyed this one. It was just a little bit too much magical realism for me in this one to really enjoy. Perfect for teens and YAs who love things that are a little goofy.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to review. All opinions are my own.

When Ivy's parents go away, her plans for having the house to herself include watching her favorite fantasy TV show with her new best friend, Henry. She is a huge fan of one of the characters, and even writes fictional stories about him in her life. But things become complicated when Ivy accidentally brings to life one of her fanfiction characters, Weston. He's everything she could ever want in a boyfriend: incredibly attractive, knows everything about her, and claims to be her soulmate.

With Weston now in Ivy's life, she realizes that some of the tropes that she has always romanticized and imagined are not as great as she'd thought they'd be. She recruits Henry, and her former best friend, Mack, to help her figure out what's going on. Ivy and Mack had a falling out last year, and have been distant around each other ever since. Being around Mack again makes Ivy wonder if Weston really is the perfect person for her.

I am giving this book 4.25 stars. I flew through this book and truly loved it. It was such a great plot that most of us readers can relate to, because fictional characters are so compelling. I also think a lot of young adult readers would enjoy the plot and subject of this book, because of how relatable and cute it is. It's also so funny and sarcastic, Gonzales makes this feel like a true sitcom. All the characters were so likable, and it was a fun read.

I think anyone who enjoys reading or writing fanfiction would love this book. If you love rom-com books that feel like your favorite sitcoms and are hilarious, this one is for you.

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist by Sophie Gonzales will be released on March 26.

First, I want to thank Netgalley for this ARC.
Ivy is super sweet and likable, and her insecurities feel real and relatable. I loved the premise. Weston, the fictional character that comes to life is really too good to be true and as the story unfolds, it's clear that even perfection has its flaws, However, the romance aspect of the book didn't pull me in, as I didn't felt much chemistry between Ivy and her love interest. The double standards were a constant reminder of why the relationship didn't work when they were friends so I couldn't imagine it growing into something else.
Overall I thought the book was good and funny, just not for me.