Manon the Malicious's Reviews > Her Book Boyfriend

I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Macey is very smart, she’s the best student at school and is apparently very beautiful too but she doesn’t know it because no one sees her since she’s the best friend of the school’s sex god, Cam.
But prom is around the corner and she really wants a date with someone who cares, who loves her.
Enter the list.
Since she’s so smart, she decides to make a list of tropes to get her perfect boyfriend out of her favorite author romance novels...

I was expecting a sort of Kasie West contemporary or something like Jennifer Echols Superlative series…
But no.
Disappointed doesn’t begin to cover what I felt.
First of all, the list:

Wendi Cooper’s Guide to Catching a Man
1. Every man loves a damsel in distress
2. A lady worth having is hard to catch
3. If a man wanted a parrot, he’d buy the bird
4. Men love to compete against each other
5. If Men Aren’t Working for You, Try Batting for the Other Team
6. A Makeover is the Way to a Man’s Heart
7. Every Good Romance Starts in the Bedroom
8. Arranged Dating -It’s Still a Thing
9. Date Your Best Friend’s Sibling
10. Fake Your Way to Love

I mean the sexism in this is astounding.
Macey needs a new favorite author….
Also, there’s nothing I hate more than a character calling themselves smart and everyone calling them smart but that it never shows in how they act. Well this was a textbook case.
Or a character that is called a bookworm but is never reading…

There was so much sexism in this book… Slutshaming and also this kinda thing:

“So, if a girl said a guy was bothering her, would that bring out your protective instincts?” I blurted as soon as I sat down in my usual seat. “Hello to you, too.” Cam smirked. “Why are guys supposed to have protective instincts?” Teagan blinked, looking up from a piece of a motherboard he was tinkering with. “Because it’s their job to protect women.” I nodded indignantly.

I mean… She’s so smart!

Now onto the LGBT+ representation…
First :

“I’m not a lesbian. I’m undecided.”
“Same thing.” He waved her off.

I don’t think I need to comment on this…. It speaks for itself.

Then, Macey decides to ask this girl, Neyland out:

“So, um, Neyland, would you be interested in going out this Friday? Maybe catch a movie or something?”
There, I’d said it. My heart was doing the cha cha in my chest. Then she laughed.
My face flushed hot as embarrassment weighted down in my stomach. “Um, what’s so funny?”
She waved me off as she wiped a tear from her eye.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh at you, but you’re so straight, you couldn’t be gay if you wanted to.”
Anger replaced embarrassment. “What the hell does that mean?”
“The first day I met you, my straight-dar said you were not one of us.”
“Straight-dar?”
“Yeah, the internal indicator that tells me if someone is straight or gay,” she said between laughs. “I’m sorry. I know I should get control of myself.”
It took her several deep breaths before she regained her composure.
“If you were gay, I’d totally date you, but you’re not.”

This makes me so angry. Besides the fact that you cannot tell people what their sexuality is, there’s more sexualities than gay or straight……………

And finally, after Macey follows some guy in a basement, he starts commenting on her clothes and then:

He shrugged and stuffed his hands into the front of his pressed khaki pants. “I’m merely stating the truth. You are definitely a dress and cardigan type. Very simple and classy. I will give props to whoever did your hair, though. The lightened color really makes your eyes sparkle.”
Oh. My anger quickly subsided. It made sense now.

Yep. Thanks to that supersmart brain of hers, she just figured out he was gay. I’m not even gonna start explaining why that’s not ok.

I hated all the characters. I already went over the main one (stupid, sexist, etc..) but now, her best friend, Cam.
I mean Macey keeps telling us what a great friend he is.
And that’s true. Such a good friend who keeps asking her to break up with every girl he hooks up with for him...
I couldn’t stand him.

It was also filled with clichés and I do mean FILLED.
To me, it’s only quality was how short it was………….