I Can't Believe I Don't Have a Boyfriend

LoveReading4Kids Says

July 2026 Book of the Month

I Can't Believe I Don’t Have a Boyfriend, second book in Harry Trevaldwyn’s brilliant Patch Simmons series, sees Patch set out his woes in a letter to his long-time French pen pal (Patch’s enthusiasm for sharing every detail of his life remains unhampered by the fact that Jean-Pierre hasn't written to him in three years).

Soon after, Patch’s burgeoning relationship with Sam is sealed with a kiss at a New Year’s Eve party. But is it really? When Sam says he’d like to take things really slowly, Patch’s principal concern becomes figuring out “how to get a man to commit (in a non-pressuring way)”, so he and his best friends Jean and Tessa do a deep dive into his mum’s extensive library of self-help books to find an answer.

Additional drama comes courtesy of Patch’s friendship gang being split into two teams to enter a short film competition, the deadline of which coincides with end-of-year mock exams. Then there’s the concerning matter of his mum’s new man, and an unexpected kiss that knocks Patch for six.

As with the first book in the series (The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King), I Can't Believe I Don’t Have a Boyfriend is a first-rate, fast-paced rom-com in the tradition of Adrian Mole and Georgia Nicolson. Alongside being 100% authentic and outrageously funny, themes of handling shifts in family, friendship and relationship dynamics are handled with an empathetic lightness of touch.

Reviewed by Joanne Owen
Joanne Owen is a writer, reviewer and workshop presenter whose lifelong love of books began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
More reviews by Joanne Owen

About I Can't Believe I Don't Have a Boyfriend

Get ready for more romantic tragedies in this second book in the Patch Simmons series! Patch basically has a boyfriend now, but get ready for him to embark on an even bigger challenge . . . keeping him.

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