The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely

Get ready for your next favorite romantic comedy, The Real Deal, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely!

April Hamilton wants you to know she hasn’t been on Craigslist since that time she sold her futon after college. She doesn’t even spend that much time online. And even if she did, she would not be looking up personal ads. But going home alone for her family's summer reunion is an invitation for every single relative to butt into her personal life. She simply can’t handle another blind date with the butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker from her hometown. So when she finds the Craigslist ad for a boyfriend-for-hire, she’s ready to pay to play.

Heading Home and Need a Buffer? I’m the REAL DEAL.

Theo Banks has been running from the past for years. He’s this close to finally settling all his debts, and one more job as a boyfriend-for-hire will do the trick. He’s no gigolo. Please. He’s something of an actor, and he knows how to slip into any role, including pretending to be April’s new beau – the bad boy with the heart of gold.

Even if it means sleeping in close quarters in that tiny little bed in her parents’ inn. Even if it means spinning tales of a romance that starts to feel all too true. What neither one of them counts on is that amid the egg toss, the arm wrestling, and a fierce game of Lawn Twister that has them tangled up together, they might be feeling the real deal.

She only wanted to show her family once and for all that she had no need to settle down.

He didn’t expect to have the time of his life at her parent’s home.

They didn’t plan on loving every single second of the game.

But can a masterful game of pretend result in true love?

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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars

The characters in this book are well written and the story is very plausible. Most people at one time or another wish that they could rent a boyfriend or girlfriend for a while. Anything to get the family off their back.

No one wants to dread going home for a visit, a family reunion, or wedding, but there are those that do. The endless questions about dating status, potential partners, and the inevitable fix-ups are enough to send April towards a mental breakdown. Then the guy that was going to pretend to be her man for the long weekend gets a gig that he can't get out of and sends Theo her way.

Theo is a man who's had to do most anything to survive after the death of his parents. His latest money-making endeavor is playing the boyfriend-for-hire. No sex, strictly platonic, for just about anything a woman needs. Meeting April throws him for a loop. He doesn't understand her need for a pretend boyfriend but agrees to be the best around – good enough to fool her family.

April likes Theo and when sparks start flying, she wishes that the fake relationship was real. Theo likes April, she's the real deal. He finds that he can talk to her and tell her about things from his past. Most importantly, she doesn't turn away from him but offers compassion for the child that he was.

I did enjoy this book, but at times the texting between the parties took me out of the story.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
I have read a number of Lauren Blakely novels, and enjoy her style and most definitely her sense of humour. Here we have a wonderfully romantic and fabulously fun story of love and adventure.

I really, really enjoyed the crazy five days in the Hamilton B&B, from the maddest games, to the deflowering of April's childhood tree house! Every page is full of the love that exudes from her family and friends and gives Theo quite an insight into just who he has contracted his boyfriend services to this time. And along with the family time, we see two people who unexpectedly find themselves fighting an attraction that was (in our eyes at least) utterly inevitable. Theo trying to make April's dad understand about her career was my favourite non-couple moment. The romance wove through their 'remember when' stories so enchantingly

Throw in an old debt, a dodgy background, and a brother changing the playing fields, and we are treated to a really enjoyable story. Really, just get a copy and enjoy it too!

A #1 New York Times Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s hot, sweet and sexy. She lives in California with her family and has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs. With many New York Times bestsellers, her titles (like Big Rock and Mister O) have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller lists more than eighty times, and she’s sold more than 2 million books. She enjoys comedies, cake and good company.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely to read and review.