Last Friday was the release of Anna B. Doe’s newest novel, The Stand-In Boyfriend! You can read all about the book (and my thoughts) below!

Official Synopsis:

This year was supposed to be the best of her life, but after finding her boyfriend cheating in front of half of the school, the last thing Jessica Bryant wants is to face her classmates.

Noah Russell still feels ashamed of what he did last year. He isn’t one of the bad guys. So, when he hears people bad-mouthing Jessica, he reacts without thinking.

It was supposed to be just a kiss, to give people something else to talk about, but now that they’re the ones controlling the rumors, why not continue?

A few weeks, just until homecoming, and then they’ll break up. Jessica won’t be the girl her boyfriend cheated on and Noah will get his redemption. Should be easy, right? Maybe if her stand-in boyfriend wasn’t also her mortal enemy…

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review:

The Stand-In Boyfriend can be read as a standalone, but Anna was nice enough to also provide an author copy of the previous book, The Penalty Box for me to read as well, since there is a bunch of overlap with the characters! I read both books in one day — they’re both novellas, so it didn’t take too much time! I’d highly recommend reading The Penalty Box first.

There are some references to the first three books in the Greyford High series, which I recognized from reading the synopsis of the first three. Normally I don’t like to read a series out of order, (even though they can be read as standalones) because I don’t want to miss out on all of the little references and nods to the main series! (Don’t worry, I plan on reading the first three once I get another trial of Kindle Unlimited.)

Aside from a few issues with typos and continuity (remember, I read the ARC, not the final edited version of the book that’s now available for you to read!), I found it to be a quick and easy read. I won’t give any spoilers, but based on his actions in The Penalty Box, I was wary about liking Noah’s character in this book. Still, I think he had a pretty good redemption arc, and I liked him and Jessy together as the book progressed.

I especially loved the friendship between Jessy and her best friend, Evie. Having just read Evie’s story and being introduced to Jessy there, it was fun to get to dive into her (and Noah’s) minds in this one. At the end of the book, there’s a bonus epilogue that you can download that is a combination of Jessy, Evie, Liam, and Noah’s POVs, and then sets up the next Greyford High book, which comes out in 2021! I do wish we would’ve gotten more of an explanation about Jack cheating on Jessy, but the bonus epilogue touches on the topic, and we’ll likely hear more about it in the next book.

Overall, I thought this was a fun read! Before this, I’ve only read Kiss to Conquer, so it was cool to see how Anna writes young adult stories vs. new adult — even though they’re on the same sort of topic, the characters are all different! (Some Greyford High cameos at Blairwood might be fun too!)

Thanks to Anna for providing me with a copy to review!

Reviews of Anna B. Doe’s Books:

“Kiss to Conquer” (Blairwood University #1) – ARC

“The Penalty Box” (Greyford High #4) – ARC

“The Stand-In Boyfriend” (Greyford High #5) – ARC

Playlists of Anna B. Doe’s Books:

“Kiss to Conquer” (Blairwood University #1) ♪

“The Penalty Box” (Greyford High #4) ♪

“The Stand-In Boyfriend” (Greyford High #5) ♪