The Real Deal A Novel

The Real Deal was honey-sweet. Those types of reads you want when you need something simple and easy. An uncomplicated life to read about and forget about your very complicated one. I enjoyed April and Theo a whole lot. Both charming characters with interesting backstories, from a traditional family in a quaint town to the troublesome past of an ex-con artist. You could feel how effortless it was for these two to like each other, and reading the tales they'd create about their fake relationship was fun. However... I have to say it. I never pay much attention to realism in romantic novels because some are so unrealistic one simply must move on with it and accept it as another element of the romance genre to enjoy the story. I usually go on with no difficulty. It comes with the package deal. That being said, the fact that these two characters were confessing they were in love with one another only after five days of knowing each other might have been a little too much for me. It felt natural and good, but my mind kept going to the calendar. Five days. Not even a week. The rest was, like I said before, simply sweet. I'm not a fan of books where the characters have to do activities and take us through the whole thing, but this one was bearable. The fake dating trope is always entertaining and filled with swoon moments. Is it real? Are they acting for the people? The doubt and mutual pinning gets me every single time. This one however might have not been like this because it didn’t feel like acting with Theo and April from the beginning.

loved this! they fell in love quite too quickly for my liking but it’s fiction and it’s cute so whatever, everything else about this was perfect! adored their conversations, the tension was on fire and just plainly a super nice book. involves: fake dating, one bed trope, minor dirty talk, minor jealousy, spice, witty female character, double POV

*4.5 April Hamilton is in a bit of a bind. Her friend had to back out of being her fake date to her family reunion, and she simply refuses to face her matchmaking-obsessed family alone. In a moment of desperation, April pays boyfriend-for-hire Theo Banks to pretend to be in a relationship with her. Theo didn't set out to be a fake boyfriend, but after some bad decisions in his past led to debts he can't seem to shake, he needs to take whatever paying gig he can get. So, if April needs a bad boy with a heart of gold to show off in front of her family, he's more than up for the job. What neither of them expected was to actually start falling for one another over hula hoops and scavenger hunts. Soon all the touches and stories they've spun start to feel very real, but when Theo's past comes to light, will April be able to trust that what they've shared wasn't part of some big con? For whatever reason, I wasn't expecting much going into this, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it. I can never get enough of the fake dating trope and this one was done fabulously. April and Theo had such great chemistry from the moment they met, so I was just waiting for when it'd turn into something more and I was not disappointed. I loved how the conversation and interaction between them felt natural and believable, and it was just fun watching them let loose and go all-in on the ridiculous games at the family reunion. April's family were all so caring even though they were busybodies about April's career and love life. Seeing as how her parents especially were a little overprotective, it did surprise me just how nonchalant they were when they found out who Theo really was so that was my only small issue with this. I didn't even mind how insta-lovey this was because Blakely made it work so well. If you're looking for a fun, steamy, addictive contemporary, check this one out.

so funny!!!!! like i loved this dinamic .... i will say i did this one as an audiobook and the fact that my fave Zachary Webber was Teo definatly help

What’s there not to love? This is a sexy rom-com that I very much enjoyed. I had a few laughs and it was a quick and easy read. I highly recommend this