aimee (aimeecanread)'s Reviews > The Fill-In Boyfriend
The Fill-In Boyfriend
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by
aimee (aimeecanread)'s review
bookshelves: favorite-male-leads, cliffhangers, covergasm, eye-roll, not-funny, grinning-like-an-idiot, piss-off, light-and-cute, love-triangles, fluffy, predictable
Oct 26, 2013
bookshelves: favorite-male-leads, cliffhangers, covergasm, eye-roll, not-funny, grinning-like-an-idiot, piss-off, light-and-cute, love-triangles, fluffy, predictable
05/21/2015
The more I think about this book, the less I seem to like it. I'm completely bummed about that since The Fill-in Boyfriend was one of my most anticipated releases of 2015. You can't see me, but I'm pouting right now.
The first issue I had with the book came in just within the first couple of pages. I know that we're thrust into the book knowing that Fake Bradley will agree to the terms of being Gia's fake boyfriend, but the way it was executed in the actual book made no sense. It was completely random and unconvincing.
And then, ta-da! The heroine is suddenly obsessed with seeing this boy again. Of course she is. She thinks about him 24/7, even going as far as to stalk his little sister. She even admits that what she's doing is stalking, and she's okay with it.
Stalking aside, Gia's character was just generally petty and shallow. I could not connect to her at all. I know the feeling of a certain friend wanting to get you out of the picture. Really, I do. But please, handle your problems in a mature manner. I'm fifteen, and I talk things out with my friends if I feel like they're doing something wrong. I don't keep it a secret and lie to them.
Other than that one piece of brilliant advice, Gia's parents are also mostly just... there. They don't have a strong, supportive presence. In fact, they were just like cardboard cut outs. They had no personality and were basically useless to the entire story, which is a shame since Kasie's other books have amazing family dynamics.
Speaking of cardboard cut-outs, we also have Gia's friends. They did have more prominent roles in the story compared to Gia's parents, but their personalities were incredibly stereotypical. No one really stood out to me.
Let's talk about Fake Bradley and the romance. With a heavy heart, I'm saying that The Fill-in Boyfriend did not give me any feels. At all. There was a lot of drama between these two by the last half of the book, and despite being a fan of angst, I just flinched instead. No flutters. No gigglesnorts. No swoons.
The only reason I'm not giving this book one star is because I appreciated how Gia's problems with her friends were realistic. Like I said, I've experienced them myself. I just wished that they'd been handled better, and more maturely. And also because I really liked Bec, Fake Bradley's sister, who was the hard-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside kind of girl.
Overall, this book had potential to be one of those extremely relatable and realistic books, but it unfortunately fell flat on both of those aspects.
10/26/2013
Kasie West can't write a bad book, folks. Look at all the feels she gave us:
The Distance Between Us made us:
Pivot Point made us think:
Split Second gave us:
On the Fence basically made us:
Just give me this book, okay!?
The more I think about this book, the less I seem to like it. I'm completely bummed about that since The Fill-in Boyfriend was one of my most anticipated releases of 2015. You can't see me, but I'm pouting right now.
The first issue I had with the book came in just within the first couple of pages. I know that we're thrust into the book knowing that Fake Bradley will agree to the terms of being Gia's fake boyfriend, but the way it was executed in the actual book made no sense. It was completely random and unconvincing.
And then, ta-da! The heroine is suddenly obsessed with seeing this boy again. Of course she is. She thinks about him 24/7, even going as far as to stalk his little sister. She even admits that what she's doing is stalking, and she's okay with it.
Stalking aside, Gia's character was just generally petty and shallow. I could not connect to her at all. I know the feeling of a certain friend wanting to get you out of the picture. Really, I do. But please, handle your problems in a mature manner. I'm fifteen, and I talk things out with my friends if I feel like they're doing something wrong. I don't keep it a secret and lie to them.
There are other fish in the sea. It's a big ocean. Sometimes we need to catch and release a few before we find the keeper. Just keep swimming.
Other than that one piece of brilliant advice, Gia's parents are also mostly just... there. They don't have a strong, supportive presence. In fact, they were just like cardboard cut outs. They had no personality and were basically useless to the entire story, which is a shame since Kasie's other books have amazing family dynamics.
Speaking of cardboard cut-outs, we also have Gia's friends. They did have more prominent roles in the story compared to Gia's parents, but their personalities were incredibly stereotypical. No one really stood out to me.
Let's talk about Fake Bradley and the romance. With a heavy heart, I'm saying that The Fill-in Boyfriend did not give me any feels. At all. There was a lot of drama between these two by the last half of the book, and despite being a fan of angst, I just flinched instead. No flutters. No gigglesnorts. No swoons.
The only reason I'm not giving this book one star is because I appreciated how Gia's problems with her friends were realistic. Like I said, I've experienced them myself. I just wished that they'd been handled better, and more maturely. And also because I really liked Bec, Fake Bradley's sister, who was the hard-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside kind of girl.
Overall, this book had potential to be one of those extremely relatable and realistic books, but it unfortunately fell flat on both of those aspects.
10/26/2013
Kasie West can't write a bad book, folks. Look at all the feels she gave us:
The Distance Between Us made us:
Pivot Point made us think:
Split Second gave us:
On the Fence basically made us:
Just give me this book, okay!?
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Reading Progress
October 26, 2013
– Shelved as:
to-read
October 26, 2013
– Shelved
May 9, 2015
–
Started Reading
May 10, 2015
–
20.0%
"For some strange reason, I'm really not liking this so far. :( SOMEONE PLEASE HIT ME UPSIDE THE HEAD."
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
favorite-male-leads
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
cliffhangers
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
covergasm
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
eye-roll
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
not-funny
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
grinning-like-an-idiot
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
piss-off
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
light-and-cute
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
love-triangles
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
fluffy
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
predictable
May 11, 2015
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-33 of 33 (33 new)
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message 1:
by
Katherine
(new)
Jul 19, 2014 08:29PM
She can do no wrong. I am thoroughly convinced that she is the goddess of fiction filled with rainbows and sunshine!!
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Hahaha! I know, right!? :D (Hear that, Kasie? You're a goddess of fiction filled with rainbows and sunshine!)
The Kasie West syndrome!! HAHA So excited for this! I can't wait to meet more hilarious and lovely characters of Kasie! ♥♥
Abby wrote: "The Kasie West syndrome!! HAHA So excited for this! I can't wait to meet more hilarious and lovely characters of Kasie! ♥♥"
Me too! <33
Me too! <33
@Ellen: If you're looking for a light fantasy, go for Pivot Point. Contemporary-wise, I enjoyed On the Fence a lot, but most other people enjoyed The Distance Between Us more. :)
Really? I am surprised. This is my first book by her though and it was a lot better than what I thought it would be.
I've read all of her other books and enjoyed those a lot more. :( Pivot Point's my favorite of hers!
Before this book, I had only read Pivot Point and On The Fence, which i loved tons. This one though. ... I feel like you about it. Hayden had his okay moments I liked, and Bec. They were the only highlights of the story, because the rest was horrible for me. I kept wanting to DNF it, but didn't because I wanted to see how the little kids solved their lying problems. This was like reading a middle school book, but much more dramatic and idiotic. I saw no reason why they made such a big deal about the whole thing. I was sick, to say the least. And that ending made the rest fall even flatter. And this was a book i was expecting so much! I guess it doesn't pay to expect something so much sometimes lol. Great review though :)
I understand where you're coming from, there were definitely parts that were a little annoying. But for some reason, I really liked this. I found her pining after Hayden kinda of relatable because when I have crush, I am constantly thinking about them like it's really bad. Maybe that's why I liked it at lot. Sorry you didn't like it as much as you were expecting too. Sometimes it's the expectation that brings things down.
Jennifer wrote: "Before this book, I had only read Pivot Point and On The Fence, which i loved tons. This one though. ... I feel like you about it. Hayden had his okay moments I liked, and Bec. They were the only h..."
I totally agree with you, Jennifer! On the Fence and Pivot Point are actually my favorite Kasie West books. :) This one did read a bit like middle grade sometimes. I wish I'd lowered my expectations for this down a notch. :(
I totally agree with you, Jennifer! On the Fence and Pivot Point are actually my favorite Kasie West books. :) This one did read a bit like middle grade sometimes. I wish I'd lowered my expectations for this down a notch. :(
Jessica wrote: "Oh no! I was so looking forward to this! I'm still going to read it, but now I'm not as excited. :("
Aw, sorry, Jessica! I hope you end up liking it more than I did.
Aw, sorry, Jessica! I hope you end up liking it more than I did.
Denisa wrote: "I understand where you're coming from, there were definitely parts that were a little annoying. But for some reason, I really liked this. I found her pining after Hayden kinda of relatable because ..."
There was only this ONE time I was completely obsessed with my crush, but that was because we'd already been good friends beforehand. I've never been quite taken by someone I didn't really know, so personally I can't relate, but I definitely see your point! Thanks, Denisa. Glad you enjoyed this more than I did! :)
There was only this ONE time I was completely obsessed with my crush, but that was because we'd already been good friends beforehand. I've never been quite taken by someone I didn't really know, so personally I can't relate, but I definitely see your point! Thanks, Denisa. Glad you enjoyed this more than I did! :)
So bummed that you didn't enjoy this as much as I did. Gave it 5 stars! But this is also the first Kasie West book I've read so maybe that's also a factor?
Maybe! I had extremely high expectations for this... All her other books were so much better, in my opinion. Especially Pivot Point/Split Second. :)
I'm really sad that this book was such a fail because I'm a huge Kasie West fan too. I agree with everything you said!! Very stereotypical and flat characters. and she's lacking on the wit this time around too.
Buonaraya wrote: "I'm really sad that this book was such a fail because I'm a huge Kasie West fan too. I agree with everything you said!! Very stereotypical and flat characters. and she's lacking on the wit this tim..."
I agree. :( Her other books were much better and had more personality.
I agree. :( Her other books were much better and had more personality.
I wished I had read this before I bought the book. I stopped at page 56 and it isn't working for me. *Gimme back my money!*
I wished I had read this before I bought the book. I stopped at page 56 and it isn't working for me. *Gimme back my money!*
I had expect that this book wasn't the best book I read from Kasie West, but you point out a lot of flaw that i missed. What i really don't like from the book is the conflict wasn't resolved with Gia's friend, and it left me hanged. Anyway i like the distance between us and i guess i'm going to try pivot point :)