Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for this advance copy of Book Boyfriend.

I love Wibberly and Siegemund-Broka's work - they manage to write such real and vivid characters and pack allllll the feelings into their novels. Book Boyfriend follows Jennifer, who adores romantasy more than anything. After a public breakup she decides to go to an ACOTAR inspired retreat - a week to be fully immersed in fandom. But of course who else shows up? Her work nemesis, Scott.

In true romantasy style we then get to watch the enemies become loversssss, but the miscommunication in this book made it fall a tad flat. Still loved it, but not my fav from the authors.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the free ARC of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

I fear I will never be normal again after finishing this book.

I want to laugh and cry and kick my feet in pure joy after reading this, I have sooooo many emotions coursing through me😭

OKAY onto a logical review now... The characters were absolutely amazing, ovbs I loved Scott, especially with some of things he was saying (they were swoon worthy) and Jennifer, I felt like she was super relatable and I saw a lot of myself in her, I think that's why I enjoyed reading her character so much. Plus the side characters were embelished enough, but not too much that they took away from the MCs. A really good balance.

A couple of times the writing did feel a little flat, and awkward, but the rest of the book was really good! Especially since it was almost a book within a book, and the author was writing a romance book about a romantasy book/event, it was really well woven in and I got swept up in both stories really (kinda wish Elytheum Courts was real!)

Plot wise the main bulk of it was what you expect from these kinds of books, it was rivals to lovers, there was a third act break up (ovbs).

But what I really enjoyed was the world building, the setting, the premise of it being a fan experience was nothing I'd ever read before and I really liked it! The whole thing felt immersive and as if was surrounding me.

On the whole, I just really enjoyed reading this book and that's why I've rated it 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC

Unfortunately this wasn't a hit for me. I liked the concept but not so much the execution. The chemistry between the characters wasn't there and the romance was too cringy. Way too cheesy and hard to believe.

Book Boyfriend by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka is a romcom that seems perfect for booklovers. This is Jennifer and Scott‘s story.
 
Jennifer lives and breathes books, and she even works in publishing. At first, I really liked her and could totally sympathize with her being a fellow booklover. But she is obsessed with this romantasy series, Elytheum Courts, which I imagined as something like Acotar but it’s never actually specified and you get to see way too little from this book series to fall in love with it itself. I wish it had at least some extracts from it. This series has taken over her life and it reached unhealthy obsessive levels that destroyed the whole book lover aspect. Reality completely blurred for her, and she had the most unrealistic expectations and would compare every potential love interest to her favorite series. I felt like her whole personality trait was this romantasy series and I felt like I never met the actual Jennifer.
 
At work she rivals a bit with Scott, and they don’t really like each other. But this is only very brief, and I wouldn’t even call it a work rivalry. Then all of a sudden, they fall in love just because Scott goes to a book convention where he cosplays- you guessed it a character from her favorite series. And afterwards Scott became the perfect man for her which was so unrealistic, and it completely missed the whole relationship development. You also never get Scott‘s perspective and I couldn’t really connect with him because sometimes he seemed to become whatever Jennifer imagined. This book sounded so good and perfect for romance book lovers. But sadly, it fell completely flat for me, and I wanted something different from it.
 
Overall, this book seemed too constructed and unrealistic, and it didn’t have book boyfriend material for me. 2 stars.
 
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.)

A rivals to lovers in the publishing industry coupled with a super sunshine and romantic protagonist and a grumpy anti-romantic grumpy a mix to devour.

This is my first book by this writing duo, and I really enjoyed it.

Our protagonist loves romance books and has recently suffered a breakup and to distract herself she joins a fan experience of her favorite series (honestly I want to go to one too), but surprise she finds her work nemesis, who has always teased her about her romantic tendencies, and who we learn is in research mode for better luck in love.

The dynamic of opposites attracting each other is always fun to read and even more so with the authors' pen.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.

Jennifer and Scott are enemies in the work place. After a break up, which he witnesses, she heads off to a weekend celebrating her favorite series of books. She is surprised when she meets Scott there- is there more to him than she expected? A fun read.

Jennifer has just been dumped, and so decides to attend an immersive experience based on her favourite fantasy series as a way to distract herself. But there, she bumps into her rival from work, despite the fact that he has always mocked her love of romantasy!

I liked the idea of this book, but less so the book itself. There was lots of cheese, and I personally thought the best chemistry was between the characters who had no romantic involvement at all. Not my favourite!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

2.5⭐️

This had an interesting concept and the scavenger hunt was fun, but overall the execution was not it. Sadly this book just didn’t do it for me.
I love a good rivals to lovers but this one fell pretty cringe and flat. It The chemistry between Jennifer and Scott was inexistant in my opinion, so I didn’t really feel invested in their romance throughout the story. And the FMC was so annoying and immature!!
I was so bored I ended up skimming toward the end simply because I didn’t want to DNF the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

‘Book Boyfriend’ by husband-and-wife writing duo Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka is an outlandishly funny workplace-adjacent romance perfectly crafted for book-lovers. The story follows Jennifer, who works in publishing and adores escaping into her romantasy reads, and her standoffish colleague Scott, as they both attend a week-long experience themed around the swoony Elytheum Courts series. Billed as enemies-to-lovers, the novel is full of banter, steamy moments and the joy of being part of a fandom!

I really enjoyed both leads, who were relatable and loveable. The cast of supporting characters included friends old and new who really lifted the story, and the cosplay experience setting was super welcoming. Jennifer and Scott had fantastic chemistry, and a slightly unusual arc (with a HEA, of course)!

I’d recommend this to all bookish folk, and was grinning from ear to ear when I finished. This gets a solid four stars from me and look forward to seeing what the authors write next…

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Pan MacMillan via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to the authors, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance. I've read the latest books of this duo and they didn't disappoint. When I read the synopsis of this one, I knew I needed to read it. What do you mean live an experience of a week as if you were inside of your favorite book series? This is every bookworm's dream! And paired with enemies to lovers... Sign me in! As a reader and book cosplayer, that would be such a dream to have a experience like that.
Jennifer was fresh out of a breakup and this was perfect timing for her. She just didn't expect to find her work nemesis Scott there. Their banter had me giggling, they were petty but at the same time couldn't help but flirt with each other and I was here for it.
Scott didn't get me fully, sometimes he was kinda petty to the point of mean to Jennifer and I wasn't a fan of that so I was kinda 50/50 with the relationship.
The concept of the book definitely was what grabbed me till the end and that's what make it a 4 stars.

Book Boyfriend is the latest adult romance from husband-and-wife duo Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka. I’ve read a couple of books by these authors and have had such a good time. This book sounded like such a good time that I had to check it out. It is a fandom-centered book with main characters in publishing, cosplay, and conventions, making for a fun, exciting novel.

Jennifer works in publishing but wishes she could disappear into her favourite romantasy series. But when she goes to a fan experience, she doesn’t expect to run into her work nemesis Scott. But at the convention, Scott is different and very unlucky in love. Jennifer doesn’t want to help Scott who often puts her down, but the convention keeps bringing the two together and soon things begin to change.

I was able to get my hands on an early digital copy of this book through NetGalley, so thanks to the publisher for granting me the e-book.

I always love a nerdy contemporary romance, so this one was likely going to rate well with me. Jennifer is looking for love and she wants a romance like in her books. Who doesn’t? But her co-worker Scott thinks she’s too much of a dreamer. After a bad break up, Jennifer wants to use the scavenger hunt to win a date with the actor playing her book boyfriend sounds like a fun way to do that. Unfortunately, Scott is also trying to win this date for some reason and it becomes a big competition between them.

The romance was definitely fun in this one. You have the usual enemies-to-lovers bickering, but I loved Scott trying to become her book boyfriend on top of it. It feels a little ridiculous but it works so well. Especially considering he’s partially trying to learn from an even more ridiculous character.

Friendship was also important in this book as originally Jennifer had wanted to be Scott’s friend when she first met him, her best friend had helped create the experience and on top of that, she’s happy to make new friendships with others who love her favourite book series. There’s a lot of talk of fanfiction, fanart, cosplay and sharing it all. As someone who is incredibly nerdy and who shares those things with his own friends? Yeah, I adore seeing it in books like this.

This book also doesn’t really feature miscommunication as a reason for a third-act breakup. In fact, it’s barely even a breakup as they fix things the next day. They spend some time apart because of issues Jennifer was having, but after a few hours doing other things and talking things through with friends? She’s willing to sort it out and he’s quick to accept her apology. I liked that.

The writing in this book was super easy to read. I was a little unsure as though I adored The Roughest Draft by these authors, Do I Know You really didn’t work for me. I think that’s likely to do with tropes more than anything though, as this isn’t a second chance romance like that one was. These authors work seamlessly together, even when writing only a single character’s perspective. Everything worked so well, and I just had a really good time with this book.

Definitely a fun romance that I’d recommend.

We meet Jennifer just as she's about to be dumped by yet another boyfriend. She's actually not that bothered, as she's really in love with Lord Valance from her favourite romantasy book series. Lord Valance is perfect in every way.
Her most hated publishing job co-worker, Scott, can't stand Jennifer or her obsession with fantasy worlds and men.
Jennifer decides last minute to attend a convention for the Elytheum books, to meet a swoon-worthy Lord Valance based real man.
Unfortunately Scott is also there researching how to be more like a romantasy man. Can Jennifer put her loathing to one side and share her in depth experience with Scott to help him out even though she can't stand him?
We soon realise that Jennifer knows an awful lot about Scott, and the new friends she makes at the convention can see how she really feels about him.
Can Jennifer get her head out of her books and appreciate what's really around her?

The banter between our two main characters was spicy, witty and on point. I liked how complete opposites complimented eqchother and also bounced off eachother.
Jennifer and Scott work in books. And it was interesting to see how or if they could take some of the things they enjoy from those books into real life world's. Enter an emersive experience.
The side characters for me were often what made this book so enjoyable.
I liked how they both had different versions of the past work life together. Why was Scott constantly putting down her ideas? Was there more to it or was he just a grumpy so and so!
And why was someone who put down her ideas here at this kind of event?
I felt I liked Scott more in this to be honest. And would have liked more of his character fleshed out.
It was good to hear Jennifer when she opened up and her inner monologues were insightful. But it felt slightly off balance, especially if we are meant to fall for the both of them.

I found this really difficult to get into. The writing style just wasn't for me but I do believe that others will enjoy this. Just not my personal taste.

I love a book about a book and the premise of this being set with the backdrop of of an immersive experience was really cool for me but I struggled to get excited as I felt I knew nothing about the book and world all the main characters loved.

The pacing took a little bit to kick in but as it did I found myself enjoying it more and more, especially the banter between the main characters. The side characters were great for the book as it added more dimension to the story and helped the fmc talk more about her feelings. However I did struggle with the fmc and at times I found her inner monologues fairly childish so I struggled to relate. I also adored Scott our mmc but I wish I knew more about him as I just felt like he was a very one dimensional character but again the banter was top tier.

Overall, it was an enjoyable book that I think is worth a read as it is very endearing at times but I wish it gave me more.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an ARC of this book.

Like many of us, Jennifer Worth works her regular day job, but dreams of escaping to her favourite fantasy world, Elytheum.
Following a recent break-up, she spontaneously decides to take part in an immersive fan experience for a week, where she hopes to find herself… and maybe love along the way.
Only when she arrives, she finds her work nemesis Scott Daniels is also attending - for reasons unknown considering he’s spent the past year dismissing her ideas, fantasies, and fangirling over a certain swoon-worthy fictional character.
They are forced to spend time in each other’s orbit whilst taking part in experience activities, but when sparks begin to ignite, Jennifer starts to question if enemies-to-lovers is something that only happens in her beloved books…
I found the writing really easy to read, and I liked the premise of this book (like an autobiography for us fantasy girlies), however I struggled to connect with the MCs.
I loved the chemistry between the two of them, and the banter, but I genuinely felt more for the supporting characters throughout the story, and some of the references to Elytheum felt a little disjointed.
The book was still enjoyable, and pretty-lighthearted, I just found myself hoping for more!

If you’re a fan of romantasy, snarky banter, and seriously sizzling chemistry, this book is an absolute must-read.
Jennifer our lead is witty, relatable, and her vulnerability and insecurities are relatable. Fresh off a tough breakup and craving an escape, Jennifer dives into her favourite fandom, the Elytheum Court series (featuring brave, winged hot guys… Ring any bells?), by attending a fan immersive experience created by her best friend. But just as she’s trying to leave her past behind, guess who she runs into? Her work nemesis, Scott Daniels.
Scott is steady, smart, and insightful and Jennifer’s complete opposite. Their enemies-to-lovers dynamic, with a touch of grumpy/sunshine, is pure gold. The chemistry between them was perfect for me, and their banter had me giggling nonstop. Watching them navigate their growing feelings was such a fun ride, and the sparks between them are undeniable.
One of my favourite things about this book is how every character, both main and secondary, evolved throughout the story. It wasn’t just Jennifer and Scott who experienced growth each side character had real depth and contributed to the books journey. It was so refreshing to see everyone have their moment to shine.
If you’ve ever dreamt of finding love in a fandom or felt like you’ve found your perfect book boyfriend, this one’s for you. It’s charming, funny, and absolutely full of heart a must read for my fellow romance readers.

First up, I’m impressed because not only did the authors create a convincing enemies-to-lovers scenario (because dealing with your work nemesis in a completely out-of-comfort-zone situation? That’s always fun), they also came up with a fantasy series setting that was detailed enough to be more memorable than a few fantasy series that I’ve actually read. The whole premise of the immersive fan experience, with its actors and costumes and scavenger hunt, was the perfect vehicle for romantic Jennifer and closed-off Scott’s simmering tension to catch fire - especially when they were in direct physical competition. I would have liked a little bit of Scott’s point of view, just to get an idea of his motivations that wasn’t entirely through Jen’s eyes, but I still really enjoyed this book that highlights the power of the story, both as an escape to lose yourself in and as something to take charge of if you want to follow your dreams.

An easy, fun and enjoyable read. I loved the premise of an immersive week inside your favourite book series and I also like the fmc and mmc and their relationship.

DNF

The FMC is instantly unlikeable and insipid. The MMC is a blank shape, and of little consequence. Some readers will love this book, but for me, I can see the authors working and straining to create something memorable and it hasn't happened.