A refreshing new sound to Lauren Blakely's romcoms! Theo's a man for hire; not anything dangerous or illegal, but the platonic fun kind. Dial-a-date, if you will. But this bad boy has a true wild side that's cost him dearly. He's kept his clients at a distance...until now. And she's threatening everything.

April is quick-witted and tough as nails in life and in her art business. But when it comes to her family's hopes of her moving back home...April can't handle the pressure. Backed in to a corner and no where else to turn she hires Theo to be her "boyfriend" and out to rest the hope that she's coming back. But as they navigate their "relationship" the lines blur between what's for fun and what's real. As more and more pieces of the puzzle that is Theo begin to come together, April has decide who's the man and who's the actor.

I LOVED this hero and heroine couple. Blakely's always got a knack for making her couples chemistry fly off the page. But Theo's improv mixed with April's quick wit makes for some entertaining reading! Not only are these two funny, they're steamy as hell! On fire and ready to burst I couldn't wait for them to fall for each other. Knowing Theo's truth had me wondering just how our heroine would handle the news. Filled with wonder and hope I couldn't wait to turn each page to find out just what would happen next. Loved it all and can't wait for more!

This book was funny and romantic. I loved the chemistry and banter between Theo and April. April hires Theo to be her pretend boyfriend so her family won't pester her about her love life. Theo needs the money from the gig to finalize his plans. Will real love develop and interfere with the couple's plans? Another wonderful read from this author.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and am leaving a review.

The Real Deal is meant for summer nights*. It’s full of family games and amusement park rides and a smooth crash into love, and as such, would be the perfect literary accompaniment to a sweating drink, a darkening sky, and a breeze stirring through the trees.

Am I winning you over yet?, because this book clutched me by the heart and refused to let go. I was dazzled by April and Theo and their love story and the family members who love them but in the wonderful way of families, also drive them completely crazy.

April Hamilton is up for a gig as the lead body painter for a major sports magazine’s body issue and she doesn’t want anything to get in the way, including her family’s repeated efforts to set her up and entice her to move back home to Wistful, Connecticut. Enter Theo Banks, a bartender and sometimes actor whom she hires as her completely platonic, bad boy boyfriend for the upcoming multi-day Hamilton Family Reunion. This job isn’t that difficult for him since Theo’s a good actor and also since IRL he’s done jail time and been a con man.

But thankfully for us, Blakely offers romance novel catnip: Theo is a bad boy/reformed bad boy with a heart of gold. He takes on these occasional fake boyfriend jobs (which are always platonic, by the way) because he’s trying to pay off his brother’s debt without his brother knowing. Theo’s loyalty toward his brother means that he’s living paycheck to paycheck, and he also has zero interest in putting himself out there romantically again, but these are some other things you should know about him: he’s sexy, and has an amazing voice, and looks out for a teen living in his apartment complex, and drives a motorcycle with a snarling leopard on it.

From the beginning, April and Theo are attracted to each other and they’re also delightfully compatible. The book feels cinematic in that way; there’s so much banter and it's suggestive of classic Hollywood. They verbally play off one another like improv masters. They create fake dates as part of their back story but we can see their investment in their fake love story and in their real one.

Unlike other Blakely reads I've encountered, The Real Deal is set in a small town. It takes place largely outside of NYC, and it’s very family centered. It’s sweetness and nostalgia—do you remember the thrill of playing Twister or plummeting down a roller coaster? (I remember being bad at Twister and the last time I rode a roller coaster I literally thought I was going to throw up and then faint, all within a three second period, but I can still appreciate what Blakely’s doing here.)

The superficial stakes might feel small—winning a family field day trophy and the prize money, which will presumably go toward charity but which Theo wants to use to finally pay off his brother's debt—but don’t be fooled: we’re really talking about whether April and Theo will decide that what they have is real and whether it’s worth fighting for. Whether they can appreciate where the other person has been—in Theo’s case, his con man past and how it threatens his present—and get past their relationship’s fake beginning.

And along the way, we get Lauren Blakely’s fiction trademarks: a beautiful love story with humor, heart, and steammmmmmy (extra letters added for emphasis) sex. When you add a bad boy who is actually a really good person with characters who want to jump each other’s bones but who are also proud of the other’s achievements and a fascinating and lovable set of secondary characters, all set in sweet, sultry summer, I. am. all. in. Forever and ever amen.

Pssssst! If you like this book, check out: Melanie Harlow’s If You Were Mine (another fake boyfriend/girlfriend book) and Jenny Holiday’s One and Only.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley, but all opinions included are my own.

*tell me more tell me more was it love at first sight. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Once again, Lauren Blakely delivers with a touching and smart unexpected love story with The Real Deal! Her characters are full of charm and wit and the circumstances in which April and Theo are downright charming. He as her pretend boyfriend to convince her parents she is ready to settle down, when in actuality she isn't, made me laugh and often. But as their feelings change from completely platonic to so much more, we are there front-row, center, to watch it all unfold.

Blakely's gift for grabbing the reader's attention with the most subtle of story-lines is never more apparent than with The Real Deal. She takes the boy meets girl scenario and gives it that special kind of touch to make it as swoonworthy as any other grand romance. She never lets me down and before I know it, I'm fully in love with both the main characters, their crazy crew and I don't want their story to end.

A must read and perfect for a lazy summer day, The Real Deal is simply wonderful from start to finish.

A solid 5 stars all the way!

April Hamilton is heading home for a family reunion, but she refuses to go alone. Ever since her fall from grace when she dated a married man who said he wasn’t married, her well-intentioned relatives have all banded together to set her up with someone nice. Unfortunately, their version of ‘nice’ means someone back home, taking April away from the city and away from her career. As well meaning as they are, they don’t understand her or her passion for her work. So going on this trip alone is a no-go. So what’s a girl to do?

Boyfriend-For-Hire

And that’s where Theo Banks comes in. Bartender by day, character actor by night (or day or afternoon, really any time you need him). His services come with a price and they are strictly platonic. A reformed grifter, he’s living his life on the straight and narrow. He’s got one debt left and he’s home free. And this gig with April is a win-win for both of them. He gives her the full fake boyfriend package, he gets paid. But what happens when the fake starts feeling more real than either of them have ever felt before?

I believe this was the cutest story I’ve ever read from Lauren Blakely. It was sweet and funny and heartwarming and romantic. These characters had instant chemistry and their banter and intimacy were both comfortable and natural. It was easy to like both of them and get on board with them finding their way to a real relationship. With a merry cast of side characters, this story was a delightful treat!

This is the best rom-com I have read in years! The connection between April and Theo was so intense, clever, playful and sexy. I was actually a bit sad when the book ended because these are characters that I just didn't want to let go. This was such a fresh take on the fake relationship trope that I am afraid it might make it difficult for future books in this trope to measure up. I really want to get invited to the next Hamilton and Moore Summer Lawn Olympics and Games! I think this will be one of those books I re-read for years to come when I need a fun romance to cure a book hang-over or just as a distraction when I need a little more fun in my life.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

(But I am buying my own copy because this one is a keeper!)

Wow! I have never read a Lauren Blakely book I didn't enjoy immensely. Theo and April were such a well matched couple. April has a family reunion to go to and she is tired of her family always trying to set her up with a man as well as trying to get her to move back to her hometown. What's a woman to do? Well, seems Theo is able to offer his services as a boyfriend for hire. What starts out as a way for April not to have to deal with what appears to be her meddling family; soon turns into something more than just a boyfriend for hire when the two start falling for one another. In true Lauren Blakely style this a a wonderful rom com, with a bit of a cameo from a character mention from another of her fabulous books. You will have to read the book to find out who it is. I really enjoyed the way April and Theo bounced stories of their romance off one another when coming up with a background story for her family of how they met. I rally liked how those stories seemed to fuel the fire of the feelings they had for one another. Even though they knew that what they originally agreed upon neither could seem to help the bit of jealousy they felt at times. I found that so sweet. This is a really well written story and the ending was just perfect. wonderful HEA.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. Provided by Netgalley.

Lauren Blakely does it again, in her usual style, with wit and banter in abundance this book had me giggling and smiling loads. I just love these kinds of books and the mood they seem to leave me in, is addicting.

This is one of those true love stores that I really love to read, there are no tragedies that will leave you sobbing or anything to have you screaming for revenge. It's just 2 people who have had it tough and find what they aren't really looking for.

April and Theo find themselves involved in a deal. A platonic working deal that is so funny to read, as they try to keep up with the rules they set for it in the beginning. Even when everything and everyone seems to be showing them what they really don't want to see.

I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend this book so so much.

Theo needs money, and he needs it fast. In order to make extra money, he not only works at a bar, but he is a date for hire. He will play any role you need him to and he guarantees your satisfaction. When his friend asks him to fill in for him, he can't say no. Especially when the job is for a week and could get him squared away.
April needs a boyfriend for her family's reunion, so they can all stop trying to set her up. She believes she has it all figured out; her friend had agreed to act as her boyfriend, until he gets the opportunity of a lifetime. She agrees to meet Theo, she really doesn't have a choice unless she wants her family to interfere. What could go wrong?
From the minute they meet and start discussing how they met, they both feel a connection and the stories almost feel real. She goes that she is going to stay away and so does she. Unfortunately, as he starts hitting it off with her family and they get to know each other better, the lines start to get blurred. He decided to trek her the whole truth about his past, even though it scares him that she will end whatever they have.
When she surprises him and then overhears part of a conversation will she let him explain,our will it be too late? Does he truly have feelings for her, and if so, how can he get her to believe that his feelings are true? Will April realize that people can make mistakes and give him a second chance, or are they over before they realize the relationship is The Real Deal?
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest,voluntary review.

4.5 Sizzling Summer Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5

Lauren Blakely did it again! Another fabulous romantic comedy that doesn’t take its self too seriously... I know I can always count on Miss Blakely for some laughs and abs....

April is not going to her families summer reunion without a date! She is done with the family constantly trying to fix her up just to get her to come home... Theo is a bartender with a gig on the side.... he is a rent a boyfriend... i’m sure you can tell how this all starts out... April and Theo start out as a business arrangement completely platonic... but even from their very first meeting in the park you could feel the sparks between them...

April is a fabulous female MC... loved her she was strong, independent, sassy, kind, the kind of girl you would love to be friends with... Theo was a very typical Lauren Blakely mail MC... A little bad boy, a little arrogant, a lot gorgeous with a wonderful sense of humor... oh and we cannot forget about the ABS! Their relationship was a bit Insta, but it worked for me in this book, I felt it! Loved the banter between them and you could just tell they were both very caring people that deserve this....

A bonus in this book was the fabulous setting of the summer reunion... loved getting to know April‘s family better and I love the small town vibe... I wanted to jump in and join the fun and games at this reunion... twister... the hula hoop... a scavenger hunt.... this really is the perfect summer romantic comedy💕

Absolutely recommend if you are a fan of this author, the romantic comedy, or a fun summer read...

*** many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this book ***

Fun, Entertaining and Hot! This is the first book that I have read by this author but it definitely won’t be my last. This was such a fun, entertaining, sexy, and heartwarming story.
With lovable, and unique characters and a utterly, charming and entertaining, family reunion that keeps the funny times coming and coming as her family, falls, for her fake date, and their fake date, turns into the real deal. But when secrets come to light, will love save the day?
It was LOL. hilarious, full of rapid, fire, wit and flirty banter as well as exquisitely playful and enticing moments that made me giddy and breathless. It was so easy getting lost in these characters and their wonderfully crafted conversations and their special connection and I didn’t want it to end. Loved and so will you.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

April can’t face her family reunion single. The problem isn’t so much going home alone as it is the small town blind dates her family will set her up on if she does. She has avoided men of late, focusing instead on her big city career, a career no one in her family quite understands. She is finally almost where she wants to be, but the obligatory trip home could make going for her dream job difficult if her family guilts her for her singleness (as they are wont to do).

Theo works as a bartender full time, but acts as a date for hire on the side. He’s got his own set of rules and it has never failed him. Though it isn’t what he loves, the side gig helps him be able to help his brother pay off a debt without cutting into either of their responsibilities.

April needed help to get through her family reunion. Theo needed on more gig to help his brother. Neither expected anything more than the deal they had struck.

I loved watching these two fake their relationship and suddenly find themselves stuck in feelings. It was a little on the insta-side of love, but with all the struggles they fought to avoid the feelings, I found myself thoroughly entertained by the whole premise.

As a whole, this was a fun, sweet, easy read. The fake relationship added an “is-it-real” aspect to everything that Theo and April did during their time together, especially since they were so good at concocting the stories her family wanted to hear. Their fake romance was almost as good as their real one!

I received a copy for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect the content of my review or my opinion of the book.

April and Theo aren't looking for love, but they find it while pretending to be a couple. She's a city girl trying to get her family to understand her. He's a former grifter trying to find financial comfort. Over the course of a four day family reunion they get to know each other and end up falling fast. I liked their banter and laughed along with them. They're both caring and loyal. The side characters are as appealing as the hero and heroine. The only thing that I would criticize is that the conflicts are too easily resolved during the climax. I think I expected there to be a little more conflict and drama, so it felt surprising when there wasn't. If you go into the book knowing it's a fun and light book, you'll enjoy it even more than I did. I give it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. I didn't enjoy it as much as Blakely's interconnected Big Rock books, but it's a great book and it's the perfect vacation read.

the real deal is basically my favorite romance trope catnip. i love a good fake relationship becomes real story, and that's what we get here. from the moment theo and april meet they click. maybe a little too well, if they intend to follow through with this plan to have theo play her good bad boy boyfriend at her family's annual family reunion/competition.

but theo doesn't just click with april. he clicks with her whole family. and keeping away from each other is probably going to make them crazy. so from everything fake, it becomes real. but theo has some baggage he's carrying around, and he's not open about it april. as much as they share, he can't stop himself from holding back.

and holding back will definitely get him in trouble. although if we're honest, and that is my job, the thing that upsets her is kind of trivial, and it's one of those things that i'm not entirely sure i understand why anyone would get so upset about. but i think that's maybe more of a me thing? anyway, these two are most certainly the real deal and everyone should read this book.

**the real deal will publish on july 10, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/st. martin's press (st. martin's griffin) in exchange for my honest review.

I adored this book! Lauren Blakely at her best! The Real Deal is smart and funny, full of sexual tension and playful banter, has awesome supporting characters like a meddling mother, and the sweetest of HEAs!

April answers a Craigslist ad for a boyfriend-for-hire to be her buffer during a family reunion. From the minute April meets Theo beforehand, sparks are flying and this conman is worried that he’s going to be in trouble with this client. And he is so right!! As they embark on the reunion weekend, lines become so blurred between their fake relationship and what they are really feeling for one another.

I just wanted to give Theo a big hug! He was so torn up about wanting to come clean with April about his “acting” — what constitutes a lie and what is. Truth you haven’t shared yet? I get why he was so afraid to come clean with her once he started to fall for her. And I understand why she felt betrayed, but I am so glad she got over that quickly because I they were perfect together!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

This is only the third book that I’ve read by Lauren Blakely, and I’m kicking myself for not finding her sooner. When she writes a story about Paris, I actually feel that I’m in Paris, as opposed to reading a book about being in Paris. The same is true for this story. I feel like going to Connecticut now and having a romantic interlude on a drawbridge or a treehouse.

The wealthy alpha male is a well-loved trope by romance writers and adored by its readers. But it takes a really good writer to write a story with an alpha male who isn’t rubbing himself with Franklins as he coasts down fifth avenue in a limo. A story like the one Blakely writes requires more depth and thought from the writer because the well-worn tropes do not apply. It requires fastidous application of literary and plot devices like Blakely’s delightful “remember when,” a phrase that grounds the plot and helps us understand her characters.

Not only are her books addicting, but her characters are interesting, idiosyncratic, and enthralling. April and Theo are at the top of my “couples I’d like to be cool enough to hang out with” list.

Hired boyfriend + meddlesome family + forced proximity = Lots of Romance & Fun

April hires a platonic boyfriend-for-hire to accompany her to her family reunion. Theo supplements his income as a bartender by hiring himself out as whatever kind of buffer a person needs for any event: office party, family gathering, etc. He thinks of it as an acting gig.

As happens in these sorts of stories, there's an instant spark between April and Theo. Their chemistry is delightful. Their flirty banter is unusual in that it frequently involves talking about made up "memories" of their faux relationship, which makes for very creative dirty talk.

April's family is a hoot. They were dimensional and charming. They're also hilarious.

While frothy and easy-to-read, The Real Deal still gave me the right amount of tension and feels. It's the perfect patio read. Absolutely recommend it!

It has been a while since I have read this author but I will not make that mistake again. This book was filled with humor, passion, romance, lots of romance, and so much fun I wish I had a family who got together like this. April's family is trying desperately to set her up with someone from her hometown so she will move back home to live and they are using the family reunion as an excuse to throw men at her. Because of this, she plans to bring home her friend instead as her fake boyfriend but he gets a last minute job but he gives her Theo's Craigslist link for boyfriend-for-hire. It is a match made in the stars and the first time they meet there are sparks. Theo has had it rough and had to do many things growing up to survive including running cons to make enough money to get through school and then every job you could think of including dog food tester to professional sleeper (which I would like to be signed up for some days) but he is now a boyfriend for hire and that comes with a satisfaction guarantee and totally platonic. With these two? Could that last when the lines are blurred right from the beginning. Oh, this was so much fun to watch! I totally recommend this one for a fun read!!!!!

**Received this ARC for review from the publisher via NetGalley**

The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely is without a doubt one of the top summer reads, and summer isn't even half way over yet. This story was light, funny, steamy, and will suck you in from beginning to end. I read this book in one sitting. April and Theo fall for each other in a way that doesn't at all seem forced and all though I knew what was coming, I still couldn't wait to keep turning pages to watch it all unfold. Lauren Blakely has such a way with words that you can't help but enjoy her books.

If you're looking for something fun, entertaining, and with just the right amount of steam this book is absolutely for you!

This was an effervescent romantic comedy! I adored it!

"It should have been the easiest gig in my life. Instead, it was the hardest job I ever had, once she pulled the big con on me."

April needs a date for her family reunion, so her well-meaning relatives would stop trying to matchmake her with a local. She loves her life in the big city and has no plans to return to her little hometown. When her friend gives her a number for someone who could help her out, she takes the plunge.

"This isn't real. But the tingles everywhere tell me it is."

Theo does his boyfriend-for-hire thing for money. He desperately needs it to pay off his debts, and this gig with April would definitely make a dent in what he owes. However, he never expected to be so attracted to her, and the more time he spends with her, the more he realises that he's in trouble.

"Our fiction has spun into a bizarre and wonderful reality."

Oh, my! April and Theo were adorable!! They have fabulous chemistry and wonderful repartee - massively reminiscent of those old Doris Day/Rock Hudson romantic comedy films.

April keeps getting duds in the boyfriend department and needs to get her family off her back, as they constantly try to matchmake her to lure her home. Theo never wants to be in love. He's seen the damage that love can do and it's not for him. However, the natural and powerful connection between them is delightful and hard to ignore. They are absolutely on the same wavelength. I adored the little fantasies they wove and the sexiness that sprung up between them.

This was a lighthearted and amusing story with a touch of angst. Such a gorgeous read and I thoroughly, thoroughly recommend it!