Rent a Boyfriend

Product Information

Which means that tying herself in knots trying to appease them is like participating in your own enslavement. Yeah, defying them outright would have financial consequences, but she's a big girl and has brains and essential knowledge of the world. She may have to be at a less prestigious school or work for a while before getting what she wants, but simply kowtowing to them is stupid. Drew, the other main character, is the fake boyfriend. He was disowned by his family after choosing to drop out of college to pursue a career in art and became a Rent for Your ’Rents employee to earn money. So what will happen when Drew and Chloe start to fall for each other?

AMERICAN PANDA is one of my favorite young adult books, and cemented Gloria Chao as an "insta-buy" author for me because of her excellent balance of light and chatty narrative and her serious handling of tough topics. Plus, she's filling that much-needed gap of YA that is geared towards older teens and verges on new adult but doesn't have all of the "edgy" and graphic content that makes new adult more... well, adult. There were MANY Asian-themed puns and so much good food that my mouth was watering (that hot pot scene?? Lord have mercy). Chloe and Drew engage in some hilarious text banter, and the humour in this book was so much crasser than I was expecting!!! It was awesome. Even if I had to read the words “shrivelled vagina” like eight times. The premise is obviously what drew me in, but in the end I stayed for the characters, Chloe especially. First of all, I felt for her, she had to endure so much because of her family's beliefs and expectations. There were points that were heartbreaking to read because all they seemed to care about were appearances, instead of Chloe's own true happiness. The relationship between Chloe and her mother was probably the hardest one to read, I hated seeing Mrs. Wang treat her daughter so badly and preach to her such misogynistic views. It just got on my nerves, but I guess that was the point. The family dynamics were complicated and painful, but they definitely were depicted well. I was rooting for Chloe and her happiness so bad. Drew, on the other hand, was WAY too much of this Perfect Selfess Guy. He hardly ever messes up, says and does ALLLL the right things, and is, in general, BORING with a capital B.As a love interest, Drew was completely swoon worthy, with his heart of gold, unending support, and nuggets of wisdom. I loved how much he truly cared about Chloe, and how was just as invested in the chapters where it was centered around his perspective as I was Chloe’s. Most importantly, I thought Chloe and Drew complimented each other really well, and were monumental in helping each other heal and develop. I was as invested in their dynamic as I was in them as separate entities. But on the other hand, among all the Gloria Chao books I've read (a total of 3), Rent a Boyfriend is the least enjoyable. I was really impressed by the first 15% of this book. It was cute and everything. However, everything went downhill afterward. Rent a Boyfriend中，所有的父母都不適任，此外還有糟糕透頂、被寵壞了的富家子弟Hongbo。我覺得他這個角色代表所有勢力、自大的有錢人，恰好與父母們挑女婿時所求的「乖」呈現強烈對比。本故事也稍微提及亞洲社群裡的恐同現象，像是有些人會因為還沒打算出櫃而租男友度過家庭聚會。 There was too much unnecessary drama. The conflict was drawn out. It got really repetitive. I should have known when they kissed by like 30% that the remaining 70 was going to be a trial and a test for me. Rent a Boyfriend is unapologetically Taiwanese, and a true delight. I’m a huge lover of romance and rom coms, and to see one with a Taiwanese cast was just so refreshing. I can’t name many rom coms that do the same. Chang’e is one of my favorite legends, and seeing her story incorporated into Rent a Boyfriend made me smile.

Chloe Jing-Jing Wang (19, Taiwanese American) is an economics major at UChicago, much to her parents’ dismay. That and the fact that she doesn’t make an effort in dating. When the seemingly eligible bachelor neighbor Hongbo Kuo (25) suddenly proposes to her, Chloe’s parents jump at the chance to marry her off, for fear she might not get a better husband. But Chloe doesn’t plan on sitting around as life happen to her. For Thanksgiving, she hires fake boyfriend Andrew (real name: Drew Chan, 21, Taiwanese American) from Rent for Your ’Rents to convince her parents that a) she does date, and b) her boyfriend Andrew is perfect—son of surgeons and on his way to med school. While everything in Chloe’s life suddenly becomes an ever-growing lie, her and Drew’s feelings for each other is everything but fake. The family dynamics in this book was great - truthful and honest in the issues young Asian people face and have to confront, yet also humanising (though not apologetic) in its depiction of Chloe's parents. I had so much fun reading this! A fantastic contemporary, one that I'll recommend for anyone who loves the fake-dating trope and unabashed portrayal of messy families. So I'm out at about a third. Maybe it's a cultural difference that I can't process but I really, really hate all the deference being given to parents who don't deserve it. Chloe's parents aren't quite pimps but they are looking to sell her "golden purity" to the highest bidder. They've equated "has money" to "make you happy" and say really crappy things like "I know what you need better than you do" and "it's for your own good". Add that they are explicitly thrilled about the perks they are getting from the rich folks (and the ones they anticipate receiving for the rest of their lives) and they are pretty much evil, treating Chloe as a thing to manipulate for their own benefit. And that's before you get to the cardboard villain of Hongbo, the Taiwanese dudebro.The reasons for this are fairly standard and shouldn’t require any translation for their single North American counterparts. I adored Rent a Boyfriend so much! We often hear about traditional Chinese parents being super strict and being "tiger moms" and in this case, that's what Chloe is experiencing here. Her relationship with her father is strained, especially since he never really communicates with her, and her mother's critical and judgmental words are enough to give anyone a headache. It's no wonder that Chloe hired Drew to impress her parents after all of the pressure she is under. While Fon's Smile did get a little annoying at times, she had a tenderness that you couldn't help but love her. Drew was such a sweet guy, I really liked him. Seeing him put up the Christmas tree was just the sweetest thing ever, and also the easiest way to my own heart. I believe that Chloe and Drew had good chemistry and I enjoyed their conversations so much.

Omg now you're gonna make me cry ;_; Okay sorry in advance, but....I'm about to leave another wall of text because I have to speak my mind! It's REALLY long so be prepared >.< As we have said, rental boyfriends started as a way to deal with parents and family members when they urge you to get married or to show off to your friends to show that you're not a lonely office lady with no love to receive. Maybe I'll write a full review someday. But for now, I have to say that I'm personally miffed that teenage pregnancy was portrayed as something repulsive and shameful in this book, and I'm deeply appalled that this notion was never challenged. Not even by the supposedly "progressive" main character. Bottom line: Rent a Boyfriend is essentially an amalgam of subtle asian traits memes and it really made me feel seen.Rent a Boyfriend（意譯：租男友）這本臺裔美人、假約會的青少年愛情小說時興奮無比。雖然我並非在美國長大，我相信Chloe與Drew的故事會有我認得的文化元素。但我完全沒想到這本書會這麼反映我的人生。 This was an interesting fake dating romance that is based on the real practice of renting boyfriends. While it wasn't my favorite contemporary, Chao did explore some really interesting topics. 3.5 Stars Genuinely, I could not stand how boring and sweet his whole character was PLUS the relationship was wayyyy too healthy for my liking. I know that sounds really toxic and stupid but ... When every conversation goes along the lines of "I'm so sorry I'm here for you take whatever you need from me I care about you so much uwu🤪🤪🤪" then what do you WANT me to say?? Add that to the fact that new plots and characters were getting introduced with less than 20% to go and I am one unhappy camper.

Andrew makes a good impression to Chloe's parents but they still want Chloe to marry Hongbo because his parents are incredibly rich and prominent figures in their local community. Never mind that she already turned him down and has expressed over and over that she wants nothing to do with him. Her parents won't take "no" for an answer. As Andrew and Chloe grow closer over the holidays, they find that this dissonance between who they would like to be and who they feel they have to be to please their parents is something they have in common, only when Andrew chose his path, he ended up alienating his parents for good.

Choose a Budget-Friendly Option.

I was trolling YouTube the other day when I came across an interview with Constance Wu, where she says something that really hit me hard. She talks about how she didn’t tell her parents about a traumatic event that had happened to her at school, and when the (white) host asks her why, she explains, simply, that she wanted to protect her parents. That it’s a dynamic that forms between immigrants and their children: we want to protect them as much as they do us. Drew非常地真摯善良。我從一開始就很喜歡他，但Chloe一直對他不佳。我們看見他們先面對各自的挑戰——Chloe的身份與Drew的夢想——才擁有可信的共同未來。我也非常喜愛他們的未來是如此的充滿潛力。雖然幾乎所有其他角色都不友善，小角色如Drew的室友Jason與他的男友Marshall呈現出真正的友誼。 Chloe's family lives in Palo Alto, California. She goes to school in Chicago. The book's main focus is on the different holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chinese New Year...). The romance between Chloe and Andrew was really cute and I liked how they started to truly fall for each other as they confided their struggles and insecurities with one another. It was really hard reading about Chloe's parents and how insensitive they were towards Chloe. Her mom would comment on her weight and was trying to force her into a marriage with a guy she knew wasn't a good person. Chloe was trying so hard to understand her parents while still finding an identity of her own beyond the good daughter she tries to be for her parents.