The Jake Ryan Complex by Bethany Crandell is a quick read that delivers a nice dose of nostalgia for Sixteen Candles.

Obstetrician Mac has been unconsciously measuring up every potential love interest to Jake Ryan, the 1980s fictional heartthrob from Sixteen Candles, for the past twenty years. Often too quick to dismiss men that don't measure up to Jake, Mac's been single for years and has even concocted a fictional boyfriend named Michael to get her mother off her back. The Michael lie goes over smoothly until her baby sister announces her engagement and leaves Mac with only a few weeks to find someone to fill Michael's fake shoes as her wedding date. But looking for a wedding date on short notice proves to be even harder than Mac first anticipated, especially when her heart seems to be set on her new contractor who may or may not be married.

As a huge fan of Sixteen Candles and Jake Ryan, I jumped at the chance to read this ARC. The premise of a woman comparing every man she dates to a fictional character seemed to funny and I was eager to see if she ever got over her Jake Ryan complex. Unfortunately, I didn't love the execution - see below my spoilers line for some areas where I felt the execution fell short.

With that said, I did appreciate Bethany Crandell's quick-paced writing style that made for an easy read. I also enjoyed the many nods to Sixteen Candles in some of the characters' names as well as a few plot points.

Read further below for a spoiler-filled look at my take on where the execution fell short.

**This part of the review contains spoilers so read at your own risk**

With The Jake Ryan Complex being a romance novel, I expected to watch both Mac and her love interest grow as individuals. The journey of personal growth is honestly one of my favourite aspects of romance novels because there's nothing sweeter than seeing how the right person can bring out the best in someone else. However, that never happened for Mac or her love interest J.T. The whole reason Mac falls for J.T. is because he reminds her of Jake and at one point she even tells him that he's her Jake Ryan. She never got over her Jake Ryan complex, she just doubled down on it and consequently fell flat as a character. To be fair to J.T., he grows a little bit but he also spent half the novel wearing a wedding ring (PRETENDING TO BE MARRIED) to ward off unwanted attention until he was ready for a relationship. Even though he ends up being single, I still had a hard time watching Mac pine over and then fall for a man she thought was married.

I also never really understood why J.T. fell for Mac., which made it hard to believe in their HEA. This is sometimes an issue with romances told exclusively from one POV, but I feel like it could have been avoided had the novel should featured a few more scenes of Mac and J.T. together at the beginning to show what about Mac even appeals to J.T.

Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake and Bethany Crandell for the digital advance reader copy.

Ok first off the title of this book had me. My favorite all time movie is Sixteen Candles. I can recite lines from that movie like nobody's business. When I was reading The Jake Ryan Complex and the wording in the book would be exact to the movie it felt like a warm hug. Quick cute read and loves the characters Mac and J.T
I am a little biased since I did name my 2nd son Ryan. I tried for a Jake Ryan but my husband was having no part of that. Lol

Okay, you got me. Just attach the name of everyone’s favorite fictional ‘80s heartthrob to the title of a book and reel me right in. I similarly fell for last year’s WAITING FOR TOM HANKS, and unfortunately this is a case of fool me twice shame on me.

THE JAKE RYAN COMPLEX is a fairly benign PG-13 romance about a woman figuring out at the ripe old age of 39 that she’s still single because she’s held every man up to the standard set by the romantic lead in “Sixteen Candles.” Naturally her younger sister is getting married, and she’s made up a boyfriend since it’s absolutely mortifying that a woman could be 39 and still single. Not just any woman… a successful obstetrician who’s great at her job, is independent, and volunteers during her extra time. But she’s not married (gasp).

Needless to say, this is not a book I’d recommend to those who identify as feminists. I think the story of a professional woman looking for love is one worth telling, but the story told here just reeks too much of desperation and cliché for me as the reader. I wish I had liked this one more, and maybe you will if you go in just looking for a bit of nostalgia. (Heck, it even takes place in the suburbs of Chicago!)

The expected US publication date of THE JAKE RYAN COMPLEX is January 21, 2021. Many thanks to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a lovely book! I am a big fan of this recent trend of romances that examine our nostaglia, and this was such a fun read in that vein! 4.5 stars!

If you are of a certain age... you know and always know who Jake Ryan is. Everyone wanted their own Jake Ryan. The handsome and rich crush from high school who finally acknowledges you. But can a high school movie crush really dictate your standards as an adult? Seems weird to me. And I loved Jake Ryan!

I liked the idea of the book, but to be honest, the book, characters and plot were weird to me. A grown women who is a doctor basis her relationships on a 1980's movie is kind of weird. Especially when she is in her 30's.

The whole book reminded me of a 1980's rom con, which was cute. I wish the characters we're younger so this book didn't seem so .......weird. Everyone seemed to immature for their ages.

Mac and J.T. Meet in a normal way but as they get to know one another things take an abnormal turn and the rest of the events follow!

This book was hilarious and omg I had some super emotional moments! My heart hurt and felt for each one at different times as they both navigate their relationship! Things are easy and with his past and well current future, JT is doing the best he can to be the best boyfriend he could be! Mac is trying to be her best self but that’s not easy when her family can’t see how truly amazing she is!

I loved the awesome Hughes references (his movies will forever be some of my faves, sorry not sorry) and they definitely added to humor and over all romantic feel of the book! JT and Mac are relationship goals because they believe in one another and hold on to their love like no other! No love isn’t perfect like in the movies but it’s messy and in the end worth it!

The Jake Ryan complex by Bethany Crandell is a sweet story with nostalgic vibes connecting it to Sixteen Candles. Mac is hopeful that she will find love to appease her mother, but discovers that she measures all of her partners to the standard of the fictional Jake Ryan. Secrets, strained familial relationships, and budding romance provide a backdrop for Mac’s character development. Overall a fun and enjoyable read!

This was a cute, romantic read that I flew through. Lots of references to that classic film and dreamboat, Jake Ryan. Relationship issues between couples, siblings and parents! I found this to be a little predictable and light, but fun and a great distraction. I will definitely pick up more by this author! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

After reading a very heavy and dark book, I was needing something lighthearted and fun to change gears. Mac is a successful obstetrician, but when it comes to her mom she reverts to a kid who lies to avoid confrontation. Her situation was relatable even though it was taken farther than what would seem realistic. The first half of the book was a slow burn with her charming contractor, J.T. Then, once it picks up, it does so at warp speed, all of a sudden things become startlingly domestic between them and then there's big a twist that I didn't see coming. The pacing was so much faster in the second half, it felt a bit jarring. Also, while I felt their chemistry, their intimacy was glossed over in a way that seemed inconsistent with the rest of the book. Even though the book was a bit uneven, and sometimes felt "young" even though it was about grown adults, it was also quite funny and the characters were very easy to like.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I also had a huge crush on Jake Ryan so of course, this book caught my attention and I knew I had to read it. The Jake Ryan Complex is an adorable romance that had me flying through it. With a cute character like Mackenzie, you can't help but root for her to find her perfect guy. This book is a great guilty pleasure that I just loved.

The idea and cover were interesting, but execution was terrible to me.
Mac has a behavior of 12 year old girl not grown women and absolutely no character development in end. Romance and romantic interest were both bland and not interesting.
Other characters were cardboard, just basically nothing worked for me.


* 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

When I saw that this book had the 80’s
heartthrob Jake Ryan in the title, I knew I needed to see what this book was all about. This was a quick read that was highly predictable but kept me entertained. Mackenzie is an obstetrician living in Chicago who is waiting for her Mr. Right. Her family and friends have been giving her a hard time because she always seems to find faults with the men she dates. Mackenzie has made up a whole story about her fictional boyfriend to her mother to keep her off her back. Will true love be able to be found or will all of the lies being told come around and ruin things for Mackenzie? Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. I highly recommend it.

I wanted to like this story but just couldn't gel with the characters. I liked what the storyline was about as it seemed fairly similar to the film the wedding date which I loved, but the story just seemed a bit disjointed jumping from one week to the next, it seemed solely about the dates so you didn't get to know the main character properly and thus couldn't get wrapped up in her thoughts and feelings.