REVIEW: BOYCOTTS & BARFLIES BY VICTORIA MICHAELS

After an endless string of bad dates and a generally pathetic love life, Grace Park and her friends decide to boycott men for six weeks. With a fantastic pair of shoes on the line for the woman who makes it to the end without breaking any rules, the competition gets fierce. Sparks fly a few days into the bet when Grace and her friends cross paths with a sexy bartender named Michael Andris who happens to have a little bet of his own going with his friends....

In this hilarious debut novel, Victoria Michaels brings us a colorful and relatable cast of characters. She sends them on a sweet and sexy escapade as they sidestep one booby trap after another, manage the best of misguided intentions, and exert a whole lot of willpower and self control as they race down the path to true love. Winning isn't everything...or is it?

 3 Stars

I think this book is what many high school girls hope their college and post college lives will be like. This is the fantasy--find your best friends in college, stay best friends forever, and find boys...who all happen to be best friends. 

1) The Girls: Grace, Meg, and Bianca. These poor girls just have the worst luck with guys...that is until they make their bet. Then as the book continues they have to do everything they can to NOT lose the bet. I love all of their trickery and antics each of them try to make the other two lose. As each of their relationships heat up, so does the trickery. Even though this is primarily a story about Grace, her two besties play a significant role in the plot and you want to know just as much about their stories as you do about Grace.

2) The Boys: Michael, Jack, and Ryan. I liked how Victoria Michaels included their viewpoints. By doing showing us what they were thinking we got to get to know the girls even better. I also liked how these boys weren't totally jerks; they were ready to settle down with "quality girlfriends"...and so begins THEIR bet. Not to be outdone by their female counterparts, they, too, resorted to all sorts of shenanigans to try to win the bet. One thing that totally cracked me up was the ringtones they chose for their new girls. So funny!

3) The fantasy.  You have to suspend reality here, folks. I mean how many times do you hear of 3 beautiful, smart, and funny best friends meeting and falling in love with 3 handsome and funny best friends? Pretty much never. But that's why this is fun. You get to pretend you are one of them. You can live the fantasy of being young and single and beautiful and carefree. You get to see these friends lose the loser dates they've been going on and find their perfect counterparts. 

4) Vicki. She's a ballbuster and she gives those boys hell....all in the name of fun, of course. She's in almost every bar scene and her observations of the boys and the girls they attract is hilarious. She eventually gets roped into the action and plays a nice role in the prank the girls play on the boys.

The designation of my stars might make some feel that this is poorly written or a waste of time. Not true. I enjoyed the escape this book provided. If there is any flaw, for me, it's that it was slightly predictable. But, if you are looking for a fun romance with a happily ever after ending this is a solid choice. 

3.75 Stars

Yep, you're right. This book definitely could be modeled after the perfect lives in a sitcom, but since I'm a sucker for a rom-com, this definitely did it for me! This is perfect for getting out of a book hangover from something full of angst, and I liked it so much! I am still in a little bit of shock that you read it too, as if we needed any more indication for divine intervention here! 

1) The Girls. They're a riot! They hold the boycott part of the title, since they are boycotting men until the new year to win a pair of designer shoes. Their rules are so funny, and it really is the ideal dream of living in perfect harmony with two of your best friends from college. 

My only pet peeve, and I got over it, was that the girls and guys both sometimes patronized Grace. Sure, she's had worse luck in the finding a guy department than the other two, but sometimes their so called "help" was a little over the top. Luckily, I didn't hate this aspect as much because they really are "trying" to let her discover herself, and put herself out there and not get burned again. Their age might be why it was a little bit irritating, but like I said I got over it. 

2) The Guys. I loved all three of them, and sure, you do have to suspend reality a bit with how compatible they all were. But it was fun, and every single girl's dream. They are trying to ditch the "barflies" of the world, which is kind of hard to do since they are bartenders, and hope to own their own bar. Michael was the swoon-worthiest, and my favorite, but that is probably because we got his point of view as well. The ring tone thing, and the bar dancing thing!!! Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmm! 

3) The Fantasy. I agree with you. You have to definitely not over think this book. Three best friends, each with your different hair colors, different ideal body types (on both boys and girls) having the time of their lives. The antics they get up to though in trying to get each other to lose the bet were so fun, and hysterical. I also have to point out here, that I accidentally stumble upon every book set in Portland or Seattle it seems like since I went there last year. I swear I don't do it on purpose, but it made me even more excited when I found out the setting for this one. (For real, it happened in I think 6 books in a row last year. It was crazy!) 

4) Vicki. Gosh, she is the best co-worker for your boyfriend you could ask for, huh? I freaking loved her. She's one of the guys, but definitely followed the sisters before misters mantra (#PitchPerfect!)  

Perfect book if you're looking for that HEA, especially when you just NEED something a little bit lighter. I really enjoyed it, and really hope you'll give this a chance. (PS I just re-read in the blurb that this was Victoria's DEBUT novel, pretty good right out of the gate in my opinion!)