This book was beyond anything I expected. I honestly don't want to give anything away, but it's really outside the typical gay romance. This is a very queer story, which I love to see. Getting a truly queer romance with believably queer characters that resemble the personalities I've known through my life as a queer person is really affirming in a contemporary novel. I just loved this book so much and can't say enough positive things about it.

I enjoyed this book. It was a really quick, fun read that also had some harder hitting moments. Overall it was good but perhaps could have had a bit more development of the central relationship.

Such a cute queer love story - I really enjoyed reading this book. For all fans of the fake dating trope with queer joy, great side characters and a great plot!

Disclaimer: e-Arc provided by Mills & Boon, Afterglow Books, via Net Galley for Review. All thoughts are my own. My thanks to Afterglow Books, for providing me with the arc for review.

Plot
This book follows the love story of Teddy and Cole.

Teddy is a horticulturist who has just lost everything following a messy Divorce. Cole is a sex-positive entrepreneur, who owns a website for sex workers.

They meet by chance at a bar, and after one-night together, Cole hires Teddy to be her fake boyfriend.

Thoughts
I’m giving this book 3.5 Stars.

I was here for a good time with Teddy and Cole and I really liked them together, but I don’t think it will stick with me. The book seemed a bit too short so everything happened a bit fast.

I put this book down around half way through and really struggled with the *want* to pick it back up but I’m glad I did and I’m glad I finished it. I did actually enjoy it despite it not hooking me completely. There were parts that I really had fun reading and parts that I just really didn’t care for…

My strongest opinion of this book is that it needed a disclaimer. It contains a plot line to do with SA which to be honest, really didn’t add anything to the story or the overall conclusion of the story at all and so didn’t actually need to be a part of what was meant to be a fun, frisky romcom. Cut that whole part out of the books and it would have been a 4 star for me.

I will say that I did like the inclusion of safe, healthy sex work and the MC being responsible and getting tested. That’s just not something you read everyday in m/m romance and it was just nice to see that.

Overall I did enjoy the book but if you’re going to write a romcom please keep such heavy topics out of them, or add a disclaimer.

I’m sure I knew that THE BOYFRIEND SUBSCRIPTION was a Pretty Woman retelling when I requested it, but I honestly have no memory of that, so I really didn’t notice until we hit iconic lift scene. Once I did notice, it’s fairly easy to see the beats of the movie, which was a lot of fun.
And that’s probably the best way to describe THE BOYFRIEND SUBSCRIPTION – Fun.
The book has a few problems with pacing, and a couple of spots where I think maybe Salvatore was married to the retelling angle a little too tightly, to the point that some of the characters motivations were a little hard to follow. I love a fake dating story, and I can deal with a bit of insta-love, but I’d have really enjoyed seeing Cole and Teddy actually date more, to see them interact and spend time together, getting to know one another. Similarly, there were a few interesting side characters who felt a bit flat in their motivations, and some (what seemed to me) Big Deal moments that were pretty much swept under the rug.
All that makes it sound like I maybe didn’t enjoy THE BOYFRIEND SUBSCRIPTION, but I really, really did. Pretty Woman is one of my absolute favourite brain-fluff movies, and I think Salvatore has delivered exactly that in novel format. Flipping the roles of Edward and Vivian even adds a more modern angle, allowing the story to take a quick look at sex positivity and sex work in a way the movie simply can’t.
THE BOYFRIEND SUBSCRIPTION has a very classic romance vibe and is an easy, enjoyable read. It’s one I think would be perfect for summer, or for anyone that enjoys that sort of "oh no, we're catching feelings" rich-boy romance.

After seeing this kind of explode all over Bookstagram, I was excited to see it come up on Netgalley and had to get it.

A queer, sex work positive, body positive, reworking of the Pretty Woman story, fake boyfriends with a hell of a lot spice. A fast paced, punchy read. It hit the mark with the romance/spice aspects but had legitimately powerful positive messages about trust, sex positivity, pride, and shame.

Teddy and Cole are fun, lovable characters. Nuanced and real. And, their support systems are a shining light in their lives.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really gorgeous queer retelling of Pretty Woman.

Teddy Hughes, known as Plant Daddy, is divorced and his horticultural business is closing due to this. Although he lives with his best friend Kit, he knows he must leave New York and go back home to Louisiana.

Cole Vivien, French entrepreneur and founder of VERSTL a gay sex work company, has his own struggles despite being widely successful and from a rich family.

The two meet accidentally, when they both really needed someone. Cole has a few functions to attend and Teddy needs money so the two come up with a fake dating business agreement. But they end up finding themselves in too deep.

This book is beautiful. It's spicy, it's emotional and everything I want from a romance novel. We do have a little bit of a third act break-up/miscommunication trope that I usually dislike but it really added to the turmoil that Cole and Teddy both feel.

There is so much queer representation in this novel so this book is perfect for those who struggle to find LGBTQIA+ romances in a sea of straight ones!

Thank you, NetGalley & Afterglow (Mills & Boon), for approving me for this ARC.

Aw, I really enjoyed this MM romance. It's a pretty woman retelling with lots of complex characters and spice.

Teddy is a plant daddy and after his divorce (which takes away everything he loves) he's left with feeling like he has nothing (except a fabulous best friend called Kit) and is having to move home to live with his mum in his 30's because he can't keep having her pay his share of the rent.

Enter Cole, a wealthy entrepreneur who created and stars in an LGBTQ+ app that is a safe space for sex workers (think only fans).

Cole needs a plus 1 for his sisters wedding, and after he meets Teddy in a bar, he presents Teddy an offer he can't refuse.

I loved the relationship between Cole & and Teddy, and I liked how it wasn't an exact retelling of pretty woman and I love how Tedddy was so into nature and plants and Cole used crystals to help centre himself.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

It's a mixed bag: I liked some parts and found other a bit so-what. The author is a good storyteller and that made me finish the book.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I had high hopes but it just didn't work for me and I was annoyed for the most part.

An interesting read, but the set-up was not what I was expecting based on the title and beginning of the book. I think that coloured my perception and made it more difficult to read, but in general it's an interesting concept!

Fans of billionaire romance will love Cole, though I was more of a fan of Teddy, who's been through so much already. I like that the protagonists are older than most queer romance protagonists, it's something that needs to happen more.

listen i gave this a good stab but i just .................. i found it to be written in a really pedestrian way and swinging between sacharine confession and not very sexy sex.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

The Boyfriend Subscription by Steven Salvatore is a flirty romp with surprisingly thoughtful takes on sex work and recovery.

When entrepreneur Cole has a chance encounter with down on his luck plant daddy Teddy, sparks fly and a Pretty Woman-esque scheme falls into place. This book crams a lot of twists and pitfalls into a quick read, and I could see there being one or two too many for some readers to be able to accept their HEA, but the fact that both characters are optimistic but emotionally clueless helped sell this to me as a fun holiday read.

Something I really appreciated was how thoughtfully Salvatore engages with the subject of sex work throughout the novel - it’s literally Cole’s job and it’s never approached with shame and judgment by the main characters, nor is there an expectation to abandon it at the conclusion of the story as a moral failing. (Although we could have made this even more explicit.) This was something I hadn’t really came across in a gay romance novel before so it was great to see it approached so thoughtfully.

Also the sex scenes are pretty good, and that’s always appreciated.

"The Boyfriend Subscription" is a refreshing take on romance, The development of love between Teddy and Cole is beautifully portrayed, drawing readers in with its engrossing progression of feelings. What sets this book apart is its ability to tackle traditionally taboo topics (sex work) with grace and sensitivity, turning them into elements that enrich the story rather than detract from it. From the incorporation of hot little details like the leather harness to the subtle nods to "The Devil Wears Prada," every aspect of this novel is carefully crafted to keep the reader hooked throughout. Overall, "The Boyfriend Subscription" is a fantastic read that offers both romance and depth, making it something i’ll be recommending to everyone.

The Boyfriend Subscription is an inverted and gay retelling of Pretty Woman, with a millionaire sex worker and a bankrupt plant business owner as the central couple. After a chance meeting at a bar where they hit it off, Cole hires Teddy, the Plant Daddy, to be his fake boyfriend for a series of upcoming social and business engagements. But before long, what started out as a neat arrangement becomes messy.

This was a sweet and pretty spicy romance with plenty of nods to Pretty Woman and pop culture references, and it’s a relatively quick read. The ending felt a bit abrupt, and there were a few strands that didn’t feel entirely tied off at the end. Also, and I realise that this is a very minor detail, but I would have liked for the French phrase used by Cole to be more natural – they were grammatically correct, but some were too formal. However, I loved the positive approach to sex work and found both characters loveable and easy to empathise with.

This is a fun gay romance that felt relatable with characters you want to root for. Now I want a sequel to see how their romance blossoms!

2.5⭐️
I really wanted to enjoy this book but it just didn’t click. Reading the description and seeing the cover and this seem like a book I was going to adore. I’m not going to lie I nearly dnf’d several times. I took a break and came back to it and finished it. The miscommunication trope was just so over used. Cole and Teddy just for me didn’t fit. Everything was so fast paced. It just wasn’t for me. But, thank you for the ARC in exchange for a review.

This book was so adorable; it was essentially a male/male modern retelling of Pretty Woman. Teddy is a lover of plants, a nurturer at heart, who finds himself down in the dumps. Cole is wealthy, hard working and needs a fake boyfriend to keep his family off his back.

I love Cole and Teddy's relationship, they really complement each other. There was definitely a lot of drama in this book and about 3 3rd act break ups, I was getting concerned there wouldn't be a happy ending, but of course it worked out perfectly it just kept me on the edge of my seat!

There is spice, drama, fake-dating, MM relationship and swoon-worthy romance in this book and it was simply just perfect.