Counterfeit Boyfriend by Cindi Madsen

​ROMANTIC COMEDY

Publication date: 06/25/2018
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

First of all, I owe the author and NetGalley an apology on this one. Somehow I failed to do a release day review. But hopefully what I have to say about the book will make up for my forgetful empty-headedness…

Second of all, this is one of those books that goes down a potentially bumpy road. There’s some stuff here that should have irked me, and in the hands of a lesser author, might have irked me. But because it was well written, with adorable characters and plenty of funny, sexy, emotional and heart-warming scenes, I ended up really enjoying it.

The bumpy road I speak of is the premise. I’m not a fan of mistaken identity stories, or men who openly deceive women. In this book, you have jerkwad Evan who has been dating Gwen, and wants to get out of a planned event with her. So, instead of being a grown-up and dumping her, he asks his twin brother, Ethan, to pretend to be him and go to the event with her. He’ll dump her after the event, he tells Ethan. Ethan’s a ridiculously good guy and knows that his brother is an idiot, so he goes and meets with Gwen, fully intending to tell her the truth and let her know what a douchecanoe his brother is. But when he gets there, he really likes Gwen and wants to see more of her. He stupidly agrees to go to the event with her, and stupidly keeps pretending he’s his brother. Normally that kind of stupidity would make me hate Ethan, but he’s so sweet and well-meaning that I don’t. Don’t get me wrong, I want him to tell Gwen the truth and get a little annoyed every time he doesn’t, but I just can’t stay mad at him. He’s too adorable.

Gwen’s a great heroine, too. Smart, full of energy and drive, and a genuinely nice person. She’s perfect for Ethan. In fact, she’d been planning to dump Evan, but when Ethan showed up, she had a change of heart and felt the chemistry between them. Hilarity and sexy times and road trip adventures ensue.

Was I irritated with the mistaken identity and wanting Ethan to just tell the truth? Yep. Is it a tiny bit instalove-y? At times, sure. Do I care? Not in the least. This one is well-done, fun, and full of feels and laughs. It’s a nice, light, easy read that I really enjoyed. And the way Ethan goes about making everything up to Gwen at the end? Perfect in every way. (Also, side note to the author: if there’s a story in the works for Tori, I will 1-click the crap out of it. Please and thank you.)

All-in-all, highly recommend. That’s about all I can say.

Full disclosure: I received an ARC from NetGalley free of charge.       

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It’s 100% stigma free!  

Other reading suggestions
I’ll definitely read this author’s backlist. And for another funny, sexy, sweet road trip adventure without any mistaken identity, try Isabel Jordan’s You Complicate Me. ​

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