Katie Sise

Seeking to win a scholarship offered by global computing corporation Public, programming genius Audrey McCarthy writes a matchmaking app but discovers her results may be skewed by a program Public is secretly using to influence teens.

The Boyfriend App

Nicki

This would have gotten four stars if a bit of the book wasn't so dry even for me, a programmer. It's definitely a good read and I felt a bit at home with it. Some things were clearly unbelievably but I got over it.

Cindy Lee

More of my reviews at Secrets of Lost Words.

Rating: C

Thank you to StoryCrush for the book!

The Boyfriend App was a book I wanted to pick up because it sounded really cool. The cover was pretty and the synopsis said it's a book about an app that would get you a boyfriend. Having a boyfriend is definitely one of a teen girl's problems. They want to go into a relationship with someone and go off into the sunset with their own Prince Charming. The book intrigued me and I wanted to find out what happens.

Audrey McCarthy is a likable character. She is a geek (like me) and she has been taught from a young age how to navigate and use technology to her advantage. She never uses it to harm someone and that is her rule. She was once the Queen Bee but fell from her position when her best friend turned on her. When the chance to get $200 000 comes up, she doesn't hesitate to take it. I liked the way she thought about designing the app. She never gave up even when her app is on the very bottom of the list. She's a strong character but I felt like she just needed to find her place in the world. The app contest was really fun and when the boyfriend app was used, Oh, man, let me just tell you I wouldn't want to be a guy at that moment. It was so funny! I was cracking up so much and I couldn't stop laughing. The moment was so comical :D

Audrey's friends were also awesome. I loved Aidan who was the love interest. He seemed like the down to earth kind of guy and is different from the usual bad boys or the perfect Prince Charming. Nigit is the dipper (what I call east Indians) and he's so funny! When he and Lindsay (Audrey's cousin) started dating, they were so cute :3

I do have mix feelings about this book however. There were some parts that didn't exactly keep my interest. Sometimes I felt like telling Audrey to get over herself and move on with it. There were certain parts I definitely would've skipped.

This book is an excellent mindless read that will have you laughing and rooting for the characters as you go along. With an awesome cast of characters, this book is a great read :)

Shawna Gavas

This book just wasn't for me.

The first half consisted of the inner workings of technology which I find about as exciting as watching toenails grow.

The second half was just plain ridiculous. Yes, I know it's fiction, but I like my fiction to have some degree of belief. A technically gifted student creates a phone app that tricks boys into "loving" and "lusting" over you. All you have to do is point your phone, click "it's on!" and voila! They are in love with you. What happened to just being yourself? This app sends a terrible message to young ladies!

I found the characters very far-fetched as well. Not one of them seemed like a normal everyday person. They all seemed to have an unlikely quirk or stereotype assigned to them. Girl with speech impediment, computer geeks, cheerleaders, the rich girl, the jock, Michael Jackson wannabe ect....Just too much.

Overall I can see a much younger crowd enjoying this book, but any older readers who enjoy ya might want to steer clear of this one.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

The Boyfriend App... don't we all wish such a thing existed. Just think, you click a button and an app finds your one true love. Easy, right? Audrey thought it was a perfect idea. The most perfect idea, that could help her win the competition for the best app. When your family is poor, but you have dreams of going to college, you do what needs to be done to make your dreams become a reality. And sometimes that turns out to be MUCH more than you expected.

There was quite a bit of technical mumbo jumbo concerning computer programming, app creation, etc., which went flying right over my head. At first I didn't like it, and skimmed over it. But eventually I grew to like it, realizing that it went to show how passionate some people can be about this topic.

I had great difficulty relating to Audrey at all. She's nothing, and I mean nothing, like me. But I did find her likable which helped me care about her character. The other characters were great... my favorite being Aiden. He was sweet AND lovable, which you don't find much in books lately. It seems like the love interests are always arrogant bad boys, so him being so down-to-earth and caring was rather refreshing.

I have to say the whole idea of this story is overly far-fetched and completely unrealistic. So you must go into the story already knowing that, or you may be disappointed. I found this book to be what it appeared it was meant to be... a cute, light, silly story.

There were also many twists and turns, which I wasn't expecting at all. I really liked that. I think the second half of the book was much better than the first half. I'm happy it ended up going in the direction it did. It was overall a quite enjoyable read.

Bria

For fans of smart romantic comedies, this is a clever Cinderella story with a tech twist. When Public Corporation, a giant tech company, announces a contest for the best app developed by a high school student—with $200,000 in prize money—computer whiz Audrey McCarthy is all in. Audrey's been searching for her one ticket out of town ever since her dad died and her best friend, perfect and popular Blake Dawkins, turned into her worst nightmare—and this scholarship may be it. Audrey comes up with an idea so simple, yet so brilliant, she can't believe it hasn't been done before: the Boyfriend App. With a simple touch of the screen, romance blooms among the unlikeliest couples at school—and people start to take notice. But it's not quite enough. To beat out the competition, Audrey will have to dig deeper—right into a scandal that would rock Public to its core. Launched into unexpected fame and passionately kissed by the hottest guys in school, Audrey finds that her invention has thrown her life into complete chaos . . . but can it bring her true love?

The Boyfriend App

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