The Build-A-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver | Book Review

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Bestselling and award-winning author Mason Deaver’s adult romance debut follows a journalist in a dead-end job who agrees to teach his disastrous blind date how to be a better boyfriend. Readers will delight in this sweet and steamy queer romance with trans representation!

Eli Francis is stuck. Stuck in an assistant position at the online magazine Vent when he should be a writer. Stuck with a boss who dangles a promotion but would rather he just fetch the coffee. Stuck working alongside the ex who has had no trouble moving up at work…or moving on.

When Eli’s roommates push him to date so he can get over his ex once and for all, they set him up with Peter Park. Tall, handsome, and unbelievably awkward. The date is a complete disaster, and further proof to Eli that love isn’t for him. But when his boss overhears Eli recounting the catastrophic night, he suggests teaching Peter to be a better boyfriend through a series of simulated dates so he can write an article about it.

But Eli has other ideas…Eli plays along, pretending to write the article, while secretly interviewing Peter about growing up queer in the South and coming-of-age dating wise in adulthood. Eli hopes writing this sort of piece will finally get him the promotion he deserves. And in exchange, he will teach Peter how to be a better boyfriend.

But the more time Eli spends with Peter, the closer they become, and the lines between what’s real and what’s fake begin to blur. Before long Eli is forced to face his greatest fears to become the writer he wants to be and secure the love he’s always needed. 

What a sweet debut into adult lit! The Build-A-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver was quite an adorable rom-com containing echoes of the movie How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, but make it queer. I so enjoyed my time with this book – as I read it mostly while walking on the treadmill. It was perfect for that purpose -as I found myself more absorbed by the story than thinking about how done I was with getting my steps in.

The Build-A-Boyfriend Project follows Eli, a young trans man who is kind of stuck in his career. He thought by this point he would be writing serious articles at the Buzzfeed-like company that he works at. Unfortunately, he works as an assistant to the head editor and spends most of his time tracking his boss’s schedule and fetching coffee. Oh and to make matters worse – his ex boyfriend works there too and he actually gets to write articles. Oh, and also, the company isn’t nearly as groundbreaking as it used to be. Instead, they are more interested in posting clickbait than anything intellectual.

After work, Eli spends some of his time going on dates that don’t entirely pan out. This time, he goes on a disaster of a blind date with Peter, a gay Asian man. Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. However, Peter is genuinely nice. While Eli is ranting about this, he realizes Peter is just inexperienced and maybe Eli could help him to be a better boyfriend. His boss, Michael, hears this and decides he will give Eli a chance to write for the website, if he focuses on writing about building Peter into a better boyfriend and the disaster date. But, Eli wants to write about Peter’s experience growing up gay in the South and how that intersects with him being Korean.

I found that as an adult who has been in a dead end job or at least a job where it feels like there is no movement, Eli was easy to relate to. It’s like if you just give him a chance, he could really succeed. But also, that company is so far from their original mission, it must be so disappointing. Eli has so much growth though and I love that he really did begin to rebuild his confidence alongside building Peter into a better boyfriend. He works so hard and seems to just accept the scraps from the company. OH OH and I am forgetting in sharing my thoughts. Peter! Peter is superb, he is such a cinnamon roll of a man. He’s kind and sweet and likes Spiderman. I liked how awkward he was. I liked how genuinely wonderful both characters were. Eli’s family is also great — we get to see how supportive they are. I also loved the interactions with Eli’s NB sibling as well. This rom-com is absolutely a MUST READ if you like books about good people who maybe struggle a little bit in life but eventually grow and find their wins.

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Quick little reading update. I’m between audiobooks right now and my Kindle is getting quite the usage. I’m currently reading The Build-A-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver and The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson. What are you reading? #CurrentlyReading #CRUpdate #WhatImReading #BookTok #ReadersOfTikTok #BookishUpdate #NowReading #TBRCheckIn #BookLover #ReadingVibes #BookishLife #BookishThoughts #ReadingJourney #BookCommunity

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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