The Boyfriend Bracket
Kate Evangelista
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: June 19th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
The only way to get over a hopeless crush is to find someone new…Enter: The Boyfriend Bracket!
Putting a new spin on a classic trope, Kate Evangelista explores family bonds, changing relationships, and senior year as our heroine tries to get over her brother’s best friend.
Stella has had a hopeless crush on Will, her older brother’s best friend FOREVER, but now that Cam and Will have graduated and are going off to college, this year is her chance to really strike out on her own. Without her overprotective brother and his sidekick around to distract her, she can focus on having all the typical high school experiences that she’s always dreamed of―starting with finding a boyfriend! With the help of her best friend, Franklin, she comes up with the perfect plan to have a boyfriend by Christmas: The Boyfriend Bracket.
Or it seems like the perfect plan . . . right up until Will starts showing up again. How is she supposed to find the perfect boyfriend when none of her dates measure up to the one boy she can never have?
The Boyfriend Bracket puts a new spin on a classic genre in a fun, unforgettable way.
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My Review:
3.5 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Romance, Teen--
Stella has been in crush with her older brother Cam's friend Will for years, but knows he will never think of her as anything but an annoyance. But now that both boys are away at school, Stella is embracing her freedom from her overbearing brother and jumping into the dating pool. Her bestie Franklin fully supports this idea and comes up with a system of rating her dates and how to determine who moves on. Now with a plan and plenty of options, Stella is ready to take on her mission of finding "the One"- aka her senior year boyfriend. But Will has other plans...
I absolutely love the older brother's best friend romance trope (ok, I love anything that can kinda sorta be considered a forbidden love situation, and this certainly fits in there!) so I was interested in reading The Boyfriend Bracket when I discovered it. Let's be honest here, the ending is not a surprise, I knew right from the start who Stella was going to be with, the surprising part was the journey that it took to get there. There was some humor, some heart, personal reflection, a little bit of overreacting, a big dollop of angst and an overall happy ending. Kate's words made the perfect balance to keep me engaging and speeding through the pages.
Let's just talk a minute about the two hobbies turned career choices for the two main character. Will has been creating a webcomic for years about a super cool and kickass witch hunter and Stella creates all her own clothes from ideas she comes up with. I love how both are so dedicated regardless of their age and are willing to sacrifice and work hard to make their dreams come to life. Neither is really a traditional career but they have the passion to succeed and their families support to help back them and I thought it was really inspiring to see...Also, I really needed images of the outfits and dresses that Stella made because I pictures them in my head but I really wanted to experience it as well. And I wish that the comic had been included, at least a little snippet, because it was super hard to picture and such a huge part of the book. But that is just me and I am a super visual person and I am pretty sure my imagination did not do justice to the creations.
This was a very character driven book, where not a lot of action happened but we got to know the people very well. I love dual narrated romances and this fit the bill since it was through Will and Stella's perspectives. Both character had personal demons to conquer before they could fully be invested in the relationship but I absolutely loved them together. I can understand Stella's hostility towards Cam at the start of the book because his attitude and commands made me want to smack him (repeatedly) and the fact he expected Stella to jump at his ridiculous orders was insane. Franklin and his personality and flamboyant outfits stole the book for me, I loved his outlook and loyalty- everyone needs a friend like him.
Overall this was a cute, very fast read- something you can easily sit down and read in one sitting. Kate makes realistic approachable characters with flaws and issues just like anyone has. This was a perfect read for any lover of contemporary romance, age teen all the way on up.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance complimentary copy of this book.
Author Bio:
When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn’t going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her university and never looked back. Today, she is a graduate of De La Salle University – Manila withan Bachelor of Arts in Literature. She taught high school English for three years and was an essay consultant for two. Currently she writes full time and is based in the Philippines. To learn more about Kate, please visit her website at www.kateevangelista.com or follow her on Twitter @KateEvangelista
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This sounds super cute and perfect for the beach! :)
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