Book Review: Boyfriend by the Book

Boyfriend by the Book

By: Laura Briggs

Self-Published

Release date: July 19, 2016

Genre: Adult Contemporary

Buy it at Amazon or Barnes & Noble

Source: e-book kindly provided by author

Boyfriend by the Book was a fun romantic novel that made me laugh out loud. It was cute, lighthearted, and a quick read. 

Jodi is the concierge at the prestigious Regent hotel. She is dedicated to her job and providing the clients with whatever they want whenever they want it. As a result, her romantic life leaves much to be desired. Her best friends find this to be unacceptable. They stage an intervention of sorts to try and get her to start dating more. They give her a self-help dating book called Reading Relationships: How to Channel Your Inner Heroine to Find Success in Life and Love!

After Jodi begins reading the book, she finds herself on a series of bizarre dates with men who supposedly resemble heroes from classical literature such as Heathcliff and Romeo.  Unfortunately, none of them seem to be what Jodi is truly looking for. Jodi isn't a true romantic and so it's difficult for her to really get into the spirit of the book.

I enjoyed watching Jodi try to navigate her way through the series of awkward dates. Because it was all in good fun, it was entertaining to read about the conversations and the situations in which she found herself. 

Jodi's character was very enjoyable. Although I happen to be a romantic, I loved listening to her internal dialogues. And I especially loved that she had a cat! Jodi's friends were way too pushy and judgemental for my taste. Although they had her best interests at heart, they certainly weren't taking her personality and tastes into consideration. I'm glad they weren't the main part of the story.

The book ended on a positive note for me and I was happy with the man she ended up choosing. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a light romance novel!

Summary:

Jodi Nichols isn’t the most romantic girl on the planet. She doesn’t get mushy over fictional love stories, or picture herself getting swept away by a handsome hero. She’s much too grounded in reality—and much too busy working as a concierge at the luxurious Regent hotel. Helping customers is Jodi’s passion in life, and while romance may be on the back burner for now, she is nursing a little crush on Levi, the cute and friendly deliveryman for the hotel packages. And unless she’s imagining things, Levi feels the same way about her.

But Jodi’s friends think she’s turning into a lonely workaholic. They try to fix her love life, buying her a copy of the bestselling relationship guide that claims women can find true love by channeling the wisdom of famous storybook heroines. Jodi thinks it sounds crazy—no way is she acting like Jane Eyre or Lizzie Bennet to find a man! But when Levi suddenly grows distant and Jodi’s chances with him seem to fizzle before her eyes, she wonders if her friends might have a point after all. Disheartened and lonely, she decides to give the so-called relationship guide a whirl, with unexpected consequences. 

Before you can say ‘Pride and Prejudice’, Jodi is up to her neck in handsome, brooding men that seem too much like fictional heroes to be true. Her attempts to think like the greatest heroines in romance lead her to meet everything from a modern Mr. Rochester to an angsty Heathcliff, and even a Darcy-esque novelist. But when a former crush re-enters her life in the form of a modern day Romeo, Jodi wonders if there might be something to this ‘inner heroine’ thing after all. Now, if she could just stop thinking about Levi, then maybe her happy-ever-after will fall into place…or is something still missing from Jodi’s storybook romance?

Boyfriend by the Book is a perfect feel good read for curling up with on a rainy day or a summer afternoon, with lots of laughs and surprises to keep the reader turning pages!