4.5 stars

Alexis Hall writes flawed characters do well. These characters are complicated and sometimes unlikeable. They’re not perfect; sometimes they’re mean and irrational but they are always so human and so relatable. Hall handles these characters and their situations with so much care and you can’t help but root for them and want the best for them.
Toby and Laurie are both dealing with a lot in their lives. Laurie is struggling to get over an ex and learning to trust and let people into his life. Toby is young and still trying to figure out who he is. When they first meet they have an instant connection and can’t seem to stay away from each other despite their many obstacles.

I loved watching the journey these characters went on both with each other and individually. They both grew so much and worked hard for the ending they deserved.
The author also handled a lot of sensitive topics with care and sensitivity which was really enjoyable to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the ARC!!

This is fantastic! The characters feel very real and I love the growth they brought about in each other. How much I ended up loving them together really surprised me. This is one of my favorites by Alexis Hall and one of the best in the "Spires" series. It's super spicy and made me cry a little too!

I read this originally in 2017 after hearing it repeatedly recommended. And it's still a great book on the re-read.

This is a story about two men who know who they are individually, learning how to be who they are together. Laurence is 37, an emergency doctor, and a submissive. Toby is 19, a cook at a cafe, and a dominant. Like magnets, they pull together. Laurence tries to push them apart, but the force is too strong. There's not a lot of external plot. If you've read other books in The Spires series, you'll recognize characters here and there, but this truly stands alone.

This is a BDSM erotic romance. The sex, the intimacy, moves the relationship and the characters forward. And there is a lot of it. If you're familiar with Alexis Hall for his nearly chaste Boyfriend Material, this might be a shock to the system. But it's great. It's hot, it's emotional, and it makes you wonder how it's all going to work out. But it does, and that's the magic of romance.

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

This one is by far AJH’s most kinky book and is pretty graphic, which some folks may not like, depending on what you’re comfortable with. There is a lot of graphic BDSM sex, which is not something I’m into personally, but definitely liked reading about and getting a better understanding of the dynamics of a dom/sub relationship. I also really liked that it wasn’t the typical sort of dom/sub relationship (at least based on other books I’ve read, as well as stuff I’ve read specifically about this book), in that Toby, the dom, is a short, scrawny 19yo who is still figuring himself out, and Laurie, the sub, is a bigger, 37yo with a serious professional job who seems to have himself figured out.
I usually don’t like the idea of age different relationships, but the way this one is written, it seems like it’s barely a thing. Not that it’s not mentioned and discussed a bunch throughout the book, and not that it doesn’t play any kind of role in the book, it’s just that Toby and Laurie are so compatible that for me, as the reader, it’s not really noticeable?

And lastly, I don’t know why, but the lemon meringue pie scene has become completely stuck in my head. No matter what else I read, that regularly comes to mind. I’m certainly not complaining, but I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to even look at, let alone eat, a lemon meringue pie the same way again. 🥵 #teamLMP

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC. This is my honest review.

I originally read For Real a few years ago, when I was reading the Spires series, after I had found Boyfriend Material and was hooked on Hall's writing. For Real was the first erotic romance I had read and the first that included the BDSM scene. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was immediacy pulled into the story and the characters. Laurie is a somewhat jaded physician who has been part of the BDSM scene but who is still reeling from a relationship break up years in the past. Toby is a 19 year old who is entering the scene for the first time. They meet at a club and have an immediate, electric connection. The dual POV was wonderful for getting into the character's heads and also seeing the same situations from both sides.

This book is beautifully written, with tender and evocative turns of phrase and has such a delicate and empathetic portrayal of grief and loss, as well as the aftermath of a relationship that has shattered. I loved the literary references and how the narrative slowly teased out who Laurie and Toby were in and of themselves and who they were becoming as they grew closer together.

The character arcs are intense and show such depth of feeling. The way both characters progress towards their HEA, the stumbles along the way, the progressive emotional intimacy that follows the physical intimacy, and the vulnerability both experience and the respect for that vulnerability and trust they both give each other.

It is beautifully written and paced. It turns stereotypes on their heads and subverts expectations for the scene and the genre. It's funny and poignant, and emotionally intense. The sex scenes are plenty and so important in the arc of both characters. Such a satisfying progression of a relationship and path towards a HEA.

Overview: Laurie is a 37-year old emergency trauma doctor who is struggling to get over a 12 year relationship that ended 6 years ago. When he meets 19-year old Toby one night at a sex club, Laurie immediately (and unexpectedly) feels a strong connection, but doesn’t want to take advantage of someone so young. Despite his youth, Toby knows exactly what his preferences are - and he does not shy away from pursuing his connection with Laurie.

Thoughts: This is my first Alexis Hall book! I initially struggled with reading this book, because I prefer more plot-driven stories and this felt like more of a mood/aesthetic-driven book. I also had trouble relating to the characters and all the kink. But I am SO glad that I decided to continue with the book, because of how tender and lovely the relationship between Toby and Laurie ended up being. It’s rare to read a book where the couple actually recognizes and addresses their communication issues. I especially loved how open Toby was about his feelings throughout, in spite of his own inexperience with relationships. On a side note, I actually prefer the older cover of this book over the new cover (which is so generic), but the ARC re-release version I received did have a cool section at the end with author annotations that readers will appreciate.

Take home message: “For Real” is an extremely spicy, dual POV, age gap, MM romance that features the BDSM kink, where the dom is much younger and less experienced than the sub (think spoiled prince vibes). However, it would be a huge mistake to boil this book down to these tropes. At its core, this is a thoughtful and beautifully written story about two lost souls who find unconditional love.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My second time reading this third entry in the Spires series due to the new Sourcebooks edition with author annotations, and it only gets better. The characterization of Laurie and Toby is superb, and I eagerly await getting the new print edition upon publication for the bonus story, Aftermath. Alexis Hall never disappoints.

I got to 12% of this book and I really can't read any more of this. I've seen no character development so far, only loads of smut and the age gap is making me uncomfortable (one of the MCs is 19 and the other is much, much older). I'm DNFing, I don't recommend reading if you don't like loads of smut or massive age gaps. I don't mind either of these if in moderation, but here it's basically the whole plot so nope.

I can't express enough how I loved this book, or rather, the whole Spires series. I honestly think this series is Alexis Hall's masterpiece. When I learned about the new editions, I was overjoyed and so far they did not disappoint.

Although my personal favorite is Waiting for the Flood, For Real is by far the most popular of the Spires series and for good reasons. It is a careful, thoughtful book that touches a lot of themes that resonate with raw emotions - loss, fear, trust, and above all, love. Sprinkled with a generous dose of kink and proverbial Hall's tongue-in-the-cheek approach, you get a wonderful read that will educate you, move you and make you understand things that you never thought you'll desperately need to understand. At the same time, it challenges the stereotypes so often seen in kinky romances, and presents you with a very young and very, very green dom, paired with a much older, experienced, bitter and kinda burnout sub. What unravels is pure poetry of a love fest only Hall can deliver.

And of course, this edition comes with author's annotations and bonus content, which is, as usual, superb. I especially appreciate the annotations, as they provide such a remarkable insight into the writing process and thoughts and ideas that Hall wanted to convey by his book. Explanations of specific cultural references (that are very much appreciated by a non-UK reader, such as me), elaborations on specific writer's choices, literary references (my heart of a literary scholar sings in academic), you get all that.

Personally, For Real did not dethrone Waiting for the Flood in my poor queer heart, but it definitely will remain one of my most favourite books by Hall.

Very sexy and emotional queer romance. Great to see Hall's booms getting a tradpublish deal and reach a wider audience.

This is one of my favorite books ever written, so I'm very grateful for this review copy. I love everything about this story, from the characters (especially Toby!! I love him so much) to the plot and the writing style. The two mains have such a precious love story. I always feel like there's some magic touch to the Spires series, and even more so with this book.

I would give this an infinite amount of stars if I could. Absolutely loved it.


(I was only a little disappointed that the bonus material wasn't part of the arc, but I guess I'll just have to wait until my physical copy arrives in June.)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

For Real was the first book by Alexis Hall I ever read. I didn't even know who he was at first or that he was the author of Boyfriend Material (a book I had seen in bookstores and knew was quite popular, but hadn't gotten around to reading or paying all that much attention to). At the time, I'd been searching for books with a good representation of BDSM as there are, unfortunately, many that are not. I liked it then and I like it now.

Laurie is exasperated, a bit cranky sometimes, and not your stereotypical sub. There's even a line in the beginning of the book while he's trying to get into a new club where the bouncer comments that she can't believe he's a sub. He's also a bit tired with the whole Scene.
Toby is a baby Dom in more ways than one--nineteen, new to the Scene, and inexperienced in every sense of the word. But there's something about him that is real and authentic so raw that Laurie finds himself instantly drawn to him.

There are so many things I enjoy about this book. It has realistic BDSM portrayal--someone who is new to the Scene vs someone who has been around the block for a couple decades. How Laurie sometimes downplays things a little while Toby things much too black and white (the safeword conversation toward the beginning and the "I knew subdrop was a thing" scene immediately spring to mind).

I love the way it shows Toby growing as a person and a Dom. He's so unsure of himself and everything in the beginning but as the book goes on, he becomes more and more confident. In the annotations, Hall mentions how Toby was a hard sell as a Dom, but I think that's because so many people are used to reading about characters who have been Doms for years. We all start somewhere, and I think Hall does a good job of portraying the way someone will begin to unfurl once they've fully embraced that part of themselves. I appreciate the softness of Toby and that Hall leans into that softness and even discusses Domdrop, which is never discussed as much as subdrop, even though it's just as valid.

Hall writes with his usual beautiful prose, delving deep into the lives and minds of both characters. The way he gorgeously describes Laurie's thoughts during submission and Toby's thoughts during dominating really resonated me.

I also really appreciated how it touched base on what I believe to be the nightmare of any Dom: what happens if you accidentally hurt your sub in a way you didn't mean to? How would you handle that?

This new version includes bonus material, including several author annotations which are a lot of fun to read through.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys some good kinky romance but also even if that's not generally your cup of tea (as long as you aren't fully opposed to it), I would recommend it--especially if you're an Alexis Hall fan. Because this book cover more than just kink--it's about love and loss and moving on and growing up. I think you'll enjoy it.

For context, this review is based on an ARC of the rerelease of For Real. It included the author annotations, but not the new story, Aftermath.

I'm revisiting For Real three years after I first read it. This was my first erotic romance, and while I've read more widely in that genre since, it has definitely stood the test of time. For Real is so visceral, so sad, and so fiercely loving of its main characters that it's impossible not to find it utterly compelling. It beautifully balances scorching sex scenes with an exploration of the interior lives of two very different men. The age gap between Laurie and Toby still makes me a little uncomfortable, but the latter's intellect and self-awareness, in addition to his role as the dom in their relationship, helps balance the scales a bit.

The author annotations were a mixed bag, and it was a hassle to swap back and forth between them and the text in the ebook, but I did read some of them. The thing I found most interesting was the author's admission that they chose 37 as Laurie's age because "it was the oldest I thought I could get away with in terms of both the age gap and what I/romance readers could conceive of as attractive." That's pretty illuminating. I don't feel like Laurie quite reads as 37, but more as someone somewhere between 19 and 37 perceives a 37-year-old might think and act. That said, my memories of 19 are hazy enough that I can't really judge how realistic Toby's thoughts are, so I sympathize.

Of all the books in the Spires series, so far all of which but this are narrated in single POV (not counting Fen's letters in Pansies). That alone makes this a special treat, to experience both sides of the story intertwining. I first read For Real maybe four years ago, as maybe the third Alexis Hall book I'd read during a time in my reading life when I'd written off romance as a genre in general. I was so freaking inspired by the beautiful writing, the deep themes, the heartrending delight of following each character's path to happiness, that to this day, the books in this series inform how I approach writing romance and sex in my own books. I read widely, although largely in the SFF genre, and I have many books I love, but whenever someone asks my favorite book, I still say Pansies. Now I digress. For Real is obviously the title under review here, it's subversion of kink stereotypes something I consider one of the most humanly beautiful, delicately treading, carefully crafted treatment of two humans bumbling their way into love that actually fits. Laurie is the most numb, bored, jaded, of all Spires protagonists, and the oldest, and man, does it make for a great time when he does unravel, when he finds what was lost. As someone well older than him, who values unjaded, childlike wonder as the thing that keeps me alive, Laurie's age has a lot to do with how lovely the payoff is when allowing himself love with Toby unsticks him from the preconceived ideas that smother possibility before it starts to bloom. Laurie deserves to learn that love transcends his own bullshit. Who better to do it than a nineteen-year-old who comes from the most impossibly sophisticated, lawless background of Art and Neglect possible- a prince of some kind of convergence of nature and nurture that creates a magical confluence of confidence, determination, and total lack of guile. Toby gets the special distinction of being the only love interest with a full POV and man does he run with it. Also the youngest protagonist of the series, he brings a 'you can't lock me into your stereotypes' combo of bohemian fuckall and just like, genuine emotional intelligence. The Oxford proximity that spans each book, including this one, brings a layered academic nuance and I don't know about you, but reading about smart dummies IS VERY FUN. This new edition is all-around a near-perfect romance for me for its heart, its spice, its references to poetry and homage to bits and pieces of Classical English Things. I recommend the entire series to anyone who asks me for my number one favorite contemporary romance.

For real
By: Alexis Hall

📚💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💕📚

Definitely rooting for these two!

In this kind rooting for them book we get a deep look into Laurence and Toby’s story. You could say this definitely starts as the odds are against them from the beginning book. But oh does the author do a great job moving the book in to possibilities of so much more. The question how do they prove it’s worth the risk? The authors writing is flawless and the words are so captivating, the plot had so many twists and turns and none that I was expecting, and many shockingly intimate I have become a huge fan of this author. The author writes with so much intensity and emotion pulled from each book it’s felt page after page. Some are quick witted story lines are so perfect and lets you believe you have a front row seat. So being able to read this love story didn’t disappoint. The authors ability to have two separate individuals struggling in their everyday life and try to navigate someone else’s thoughts, needs and desires was intens

Authors Blurb: Laurence Dalziel is worn down and washed up, and for him, the BDSM scene is all played out. Six years on from his last relationship, he’s pushing forty and tired of going through the motions of submission.

Then he meets Toby Finch. Nineteen years old. Fearless, fierce, and vulnerable. Everything Laurie can’t remember being.

Toby doesn’t know who he wants to be or what he wants to do. But he knows, with all the certainty of youth, that he wants Laurie. He wants him on his knees. He wants to make him hurt, he wants to make him beg, he wants to make him fall in love.

The problem is, while Laurie will surrender his body, he won’t surrender his heart. Because Toby is too young, too intense, too easy to hurt. And what they have—no matter how right it feels—can’t last. It can’t mean anything.

It can’t be real.
This book has everything I love in a book. Then you add that it's beautifully written and believable. It is easily a five star read. Written in single POV this story flows so incredibly well that the next thing you know your 80% into the book and loving every second of it. The believable way the characters interact is perfect. Run, Hop, Jump or use your (1 click) finger to do whatever you have to do and get this amazing book. It'll break your heart, you'll want to scream with frustration and it'll let you discover that love just might conquer all. The chemistry is steamy and sweet and oh so romantic.

Thanks Netgally for letting me read and review.📚💕

Turning stereotypes on their heads is something not every author can do, but Alexis Hall does it with aplomb in this breathtakingly sexy and heartfelt story. Laurie is in his late thirties, an accomplished and successful doctor, and lonely. His last relationship was everything he thought he wanted, and he still feels the loss of his dominant lover keenly. When he meets 19 year old Toby, fresh, innocent but with the right gleam in his eye at a club, he throws caution to the winds and takes him home for a night maybe not straight out of his fantasies, but good enough to make him want for more. The juxtaposition of age expected roles has them both somewhat confused and wary of where things are headed. Can they find in each other the solace, understanding and love they are both looking for?

I adored this story. Told from both Laurie and Toby's points of view you get a sometimes hilarious, often poignant and quite kinky tale of two lovers who both have difficulty with the idea that this relationship could be for real (hence the very appropriate title). Toby is lovely as an insecure youthful man, often acting his age, yet with the enthusiasm and desire to prove to Laurie and to himself that this is the kind of relationship he wants, the one where he is in charge of everything in the bedroom. He is fully aware that his youth makes people assume he's not serious about being a dominant lover, but Laurie believes in him, and that makes all the difference. Laurie is equally wonderful as this tough on the outside, broken on the inside man. He craves a submissive role and can't quite believe that Toby is giving him what he wants, albeit in his own way. Toby's youth presents a real problem for him, yet it makes the excitement of the shame and humiliation he craves at his feet all the more seductive. The sex scenes between them are hot and kinky and pull no punches. But through it all there are the underlying emotions of both of them as they strive to find the right balance and believe that they could have a future together. 5 stars for this compelling romance.

This book hooked me in from the first chapter. I loved the character development and how the story progressed.

I'm in the minority with this. While I like how descriptive the book is with the characters and the scenes, making things realistic and vivid, I just couldn't get into it. I've enjoyed Alexis Hall's other books, but I think the Spires series is just not for me.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this title. Alexis Hall is a master at finding kindness and humanity in unusual romantic situations. The characters are so well rounded and human that, as a reader, I bond with them so easily. While Hall never shies away from sexy scenes, For Real is a fascinating new (for me anyway) direction with its main characters having sub-dom sexual preferences. Laurie and Toby find one another at a time in their lives when they, first, don't expect it, and second, aren't really sure what to do with it when they find it. Their age difference might initially be the reason they see their first encounter as a fling, but when their shared passions and connection keeps bringing them back together, it seems they are more than right for each other.

I really enjoy Hall's literary references and consummate wit in his writing. In For Real, I felt comfortably welcomed into a world I personally never experienced (and had me googling a few things!) What was wonderful was the level of vulnerability and acceptance was still amazingly where all of Hall's stories take us - deep into a world and characters that are still extremely relatable and emotionally real. For a book where the romance happens between a sub and a dom, and where there are a lot of sex scenes, nothing every felt forced or manipulated, not the relationship, not the insecurities of the characters, not the social situations, not the side characters. I really enjoyed the footnotes at the end of this version also. The bigger conversation about power and toxic social expectations woven through this novel is amazing.

I will read anything Alexis Hall writes because it's always moving, hot, smart and funny.

I don't always enjoy age gap books, but this one worked well for me. Their relationship and the way it progressed was cute. I will say I don't completely buy Toby being a Dom, he didn't come off overly dominant to me. For me, I was absolutely able to look past it and just enjoy the story. Lauren was such a wonderful soul. The two of them together made my heart full.