Loverboy

by Ben Tomlinson

'Deeply relatable' Nathanael Lessore
'Fresh, funny and full of heart' Lisa Williamson

Alfie thinks Maya might be the One, and he's desperate to tell her ... until she reveals she's got a new, cooler boyfriend. Crushed, Alfie starts hanging out with Maya's shy best friend Gwen – and develops feelings for her. But Gwen's hiding something, and Alfie's confused.
As Alfie looks for love within his friendship group, things get complicated – until Alfie makes a big mistake. Can he score with the girl of his dreams – or is he onto a losing streak?

A sweetly funny romance about a boy looking for love in all the wrong places.

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 2, 2025

Reviews

[Reza Van den akker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geeft het 3,5⭐️
Vond het een leuk boek, leuk verhaal en makkelijk te lezen. Kon me niet altijd vinden met de karakters maar het heeft wel iets mooois..?

[Kapu Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lover Boy is a quietly dazzling coming-of-age story — full of awkwardness, warmth, and that bittersweet pulse of teenage life when everything feels both enormous and uncertain. Ben Tomlinson writes with humour and heart, capturing the fumbling bravery of adolescence in a way that feels instantly recognisable.
Alfie, our narrator, stumbles through the world of first love, friendship, and embarrassment with the sincerity only a sixteen-year-old can muster. He is endearing because he’s so real — unsure of what to say, terrified of saying the wrong thing, yet propelled by a stubborn hope that life will make sense if he just keeps going. Around him, his friends orbit like fragments of the same confusion: all of them learning, failing, and laughing their way into adulthood.
Tomlinson’s prose has an easy rhythm — funny, tender, and sometimes quietly lyrical. His depiction of suburban teenage life feels utterly lived-in: music, sports, family dinners, long bus rides, and the small heartbreaks that matter more than anything else.
While written with young readers in mind, this is a story that resonates across generations. Anyone who remembers the ache and thrill of growing up will find something here to smile about — and maybe wince at too.
Lover Boy is charming, heartfelt, and refreshingly genuine. I’d happily follow Alfie and his friends into whatever comes next.

[Yvekya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it !!!

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious with hijinks, friendship dramas and hopeless romance.

[Carragh Funge · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is really good. My favourite character is Maya

[Jessica]

DNF @21%
This is way too YA for me, I don’t think I’m the target audience so I stopped. If you have teenage kids they might like this