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ems_rxlibrary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cancer and Fatphobia
blackveilbeccy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia, Terminal illness, Blood, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Toxic family, estrangement, family dysfunctionpsistillreadyou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
The toxic relationships are child-parent relationships. Frequent purity culture rhetoric. Brief mentions of HP and book banning.bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Medical content
erynlasbelin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, and Medical content
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Pregnancy
talknerdybookblog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I struggled with how to rate Rent a Boyfriend because I think Gloria did an excellent job navigating the really difficult dilemma the Heroine, Chloe (Jing) was in. However, as a romance, I didn't really get why out of all the girls the Hero, Drew, was a fake boyfriend for, Chloe was The One. But, besides that snag, their relationship felt both cute and realistic. I liked how Gloria didn't shy away from the hard truths and assumptions most people hold (that college is the key to success, for example). The way Chloe reacted to Drew having dropped out to focus on his art was realistic and that people can give each other a little grace to get over their biases/assumptions.
Despite how cute the romance was, for most of the book I really was more focused on Chloe and hoping she found a way to live the life she wanted – which included her dreams and a relationship with her parents. I think Gloria did a great job illustrating how that can be possible but it requires a lot of effort and forgiveness on all sides. Rent a Boyfriend excellently demonstrated how important perspective is; in a critical moment to assert her autonomy over her life and future, Chloe makes a rash decision that has consequences on her parents' standing in their community. During the scene, I was breathing in relief that Chloe finally stood up for herself but a discussion with her mother showed how her emphasis on Chloe's purity was not only rooted in sexist values... in Chloe's mother's mind, she was protecting her daughter's future.
Overall, Rent a Boyfriend was cute but certainly more emotional and angsty than I assumed it would be.
Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions
• No cheating
• No OW drama
– But, the Hero does continue his fake boyfriend job, which the Heroine knows about.
• Does have OM drama
– Heroine's parents are trying to set her up with the extremely sexist only son of their elitist friends.
• Does have the Heroine pushing the Hero away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Parental abandonment (Hero was kicked out of his house ~18-years-old)
• Really difficult relationship with parents
• Strong themes of sexism, including slut-shaming
• Fatphobia
• Classism
– Educational prejudice
• Brief mentions of homophobia and racism
• Cancer
Ending:
Graphic: Body shaming, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Abortion
xoodlebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Racism and Medical content
olivialandryxo's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Chao is brilliant at writing layered characters and complex relationships, protagonists and couples you can’t help but root for. She perfectly balances humor and emotion, and all of these things combined make for the perfect book for me. I also really appreciate the way Chloe and Drew handled conflict—they took a bit of time for themselves and then talked everything through. I know you can’t always expect such things in YA novels, but it’s refreshing to come across it from time to time.
Also, Chloe and Drew were just adorable. I loved their puns and banter. Couples that banter steal my heart basically every time, and they’re no exception. I could almost feel their chemistry as I read. It was definitely there.
I hope to own a copy of this book soon, and I can see myself rereading it in the future. I highly recommend Rent a Boyfriend, as well as Chao’s previous novels. I look forward to reading more from her, whenever that may be.
Representation
- Taiwanese-American protagonist, love interest, and side characters
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cancer and Medical content
Minor: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Blood
nitya's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4 mooncakes!
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Cancer and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia
lapis's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It is in fact a fake relationship book, on the basis of renting a boyfriend for specific holidays, and the consequences that entails.
Also this was the FIRST time I understood a guide to Pinyin, so it should be celebrated for that fact alone. Seriously though this is a solid read (though it's kind of a long one. About 450 pages Digitally?) and very cute, besides the overall serious matter.
I don't know if Gloria Chao has plans to make spinoffs or sequels to this book, but I bet it's totally possible and I'd love to see it! There's a lot you can explore with the premise.
Moderate: Cursing and Toxic relationship
Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia
Homophobia: