Blackmail Boyfriend by Chris Cannon
Young Adult Contemporary Romance
From the Author: Haley Patterson has had a crush on golden boy Bryce Colton for ages. But when she hears a rumor that he hooked up with her she gives him a choice: be her boyfriend for a month to show other guys that she’s dateable—despite her overprotective and very intimidating brothers—or deal with the angry, cage-fighting boyfriend of the girl he actually did hook up with.
Bryce didn’t know the other Haley even had a boyfriend. He was just trying to get his ex off his back. And now, not only is he being blackmailed, he’s being blackmailed by an honor student. His new “girlfriend” has two three-legged dogs, her father mows grass at the country club, and she’s…well, difficult. And different. Can something so fake turn into something real?
My take: It’s wonderful when, as an adult, you can find a young adult romance that you really enjoy. I picked up Blackmail Boyfriend at PennedCon the same week that a lot of things were going down in my personal life. I needed a fun light read with a happy ending, something that didn’t make me think too much, and would certainly make me laugh. I found all of that in Blackmail Boyfriend.
While the story’s concept was a bit quirky and the plot often predictable, Haley and Bryce were really cute together. I enjoyed seeing Haley break out of her shell and Bryce overcome some of his boorish tendencies. She moved him to care about someone other than just himself, and he taught her that wealthy people are more than just the sum of their money. Their two best friends made the perfect sidekicks, constantly pushing the leads together and calling them out on their nonsense while making a pretty fun couple all on their own. I finished reading this book in two days, and there’s no doubt that I will be back for more of Chris Cannon’s romantic reads. (As a bonus, if you prefer YA fantasy, she writes a series for that too!)
More information can be found here: https://www.chriscannonauthor.com
Kelsey Gietl 