Title: Bookish Boyfriends (Bookish Boyfriends #1)
Author: Tiffany Schmidt
Publication Date: May 1, 2018
Publisher: Amulet Books
Pages: 400
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Boys are so much better in books. At least according to Merrilee Campbell, 15, who thinks real-life chivalry is dead and there’d be nothing more romantic than having a guy woo her like the heroes in classic stories. Then she, her best friend, Eliza, and her younger sister, Rory, transfer to Reginald R. Hero Prep—where all the boys look like they’ve stepped off the pages of a romance novel. Merri can hardly walk across the quad without running into someone who reminds her of Romeo.
When the brooding and complicated Monroe Stratford scales Merri’s trellis in an effort to make her his, she thinks she might be Juliet incarnate. But as she works her way through her literature curriculum under guidance of an enigmatic teacher, Merri’s tale begins to unfold in ways she couldn’t have imagined. Merri soon realizes that only she is in charge of her story. And it is a truth universally acknowledged that first impressions can be deceiving…
While I was at Yallfest this past year this is one of the books that my mom was able to snag for me. It honestly wasn’t something that I would’ve picked up on my own as I’m not the biggest fan of contemporaries, but I am so glad that she did! This book is everything that my book-loving heart needed.
Disclaimer: I have not read Pride & Prejudice(shame on me!) so I cannot for sure say that this book has any elements from that classic, but it does have a lot of elements from other classic works such as Romeo & Juliet. I really would like to read Pride & Prejudice now to see if I can pick out where it was integrated into this book.
From the moment I read the first page I knew I was going to love this book. Not only does it bring to light everything a book nerd thinks while reading and interacting with actual people, but it also pay homage to many well know literary works. Each and every one of the cast of characters is relatable in some way or another. Especially the quirky and well read main character, Merrilee.
I absolutely love Merrilee! I swear someone watched my 15-year-old self and then wrote this book. I would think the same things as her like how a certain interaction with a person would make a great scene in a book. Or how a sentence said in a conversation would make a great line for a book. And at least when I was her age, boys in books were so much better than the ones in real life. To this day, they still can be better lol.
There was one point in the book where I was a tad concerned as the main love interest was introduced because the way they acted was a little strange. I definitely wouldn’t have gone alone with most of it, but as Merrilee is star-struck with possibly having found “the one” I can see why she did what she did.
You definitely need to read this book if you love classic literature, have any bookish boyfriends, or just love reading books with characters that are just as nerdy as yourself. Again, I am just so thankful to my mom for picking this ARC up for me. She really is the best ever!
Do you bookish-loving self a favor and pick up this book when it comes out!
