Reviewed by Roberta

TITLE: The Boyfriend Game

SERIES: #BoyfriendsByBloved

AUTHOR: Stella Starling

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 302 Pages

RELEASE DATE: July 27,2018

BLURB:

Fake boyfriends for a week? Yes, please.

Carter Olson never expected he’d get a chance to date his older brother’s best friend, Rip Taylor.
Wished for it? Yes.
Fantasized about it? Possibly too much.
But ever thought it would actually happen? Not in a million years, since Rip is straight. But even if it’s just to try and win a gay game show, having Rip for a boyfriend—even a temporary/pretend one—is still the best thing to happen to Carter in… well, ever.
Especially because Rip’s so good at it.
Amazingly good, actually.
So good that Carter starts to hope that maybe it won’t have to end once the show’s over…

If there are two things Rip Taylor lives for, they’re having fun and being there for his friends, so a trip to Vegas to help surprise his best friend’s girlfriend with a big, flashy proposal sounds awesome. And even more fun? His bestie’s plan to try and win some prize money for the wedding by signing the two of them up as contestants on the The Boyfriend Game.
The game show is sponsored by the gay dating app bLoved, and Rip is all in. He may be straight, but he’s never been narrow, and when circumstances (a.k.a. a best friend who can’t hold his tequila) mean that little Carter Olson gets roped into being Rip’s fake boyfriend instead, that’s almost better… because who wouldn’t be able to be a convincing boyfriend to Carter?
After all, Carter’s hella sweet.
Kind of adorable, actually.
And really, really easy to get into character with…

Winning The Boyfriend Game? Rip and Carter have it in the bag.

The Boyfriend Game is a gay romance novel of approximately 75,000 words that contains some confusion about tops and bottoms, a straight guy who realizes he isn’t, an ice cube that melts much too fast, and the kind of luck that can only be found in Vegas. Every Stella Starling romance takes place in the same interconnected, contemporary world. The Boyfriend Game is a standalone book with cameos from other Stella Starling stories, a #boyfriendsbybLoved spinoff that takes place around the time of the epilogue from Ready For Love (Book One of the Semper Fi series).

REVIEW:

So, I have a love affair going with Stella Starling’s books. I found Be True, At Last, The Beloved Series Book 1 and fell in love with Stella’s writing and her characters. I just kept looking for her books and rereading them when I needed a lift of spirit and some pretty low angst books. I really appreciate the low agnst…like you wouldn’t believe.

This sweet story is about Carter and Rip. You’ve already read the blurb…so nothing new here…however, I will say that these two young men…as they both are in their early/mid-20’s…are just so freaking adorkable. I love that Carter has always had a crush on Rip and when the opportunity came up to have to be his “fake” boyfriend…he freaked out a bit and then got on board. Carter is the kind of character that you really want to just grab ahold of and never let go. He’s sweet, shy and just all around…a great guy. This young man who h

Rip…I really liked him. I liked how he was all in to do the fake relationship for his friend. This is one of those ride or die kinda guys. He’s always all in and he always thinks of things as fun and a good time. However, there is more to Rip than meets the eye. Rip has this wonderful heart and I truly love getting to see more of it as the book progressed. Rip goes from being straight to falling for his BF’s little brother, Little C as Carter is called. I really liked that once Rip started questioning his feelings for Carter…he went into it the way that he does everything…All In!!

This story takes place in the course of a week and I know that some people are put off by the idea that someone can go from straight…never thinking about having a gay relationship to fully committed to being in one. I totally understand how you feel…I always feel that way when someone goes from totally gay to sleeping with women…so…yeah…I feel ya. However, for me…it was just really freakin cute how Rip just was all in…wanted to be with Carter and have him S&B…you’ll have to read the book to get the reference..but it’s really sweet…I promise. I know that there had to be the big misunderstanding & the can’t tell whoever the truth about what I’m feeling…but it’s a trope for a reason and it worked here.

The secondary characters, Cam…Carter’s brother & Rip’s BF. Mia…Cam’s GF…Kelly…from Be Mine (At Last, The Beloved Series Book 2). They brought some love and laughter into this whirlwind week in Vegas for our MC’s.

Now, there were some spicy good times that these two young men got into. For someone who has had some naughty times with women to doing some research (ie porn)…but I thought that it was sweet and cute…I thought that these two men had such great chemistry together.

I have to say that I truly enjoyed this book. It was a sweet and sometimes spicy read…but the characters were just adorkable. This is another reread for me in the future as I have once again…fallen in love with Stella Starling. Go Out & Get This Book And Enjoy It For Yourself!!

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