Title: Wanted – Bad Boyfriend
Series: Island Classifieds: Book One
Author: TA Moore
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 218 Pages
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: This was a fun read, and I totally enjoyed it!
Reviewed By: Jules
Blurb: His mother. His best friend. The barmaid at the local pub. Everyone is determined to find Nathan Moffatt a boyfriend. It’s the last thing Nathan wants. After spending every day making sure his clients experience nothing but romantic magic, the Granshire Hotel’s wedding organizer just wants to go home, binge watch crime dramas, and eat pizza in his underwear.
Unfortunately, no one believes him, and he’s stuck with lectures about dying alone. Then inspiration strikes. He needs the people in his life to want him to stay single as much as he does. He needs a bad boyfriend.
There’s only one man for the job.
Flynn Delaney is used to people on the island of Ceremony thinking the worst of him. But he isn’t sure he wants the dubious honor of worst boyfriend on the entire island. On the other hand, if he plays along, he gets to hang out with the gorgeous Nathan and piss off the owners of the Granshire Hotel. It’s a win-win.
There’s only one problem—Flynn’s actually quite a good boyfriend, and now Nathan’s wondering if getting off the sofa occasionally is really the worst thing in the world.
Review: I do believe that Wanted – Bad Boyfriend is author TA Moore’s first foray into contemporary romance, and I gotta tell you…I am here for it. There were perhaps a few hiccups in the execution, but I loved the premise, and I genuinely enjoyed her easygoing writing style. I also loved the setting and Moore’s fabulous descriptions of the island and places in the story. I have so much fun with books that are set in the UK and that are authentically British in tone, language, and feel. I love feeling immersed in the culture and learning new Britishisms!
The thing I probably enjoyed most about the book was the chemistry between the MCs. With very little backstory and a relatively small amount of time together on the page, Moore was still able to make me totally fall for these guys—especially Flynn. And, they were extremely sexy together. They had some fun, snarky moments as well as some more tender, affectionate moments. There was a fantastic scene toward the end where the guys are talking and playing around while being completely intimate and vulnerable with each other, even as the intensity is ramping up, and they’re so obviously turned on. I loved the ease and intimacy of it and how playful they were. I also love how beautiful Flynn thinks Nate is, and how neither of them is afraid to compliment the other. For a fake relationship, they were pretty darn sweet to each other! 😉
As much as I adored both Flynn and Nate, I do wish their characters and backstories had been fleshed out just a bit more. We know that Flynn is a mechanic and a rescue worker and that he spent twenty years on the mainland after leaving the island on bad terms, but it’s never really made clear why he came back to Ceremony Island or why he was the town “bad boy.” Moore gives us the gossip—her use of tidbits from the rumor mill at the start of each chapter was cute—but doesn’t quite deliver the full picture. We know that Nate is a wedding planner at the town’s premier wedding venue, the Granshire Hotel, and that he is taking care of his mother, who is recovering from cancer. We also know that he’s best friends with Max, the son of the Granshire’s owner, Teddy St. John. But, we could have maybe used more detail on the backstory between Nate and Max and Flynn, or more on the history between Teddy St. John and Flynn and Flynn’s dad. We also never truly see much of the pressure on Nate to have a boyfriend that the blurb alludes to. It seems more of a passing mention than a massive problem he needs to solve with a fake boyfriend.
The only other tiny issue I had with the book was how much superfluous time was spent on the guys’ jobs. I enjoyed seeing Flynn in action doing his thing for the rescue services. And, I loved knowing how good Nate is at what he does; there were several scenes that showcased his talents also. But, maybe there was a titch too much time spent with Katie and Bradley (the lovely couple) and the bitchy mother-in-law instead of giving our guys more screen time. It wasn’t a huge issue. Like I said, I did enjoy a couple of the rescue scenes, and some of the details about Nate’s job were fun. But, a few of the scenes were maybe a little drawn out.
I don’t want the last couple of paragraphs to be the main takeaway from my review. The story execution stuff I mentioned was by no means a massive deal breaker, nor did it detract hugely from my overall reading experience. This was a fun read, and I totally enjoyed it! You guys should definitely check it out! I absolutely plan to check out some of Moore’s backlist.
You can buy Wanted – Bad Boyfriend here:
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