But Noah’s interview is a flop. Desperate, he strikes a deal with the club’s prickly but attractive president, Asher. Noah will help them win an annual talent show—and in return, he’ll get a second shot to demonstrate his boyfriend skills in a series of tests that include romancing Asher himself.
If Noah can’t bring home the win, his best chance to prove that he’s man enough is gone. Yet even if he succeeds, he still loses . . . because the most important rule of the Borrow a Boyfriend Club is simple: no real boyfriends (or girlfriends) allowed.
And as long as the club remains standing as high as Asher’s man bun, Noah and Asher can never explore their growing feelings for one another. (Pub Date: Sep 12 2023)
I don't remember associating this with Ouran High School Host Club when I picked this reading but from the description of the school club that is the center of this story, it was impossible not to think of it. What I don't get is why the book never recognizes the inspiration, is manga/anime too cringey?
But this isn't really a fanfic in disguise, it's just the general idea that is here, transplanted into an American high school. The actual story is about Noah, who has finished his transition and finally feel passable, so he starts at a new school, so people there wouldn't even know about it and never get his pronouns or name wrong. For that, he looks for the most boy club he can find and that he could apply to in the middle of the school year, that's when he ends up in the Football and Lamborghini something something club. He doesn't know that it is a fake name for the Borrow a Boyfriend Club, where students can go and hire the members, according to their types and specialties, to spend time with them be it on a date or at a school dance. However, this club is so elite it rarely accepts new members, which throws Noah in a multi-round admission challenge, which includes romancing their prick of a president, Asher. Can Noah pass all the rounds and finally be recognized as one of the boys?
I love the twists in the story. I don't know how a trans person feels, so I can't judge any of it, but there's stuff there that made me understand why Noah goes to such lengths so people will stop calling him the wrong way, especially how his parents won't even call him by his actual name, will just call him N, as they always have, since before when he still was called the dead name. It's terrible to think people so close to you can't get a clue.
The book itself is fast paced and fun. Each character seemed more interesting than the other, and I wish I could spend more time with them. Asher is also a good book boyfriend, to a point I can't really buy that he is a "prick" as Noah calls him. It's just too obvious how it'll go, and Asher breaks quicker than I had expected. In all, it's a cute romance. And the author knew how to do it. The influence from manga and anime felt obvious to me, though it could just be in my mind after I realized this is inspired in Ouran. Anyway, I loved the scenes Asher and Noah ended up alone with Noah's parents, they made me laugh hard.
Noah's complexes get a little repetitive; as I said I have no idea how hard and traumatizing things are for transpeople for me to judge, but it was a lot of tell that already had a decent amount of show to explain his trauma. There were some fears Noah seemed to have, on the other hand, that could have used the time, for example the details that bothered him so much when dancing to a point it caused him stage fright. There was obviously a lot more than just the one thing Noah repeats, although of course, this is evidently what moves him the most.
One quick comment, I liked the UK cover more... The US cover portrays Asher and Noah's date that happens in the beginning, and it made me imagine a different story when I saw it. Well, it still worked to attract me to the book lol
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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