Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 10, 2018
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?
• No OTT sad parts.
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Heroine pushing away
• Does have a brief separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Kindle
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The Real Deal was an adorable romance riddled with cuteness but utilized just a few too many clichés. Blakely used a PG version of escort-client to exclusive-couple by having Theo be a platonic fake-boyfriend-for-hire (cliché #1). And, while his jobs were platonic – he never even kissed a client on the mouth – his catalogue of boyfriend options he can play are quite suggestive. Therefore, Theo and April have quite a banter (lots of dirty talking).
I really did enjoy the relationship between Theo and April. Both were very understanding of each others’ situation – although April thought that Theo was an aspiring and struggling actor who did this job to make money while also keep his acting skills fresh. April has a very meddling family who sets her up with all the single men in her hometown in hopes of her moving there to be looked after by her family after her last boyfriend (he was married). Of course, because of the aforementioned ex-boyfriend, she’s sworn off men (cliché #2).
The clichés aside, the main characters had a great back-and-forth, but for some reason, I always felt distant from their conversations and narratives. I wasn’t fully invested in them as it seemed both were simply going out of their way to make life more complicated. Theo was being blackmailed by his brother’s ex-girlfriend for money, and April hired a fake boyfriend instead of telling her family to back off. These decisions are understandable in an abstract sense but make little sense in reality (although Theo’s rationalization is way more plausible).
I think my favourite part of The Real Deal was when April finds out about Theo’s past as a con-man and is super judgemental about it, and Theo calls her out on it! Even April’s friends tell her to get over herself; she was just so stuck in the past, projecting her ex-boyfriend’s faults and lies onto Theo. Also, she was only officially dating – as in for real dating, not fake dating – Theo for maybe a day before she discovered his past, so Theo didn’t even owe her an explanation in that sense since, again, they’d been dating for one day!
Anyways, besides all the little things, I thought the romance was really cute. I really enjoyed the supporting characters, like April’s family. Blakely also went out of her way to ensure that The Real Deal didn’t come across as too “fluffy” (even though this is a rom-com) by incorporating:
- April went through hell with her ex-boyfriend,
- the scorned ex-girlfriend of Theo’s brother was asking for money that she gave the brothers years ago,
- the strained marriage between April’s sister and her husband, and
- the hero’s side job and familiarity with poverty.
For a rom-com, The Real Deal covers an impressive amount of not lightly touched topics.
Buy The Real Deal
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