Date Me, Bryson Keller is an LGBTQ young adult romance novel about a school dare whereby the most popular jock at Fairvale Academy, Bryson Keller, must agree to date whoever asks him at the start of every week. Enter our awkward, blushing protagonist, Kai Sheridan, who brazenly asks Bryson to date him even though he's still 'in the closet.' What started as a fake relationship blossoms into so much more as the two young men connect and open up to each other in ways they never thought possible.

I expected to rate this book lower than I did as it is essentially the archetypal compound of every Disney channel original movie you've ever grown up watching, only with a male on male lead romance in place of a heteronormative one. That being said, this book was heavily cliched in a moth-eaten way so I was cynical whilst reading it. But, inasmuch as the romance lacked authenticity in places, there were surprising moments where I actually got swept up in the feels (wild) and I felt quite touched by the softness and vulnerability of Kai and Bryson's relationship (swoon).

This book was technically hard to fault, despite lacking in originality. To this end, the author does acknowledge the other stories that have influenced Date Me, Bryson Keller, such as, Seven Days: Monday - Thursday by Venio Tachibana (to which it bears a striking resemblance). The premise may be a carbon copy of Seven Days but I do feel like the author, Van Whye, used the premise to tell his own story. His real life experiences mirror that of Kai, so this book definitely has an 'own voices' dimension to it as well. I appreciated the fact that it tackles hardier topics such as homophobia, 'outing', and racial representation in a way that is accessible for younger readers.

In short, Date Me, Bryson Keller was a truly swoon worthy read!