He is cocky and vulnerable at the same time. His skills know no end! He is a chameleon at changing personalities, voices, and improv to suit your needs. He is the boyfriend-for-hire April hires to accompany her to the family reunion.

If you think this is a run of a mill boyfriend-for-hire story, think again! Theo is just lost in this world like a rolling stone looking for a place he belongs. He has scraped his way through life since he was fourteen and his parents died. All he knows is the con game and grift life in order to survive. Now is the time to finally pay off all his debts and look for where his heart belongs.

April is just a girl who has sworn off men in lieu for her career and keeping her heart from being hurt again. All she wants is honesty in her life. She cannot deal with any more lying men! Rather than fight all the matchmaking efforts her family will drop on her, she would rather pay a "boyfriend" to accompany her and make this weekend stress free.

This story has two uniquely gifted characters that can improv their way through fantasies of their "relationship" on the spot. They talk with the same rhythm, like the same things, and light each other's hearts on fire. Amusing, thrilling, emotional, and it will make you smile all the way. It is a spa for the mind!

I am voluntarily reviewing this book. Thanks to the author for sharing her book with me.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have not read a book by Lauren Blakely before but I really enjoyed this one. April has a over bearing family that just wants to see her in a relationship. When her family's reunion is coming up she asks her best friend to pretend to be her boyfriend. The only problem is that at the last minute her best friend cancels on her, but his buddy on the side is a boyfriend for hire. She meets Theo before the reunion and there is an instant connection. The two make up random stories about how they met and their relationship that makes you laugh and sigh at the same time. Somewhere along the way the two start falling for each other. The only problem is that Theo has a past that he's not completely proud of and when they start falling for each other he has to decide if April is worth telling his secrets to. April has had a rocky dating past, part of the reason her family wants to set her up so badly, and she has to decide if Theo is the one who might break her dating curse. Overall, this was a cute book that's perfect for summer time reading.

The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely is a beautifully written romance. It will make you laugh, grip your heart and take you on an emotional journey that will just make you happy. I really loved this book and highly recommend it.

What a fantastic story this is. I loved it. An easy read that starts with April dreading going home for her family reunion weekend because her family is seriously into matchmaking. Obnoxiously so. April is a well known body painter, she makes a great living and is up for a coveted opportunity and is excited about that. Her family is clueless really as to what she does and all they panther to do is move back home. Not gonna happen. Her friend Xavier was her fill in arm candy for the reunion,when he's offered a chance of a lifetime and has to bow out of his commitment to her, he sets her up with a friend. A friend who is a bartender and rents himself out as a platonic boy friend. He is the master actor. She's a lot reluctant but when she responds to his ad on Craigs list and they meet it's perfect. They hit it off and she brings along her friends who are protective to make sure he's not a serial killer, and they make plans to get to know each other before and while she fails to warn him the intensity of her family and how seriously they take their reunions, these two really are so suited for each other. I loved the flow between them and how easy they seemed to fit. While Theo isn't fully honest with her about his past history it's more of an omission. But they talk easily and freely and it takes them a while to make the final leap but the tension between them is palpable. The author does a great job showing us the emotional connection between them.
Theo's brother is a problem for Theo at times. Theo feels the need to take care of him and one of the reasons he's hiring himself out is paying off a debt that was his brother's. A debt that shouldn't have been owed, I digress. Theo is well received by her family and things just take off. April takes it upon herself to call Heath, Theo's brother and invite him for the last day of the family festivities. When she overhears a conversation in part... she flips a switch. Rightfully so, although I will hand it to her, she did stop and listen to what Theo had to say. She said she needed space and he gave her that. No more than that because I'd give too much of the storyline away.
For a couple that was only supposed to not for real, this two could not have been more real. Loved the book, the characters, all of it. Stellar read.

*arc from NetGalley and St Martins for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.**

Lauren Blakely has delivered in her brand new romance, The Real Deal. Fans of romances that feature fake relationships and small town feels are going to want to grab this one. It's a true pleasure to read. I quickly got sucked into the story line and fell head over heels for April and Theo. I love how Lauren added some humor to the story (my favorite books ALWAYS have laugh out loud moments) and how she made it feel real and serious at the same time.

April Hamilton is visiting her hometown for their brand of summer Olympics. But because she doesn't want her family meddling in her personal relationships (aka love life) she decides to hire a man to pretend he's her boyfriend for the week. Easy peasy right? Wrong. Her fake relationship quickly becomes something she could see a future with. Too bad someones hiding some things that could lead the end of their HEA before they know it.

Theo Banks can be anyone you want him to be. A French man, cowboy with a sexy southern drawl, a bad boy who will hit on anyone (including your mom) and everything in between. In need of extra cash he rents himself out as a boyfriend for hire.. Which is how he meets the beautiful April Banks. But what happens when a job turns into something real? And what happens when the demons he is hiding rear their ugly little heads?

The Real Deal balances romance, humor, and heart perfectly. There are some secrets being hidden and a tiny bit of angst during the build up, but is an overall lighthearted and fun read. I recommend this book to those who love the authors books/writing (I mean, who doesn't love Lauren Blakely) and for those who love a book that will make them smile and laugh.

The Real Deal is a great romantic read. April decides to 'hire' a boyfriend for an upcoming weekend at her parents house, knowing it will be full of pressure for her to settle back home and give up her New York City life not appreciating how well she is doing as a body artist having many assignments.
Theo s a bar man but once a week to earn extra money to pay off family debts he acts as an escort, no sex involved. When hired by April they travel to her parents and along the way enjoy each other's company. Their dialogue is brilliant, very funny and we have here two characters with depth and a developing relationship. A lovely entertains read which I throughly enjoyed.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for opportunity to review this book honestly.

***3.5 Stars***

I do love me a good fake relationship romance and was all geared up to dive into this baby. And though I didn’t love it as much as I had hoped to, it was still a sweet, and smexy read filled with humor heart and good touch of drama to keep things interesting.

I really liked April and Theo. April is independent, sassy and snarky. I loved how quick witted she was and how much she loved the career she chose. Theo was an interesting one, but it was a good interesting. There was an honesty to him, even though he wasn’t necessarily on the up and up the entire time, that made it easy to be drawn in and a mind that I wanted a closer look at.

Their slow burn journey was a lot of fun, especially because of the whole fake relationship thing going on. They weren’t supposed to be more to each other, but as they got to know each other it was easy to see how good they were and could be together in all areas. That little plot twist in their journey was definitely an interesting one and though I understood why it was a big deal, I was pretty much #teamtheo. Thankfully, the drama didn’t last long and I really liked how it all got resolved and where they were at in the end.

The funny thing with The Real Deal is that I really liked the premise of it and thought all of the crazy characters were well written and a lot of fun, but it didn’t hook me like I thought it would. I enjoyed it, laughed out loud and definitely smirked a lot as Theo and April tried their best to not fall, but I also got easily distracted. That most definitely could be simply fall under the whole “Any given day/it’s not you it’s me” thing, but it is what it is. But outside of that, this was a fun read and if you’re looking for something fun this summer, then this is the one for you!

The Real Deal is super cute. It's a fun read that contains plenty of charming repartee, believable conflict and an adorable array of secondary characters. Everything a contemporary romance novel should be - fun!

JANEANE

I adore Lauren Blakely's dual POV rom-coms, and The Real Deal is no different.

We all know what it is like, trying to live up to our parent's expectations. And when they are trying to set you up with every eligible man in town, you just can't blame April for hiring someone to play her boyfriend to get them off her case.

I get the smaller town vibe from this book, where everyone knows everyone's business - I live that life!

As much as I adore April's family, gosh at times they frustrated me. The way they treated April, as if whatever she did wasn't good enough -gah. The way they treated Theo when he arrived. I wanted to slap the lot of them - but they did get a lot better and they made me laugh out loud a lot of the time.

I adored watching April and Theo's insta-lust turn into more. It was fun and flirty, sweet and sexy.

Theo's to-and-froing though irritated me. I like you but you shouldn't like me, this is all over blah blah blah. Just make up your mind good sir!

A sweet fake-to-more romance that will have you smiling as you read.

Can't wait to see what Ms Blakely brings us next.


BIANCA
I just love a romantic comedy written in dual POV!

I LOVE LOVE Lauren's male POV romcoms, but hearing both their thoughts is great too.

And this one was really adorable.

Mega funny, sparky, sexy, cute. A bit mysterious/secretive.

I adored April and Theo!

And the family reunion. LOL!

Poor April - her family is hilarious - at least for us to read about! ☺☺☺

All through the story we're afraid that April won't be able to understand Theo and why he does what he does. What he used to do. Ugh. But of course this is a cute Rom Com, so we know that it'll all be ok in the end. But it takes us a while to get there! And we love every second reading about that journey!

THE REAL DEAL was an amazingly adorable & hilarious & sexy but also serious love story!! Run to your nearest amazon asap for your own Theo - this not so bad bad boy is MINE !!!

The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely... I give this book 4 1/2 stars.. it took a a little while to really get into it ..but then I loved it. Thanks to #Netgalley for letting me read this book. April Hamilton needs a buffer for her family reunion... her friend backs out at the last minute but sends her to Graigslist and a friend of his for a "boyfriend for hire". Theo Banks ...bar tender ...ex grifter.. "boyfriend for hire" is the man for the job. She has sworn off men lying men...he never gets involved with a "job". this is where the fun starts....so many feels...and fun family interaction...some hard truths and a very HEA.

Oy. I am definitely going to be in the minority here, but this one didn't work for me at all. I have loved Lauren Blakely's books in the past and was excited to get my hands on this one. I think there are a couple things going on here for me: I am fatigued of the romcom genre and my brain is only just starting to make peace with that. Romcoms have been a staple of my reading repertoire for a few years now, but I think my taste is evolving and with few exceptions - these sort of silly, sexy books aren't working for me anymore.

On top of that, I had a lot of trouble connecting with the way April and Theo connected and I could tell I was going to have a problem buying into their relationship because when everything is fake, how do you trust what's real? This is a really tricky trope to execute successfully for me because if I spend the whole book not trusting the main characters, I wind up not feeling like I'm very invested in the storyline. I also wasn't feeling the way they instantly connected and fell into their roles.

As I said, I am sure that I am in the minority here, but ultimately this was a DNF at 32% for me.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review.

This book answers the question,”is it possible for any author to write a fake date story that brings something new, fresh and funny to this tired plot?” And the answer is a resounding “Yes, yes indeed!” My expectations were not high when I started this book, but by the time I was a few pages in I was grinning and knew I was in for a treat - and I was not disappointed. Normally I avoid certain themes like the plague. Any book that features small towns with meddlesome neighbors or family, charming inns, and bakeries usually makes me cringe and run for a hit of insulin. But damn if this book didn’t weave in those elements in a way that was not trite, overdone, or creepy.

The story moves along at a fast clip from the points of view of both main characters, and they are just awesome. April is strong, successful and mostly happy with her life. She has a loving, wonderful family, all of whom want her to move back to her hometown from the city, and keep trying to set her up with local guys to achieve that end. Theo is a truly nice guy who grew up in a difficult circumstance and has had to put any plans for the future on hold until he can settle some debts incurred in the process of growing up and getting through college.. Thus the fake date for hire when April needs a buffer to attend her family reunion to ward off her family’s well intentioned efforts to set her up with every single guy in town.

For me, the thing that sets this book apart from other efforts to write this plot is the dialogue and the personalities of April and Theo. They are both good people with good intentions trying to do the right thing. They do not behave like thirteen year olds. And their banter is sharp and witty - and somehow just lovely. The sections where they create their back story by making up memories of their relationship were beautifully done. Of course there is a little conflict because, well, there has to be, right? But there is no over the top drama.

I think this author could probably write a book about paint drying and make it interesting, fun, and probably a little steamy too. This book serves up all that with a cherry on top, and I enjoyed the heck of it.

A boyfriend for hire...what is not to love. this book made me L.O.L with the family antics and competitive challenges.
Both characters are extremely likable and you cant wait to see where there love story takes them.
Devoured this book in a day and cant wait to see what else Lauren is bringing out soon.

The annual Hamilton family reunion is approaching, and April Hamilton is a little weary about returning home without a date on her arm for the festivities, it would be so much easier if she were dating someone that she could take home to meet her family. But after her last relationship ended in disaster she decided to stray away from men for a while and focus on herself and her work. Then a friend suggests she hire a date for the festivities, so she hits up a website, and finds herself a fake boyfriend... and a whole lot more that she bargained for, her fake date might just be her soul mate!

Theo Banks burns the candle at both ends, working two jobs to make ends meet, and to try and pay off an insurmountable debt that has been haunting him for a while now... and he is so close to being debt free, he just needs one more date for hire job to make it happen. Then out of the blue he receives a call from a woman in need of a buffer, someone who can make her overbearing family believe that they are madly in love, and she hopes he is the man who can help her with that. It sounds like an easy enough job so he signs up for it, packs his bags and is ready to head off and meet the family... sounds like a perfect little getaway!

The Real Deal was an absolute delight, the moment I cracked the cover I found myself completely mesmerized by these amazing characters, and their little adventure! These two were quite the pair, neither looking for love, but the moment they met they knew there was something there that could not be denied, it started off as a game of pretend, and quickly became something a whole lot hotter! It was so much fun to watch them navigate these new feelings, and being bombarded with questions from April's family, they had me giggling, swooning, and smiling throughout! I highly recommend you get your hands on this one, it's a lighthearted tale certain to leave your heart overflowing!!

I requested an advanced copy of this title, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.

A rom-com at its finest. This book reminded me why I love this author's work. The witty banter between the main character's, April and Theo, along with the some serious chemistry, and a sprinkle of some meddling friends and relatives equals a great story. I had a very difficult time putting this book down because it all flowed so well. The story is the full package; sweet, funny, spicy, quirky, with a little trouble in paradise. The author's ability to write conversation between characters that masters verbal foreplay made this book all the more swoon worthy (dirty talk goals). If you're a fan of the author's work, this book will not disappoint, and if you're new to the author's work than this is a great place to start.

"Why did I think hiring a hottie would be easy?"

I've been a Lauren Blakely fan for a long time. She never fails to deliver with her special brand of sexy, sweet and sometimes silly but always wonderful. There's nothing better than being able to indulge in one of her books, escaping into the delightful worlds she creates for me so perfectly that it feels like The Real Deal. She can usually inspire giggles and blushes, but this one, it's so good that I did more than smile; I shed a tear while doing it...perfection. ❤

I was really intrigued by this storyline. I found it amusing and I couldn't wait to see how things played out between the bad-boy-boyfriend-for-hire and the good-girl-going-home for her nosy and interfering family's reunion. At first, I thought her decision was a little extreme, until she laid it out for me, and then I was fully onboard the crazy train with her. After getting a taste of her meddling family I realized it was a matter of survival. But at the same time I kinda fell in love with them too.

The author tells the story in dual POV so I understood how Theo ended up with this unconventional career. I can tell you, it was torture knowing his secrets and being unable to whisper them in April's ear. In spite of his unorthodox resume, it was very impressive. I confess, I was tempted to place a #SatisfactionGuaranteed order for some of his #ALaCarteOptions after reading the menu.

April is desperate but still cautious. He was referred to her by a good friend who trusted him. She knows he's an actor playing a part and he's just pretending. But that doesn't mean he's not too hot to handle. Because...that voice. It's deep and gravelly and sexy as hell. His voice might get me pregnant. I better take birth control so I don't conceive aurally."

I loved every word on every page of this story. I can't stop thinking about it and smiling like a dork. If you were to say #JustBecause or #DoYouRemember? I might just melt into a puddle on the floor, because I do remember...sigh. I want more Lauren Blakely, I'm addicted. The line forms here...

Sweet, sexy, funny and addictive. Definitely addictive, I could not put this book down. The story, a fake boyfriend for hire, was not in anyway unusual, both Theo and April had their reasons for doing this and they were hell bent on not being in a real relationship with each other, or anyone else for that matter. I fell instantly in love with Theo, I loved his sense of humour, his inadequacies, his loyalty and the way I imagine he looks. April too, had an awesome sense of humour, their banter and conversations together were heartwarming, they certainly made my heart go pitter patter. I especially loved their imaginary world. April’s family were wonderful, they gave me many laugh out loud moments. I loved the writing. Perfect. This book really is The Real Deal. I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest review.

The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely

Ahh! I love me a good fake relationship book!

Neither Theo or April are in the market for a relationship: April needs a fake boyfriend to get her well-meaning family off her back and Theo is trying to make enough money to pay the piper. When April answers his (hilarious) ad and they meet up to sort out the terms of their faux-relationship, it’s immediately evident that these two won’t last without some conditions being broken.

April has been burned by men far too many times and the last being used as ‘the other woman’. She’s not a man-hater at all, but she is on a firm dating diet and is putting all her energy into getting the one particular job she’s after. Theo has had it hard. After his parents passed away, he and his brother were sent to live with an uncaring aunt and essentially left to fend for themselves. He’s not a woe is me kind of man. He’s just doing what he must to get his and his brothers lives sorted out, without any complications. April and Theo were perfect together and I’m so glad they worked through their pasts in the way that they did.

This book was FUN! In fact, I read with a smile the entire time. From April’s family practically pushing her into the arms of every available man in Wistful to the swoony ’remember whens’ murmured between two people who are desperate not to cross the line, The Real Deal was a real delight.

*I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

**Reviewed by Melinda for Joandisalovebooks Blog.

You'll never guess all the things you can find in Craigslist, Including Boyfriend for hire. No not that kind of "boyfriend" this one's completely platonic but offers a wide variety of a la carte options to make it more believable. That's what Theo Banks did to supplement his income as a bartender. He has a colorful past that he's trying to put behind him and just looking to make money while keeping his integrity.
April Hamilton is tired of her family's attempts at matchmaking and in her last effort to thwart the fixups she hires Theo as her boyfriend. She isn't expecting the instant attraction, especially since she's on a man diet as she focuses on her career. Five days in close quarters at her family reunion can only lead to sparks. And when past and present collide the situation gets even stickier.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.

Sweet, romantic and sexy, this book is just pure escapism. Easy to read, a bit of frivolous summer holiday reading.

3.5 stars