Steven Salvatore described his adult romance debut, Boyfriend Subscription, as a queer retelling of Pretty Woman. I love a queer retelling, but Pretty Woman was never one of my favorite movies. I never believed that Richard Gere’s character was going to value Julia Robert’s character beyond the end of the movie. Once the glow of the new relationship wore off, I was pretty sure he was going to hold having been a sex worker against her. Salvatore takes care of that issue by making Cole, the wealthy member of the pair, the sex worker. Boyfriend Subscription is sex worker positive.
I liked a lot about Boyfriend Subscription, but it ultimately did not work for me. I think the root of my issue is Pretty Woman, so if you liked the movie, you might like this book better than I did.
What I liked most, was the quiet moments between Teddy and Cole. Salvatore sold me on them falling in love with each other in a few hours. I had a harder time believing that they could survive all the drama that happened in their few days together. There is a lot of drama throughout and instead of a roller coaster, it felt like just one high note with a very few breaks. Salvatore has made some necessary and welcome changes to the Pretty Woman story, but I wish he had given the emotional beats a little more nuance.
Here is my other complaint, and this one is technical. Teddy and his best friend Kit are from New Orleans. They repeated call New Orleans, Nawlins. No one who is from New Orleans calls it Nawlins. To be sure that my knee-jerk reaction was founded, I contacted three different current and former residents of the city. Their disgust was immediate. It felt like a weird and unnecessary detail.
All of that said, I would read another book by Salvatore. His writing is engaging and entertaining. Just because this book doesn’t work for me doesn’t mean another one won’t.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Afterglow Books by Harlequin and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.