DNF @ 52%

I really wanted to like this book, I wish I could love my first read of the year. But that didn't happen. I always love to pick LGBT+ stories as a queer man I feel represented and seen but as a reviewer I have to be objective. Although the story's premise is interesting and the love interest is a man's dream, the MC is so hard to read. If this were a dual POV of both men, maybe I could go a bit further.
I think it was a clash of personalities between me and the MC, his attitudes, and how blind he was, and then went from 8 to 80 super fast, and at some point I was just tired because I couldn't care about it.

Sadly this was not a read for me but i hope I get to pick another great read in the future.

3.5 stars. I finally got around to reading this now that I've been in Chicago for a few months and really loved knowing all the locations/references. This book was really cute. Andres and Bastian obviously worked well. I do wish there was dual POV so we could have experienced some of the longing from Andres. I think they got together rather quickly and wanted there to be more tension. Overall, I would recommend this.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Company for the advanced copy of this book!
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A beautiful (and steamy) friends to lovers journey that captured from the first page to the last. After getting his heart broken for the umpteenth time, Bastian turns to his childhood best friend, Andres, for advice. Rather than giving into the usual wallowing, Andres suggests that they try dating each other, you know for the experiment. As Bastian finds himself falling head over heels for his friend, he know that the next heart to get broken will be his own. Everyone else in their lives thinks they should have been dating this whole time, but Bastian is not convinced that Andres could ever see him that way. I really loved the exploration of the various areas of Chicago, and the book made me want to visit the city and explore for myself. Though I'd be constantly hoping I'd run into Bastian and Andres and they cohort of friends!

Not a lot to say! The first quarter of the book is the same day on repeat without learning anything new. The plot is very superficial. Bastian's hesitation to a relationship with his perfect best friend Andres is that Andres grew up rich and Bastian didn't. Note: Andres does not care about this. Reading single POV from a man with minimal self-worth who refuses to communicate drained me quickly.

eARC provided via NetGalley for review.

I am a friends to lovers' super fan!! This was cute but I am bummed it didn't stick with me more than it did. Still cute though and I would recommend to others searching for a cute and quick romance!

Boystown Heartbreakers is cute, poignant, and hopeful. Bastain fell into an unfortunate cycle of feeling like he wasn't good enough for the life he always wanted. Andres has quietly loved him. As a reader I wanted to tell at Bastain to get out of your own way and just live your best life. It to some work, but I've he opened himself up. It's a wonderful love story

I liked this book, but something about it really didn't work for me. I think the pacing was a little off, and I had trouble connecting with the story.

A fabulous heartwarming romance. I really enjoyed this book and the love story along with all the main characters

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Real Rating: 3.5* of five

Fun, frothy summer read about a waffling, anxious gay guy grabbing his balls and manning up to exit the Friend Zone. It was a relatable source of anxiety. My issue about this iteration of that story is how <U><i>extremely</i></U> annoying I found Bastian. This could be a mood-driven thing, since the writing's okay, so I'm just not warbling about it instead of slagging it off.

Angst-friendly romance readers likely won't have this issue. Anyone who read and loved <a href="https://expendablemudge.blogspot.com/2020/11/boyfriend-material-romp-of-gay-male-rom.html" target="_blank"><i>Boyfriend Material</i></a> should at the very least sample it. It's more prolonged angst but it's got the same kind of HFN payoff.

Rising Action Publishing asks you for $16.99...borrow it, says I.

A very fun romcom!

Bastian is a brilliant hairstylist with a constant worry that he isn't good enough, which led him to many heartbreaks. But lucky for him, he's not the only one: there is a list of men names in his closet wall, left by previous owners. After yet another breakup, his only support is his best friend, Andres. But Andres, instead of comforting him like he usually does, suggests something new: dating him. Andres is attractive, successful, kind, and he knows Bastian better than he knows himself. On paper, it seems perfect. But there's one tiny problem: if this goes wrong, Bastian loses his heart AND his best friend.

I didn't know what to expect with this book, and I was pleasantly surprised. The story is really addictive and immersive, which makes it easy to read. I easily related to Bastian and his struggles and seeing him try to get over his traumatic past relationships was beautiful and painful at the same time. His relationship with Andres, however, was simply adorable. I loved how they found each other and fell into it, despite the hardships they had to encounter because of both their insecurities and what life threw their way. There was maybe slightly too much self-deprecating for me, but it didn't prevent me from enjoying the book thoroughly. All in all, a fun and sweet romcom!

I recommend if you like gay romcoms with struggles.

"They were never meant to be just friends. Just being friends was never going to be enough. And the love that is possible between them is worth risking everything for."

A beautiful, feel-good M/M friends to lovers romance debut that was great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Timothy Janovski and Nicolas DiDomizio. When hairdresser playboy Bastian gets dumped yet again, his long time BFF chef friend, Andres proposes the two of them give a romantic relationship between them a real chance. Reluctant to risk losing his friend Bastian hesitates only to have Andres slowly woo him into agreeing. Sweet and low on steam, this was an entertaining summer read with a great cast of secondary characters. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait to read more by this new author!

Thank-you to NetGalley, Rising Action Publishing Co., and KC Carmichael for the eARC.

Oh my GOD this book was EVERYTHING I wished for and more. I was hooked from the start and DEVOURED the whole thing. Both hilarious with heartbreaking, all-too-real moments, it had me feeling EVERYTHING. What a debut! Will absolutely keep an eye for and check out all of the author's (hopefully many) future works!

loved it and it was just fantastic to read. the characters were relatable and ones I wanted to see win. I also liked how when shared on social media the author was lovely and answered

This was a fun low-stakes read that I really enjoyed. It was well written and charming and I enjoyed the entire cast of characters. This was a sweet and enjoyable best-friends-to-lovers book and I'd be keen to read more from the author in the future.

This was a sweet childhood romance though it started as unrequited love on both their parts. There was miscommunication but it was hard to tell as we only had one pov. Bastian always wanted to believe the worst and Andres was very attractive but committed. It's hard when you are scared cause you have constantly made the wrong choice on relationships to not pull that into the new relationships. They seemed to be opposites attract. And I loved how the third act breakup made me feel. Lol I love to be humiliated and hurt but only in fiction. So thank you for that.
Enjoyed the hair salon scenes and the besties.
Thank you risingactionpublishing for the gifted e-ARC.

When Bastian’s latest boyfriend announces that he wants to be single for the summer, Bastian grudgingly adds another ex to the list of Boystown Heartbreakers scrawled in his walk-in closet, officially taking the lead for most heartbreaks of all the previous tenants who added to the list. Bastian is surprised and intrigued when his best friend, Andres, wastes no time in asking to be Bastian’s next boyfriend, but with 25 years of friendship between them and this being the most stable relationship in either of their lives, Bastian is terrified of taking this step and the inevitability of adding Andres’s name to the list of Boystown Heartbreakers. Andres is persistent, sweet, romantic, supportive . . . every bit the best friend Bastian has always relied on while also being incredibly rich and sexy and the city’s most eligible bachelor. With a romantic lead that seemingly perfect, and a main character who is paranoid about messing things up, there’s only one way this plot can go. It’s a cozy, feel-good read seeing two best friends who have been pining for one another work through their self-sabotaging to fight for the love and happiness that they deserve.

Bastian Russo has lived in Chicago his entire life and Andres has been his best friend for just as long. Bastian is a hair stylist at an upscale salon and has lived in the same Boystown apartment for years. Inside the closet is a list of men’s names that have broken his heart, as well as the hearts of previous residents—the Boystown Heartbreakers. Bastian constantly thinks that he is not good enough and not successful enough and his bad choices in men leave him broken hearted.

Andres is a successful chef and restauranteur. He has quietly loved Bastian for what feels like forever, but it never felt like the right time for them. After Bastian’s latest breakup, Andres finally suggests that the two of them should date each other. Andres knows everything about Bastian, including his insecurities, and everyone doesn’t understand why the men aren’t already dating. Bastian has to figure out how to move from Andres’ best friend to his boyfriend, and his insecurities might cause them to wind up next on the list of Boystown Heartbreakers.

Childhood friends to lovers is a favorite trope of mine and Bastian and Andres had that going for them, as they have been friends almost their entire lives. Yet, I was underwhelmed by the flow and execution of their relationship. The book is told entirely from Bastian’s point of view and I really needed to know what Andres thought for most of the book. After Bastian’s latest breakup, Andres casually suggests that Bastian now date Andres. I hadn’t gotten a well developed feeling of their relationship at that point and Andres doesn’t tell Bastian how he truly feels, most likely for fear of scaring him off. The two of them secretly start dating, which moves to fade to black intimacy, and their chemistry beyond friendship was never evident for me. They did love each other, but being in love with each felt toned down for me.

Bastian is a hairstylist and his boss, the owner of the salon, feels like a disembodied voice of harsh words and all of the salon clients are shown to be inconsiderate and self-involved. The author writes extensively in the author notes about her time as a hair stylist and it clearly seems there are a lot of micro aggressions and unresolved feelings and it became tiresome to read.

The third-person point of view did create an atmosphere to the story and the scenes were visual. The men don’t suffer from miscommunication, they suffer from no communication. They never define their relationship, even between themselves, which leads to late in the book jumping to conclusions and assumptions that only detracted from the story. The men do get a heartfelt happy ending, but this debut book was missing that zing for me between the characters.

This was a cute, queer romance. I love a good friends to lovers storyline and Boystown Heartbreakers had that. Bastian is a hairdresser in Chicago who has been having zero luck in love. He seems to only be adding more and more names to the Boystown Heartbreakers list hidden in his walk in closet. Enter long-time best friend and restaurateur Andres. Andres has too much luck in love but has no desire to make it long lasting, unless Bastian finally deigns to give him a chance. Can Bastian overcome his insecurities in time to save his and Andres' relationship, or is the only way it can end is with another name added to the Boystown Heartbreakers list?
**3.5 rounded up

I would say this book is enjoyable, but not that great. I normally love friends to lovers but wasn't excited with this one, especially since it has a third act breakup. It was good enough that I finished it, but I probably wouldn't read it again.


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6451108560