If you are of a certain age... you know and always know who Jake Ryan is. Everyone wanted their own Jake Ryan. The handsome and rich crush from high school who finally acknowledges you. But can a high school movie crush really dictate your standards as an adult? Seems weird to me. And I loved Jake Ryan!

I liked the idea of the book, but to be honest, the book, characters and plot were weird to me. A grown women who is a doctor basis her relationships on a 1980's movie is kind of weird. Especially when she is in her 30's.

The whole book reminded me of a 1980's rom con, which was cute. I wish the characters we're younger so this book didn't seem so .......weird. Everyone seemed to immature for their ages.

Mac and J.T. Meet in a normal way but as they get to know one another things take an abnormal turn and the rest of the events follow!

This book was hilarious and omg I had some super emotional moments! My heart hurt and felt for each one at different times as they both navigate their relationship! Things are easy and with his past and well current future, JT is doing the best he can to be the best boyfriend he could be! Mac is trying to be her best self but that’s not easy when her family can’t see how truly amazing she is!

I loved the awesome Hughes references (his movies will forever be some of my faves, sorry not sorry) and they definitely added to humor and over all romantic feel of the book! JT and Mac are relationship goals because they believe in one another and hold on to their love like no other! No love isn’t perfect like in the movies but it’s messy and in the end worth it!

The Jake Ryan complex by Bethany Crandell is a sweet story with nostalgic vibes connecting it to Sixteen Candles. Mac is hopeful that she will find love to appease her mother, but discovers that she measures all of her partners to the standard of the fictional Jake Ryan. Secrets, strained familial relationships, and budding romance provide a backdrop for Mac’s character development. Overall a fun and enjoyable read!

This was a cute, romantic read that I flew through. Lots of references to that classic film and dreamboat, Jake Ryan. Relationship issues between couples, siblings and parents! I found this to be a little predictable and light, but fun and a great distraction. I will definitely pick up more by this author! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

After reading a very heavy and dark book, I was needing something lighthearted and fun to change gears. Mac is a successful obstetrician, but when it comes to her mom she reverts to a kid who lies to avoid confrontation. Her situation was relatable even though it was taken farther than what would seem realistic. The first half of the book was a slow burn with her charming contractor, J.T. Then, once it picks up, it does so at warp speed, all of a sudden things become startlingly domestic between them and then there's big a twist that I didn't see coming. The pacing was so much faster in the second half, it felt a bit jarring. Also, while I felt their chemistry, their intimacy was glossed over in a way that seemed inconsistent with the rest of the book. Even though the book was a bit uneven, and sometimes felt "young" even though it was about grown adults, it was also quite funny and the characters were very easy to like.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I also had a huge crush on Jake Ryan so of course, this book caught my attention and I knew I had to read it. The Jake Ryan Complex is an adorable romance that had me flying through it. With a cute character like Mackenzie, you can't help but root for her to find her perfect guy. This book is a great guilty pleasure that I just loved.

The idea and cover were interesting, but execution was terrible to me.
Mac has a behavior of 12 year old girl not grown women and absolutely no character development in end. Romance and romantic interest were both bland and not interesting.
Other characters were cardboard, just basically nothing worked for me.


* 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

When I saw that this book had the 80’s
heartthrob Jake Ryan in the title, I knew I needed to see what this book was all about. This was a quick read that was highly predictable but kept me entertained. Mackenzie is an obstetrician living in Chicago who is waiting for her Mr. Right. Her family and friends have been giving her a hard time because she always seems to find faults with the men she dates. Mackenzie has made up a whole story about her fictional boyfriend to her mother to keep her off her back. Will true love be able to be found or will all of the lies being told come around and ruin things for Mackenzie? Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. I highly recommend it.

I wanted to like this story but just couldn't gel with the characters. I liked what the storyline was about as it seemed fairly similar to the film the wedding date which I loved, but the story just seemed a bit disjointed jumping from one week to the next, it seemed solely about the dates so you didn't get to know the main character properly and thus couldn't get wrapped up in her thoughts and feelings.