"He has to admit that while Boystown is where he came into his own, Andres is where he feels the most at home and at ease with himself."

This book was an absolute delight from start to finish! I literally devoured it in one sitting. Normally, I'm more of an enemies-to-lovers kinda gal, but watching Bastian and Andres fumble their way from best friends to lovers had me giggling and kicking my feet, then throwing my hands up in frustration, then giggling happily all over again. K.C. Carmichael's writing is vibrant and joyful, even when the plot goes through the inevitable third act crisis; there is a buoyancy there that still allows you to feel hopeful and propels you forward to continue the journey with Bastian and Andres to their inevitable HEA. All of the characters are so well drawn out (with a few minor exceptions), and add just the right amount of layers to round out the story without taking away from Bastian and Andres. 

And my goodness, how much did I love these two crazy lovebirds. Bastian is a smart, flirty, and very in-demand hair stylist at one of the most high-end salons in Chicago. His rapid-fire comebacks and witty flirtations had me cracking up, and they certainly kept his friends and clients always entertained. But they also served to mask his insecurities at never quite being enough to keep up with his best friend Andres, a wildly successful, wealthy, and popular restauranteur. Bastian has always felt like he could never compete with Andres and his private school friends, or his wealthy associates, or beautiful dates. And those insecurities are what compels him to disregard Andres as a potential love interest in the first place. Why ruin his perfect friendship, because Andres will eventually realize that Bastian isn't good enough." And it's these constant intrusive thoughts that lead to Bastian always self-sabotaging his life. 

What I really appreciate is that K.C. Carmichael has written a character in Bastien whom we can all relate to, because we all have similar intrusive thoughts about ourselves, letting our insecurities take over and get the better of us. Especially in the age of social media, where we are constantly bombarded with opportunities to compare ourselves to other people's supposed perfection and successes, we can self-sabotage and feel inadequate in comparison to those we see in front of us, rather than looking inwardly to see the value in ourselves. And that's what she has Bastian do. He doesn't rely on Andres to be his knight in shining armor and have their relationship "save him" from himself, but instead, uses their friendship and love for another to remind himself of his own self worth. It's a lesson that we all need to re-learn every once in a while. 

What a delightful, warm blanket of a love story. I hope everyone has the chance to learn the lessons from Boystown.