Sometimes you need to find a boyfriend-for-hire in the most unusual of places…
What do you get when you mix a bad boy with a heart of gold and a smart & sassy heroine with a desperate need for a fake relationship? THE REAL DEAL, a brand new, standalone romantic comedy from #1 New York Times bestseller Lauren Blakely! Get a copy of your next favorite feel good rom-com now!
✮✮✮THE REAL DEAL is here! Grab your copy today! ✮✮✮
April Hamilton wants you to know she hasn’t been on GigsForHire since that time she sold her futon after college. She doesn’t even spend that much time online. And even if she did, she would not be looking up personal ads. But going home alone for her family’s summer reunion is an invitation for every single relative to butt into her personal life. She simply can’t handle another blind date with the butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker from her hometown. So when she finds the GigsforHire ad for a boyfriend-for-hire, she’s ready to pay to play.
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?
ORDER YOUR COPIES HERE!
✦ Amazon Kindle ✦ Amazon Paperback ✦ Books-a-Million
✦ IndieBound ✦ iBooks ✦ Kobo ✦ B&N ✦ Google Play
✦The audiobook is narrated by Zachary Webber and Erin Mallon! ✦
✦ Audio ➜ http://blkly.pub/RealDeal-Aud
Excerpt:
~THEO~I can be anyone you want.
I can transform into the boss you’re banging, your hot nerdy coworker who’s only a friend, your best friend’s brother you’ve had it bad for since he danced with you at prom way back when, the guy next door everyone adores since he mows your lawn, fixes your car, and repairs the sink. I can also pull off a fireman, a soldier, a cop, a billionaire, a rogue, an athlete, a pirate—yes, some women like to play with buried treasure—and the bad boy who will drive your family bananas.
How would you reach me if you needed me?
It’s not that hard. You just have to know what you’re looking for and plug the right terms into that trusty old search engine. You might even find me the next time you’re hawking a Cuisinart or hunting for a used exercise bike on GigsforHire. There, you’ll discover a menagerie of roles I can take on, characters I can play for you. The assignments rotate depending on the season, the needs, and what’s in demand for weddings, reunions, Christmas parties, barbecues, and any other occasion where you might need a date.
I’m not an escort, a gigolo, or a stripper. This isn’t about fluid exchange. My job is to become your arm candy, and you can pick the flavor you want. I’ve played them all.
And there’s one role that outsells all the others. By far, the most popular part has been the bad boy.Trust me when I say I wasn’t your average bod boy. I was the goddamn dictionary definition, and this ad was my golden ticket:
Heading Home and Need a Buffer? I’m Your Man
I’m a good-looking 28-year-old ex-con. But I swear the time I got nabbed, it wasn’t my fault. I was framed. I can play anywhere from 19 to 31, depending on if I shave or act like I love Ed Sheeran music. My most valuable possession is a scratched-up motorcycle one year younger than me that’s painted like a snarling leopard. I’m a bartender and work till 2 a.m. at a dive bar. If you’d like to have me as your date for a wedding, reunion, or work soiree, I can pretend you picked me up when my shift ended and I banged you in the bathroom or that we’re in a serious and committed relationship. Your choice.
ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS TODAY!
Review:
Such a fun book!
Fake relationships–especially when one of the two parties is for hire–can be a tricky medium. There’s a fine line between fun and the squicky factor. Though April and Theo move fast (four days of family fun, plus one quick meeting beforehand) their connection was immediate and it soon felt like more, even to the reader. Every time a chapter started with the day count, it took me by surprise–it had felt like so much had happened already!
(Though I still had an issue with the invitation April extends–at day three, maybe?–to a person she’s never met to join her family event. That really stretched credibility, I thought, especially given Theo’s weird qualification for their relationship when he first comes up in conversation. I see how it was needed for the plot, but it seemed more than a little out of bounds.)
I loved the family reunion/summer games competition portion of the story; it really added to the rom-com-y feel of the book and was a lot of fun to read. The “do you remember when…”s that they made up as they went along to sell their relationship–and then went out of their way to make come true–added to the fun factor, and the sigh factor as well. April’s unusual profession (body painter) was a neat touch, and the steady job Theo has by the end of the book (shout out to Ms. Blakely’s Mister O !) is beyond perfect.
All in all, this was an entertaining summer read that alternately made me smile and swoon.
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
“This book was yet another true LB masterpiece, romcom meet fake relationship meet romantic af = perfection!”
~Elsa Gomes, Bookish Aurora~
“I loved every word on every page of this story. I can’t stop thinking about it and smiling like a dork. If you were to say #JustBecause or #DoYouRemember? I might just melt into a puddle on the floor, because I do remember…sigh. I want more Lauren Blakely, I’m addicted. The line forms here…”
~Rosa Sharon, iScream Books Blog~
“The Real Deal was a sweet, sexy, hilarious, and entertaining standalone romantic comedy, and I absolutely loved it!”
~Julia, The Romance Bibliophile~
About Lauren Blakely:
A #1 New York Times Bestselling author, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s hot, sweet and sexy. She lives in California with her family and has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than 100 times, and she’s sold more than 2.5 million books. In August she’ll release UNBREAK MY HEART, an emotional second chance romance. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter! laurenblakely.com/newsletter
Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Newsletter ** Goodreads
✮✮✮Reader’s Choice Giveaway!✮✮✮
Everything you need for Date Night except the date:). Find the perfect date in the Real Deal! $100 gift card to the restaurant of your choice, $50 gift card to the movie theater of your choice, and $50 gift card to the retailer of your choice. ($200 value)
https://laurenblakely.com/readers-choice-giveaway/