How to Be Good

by Chace Verity

Late night talk show host Rian Goodwin will do anything to get a laugh and increase his ratings. He'll eat spaghetti on top of a rollercoaster, challenge nursing home residents to pudding wrestling, and let his mom shame him on television. Nothing is too out there for fame-hungry Rian, but things get awkward when he meets an incredibly hot public high school teacher while sporting spandex and a fake mullet.

Darrell Stanley teaches English literature, reads manga, wears sweaters, and dedicates his weekends to charity. He's everything Rian wants, but he doesn't seem to want anything to do with the comedian, his show, or the paparazzi cameras. The only kind of guy Darrell wants is a good role model for the students. Rian doesn’t quite understand what it means to be a good role model, but he’s willing to learn.

However, the fast-paced world of entertainment demands all of Rian's time--time that he needs to prove to Darrell he's more than a work-obsessed celebrity. When a network offer that could secure his legacy arrives, Rian has to decide if this chance to become the king of entertainment is worth throwing away a chance at love with the king of role models.

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How To Be Good is a standalone, full-length romance novel.

Genres: Romance, M M Romance, LGBT, Contemporary Romance, Queer

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 2, 2021

About the author

Chace Verity (she/they) is publishing queer as heck stories with a strong romantic focus, although queer friendships and found families are important too. Chace prefers to write fantasy but dabbles in contemporary and historical fiction as well. An American citizen & Canadian permanent resident, Chace will probably never be able to call a gallon of milk a "four-liter."

Reviews

[Solly · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was one cute, fun romance!

I read this super fast because the characters and their relationship was so engaging and fun. I especially loved that Darrell was a teacher and that one of the main things that brought him and Rian together was a meddling teenager. I loved Mari and how important she was to the story, she was funny and her relationship with Rian was cute! I'm very much not American and the whole late show host thing felt very American haha, it's not a criticism or anything but I was on Mari's side on the whole "are you really a celebrity???" she kept saying to Rian.

I loved that Darrell and Rian bonded over anime, and that they were generally huge nerds. I know not everyone likes pop-culture references in their books and everything, but it felt nice to have characters be into the same nerdy stuff I'm into. Their relationship was cute overall, though there is the whole trope of "please tell each other the truth sometime soon". It was well-written enough that I understood why Darrell kept his secrets, but STILL.

I really appreciated the pansexual rep. I feel like most of the pansexual rep I've read mentions it once and then never does it again. I enjoyed that Rian mentionned/thought about his sexuality several times, and that even the flag was mentionned! I just like it when sexualities that aren't represented super often in books are really integral to the character's identity.

One of my minimal criticisms of the book was that there was a lot of chapters ending on a rhetorical question, like "what if I can trust him?" "what if this happens?" "what if I could do this?" and once I noticed it I couldn't get it out of my brain! It's a very minor thing but my brain couldn't stop thinking about it.

Anyway! This was a cute, fun romance that made me smile, with great characters and anime and manga references :P

[Paige]

DNF at 25%

Just not holding my attention. Nothing in particular wrong with it.

[Kate Swed · Rating 5 out of 5]

These guys <3

I love Rian's hijinks -- he's lovable and clueless in some ways while being wise in others. Mostly he's clueless in how awesome he is, and I love the contrast between his fame and his vulnerability. Darryl's background, too, really tugged my heartstrings. I was rooting for them from the start. MAJOR SHIP POINTS, OK?

And I always love a colorful cast of characters -- plenty to be had here with friends, students, and late-night talk show employees.

[Fuzzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

Adrian ‘Rian’ Goodwin, 40, late night talk show host, pan, funny, ambitious, self-deprecating

Brown curly hair
Brown eyes

Darrell Stanley, 32, tenth grade English lit teacher, gay, secret love child of an abusive famous actor, grumpy, altruistic, caring

Black hair
Brown eyes

First person dual POV
New York City, NY

Found family, Grumpy/sunshine, celebrity/noncelebrity, class difference, POC MC

This was good. A lot of the relationship happens off page. It was nice to see them figure out how to let the other in.

[UnusualChild{beppy} · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

Rian is a comedian who has a late night show, and there is very little he won’t do for ratings. He meets Darrell, a high school teacher, when he inadvertently helps a girl in Darrell’s class get a low grade. Rian is instantly smitten, but there doesn’t seem to be much in common between the geeky, serious, publicity shy Darrell and the outgoing, fame loving, fun loving Rian. Except, of course, for manga and books and their attraction to one another.
I really liked how both Rian and Darrell related to the teenagers, and how Rian related to people in general. I think that Rian was supposed to come across as feckless and flighty, especially in comparison to the saintly Darrell, but Rian was kind and didn’t try to get his laughs and ratings at the expense of other people or by being mean. He was genuinely interested in people and found a way to relate to everyone. Darrell was a little harder to figure out, and blew hit and cold. He had his reasons, but he seemed to hold Rian accountable for things that weren’t his fault. Overall I enjoyed it, but it doesn’t even come close to the same level of enjoyment I get out of Team Phison every time I read it. The characters, even the story, come across as a little shallow compared to that effort.

[Rhode PVD · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I genuinely like some of this author’s stuff. And I could see how these two characters might be interesting, especially in their differences in wealth and race despite both being sons of single mothers. Plus, they are both very much adults, with one in his mid-30s and the other having just hit 40.

But, the author wasted the opportunity and instead threw in what felt like a bunch of manufactured drama interspersed with cutesy plot moppet scenes. (The moppet in question is a teen, but still very much a moppet.)

Also, aside from the cover you would not know these two were different races. I’m not saying I expect a black male character to act a certain way, but I do expect him to perhaps have a different take on certain things, given the difference in privilege between him and Mr tall white and wealthy.

[Ru · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed a lot of this, I liked how Ryan really enjoyed his celebrity and worked hard at it, and how this was the same for Darrell and his risk- like it wasn't a story where the celebrity realises how shallow they are but instead a recognition of different types of people can find fulfilment in different ways. I bought into their relationship too abd I enjoyed a lot of the side characters.

My main quibbles were that
1) I had a lot of issues with Rian's contact with Mari on social media. It just never felt right that everyone seemed ok with a 40yr old celebrity private messaging a 15yr old girl, no matter how undodgy he is.
2) I understood that Darrell was sensitive about celebrity but I did often shout 'talk about it!!!' to him as I read, and his refusal to do so did sometimes drag on.

Overall this was sweet and I enjoyed it.

[Ina Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute and sweet contemporary romance. It took me a while to get into the story and to click with the characters — particularly the celebrity character — but once the romance picked up I enjoyed it. I’m not a huge fan of celebrities romances so I think that was my main hurdle getting into the story, as I’m less and less interested to read about rich people these days. While the premise didn’t 100% work for me here because of that, I did enjoy this overall and I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was perfectly fine and somewhat forgettable. I didn't find Rian particularly funny but I appreciated that he was shown as hardworking and caring and wasn't the usual shallow celebrity found in romances. I thought his friendship with Mari was sort of strange - it was fine as written but I would expect more conversations/concern from other characters about a friendship between a teenage girl and grown man.

[Leigh Landry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book feels like a charming, funny, warm hug! I adore both Darrell and Rian, and I love them together too. I am a sucker for really delicious, playful banter and the loving teasing between them is so adorable. And Mari is such a delightful connecting character for these two. Filled with humor and heart!

[gimmethosebooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just so so so thoroughly enjoyed this. I smiled nearly the entire time. What a gift.

Rian is a delightful and sincere goofball to Darrell’s more serious persona. And how wonderful they are together.

They had serious external forces working against them, but when they decided to fight them together, they were unstoppable.

Highly highly recommend.

[SunShiney10 · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, this was so boring and the „celebrity“ was so annoying. Expected way more

[Keysha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very charming and funny book!

[Nida · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5

[OutofContextRomance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but a little boring.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance copy from the author for review purposes. This in no way influences my review; all words, thoughts, and opinions are my own.

Actual rating: 4.5 ⭐️

This book both made me laugh and cry, all in the best ways!

Rian is the host of late night comedy show, and while doing a superhero skit he meets Mari, a teen who needs to write an essay due the next day about Shakespeare. Rian helps her and promises her an A - but when she ends up with a C he shows up at her school to try and figure out how to get her grade up. Meeting Darrell, Rian is immediately smitten and wants to get to know the nerdy, attractive teacher better.

This has Chace’s signature light joy while reading and I love Rian and Mari’s banter as well as Rian and Darrell’s nerdy getting to know each other. This is such a sweet romance with close family bonds and chosen family and plenty of humor. I had so much fun reading this and I love these characters so much. If you’re looking for a sweet contemporary romance, I cannot recommend How to be Good enough!

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a seemingly lighthearted read with a bit more going on beneath the surface, which I appreciated. I love Chace’s writing, but with this one, I just don’t think I connected so much to Rian, the protagonist who is a talk show host. And I think that says more about me than about Chace’s writing. I found it difficult to connect to someone so outgoing as a talk show host, all I could think of was…*gestures wildly at the current talk show hosts*. He was described as someone who would do anything for a laugh and…that type of character is just hard for me.

I did love Darrell Stanly, but really, he’s an English teacher who wears a lot of sweaters. That was a natural fit for me. I also liked the secondary character of Mari and enjoyed her storyline. But there were a few times I kept thinking is this weird that a teenager is befriending an adult man and that no one is concerned? The ending felt weird for me with her storyline too…although I could really see this ending happening IRL with Ellen’s talk show. I don’t know, this felt like very much it’s a me thing and not this book thing. I feel like this book will work for many readers, the couple’s dynamics worked well together and I thought their arc was believable, it’s just that YMMV.