When Vaughn Bennett meets pop star and teen idol Oakley Ford she is totally unimpressed. He’s late, rude and well, a bit stuck up. She used to be a big fan of his music, but that attitude! Vaughn unfortunately has to suck it up because she’s been hired to be his fake girlfriend to help improve his image.

It took Vaughn and Oakley a long time to warm up to each other, so the first two thirds of the book was all about the tension between the two of them. Oakley was also used to getting everything he wanted, so his lack of courtesy towards Vaughn really made him out to be a jerk. That lack of courtesy wasn’t just one sided though, Vaughn was also not very nice to Oakley for that same period of time. This may have been why I had a hard time with these two characters. I’ll admit that when they finally learned how to be friends with each other I grew to like them more and had an easier time with their transition to love.

I thought it interesting that Vaughn and Oakley were both so independent. Vaughn because her parents died in an accident leaving she and her older sister to raise their younger brothers. Oakley was raised by actor parents and had emancipated himself at 15 from them so he could make his own decisions about his career. His parents pretty much dropped out of his life at that point leaving him to raise himself. Vaughn and Oakley’s history should’ve given them a commonality, and it was certainly used, but not until much later in the book when they stopped antagonizing each other and became friendly. Once they did, those similarities did provide that bond, but I wanted it much sooner!

This was a book that should’ve been easier to like. I thought the plot was interesting, and the characters back stories made them human and sympathetic. When they finally really became a couple I really did enjoy the story, I just wanted them to get there a little sooner than they did. However, once they got over that hump I found that I easily forgave them for taking so long to get there, and Erin Watt really does craft a good story. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase! When It’s Real (Harlequin Teen) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved