BOOK REVIEW: The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party—three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

 

“I could try to guess your preferences.”

“My preferences in a kiss?”
I nodded, our faces still very close together.
“My preference is simple-you.”

I can’t say these aren’t clichéd. I can’t say they haven’t been done before. I can’t say there are bad boys and perilistic moments. And I certainly can’t say they are perfect. But what I can say? They may have clichéd moments, but they are written impeccably well. They may have been done before, but never as adorably. There may not be bad boys, but there are guys who would do anything to make you happy. Guys who, for all intents and purposes, aren’t only out for themselves. They are the heroes we deserve in real life, the boys we should strive to be with-And they always keep a permanent smile on my face. And instead of perilous parts, there are heart-wrenching and angsty moments-moments that break your heart and make you want to reach in the book and shake the main characters. And perfection….isn’t that speculative?

[Fill-In Bradley] pointed at the olives I had picked off my pizza. “What’s going on there?”
“I’m not an olive fan.”
“There were other options without olives.”
“I like the flavor the olives leave on the pizza. I just don’t like the texture of the olive itself.”

I swear to God, that’s me (for most vegetably things)-I love this reference^^^^^^^!

Oh man. I just….I am so tired. I have had a bad couple weeks (yes there have been happy moments, like Cedar Point) and the only thing that I really have been looking forward to are these happy little books that make your heart beat faster than should be humanly possible and the [good] boys I have been falling for in my binge-read-for-happiness. So, when I finally decided to read this one and give it a try, it was just what I needed.

My dad folded his hands on the table. “Chin up. There are other fish in the sea. It’s a big ocean. Sometimes we need to catch and release a few before we find the keeper. Just keep swimming.”
“I don’t think that last one applies here.”
“I was on a water roll. I just went with it.”

This story centers around Gia. She has a boyfriend named Bradley and her [horribly annoying] friends don’t really believe her. He is a UCLA college student and they have never met him. But, at Prom, she is determined to show him off to her friends-it’s finally going to happen…they have to believe her now, right? Yeah, things rarely go according to plan, do they?

He glanced over my shoulder, toward where my friends were still sitting. “Nice friends you got there.”
“They’re mostly nice. Jules is just constantly trying to oust me.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea. I think she thinks I’m the alpha of our pack and that there is only room for one without resorting to cannibalism.”
“I’m going to take your weird wolf analogy and assume you mean that she wants to be the leader of your group.”

Bradley dumps her in the school parking lot, leaving her dateless and, well, looking like a liar. So, when she sees an adorable boy sitting in the parking lot (reading, mind you), she asks him to fill his place so it won’t look like she was lying-Yes, I see the irony here-and she can prove her horrid frienemy wrong.

He was still looking at me like I was crazy. I felt crazy. “You want me to pretend to be Captain America?” He pointed toward the street.
I was confused at first but then realized that’s what he was calling Bradley, whose build was on the beefy side. “They’ve never met him so they have no idea what he looks like. Besides you’re…” I gestured toward him without finishing the sentence. I tried to think of a different superhero to compare him to but nothing came to mind. I wasn’t well versed in superheroes. Were there some who were on the thinner side? Spiderman? That didn’t seem like a compliment.

Again, LOVE superhero movies, so I was giggling like a moron lol^^

Let’s just say things don’t go perfectly. But for those few blissful moments of triumph, she gets to see Fill-In Bradley for the good person he is. I mean, what guy would run home and put on a suit and actually come back for a random stranger? A nice one, I tell you. As they dance and talk a little, his lingering stares and smoldering looks start to get into her head. Long after the charade is over, she sits at home wondering what his name really is, why he took her to the dance, what he’s doing…and then she realizes he might have gotten into her head more than she even realized.

“This is Gia, by the way, Mom.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, where are my manners?” She extended her hand to me. “I’m Olivia. I’m sorry for stealing this boy away but I need his gorgeous face. I mean, tell me that face doesn’t inspire creativity.”
Both [Fill-In Bradley] and Bec rolled their eyes.
“She says that every time she pulls us in here and then she creates things like that.” He pointed to a painting of a half-insect, half-zebra face splitting open to reveal a blooming flower. “My face did not inspire that.”

I absolutely adored Fill-In Bradley. He was adorable with his messy, hardly manageable (brown) hair and piercing blue eyes. And he was always worried about Gia-her feelings, her friends, how things were going for her. I know it sounds cliché (okay, we covered this, yes?) but he would pretty much do anything for her…even though they had just met. And it was just so….okay, shut up shut up….adorable. I just…sigh…I just loved him.

“I will save you from yourself, then. You cannot get the Rocky Road. Anything else…except vanilla because that’s so boring. Who would even think of getting that? I don’t even know why they stock it.”
I smiled.
“It’s actually the most popular ice cream flavor,” Blake said while adding a scoop of strawberry to a cup.
“Well, I feel validated now. I should’ve gotten vanilla.” >.<

I’m not saying this is the most creative book ever, I’m just saying that it was a good book that had lots of fun, sweet, and happy moments. I am not in the business of passing up absolutely gorgeous book covers with irresistible writing and a wonderful plot…I’m just not. So I will likely continue to devour these types of books (by this and other Chelsea-approved happy-go-lucky authors) and not feel a damn bit guilty about it. If you need to smile, if you want a break from the shittiness that is life sometimes, then I suggest you pick this story up. The Distance Between Us is still my favorite Kasie West book (XANDER!) but this one is my second (FILL IN BRADLEY!) favorite. So…yeah…just read them, ‘kay?

 

 

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Omg guys. These books are like damn fairy-tales….every time.

I do, in fact, want my HEA.

Review to come.

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