Isn't It Romantic?: Real Love Double Review

I had the pleasure of reading two books in the Real Love series. Both were fauxmance-romances, but each turned, as the series title eludes, to real love.

Rumor Has It
Jessica Lemmon
Series: Real Love, #4
Age/Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Loveswept
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

This is one bad boy who’s fit to print. A notorious jock tackles life—and love—after football with a type-A journalist in this sexy standalone from the author of Eye Candy.

Barrett: As a former pro football star, I’m used to playing the field. After injuries cut my NFL career short, my second act as a broadcaster ended on live television when a hot mic picked up a little verbal . . . indiscretion. But this latest publicity stunt might just land me back on top—much to the chagrin of Catarina Everhart, the prissy, beautiful journalist who’s been assigned to date a bad boy (i.e., me) and write about it. Catarina swears I’ll never touch her, let alone kiss those full lips of hers. Based on our chemistry, I’m not buying it. . . .

Catarina: Barrett Fox seems to be doing everything in his power to make me hate him. The cocky egomaniac is infamous for his bad behavior, and now, thanks to my boss’s harebrained schemes, he’s apparently my problem. As one fake date leads to another, I start to see a different side of Barrett. He’s close with his family. He does volunteer work. And, okay, he kisses like a dream. Am I really dating Barrett Fox? Or is he playing me? Because suddenly I’m risking my reputation—and my heart.

Look for Jessica Lemmon’s standalone romances with heartfelt HEAs: FIGHTING FOR DEVLIN | FORGOTTEN PROMISES | SHUT UP AND KISS ME | EYE CANDY | ARM CANDY | MAN CANDY | RUMOR HAS IT

“The banter made me grin, the sexual tension had me breathless, and the perfect happy ending left me smiling long after the book was done.”—New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne, on Eye Candy

“This book had a very Christina Lauren feel to it. Very witty, sexy, and kept me wanting more with every page. I absolutely loved it.”—USA Today bestselling author Sidney Halston, on Eye Candy

What happens when a ex-NFL bad boy is paired with a work-a-holic, rigid reporter? You get a fun and sexy romance, where opposites attract in the best way.

The Set-up:

Barrett agrees to fake-date Catarina, and write a column about their dates as part of a publicity stunt to improve his image with female readers, and perhaps, also save his DOA career.

My Thoughts:

There may not have been insta-love, but there was definitely insta-lust. Catarina and Barrett spent quite a bit of time fighting their mutual attraction while exchanging barbs, but the more time they spent with each other, the more Catarina realized that Barrett was hiding a rather fantastic person under that bad boy armor.

I loved both Catarina and Barrett. Catarina was extremely driven and good at her job, but she short changed herself when it came to her own relationships, and accepted less than she deserved from her boyfriend. The relationship left her slightly wounded, and I was more than happy when Barrett entered the picture, and showed her that she was worthy of much more.

Barrett's backstory was complicated, and he was wrestling with his feelings of inadequacy due to his upbringing. He struggled with his past, and always felt "less than", even though he wasn't. Catarina was able to see through his facade to the real Barrett, and I got so much pleasure when she unwrapped him layer by layer, and let the true Barrett Fox shine through.

Yeah, there were some deep parts, but there were a LOT more fun moments in this book. The office antics were one thing that made me smile. These two were in constant verbal sparring mode, and it was quite amusing to behold. And the dates, which started out outrageous, soon turned out to be sweet and fun.

One thing I really liked was how they complimented and influenced each other in a good way. Barrett began to focus more, and pushed himself to produce a great column for the paper. Catrina began to loosen up a little, and enjoy more outside of work. It was almost as if they were meeting somewhere in the middle, and finding a perfect balance.

Overall: A sexy and fun hate-to-love fauxmance-romance, where an uber-disciplined woman and a bad boy reform each other.

America's Sweetheart
Jessica Lemmon
Series: Real Love, #5
Age/Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Loveswept
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Old flames burn bright. When a disgraced starlet returns home to lick her wounds, she discovers that her high school sweetheart is just as tempting as ever.

“No one writes big-hearted bad boys like Jessica Lemmon!”—New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster

Allison: When I left for California, I gave myself a new name and never looked back. Now my carefully crafted good-girl image is getting torn to shreds in the press thanks to my Oscar-winning A-hole of an ex-boyfriend. So I escape to the only safe haven I know and trust—my hometown—to take a breather while I plot my triumphant Hollywood comeback. However, when I arrive at my parents’ house, Jackson Burke answers the door instead. And suddenly the past comes rushing back. . . .

Jackson: First kiss. First time. First love. Yep, Allison Murphy and I shared a lot of firsts back in the day. When she left, she took half my heart with her. Now she’s back in town, and even though I swore I’d keep my distance, her parents hired me to remodel their house, and I’m going to finish the job. But one hot kiss later, suddenly the press is calling us the next big celebrity couple. Sure, I’ll play the part, for Allison’s sake—but I refuse to let her close enough to break my heart all over again. . . .

She was his first kiss, first time, first love, and after being absent for over a decade, Allison was back in his life. Her publicist thought dating a small town average Joe would be good for her tarnished image. Jackson agreed to this "showmance", but would he be able to deny the truth of what lies in his heart?

Second chance romances are among my favorites. I live for the history the hero and heroine share, as well as the idea, that some endings are only temporary and forgiveness is achievable.

Both Jackson and Allison had dreams, but while Allison had opportunities to pursue her's, Jackson was limited by his circumstances. When they saw no way to save their relationship, they went their separate ways.

He poured his pain and heartbreak into his work, and enjoyed some success as a business owner in their hometown, but he never forgot what he had shared with Allison, and was sort of never able to move on.

Allison, though enjoying Hollywood success, was also somewhat stunted in her romantic life. Thank goodness the universe (and the unforgiving public) intervened, because Allison and Jackson were reunited and it really did feel so good.

I wanted these two, no, needed these two to find their way back to each other. After reading the flashbacks, and seeing how they fell back into step so easily with each other, I knew they were meant to be together, and I was rooting for one of them to make that bold move, that bold choice, and not repeat their previous mistakes.

This story was sweet and sassy, tender and sexy. I laughed, smiled, swooned, and maybe even shed a few tears, because look -- I'm a hopeless romantic, and I couldn't imagine this fictional world without Jackson and Allison coupled in it.

**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Which do you like better: 
Bad boy romances or second chance romances?

Let us know in the comments!