Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was not my fav from this author and I think it should’ve been a lot shorter, however, it wasn’t a bad read! The way grief was portrayed was beautiful and relatable. The age gap seemed extreme at 19 and 37 but it never felt icky. Laurie’s battle with himself trying to find happiness and Toby’s awareness of what he wants but inability reach for it made it an emotional read.

Alexis Hall owns my heart and my bookshelves. I am obsessed with this author, and I love this book. I love this entire series, but I think this book might be my favorite!

4 stars.

"For Real" by Alexis Hall provides a compelling, intimate look at a MM age-gap relationship, BD$M, and eventually, a heartstring-tugging romance. I have always enjoyed Hall's writing style, which is full of banter, humor, spice, desire, and a little bit of shocking content. While most of Hall's books are spicy, this may be the spiciest in terms of quantity alone. It is FULL of s3x scenes, so check the TWs in case. The power dynamics between Laurie and Toby, the main characters, are also explored in great detail. It's all about experience versus inexperience, lust versus love, young versus old, want versus need. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It did feel a little too long, in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alexis Hall, and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I've loved the previous two books in this series, so I figured I was sure to love this too. When I started reading, I quickly found out about the age gap, and I became deeply uncomfortable, because a 19-year-old is basically just a kid to me. The older MC (who's 37) at one point says "you'll think I was pathetic for dating you when you're my age", and I was like YES, truer words have never been spoken. I know this was going to be a romance despite that, so I took that as my sign that I needed to DNF. I seem to be in the minority here, but I find this age gap really uncomfortable.

For Real by Alexis Hall is a delightful and cleverly crafted exploration of love, intimacy, and the complexities of modern relationships. From my perspective, Hall's writing is witty and engaging, capturing the nuances of connection in a way that feels both refreshing and relatable. The characters are vividly drawn, each with their own quirks and vulnerabilities, making their romantic journey feel authentic and compelling.

I particularly enjoyed the playful banter and sharp dialogue, which added a layer of charm to the story. Hall skillfully tackles themes of consent, self-discovery, and the evolving nature of love, allowing readers to reflect on their own experiences. The pacing is generally well-balanced, though some parts felt a bit drawn out, which momentarily took me out of the flow.

Overall, For Real is a heartwarming and thought-provoking read that left me smiling. It’s a fantastic choice for readers who enjoy contemporary romance infused with humor and depth, and it showcases Hall's talent for blending playful storytelling with meaningful themes.

This is actually the first Alexis Hall I ever read, and it’s easy to recall why I went directly in search of the backlist. To me, it’s a really masterful book, though I don’t personally connect with it as much as I do with some of his other works. And for the re-release, I absolutely adored the extras, from the author annotations to the bonus story "In Vino."

What I noticed the most on this re-read, with about 300 more romance novels under my belt, is how well done the dual first-person POV is. I often struggle with this, because if the voices aren’t distinct, I find myself wondering whose head I’m in and getting frustrated. I could open to any page of “For Real” and know if I’m with Laurie or Toby, and I didn’t realize how much skill that takes until I’d abandoned quite a few books that lacked it. (I also recently appreciated the same thing about “Georgie, All Along”…the dual first POV works so well in that book too).

Anyway, this one has all the Hall hallmarks (Hall-marks?): gorgeous prose, believable friendships and family dynamics, humor, vulnerability…and on and on). I haven’t read a ton of kink, but to me it just felt like part of who these characters are and their relationship. And having now read the other Spires books, it was interesting to see some of the connections within the world.

A nice unique story but not my favorite by Alexis Hall. I liked the age difference. It was interesting to have a dom who was so timid everywhere outside the bedroom and a sub who was so experienced and confident.

Alexis hall is an instant read for me, and this was no exception. A wonderful look into power dynamics within a gay relationship, and how age and appearance mean nothing in the grand scheme of love

Ohh this book was very sweet. I did not know a lot about it going in, so when I realized it was BDSM I was like Oh ookay I guess we're doing this! What I loved.

-Even with some heavy themes, the story stays pretty light on the drama.
-The characters really help each other heal, making their relationship feel extra supportive.
-The BDSM scenes are super authentic and add a lot to the story.
-It’s an age gap romance that dives deep into their emotional connection.
-You get both sides of the story, showing one character’s fear of rejection and the other’s open-hearted love.

I have not read any other books in the series, but probably will go back and start from the beginning!

Instructive and surprising

Laurence is tired of everything. Six years after his last breakup, he's approaching 40 and struggling to get over his ex. That's when he meets Toby, a young, fearless and vulnerable boy who could very well show him everything he's missing out on. Toby doesn't know what he wants with his life. The only thing he does know, is that he wants Laurie. But Laurie can't fully surrender to him, because Toby is too young, too fragile and too intense. Nothing between them can be real.

This book took me by surprise, to be honest, but in a good way. I had never read a book with BDSM before, and I was intrigued. I'm not going to lie, some scenes made me uncomfortable and weird, but it's only because it's not something I like. However, the author really made it easy to relate to both characters and understand what this desire and need feels like. It was instructive in a way, to see them so vulnerable with one another. The romance in itself is sweet, and even if I'm not a fan of age gap romances, I felt like this one was dealt with rather well. Both characters were very real and relatable and flawed, which I loved, and the dynamic between the two was explosive and sweet at the same time. However, I did feel that the book dragged on a bit at some point, and the very long chapters added to this feeling of length. I still enjoyed the book, though.

I recommend if you like emotional romances with kinks.

"It's not what you do. It's what it means."

i always have an excellent time with alexis hall, and this book is no exception! while it's not my favorite of their backlist, i do love laurie and toby's chemistry and their story had me engaged. a nontraditional pairing, but i think that's part of the appeal for sure. very glad to have read this one!

I loved this book when it first came out and I still love it today. Laurie and Toby are a sweet, hot, emotional mess of a couple. The annotations were a hoot to read - it's so interesting to get a glimpse into the mind of Alexis Hall. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

What a beautiful problem to have. To love a book so immediately and so thoroughly that writing a review feels so impossible.

For context, I am most certainly biased when it comes to Alexis Hall's writing. His voice works for me, even on the rare occasion when the content doesn't.

I put off reading For Real in part because my pattern-finding brain starts to experience diminishing returns if I read too much by the same author too quickly, and partly because I was worried it would not live up to the hype. So I went in with a combination of high and managed expectations.

Because of my weird completionist brain, I actually read the original publication in May with a plan to re-read the new edition. And wow, it really worked for me from the get-go. The whole time I was reading this book the first time, I was thinking that I already couldn't wait to come back to it again because I could see how rich it was and how I could get more out of it on re-read.

Now I have just completed that re-read with the new edition, including the bonus materials, and I am still blown away - maybe more so - by how much I love this book. Yes, this book uses kink as a central device around how the two love interests connect but (and no shade to kink when I say this - I'm just mindful that this will make the book unappealing for some readers), a smart friend pointed out that the kink is not even the point. It's the tool AJH uses to demonstrate that pleasure and emotional connection come more reliably with genuine vulnerability. And I believe that applies regardless of the type of intimacy. And really, this book so beautifully demonstrates that.

It also feels so much like a Spires book - with Laurie as a typical Spires protagonist, with the bonus (rare from AJH, but totally necessary) dual POV from Toby. It was also satisfying to find lots of AJH micro-tropes/micro-core stories, including lots of parallels with Ardy (I think I'm due for an Ardy re-read.)

I see I have talked about this book for paragraphs and hardly said anything about the book at all but that's where I'm at: in a haze of inarticulate love for a book that makes me feel and think and challenges me.

Ultimately, this is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read and it more than lived up to the hype for me after all.

I generally love Alexis Hall books. I love the character development and the surly nature of many of the characters. I love the spiciness too and even when there is a bit of flirting with domination. But, this book was too much for me. Now, if you are super into BDSM and you like a bit of pain in your sex scenes you will probably love this book. I just couldn't like it anymore when one of the characters was screaming in pain from some foreplay bondage. Also, I just couldn't with the age gap. It was too much. That doesn't mean I won't be reading other less BDSM focused Alexis Hall books without such a drastic age gap because A.H. is a really good writer.

One of Alexis Hall’s best IMO. I love the dynamic of the main characters, how vulnerable they are, how soft they are in the middle with their hard exteriors.

Beautifully written.

An age gap BDSM erotic romance where both the age gap and BDSM are examined on screen and not fueled for fetish material in and of themselves, but are an element of the characters that they need to acknowledge and address and grow around. I appreciated very much how both intersected with the character's gay culture, as well. As an erotic romance there is a LOT of sex, which is great but you should def know about it going in. Another reviewer described this as a book in conversation with so many romantic conventions and I totally agree with that! As always with Hall, the writing was gorgeous and you can expect to have your heart ripped out and put back in several many times! I felt like it fully achieved the things it set out to do.

It's very refreshing to me to find a BDSM story that's not just fetish or just all about kink (no shade intended) or *shudders* just really badly researched, but offers an actual exploration/discussion about power dynamics and growth? (Especially if you read the author's annotations, which offer even more of that.) Which probably shows to those into the genre how seldomly I go there. But I do love Alexis Hall, so I thought, eh. What could possibly go wrong? Spoiler alert: feelings. As always, it gave me feelings *gag*. It made me all sad and then ridiculously happy for Laurie and Toby and gaaaaaah. Ugh.

And even worse, I'm glad I just trusted the evil genius and went with it, because frankly, I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. But those two make sense as individuals and as a couple and just. Work. And that's pretty much all I want from any book. People I love spending time with. (And make me want to re-read Mary Renault's "The Charioteer". Because apparently, I enjoy suffering with my emotionally stunted idiots and watching them work their shit out.)

When I first requested this I was unaware that it’s the third installment of a series. I don’t think it’s necessary to read the others before reading this one. The story seemed to be interconnected standalone or loosely tied somehow. I thought this was romantic and gorgeous.

Alexis Hall thinks he will never be asked to annotate his own work again, but I hope he is wrong. I appreciated all of the extra insight into his process nearly a decade on in this rerelease title. I don't know much about the scene described in this story, but it's got a big, beating heart typical of all of Hall's work.

I was a bit weary going into this particular book due to the age gap between the MCs. I'm all for bodily autonomy and a person's right to make their own decisions, but with the younger of the two being only 19 I was just really uncomfortable, honestly. That's only 3 years from 16 which just feels..weird. However, I think the age gap is addressed in a direct and realistic way, and also a central part of the older characters internal struggles which I appreciated.

I've read the other books in this series and they have all been pretty spicy, too, but something about the amount of those scenes in this book I found off putting. While I understand that a lot of the characters emotional connections and developments happen during these scenes, I found myself getting frustrated and flipping through pages to get to the plot. This one felt like mainly smut with a small sprinkle of story- which is fine if that's what you're looking for, but I'd really have liked more story outside of the bedroom scenes.

That being said, the scenes we did get outside of that, were great. Especially the last third or so of the book. When things got very real and raw and emotional. I thought it was beautiful and would just really have liked to see more of that.

I do genuinely love Alexis Hall's books, I think this one was just a miss for me.