4 stars

This was a pretty solid, entertaining read which I enjoyed very much!

I loved how both characters were portrayed: how Piper didn't give in too quickly into her feelings and how Aaron acknowledged his mistakes and had real character development. I loved their competition for securing the buyer to the house.

But I felt like we could have done without the FMC relationship with the other realtor, as it was just a plot device. It would have been better to have more moments between Piper and Aaron!

Thank you to NetGalley, Invisible String Press and Amelia Hall for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley, Amelia Hall, and Invisible String Press for this A R C!

All thoughts and opinions are my own 💕

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

Find more on my IG @kayreads_romance

⚠️ !! Please be sure to check any TWs before diving in !! ⚠️

Tropes:
* Enemies to lovers
* Real estate agent FMC
* Rival real estate agent MMC
* Workplace rivals
* Cancer rep


Spicy chapters:
16 (kinda)
20

My thoughts while reading:
🚨ALERT SPOILERS AHEAD🚨

I don’t really understand the world of realty but I understand that we hate Aiden

Ugh I’m hoping he’s just a secret softie for Piper and will love her

I KNEWWWW HE WAS DATING MADELINE WHEN PIPER SAID SHE HAD FEELINGS FOR HIM!

I have been flying through this book! I am enjoying it so much!

I enjoyed the book a lot but I feel like the ending was rushed.
I wish we could have gotten to see more of Piper and Aiden together, as well as see Piper actually succeed at her job. It felt unfinished to me, but I did enjoy it while I was reading it!

The Real Deal by Amelia Hall
Overall:⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️
A fun enemies to lovers romp.

Piper is a young real estate agent in Toronto, trying to grow her business after it was set-back by thyroid cancer. Aiden is a fellow agent, but with legacy connections and unscrupulous behavior like stealing Piper’s client. Piper finally gets the chance to list a multi-million dollar property which will launch her career, but it requires working with Aiden. Can they successfully work together on selling the property? Has Aiden changed his ways or is Piper’s career and heart on the line?

As a real estate agent myself, I was very excited to read this one. I enjoyed the real estate setting and the descriptions of their efforts to sell such a valuable property. I was very impressed with Piper’s hustle and hard work, it will inspire my work. Overall this was a fun read and I would recommend to other fan’s of romance books. It had all the good elements – eccentric side characters, dogs, strong character development and a slow burn.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the ARC!

This book was definitely fun and entertaining but it wasn't necessarily special. I won't be staying up thinking about it. But as a book it was a fun, light read that I enjoyed well enough.

Thank you for the opportunity to read!

I liked watching Piper and Aiden overcome their history. I felt like the secondary characters were a bit more entertaining and I hope they get their own spin-offs.

#TheRealDeal #netgalley

This second-chance romance is completely written from Piper’s point of view as she comes face-to-face with a high-powered real estate agent who swooped in and signed a client she was wooing early in her career. It has your typical romance story-telling devices — high-stakes situations, he falls first, rival love interests, etc. — but I enjoy that the characters tackle real-life problems, too. Without giving too much away, there’s a cancer survivor, serious career and family discussions, and a few random surprises from secondary characters.

If I have any criticism, it’s that the pace of the story is slowed at some points by repeating background information or excessive details. I found myself skimming ahead at some points, and I suspect other readers will, too.

But, if you’re looking for a light summer read, this one delivers with light romance, interesting characters, and a fun storyline.

Thanks to #NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I got this book through Netgalley.

It was a good book about 2 realtors who have to sell a house together. They have a history together that didn't end well and that still causes issues between them. It was really interesting to see the realtor side in this book as that was a first for me. It's an enemies to lovers book which I always love. Also her having dealt with health issues is something you don't come across in books a lot so that was interesting.
Overall a good book

I do love me an enemies-to-lovers romance, I really truly do.

Piper and Aiden, man, real estate agents can be real competitive.

Piper is a strong FMC, who knows how to stand her ground. Love me a strong FMC.

Aiden is the MMC, who admits to his mistakes without hiding behind excuses and reasons.

This is my first read by this author, and I can’t wait to read more!

*Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC, and I am leaving an honest and voluntary review*

Pretty good but kinda meh

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to love this book but I never really connected to the characters. Piper had a really great backstory and the struggle she was going through both in work and her health are compelling and should have made for a sympathetic heroine. But she just could not get out of her own way or get over what Aiden did to her, even though, yes poor form, but it was one client he stole. Is she that bad a realtor that was all it took?

As far as Aiden, he seemed like a mere caricature, he was never fully fleshed out. We never got the story of how these two became friends or even how a romantic element started. And though I think most romance readers can forgive so bad behavior, there might have been a little bit too much bad behavior on his part without an explanation as to why the reader should look past it.

I love this new era we are in where romance authors are covering real life issues and diagnosis in a honest and upfront way. And thus book from Amelia Hall is no different. I love seeing the family dynamics of the two main characters, the history of them and all the hurdles they come through. I only wish I could hear more of their story. Hopefully they’ll be side characters in another book. 🤞🏻🫶🏼

Enemies to lovers with selling sunset vibes??? This was a cute and easy read. There was a bit of miscommunication and that set me back a bit. I did stay interested in the story and wanted to know what would happen next. I do feel the story was a bit rushed and could have been written in a slower pace. The ending felt like it was wrapped up too quickly and had so much more potential. This is very unfortunate because the first half of the book was so exciting. I really wanted to love this book. Thanks NetGalley and Amelia for the ARC.

I loved the premise & setting of this book, stunning mansions & rich people? Sign me up! I enjoyed the start of this book however, unfortunately this fell a little flat for me by the mid way mark, the FMC & MMC began to get very childish (despite being in their 30s - from what I could gather) & I felt a bit like I was getting whiplash with the very quick changes in their situation. In my opinion this book could’ve done with being a bit longer & having a bit more background story & angst, I also would’ve liked to see a bit more of a wrapped up ending as it felt a little bit rushed. I’m so sad as I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn’t for me!

Summary: The Real Deal follows Piper, an overthinking hardworking realtor who is desperate for a big break in order to be able send her sister back to school and upgrade their lives. Said big break arrives in the form of a million dollar listing, but the downside is that she has to share it with Aiden Miller, someone who previously failed to reciprocate her feelings for him and also ended up betraying her trust. This new listing however forces them to be together and all this forced proximity might be shaking her resolve to keep him out of her heart. Can her heart win against her head?

Review: This book was very entertaining, and kept me interested and reading till the end to know what would happen next. It was a pretty quick read and I loved that the characters were portrayed very realistically and Piper especially was really relatable. One thing that I really liked was that Piper held her ground very well no matter how heart melting Aiden was. You usually see the FMC giving in really quickly to the MMC who has done her wrong, but that wasn't the case here, Piper opening up to Aiden was slow and satisfying. On the other hand, I liked that the MMC, Aiden, made mistakes and accepts them and promises to be better instead of having elaborate excuses to cover them up. A few things that bothered me however was that although the ending was good it could have been better and overall I think the story would have been better if it was a dual POV.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Amelia for this ARC!

I had a fun time. Aiden was kind of a stuck up person and that pissed me off. I also would’ve like to know more. Did Aiden quit the career as a whole? What happened with Piper and the new client? I felt like the ending was rushed when there could’ve been a little more. It did give a good peek into what realtors have to do daily.

Enemies to lovers-ish… It was more one sided in terms of enemies and somewhat a second chance as well. A cute palate cleanser if you’re needing a break from something that was dark or maybe a little too much emotionally and mentally.

Will be posting a tiktok video by Friday the latest @melanie_reads

2.7⭐️


El final está inconcluso y para colmo no hay epílogo.

No me gusto como Piper cayó tan rápido por Aiden, se supone que lo odiaba por robarle un cliente y además estaba avergonzada porque le dijo que tenía sentimientos por él, sin embargo, él le dijo que la veía como una amiga. Hubiera estado bien ver como se daba su lugar y no se dejaba ablandar por una cara bonita.

Lo de la apuesta fue culpa de Piper, ella solita se puso la soga en el cuello.

Hizo falta que Aiden tuviera povs porque al final no se que pensar de el.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for and honest review.

The Real Deal tells the story of Piper and Aiden, two realtors who end up as co-realtors on a huge property that could make or break Piper's career. Aiden is the hotshot realtor who everyone wants, and who broke Piper's heart and stole one of her clients in the past. She has put her defenses up against Aiden so she can't be hurt--emotionally or professionally--by him again. As they begin working this real estate property together, will Piper be able to see that Aiden has changed and make their relationship "The Real Deal"?

I thought this book was a sweet, easy, quick ready. I loved both the characters of Piper and Aiden, and I though Piper was very relatable. I enjoyed the overall plot of the story very much; however, as a primary reviewer for closed door romance and clean reads, I am hesitant to promote on my platform as this is definitely more of an open book read after the 50% mark, and does have a moderate amount of language (a few instances of the F-word). I will say I did finish the book because I had already become so invested in the story line, but found myself "skimming" the last half due to sexual content and language. I would LOVE to see a clean or closed door version of this book because again, I absolutely loved the plot/storyline and the main characters.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC version of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I found this review very difficult to write. I know how difficult it is to receive negative feedback. However, I do want to be as honest as possible when doing these reviews.

Piper has just landed a huge listing, something that could be career changing for her since her career took the backseat while she fought and defeated cancer. Unfortunately, she has to co-list with Aiden, someone she once had feelings for, and someone who poached her first client from her when she was starting out. She hates him and, as far as she is concerned, he doesn't think her capable of doing her job. When asked to co-list this life changing listing, Piper has no choice but to say yes and is forced into close contact with Aiden. Sparks fly, arguments start, and Piper even discovers Aiden has a jealous streak following some ill-adviced dates.

I really wanted to love this book. The premise and idea of the story is amazing - I love the enemies' to lovers' aspects, the forced proximity, and the business rivals. Having grown up reading books like The Hating Game, I was so excited to see there be a new one on the scene. Unfortunately, I felt the writing fell flat. I really liked the idea of someone who was in recovery being a main character in a book, a smart successful woman who beat her health and became better for it, but Piper actually came across as whiny and spoiled. She assumed the worst of just about everyone, consistently attacking Aiden for everything he did that she deemed to make him untrustworthy and cruel. She took absolutely no responsibility for her own actions, placing the blame on everyone else. And Aiden just came across as very one-dimensional. I love a good book boyfriend, and I could see what the author was trying to do. However, I found his character fell short of the requirements. I also really struggled to see any chemistry between the characters - I could see their relationship working in the long run, however the fast pace of the book meant that their chemistry felt very rushed and, at times quite shallow. It was clear that Aiden truly adored Piper, but I wasn't getting any vibes from her, and the book was in her perspective. There were a couple of sex scenes, but they were only slightly explicit and, again, felt rushed and somewhat shallow. Like the characters were having sex just to have sex, not because there was a connection waiting for them at the end of the day. Tyler was an amazing character. However, he was not interested in women and had more chemistry with Piper than Aiden did.

I think that the story and the characters have so much potential, and I would love to see this book written with a slower pace and a dual point of view. I really would have loved to see some flirty banter, some back and forth between the characters. I would also have loved to see less on again/ off again in their relationship. That being said, I did stay interested in the story and always wanted to know what was going to happen next. I think that with a few tweaks, this book has the potential to be the next Hating Game.

3 stars.

2.5 Stars

While this book began as a compulsively readable story, unfortunately it lost me a bit by the end.

I began the read absolutely loving the magnetism between Aiden and Piper. I don't think they were ever enemies, but their rivalry tension was amazing. They had great banter, Piper was confident and badass, and the side characters were wholesome and funny.

Whilst the bet was reckless, it set the stakes amazingly well, especially when paired with the tension of the first viewing and offer process, as well as Piper's financial situation.

I was really impressed with how readable and exciting the story was, until the couple started making strides towards actually being together.

At this point, Piper seemed to lose her fire and the couple's banter disappeared. She started jumping to incredibly dramatic conclusions, second guessing everyone, and fast-forwarding immediately to marriage and kids every time a guy showed interest in her. Her anxiety began to overshadow her relationship with Aiden, to the point where I genuinely thought she needed to work on herself way more before entering into a relationship.

The brief relationship with Bowen and Piper's thyroid cancer did feel like plot devices that could have been removed from the story with little to no effect on the outcome, purely because I don't think either was given enough page time to truly be delved into properly. I loved the representation of Piper's cancer journey and the opportunity to talk about healing, recovery, trauma and self-confidence, but it just wasn't given enough time on the page.

I liked Aiden as a character, but I think the story would have benefitted from some time in his POV so that I could truly understand him. He felt overshadowed by everything Piper was dealing with, but what I saw of his personality and history was really interesting!

Finally, the ending just felt convenient. It was wrapped up very quickly.

This is all really unfortunate because the first half really did show so much promise! I really wanted to like this book, but I think I just found it frustrating by the end.

This was a cute book. Not my favorite book I’ve read this year, but not bad. It was a quick read. It seemed a little choppy to me, but overall it was okay.