Book Review: The Accidental Boyfriend by Christina Benjamin

Title: The Accidental Boyfriend

Author: Christina Benjamin

Publishing date: April 28, 2018

Rating: 3/5 stars

Trigger Warnings: PTSD, car accident, medical/latrophobia, losing a parent, alcoholism, flashbacks

This is a spoiler-free review

Copy of book received from author for review.

I am going to be trying new review formats over the next couple of weeks so bear with me 🙂

Summary

Car accidents have been known to tear people apart… but they might also bring people together. After Jaxon Bradburn pulls Lucy Adams out of a hit-and-run car crash, the two become almost inseparable. However, Lucy is still in a long-term relationship with Alex Alvez, who holds control over Lucy, but only spends time with her when it is good for his social media fame. Lucy, with the help of her best friend and roommate, Brooke, must detangle from her old life while fate is screaming for her to follow her new one.

Things I liked

• CHARACTERIZATION!!!! I am pretty sure I will never stop screaming this, but Christina Benjamin is incredible at creating characters with depth and personality. I am not hesitant to say that I have never read novels with more successful characterization as Benjamin’s books.
• The antagonist: This is related to characterization, but the author has this ability to make even the antagonists have depth and meaning behind their actions, no matter how sinister those reasons are. In multiple Benjamin books, I have actually felt emotions towards the “enemy” of the book, while still rooting for the main love interest. Alex is portrayed as a shallow, self-centered guy, and he probably is, be the reader also gets sparks of a different side of him. I would love to see a spin-off book about him with a full character arc!
• Friendship: I have been screaming for years about how there needs to be better representation of healthy friendships in Young Adult literature and I think Benjamin does this in her book with Lucy and Brooke. Their relationship is strong, and Lucy is always able to rely on Brooke for anything. My favorite parts to read were when they were sitting in their dorm, watching movies and hanging out, because it is so true to how friendships are when you are living together (trust me, my roommate became my best friend… I know how it is). Lucy and Brooke’s relationship was also super realistic in the changes that occur when friends get into romantic relationships. There is a “bubble of tension” the forms because of the large amount of time spent with the significant other. It puts a strain on the relationship (I have experienced this one as well), but Lucy and Brooke were strong and able to overcome it.
• Insults: There are some pretty hilarious insults in the book, mainly thrown Alex’s way by Brooke, and I wanted to point them out…
  • “douche-canoe”
  • “twat-waffle”
  • “crap-taco”
• Rom-com: I love how all the books in The Boyfriend series, by Christina Benjamin, read like a romance movie. It is a page-turner, with more drama unfolding on every page until the very last page. Each book I read in this series does this more successfully, with even more drama.

Things I did not like

• Jaxon: I am going to be honest, Jaxon was not my favorite love interest I have read, and I am not sure if it is just my personal bias. I thought he was a little too aggressive, violent, and over-protective. I appreciate why he is like this, which is explained in the book, however, I was not a fan. Maybe it was the large number of times he called Lucy, “his girl,” or the point where he said Lucy, “[wreaked] havoc on his possessive desires,” but I was not into it. BUT… I am sure others enjoy reading those characters so, if you do, this is the book for you.
• How they act: The book is set on a group of high-school aged students, however, I did not see them act like highschoolers very often. I found it unrealistic how mature they acted, and with how much stuff they got away with. I know high-schoolers drink, however, they did it so casually, if that makes sense. Like, they would casually have wine and ice-cream nights or Alex casually grabbed a beer out of Lucy and Brooke’s dorm refrigerator. From my experience, high-schoolers are always overly excited when they get to break the rules and drink, and it is usually in groups or at parties. I also found it unrealistic that, even at this private school, the student’s dorms were not checked regularly. Even my college dorm was checked a couple times a year. There were alcohol and boys staying over and I doubt that would happen. Maybe… I don’t know, correct me if I am wrong.
• Brooke and her Unicorn: This is something you won’t understand unless you read the book, because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I did not like this relationship AT ALL. I know they were both legal but the age thing just got to me.

Overall…

I think this novel follows in line with the rest of Christina Benjamin’s writing of being incredibly well done. Her books always hold a lot more depth than other romances I have read, which makes them much more enjoyable. I wasn’t able to give the book 4 or 5 stars because I was unable to get past the unlikable factors of the book. But, I would highly recommend this book to romance enthusiasts! It is emotional and swoon-worthy!

Talk to me!

Do you like Romance?

Have you read this book?

What other romance books do you like?

Let me know in the comments!

Love,

Jackie

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