The Build-a-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver

Award-winning author Mason Deaver’s adult romance debut follows a journalist in a dead-end job who agrees to teach his disastrous blind date how to be a better boyfriend.
 
Readers will delight in this sweet and steamy queer romance with trans representation! Eli Francis is stuck. Stuck in an assistant position at the online magazine Vent when he should be a writer.

Stuck with a boss who dangles a promotion but would rather he just fetch the coffee. Stuck working alongside the ex who has had no trouble moving up at work…or moving on. When Eli’s roommates push him to date so he can get over his ex once and for all, they set him up with Peter Park.

Tall, handsome, and unbelievably awkward. The date is a complete disaster, and further proof to Eli that love isn’t for him. But when his boss overhears Eli recounting the catastrophic night, he suggests teaching Peter to be a better boyfriend through a series of simulated dates so he can write an article about it.

But Eli has other ideas…Eli plays along, pretending to write the article, while secretly interviewing Peter about growing up queer in the South and coming-of-age dating wise in adulthood. Eli hopes writing this sort of piece will finally get him the promotion he deserves. And in exchange, he will teach Peter how to be a better boyfriend.

But the more time Eli spends with Peter, the closer they become, and the lines between what’s real and what’s fake begin to blur. Before long Eli is forced to face his greatest fears to become the writer he wants to be and secure the love he’s always needed. 
 
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“I was swept up in Eli and Peter’s endearing romance about how searching for love can lead to finding yourself. Funny, honest, and full of fake dating tropey goodness, Eli and his cinnamon roll hero are your next must-have book boyfriends. Put this rom-com to the top of your 2025 TBR pile!” — Samantha Young
 
“Sweet and sexy, The Build-a-Boyfriend Project is a delightful romance about taking chances and embracing the unexpected. Disastrous first date to possible true love…what could be more delicious?"  — Ashley Herring Blake,
 
“The Build-A-Boyfriend Project is an addicting story full of hard-hitting emotions, balanced perfectly by a whip-smart and hilarious voice. An adorable love interest will have you rooting for a well-earned happily-ever-after until the very end. The trans masculine representation was glorious, and it was so exciting to see Eli’s experience as a trans man on the page. Mason bravely does not shy away from difficult topics, and it’s validating and gratifying to see Eli’s realistic struggles. Mason has knocked it out of the park with this heartwarming romance.” — Kacen Callender