When It’s Real by Erin Watt

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Title: When It's Real
Author: Erin Watt
Published by: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: May 30th 2017
Format: Kindle Book
Pages: 416
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2018 AtoZ Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 Beat the Backlist Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 Reading Assignment Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound
My rating:

Blurb:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author duo Erin Watt comes the addictive contemporary tale of a teen rock star in need of an image makeover and the teen girl hired to be his fake girlfriend.

Meet Oakley Ford-teen celebrity, renowned pop star, child of famous movie stars, hottie with millions of fangirls… and restless troublemaker. On the surface he has it all, but with his home life disintegrating, his music well suddenly running dry, and the tabloids having a field day over his outrageous exploits, Oakley's team decides it's time for an intervention. The result: an image overhaul, complete with a fake girlfriend meant to show the world he's settled down.

Enter seventeen-year-old Vaughn Bennett-devoted sister, part-time waitress, the definition of "normal." Under ordinary circumstances she'd never have taken this gig, but with her family strapped for cash, she doesn't have much of a choice. And for the money Oakley's team is paying her, she figures she can put up with outlandish Hollywood parties and a team of publicists watching her every move. So what if she thinks Oakley's a shallow, self-centered jerk? It's not like they're going to fall for each other in real life…right?

My Review:

5 stars — OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!  I have a weakness for celebrity romances, which seems fitting given our blog name.  And this one was done up just perfectly for my tastes!!  It hit all the buttons that I love, and I ended it hugely satisfied!  Well, if I’m being frank, I was bummed when it was all over, I really just wanted more and more and more…like a whole novella’s worth of epilogue would be great.  I’ll wait.

ANYWAYS.  I will admit that I was worried at the beginning that I wouldn’t fall in love with Oakley, b/c he really was an entitled spoiled brat douche.  And yet, I did fall in love!  Watching the way his character grew was freaking AMAZING!!  I totally believed in his growth, it went at a fairly realistic pace and I appreciated why he was such a dick to begin with.  I felt sorry for the struggles that he faced, and watching him become the man he was always supposed to be was ridiculously satisfying.  So all those moments where I wanted to smack him became worth it in the end.  I love watching a fictional celebrity being taken down a peg, and having that be the best thing for them.

And Vaughn was her own set of conundrums!!  There were so many things I LOVED about her, she was the perfect foil for Vaughn!  I loved how she didn’t fall under his celebrity spell, and how she stood up for herself a lot of the time.  I loved how much she cared for the people she loved, and how she took care of them.  And it wasn’t just that she showed that kindness and care to the people she was close to, she showed kindness and empathy for EVERYONE, or at least as much as was reasonable.  She brought changes in Oakley just by being herself.  But she had her own growing to do.  Her relationship with her boyfriend, which I totally didn’t see coming (not hinted at in the blurb, and made me leery of cheating and triangles, but it wasn’t too bad), was extremely dysfunctional.  Which, honestly, made me annoyed with her.  But like with Oakley, I was sort of able to understand how the situation came to be, and it made her feel more realistic.  She wasn’t perfect.  She’d kind of trapped herself with fear.  And so we got to see her growth too.

And OMG, once Oakley and Vaughn started to connect, SWOON!!!!  Seriously, they had a bit of a rough ride, but those tummy butterfly moments were EVERYWHERE and I LOVED them!!  The chemistry was fantastic, and it was both steamy and sweet.  I loved that I actually got to see them develop a relationship based on more than lust…  I LOVED the way they interacted, and how they were with each other.  How they brought out the best in each other, even as they struggled as individuals.

And the secondary characters!!!  Lots of fantastic ones, from Ty and Paisley to the twins to Oak’s Mom to King, to even the glimpses of Vaughn’s friends!  They all added their own flavour to the story, and made it that much more.  But Ty was my favourite.  😉

I actually fully believe that the life of a celebrity can be just awful, and this book showcased the truly horrible downsides.  Having so many people take advantage of you, not knowing who are your real friends, having perfect strangers feel they are entitled to pictures with you, talking to you, etc.  I can’t imagine what it’s like for those that honestly just want to perform, but have to accept the rest of celebrity in order to do it.

OK, I’mma stop gushing now.  I’m just so happy, it was just a perfect Lenore book and I LOVE that.  I know this is a book I’ll end up rereading in the future, it just has that quality.  *happy sigh*