Did not finish at 35%.

I received this audiobook for free as an advanced reader copy.

I tried to read this for almost a week, but I just don't want to keep going.

The narrator does a good job, but there were several issues that really made this book hard to read.

1. Third person present tense. There's something about hearing someone else describe what a character is doing that just doesn't work for me. Are they following them around all the time? In what context does it make sense for a third party to be telling this story when it's happening as they tell it? It's a really hard POV/tense combo. I'm not a big fan of first person present tense, but third person is definitely NOT my favorite.

2. Bastion's low self-esteem and constant lying. Look, I get it. We've all been a little down from time to time, but I find it so wearing to hear someone constantly say they're worthless, especially for something they can't control, like their family's finances. If I hear him say one more time that he's not as good because he went to a public school... Also, why he gotta lie all the time!? Ugh.

3. Them getting physically intimate before coming to an agreement. I had to stop at this point. Bastion has already said he is not sure about this. Internally, he's scared of ruining their friendship. It just feels premature and I didn't feel good about them getting sexy at this point.

Enh. This isn't the book for me.

Format: Audiobook
Narrated by: Pete Cross

Story:
Boystown Heartbreakers centers around Bastian Russo, a Chicago hairstylist with aspirations of opening his own salon. His journey is complicated by a messy love life and the struggle to accumulate enough money to turn his dreams into reality. After a fresh breakup, Bastian slips into old habits until his childhood friend, Andres Wood, suggests they start dating. On paper, Andres is the ideal partner: wealthy, honest, a good friend, and incredibly handsome—all attributes that trigger Bastian's insecurities. Bastian struggles with whether dating his best friend is worth the risk of losing him.

I found this story to be very endearing. Bastian is a fun-loving character who has worked hard for his achievements, coming from a modest background. His pride in his accomplishments is evident and relatable. Conversely, Andres's character felt somewhat flat. He seemed almost too perfect, lacking the depth and vulnerability that would make him more realistic and relatable. The main conflict in the story felt believable, and the reactions of both characters highlighted their personalities and the dynamics of their relationship effectively.

Overall, Boystown Heartbreakers is a charming, quick listen that left me smiling by the end. If you're looking for a feel-good story with relatable characters and a touch of romance, this book is a great choice.

Audio:
Listening to Boystown Heartbreakers as an audiobook was delightful. Narrated by Pete Cross, the pace of the story was great, although I opted to speed it up to 1.25x. This was more a personal preference than a necessity. If your mind races like mine, you'll find the quicker pace works perfectly. Cross’s voice wasn't particularly dynamic, but it had a... familiar? cozy? comfortable? quality to it. It felt like I was listening to one of my friends just tell me all about the crazy stuff he did over the weekend. Which made it very easy to listen to. At times it was a bit hard to differentiate the characters, particularly the females. I didn't at all get bored, or annoyed, and would definitely listen to more from this author.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the alAdvanced Reader Copy of this novel. This novel is a friends to lover troupe with a lot of spice between the main characters Bastian and Andres. I enjoyed the witty dialogue between the support characters and Bastian, it felt like something I could relate to with my own family. This novel does read for a younger demographic so I would just keep that in mind

Bastian has just had his heart broken, again. Why does this keep happening to him?

His best friend, Andres, keeps telling him that he can do better than the guys he dates.

This friends-to-lovers romcom is set in Chicago; Bastian is a hair stylist who has started making a name for himself, and Andres has worked to build up a handful of restaurants around the city.

Bastian is so relatable. His fear of a romantic relationship with Andres is completely understandable, and I can sympathize with him.

The frustration that Andres has is also relatable. Will these two ever get together?

This story was cute and fun. I love a book that leaves me smiling at the end. If you are looking for a good summer romcom, this is a great one to add to your reading list!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for this copy of the book.

Overall, delightful! The story here is paper-thin (longtime best friends become boyfriends) but it's more than enough to provide a venue for some charming characters you can't help but love. KC Carmichael makes you feel every bit of Bastian's wariness of and Andres' confidence in their new relationship status. The Chicago setting is a character on its own. The narration is light and sincere, perfect for the story.

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!

Absolutely loved this one! Carmichael has written a very cute and swoony plot with characters you love right off the bat. I am a sucker for friends to lovers and seeing the progression of their relationship while mingled in with the highs and lows of the plot felt very realistic and like watching two people I would actually know in real life.

Boystown Heartbreakers is a cute friends-to-lovers romance featuring hairstylist Bastian and his childhood friend Andres.

I didn’t love Bastian’s character, but I did love Andres. I thought he was a pretty relatable character overall and enjoyed any scene with him. I also really liked Bastian’s co-workers at the hair salon.

I love the friends-to-lovers troupe and there are lots of things I did enjoy in this book. I thought the relationship development was a little oddly paced, especially at the beginning of the relationship.

I thought the narrator was very good and fit the book really well. Overall this is a fun, cute debut novel!

Thank you Netgalley and dreamscape media for the free ALC. I love this book so so much and really bummed it's not talked about more. I love the it was always you friends to lovers. I love how much they rooted eachother as friends before coming together. i loved the steam and now I need to find a copy for my shelf.

5/5☆

this was a good story but it wasn't spectacular. the characters could have used a little bit more banter between each other.

the narration was really good!

As a Chicago resident that got this ARC during Pride Month, I was really excited and hopeful for this friends-to-lovers story set in my city. It wasn’t the worst romance I’ve read but it certainly didn’t exceed my expectations. I could not connect with Bastian and honestly found him rather unlikeable, then there was the third act breakup (which I detest!!!). Sometimes we can just let the book be shorter and the characters be happy without the whole miscommunication lets break up thing going on. As for the audio, I did like the narrators of this one.

3.5 stars. This was a decent debut, and I would be open to checking out more from this author in the future. Here are some random thoughts:
** I always love a book set in Chicago, and this one does a great job of highlighting different neighborhoods and locations in the area
** The book is written from Bastian's POV, and I think that led to somewhat weaker character development for the rest of the characters. I was never invested in who Andres was as a person....which made it more difficult to get invested in the relationship. I think a dual POV might have made this a more solid read.
** The pacing was a bit off, and there were times that I felt the story dragged a bit
** I did enjoy the childhood friends to lovers aspect, but this miscommunication/lack of communication was frustrating at times.

This was such a fun friends to lover tale. I did like not having the back and forth are they or aren't they into each other. I think it was fun to just have those cards out right away and see how a relationship can change things even if it is fate they should be together. While overall I enjoy the story and felt the author created character I know in real life. I did feel the pacing was slightly off for me at time. But such a minor thing. I couldn't stop listening to this once I started it. I would happily read more from KC Carmichael after enjoying this book

I want to start by saying I enjoyed this story but I struggle with romance books written in 3rd person POV and that was my biggest issue with this one.

This is a friends to lovers story and I love this trope. I really liked Andres and the way he loved Bastian. He really must have loved him because Bastian is a bit of a hard sell for me. He has so many insecurities it was hard to like him. The relationship felt very one sided for most of the book and I was glad in the end things turned around...mostly. Besides this, I enjoyed the storyline and a lot of the side characters. As a whole this book was cute and sweet but I needed more 1st person inner monologue to help me get lost in their love story.

The narration was good. This was my first time listening to Pete Cross but I would absolutely listen to his narration again.

Thanks NetGalley & Macmillian Audio for the ALC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced listener copy of this audiobook!I did end up DNFing this book 1/5 of the way through, and this review is based on the first 5 and a half chapters and why I stopped.

I listened to 20% of the book, wanting to really give it a chance, but ultimately I couldn’t finish it. As a queer Chicagoan, I really wanted to like this book, but I found the representation of queer Chicago culture to be very cliche, almost to the point of being something I don’t want straight people (or even queer people!) to read and think that’s how it is here. I think I would feel this way about this sort of representation of queerness regardless of where the book took place, but I imagine I am extra sensitive to it when related to my own city. I recognize that this is a very personal take, which is why I’m DNFing.