First published: 2014
Pages: 235
Source: Random House Publishing Group Loveswept/Flirt via Netgalley, thank you!
In this electrifying novel from Cassie Mae, two close friends surprise themselves by shifting from platonic love to sexual attraction. Eric Matua has one friend—his best friend and childhood sweetheart, who needs a place to stay for the summer. Mia Johnson has thousands of friends—who live in her computer. Along with her email chats and Facebook notifications, Mia also devours romance novels, spending countless hours with fictional characters, dreaming of her own Romeo to sweep her off her feet. When she starts receiving supersweet messages from a stranger who thinks she’s someone else, Mia begins to believe that real love is possible outside her virtual world. When the two friends become roommates, Mia finds herself falling harder than she ever thought she could. But Eric keeps his desires locked away, unsure of himself and his ability to give his best friend what she deserves in a boyfriend. As her advances are continually spurned, Mia splits her time between Eric and her computer. But she soon realizes she’s about to lose the only real thing she’s ever had.
Thoughts: "Today I get to see my best friend after THREE VERY LONG YEARS!” writes one of The Real Thing's protagonists - Emilia - as she and best friend, Eric prepare for a summer of living together. Growing up as childhood best friends, the pair have remained in contact over the years through various social media platforms, but when Eric and Emmy finally meet up they realise there's a possibility for something more, something real.
Gripping, passionate and modern, I adored The Real Thing, so much so I devoured it in a matter of hours. Gorgeous, tan and buff Eric truly made my heart melt. However, regardless of his new muscular physique, there is more to Eric’s character that meets the eye. Eric is unfortunately very self-conscious of his body image and (along with his older brother) is a victim of social anxiety and evidently, panic attacks. As a sufferer of anxiety myself, it was so refreshing to see an author cover this topic in such vast detail, especially in a categorized 'New Adult' book. Not only did I feel that Eric's attacks helped defined his shy, self-conscious personality but it also made Eric's character so 'real' I just wanted to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay.
Similarly, Emilia or 'Emmy' as Eric adorably calls her, has her own issues. Although they are minor in comparison to Eric's attacks, Emmy is addicted to her laptop and phone, whether that’s due to social media or reading books on her Kindle app. Obsessively tweeting, emailing and sharing her life online, Emmy's addiction creates an ironic social boundary in her real life whereby she actually compares people and boys she knows to her online friends or fictional and flawless 'book boyfriends'. Some of my favourite quotes in this novel were focused around Emmy's passion for reading, which, when I first read them, I couldn't help obsessively highlighting and re-reading:
- "I just read the ‘I love you’ scene”, she says, scooting over to me when I settle on the bed. she holds the e-reader between us so I can see the spot she highlighted. “It took nearly the whole book for them to get there, so I sort of squealed a little when I read it”.
- She pulls the e-reader back and flicks to her Kindle home screen. I smirk at all the books with shirtless guys on the covers. Even in the dark she catches it. "Yes I’m a romance junkie."
Regardless of Emmy's preference for fictional romance novels, the obvious passion between Eric and Emmy is present the first time they meet. After chatting exclusively online for years, the two have so much sexual attraction; you can almost physically feel it. I loved the way Eric and Emmy acted around each other, so innocent and comfortable yet clearly the two wanted something more. The fact that Eric would read his favourite Dr Suess novels to Emilia at night, I could barely handle the cuteness. Additionally, the way in which Eric views Emmy, especially the minor details of her appearance such as ’the way her freckles speckle over the bridge of her nose, the way her mouth never quite closes, and how her hair always has one piece that refuses to stay in place’ was utterly adorable.
That's another reason why I loved this book, the characters are so realistic due to small details like: Emmy's favourite flavour is actually 'yellow' or that she owns a frog loofah, that Eric finds the ocean calming or that his favourite Dr Suess novel is Oh the Places You’ll Go!. The small details aren't ignored, but highlighted, and consequently, they add so much more depth to the characters. Similarly, the characters family and friends are involved in the story too, they aren’t replaced for a storyline solely focused on sex, which I have witnessed in other new adult novels.
My rating: ★★★★★
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