This was such a lovely, fun, and whimsical book! Jen our heroine loves books, their romances, and their happily ever afters. After a bad break up she ends up in an immersive experience where she gets to be in the world of her favourite romansy book series. Only her colleague and guy who rejected her friendship is there too. And so is a cast of cool characters all written with their own stories and lives, and not just to support the main character. There's a scavenger hunt, fantasy turning into reality, and real life ending up being more than a literary trope. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I loved Jen and Scott, how they complemented each other, and how they learned from each other. All their friends having their own stories, and having fun and developing as characters throughout the book. The location, both the real and the imaginary worlds as they were described, they made me feel like I was also part of the story. And a beautiful story it was.

This book had an interesting premise, but the romance felt rushed, and the characters lacked chemistry. Scott’s transformation into a “book boyfriend” didn’t feel natural, and the third-act conflict seemed predictable. While this author’s style may appeal to others, it wasn’t the right fit for me.

This book is an ode to fandom, which readers know way too well.

I see no flaws except for the well known third act beak-up. Seen that I completely understoond where one character was coming from and I thought the other character's reaction to be rash. Hency my actual rating of 4,5 stars.

The romance in this book made me feel like I myself was having a brand new romance brewing. Think pitter patter and kicking my feet and the good kind of anxiety.

🌟🌟🌟.5

You know that feeling when you pick up a book and just know it was written for people like you? That’s exactly how I felt reading this. It’s basically a love letter to book lovers, fandom nerds, and anyone who’s ever dreamed of their favorite fictional world coming to life.

The setup? So fun. Jennifer is "obsessed" with the romantasy series ''Elytheum Courts'' and signs up for an immersive fan experience... only to get stuck with her work rival, Scott. He’s the guy who’s always been annoyingly dismissive of her favorite series, and yet, suddenly, at this event, he’s charming, flirty, and playing the perfect book boyfriend. Suspicious, right?

The enemies-to-lovers tension? Chef’s kiss. The banter had me grinning, and their push-and-pull dynamic was honestly the best part of the book. But - and this is a big but - Scott’s character shift felt a little too sudden for me, and I wish we’d gotten more depth behind his change of heart. Sometimes he was playful, sometimes just plain mean, and I wasn’t always sure why Jennifer kept giving him chances. (Girl, I would’ve walked away after some of those comments 😭).

I also LOVED the side characters. Honestly, they were some of the best parts of the book. The found family vibes? So good. The Elytheum Courts fan experience? Made me want to sign up for a fantasy convention ASAP.

That said, while I had fun, the romance didn’t fully land for me. It was cute, but I wanted more emotional depth, more build-up just more. Still, it was a super entertaining read, and if you love fandom culture, bookish banter, and a little messy workplace rivalry, you’ll probably have a great time.

Final thoughts? A fun, trope-filled ride with a lot of heart; but maybe not a ''forever favorite.''

Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the arc.
#BookBoyfriend #NetGalley

A charming, heartfelt romance that perfectly captures the excitement and vulnerability of falling for someone unexpected. The chemistry between the characters is undeniable, and the story will keep you hooked from start to finish.

This was a easy read, and was one of those cases where I really want to love the book. But it just didn't cooked properly for me. I felt not connected with the characters. Everything happens so slow for my own taste. Sadly it dissapoint me.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an advanced copy of this book.

I liked the premise of this book so much. It sounded right up my street! Whilst reading though I soon discovered it wasn’t for me sadly. I truly feel others will love it as it has all the ingredients of a great romance book. I would still recommend to friends as there were elements I liked - such as the romantasy element and the romance! That was very nicely done.

A love letter to anyone who has ever loved a book so much they wanted to live in it. It's very hard to write enemies to lovers well, but Wibberly and Siegemund-Broka does it with such skill and love. Book Boyfriend was absolutely fantastic, it made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me want to have a whole convention based only on this book. With a delightful cast, this will definitely end up one of my favourite books of the year!

Title: Book Boyfriend
Author: Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegmund-Broka
Pages: 384
Rating: 4/5

"Jennifer Worth lives to escape into the world of her favorite romantasy series Elytheum Courts, where the romance is sweeping and the men are brave, chivalrous . . . and winged."

A book about the book community, team fiction, book conventions, winged men, book boyfriends, roleplay, fantasy... But not actually a fantasy? Colour me intrigued!!

This book had me smiling all the way through. Predictable chick lit? Obviously! Original twist - for me, yes. I really enjoyed the friendships built between the book community (a big wave to the bookstagrammers and my local book club here) and just the fun visual writing style. This was definitely a cosy on down with your favourite snacks for the night. (It was that chick flick vibe that is obviously longer than a film)

Low spice. Beautifully visual date scenes. Swoon worthy moments - the book Boyfriend lean!! It was just pure fun and comfort! The FMC was funny, self aware and the banter between the MMC and her was brilliant.

I haven't enjoyed a mainstream romance this much since Bridget Jones diary!

This is definitely a must for all of those sweet romance readers out there.

You'll love this book if you like
- romance
- enemies to lovers
- work rivals
- book/fan convention romance
- comedy romance
- fantasy books
- grumpy/sunshine
- competitions

I’ve come to the sad realisation that these authors are not for me. I’ve read 75% of their adult romance novels and find them to be unbelievable, this one being the icing on the cake.

We meet Jennifer and Scott who are ‘rivals’ at work and find themselves at the same event for Jennifer’s favourite romantasy series. After a few chapters, they ‘hate’ each other, then they’re talking about being rebound and then it’s full on Ohemgee I have feelings for you.

There was literally no chemistry between the two and their characters felt childish and irritating. And my lord, if I have to hear one more proclamation about their love being the stuff of magic and fantasy and HPE my eyes would roll into the back of my eyes.

Scott goes to the experience to learn how to be as good as a ‘book boyfriend’ as well. Like this is normal. And then realised Jennifer wants him as he is which you literally do. Not. See.

There was a 3rd act breakup as Jennifer suddenly decided to do a masters course and is worried their relationship is based on a fantasy. It was just so frustratingly cliche and boring. I think I’m done with these authors sadly.

This was so sweet!!
What a wholesome love story to romance and fantasy readers that obsess over our fake boyfriends.
The banter between the characters was brilliant - I’ve always been a HUGE workplace enemies to lovers lover and have been looking for something like this to fill the huge hole I’ve been missing in this market - it is very rarely done well and I just loved this so much!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Worth lives to escape into the world of her favorite romantasy series Elytheum Courts, where the romance is sweeping and the men are brave, chivalrous . . . and winged. Newly single and craving connection, she travels to an immersive fan experience celebrating all things Elytheum, only to see the last face she expected—Scott Daniels, her work nemesis, whose disinterest in Jennifer’s favorite series and standoffishness have made their publishing jobs feel like a feuding fae court. Except the Scott she encounters there, in his secondhand cosplay outfit, is . . . different. Swaggering, flirtatious, confident. Unlucky in romance himself and inspired by Jennifer’s love for the swoonworthy men of Elytheum, Scott is determined to remake himself into the perfect book boyfriend. Jennifer has no interest in helping the man who vexes her every workday and dismisses her fictional fantasies, but as the immersive convention activities force them together, they’re surprised to discover magic like none Jennifer has ever read about. But is enemies-to-lovers romance only for books, or can Jennifer and Scott bring the trope to life?

Unfortunately, this is a DNF at 20%. I really wanted to like this one because it sounded right up my street. It just felt like everything was happening really slowly. I would have thought that by a fifth of the way in, we’d be a bit deeper into this experience the characters are doing. The main character, Jennifer, could not stop whining and it really frustrated me. There is nothing worse than being inside someone’s head, reading from their perspective and wishing they would just stop talking. Scott is meant to be the love interest too and there was absolutely no spark to him. I’m all for an enemies to lovers but the enemy has to have some flare to them and good banter with the main character. Their interactions just felt so flat. I considered persevering through and continuing to read but it would not be fair on myself or the authors if I did that. Maybe one day I’ll give this another go.

Overall, Book Boyfriend is a book I had such high hopes for and it just completely missed the mark for me.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an advanced copy of this book. Review will be live on my blog on 3rd March due to scheduling. Available now on Goodreads.

This was so cute.

I love that this essentially paid tribute to the romantasy genre and what it's done for fandom, and reading.

Scott was the perfect book boyfriend (from the very beginning) and exactly what Jen needed.

I would like to read Fred and Amelia's story though!

There were a lot of good nuggets in there, and I appreciated the book more as self reflective story more than a romance. The writing style just wasn't for me. And it was just so heavy on a fandom I don't know, because it doesn't exist, that it really took me put of it a lot of times. But I appreciated the plot, I just think that it could've been better done. It was a very cute and clean romance though. The parallels to The Hating Game are very clear, but I liked how their feelings about each other came about more here.

I stand by 'there's nothing wrong with romanticizing life'. She did not write off the mmc because of a fantasy, he did. So I don't think his comments are fair.
That being said, she is being very stupid for a lot of it.

The writing wasn't bad, it was just non stop. A lot of romances these days are written in 1st pov. But they're still paced. This was just constant stream of consciousness. So it feel like you have no time to breathe until the chapter ends, whicj displayed her anxiety well but was exhausting, It was also so immersive in it's own fictional story (the character is a fangirl of a fantasy book series in her world) so she refers a lot to the books and characters and jokes she says are funny if you're a fan, but none of resonated with me. And she's spending the week at an immersive fan camp, so that's not helping the cause either, cause everything is themed around said series. Like, I love fan stuff, and if I was a fan of a book or tv show that had an innerisve camp, I think it would be super fun to attend, even if only via a fictionalised account. But I don't know this fictional series, so I feel like a lot of it is lost on me. This kind of stuff works in fanfiction for me, because it's two characters I already know, who could be going to a fan event of a series I also know. Like reading a fanfic of Bellamy amd Clarke [I'm a huge The 100 fan] going to a Star Trek camp, but it doesn't really work as well when I don't know the characters or the things they're a fan of.
I also don't read the SJM books, and I'm assuming that's what it (the fictional fantasy series) is based on, so it's possible I've missed some jokes or nods to stories there.

Long ramble over sorry, all that to say, it wasn't a waste of time and it was quite fun at points, but I will not be rereading it again.

This is the perfect book for fans of ACOTAR, unfortunately I have yet to read that series. This book follows Jennifer Worth, who is a huge fan of a big fantasy series called Elytheum Courts. After having some bad couple of days she decides to take the opportunity to go to a huge fan convention that immerses you into the world of Elytheum. There are hundreds of other fans at this event as well as food and events that were inspired by the series. When getting to the event she encounters her work nemesis Scott Daniel's. She is completely thrown off since he always brushes off the series when she will bring it up at work.

This was a quick easy and lighthearted read that combines enemy to lovers and grumpy v sunshine. It took me a while to get into the book and a hot minute to appreciate the main characters but once I did I couldn't put it down. I would definitely check out more by the author

“No magic in the fantasy novels I’ve cherished practically my entire life, intertwining them with my personality and now my livelihood, is as powerful as hope.”

I really enjoyed The Roughest Draft by these authors and am also an avid fantasy reader so, when I heard the concept of this book, I was very excited! Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

It follows Jennifer, a young woman working in the publishing industry, who is a massive fan of a romantasy series and who likes to live vicariously through her favourite characters. When she gets dumped, she takes the opportunity to attend a week long, immersive experience celebrating all things Elytheum. However, she wasn’t expecting to bump into her colleague/rival, Scott. As the week progresses and they compete to win an Elytheum themed treasure hunt, Jen starts to view Scott in a different light and consider whether a real relationship might truly be better than a fictional one.

“It’s not easy to face hurt. You can’t be rejected by something that isn’t real.”

I think my biggest issue with this book, and what stopped me from enjoying it more, was Jennifer. I just couldn’t connect to her character, which I didn’t find overly consistent. For example, on the one hand we’re told that she struggles to make friends and lives in a fantasy world, yet when we see her being dumped at the start, and her subsequent conversation with Scott (whose witnessed the breakup), she comes across as someone who is confident in herself and knows what she wants. I also found it irritating that she has all these apparent introspections:
“Fantasy is often equated with escapism, but was I escaping?…Or was I seeking something else? Inspiration? Strength? Hope?”
Yet her actions never seem to align.

I wasn’t a fan of the third act conflict, which happened almost immediately after they got together, and in a way that I found frustrating (Jen doing a complete 180 within 2 seconds).

But there were things I did enjoy about this book:

- Scott lived up to the books’ name and is a really sweet book boyfriend. I thought he and Jen had good chemistry and would’ve liked to have seen a bit more of them together from the start. I also would have preferred dual POV, so that we got Scott’s perspective.
- Erik. He’s so ridiculous but also pretty funny.
- Some of the messages around reading and what it means to those who love it: “fantasy doesn’t have to be an escape, but sometimes escapes are what help us get through the darkest days.” As well as reminders that: “Magic and heroism exist in the ordinary as easily as the extraordinary. Something doesn’t need to be untouchable tor imaginary or even perfect to be a fantasy. It exists wherever you’re willing to look for it.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the e-arc of this book.

It was a really enjoyable read and even the characters were well developed . At first I hated the 2 main characters because they were immature for their age and what keep me was the side characters but than I stated liking them and enjoying when they where together even their chemistry was lovely 🥰 and so cute . I liked Scott in particular in the end how he is supporting her to persuade her dream of writing .
I highly recommend if you want to live in your fantasy world .
If you like
- enemies to lovers
- Grumpy / sunshine
- coworkers
This book is for you 😉
Many thanks to NetGally and Berkeley Publishing for providing this E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The whole enemies to lovers plot in the blurb of this book immediately grabbed my attention but it felt like Jennifer and Scott were barely"enemies" and went to being lovers real quick. And it felt like they barely spent any time together. The writing also wasn't up to the mark and I didn't really feel the chemistry between the main characters. I had previously read The Roughest Draft and liked it, so I decided to give this book a chance but unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

First off, thank you to the author and Pan Macmillan for giving me the amazing opportunity to read this ARC!

This was such a fun read, and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Let’s be honest—there’s a bit of Jennifer in all of us book lovers: always dreaming about the most romantic, morally grey man, both in fiction and real life. This made it so easy to relate to her character and understand her actions, though at times they felt a little too extreme for my tastes.

I absolutely LOVED Scott and the way their (non-)relationship evolved into something deeper as the story progressed. Their dynamic was both hilarious and heartfelt. You’re going to laugh A LOT while reading this! Each character plays a precise role, adding charm and importance to the story.

More than just a rom-com, this book delivers a thoughtful message about how real-life relationships often hold a depth that fictional ones can’t fully capture. It’s a great reminder for us book lovers that while fantasy worlds are thrilling, real love stories can be just as magical—and sometimes even better.

Thank you again for this delightful read. It was a joy to experience!