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BOOKWORM REVIEW: The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead

 

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🔥🔥.5

When your boyfriend dumps you for being shy and boring, what would any introverted librarian do? Don your sexiest red dress and find you a one-night stand, that's what!

It does not really go as Alexis Stone planned. The initial one-night stand candidate was too sleazy for her liking, but Fate intervened and send her Logan Arthur, a no-filter curmudgeon who comes to her rescue and agrees to her proposal. Unfortunately, a series of events led to them to the paparazzi hungry for a glimpse of Logan, who turned out to be the Texas gubernatorial challenger. Even more unfortunate is that the cameras captured them in a compromising position, which led Logan to a counterproposal: be his fake girlfriend until the elections have passed. (Hopefully in his favor.)

As someone who lives a stone's throw away from DC, I am always craving a good political romance - preferably without any mystery or suspense -- and this read fits that bill. It is cute and funny and engaging. I especially love the exploration of politics in this read; nothing turns me off than thinking "that's not how that works," but Ashley Winstead is pretty spot-on. 

The main characters are pretty charismatic. I was drawn to Alexis early on because who doesn't love an unfairly scorned woman? I was glad to see her character development as she finds the confidence to let herself shine. I am weak for fictional politicians because charm over smarm is always a win, and Logan joins the likes of Fitz Grant III and Josh Lyman among my favorites. I really enjoyed his dynamic with his equally strategic sister Nora, and I hope she gets to tell her own story in a future book.

The spice in this book was slow-burn, and I felt like it took a slight backseat to the politics and fake-relationship flirting. I do enjoy a fake-boyfriend getting irrationally jealous, so I'll take that.

This book is a standalone, so if you love a low-angst, well-paced political romcom, this is a good pick.

** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Ashley Winstead, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **

ABOUT THE BOOK

As a shy school librarian, Alexis Stone is comfortable keeping out of the spotlight. But when she’s dumped for being too meek—in bed!—the humiliation is a wake-up call. She decides she needs to change, and what better way to kick-start her new more adventurous life than with her first one-night stand?

Enter Logan, the gorgeous, foul-mouthed stranger she meets at a hotel bar. Logan is audacious and filterless, making him Alexis’s opposite—and boy, do opposites attract! Just as she’s about to fulfill her hookup wish, the hotel catches fire in a freak lightning storm—and in their rush to escape, Logan is discovered carrying her into the street, where people are waiting with cameras. Cameras Logan promptly—and shockingly—flees.

Alexis is bewildered until breaking news hits: pictures of her and Logan escaping the fire are all over the internet. It turns out Logan is none other than Logan Arthur, the hotshot politician challenging the Texas governor’s seat. The salacious images are poised to sink his career—and jeopardize Alexis’s job—until a solution is proposed: to squash the scandal, he and Alexis could pretend to be in a relationship until election day…in two months. What could possibly go wrong?


MEET ASHLEY WINSTEAD

Ashley Winstead’s 2021 breakout thriller, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, was an Amazon Editor’s Best Thriller, an Apple Books Best Book of August, as well as a Library Journal, New York Times, CrimeReads, Parade, and Goodreads best or most anticipated thriller of the year. 

Her 2022 thriller, The Last Housewife, was a Library Reads pick, a Loan Star pick, an Amazon Editor’s Best Thriller, as well as a Cosmopolitan, Good Morning America, Good Housekeeping, Seattle Times, and Southern Review of Fiction best or most anticipated thriller of the year. Her 2022 romance debut, Fool Me Once, was an Amazon Editor’s Best Romance as well as a USA Today, PopSugar, New York Post, and Goodreads best or most anticipated romance of the year. 

Her work has been translated into a dozen languages and optioned for film/television. Ashley holds a Ph.D. in contemporary American literature and lives in Houston, TX.

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