Chelsea M. Cameron

Two people. One fake relationship. What could go wrong? When virgin Shannon Travers gets fed up with her friends demanding that she find a boyfriend, she enlists the help of tattooed, mohawk-rocking graphic design student Jett. He's more than happy to play along with their Fake Relationship, including the Ten Rules of Fake Dating that control-freak Shannon comes up with. Even if he likes to violate them. Repeatedly. But what happens when Fake Dating starts to feel... not fake anymore? Will Shannon be willing to let go and embrace the first thing in her life that's ever felt REAL? *This is a New Adult Contemporary Romance and is suitable for ages 17 and up* Other books by Chelsea M. Cameron: Nocturnal (The Noctalis Chronicles, Book One) Nightmare (The Noctalis Chronicles, Book Two) Neither (The Noctalis Chronicles, Book Three) Neverend (The Noctalis Chronicles, Book Four) Whisper New Adult Contemporary Romance: My Favorite Mistake My Sweetest Escape (January 28, 2014) Deeper We Fall (Fall and Rise, Book One) Faster We Burn (Fall and Rise, Book Two) Christmas Catch: A Holiday Novella Adult Contemporary Romance: Sweet Surrendering

For Real

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads
.

For Real was such a fun read. Was it predictable? Sure. Did I care? Not even a little bit. I loved it just as it was. I don't think I would have changed a thing. The characters were charming and so very likable. The writing was great; just as I've come to expect from Chelsea. The book was funny and awkward at times and super sweet and had a bit of heat. Angst-free and unsurprising, For Real gave me everything I want in a good new adult romance. 

  
    "There it is again. The reminder that I'm a card-carrying member of the Virginity Club. I wish I had some good reason, that I was saving myself for Jesus, or my parents had put the fear in me, or told me that if I had sex with a boy that my ears would fall off and I'd gain forty pounds, but I have no such excuse. The truth is, boys were gross. Part of me is still semi-convinced they have cooties."
  

Shannon reminded me a lot of myself when I was in college. (Except I didn't think boys had cooties… then.) She was smart and charismatic. She didn't do so well in the love department, though. Her friends were all up in her business, insisting she find someone and lose her v-card. One night they went too far, IMHO. Totally bad girlfriend behavior, but it all turned out for the best when she was "rescued" by the ridiculously charming and sexy Jett. 

  
    "What is supposed to be a kiss to seal our Fake Relationship feels… like the first real kiss I've ever had."
  

After a night of talking and bonding, Shannon and Jett find out they have something in common: their friends spend a little too much time worrying about their love lives. They decide to team up in a fake relationship to get their friends off their backs. They create a list of rules by which they will abide and they set a deadline for terminating their fake relationship. Problem is, the longer they spend together, the less fake their fake relationship feels. They have more in common than they realized and soon they're breaking the rules and not really even trying to fight their attraction. 

  
    "I care about him. A lot. I'm not sure if you could call it love, but it's something real close to that. Or at least it's the closest to love I've ever come."
  

I absolutely *adored* Jett. What wasn't to like about him? He was smart and sexy and he treated Shannon well. He made a fantastic fake boyfriend, even if he didn't follow the rules all the time. He and Shannon had very real chemistry. And, I mean, he made her origami! It was so cute. 

I'm thrilled with the first book in Chelsea's new Rules of Love series. I love a good HEA and this one delivered. Despite the fact I have no idea when it's coming or whose story it is, I can't wait for the next book in the series. (Fingers crossed that it's Javi's story. He was an interesting character and, though he certainly had flaws, I liked him better than Shannon's friend Hazel.)

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All quotes come from the review copy and may differ from the final version.

Lacey

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life

For Real was short, fun, and sweet! I loved the concept of the story, and while I didn’t end up loving the book, I still really enjoyed reading it. The synopsis totally lured me in, and I’m glad I read the book. Shannon and Jett are adorable together, and their love story was endearingly awkward and heartwarming to read.

Shannon is a very straight-laced, follow-the-rules kind of girl. She studies, does her homework, and doesn’t do anything that is out of her comfort zone, which includes being with guys. So she’s a virgin at twenty-one. Shannon’s friends try to devise a scheme to get her to lose her virginity, but they take things a little too far. I honestly didn’t really like her friends, especially when they started taking things too far, and pushed Shannon to find a random guy to lose her virginity to. Luckily, she bumps into Jett, and the two of them pretend to have slept together and become a couple to get Shannon’s friends off her back.

Jett was a really interesting character to read. He’s absolutely adorable, and he’s got the best tattoos ever! He’s so sweet to Shannon, and they call each other Fake Girlfriend and Fake Boyfriend all the time. They also make up the Ten Rules of Fake Dating, one of which includes no touching that’s not incidental, but of course the two of them break that rule. They’re attracted to each other, but most of all, they’re really great, close friends. They spend time with each other, and slowly, they start to fall in love with each other, which is not part of the agenda of Fake Dating.

My favorite part of the book was the awkwardness. Is that weird? Well, to me, the awkwardness of the dating, of them being together, was what felt honest and real. The start of their relationship, despite it being fake, felt real. It’s not perfect, they are awkward, they sometimes don’t know what to do with themselves, and I loved reading it. And it doesn’t hurt that Jett is so freaking adorable and sweet all the time! I really liked this tattooed, mohawked boy with a heart of gold.

I wasn’t expecting For Real to be as short as it was, but it was still fun to read. Short and sweet is a perfect way to describe the book. If you’re a fan of contemporary romances, you should definitely give Chelsea M. Cameron a try.

Thanks to the author for generously providing me an ARC to review.

Liked this review? Subscribe to Booklovers For Life for more!

For Real

Reviews