Lauren Blakely has been a go to author for since her first book came out. I can’t wait to get my hands on her books when they come out. This one was no different and I loved every minute.

April lives in New York and has a successful career. She loves her job and her dating life hasn’t been successful. She has a big family reunion coming up that is a week long full of activities. She doesn’t want to show up alone and have her family try and set her up. She is supposed to be going with a friend of hers and something comes up and she needs a replacement.

Theo is a bartender and has a side job of a boyfriend for hire. He can be whatever a client wants him to be. His jobs are always platonic except for hand holding and innocent kisses.

April and Theo have an instant attraction and sparks fly immediately. I loved these two characters and the relationship they have even if it’s for show. This book was so much fun to read. The perfect summer read. I highly recommend it!

Everything in April's life is going perfectly except one thing, her family won't stop trying to set her up on dates in her small hometown. With her family reunion coming up she designs a full-proof plan to keep her life the same and her family uninvolved; she'll hire a boyfriend. Not a male prostitute or anything, just an aspiring actor named Theo who happens to be gorgeous and perfect for her. It's okay, they're just pretending right? Until they're not. Such a fun read!

This book sounded interesting so I decided to read and review it.



I have to say that I loved this book so much. I started reading it in the morning and I just couldn't put it down so I read it in just a few hours.



I do highly recommend this.

This was another home run from Lauren Blakely for me. I loved the characters and the storyline and it had just enough spice in it that it didn't overdo it. I loved the premise, the funniness and the plot. It kept my attention until the very last page. It made me go buy the audiobook and that's where I ran into trouble - take it from me...this is a case of where the book is better than the audio!!

Hired to be the current boyfriend Theo finds himself enjoying April's extended family over a prolonged weekend. Great fun although predictable.

Fun entertaining book about dating and family and life. What started out as a pretend relationship takes on a life of it's own. It's not easy to take the fake date into the real world. The Real Deal does a great job. Enjoy!!

Although I have several Lauren Blakely books on my TBR list, “The Real Deal” is actually the first book I have read by this author. And while I wish I could say that I fell in love with April and Theo’s story, the truth is, that I just wasn’t feeling it. Based on the premise and other reviews that I had read, I was expecting a really sweet, swoony romance, but when I delved between the pages, all I found was some cheesy dialogue and characters with little to no chemistry at all.

In desperate need of a “pretend boyfriend” to accompany her to a family reunion, April takes the suggestion of her best friend and finds Theo Banks—aka, “boyfriend for hire”—in a Craigslist ad. Despite being an independent, career-minded woman, April has trouble standing up to her overbearing, matchmaking family. Hence, the need to bring home a fake boyfriend. For Theo, the gig is all about making money in order to repay his brother’s debts. But what started out as pretend, quickly morphs into so much more. In other words, real life begins to imitate art, and a romance between April and Theo ensues.

Boasting a familiar storyline that offered up no true surprises, I found “The Real Deal” to be mediocre at best. When I glance through all the rave reviews, I find myself wondering if I even read the same book as everyone else. So, what is it that I am missing here? Because, apparently, others see something in this story that I clearly am not.

Theo was just so perfect and cute and just what April wanted and needed. I loved watching them pretend, her family's wild and whacky games were hilarious, and their romance was sweet.

The Real Deal is Lauren Blakely’s next funny and sexy rom-com. You all know I am a huge fan of Lauren’s. The person and her words. She just has a way telling a story that makes me laugh, think, and of course, swoon. Every. Single. Time.

Theo needs to payoff a debt. April needs a fake boyfriend to bring home. He will get his payday and one step closer to leaving behind his past. She will get her matchmaking family off her back during their five day family reunion. It’s win-win, really. He gets a break from bartending with a beautiful woman. She gets to relax instead of going on blind date after blind date. Then they will go their separate ways. She is on a dating diet after-all and he doesn’t date clients. He doesn’t even kiss them on the lips. He isn’t a hooker. He is a buffer. But what happens when the line between pretend and real is blurred?

So much.

Theo has a past. It’s not a pretty one. It’s not one for everyone. That is why he doesn’t open up to just anyone. The moment he saw April he knew she was going to be trouble. He suspected it even before the first meeting. She was quick-witted and he knew she would keep him on his toes. What he didn’t expect was to feel the way he did when he was around her. Happy. Relaxed. And that was before he met her family. That was when the real trouble began...

April didn’t see him coming. He made her laugh. He made her family laugh. He was a gentlemen with a side of cocky. But, that was what she asked for. A boyfriend. One to show her family that she didn’t need them to meddle or worry about her. They didn’t understand that she was fine being single. She didn’t need a man to be happy. She had a career as a body painter that did that. It was a passion they never understood. And now, she was confused. She likes him. But did she like the pretend Theo or the real one? Was he ever real with her or was it all an act? She didn’t know but she would find out. Will she run when she finds out who the real Theo is or fall even harder?

I adored this story! It was so much fun and it reminded me of Lauren’s older books. It was a totally mix of new and old and I loved that. And of course it’s always awesome to spot the little cameos of previous characters. So much fun!! Ok...back to Theo and April...

Overall...I thought they were just adorable, funny, witty, flirting, romantic, and sexy. Their banter was fantastic. The writing flowed amazingly. The characters are lovable. Real. It was another kickass book in Lauren’s collection.

Quotes:

“You devil,” I whisper.
His eyebrows waggle.
“You’re trying to cop a feel amongst kids, you Lawn Twister perv,” I whisper, loving the easy banter and teasing we’ve slid into so comfortably.

If this is being kissed, nothing else has ever counted. This is how women should demand to be kissed.

“I’m going to hula-hoop circles around you.”

I love love loved this book! April needs a buffer for going home to a family reunion. No problem! Until her gbf backs out last minute. So she hires a pretend boyfriend off Craigslist. Theo can be anyone—bad boy with heart of gold, ex-con, ivy-leaguer—he’s played them all. Only, after a few days, the lines between make believe and reality get blurred.
I really loved April and her quirky family, and swooned over Theo and his broken past. This book k had everything, and it was so good I reread it the next day!

❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5
What an amazingly fun ride this book was! The banter was just 🙌🏻🙌🏻 and the attraction was instant! What happens when you are going to a family reunion with at least 3 different family members trying to set you up? Hire a fake boyfriend off Craigslist- seriously why have I never thought of this before? It would have solved so many problems!
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So our heroine hires a fake boyfriend for 5 days to her epic family reunion. Her family is amazing but they want her to settle down in a small town, when her job and life are in the big city. Hiring a stranger to fill the job should be fine right? Too bad every fake thing in their relationship seems all too real!
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What makes a guy pimp himself out as a platonic boyfriend for hire? You got it- money! I really liked the depth hero’s backstory and it made sense for him to be gun-shy about real relationships after being burnt in the past yet he still gives this his everything. I loved the heroine and her giant family- and the reunion olympics 😂. Also the heroine’s profession as a body painter- totally left field and can’t say I’ve ever met or read about anyone in this profession. This book was funny and hot and just so damn good!

I'm not going to lie, the minute this book was announced I started counting down the days until it would be released. I'm a huge fan of Lauren Blakely-I will go so far as to say she's my favorite author-and this book sounded like it would be a blast to read. The Real Deal is fabulous- sweet, sexy and fun. This book is the very definition of romcom to me. I devoured it in one sitting-like I do with every Lauren Blakely book-but this one had a slightly different vibe to it than her other books. I absolutely LOVED it.

The plot of this book just completely sucked me in. Fake relationship tropes usually don't work well for me but I think the fact that I could feel April and Theo's chemistry right away made it work. These two had me smiling and laughing and they definitely had me sighing too. The balance just worked perfectly.

I loved April. I love her sense of self, I love that she knew what she wanted and how to make that happen. She was fun, sweet and kind. Her job was unique and not anything I'd ever dream of, but was incredibly cool. She's the type of person I could hang out with and not ever be bored.

Theo? Well he wasn't what I was expecting at all-and I mean that in the best possible way. He's a little rough around the edges. He has a past that he has to deal with before he can fully move on to the future and watching him balance that with his attraction to April was really intriguing. I liked that he wasn't perfect...but was absolutely perfect for April.

I loved the little stories and moments these two created. They made me smile at times and they made me sigh at others. The connection between them is instant, even though they don't acknowledge it immediately. I always love the first kiss in books-and nobody writes a first kiss better than Lauren Blakely. I was smitten with these two and couldn't get enough of them together.

The supporting cast of characters here are (mostly) a hoot. April's family cracked me up-but I swear, they're so relatable. I would enjoy going to their family reunions and competing in all the games and just laughing and enjoying their company. There were some moments that weren't fun for all the family members, but isn't that what life is like? I liked that all of these characters worked together so well and just made April and Theo shine.

The plot of this book was fun, but there were some serious things tossed in there as well. It was unique and felt really fresh to me. There were also some nods to other characters from previous Lauren Blakely books and, as an avid reader of her work, I LOVE how those characters just pop up so organically. It's like catching up with an old friend for a minute. The writing here was superb and just flowed. It was funny, sweet and sexy.

If you haven't read this author before (what are you waiting for) this book is a fantastic place to start. The Real Deal is a perfect romcom and I loved every moment! I highly recommend this book and cannot WAIT to see what this Author comes up with next.

Oh where do I begin? I have to admit, while I enjoyed The Real Deal, I didn't truly love it until somewhere around the midway mark and then my affection for Theo and April's story grew more with each page. Perhaps because it is written for a different publisher, but there was a subtle difference in this book than previous Lauren Blakely books that I've read and it sort of made me miss the signature writing style that I've come to adore. However, I did find the groove and once we got to the burn portion of this delicious slow burn, I was fully on board (it helps that one of the first sexy time scenes we get is reminiscent of one of my all-time favorite scenes in one of my all-time favorite books, A Court of Mist and Fury). I loved all of the characters and all of the relationships (familial, platonic, romantic, and otherwise) featured in the book - but since such a big part of April and Theo's characters involved them being emotionally detached, I found it hard to bond with them until they succumbed to their feelings for each other. That being said, I truly did love their story and look forward to seeing more in this style from the author. One of my favorite parts, however, is an allusion to one of her previous works - though this delightful Easter egg didn't make an appearance until very late in the book (and if you aren't familiar with Blakely's works you may just miss it), it truly enhanced the whole reading experience for me. 5 out of 5 wine glasses.

Fun flirty romance will keep readers flipping through the pages. I can see this being one of the favorites in beach bags across US this summer.

Theo is your next sweet, sexy book boyfriend! What a fun, steamy, heartwarming read--I loved the banter between April and Theo and the slightly different take on the "fake boyfriend" genre. There's very little angst in this story which makes for a nice enjoyable weekend read. If you like charming, witty and romantic reads, you can't go wrong with this author -- she pretty much nails it with every book she writes. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

This was one of my favorite books. I love Lauren Blakely’s style of writing. She’s witty & fun making her characters come alive in a vivid way. The story line was fresh & creative. I’d love to read more books by her. April & Theo, the main characters, are people I want to know. :-) I highly recommend reading this book, especially if you’re looking for a fun escape from your everyday life. 5 stars all the way!

I'm a big fan of Lauren Blakely's, but unfortunately The Real Deal was a struggle for me to get through. It seemed to drag in the middle and it just didn't pull me in like her other books do. I will admit that my family was visiting and then I went on a spur of the moment trip so I had a lot going on. I'd still recommend The Real Deal to anyone looking for a cute romance and I will definitely be reading more of Blakely in the future.

To ward off her family’s matchmaking schemes, April hires an actor to pretend to be her boyfriend.

What’s not to love about this book? The characters have instant chemistry. Their smoldering banter is sweet and sexy and smart, all at the same time. Plus, the small town setting is romantic. And, her family turns out to be awesome.

I couldn’t put this one down. Great book.

Equally fun & naughty, this book has everything you could want in a rom-com and more!! Theo is a charming, social chameleon with a slightly shady past who uses his talents by hiring himself out as a pretend boyfriend. April is the aspiring artist who hires him to get well meaning family off her back with their unwanted matchmaking attempts. Both characters are smart & quick witted, effortlessly weaving together stories of their make believe past. They fight their attraction, but the chemistry leaps off the page & you know that this couple is destined to be together. This slow burning romance makes for a cute, light hearted & hot summer read.

4 stars

Adorable book about the family drama that leads a girl to hire a date as a buffer and the con-artist who books the gig. Joke's on them but at least the satisfaction guarantee was real.

These characters are quirky, quick-witted and utterly adorable. They used their imagination to spin a backstory for her family and then without realizing it, they made it come true. I loved the whole story and after my own dating disasters, I might be headed to Craigslist for a boyfriend-for-hire. On second thought, the real deal only comes around once (and Craigslist is scary lol) so you I'll probably stick to this adorable happily ever after, at least it's a sure thing!

AnnMarie - Alphas Do It Better Book Blog