LOVE the Plant Daddy business, love the sex positive themes. I liked the characters of Teddy and Cole, but I felt like the alternating between characters was too frequent and at times I lost track of which character's life I was reading about. I liked the romance, which was more sweet than steamy imo, I just wanted more emotional insight.

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review

I was honestly going to give this 3 stars, but I’m bumping it up to four upon reflection - the chemistry between Teddy and Cole was both raw and honest, and what could have easily been just a steamy run-of-the-mill romance novel really delved into issues of trust and self-worth. I had a few issues with flow (including one section where the narrators literally change mid-chapter without any warning) but overall I really enjoyed this book.

The last three novels I read by Steven Salvatore have been young adult, so it was nice to read their first adult novel, The Boyfriend Subscription. And yes, this is very much adult, as the spice level is through the roof!

I liked both Teddy and Cole. They were both vulnerable and made a good pair. If Pretty Woman were LGBTQ+, this is what you'd get. There was a nice blend of steamy and emotional. I hated what Teddy had been put through in the past and that he lost his gardening store as a result. I was so angry on his behalf. I also felt bad for Cole in terms of how his dad treated him and that there were people in his life who didn't really have his best interest at heart. I loved his sister, as well as Teddy's best friend.

Overall, an enjoyable, sexy, and romantic read! I can't wait for more from Steven Salvatore, whether it is YA or more adult novels.

(Trigger warning below.)

Movie casting suggestions:
Cole: Colton Haynes
Teddy: Jaymes Vaughan
*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*
TW: Sexual assault (description of past event by a secondary character)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first Steven Salvatore book and I was impressed with how good the story was. I loved the Pretty Woman comparison and the queer rep is always appreciated. The cover is also beautiful. I will definitely read more from this author in the future!!

The Boyfriend Subscription is a good fit for readers looking for a heartwarming and humorous story about two men who enter a fake relationship that blossoms into something more, with themes of self-discovery, acceptance, and the power of love.

Talk about a delightful blend of sizzling romance, heartwarming moments, and irresistible charm. Readers are taken to New York City in "The Boyfriend Subscription" by Steven Salvatore, and experience the essence of love, vulnerability, and unexpected connections.

Meet Teddy Hughes. He’s a down-on-his-luck former retail plant business owner who finds himself drowning his sorrows in a dive bar. His life takes an unexpected turn when a confident and enigmatic stranger walks in. With cheekbones that could cut glass and a leather harness hidden beneath his designer suit, this stranger is a mass of contradictions.

Meet Cole Vivien. He’s a successful entrepreneur, has created an app called VERSTL, which is a platform where consumers and sex workers can form real but temporary connections. However, he now faces an unfamiliar predicament: he needs a fake boyfriend to project a more traditional image for a potential investor. This is when he meets a stranger who is shy, smart, and hotter than he realizes. The deal is simple: one week together, no kissing, and definitely no falling in love.

Salvatore masterfully weaves together themes of authenticity, identity, and vulnerability. Teddy's struggle to regain his footing after losing everything resonates with anyone who has faced adversity. His dreams of returning to New York collide with the unexpected opportunity to play Cole's fake boyfriend. The chemistry between them is palpable, and readers will root for their unconventional arrangement to blossom into something more.

The banter between Teddy and Cole is both witty and endearing. Their interactions range from playful teasing to vulnerable confessions, creating a rollercoaster of emotions. Salvatore's writing captures the pulse of the city—the bustling streets, the hidden corners, and the magic that can happen when two souls collide.

As the week unfolds, Teddy and Cole navigate their arrangement with humor, longing, and a growing sense of attachment. The "no kissing" rule becomes increasingly difficult to uphold, and their hearts become entangled. Salvatore explores the complexities of intimacy—the fear of vulnerability, the thrill of connection, and the power of shared moments.

The supporting characters add depth to the narrative. From Teddy's quirky friends to Cole's business associates, each plays a vital role in shaping the story. Then there's New York itself, who is an ever-present character that weaves its energy into every scene.

"The Boyfriend Subscription" pays homage to classic rom-coms while carving its own unique path. Fans of "Pretty Woman" will appreciate the nods to the iconic film, but Salvatore infuses the story with modern sensibilities. The LGBTQIA+ representation is authentic and refreshing, celebrating love in all its forms.

At its core, this novel is about breaking down barriers. Teddy and Cole defy societal norms, challenging the idea of what a relationship should be. Their journey is a reminder that love doesn't adhere to rules, it simply happens when two hearts collide.

Readers will rejoice in this delightful escape. Salvatore invites us to believe in love, even when it defies logic. Grab a copy of this book to let Teddy and Cole sweep you off your feet.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Romance, and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

THE BOYFRIEND SUBSCRIPTION is my first read by Steven Salvatore, but it certainly won't be my last! This book is the perfect MM romance novel that you're going to need to prioritize for 2024.

Having endured the loss of both his marriage and his retail plant business, Plant Daddy, Teddy Hughes finds himself at the lowest point in his life so far. Faced with financial constraints, he decides to abandon his aspirations and bid farewell to New York and move in with his mother. However, that all changes when he meets Cole Vivien. Cole enters the bar that Teddy is commiserating at with confidence and beauty that Teddy breathless. Cole is a successful entrepreneur of the VERSTL app, an app that links connections between consumers looking to meet and purchase time with sex workers. After meeting Teddy, Cole definitely feels an attraction that is reciprocated. To present a more conventional image for a potential investor, Cole asks Teddy if he could use him as a fake boyfriend in exchange for compensation and Teddy accepts. The terms are clear: no kissing and no falling in love. In exchange for one week of playing the role, Teddy will receive the financial boost he needs, with the assurance that emotions won't complicate the arrangement. But when emotions run high, who knows what will happen.

THE BOYFRIEND SUBSCRIPTION is steamy AF everyone! This book is the perfect queer romance and will leave readers hot and heavy, while also pulling on your heartstrings. I loved the dynamics between Teddy and Cole and the story unfolded in an unexpected way that I didn't see evolving. The book is the p-e-r-f-e-c-t Harlequin romance that fans of the genre must read. Living in New York, I can easily see similarities with this story and the trajectories many queer men face in the City. I can't wait to see what's next with this author and will prioritize anything Steven Salvatore releases.

Teddy just lost his plant business to his vengeful ex-husband's family. On his night out to drown his sorrows, he meets Cole, the entrepreneur behind a sex working app. Teddy has no idea who Cole is and agrees to be his fake boyfriend for a work dinner.

I liked this book. The characters were fun to be with in the story. It was really spicy. You just have to suspend your disbelief with the instalove in here. The characters are barely together and are already so in love. The villains of the story also feel very mustache-twirly and the conflict almost seems too easy to solve.

romcoms admittedly very rarely fully work for me because of their predictable nature and overused tropes, but i keep trying to find the right MM one to hit the sweet spot for me. this one falls somewhere in the middle - i found a lot of the dialogue really corny and of course the story hits all the tropes, but overall it was a pretty fun time and i enjoyed the lead characters.

A clever NYC-centric retelling of Pretty Woman where the Richard Gere character's super lucrative big-shot business is, itself, sex work. Cole (our Richard Gere) is the CEO and public face of an OnlyFans/hookup app mashup while Teddy (our Julia Roberts) is a divorced guy whose beloved houseplant business has just bit the dust. Our heroes start fake dating and fall in love in the process. There's a fashion montage, obviously. Fake dating as a form of sex work is something I've touched on before in my own work, and it was fun to see that concept turned around and examined from another angle. SUPER high heat, flirting with kinky. Would recommend for fans of online drama, haute couture, and classic romcom reinventions.

There is a lovely dynamic between the two main characters that was so poignant and charming I completely forgot that the pair had only known each other for a matter of days before realizing they loved and cared for one another. The first half of this novel does a great job of characterizing each of the main characters to endear them to readers and understand how they fit together as a pair. Less characterization is given to side characters which made the conflict in the later half of the novel that is spurned by side characters (no spoilers) and our main characters’ reactions to that feel out of place with the larger story. That said there is a lot of merit to this novel and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each character and I look forward to more works by this author!

I have mixed feelings about this. It’s a fun tropey premise and I read it in one sitting, and I enjoyed most of it. When we got to the conflict at the climax…okay, because of the short time frame, it’s understandable that they didn’t immediately trust each other, but making assumptions believing that this person you like so much is a huge liar when it’s OBVIOUS that they’re not involved in the shady shit is just…ugh.

Especially combined with the other romance novel trope I hate which is the characters falling in love in a comically short period of time. At least the characters acknowledge that it’s ridiculous here, but come on. Also the fact that every time I thought the conflict was over it resurfaced…it’s not even a 200 page book and this happened multiple times!!!!!

Also this might just be me being nitpicky, but POVs changed so often that sometimes I did get confused whose POV we were in, (not helped by the formatting, since they always happened in the middle of the page). I was planning on giving this 2 stars, but I liked them as a couple and the ending made me cry, so I bumped it up one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

By all accounts, this book should have really worked for me. A pretty woman retelling? Sex workers? Healing from past body issues? Fake dating? Queer? It just had everything I could want, but sadly it just missed the mark for me.

Teddy is our adorable MC who is recovering from a painful marriage and even more painful divorce where he not only lost his husband, but also his livelihood in the form of his plant store. He's got issues he's working through including some past body issues, but he is written to be so sweet and vulnerable and I really liked his character. Our other MC is Cole who comes from a rich family but has made his own name (literally) in the top sex worker app of the day (think Only Fans). The two meet by happenstance and the fake dating to falling love plot ensues.

There were things to really love about this book. The general concept is wonderful! I love seeing books with positive portrayals of sex workers! I also thought each character was good on their own and was interested in them, but unfortunately, that is where the positives ended for me.

So what didn't work? First off, I didn't vibe with the writing style. I think if you do, you're opinion of this book will be much more positive. It just often felt a bit clunky for me and often there was a lot of telling via inner monologue instead of showing. I also didn't realize this would be an "insta-love" story. It just felt like they went from meeting to being obsessed, and I didn't get any build-up. I also felt like a lot of the plot happened for sake of moving the plot along, but it didn't often make a lot of sense. The friend showing up felt odd and not something a best friend would actually do. I also couldn't believe when Teddy forgot the story line that he was supposed to be living in LA but didn't immediately realize his mistake. I mean that was a big part of their fake dating scene. How could he forget so easily? I also felt like this was a little bit pro ultra-rich and honestly, I'm not a billionaire romance person, so that type of story line is never going to be for me.

In the end I think this will work for a lot of people (and judging by all my friends on Goodreads, it is!) but sadly it missed the mark. I would still be curious to read more by Steven Salvatore as I really enjoyed his first YA book.

Rounding up from a 3.5!

Down on his luck Teddy meets SW corporate mogul Cole and gets his own Pretty Woman moment.

I was initially interested in this book because of the s*x positivity and fake dating aspect and truly had a great time.
I liked seeing Teddy be unapologetically himself and Cole being so grounded by that. The two were very much from different worlds, but definitely worked well together. The smut was definitely smutting, but this wasn't necessarily a book about s*x despite Cole's occupation. It truly was about these two finding comfort and friendship within one another after being spurned by love in the past. While I loved the fake dating trope in this book, I did feel like there was a lot of back and forth regarding the paid - escort situation (The Boyfriend Subscription for those who love a title drop in a book) that took away plot wise for me of them falling in love.

I also didn't really care for the big baddie in this - and think that it was bit distracting from Teddy and Cole's story line.

Overall, this was a cute little book to read and definitely a palette cleanser. Teddy and Cole are definitely comfort characters that I think a lot of people would enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequinn Books (Afterglow) for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Taking inspiration from Pretty Woman, this MM romance about a sex worker and a Plant Daddy will have you rooting for love, in all its forms.

We meet Teddy on quite possibly the worst day of his life- his husband has left him, and his father-in-law is taking possession of his NYC plant shop- the literal roots he has put down in the big city. When Teddy goes out for a drink with his bestie Kit (Pretty Woman reference!) he meets Cole- and suddenly Teddy’s luck changes.

As Cole and Teddy work through a mutually beneficial fake-romance, real feelings simmer beneath the surface.

The Boyfriend Subscription dares to ask the question “what is love?” and challenges traditional views. It has a great whirlwind romance, funny banter, witty comments, pop culture references and steamy love scenes.

Highly recommend!

This is my third Steven Salvatore book, and I can confidently say that I will read anything by them at this point.

The Boyfriend Subscription was so many things — funny, charming, heartwarming, and sensual. And it is not without its more serious topics that include abuse, trauma, and self-loathing. But the book’s elements are balanced so well — the sad moments are supplemented with levity and wit, and it made for a lovely reading experience that will make you feel a wide range of emotions.

The writing is excellent. The pacing is just right. The banter and dialogue is very well-done. The Taylor Swift references?! Those were a lovely little detail.

And the characters? Let’s talk about them ... They are messy, they are flawed, and they make questionable choices. But you will absolutely love them. The frustration of the injustices that both of our main characters go through makes you want to hug them — and that means that Steven did their job — they made us CARE about both protagonists.

The book is a great look at self-worth and how the relationship we have with ourselves will always impact the relationships we have with others. It’s also a great reminder that we are all worthy of love.

My one critique that keeps this book from being a full 5 stars ... without giving spoilers -- is that a certain trope in the third act of the book felt out of place. It derailed the emotional momentum and progress that had been built up to that point.

You think this may not be your type of book? Take a chance on it. It might surprise you the way it surprised me. It has so many more layers to it than I expected — it’s not just a standard rom-com. Steven Salvatore is going to be an auto-read author moving forward.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC of the book!

BOOK REVIEW - THE BOYFRIEND SUBSCRIPTION by Steven Salvatore

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ - rounded down (sorry) - available 26 March 2024!!

Thank you, NetGalley, Harlequin Romance, Afterglow Books & Steven Salvatore, for providing an eARC for review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Teddy is absolutely adorable! A queer red-headed lumberjack botanist? Perfection - sign me up! And in terms of personal faults, being insecure around rich people is not really a fault for me 😅.

For me, Teddy is the star, but Cole is fun, the sidekicks are on point, and the villains are potentially too realistic...

Is it weird that this book made me want to learn some French?

This is my second read from Afterglow this year; both have been quality reads. I am looking forward to what is next from them.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book, I love fake dating and queer sex positive writing about sex work, that all sounded really good to me. I am also eager to read more romance between men that is written by a man, it feels like most of the most popular queer romance I see is gay men being written by women.

Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed! I found the insecurities and baggage of these two characters to be exactly the same as I have read so many times before. The set up was interesting and new to me but the characters were not, and with that I felt like I could see every small miscommunication and misunderstanding and other kind of hiccups coming. I know part of the appeal for many readers in romance is the predictability, but that is not an appeal for me.

The narrative switched between the two men so rapidly I often found myself confused about who I was reading from. There might be 4 or 5 POV changes within the same evening! I didn’t find their voices to be distinct enough for this to work in such a rapid way. It seemed like the only reason to do so many rapid swaps was to make sure the reader didn’t miss a single insecure thought either man had!

I think the main characters had good chemistry, they were both funny and sweet with a little bit of a haunted past, but maybe they were a bit too alike for this situation. Despite the predictable miscommunication and BFF interference, this was a sweet story, but I couldn’t fully enjoy it. There was one instance where one man did something SO outrageously awful to the other so thoughtlessly, I couldn’t believe he would make that mistake and frankly I never found anything else he did believable after that.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Afterglow Books by Harlequin, for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for this honest review!!

This is my first book by Steven Salvatore, and while I thoroughly appreciated the de-stigmatizing attitudes towards sex work, I just did not feel pulled towards or invested in the romance. Both characters were lovely, but the pacing about the first 30% of the book being one night just did not work that well for me. I don't mind character-driven novels, but it felt a bit clunky and like I just had no idea where this romance arc was going.

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Content Warning: Off-screen sexual assault and violence

The Boyfriend Subscription by Steven Salvatore is a contemporary queer retelling of Pretty Woman (1991) that follows the love story between Cole Vivien and Teddy Hughes. Cole is the CEO of a queer sex working app called VERSTL from LA who is in New York for an event to promote his company and collaborate with a potential investor. On the other hand, Teddy is a botanist and author who had made his home in New York in the last few years until his marriage ended and his plant business went down with it.

Both men find themselves running from their pasts, they find solace in a local New York bar and cross paths. After a fun evening out, Cole propositions Teddy to be his fake boyfriend for the week to impress the investor at a business meeting and his family at a wedding.

The Catch? Cole Vivien doesn’t kiss or fall in love. Will the sparks flying between them be enough for Cole to break his lifelong rules for Teddy?

***
I would like to firstly say: I LOVED this book! This is really brilliant as far as modern retellings of a beloved classic film goes. Steven had wonderfully adapted this book to follow the movie’s beats to keep the heart of Pretty Woman while refreshing the story to reflect our contemporary times. Teddy and Cole feel like their own characters while sharing similarities to their film counterparts. I would say the same for the plot, it feels like their very own love story.

Speaking of our characters, I liked how Steven had mixed and matched traits, backstories and personalities of both Vivien and Edward to instill into Cole and Teddy. You can’t really pinpoint who is supposed to be Vivien or Edward which makes them stand on their own as original characters.

Cole Vivien truly felt like the love child of Vivien and Edward. He felt like he embodied most traits from the original film’s couple. From sharing Vivien’s name, No Kissing rule and line of work while holding Edward’s CEO position and inheriting his Daddy Issues. On the other hand, while Teddy shared Edward’s name, was the hired ‘escort’ in the position and was given his own version of Kit. I really liked the original touch to Teddy by making him a botanist and author. These two also felt very real and new. Steven giving them little idiosyncrasies like Cole’s obsession with crystals and using them to cope and Teddy’s botony metaphors breathed life into them.

Of course, every good book is supported not just by their main characters but strong secondary characters too. As mentioned, we have a new version of Kit who is just the coolest Black lesbian a part of a triad I have ever read! She is the best friend anyon can ask for. Jason is…. Jason. Not to give anything away, you just have to read how everything plays out with Cole’s best friend. He was definitely well suited for the role he was given. I also loved Mallory, Cole’s sister. She was a new addition just for the retelling and she fit right in!

Onto the plot, Steven Salvatore has crafted a very well fleshed out version of Pretty Woman. The book format allowed them to have more depth and nuance than the original film and characters. The conflict and stakes in this story also felt much higher than the film. My main two complaint with this near perfect book is that 1) I wished it was longer. I could have read about Cole and Teddy forever. 2) As per the warning, I hoped for a better conclusion for the sexual assault and for the perpetrator to face actual consequences. I think a longer book could have covered this while giving us more time with Teddy and Cole.

Other than that, this was a wonderful book that has made me a new fan of Steven Salvatore. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves classic romcoms and of course the fellow queer people in our community, this one felt so true and relatable for us. Happy reading to everyone!

Thank you to Steven Salvatore, Afterglow Books by Harlequin Romance and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.