This ARC was provided to me to by Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin. All thoughts are my own!

3.5ish stars. This was pretty enjoyable read and I can't pass a fake relationship romance trope! I liked April and Theo's chemistry and well as their interactions with April's family. If you're in the mood for a fun, light romance I would check this one out! Come out on July 10th!

The Real Deal is pure Lauren Blakely, filled with hot guys, sexy times, secrets and lots and lots of humor. I loved the games and stories April and Theo created as part of their “pretend” relationship. Of course what’s supposed to be pretend might just be the real thing which could ruin the entire business-like agreement between these two. After tragedy struck Theo and his brother Heath, they learned how to survive and make a future for themselves, whether legally or not so much. Theo had a variety of talents that were amazing. April was also a creative soul preferring to paint bodies rather than canvases. I also found April’s competitive family to be quite Norman Rockwell and loved the way her dad treated Theo, over-working him and making him know that April was his baby. I loved, loved, loved the way Theo re-enacted scenes from their pretend games, proving to April how much she affected him with words, imagery, and chemistry.

Ms. Blakely wrote a wonderfully funny love story that drew me into her book and the lives of her characters, making me forget the world around me. I had trouble putting this book down, turning page after page, not letting go until I turned the last page, still wanting more. I highly recommend this book to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely

I am voluntarily reviewing this ARC.

The Real Deal is a delightful, fun, ray of sunshine kind of read. April is dreading her annual family reunion as all of her well meaning relatives make it a habit to set her up with men that live close to her childhood home. April loves her career, her home and her friends in the city, but doesn’t want to hurt her families feelings. What’s a girl to do? She hire’s a boyfriend.  He’s completely platonic but anything she wants him to be. Theo is an ex con, with a complicated past that just wants to earn enough money to pay his debts. He sees April and is struck, but he has never been anything but platonic with all of his clients. Can they stay professional when all they want to do is be together? 
You’ll have to read the book to find out. It was so great!! 5 out of 5 stars!!

Theo's a boyfriend for hire. Whatever you need/want he'll deliver. April's tired of her family trying to set her up. Her solution... ordering the Bad Boy special. Together they'll make the perfect fabricated match.

The Real Deal is a lighthearted romance that'll keep you entertained with refreshing characters, main and secondary. I adored the hell out of Theo and April, as well as her family. They're what pushed me through when I struggled a bit with the first quarter or so. I needed more of them and their charade. I needed to know if they would fall head over heels and give me that perfect HEA I'm always seeking. 

Theo and April were wicked cute, witty, flirtatious, and the best part, low angst/maintenance. They were an all-around engaging and charismatic "couple." Add all of that to their sexual tension. The build up to the big moment. The little touches, fiery as f*&% kisses, and tantalizing innuendos. Hot damn—they were off the hook. There was definitely no acting when it came to Theo and April's connection and chemistry. 

My favorite part of their journey, though, was their #justbecause and #doyourremember moments. 
I loved how their "stories/fantasies" felt so authentic, as though they'd been a duo for ages, and not for mere days, as a fictitious couple. I'm definitely not an insta chick, but Blakely made me forget the timeline; unless one of the characters mentioned what day they were on I never thought about it. These two just clicked on so many levels. Which made them click for me. They held me hook, line and sinker. 

I don't think I've ever said this but Theo and April had me joining the insta bandwagon!! 

If you are looking for fluffy unicorns and rainbows, I would definitely recommend this one.

Love anything Lauren Blakely writes. A very quick and fun read. April’s family made me think of my own crazy family.

Sometimes I wonder why we are still reading boyfriend for hire novels but then one like this comes along and I remember that there's something sweet about watching the relationship change and grow. April hired Theo because she's tired of her family pestering her during their annual reunion.  There's more to Theo than she knows; he's trying to go straight after being a grifter since he was a teen.  These are two good characters and the story has a warm heart.  Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.  It's the little details, as always, in a book like this that set it apart.

Do you remember when you read The Real Deal and fell in love with Theo and April. Remember how they were so perfect together and how they played out little scenes about remembering things they had done together…things they had never done together but that fed the little lie they were telling her family? It was freaking awesome!

I absolutely loved Theo and April. Their chemistry was instantaneous and despite the deal they had going neither of them could keep things platonic for long. This was a low angst read with plenty of mature humor that had me smiling the whole time. 

April hired Theo to act as her boyfriend during a family reunion that is chock full of competitions. The games aren’t the problem, the problem is her family is determined to set her up with one of the locals so she’ll stay in Wistful where they all live. Finding Theo was the perfect solution even if their “remember whens” and their pretend relationship did start to feel very real.

This was a very upbeat read with some incredible secondary characters and plenty of laugh out loud moments. The steam is sizzling although this couple don’t get down and dirty until 80% into the story. That doesn’t mean there isn’t teasing and tension…lots and lots of tension. 

So, remember when I gave this five stars because it was exactly what I wanted, when I wanted it and it left me with the best feel good feeling one can expect from a book? Yeah, I remember that too.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and St. Marin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely is the real deal. April and Theo have real chemistry. . I love how April is a strong independent woman and not a pushover. Theo is a genuinely nice guy and not a man-whore. This is a great story that I read in one sitting. I could not put this down. Very funny and highly entertaining! Highly recommend! 5 Stars! 
Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC!

4.5 Stars! When I get a Lauren Blakely book in my hands I know I’m in for a real treat! This one does not disappoint! I completely fell in love with this unique storyline as well as Theo and April. Hooked from the get go and snuck in reading time while on vacation,  because it is that good. Their banter, chemistry is fantastic! You’ll swoon, and root for them. I highly recommend this book.

What a fantastic story.  Although they have just met, Theo and April are determined pull off the scam of a lifetime.  It’s hard to say more without spoiling the book, so I won’t go into details about April and Theo.  This book has humor, romance, family and friendships, train travel and a bit of mystery.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

Sweet and amusing, The Real Deal is the story of a girl going to her family reunion and the man she hires to be her boyfriend.  What could possibly go wrong?  This is the first book I've read by Lauren Blakely and I enjoyed it a lot.  Theo has so many secrets, but mostly because he's guarding his heart.  Similarly, April also has trust issues and doesn't let men close.  

I am so in love with her family.  They are crazy and kooky, nosy, and close.  It would be so cool to have a family who regularly get together for competitions and such.  Theo doesn't have that, but he does have a brother he would do anything for.

And oh these two, with the witty banter!  Theo and April like making up stories, that's my favorite part of the book.  They are sexy, romantic, and funny.  This was a good love story with a great happy ending.

As much as a few Blakely reads have given me joy (real talk : more lols than joy), I've also been plagued with a lot of 'yeah it was cute but whatevers' from her, too. Sometimes that's all you want, though, so I was happy enough with that when I needed it, even as I was shifting away from her books instead of clamouring for any new releases. But I risked a chance and gave THE REAL DEAL a shot because of the switch from smutty contemporary to something more women's fic'y. And honestly I think I liked this even less than the smutty ones.

Despite having a fake boyfriend trope, which is pretty much catnip for the Romancelandia crowd (this chick included), this book was just.. weird. The author is definitely channeling a more mature voice, no witty fourth wall breakage or snarky insight, but it also felt kind of awkward. True it's an ARC so some of the stumbling sentences and weird transitions could be corrected prior to the final but I have a feeling it's just how it was written. Combined with a relationship that moves faster than the speed of light, especially one hampered by the fake trope and compounded by even more lies -- which make it even less likely; some really bizarre choices on the heroine's behalf (I mean, really, you invited your fake boyfriend to your family reunion and three days in you invite his brother? you don't even <b>know</b> these people!) and some overthetop angsty and hard knock life backstory on the hero's side.. it's just a lot and I wasn't buying what this was selling. Not at all.

"<i>Do you remember that time we met and fell in love in just four days?</i>"
"<b>It seemed crazy that we could fall in love so fast.</b>"

(camera pans, Office-style, to me. "it did seem crazy, yes it did.")

Honestly the only highlight was the heroine's profession (she was sorta a special effects make-up artist) and the idea of this crazy competitive family reunion full of games. But even the down-home, small town life of Wistful (yeah..) was made to be kinda irritating because of the way <s>I forgot her name already</s> April's family kept trying to sell it to her, to match her up with eligible townies, in order to make her move back home. Oh, and that reminds me, ontop of refusing to stop matchmaking, to the point that a grown woman fakes a relationship to get her entire family to back off, you're telling me after how many years of April explaining her job, it takes a <b>man</b> to finally ram it home to her parents? Talk about man'splaining, my god. 

Yeah, obviously this wasn't a winner for me. But I'm the odd duck out on this one so far. And for all the joy (see aforementioned comment RE joy = laughs) that I've had from Blakely with a few memorable reads over the last few years, I think I'm going to have to move on from this author. The meh does not outweigh the good and while we've had some good times.. there just haven't been enough to keep on reading.

1.5 stars

This was cute and fun and I did enjoy the characters, but the relationship happened a little too quickly for me and the dialogue felt a little unrealistic. There was something that held me back from getting fully immersed into the story. It was probably my own fault, I don't think I was in quite the right mood for this at the time I read it because fake dating is one of my favorite tropes. Maybe I'll try it again sometime soon and feel differently. I definitely still recommend you check it out because I'm in the minority so far with my mixed feelings and it was pretty fun!

The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely is exactly that....the real deal. This romantic comedy was spot on, and I loved every minute of it.

Both April and Theo were such strong, well-developed characters, and the banter and back-and-forth between the two was the BEST. I thoroughly enjoyed the scenarios and fantasies they invented for their fake relationship, and they played off each other seamlessly.

Theo and April shared an instant connection upon meeting, but due to their particular situation (a supposed fake, platonic relationship), their physical chemistry was a slow burn. The anticipation and build up was so worth it! Hot, hot, HOT.

Side note: I would like to have a family reunion like the one April's family hosts.

Also, it looks like I need to move Lauren Blakely's books up on my TBR.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

4.25⭐
The Real Deal was a light-hearted, charming, and very absorbing story.  That drew me in from the start and never let go. As it was sweet, full of sparks and banter. And I loved the romance that developed between Theo and April. As it was so quirky and fun. As were the secondary characters. And for me it really was a great summer read. That I would happily recommend to others.

A stand-alone romantic comedy from one of my favourite authors and this book did not disappoint.
April Hamilton lives in New York doing what she loves body painting but her family back home in Wistful can’t understand why she needs to live in New York and why she has chosen painting humans as a living so as the family get together looms April knows she’s needs to take a boyfriend home with her to stop the family matchmaking, a fake boyfriend need to be invented and after her best friend let’s her down she turns to Boyfriend for Hire and meets Theo a bad boy turned good. Theo works as a bar tender and for extra money he becomes a man for hire he can be a boyfriend he can be a lover in fact he can be anything you need him to be......
This book has the perfect mix of love, passion and humour, it has a couple that are perfect for each other even if they don’t know it. Loved the characters and the storyline, if you love Romantic Comedy you will want to read The Real Deal, looking forward to more from the very talented Lauren Blakey

This is a truly amazing book. Simply perfect, start to finish.  

Theo and April don't just have sizzling hot chemistry, they're so in tune with each other they're practically reading each other's minds.  Their conversations where they sketch out their fake backstory are absolutely priceless!  

I just loved April's family and how they interacted with Theo, and his relationship with his brother and sister-in-law was so real, so heartwarming.  The author teases out Theo's real history bit by bit, allowing us to get to know him on a deeper level as he shares more of himself with April.  

The writing is top-notch in this book, with more laugh-out-loud moments than I could count coupled with deeply heartfelt emotional development that brings all the characters to life.  I couldn't love this book more.   I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

This is such wonderfully sweet, funny, touching and sexy story. April and Theo just make me so happy. They are both such awesome people and complex characters and absolutely perfect for each other!!April does not have any desire for a man in her life right now.  Theo doesn’t do relationships. What he does do is hire himself out as a fake boyfriend to make some cash to pay a debt off for his brother. April hires him to go to her parents for their family reunion so no one tries to set her up. They get along great and have spectacular chemistry and have so much fun making up stories about their fake relationship. This should be easy, right? They can fool everyone, right? But can they fool their own hearts? 
This  storyline is amazing and different as are all of the secondary characters in the book! I enjoyed this book so much I am still smiling!!!

The Real Deal was a lighthearted,sweet and refreshing story!The romance was beautiful and both characters were likeable.Theo make me swoon and melt over him.April is such a cute and smart heroine.

It was fast paced and I enjoyed the story a lot.The plot was so good and the characters were well developed.April and Theo were a perfect couple, they fit so good together.I couldn't imagine them with someone else.I had a smile in my face with these two, they were flirty and funny.

If you are looking for a heartwarming,funny and romantic story this is perfect!

The Real Deal was a lighthearted,sweet and refreshing story!The romance was beautiful and both characters were likeable.Theo make me swoon and melt over him.April is such a cute and smart heroine.

It was fast paced and I enjoyed the story a lot.The plot was so good and the characters were well developed.April and Theo were a perfect couple, they fit so good together.I couldn't imagine them with someone else.I had a smile in my face with these two, they were flirty and funny.

If you are looking for a heartwarming,funny and romantic story this is perfect!