thank you to netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
i loved this book! i’m not even kidding, i was squealing, kicking my feet, the whole works. marriage of convenience, boss/employee, all aspects of a good book. it was literally so cute. i definitely plan on getting a physical copy at some point and reading more of melanie’s books!

Even Better Than the Real Thing by Melanie Summers is a light cozy romance.

I have to say that I choose this book based on a premise which seemed very promising and the start of the book really delivered.

I liked both main characters, I was truly invested in the story, there was a lot of humor and the story flowed easily. Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes so I thought I was going to love this book.

I just liked it. Somewhere around the middle it started to lose steam, the banter between the lovers wasn't so funny, I lost interest in the story and the chemistry fizzled out.

I still enjoyed it to a certian degree I think I was mostly disappointed because I expected to like it much more than I did. However this is still a very good rom com story and worth reader's time.

Got to love a good fake dating book I love the story and I love these kinds of books really they are so fun to read

Even Better Than the Real Thing
by Melanie Summers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.8

I love these kind of romances between Earls and normal girls, and fake dating that later becomes real so I just had to read it. It was a very quick read for me, I read it in the car during my road trip from NC to MI. Everything was almost perfect, just the ending was blend, missing one thing that I'll write down below so you don't read spoilers. Other than that it was a great and sweet romance, and I would love to watch it as a movie if the ending was changed a bit.

Synopsis:
Finley is a southern girl from Georgia, USA, that is living in London trying to get into an art history Ph.D. program while also working at a finance company. When she applies, the lady that she wanted to be her mentor tells her that for her to get into the program she needs to get access to her grumpy boss's private art collection. When she tries talking to him, he says no. Even though she told him she would do anything to get access to his collection. After leaving his office, she tells her friend what happened and says that she hates him and says other bad stuff about him. What she didn't know was that he was right behind her hearing everything.

Lord Hayden Stuart own his own finance company but he's also the son of an earl. His father had just passed away (not that he cared), and now Hayden is supposed to inherit his father’s estate and earldom. But first, he needs to get married, which is something Hayden said he would never do due to seeing his father lack of love for all his wives. When Hayden hears Finley saying that she hates him he has an idea: ask her to marry him so he can get the estate and then in exchange she would have unlimited access to his art collection plus $300k for her time, and then they would get divorced.

Besides knowing that her family back in Georgia would not approve what she was doing since they are a very traditional southern and peanut farm family, she accepts his deal, dreaming with her future in the arts field. They have to get married quick so they go to Portugal to do it. During the fake wedding, they have to kiss for the photos and make it seem legit. Back in the estate they sleep in separate rooms but have meals together. Their friendship starts growing as well as their attraction for each other. Finley knows she's not supposed to fall in love but she can't help it. She feels like she can help Hayden understands love. Hayden is also falling for her, even though he doesn't want to say it. Until one night they sleep together, consummating their marriage. When the court day comes, they know that if they find out the lie, Hayden could go to prison and Finley would be deported forever.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[Spoiler from now on: Hayden does't want that to happen so he calls off the court meeting giving up on everything to his half brother so Finley wouldn't get deported and breaks up with her. Finley goes back to her family in Georgia and has to live with the pain of not being with her husband. When Christmas time comes, she has a surprise: there is Hayden in her small town asking for forgiveness and asking her to marry him again. Once she accepts, they get married at her family's peanut farm and go back to London to live their lives.

So it's a beautiful story and I really enjoyed it! But I didn't like that his half brother just got everything so easily like that. I was expecting that Finley would have found a letter from his father within the art documents giving him everything independent of him being married or not and maybe asking for forgiveness. This was they would have gotten the estate back and kicked his half brother out. Then it would be a nice movie! ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
#EvenBetterThantheRealThing #NetGalley

A big thank you to NetGalley and Indigo Group for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This was an interesting book for me, not so much the fake marriage, but the art history aspect. I really liked Finley and her passion and that she was misunderstood by her family. Made it for me more realistic. Just a quick fun read. 4 stars I would recommend to most romance readers.

I loved this book so much! The banter between everyone was great. They both had the best of friends, Finley had Chalani, and Hayden had Caleb (and his wife Ava). I loved the way the story progressed and loved the characters progression with each other. This was just a happy story and I had a smile on my face pretty much the whole way through.

Thank you NetGalley and Indigo Group for providing this ARC to review. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise. ~

A quick, fake marriage trope. Not my favorite trope by any means.

I enjoyed Hayden and Finley’s banter, bur I didn’t really buy how quickly they fell for each other.

Other than that, a sweet read.

I adored this book! If you read The UnHoneymoon and loved it, this will be right up your alley. I loved both Finley and Hayden which is hard for authors to do a lot of times.

Quick fun read perfect for summer vacations.

My only gripe is that I wish it were longer! I wish that we would have gotten a little more drama or caught in the lies or something....

Plan to recommend to all my Rom Com lit fans.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, THIS BOOK -- wow!! I'm speechless. It was so cute and funny, the perfect romantic comedy for anyone out there! Absolutely my favorite read this month, and I've already read 38 books in April. The main character is so relatable and quirky, yet messy it's a perfect mixture. The male counter part is just completely opposite. But by the end, they go together like Ying and yang. Absolutely unforgettable! The writing style was flawless and flowed beautifully, truly captivating the audience the entire time. The build up and character development along the way was so beautiful as well. A+!! I will definitely think about this book for a while. I am going to go straight to this author's page and check out more of her books now!!

This book was given to me by NetGalley and the publishers to read and review. All comments above are my personal opinions after reading this book in it's entirety.

This is such a feel good author.. I am fairly certain I have read everything she has ever written and enjoyed each story. They are always this perfect flow of story, romance and feel good and who doesnt love a story about a royal?

Thanks to Netgalley for the copy!

I felt Hayden and Finley's romance was cute but kinda sudden? I mean the chemistry was there and it's not forced either. Not really much points to that direction yet but out of the blue they realized they love LOVE each other. Sure they had cute moments prior. I love Fin so much, I could never have half her determination to pursue my own dreams! Hayden being a nervous wreck is too good a laugh. I'd definitely read more Melanie Summers now.

Book: The Next Real Thing
Author: Melanie Summers
Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Review~
The Real Next Things is a romance book, fake marriage trope.

Finely is going to school to get a PhD in art history. Lord Hayden Stuart had access to his family’s art gallery and it would change her life if she had access to it. In order for Hayden to get full access to his estate he need to get married.

Overall this book was really cute, funny and had so many sweet moments. I love how Finley works hard for what she is passionate about and won’t give up on it. I also like how Hayden finally figured out that he doesn’t have to be like his dad and that he can treat the people he loves his own way. This book was really good and I would definitely recommend reading this!!

I absolutely loved this story. The pacing wa a perfect and you could truly feel the emotions and when things started to shift. I felt there was something left unsaid when he referred to her not being a hick like her family and maybe they should have addressed that or taken it out altogether? It also seems like her separation from her family and her was left unsaid and there could have been a scene talking to her family and expressing her feelings? It seemed a bit of a jump that her husband and her mom would get along so well.

Despite it though, I loved the story and read it all in a day!

Decided to read something for fun yesterday. One of my favorite tropes is marriages of convenience. Even Better Than the Real Thing by Melanie Summers is a modern day regency romance. Hayden needs to be married to inherit his father’s earldom. Finley needs access to his family’s art collection to be accepted into her Art History PhD program. If you are fan of Bridgerton, you will enjoy this read. Honestly though, I found the idea of paintings being used to “patent” scientific inventions and discoveries to be the best part. Great STEAM connection!

I very much enjoyed this new story by Melanie Summers. Despite being the old tropes of a fake marriage of convenience, boss and employee, and enemies-to-lovers, Mrs. Summers manages to make it feel fresh and new and I was very excited to see what was going to happen to Fin and Hayden before and when it all comes out. Because of course it does. And this MOC also benefits Fin in another way in addition to financially which helps it to be different from other stories of this ilk, where the FMC’s motivation is usually solely money. Also, there was a twist near the end which I didn’t expect, as it’s the opposite of the usual way this would go, as twists tend to be.

I don’t know if this is the start of a new series or if it’s meant to be a stand-alone but I’m looking forward to what Mrs. Summers has coming in the future.

Melanie Summers' books are always a pleasure, and this one was particularly pleasurable 😍😍.

Finley Green needs her boss to give her access to his family's private art collection.

Hayden Stuart needs... any woman really to marry him ASAP for him to inherit his father's lordship (so he can dismantle it... 🤨).

Together they will jump into a marriage of convience in which two people who really don't like each other at first will find exactly what they need (and more).

Hail to Caleb and Ava who are really cute secondary characters (I have to check but if they don't already have their own book, I wish they did !)

Thank you to Netgalley and Indigo Group for providing an eARC in exchange of an honest review.

3.5/5: I really enjoyed the playful relationship between Hayden and Finley as they entered into their marriage of convenience. I think there were a few too many moments of summary to pass time, but ultimately Summers recovered with the Hayden's growth in dealing with the death of his father. Finley's advisor was a really odd character because she was absolutely terrible at the beginning and then hit a 180 later that made no sense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for an arc! I will definitely be checking out more Melanie Summers in the future.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for sending me an eArc of this book!

I have mixed feelings toward this book. There wasn't anything wrong with the story per se, however this wasn't the book for me.

Even Better Than the Real Thing follows Finley, a southern girl living in London, and Hayden who inherits his family's estate after the passing of his father. For Finley to be accepted into her PhD program to study art history, she needs access to Hayden's estate. The two strike up a marriage of convenience, and this to me is where the story fell flat.

I think the main issue with the book comes down to showing vs. telling. For me, there wasn't any chemistry between the main characters. I knew from the writing how the Finley and Hayden were feeling toward one another but the connection didn't land. This, unfortunately made the book drag for me.

This was a lighthearted and fun story that I could absolutely not put down once I started reading. Ms. Summers' books always leave me with a warm and happy feeling, and this one was no different. This is a cute and romantic comedy and I enjoyed every minute of it. The characters were wonderful and felt so relatable, I couldn't help but fall in love with them. The storyline had a nice smooth flow and the romance was wonderful and there were plenty of humorous moments that had me laughing out loud or just generally left me with a smile on my face. The chemistry between Hayden & Finley was obvious and really stood out. It was so heartwarming to experience their relationship as it developed and grew. These two were so cute together. Ms. Summers did a nice job with describing the scenes and characters and really made them come to life. I felt like I was experiencing their thoughts and emotions right along with them. This story was over the top fun and simply heartwarming. I am never disappointed when I pick up a book by Ms Summers and this one was just fantastic! This was a really entertaining and enjoyable story and am glad I had the opportunity to read it. Rom com at it's best!
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Cute and fun but a little predictable. It has a few nods to Pride and Prejudice, but it doesn't retell the same story, so I found them a bit odd. e.g. Pemberton instead of Pemberly.