Review: Blackmail Boyfriend by Chris Cannon
Note: This ARC was provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
Honor student and high school junior Haley Patterson doesn't appreciate being gossiped about, especially when rumors swirling claim she hooked up with senior Bryce Colton, the very same guy who started yapping about in the first place. When it becomes clear to her that she isn't the Haley he was talking about and Bryce is an open target for the boyfriend of the Haley he did hook up with, Haley steps in and saves his butt. In exchange, Haley wants Bryce to pretend to be her boyfriend for three weeks so that other guys will see that she's actually someone they could date. While he may not be thrilled at the idea of having Haley as his girlfriend, Bryce is about to discover that maybe he's been wasting his time on the wrong kind of girls.
Blackmail Boyfriend is a standalone young adult (YA) romance from Chris Cannon and is about Haley Patterson, an honor student in her junior year, who blackmails Bryce Colton, the high school senior every girl wants to hook up with, in order to salvage the reputation Bryce's kissing and telling has maligned because of a case of mistaken identity. It's difficult for Haley to find a guy who's willing to date her because her older brothers scare everyone away, so having someone like Bryce pretending to be her boyfriend is exactly what she needs. The thing is, the two of them don't have very much in common and getting Bryce to stick to the plan is far more difficult than she anticipated and soon everything becomes too complicated.
Haley was an independent, intelligent, and giving girl and the kind of girl that Bryce wouldn't date. Bryce is good looking, popular, and rich, and the kind of guy Haley could never get to turn her way. While I liked Haley and her ability to care for others, I wasn't a fan of Bryce's treatment of her, even when it was portrayed that he wasn't doing every single thing with the intent to hurt or embarrass her. Haley's far too good for him and she should have called him out on his bad behavior more often than she did in the story. They certainly did have a connection, but one that I didn't really feel was consistent or worth all the trouble that Haley and, to a lesser extent, Bryce had to endure while they were pretending to be a couple.
I actually enjoyed the side love story between Haley's and Bryce's respective best friends, Jane and Nathan, and it had a lot to do with Nathan not being as big of a jerk as Bryce was. There were too many times that made me wonder if Bryce was like another famous supposed golden boy who was missing a sensitivity chip or gene. I get that his home life was less than what was portrayed in public, but he was old enough to be aware of his father's less than stellar parenting skills and inadequacies as a human being to know that those things were wrong and should not be exemplified. The ending also felt abrupt and left me wanting and a bit of a disservice to teen girls looking for true love. Blackmail Boyfriend gets three stars. ♥
Release Date: 11 August 2015
Date Read: 09 August 2015
Learn more about Chris Cannon here.
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