writehollydavis
Written on Mar 7, 2020
Wealth, fame and a real-life romance she never expected-seventeen-year-old Vaughn Bennett lands it all when she agrees to become a pop star's fake girlfriend in this smart, utterly addictive novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author duo Erin Watt
Under ordinary circumstances, Oakley Ford and Vaughn Bennett would never even cross paths.
There's nothing ordinary about Oakley. This bad-boy pop star's got Grammy Awards, millions of fangirls and a reputation as a restless, too-charming troublemaker. But with his home life disintegrating, his music well suddenly running dry and the tabloids having a field day over his outrageous exploits, Oakley needs to show the world he's settling down-and who better to help him than Vaughn, a part-time waitress trying to help her family get by? The very definition of ordinary.
Posing as his girlfriend, Vaughn will overhaul Oakley's image from troublemaker to serious artist. In return for enough money to put her brothers through college, she can endure outlandish Hollywood parties and carefully orchestrated Twitter exchanges. She'll fool the paparazzi and the groupies. She might even start fooling herself a little.
Because when ordinary rules no longer apply, there's no telling what your heart will do...
- ISBN10 0373212526
- ISBN13 9780373212521
- Publish Date 30 May 2017
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Harlequin Teen
- Edition Original ed.
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 416
- Language English
Reviews
readingwithwrin
Written on Feb 2, 2019
It did read a lot like fanfiction at times, but I think that's why I was able to read it so quickly. I loved both characters in this story and the slowness of their friendship. I especially loved Vaughn's family and how she didn't put up with any of Oakley's crap. She did what she had to, to make it through the days with him until finally he stops being such a jerk all the time. This is when I really started liking the book. We see Oakley drop the angry at the world exterior and really get down to why he acted that way and what he really wants out of life.
Overall I'm glad I gave Erin Watt another chance with this book and I'm now interested to see what her princess series is like.
Leigha
Written on Sep 13, 2018
I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Contemporary romances, particularly focused on celebrities, are more miss than hit for me. Plus, I had read some less than positive reviews about this book. I’m glad I took a chance on it!
The book balances between the two narrators, Vaughn and Oakley. Vaughn may have an unusual home life, but she deals with everyday issues. What do I want to be when I grow up? What am I passionate about? I appreciate the novel not giving Vaughn all the answers by the end of the novel. It’s refreshing to read about a protagonist learning about herself without having defined everything about herself. On the other hand, Oakley knows exactly what he wants to do, but he’s struggling to do it. His resolution may be more defined than Vaughn’s ending, but his change of heart didn’t feel overly rushed or out of character.
Their romance develops along side their character growth. Oakley falling in love is probably the highlight of the novel. He struggles at times with expressing his emotions, but you really see him learn to channel it into more constructive ways (like his music) than destructive ways (like partying). Vaughn’s feelings are not as direct as Oakley’s feelings, but she is the more private of the two. Some of the drama is contrived, but it’s not overly dramatic.
tl;dr A well-written character-driven book focused on the experience of falling in love.
Sam@WLABB
Written on Jun 23, 2017
I really enjoyed this fake-to-real-enemies-to-lovers story. Oakley is a pop star in need of an image makeover. He had previously tried a fake relationship with another celebrity, which was not a great success. This time, his PR team wants to pair him with a "normal" girl, a commoner. Vaughn is tapped for the task, and says yes, solely because the monetary compensation would help alleviate the financial stress her family is under.
This pairing started off rocky, but they kept having these moments. The will they/won't they thing kept me listening and listening. This part was done quite well by the authors. I thought they also did a great job with the conflict portion. I know I gasped out loud when certain events transpired, and I may have shed a few tears too.
I was really impressed with the way they wrote Oakley as well. He had a lot of layers, and I liked that they did not reveal all his parts. They let us abhor him, but not entirely. A good quality here, a nice gesture there. Those little bits kept me interested in Oakley, and I was keeping my fingers crossed that he was more than he seemed. I found his relationship with Vaughn full of swoony moments, and thought he was adorable with her twin brothers.
Overall: A solid romance with a nice family tie-in.
tellemonstar
Written on May 26, 2017
I saw this on Netgalley and though to myself that's an interesting cover. Upon reading the summary on Netgalley I decided to request it because it sounded like a fun book, and everyone needs a fun book.
When It's Real turned out to be just the sort of contemporary (YA/older teen) romance I like. The romance built nicely, even though it was supposed to be contrived (the main premise of the story) it wound up being very realistic. The rich & famous boy/girl needs a normal girlfriend/boyfriend to fix their image trope has been used a lot, but the writing duo behind Erin Watt have done it really well in this novel.
Oakley seems like kind of a jerk to start with, but as you get to know him, he does grow on you.He actually reminds me a little bit of my brother (although my brother doesn't really have any musical talent) in the way that as he gets to know you he opens up more and shows more of his actual self. At the end of the day there is an insecure little boy, due to his crazy childhood, that lurks beneath the (almost) grown man he actually is.
Vaughn is a sweetheart without it being grating. She has just enough sass and stubbornness to make her realistic. You enjoy her little quirks and her ever-changing feelings, and I think a lot of us can empathise with her not-knowing what she wants to do at the end of high school and should she do what her parents did and be a teacher, should she do something else altogether.
The plot moves quite quickly and changes from Oakley's perspective to Vaughn's and back again, which whilst can be annoying sometimes, I found worked quite well with When It's Real. I quite liked the twitter exchanges at the beginning of each chapter, even though they sometimes weren't quite so nice. It tied in a key element of the boy-meets-girl meet-cute that is thought up by Oakley's publicist.
I would have liked to see the meeting Oakley had with his manager and publicist after the almost cliff-hanger ending simply because it would have been very interesting. But I was glad When It's Real ended and not left on a cliffhanger.
In all, When It's Real is a fun, beach-worthy read. There's nothing smarmy or weird about the relationship between Vaughn and Oakley, and the rest of the characters (even W the big fat jerk) help to make an enjoyable story.
whisperingchapters
Written on May 10, 2017
Oakley Ford needs to get his writing mojo back. It's been two years since he released an album and he has yet to write anything he deems worthy for his fans. Because of his song-writing block, he's been drinking and getting into trouble, which the tabloids all crave for. What Oakley wants is to work with a music producer who's said to be the best, but this producer won't work with Oakley until he matures and gets his act together. Oakley's manager's plan is to find a fake girlfriend for Oakley, someone who's down-to-earth and not from the music industry. When he sees a picture of a girl on one of his employee's desk, he starts to to put this plan into action.
If pretending to date a girl I don’t know, who doesn’t like me, gets my mojo back, then I’ll be the best boyfriend this chick has ever had.
Vaughn Bennett's parents were killed in a car accident. From that moment, Vaughn had to grow up and help her sister take care of their twin brothers. She even graduated early from high school so she could work and help financially. When Paisley, Vaughn's sister, tells her that Oakley's manager approached her and said he wanted Vaughn to be Oakley's fake girlfriend, Vaughn is ready to say no to be Oak's GF. She's seen the way Oakley is: arrogant and a complete douche. What makes her hesitate is the fact that she will get paid $20,000 thousand a month. Vaughn knows the money is very needed to put her brothers through school and pay off debts so she agrees.
“Half the time when you open your mouth, you say something that makes me want to punch you.” Vaughn gives a rueful smile. “But when you sing…you make it really hard to hate you.”
Their first meeting was exactly how I thought it'd be. They were close to hating each other. At first, Vaughn was slightly excited to meet Oakley, seeing as she used to be a fan of his. But once he opened his mouth, Vaughn could have cared less she was in the presence of the Oakley Ford. Oak can't really stand Vaughn because she says exactly what she thinks, but he's also intrigued because she's the first person to not fall all over him. Something that almost had me questioning the story was the fact that Vaughn had a boyfriend when she started "dating" Oak. But once the story went on, I realized he was there to play a part in the story for Vaughn's sake (it is explained very well). It's not a love-triangle at all, which I was beyond thankful for because the guy is a conceited jerk who doesn't even care for Vaughn.
"When you were at the club singing, every person in there thought you sang to them. It doesn’t matter what your sound is. People are always going to want to hear you."
This story gave me all the major feels! It's so freaking cute and adorable and exactly the type of light read I needed. I'm usually iffy about rock star novels but Erin Watt delivered this story perfectly. My heart was bursting with love for all of the characters and their story. I wanted more out of the story because it was so good! I'll definitely be re-reading this book. I'm telling you, it put me in such a good mood! Vaughn is probably my fave character. She was sarcastic, a spitfire, always honest, and didn't have problems sharing what she thought. She was always real with those around her, especially with Oakley. In a way, she kept him so grounded and would knock his ego down quite a few times. Go, Vaughn! Despite Oak being a rock star, he actually had standards in the sense that he wasn't a man-whore at all.You'd think he would take advantage of the opportunity of being with all the girls that throw themselves at him. But he knew better than that. He was in the music industry because he loved music, not because of the fame.
“There aren’t any cameras here. This isn’t for show. This is as real and as awful and as wonderful as it gets. I’d hold her forever if she’d let me.”
Everything about this story was fun, heart-warming, swoon-worthy, and the romance was the sweetest and cutest thing ever, yet full of all the witty banter! When It's Real is the perfect summer read!
“You said that everything in your life was fake, but we’re not fake, Oak. We’re real. We’re so real.”
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I received an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley and a finished copy from the author for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.
Cocktails and Books
Written on May 10, 2017
Erin Watt does it again!!! I adored this story and these characters. Vaughn and Oakley were perfect. I loved how the antagonism these two had for each other slowly developed into a friendship which turned into so much more. Both of them were in desperate need of someone to see them. Not an extension of their families or the people they hang out with.
Neither Vaughn or Oakley was without blame for the direction their relationship went, but they both grew up over the course of this book and figured out a real relationship took compromise and conversations. Despite several adults standing in their way, these two figured out how to make what started out as a farce into something that was real and worth fighting for.
The perfect beach read and an absolute joy to have experience.
liz089
Written on Oct 19, 2016