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The Jake Ryan Complex
The Jake Ryan Complex | Bethany Crandell
6 posts | 5 read | 4 to read
A teenage movie crush set her standards high. Now a real man needs to meet them. Fast. Chicago obstetrician Mackenzie "Mac" Huntress set her standards for men very high early on. It's been over twenty years since she fell for a fictional movie heartthrob, and Mac's content to wait for the real version to come along; it's her nagging mother who's not happy with the timeline. So Mac falls back on her lifelong Mom-surviving skill--lying. The latest fabrication: a handsome neurologist named Michael. Pity he's too busy to meet her friends and family. Problem solved. But when Mac's little sister announces her engagement, Mac is expected to introduce her elusive "plus-one" at the wedding, leaving her with only forty days to find a flesh-and-blood stand-in for the imaginary Michael. And the only potential Mr. Right comes with a big hitch. However, it turns out Mac's not the only one bringing secrets to the wedding. With expectations high, and shocking truths to be revealed, Mac's left to find her own happy ending, which isn't as simple as in the movies...though it's definitely worth waiting for.
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review
dariazeoli
The Jake Ryan Complex | Bethany Crandell
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Mehso-so

I wanted to like this book. I love John Hughes movies (yes, I know that they‘re problematic through today‘s lens), and who among us didn‘t have an I Heart Jake Ryan t-shirt as a teenager?

While the miscommunication trope is common in romance, it really irked me here. It was apparent that Mac‘s fake boyfriend lie was going to blow up in her face, and it was head-banging-desk each time she put off telling the people that needed to know.
👇

dariazeoli The climax of the story was quite rushed, and that ending? I‘m sorry, but telling your boyfriend, who literally discovered the kid he thought he fathered cannot biologically be his AT THE BIRTH, that it‘s all okay because you‘re pregnant with his REAL KID? THAT‘S your happily ever after?

I think I‘d sooner have had Mac and JT sitting on a table with a cake between them.

2.5 stars.
2y
Chrissyreadit I still love 16 candles even though it is so over the top problematic. 2y
dariazeoli @Chrissyreadit Glad I‘m not alone! 2y
TheLudicReader Jake Ryan swoon. 😀 2y
42 likes4 comments
review
Kimberlone
The Jake Ryan Complex | Bethany Crandell
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Panpan

Went on a bit of a romance binge during the first couple weeks of 2022. Unfortunately this one was a lowlight. A pop culture inspired romance would normally be right up my alley, but the Jake Ryan (from 16 Candles) plot device was pretty silly and overall there were way too many ridiculous plot contrivances for me to find this story at all believable. Spoilers for some of the elements that really annoyed me in the comments 👇🏼

Kimberlone After barely talking in the first half of the book, the love interests suddenly boo up and fall in love instantly. The baby momma/daddy drama/twist was so over the top I couldn‘t take it seriously. The relationship the MC has been with her mom is super dramatic and I couldn‘t take her seriously for the way she interacts with the mom. The patient/friend of the MC was also unrealistically vulgar and unprofessional. 3y
56 likes1 comment
review
CogsOfEncouragement
The Jake Ryan Complex | Bethany Crandell
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Pickpick

The title grabbed my attention, and the description convinced me. An easy read rom com for Molly Ringwald fans who have seen Sixteen Candles. Included with kindle unlimited.

22 likes2 stack adds
review
julesG
The Jake Ryan Complex | Bethany Crandell
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Pickpick

Debut novel

Ob/Gyn Mack has to find a man she can bring to her younger sisters wedding, in about 6 weeks. She can't bring her invented boyfriend the neurologist Michael. How to find the perfect man? Every man her friends try to set her up with pales in comparison to Jake Ryan. And the one man she's truly interested in is married. Or is he?

64 likes1 stack add
review
SheReadsAndWrites
The Jake Ryan Complex | Bethany Crandell
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Pickpick

This was a fun, cute read. The twists and turns were a bit over the top for me, but it's fiction, right? 🤷🏻‍♀️ It's all part of the fun. 😜 #cuteread #romance #fun

46 likes1 stack add
blurb
SheReadsAndWrites
The Jake Ryan Complex | Bethany Crandell
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“Aaaaaaagh! It feels like a watermelon‘s coming out of my butt!” 🤣 #epicfirstline
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

britt_brooke 😂😂 4y
29 likes1 comment