The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely

​CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Publication date:07/10/2018
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: No

I think I’ve made it clear that I am both a fan of the fake boyfriend trope and Lauren Blakely. So, when I saw a Lauren Blakely new release about a fake boyfriend on NetGalley? It felt like my birthday and Christmas all rolled into one. I about broke my finger 1-clicking that bad boy so fast. And I’m soooooo glad I did.

As with all her books, the banter between main characters April and Theo is all kinds of sweet and hilarious and hot. This author has a real talent for realistic, fun, flowing dialogue that very few others have. I enjoyed the hell out of every single back-and-forth between them.

This is also a rom-com that is actually FUNNY. You’d be surprised at how many books I’ve found being marketed in the rom com category that aren’t funny in the least. That kind of false advertising should be illegal. This book’s blurb calls it “Sophie Kinsella meets Jennifer Crusie”, and I can’t disagree. (And just so you know, I think Jennifer Crusie is a GODDESS, so that’s high praise)

The meddling family in this one wasn’t as annoying as meddling families can be in rom coms. The characters were all well fleshed out and interesting, and they clearly only had April’s happiness at heart, so their meddling was forgivable.

But while April was a great heroine that I can’t complain about, the real star of the book was Theo. He was smart and ridiculously hot and selfless in how he took on his brother’s burden without even being asked. He was also alpha without being a jerkwad, and the fact that he was so proud of April’s success and not at all threatened by it moved him from “good book boyfriend” territory into “all-time BEST book boyfriend” territory. Seriously. He’s THAT awesome.

Long-story-short, this is another winner from an author I adore. It’s the perfect beach read: light and fluffy, but still emotional, sexy, and sweet. It’ll give you all of the feels without breaking your heart. Can’t recommend this one highly enough.          
  
Full disclosure: We received an ARC from NetGalley, free of charge.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It’s clean and sober. No rehab needed.

Other reading suggestions
Check out the author’s backlist. It’s full of awesomeness. And when you’re done with that, check out Jennifer Crusie’s backlist. Getting Rid of Bradley and Bet Me are my all-time faves. ​

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