Is it really wrong to have more than one boyfriend?
I brought a new one into my bed almost every night.
From conference rooms to broom closets, I escaped reality with my leading men. Okay, so they were fictional book boyfriends.
In reality I should have been concentrating on classes while I looked for a living, breathing man to help me achieve my romantic fantasies. It was a friend who … fantasies. It was a friend who suggested combining my passions for romance novels and psychology to generate my Master’s thesis research topic: Does the modern day romance novel leading man create unrealistic expectations for a prolonged adult relationship?
To find out, I’d run a social experiment. I’d be the constant. The variables would be my leading men. I’d date every stereotype in the books, from billionaires to bad boys, rock stars to bikers, dominants, athletes, and…my stepbrother?
If my research was successful, I’d end up with a degree and maybe even my very own happy ending.
Not Just Another Romance Novel contains adult situations and is intended for mature readers.
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4.5 stars
I think romance books that play on the stereotypes in romances are so fun and entertaining, and this one was no different. I totally knew what direction the story was going to go from the beginning, but the ride to get there was such a treat to read! Another highly enjoyable story from one of my favorite authors!
Hello, Unpopular Opinion Crew, it is I, your Queen. I’m here to talk about this book which has plenty of 5-star ratings and lots of glowy reviews. I, of course, didn’t like it. Not. At. All.
Here’s what didn’t work for me:
Nudge-nudge-wink-wink anti-romance novel mentality
The heroine (whose name I can’t remember and don’t care to look up) is supposedly a romance novel fan, but doesn’t really act like one at all. She’s pretty quick to poke fun at the genre and laugh about all the silly tropes with her friends. I’m all for satire, but this came across as anti-romance in more than a couple of cases.
The trope:
And here we have yet another “for the sake of science” romance experiment.
But the real problem? The “science” of it was the most unscientific thing I’ve ever read in my life. Half the time I couldn’t tell if the heroine was approaching men because she was horny or because she wanted them to be part of her “experiment.” It was super weird.
It’s not really that easy:
So, the heroine decides she’s going to date all the stereotypical romance novel hero types in the name of “science”. She’s going to date a rock star, a billionaire, a bad boy, a biker, her step brother, a sexy single dad…and the list goes on. And she wrote these types down like it was going to be so easy. I mean, sure, why not assume you can walk into the local grocery store and find a sexy billionaire? Happens to me every Tuesday. The fact that the heroine thought her plan was even remotely plausible made me question her intelligence. And I HATE stupid heroines, y’all.
She’s gonna do WHAT? :
I’ve already been side-eyeing our intrepid heroine for a full chapter when she meets a sexy single dad at the grocery store and agrees to COME TO HIS HOUSE FOR DINNER. Public service message ladies: I don’t care how hot the guy is, DO NOT go to some random dude’s house for dinner. He could be a serial killer, a rapist, a John Mayer fan…the list of possible horrible consequences goes on and on. It was at this point, while she was making out with a random dude she’d just met, that I decided I kind of wanted random dude to toss her into his basement pit and make a hat out of her head. She’s clearly too stupid to live. Might as well kill her off in spectacular fashion, you know?
Sure…hot guys are everywhere:
Outside of Hollywood, let’s face it: it’s not terribly easy to find guys who are heart-stoppingly gorgeous. And in real life, you can’t assume that every gorgeous guy you meet is going to be unattached and interested in you. Sad but true. But that’s not the case for our heroine! She finds gorgeous men everywhere! And they all want our lovely little Mary Sue Sunshine heroine, of course. Why, 2 hot men she’s just met actually fight over her on her first “outing for science!”
I also have it on good authority that the heroine spends a big portion of the book banging a dude who isn’t the hero, by the way. I can’t confirm that, but it makes me glad I DNFd before I got there. I have no tolerance for that BS.
So, long story short, this one just wasn’t for me. But based on the 5-star ratings and glowy reviews others have blessed it with, maybe you’d like it just fine. Who knows?
Feel free to check out the Romance Rehab blog for more rants, raves, and other fun romance-y stuff: http://www.romancerehab.com/
I adore this Authors books. I loose track of time when I read them.
I kept telling myself that I can read this in a few days, well holy mother of pearl I don’t know what I was waiting for, about halfway through and I had to tell myself to slow the hell down. I found my self reading it super fast and needing to go back a few pages to reread it. lol I’ts that good. I let my mind get a head of it’s self and speed read the pages. I just can’y seem to help myself when the words make me laugh like it does I want to keep turning the pages. This story flows, I couldn’t stop reading it, fast pace read and really enjoyable. The words are more believable then any book or story I have read and that’s the truth. I read from the main characters POV and that was amazing she was really a great person to read from. All the different guys was amazing, who would have guessed their was so many I really loved how the story ended, I can say I would love to read more I was hooked by the last page and couldn’t believe it was over before it started really. MUST READ!!!
“I had a date lined up with an athlete and feelings for my best friend.” Piper
^^ one of my Fav quotes of the story just to get you hooked like me!!!
***I received this story for free in exchange for my honest review and thoughts as a Beta reader**