The Real Deal

A Novel

By: Lauren Blakely

Narrated by: Erin Mallon, Zachary Webber

Get ready for your next favorite romantic comedy audiobook from Lauren Blakely, The Real Deal!

April Hamilton wants you to know she hasn’t been on Craigslist 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 Craigslist 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 parents' home. They didn’t plan on loving every single second of the game. But can a masterful game of pretend result in true love?

©2018 Lauren Blakely (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

🌟🌟 5 Stars 🌟🌟

Another great book by Lauren Blakely! She is always my go to author for a fun, feel good, and sexy Rom-Com. This was a really entertaining boyfriend for hire story line.

April is a real witty, fun loving character, she had me giggling many times during this audiobook! She is over the whole dating thing and needs to bring a date to her family reunion otherwise she'll have to deal with her whole family trying to set her up. He family might be a little overly invasive, they are a very stable and caring family. Theo is also a very quick witted and fun character but he has a little bit of a past and is trying to get out from under it. What better way to make money than be a boyfriend for hire! He was a little cocky & still a little vulnerable which made his character completely swoon worthy! These two together were seriously cute! I loved how they got each others clever comebacks and every quip without skipping a beat. They has chemistry before they even met in person. I loved this couple, they truly were perfect for each other. I don't know if I have ever listened to a book with two characters had my from chapter 1! I love Lauren's writing style and how she always adds some fun facts and/or hidden secrets to her stories (maybe not secrets but something you will only know if you read her other books). At the end of this book I was laughing out loud!

Perfect story, perfect characters, perfect writing style and PERFECT NARRATION!! Erin Mallon and Zachary Webber are both amazing narrators! They were cast perfectly for these characters and did an awesome job bringing them to life! No one would have been better in my opinion!

Love love love ❤️ this

Knocked it out of the park! Zachary Webber just needs to narrate everything including the phone book. Although I’m not a huge fan of Erin’s extremely drawn out words when she does her female voice, her male voice will bring any woman to her knees! This story was so freaking adorable with and even better swoon worthy ending. Definitely worth the credit or purchase.

cute story, love the males narration

The story was very cute and I really really enjoy Zachary Weber's narration but the female voice actor almost made me have to quit listening, her inflections are awful, she adds extra syllables to the end of too many words....it's annoying.

So good!

I loved this story and this author really knows how to write such interesting characters that you can't help but love. She also can write the hell out of a non-sex sex scene. Holy steamy! What makes this story even better are the talented narrators. I wish they could read every book I buy on audio.

Let’s be real

This book is everything I love about the genre, with a dream team of narrators as the cherry on top. Fantastic story and fantastic job to Erin and Zachary as April and Theo.