Let just say I just wanted this book because it has Jake Ryan in the title.
But you can't just put Jake in the title and expect to be a good book.
I just didn't like it at all. I love my main characters strong, but this one lack in character.
Just 2 stars...

A fun read, the story of Mac, who needs someone to play the boyfriend she made up - and find them in time to attend her sister's wedding with her.
She never expected to meet JT, but it is not smooth sailing for them!

Have you watched the 80s classic Sixteen Candles? If you’re like Dr. Mac Huntress, you’ve watched the iconic John Hughes teen rom-com dozens of times. Unfortunately for Mac, her obsession with the mythical Jake Ryan leads to such romantic woes she lies to her mother about a fake boyfriend to dodge further matchmaking attempts. Enter hot handyman JT…

This book is every bit a love letter to Molly Ringwald’s Samantha. Although the-lying-about having-a-boyfriend trope is clique and Mac is overly (almost annoyingly) picky about her dating prospects, The Jake Ryan Complex is funny and ultimately heartwarming. Mac stumbles through interactions with her family and friends looking for love. As a 39-year-old woman with a thriving career as a private practice OB-Gyn, some of her behavior is questionable and definitely immature. In the end, we the readers do see her growing to understand her loved ones, especially her obnoxious mother, more fully. More than just the main characters have depth which sets this rom apart from the pack while also indulging in the bubblegum sweetness of the girl getting her dream guy.

This is the first book I have read by Bethany Crandell and I absolutely loved it. I usually like books with dual POV's but this one is only the POV from the Heroine, Mac. In saying that, Ms. Crandell also did a great job of writing JT that you could tell his feelings.

Mac is an Obstetrician with a controlling mom and no love life. She also own an older fixer upper home. Macs been through several contractors and her porch is currently is pieces in her yard. She has small carriage house in the back that she rents out to an aspiring artist named Gia. Mac comes home to a contractor truck in her driveway that GIa called because a pipe busted in the house she is renting from Mac. Of course Mac assumes the worst case scenario of how pricey the contractor will be. Much to her surprise JT is very knowledgeable, not expensive and handsome. He is also wearing a wedding ring. Mac hires him to fix the plumbing and ignore the little spark she felt. Gia also tells her he orders flowers 2 times a month from the florist shop she works at. Gia also has seen him talking with a woman several times outsie of the shop. Whick confirm to Mac he is taken.

Macs younger sister Hope gets engaged which of course Macs mom brings up her boyfriend "Michael". Which is a problem since Michael is a made up boyfriends to keep her mom off her back. So Mac decides to find an actual boyfriend. During her process her friends tell her that has a "Jake Ryan" complex. They believe she has always compared every guy to Jake Ryan the actor from the move sweet sixteen. Mac thinks her friends are wrong and doubles her efforts to find the suitable boyfriend before the wedding. This of course spurs several funny blind dates, her meddling friends opinions and weekends with her mom wanting to meet Michael.

This is a very funny, sweet book. I really enjoyed it and the supporting characters of this book. Mac was a great heroine that I really loved and rooted for during this entire book.

I received an advanced copy for an honest review.

I am a fan of the 1984 film Sixteen Candles and have always thought Jake Ryan was dreamy. So does Mackenzie “Mac” Huntress. Subconsciously, she has been evaluating her dates based upon the standard set by the fictional Jake Ryan, but she is okay with waiting for whenever a real man meets that potential. But her mom isn’t, so to avoid all her harping, Mac invents a boyfriend that her mother will approve of until she finds her Jake Ryan.

This is all well and good until her sister announces her upcoming wedding when Mac needs to bring her boyfriend “Michael to this event.

On the way to finding someone to become “Michael”, she stumbles upon her dream Jake, but he comes with secrets and complications.

There are numerous references to the movie Sixteen Candles (crazy end to the wedding, understanding father, that great song from the ending, etc.) that were fun to read.

The Jake Ryan Complex was an enjoyable story for those who remember the movie fondly.

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake Books for the ARC.

What a great ode to Sixteen Candles! This book was the perfect mix of laugh out loud funny, nail biting teen (I mean, thirtysomething) angst, and swooning over love in the form of Jake Ryan. Between rolling my eyes at Mac's relationship with her mother and her sister, cringing at Aunt's Ginn's comments (the Chinaman!) and cheering on Mac and J.T., I felt like I was in a John Hughes movie. The ending was perfect and I was absolutely hearing the ending credits in my head as I read it! On a side note- I LOVED Caroline's character (my namesake!). She (and her foul mouth) were a hoot!

The Jake Ryan Complex by Bethany Crandell a fine five-star read. This was my first by this author, but I really hope it wont be the last, I could see how this author has wrote for younger audiences before as there was a young-ness to the characters, they didn’t seem bogged down by age, it was nice and refreshing. I will admit I adored Mac and her relationship with her mother just reminded me so much of mine and made me chuckle so much. I really got behind the Michael relationship as even though my mum was never bothered about boys and relationships there were other similarities and I could understand the need to make things up. Also, Sixteen Candles rocks so hard, who wouldn’t want their own Jake Ryan, especially one who is good with wood. There is so much drama and laughter in this story, but there is also most importantly a very good story.

Most romance novels follow some sort of a formula, and usually I love that because I know how it will end. But this just felt glaringly formulaic — 3 bad dates in the search for a fake boyfriend, unexpected and seemingly unavailable guy in the background — and I think it’s mostly because I didn’t connect with the characters or particularly like them very much, so I didn’t feel like there was a lot of nuance to those beloved tropes.

I love 80s movies like Sixteen Candles, so I was excited to check out The Jake Ryan Complex. Plus, the synopsis reminded me a bit of the plot of The Wedding Date movie, so that also seemed like a win.

Bethany Crandell's book is a bit of a combo of these themes with obstetrician Mackenzie “Mac” Huntress needing a date for her sister's wedding. The issue is that she's made up a boyfriend, and now she needs a real date to take to the event.

While I loved the premise, some of the character development fell just a bit flat, though it was still overall an enjoyable read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I loved the premise of this. Who doesn't want their very own Jake Ryan. I know I would. That being said, I just didn't connect with these characters. I wanted a little more from them. They fell a little flat. However, I would read this author again and I did find the idea really cute.

Having loved Sixteen Candles and Jake Ryan I picked this book up because of the title. I was not let down...I absolutely loved the book. Mac is an obstetrician who has been waiting for her Jake Ryan. JT is a contractor who after a horrible past thinks he is ready to move on. When the two of them meet there is almost instant chemistry but neither one gives into it right away. Mac thinks he's married so she goes on several dates with real losers. If I say anymore there will be a lot of spoilers so I'm going to leave it at that.

The book was extremely well written and kept me guessing around every corner. I haven't read anything by Bethany Crandell before but I look forward to reading more by her soon. She has a great writing style and I loved every second of this book. Highly recommend this book.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy! I now have the urge to watch Sixteen Candles :)

Mac is a an OB doctor looking for a nice man, in a hurry, as her sister is getting married and her mother is expecting her to bring a date. During this whirlwind wedding season, Mac creates "Michael" a neuro doctor who is her BF. She thought this bought her some time until she was able to replace him with an actual person. Mac is set up on a few dates by friend and her patient. But unexpectedly, Mac becomes attracted to her handyman working on her home. As the story plays out, more characters are connected than expected. Such a fun read as Mac holds all men up to the "Jake Ryan" standard.

DNF at 49%.

I loved the film Sixteen Candles so I loved the premise of a woman desperately seeking her very own Jake Ryan, complicated by the fact that she's told her overbearing mother that she has a boyfriend who is also a doctor. Maybe that second bit should have been a warning signal?

Mackenzie Huntress is an obstetrician who struggles to find a guy to date more than once, even when her so-called friends set her up with guys they turn out to be cry-babies, or open-mouthed eaters, or over-users of innuendo. Mac's younger sister is getting married and now she has to produce her fictional boyfriend in less than two months to avoid her mother creating a scene and ruining the wedding.

So there were three things that made me give up with this book:

1. Mac is a doctor with her own practice but she acts like a tweenager
2. Mac is comparing every man to her teenage crush, who was a fictional character, I get having a soft spot for a swoon-worthy character but not comparing every man to him!
3. the ludicrous way Mac's mother decides that a man she's never met can babysit an awkward aunt at the wedding FFS

I'm almost halfway through and the characters are grating, so I'm giving up.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I have to be honest, upon reading the blurb for this I was entirely sure if this was the book for me, however certain aspects of the blurb hit upon things I enjoy. Unfortunately, within the first few chapters and seeing how the fauxmance was coming to be, I could tell this wasn't my style.. It will certainly appeal to those who enjoy a good fake romance and family drama.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I love 80's movies and when I saw this cover on NetGalley I knew I needed to read it.

The blurb talked about fake dating and although the execution of it in the book was different than what I had expected, I really enjoyed the plot!

Mac has been single for quite some time and to get her mom off her back she made up a lie. We all know that these types of lies in books, or even movies, never end well. Although it does make for something interesting moments, haha.

There wasn't anything I didn't like about Mac. I think that we all have tried to please someone and maybe even told a white lie expecting to make everything better. We are humans and we seek approval. She can be quick to jump to conclusions but again, can't we all? I know I have done it more than once! Mac does care for her family but you get to see their bonds grow stronger by the end of the book.

I wouldn't say there is much character development besides that and the book does heavily rely on the plot. There are plot twists that come out of nowhere and I was quite shocked! There is a few moments where she goes on dates and they were quite hilarious.

The romance does seem to be quite instant and the relationships also progresses pretty quickly but I didn't mind it for this particular book. I liked both of the characters and wanted to see them happy. Plus, they were just cute together and I did smile a lot!

If you are like me and don't like sexy scenes, there isn't any in this book. There is a bit of language and dirty jokes but no scenes left unread.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable read. It boosted my mood and that's a win for me.

This story was a quick read and adorable. For everyone woman of a certain age we can honestly say that we wanted to be the girl chosen to sit on the dining room table and blow out our candles with Jake Ryan. He was the dreamy guy that so many women swooned over so it was appropriate that our main character Mac compared every man in her real life to the perfect fictional boyfriend, Jake. I really enjoyed how the author took us on dates with Mac and showed us what was wrong with every guy. The relationship building between J.T. and Mac was a little lacking for me and they seemed to go from 0 to 120 quickly. I would have liked to see a bit more slow burning but I also loved the twist at the end of the story to close out Mac and J.T.'s story.

Thank you to Montlake and netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It was a nice witty light read romance with a hilarious protagonist. I have to thank NetGalley and Montlake for a chance to read and review this advance readers copy. I was looking for a light headed romance to read after I finished some heavy reading and this book was perfect. If you are a fan of rom com books then it's perfect for you! This is my first book by the author and certainly not my last one. I am looking forward to read more of her work in the future.

I enjoyed this and thought it was pretty good. I love the 80’s reference to pretty in pink. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

This just never hooked me. I found Mac to be annoying and a little juvenile. I get that the idea of clinging on to the perfect image of a Jack Ryan. But as an educated, intelligent and independent woman you would think that she would have realised that was problematic. I also hate the pressure the world around her seems to put on Mac for being single, the pressure her Mum puts on her to be in a relationship and her friends calling her unreasonably picky. To me the idea that a woman needs to be in a relationship seems a little outdated, plus I also believe everyone has the right to be picky - we shouldn't be settling, obviously, there is compromising but the point stands. What do I think I think the idea of this book had huge potential, in execution not quite there. Nevertheless, Bethany Crandall is clearly a very talented author and even though this wasn't quite the book for me I will definitely check out her future releases.

I received a NetGalley arc in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't overly sold on this book. I feel like it was written by someone who has never had children, based on all the noise the women in labour made and the absurd things that they said.
It seemed like the author de ised to make the hero the father of someone else's baby half way through and then changed her mind so made the baby a completely different race.

These are just a couple of memorable things that bothered me but I fell the whole story was lazily done and ended up skimming the last quarter of the book.