Monday, July 2, 2018

Review ~ COUNTERFEIT BOYFRIEND by Cindi Madsen

Counterfeit Boyfriend
by: Cindi Madsen
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 25, 2018
Publisher: Cindi Madsen Books
Amazon | Paperback | Goodreads

It took an imposter to make her feel something this real.

My twin brother’s talked me into a lot of crazy things, but taking his place on a road trip with his girlfriend so he can party with his friends is a whole new level of insanity. What’s even more insane is I somehow find myself agreeing to it—thanks, alcohol, guilt, and bribery. I’m determined to undo the arrangement, but then I meet Gwen, this sexy redheaded hurricane of energy and brains.

And then she kisses me. Just like that, I’m driving her up the coast, on our way to a wedding with a mess of complications. With each hour and each stop, I’m falling harder and harder for a woman who doesn’t know my actual name.

I’m trying to do the right thing. Or the lesser of the wrong things. All my life I’ve had to clean up my brother’s messes, but for the first time ever, I’ve landed the upper hand in one of our switcheroo schemes. Now I’ve just got to come clean and convince Gwen that I’m the brother she should be with.



It’s been awhile since I’ve read Cindi Madsen. I was definitely excited to read Counterfeit Boyfriend.

Evan Haynes is a natural charmer and uses his good looks and charm to get what he wants. He doesn’t take anything too seriously and he would definitely much rather party with his friends than do anything that requires him to work hard and be responsible. His identical twin brother Ethan is the opposite of him in every way. Ethan believes in hard work and responsibility. In fact, he has just returned home to Raleigh, North Carolina after passing the bar exam. He even wants to establish himself on his own, which is why instead of taking a job at his father’s law firm he’s working somewhere else. Evan is notorious for getting the brothers in trouble. Usually, when disaster hits, Ethan is the one who ends up with the short end of the stick. So when Evan asks Ethan to pretend to be him and go on a roadtrip with his girlfriend, Ethan is very much against the idea. Yes, the brothers have switched places before, but not when it comes to relationships. Against his better judgement, Ethan agrees.

Gwen Cosgrave is a little nervous. Okay, maybe a lot nervous. She’s agreed to return to her small town in Pennsylvania in order to attend the wedding of her childhood best friend. The problem is she had two childhood best friends. Unfortunately, one “friend” decided it was okay to sleep with Gwen’s boyfriend. Now the two are back in their hometown, living together and everyone knows what happened. Thus, having someone by her side for the wedding is important to her. She needs to show that she’s moved on, even if in her heart she truly hasn’t.

When Gwen and Evan (Ethan) meet up to plan out the roadtrip for the next day, Gwen senses something is different about him. She’s not really sure what the difference is, but she knows there’s something because now she feels the spark that has been missing for the past three months. Ethan knows he should tell Gwen the truth, but when he kisses her goodbye what starts out as a small timid peck turns into a full blown inferno. Now, he just wants to spend a little more time with her.

As characters go, Gwen and Ethan are extremely likeable. It was fun being able to watch them together, talking and having fun. There’s this playfulness about them and they connect really well. I will admit the whole time I was reading the story, I kept waiting for the dreadful moment when the truth came out. Honestly, that wasn’t the worst part of the book for me. The worst part was Paige and Kyle, Gwen’s ex-best friend and ex-boyfriend. I won’t say what it was I didn’t like, but I will say Gwen is w-a-y too sympathetic and forgiving. Overall, I liked the book. Where I thought it would be predictable, it wasn’t. I do hope Cindi decides to write a story featuring Gwen’s current roommate, Tori. She’s extremely funny and I know just who she should fall in love with.

**Received a copy of the book from the publisher and reviewed voluntarily.**

Rating: 4

Purchase Counterfeit Boyfriend from:

You can read an excerpt of Counterfeit Boyfriend here.

Cindi Madsen is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and young adult novels. She sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting, revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a pretty new pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music and dancing and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband, three children, and one overly-dramatic tomcat.

Places to find Cindi Madsen:

Follow

No comments:

Post a Comment

STOP!
Did you just copy and paste your previous comment? Please don't. Duplicate comments will be deleted.

Comments that include links to other sites, or names including links WILL BE CONSIDERED SPAM AND DELETED.