This one didn’t work for me. I found myself not caring about Delilah or her long list of issues. Just something felt off I guess about the whole story, not a good read. Maybe just not to my own taste.

★ ★ ★ ★ //5

The Reel Deal
by: Mia Summers

THOUGHTS:

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Do you love a book that:

-RomCom
-Small Town Romance
-Friends To Lovers Vibe
-Hollywood
-Dual POV
-Forced Proximity

This will be for you and it has even more within!

I loved this book so much. I am a sucker for a good small town romance and then you add in all the incredible tropes included in this book and I am just a mess for it. I loved the two MC’s in this book and watching their relationship evolve and grow through the entire book. The characters were very well developed and the setting couldn’t be more fun. Who doesn’t love a fake dating scenario turned lovers read?! This was my first book by the author and I cannot wait to read more by them! Would absolutely recommend this book to my book friends—it was adorable.

It's a cute quick read kinda book. Try to ignore the power-imbalance between the two characters and just enjoy the cute.

Thank you netgalley for giving me a ARC of this book!

This was a 3 star read for me. It drew me in right away with the vivid description of the scenery and a hilarious first meeting!

To be honest, the fake girlfriend trope is not my favorite, but I liked Delilah and Jake and I really appreciated how much Jake supported Delilah's dreams.

After being drawn in at the beginning, I will say the middle felt a bit slow during with so much focus on her painting, but overall, it's a cute and easy read with a happy ending!

Tropes:
Fake dating
Dual POV
He falls first

Artist Delilah takes a temporary job as housekeeper for Hollywood actor Jake Leonard. To shake off his ex, he asks her to pose as his girlfriend. Though initially reluctant, an offer from Jake convinces Delilah to go along with the charade. But as real feelings grow between them, she wonders if their fake connection could turn real.

Jake and Delilah are cute together. The first chapter starts out slowly, but the pace picks up after that. If you like quiet, feel-good rom coms, this book is for you.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The Reel Deal is the third book in the Big Star, Small Town series, but it can be read as a standalone. This book is an easy breezy dual POV sweet romcom about actor Jake Leonard and artist Delilah Hastings.

While there were parts of this book (mostly towards the beginning) that felt unnecessary and irritating (complaining about money…again and blue humor that I kept forcing myself to forget), I still enjoyed the story.

Dual POV
Sweet romcom
Forced proximity
Hollywood heartthrob
Friends to lovers
Small town

This was a good book.
I loved the main characters; Hollywood Heartthrob actor named Jake and Delilah. Agnus Delilah's grandma was such an amazing person added to this book also. You just end up loving her and see how much she loves her granddaughter.
Did not realize that it was a part of a series and that's ok because it was a great stand-alone book.
Clean (closed-door) Rom-Com. It was such a cute story.

Delilah's grandma is the housekeeper for Jake. She ends up hurting her foot and needs her granddaughter to help her. At first, it was just helping he at her home but then she needed to take over her grandma's job. Then we have Jake's ex and how she will not let him go. She shows up at his house (unannounced and not invited) and Jake has to do something different to get her to leave him alone and he goes with saying that Delilah is his girlfriend. Delilah plays it off and then has sooo many questions after. They make a deal and have this "fake" relationship.
Well, we all know how these usually go and there is so much to this story that just needs to be read about. They are such a cute couple and def have the time of their lives while trying to convince everyone that they are a pair. so it's a win-win.
Plus Jake gets Delilah to paint again, this is another whole big thing in this book.
I read this book sooo fast and didn't want to put it down.

I am so glad to have the opportunity to read this book, thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. The above is my review/opinion, it is honest and voluntary.

Delilah's granny has broken her foot and needs someone to take over her job as housekeeper for Hollywood actor Jake Leonard. Of course Delilah comes to the rescue. When Jake needs her to pretend to be his new girlfriend she consents to spending the next two werks with him in his house. Of course feelings develop...
This is a sweet romance with relatable characters and a plot that is (mostly) believable. I couldn't really comprehend how they fell in love so quickly without ever even kissing but it was a sweet story anyway.

Reel Deal is what I expect from a Romance story---lighthearted with multiple tropes (close proximity, one bed, fake relationship, unequal social status) and a largely predictable, uncomplicated plot. I read romance because I know what's coming, and this didn't disappoint.

It's an easy love story that utilizes dual POV from MCs movie-star Jake and law-student-turned-artist-turned-waitress Lucy. The two spend quite a bit of time together and eventually can't hide that they want to spend all their time together. Meet-cute to its core.

Overall: 4 stars

I'll tell my students about: alcohol, language

**Thank you to NetGalley and Sterling & Stone for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

The Reel Deal is a pretty good book. I loved the blurb and there were some parts that were really good, but for the most part, this is a solid 3.5 star book. Both Deliliah and Jake are enjoyable characters, the book just really felt forced. I would have probably skipped large portions of it if I hadn't been provided an advanced copy by NetGalley. I am rounding this review up to a 4, but it is really just a 3.5.

It's the strangest thing: Evidently simple proximity is enough to form an intense, lifelong, soul-deep connection. That must be it because I certainly wasn't shown anything in the dialogue or scenarios that could cause these very strong if seemingly spontaneous feelings. Nah, the only love story I'm buying here is between the author and her overworked thesaurus.

This is a really sweet read with rising stakes and charming characters. You will be sold from the first chapter on Delilah, the FMC of the story and her grandmother, who she has to thank for getting her with Jake, in a rather roundabout way.

This is my dream story, average girl meets handsome famous actor, has to pretend to be his girlfriend while living in his house. What could go wrong? Well, pretty much nothing goes wrong in this story. It is a sweet happy story and there isn’t much conflict. It’s a fast pleasant read for when you just want something feel good to read.
The scenery was set so beautifully it made me long to be in the Oregon mountains among the fir and pine forests. When Delilah and Jake meet, they are both kinda awkward/clumsy, bumping heads a few times and are both really nervous. It’s a fun idea that a well known actor who is used to being seen by everyone could come across someone who makes him nervous. There were parts of the story, though, that I thought were a little too unbelievable and just an easy way out of what could have been a nice plot twist/conflict. But overall I enjoyed the book and completed it in a day.

Could Delilah fake dating Jake?

Delilah Hastings knew she would do anything to help her grandmother after finding out that she had broken her foot in Elk Ridge. Working for actor Jake Leonard as his substitute housekeeper wasn’t was she expected because her grandmother had a thick binder with everything that Jake liked for her to follow especially with his ex-girlfriend showing up all of the problems she could cause him.

I enjoyed reading The Reel Deal because Delilah fake dating Jake with all of the rules in the binder that her grandmother wrote.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Reel Deal by Mia Summers was a cute, easy to read, lighthearted rom-com.
This book was a fun, quick read and was totally unputdownable.
A small town rom-com with a great slow burn setting.
I adored the characters. They were great together and they both had such a great personality.
This is the third book in the Big Star, Small Town series, but the books can be read in any order.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Sterling & Stone for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

This book started out really strong. A fake relationship with a hot celebrity in order to help an awesome grandmother-what’s not to love? It seemed like fun and fluffy brain candy until Delilah, the main character, made a big decision that felt really opportunistic and not something I was comfortable with. The hero had no problem with it but I really did and I just couldn’t stop picking things apart from there. There was no saving Delilah as a character for me and Jake was too much of a blank canvas to carry the story. Sadly I will look for my escapism elsewhere..

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
.

Dual POV, mostly past tense writing. A perfect palate cleanser.

Delilah's grandmother is a housekeeper and injures her foot, so Delilah temporarily takes on her grandmother's client. Only, that client is famous Hollywood actor Jake.

Jake has been on-again-off-again with his girlfriend Zoe, who doesn't want to accept their latest breakup. This ex comes racing up Jake's driveway just as Delilah is leaving. Assumptions are made, fake dating ensues, forced proximity appears.

This was a sweet rom-com with a classic/fun premise.

Thank you to the publisher/NetGalley for my digital copy!

This was a cute, quick read.
Read this if you’re in the mood for….
-celebrity
-forced proximity
-sweet love story
-small town

Stop because I was hooked on this from the synopsis. I adored this. It has all the Hollywood glitz and glam with so much heart and realness. Jake was just a swoon-worthy MMC

I could not get enough of this book! I loved pretty much everything about it except Zoe. But she even comes around at the end. Delilah and Jake meet because Delilah is helping her grandmother take care of Jake’s house. When they first meet, his ex comes along. That’s when we first meet Zoe. Jake quickly makes Zoe think that Delilah is his girlfriend. Of course Anges (grandma) is delighted for his. Convincing Delilah to move in and help Jake.
Jake and Delilah get along get right from the start. They have a great chemistry. You can feel it instantly.
Jake is so tender hearted and wants do do everything he can to help Delilah. He isn’t your typical Hollywood heartthrob.
You will love this story. It goes quickly because it is just so good!!