Friday, August 14, 2015

Blog Tour: Blackmail Boyfriend by Chris Cannon ~ Review & Giveaway

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**About the Book** 

Blackmail BoyfriendSource: e-ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Blackmail Boyfriend by Chris Cannon


Sometimes, blackmail is the only weapon a girl has…

Haley Patterson has had a crush on golden boy Bryce Colton for ages. But when she hears a rumor that he hooked up with her she gives him a choice: be her boyfriend for a month to show other guys that she’s dateable—despite her overprotective and very intimidating brothers—or deal with the angry, cage-fighting boyfriend of the girl he actually did hook up with.

Bryce didn’t know the other Haley even had a boyfriend. He was just trying to get his ex off his back. And now, not only is he being blackmailed, he's being blackmailed by an honor student. His new “girlfriend” has two three-legged dogs, her father mows grass at the country club, and she's…well, difficult. And different.

Can something so fake turn into something real?




**Review** 


I love a good pretending story. I don't think much on tropes (I'm mostly bad at recognizing them), but I am certain the fake boyfriend/girlfriend that turns into a real relationship trope is one I love. Which means I was excited about this book from the start. Pretending, plus cute character dynamics, plus dual POV... yeah, this story was right up my alley. And for the most part, it was right on the mark. I enjoyed it.

Haley was a great female lead. Cute and funny and not perfect, but I was rooting for her to be happy from the very start. I didn't get annoyed with her much, and even the few times I did were times when her behavior was warranted. She's a nice chick I have no doubt it'd be great to have as a friend, which made it a good time being in her head and reading her story.

Surprisingly, Bryce was the character that was more rocky for me. He was never terrible and I never hated him. However, he was VERY set in his ways. This changed over the coarse of the novel, of course, and that growth was wonderful to watch. Still, he got on my nerves more times than I would have liked. He would be headed in the right direction, and then snap back to his old attitude. This backward steps got smaller as the book went on, but I didn't like the back and forth feeling I got with him. That said, he is a super good guy. It took him a while to settle into that, but he really is. So even though he took longer than I would have liked to get completely on my good side, he did end up there and I do heart him.

Two other very mentionable characters in Blackmail Boyfriend are Haley's best friend Jane and Bryce's best friend Nathan. Jane was hilarious and I loved her. Another chick it'd be cool to have as a friend. Plus she brought baked goods for lunch to share. HECK. YES. As for Nathan, I didn't really expect to like him as much as I did, because he started off seeming just like Bryce. But Nathan got his act together way sooner and it was easy to love him. These two side characters were fantastic and made even the more bumpy Bryce and Haley situations so much better.

The novel jumps into the plot right away, which I definitely liked. Haley gets to school, finds out about a rumor including her she had zero part in, confronts Bryce about it, and BAM off the story goes. That made it so easy to get drawn into the story. From there, the story is told in dual POV between Bryce and Haley, which, along with how sweet and funny the book could be, made the story incredibly easy to fly right through. Bryce and Haley each have their own voice, reactions, and narratives, and I enjoyed that insight.

Bryce and Haley as a couple was something I wanted to happen--and STICK--for the entirety of the book. When Bryce isn't pushing her away or reverting to his old attitude, he and Haley are an adorable couple. Yes, they argue and butt heads. But it's perfect. I loved their banter. I also enjoyed their sweet moments. While I wished some of them wouldn't have been dumped on by Bryce taking his backward steps, there were plenty nice moments that showed how great these two could be. And there were even a fair amount of moments that were not compromised by Bryce. All in all, I liked the romance and ended up loving this couple.

Overall, Blackmail Boyfriend is a sweet, fun, and quick read that I really enjoyed. The well-written characters were fun to hang with, and it was so easy to fall into their story. If you're looking for something light that you can totally read in one sitting, I recommend picking this one up.


3 stars - A cute and funny YA contemporary romance!

Val also read and reviewed Blackmail Boyfriend, and she gave it 4 stars! Check out her review here :)


**About the Author** 

Chris Cannon lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and her three dogs, Pete the shih tzu who sleeps on her desk while she writes, Molly the ever-shedding yellow lab, and Tyson the sandwich-stealing German Shepherd Beagle. She believes coffee is the Elixir of Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sucking down caffeine and writing fire-breathing paranormal adventures or snarky romantic comedies.

Author Links: 



**Giveaway** 

There's a tour-wide INT giveaway for a $20 Amazon Gift Card! Enter through the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win :)


4 comments:

  1. I love the way you described your dogs. They sound so adorable.

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  2. Great review! I added this book to my amazon wishlist as soon as I ran across it on there :) I can't WAIT to READ it!!! Thank you for the chance <3

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  3. YA is all about the tropes. I love them all and enjoy seeing how each author brings their own spin to it. This book sounds cute. I am a sucker for an adorable contemporary. Glad I already had it on my TBR

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