Review: The Fill-In Boyfriend – Kasie West

Posted June 19, 2015 by Andi in Books, Review / 11 Comments

I’m attempting to switch up my review style. Welcome to my first attempt at My ABCs of the Book. Let me know what you think about it and if you would change anything. I’m trying to keep it fresh as writing reviews can get stale if you don’t try something new.

Review: The Fill-In Boyfriend – Kasie WestThe Fill-In Boyfriend Published: May 5th 2015
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When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party—three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.



Review

One sitting. That’s how long it took me to read The Fill-In Boyfriend. Once I started it I couldn’t bring myself to stop. It was quintessentially Kasie West. It was light and fun, but also had a depth to it.

The Fill-in Boyfriend has the feel of a great teen movie. It kind of falls into line with films like Drive Me Crazy, Whatever it Takes and She’s All That. It’s the story of Gia, a high schooler that is dumped by her college aged boyfriend in the parking lot of her prom. Trying to save face Gia finds a random boy in the parking lot just reading a book. She convinces him to pose as her now ex-boyfriend. However when the night ends things grow more complicated than Gia and the fill-in ever imagined. Instead of saving face Gia may have made things worse between her and her friends and she may just be falling for the boy that was only supposed to be around temporarily.

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I love this kind of story a lot. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a good teen movie. Everything in this plot flowed nicely too which is why it was easy to read in one sitting. There wasn’t one point that I was bored or wanted the skip ahead because nothing was happening. The plot/action was well developed and well executed in a Kasie West kind of way.

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I love all the places this book used as a setting. It had a very easy laidback feel. An ice cream shop, the car on a road trip, a back yard graduation party; it all added to the vibe of the book which to me was a perfect summer read. Each place played an import role in telling Gia’s story and made the book easy to follow along with and to help get you attached to the characters.

characters
The characters are what made this book for me. Gia was such a typical, insecure high school girl that thought a lot about what her friends think of her (which let’s face it, we all did and still do). Having her meet the “fill-in” and get to know him and his family and his friends really helped her grow as a person. Plus “fill-in”…adorable! He brought out a really good side of Gia, a side that wasn’t obsessed with appearances. And she brought out a good side of him too. Plus his sister was awesome. I will say I didn’t like Gia’s brother or some of her friends, but it wasn’t so much that it took away from the story.

finalKasie West has done it again. She took a story that has been told and made it fun and entertaining. She wrote a book with a smart story, excellent setting and the right characters. Everything just fit into place and kind of clicked which is a testament to Kasie’s writing. I definitely recommend this one. I mean after all, I haven’t met a Kasie West book I haven’t loved.

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11 responses to “Review: The Fill-In Boyfriend – Kasie West

  1. I think your new review style is great, Andi! It’s definitely an awesome way to break down your recent reads. The Fill-in Boyfriend sounds all sorts of adorable too 😉

  2. Love your new style, Andi.

    And, yes, me love Kasie West’s writing too, can’t wait to read this one. I fell in love with Distance Between Us and On the Fence, I need to fall in love once again with her writing.

  3. I didn’t mention it yet, but the new blog design is lovely.

    This book sounds like a lot of fun. Once I’m a little less slammed with reading obligations, I am hoping to get to some of West’s contemporary books (now that I’ve covered Pivot Point and Split Second).

    Emma @ Miss Print recently posted: Charlie, Presumed Dead: A Review
  4. Trashell grisham

    I really like the book the fill in boyfriend and I was wondering if you where thinking of making a movie if so I would be very interested in watching it. It was very interesting to me I read it in one night and it was actually New Years eve.

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