"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞."

One of my favourite movies is Pretty Woman (it is one of my Mom’s too) so when I saw that this was described as an “LGBTQ+ Pretty Woman rom-com,” I knew I had to pick it up.

Steven Salvatore creates a true LGBTQ+ tribute to Pretty Woman - there were so many callbacks and neat parallels that as a fan of the movie, I couldn't help but smile at: Teddy's outfit while entering The Mark is the male version of Julia Roberts' infamous fit (including the stares from patrons and hotel staff), Cole's given name a nod to Roberts' character (Vivien), a fashion show as Teddy tries on different outfits, even a wink to the famous "big mistake, huge" line! It never felt like it was copying the movie, but rather was a homage to these key pieces, all with a bit of a twist (like the fashion show doesn't take place at the store, but rather at the hotel suite). The set up is fun and plays on a classic rom com moment: needing a fake relationship after Cole tells his sister that he is bringing the person he’s been seeing to her wedding; naturally, he is seeing no one and propositions a business arrangement with Teddy that turns out to be anything but! The body positivity was refreshing to see too - both main characters are strong and defined, but not pure muscle and untouchable., and while it is spicy in places, it is more about the vulnerability of sex. Teddy and Cole have to try to keep their ruse of fake dating (one of my favourite tropes) in front of Cole’s very observant family all weekend for sister Mallory’s wedding, which naturally leads to disaster at the rehearsal dinner in the most entertaining way - I cringed in a few spots stressing for both of them. The timeline itself feels a little fast in terms of Teddy and Cole falling for each other (it’s a matter of days and the characters slying acknowledge this) but I like that it highlighted the quick connections we can have with both romantic and platonic relationships. There were a few moments I felt like were slightly underdeveloped (the plot with Cole's friend Jason seemed to just peter out) and the miscommunication does get frustrating in spots (Cole was the one who proposed the business transaction, but then gets hurt when Teddy refers to their time together as such), but they certainly didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

The Boyfriend Subscription is a story of loss, unexpected connections, deceipt, opening yourself to real possibilities, and intimacy. It is a fun tribute to Pretty Women that is steamy, heartfelt, and ultimately highlights that everyone should feel worthy to be loved. Thank you to Harlequin for the digital ARC

The premise of this book was super cute but I really struggled with it and I didn’t really love the character/the plot. Maybe it’s for someone out there, but unfortunately, I was not the target audience.

This book started out strong but quickly became predictable and same old same old. I got about halfway through and haven’t picked it up in weeks. Time to throw in the towel, TBR is too long to force myself to keep going. :-(

I haven't read as much MM lately because it is a genre so dominated by straight women readers and writers who also won't have anything to do with sapphic and behave badly in this space. I am not trying to be gender essentialist, I have read some great MM written by straight women, but a lot of it is just conventional and their sexuality is just about the hot sex between two men and it has nothing about the queer experience, or the men are hyper-sexualized or hyper-masculine. So if I read MM now I try to be intentional about choosing ownvoices, nonbinary and queer authors. Queer men deserve a place to tell their stories too.

This was a very conventional retelling of Pretty Woman except for a queer audience, which made it refreshing for me. I felt like a lot of MM by straight women is written for straight women and if you like those types of books you'll probably hate this. I liked this because it was very clearly written for a queer audience, and I liked how Teddy was a ginger bear, a representation that's common in the gay community but I do not see much of in MM romance.

I think this book worked best as a sensitive exploration of Teddy finding love after a brutal divorce instead of a conventional spicy romance. The melodrama, adherence to the Pretty Woman plot and the instalove kept it from being a four star read for me. I liked how Teddy was "Plant Daddy," a horticulturalist influencer and author, and Cole had made his own way as an entrepreneur with a successful social platform for gay sex workers, but he really wanted to be a fashion designer. I liked how they were whole people with interesting personalities and they had many sweet moments together. This book worked best when they dropped the commodification of intimacy act and were real with each other.

I did wish that Teddy had made more of a splash with the hotel employees like in Pretty Woman; it was mostly about Cole's rich but boring family and I thought Teddy's character development fell flat. And while it was a spicy book, and I appreciated that they talked about safe sex practices and cleaning up after each other, a lot of the sex scenes felt clinical and awkward.

Teddy and Cole were also kind of shitty to each other in the third act breakup, and that made me wonder how they could work through their differences and Teddy's hurt for a lasting HEA. It's only been a week. Maybe it's just that I don't usually care for instalove.

So in short I applaud this for bringing conventional straight romance tropes to a queer audience, raunchy rom com style, but it fell a little short for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I loved this title! It blends the serious and the silly, funny in moments but also so tender and full of heart. I love seeing two hurt people help each other move toward healing and move forward in their lives. Sexy, fun and full of heart.

First off thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book. I am not new to the world of M/M romance books in fact i love them and i approve of this one its adorable yet steamy and it felt like the author was really connected to what they were writing and putting their all into the book, The characters the storyline. I recommend and would gladly read this again.

This had a lot to do and moved a little too fast to get there for me, but I did like both lead characters and the side characters

REVIEW The Boyfriend Subscription

The Boyfriend Subscription by Steven Salvatore is a delightful and steamy contemporary romance that will leave you craving more. Teddy, a down-on-his-luck plant store owner, finds himself desperate and agrees to a "boyfriend subscription" with the handsome and charismatic Cole. What starts as a transactional arrangement quickly evolves into something much deeper, filled with unexpected emotions and sizzling chemistry.

Salvatore's writing is witty and engaging, and the characters are incredibly well-developed. Teddy's vulnerability and Cole's confident charm create a compelling dynamic that keeps the reader invested. The story has humor, heart, and plenty of steamy encounters.

While some readers may find the premise somewhat unconventional, The Boyfriend Subscription delivers a heartwarming and satisfying romance. It's a perfect blend of humor, sexiness, and emotional depth that will leave you wanting more.

Thank you, Netgalley and Harlequin - Romance | Afterglow Books by Harlequin, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

Steven Salvatore never misses & is really so good at writing love stories. For this adult romance debut, we got to see a really lovely pairing with lots of steamy scenes & the gay Pretty Woman retelling of our dreams.

This story was way angstier than what I'm used to, and what I liked, so I tried going faster to get to the happy ending because I was in pain. The characters had so much going on, each, in their lives and adding their arrangement couldn't have made things easier. It made things messier and then we have an annoying character who is not really that annoying but you still hate a little until the end, and another you just hate from beginning to end. This played like a romcom and it was intriguing and painful in equal parts. It kept me glued to the pages!

A queer retelling of Pretty Woman! Yes Please! I loved this book and it was a great adult debut from a YA author.

This one was much steamier and sex-focused than I first believed but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I love pretty women so the story was fun in that aspect, plus both characters were just sweet and funny! They had great banter and I loved seeing their love story.

The Boyfriend Subscription was a great romcom! It was both a fun and well written. Quick love and a ton of awesome tropes. I found this book to be both entertaining and interesting! A very sweet read and it makes me eager to read more from this author.

So I've read all of Steven Salvatore's books and I followed him on social media and I think that's the reason I like this book. I like it because I knew how personal it was and understood why things were happening and how the characters were but I don't think I would have liked it had I not had that context. Or at least I wouldn't have liked it as much. This is definitely not a favorite of mine and it's honestly probably one of my least favorite of the author's books but it is a good book.

I think my issues came with the secondary plot lines. The main plot was fine and I liked the two main characters but there were some things going on in the background that didn't feel fully meshed out or dealt with and that was unfortunate. I also feel like their first sex scene was so awkward and so cringy to listen to. It got better as the book went on but that one did not work for me. That was very little consent happening in terms of kink and BDSM and I just was not here for it. I normally love kinky books but they have to be done well and that scene was done very poorly in my opinion.

Boyfriend Subscription
The premise of a LGBTQIA+ version of Pretty Woman sounded amazing but I struggled with this one. There were parts that felt clunky & discombobulated. There was one section that made me uncomfortable & I didn’t understand the lack of communication. When I struggle to connect to the story, I realize this just wasn’t the romance for me, but this could work for someone else!

Thanks to NetGalley & Afterglow Books for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Because of my lower rating, I will not be posting this anywhere else.

A modern queer take on Pretty Woman should absolutely speak to me, but this one barely whispered.

Teddy’s marriage and plant business both go belly up and when he meets Cole, an entrepreneur with a massively popular sex-work app, the two hit it off. But Teddy’s insecurities don’t exactly mesh with Cole’s presence in the app and a very jealous former flame.

I wanted to love this. I would have settled for even liking it. But by the end of the third chapter, I knew that I was in trouble. The romance between the two never felt real or developed. The antagonist and ex from Cole’s life are so insanely cartoonish that I expected them to do some mustache twirling.

The book takes places over such a short period of time that it all seems so wildly unbelievable. Both Teddy and Cole have so many things they need to work out and the two of them going all in on this relationship despite that made me see red flags for them at every turn.

This was a nice quick read and there were some nice moments so 1.5 stars rounded up. But boy, did I want so much for from this.

I loved 'The Boyfriend Subscription,' and read it in one afternoon because I couldn't put it down. Steven Salvatore crafted characters whose love was so easy to root for, and who individually were easy to love. Don't get me wrong, some parts of this story plot wise are a bit ??? but they felt like background to relationship development. And while I'm not super interested in rich boys and their disgustingly rich families, I still loved Mallory and Brigette.

But here's the main thing: This book has endless instances of heartbreaking misunderstandings, but instead of people turning on each other and acting on that first emotion, there is a constant stream of communication, openness and owning up to faults. So many times I was ready to cringe at how something was about to go down, but instead there was listening, trust and kindness. Too often miscommunication-laden books use that as a way to create the central drama of the book, and it's exhausting and unnecessary. I want characters who work through issues together, rather than having their misunderstandings be the big issue.

please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
HEA: yes
POV: dual 1st person POV
spice: a few open-door spicy scenes
TWs: anxiety, bankruptcy, cheating, classism, divorce, homophobia, SA, sex work shaming
Kink CWs: anal, Choking, frotting, grinding, oral, praise, rimming, “sir”, switching
standalone: yes
final thoughts: I loved the fake dating storyline between Teddy and Cole as well as Cole’s complicated family dynamics a lot. There was a lot of tension, spice, and angst which made for a great story.
I did feel that there were a lot of subplots that detracted from the main storyline and would’ve benefitted from having less subplots or a longer story to really get into the details of the other stories. I felt like focusing on the other aspects took away from the main romance and character development. There were loose ends that never got tied and avenues that were left unexplored for the MMCs. HOWEVER I really enjoyed what we did get! The side characters, specifically Kit and Mallory!, were so fun and added great depth to both MMCs.

read this book if you love

🎥 actor
😬 angst
🫡 big MMC
🍿 celebrity
💏 fake dating
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 great side characters
🤫 hidden secrets
🩹 hurt/comfort
🛏️ “it’s just a fling”
🌈 LGBT+ representation
💞 mutual pining
🔀 opposites attract
🌀 plot twists
📖 pretty woman vibes

HAPPY PRIDE! We love a queer romance novel and this one DELIVERED. Was kinda drawn in by the authors name and how close it is to a vampire diaries character and it payed off.

Absolutely no hate to this book, but this was not for me. Not in the sense that I was not enjoying the story (it definitely has potential and I've enjoyed Salvatore's novels in the past), but I am not the target audience for this novel and that's totally okay. I will definitely recommend it to others, however, as well as suggest it for pride and general romance displays this coming year.