Operation Boyfriend: An addictive MM fake dating romance (Devon Memorial)

Another triumph for Zarah Detand. I've enjoyed all of her books and this one is no different in that regard. The fake boyfriend trope is a departure from her usual books but she delivers a heartfelt story that makes your insides all gooey. Highly recommend!

A really low angst romp featuring lovable and fully developed characters. The outcome was clear from the first pages. I would’ve given it five stars if it had a touch more bite to the plot. Sarah is developing into a very evocative writer and it was a pleasure to read her descriptions. It’s a fun read that left a huge smile on my face.

Thank you to Storm Publishing, Dreamscape Select, and author Zarah Detand, for providing me with the eARC and ALC of “Operation Boyfriend”. If you know me, you know I cannot resist a fake dating trope. Mix that in with MM romance and you’ve got a hit! I enjoyed immersive reading this one. If you have the chance that’s the way to go. I see a lot of myself in Dean. He’s “cold” at work, not because he thinks that’s how he should act but because that’s how he gets through his day and his job as a surgeon. So while he may seem grumpy he’s really a teddy bear for the right people. And those people truly do mean a lot to him. And yes he is a bit slow on his emotions but we all get scared to make the jump at times. Taylin was a fun surprise! While he is outgoing and hardworking. He also has a lot of doubt and fear, and that is so perfectly portrayed. We all have those moments where we question what we are doing. He thankfully had some good people to help him realize how great he is. And let’s be so real, no one is going to turn down a free beach vacation! And the spice!! So good, I loved the getting the lead up to vacation and then the set up. Perfect setting, perfect amount of attraction and spice. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Spice Level: 🌶️ Dual 1st POV Punisher: Storm Publishing Pages 272 MM Romance Fake Dating Coworkers/Doctors One Bed Forced Proximity Slow Burn Banter At 89.8% the audio was messed up. It began to skip like you lost service. Otherwise Jamie did a great…

If you’re looking for a quick summer MM romance, this one is a good rec! 9h of audio made it super easy to complete reading in 2-3 days. Two doctors so there’s a bit of a workplace romance situation, destination wedding (Dean’s sister’s) in a paradise location and fake dating thrown into the mix, duh. While they did fake date, it wasn’t how this trope is usually executed. It was more of a cause for Dean and Tay starting their… thing but not that big part of the overall plot. I enjoyed how even tho Tay had a crush on Dean initially, the story didn’t lean into thirsting after each other or any type of insta tropes. No insta love or even insta lust. They started getting to know each other for the sake of the fake dating ruse and genuinely became friends first before turning throwing intimacy to the mix and eventually going for a real relationship. The iloveyou felt a bit rushed but at the same time it was fitting. There was a bit of a third act drama. Not exactly a breakup but also not not a breakup. I promise it’s well executed and makes sense and they resolve it pretty quickly WITH COMMUNICATION 👏🏼 There were a couple of spicy scenes and they had an easy type of relation with flirty banter than made me giggle couple of times. Each time they kissed or a word “babe” was thrown in there I smiled SO wide. My only takeaway is that chapters were quite long. It didn’t make much difference as I was mostly listening to the audiobook in bigger chunks of time but I prefer if…

4.5 stars This has so many things I love in a romance! Fake dating, forced proximity, only one bed, tropical location, slow burn, workplace romance. Dean needs a date to his sister's destination wedding and Tay needs a vacation. Since they are both doctors they had to ask for time off really far ahead of this wedding. Tay finds a list of questions for couples to help them get to know each other so they can make Dean's family believe they are a real couple. We really get to see them come to care about each other as friends. I love when we, the reader, get to see that emotional connection develop. Of course when they get to the island they are sharing a bungalow. The forced proximity causes all kinds of tension but also real feelings to develop! I loved this story! It's funny and sweet with some spice. Jamie Day did a brilliant job with the narration of the audiobook! Thank you to Dreamscape Select and NetGalley. I listened to an advanced listener copy of this book. My opinions are my own.