Book Review: Rent a Boyfriend

Author: Gloria Chao

Genre: YA Contemporary

Release Date: 10.10.20

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Source: Purchased

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

SYNOPSIS: “Chloe Wang is nervous to introduce her parents to her boyfriend, because the truth is, she hasn’t met him yet either. She hired him from Rent for Your ’Rents, a company specializing in providing fake boyfriends trained to impress even the most traditional Asian parents.

Drew Chan’s passion is art, but after his parents cut him off for dropping out of college to pursue his dreams, he became a Rent for Your ’Rents employee to keep a roof over his head. Luckily, learning protocols like “Type C parents prefer quiet, kind, zero-PDA gestures” comes naturally to him.

When Chloe rents Drew, the mission is simple: convince her parents fake Drew is worthy of their approval so they’ll stop pressuring her to accept a proposal from Hongbo, the wealthiest (and slimiest) young bachelor in their tight-knit Asian American community.

But when Chloe starts to fall for the real Drew—who, unlike his fake persona, is definitely not ’rent-worthy—her carefully curated life begins to unravel. Can she figure out what she wants before she loses everything?”

Rent a Boyfriend was the adorable fake dating story I wanted, and so so much more. It had incredible character development, romantic chemistry, and infinite mooncakes. I decided to read this after feeling the need for a something fluffy and cute. It successfully filled that need, and then some! It was adorable and a fantastic take on the fake dating trope. Dare I say, that this is the fake dating trope done right?!

So, first, I loved these characters. Chloe and Drew were fantastic protagonists and I enjoyed reading from both of their perspectives. Their voices were unique and together, made the story feel full. It was easy to get emotionally connected to them while reading and I was quickly attached. I sympathized *a lot* with Chloe and wanted to give her a hug more times than I could count.

With that being said, I was also impressed with the character development in this! I was cheering for Chloe so hard during the entire novel, and I felt that her character arc was very well done.

Overall this book was really fun to read. It was also a perfect December read considering it covered the Holidays, which made the reading even more enjoyable. This was the first book I’ve read from Gloria Chao, but It definitely won’t be the last! I’m looking forward to picking up her already published works along with future stories to come 🙂