Lauren Blakely's books are absolutely delightful. The Real Deal is a great mix of heat, heart and humor.

Really cute summer read! Blakely never fails to make laugh or smile when reading one of romance books and this one didn't fail. Rom-com movie in written format.

I enjoyed this book, it was actually a sweet, even sappy at times love story. A lot of humor, and people being down to earth. The characters were very relatable. Even if April's family was a bit much..lol I felt she and Theo were a match from the get-go. A fun summer read is this book. I voluntarily read this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am unable to give a formal review of this book because it was a DNF for me. My star rating is only for the part I read and because Netgalley requires I put one in. Normally I don't give a star rating when I don't finish a book.

It pains me to type those letters, because I LOVE Lauren Blakely books. But for some reason this story just didn't connect with me. What I did read I found was somewhat entertaining. Being that this is a romantic comedy, I didn't find it very funny. I felt it was a little too wordy and the pace was really slow. It just couldn't keep my attention.

Just because this story didn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't be a 5 star read for others. I will continue to read Lauren's books.

Totally fun, quirky and romantic. I loved this story, unlike anything I've ever read.
Fabulous characters, the best family ever and the most entertaining dialogue. Fresh, fun and filled with love.

I received and ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. I am a huge Lauren Blakely fan and I eagerly wait to read each new story. This was fun twist on the "hire someone to be my partner-then fall in love," story. April Hamilton has a family that loves her, in fact they love her so much they will stop at nothing to set her up with a "local" boy so she will marry and move home. As much as April loves her family, her career will not allow her to move home. In order to avoid the matchmaking session she feels awaits at the next family reunion, she seeks out a "boyfriend" on Craigslist. Theo Banks is not actually an actor, but he is willing to play one in order to pay off a debt from his past. Will these two beat the odds and actually fall in love??

Great story, well developed characters even if the relationship was a bit fast-lots of romance!

I loved this book. Especially the "remember the time", Conversations. Theo is so talented, I was surprised to find out that he wasn't an actor.

Geez I'm definitely not having the best of luck with books this pay week! Lauren is one of my favorite authors! This book to me was just very drawn out and kinda boring?! I mean at 50% it's still like the same thing going on which is absolutely nothing?! I mean what the heck?! And this book is like $8?! That's crazy! Hopefully some people might like it I just found it very boring?! I'm upset about that too! I really like her books! Ugh well thank you NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!

The Real Deal is my very first book by Lauren Blakely. She’s the author that I have bunches of her books on my tbr list, but I just never get to them. So when the opportunity came up to read this one, I grabbed it, and I’m so glad I did!

April Hamilton lives in New York and has built a successful career as a body painter. She’s an artist that prefers her canvas to be human. She loves what she does. What she hasn’t been as successful at is dating. Her previous boyfriend, the one she thought she might be falling in love with, said he was divorced. But he lied. Now April is on a man diet, concentrating on her career. She actually has a big job she hopes to get, one that could really do things for her reputation.

Every year the entire Hamilton clan descends to April’s family home in Wistful, Connecticut for a huge family reunion. This isn’t the traditional family reunion, though. This includes a week long competition with her father’s partner’s family in all sorts of games. April’s family loves her. She’s the youngest. Ever since she spilled the truth about her ex-boyfriend, they have been trying to fix her up with eligible men in Wistful in hopes of getting her to move home. They don’t understand her career choice and think their daughter would be happier at home. Rather than continue to fight them on the blind dates, April has decided to hire a boyfriend for hire from Craigslist. Actually, her close friend recommended him but she saw his ad and it was hilarious.

Theo Banks works as a bartender. Theo has a past, one he’s not particularly proud of. But he’s legit now, everything is on the straight and narrow, including trying to pay off an old debt of his brother’s. He’s so close to having enough. That’s why he came up with the boyfriend for hire gig. Theo has a talent for being a sort of a chameleon. He can talk in any accent, he can be suave and business like, he can be a bad boy, he can be loving, he can be rude. He can be anything his client’s need. But the gigs are strictly platonic. Hand holding, kiss on the cheek, an arm over the shoulders is as far as it goes.

When Theo and April meet, the sparks immediately fly. These two have instant chemistry. But it’s more than that. They have the same dry sense of humor. They seem like they never stop talking. Things just click. On the train ride to Wistful, they use the time to get to know each other, to construct their back story.

“Keeping it platonic has never been an issue since I’ve never been attracted to a customer. Until now. Looks like I’ll be getting familiar with how to resist temptation.”

Theo isn’t prepared for April’s overbearing family. But somehow, he just slides right in and wins them over. He actually enjoys being a part of them. He is even more surprised when he discovers the reunion is actually a competition. He can do this, he loves a good contest. He and April slide right into their roles as a couple. It doesn’t take long, though, for the line between real and make believe to become blurred. For real feelings to begin to form. Can they cross that line, enjoy their time in Wistful, then walk away when it’s time to go home? Or do they even want to walk away from what is growing between them?

“There’s a part of me that’s starting to think bits and pieces of us seem real. And the real thing is far too dangerous. Maybe this started as a ruse, but it’s turning into something else.”

This story was just adorable. Theo and April were perfect. They fell hard and fast. But Theo has to deal with his past. April has never wanted for anything and he feels like she deserves so much more than him. How will she react when she finds out all the details? Will she walk away like his last girlfriend did? I loved the way these two bantered back and forth, the way they invented their history as a couple. I think I smiled most of the way through this book. And it had a perfect epilogue.

I’ve waited so long to finally read one of Lauren Blakely’s books and now I’m kicking myself. This book had every one of the things that make reading for me so enjoyable. I hope it does the same for you.