The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashely Winstead

*Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publication Date: May 9, 2023

Publisher: Graydon House

Pages: 384

Genre: Romance

Rating: 5/5

The Boyfriend Candidate is a swoon worthy romance with a lot of heart. Alexis goes out looking for a one night stand on the anniversary of her ex cheating on her and stumbles upon Logan. Their hookup is interrupted but when photos start circulating of them looking disheveled Alexis is stunned to learn that Logan is in the middle of a tight race for Governor of Texas. To keep Logan’s image from being tarnished she agrees to fake date him for the next few months. And while she is learning more about Logan she also ends up discovering more about herself.

The romance in this was so sweet and I absolutely adored both Logan and Alexis. Not only was the chemistry off the charts but their friendship was what really got me. I love that they were honest about what they wanted out of their fake relationship and helped each other to achieve those goals. This was also a slow burn romance that kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t get enough of the caring moments between but I was also dying for it to turn into more.

I also appreciated that this was a book centered around politics but it was about causes that I feel like don’t get that much time or thought. Perhaps for people like us who love books we might be more attuned to the onslaught of book banning happening in America. But I feel like the idea of budgets when it comes to schools and how that directly affects teachers and in turns students is one that people don’t seem that motivated to care about. It was refreshing to see in this book clear ideas for ways to protest those changes but also being realistic with the outcome of it.

Another aspect of the story that I absolutely adored was how Alexis came out her shell and learned how to trust herself. She has to finally deal with her feelings regarding how her parents divorce fractured their family and years later, his death. This book has many messages that I loved and resonated with. It has had a lot of humor and some moments had me laughing out loud.

I previously read and loved Winstead’s debut novel, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and I was blown away that she also nailed the romance genre. I can’t help but compare this book to Red, White and Royal Blue since they are both funny romances with a heavy political backdrop. I also gave both books five stars which I think means I need to search out more political romances.