Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway for The Real Thing by Cassie Mae

Every now and again a book will take my expectations and kick them to the curb.  The Real Thing is one of those books.  Read on to find out why and make sure you enter the generous giveaway!

THE REAL THING

Written by Cassie Mae

Published by Flirt

August 19, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-553-39253-1

THE REAL THING on Goodreads

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. 

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Review: ★★★★ 1/2 stars

Expectations are a funny thing.  I'd never read a book by Cassie Mae before this one, and I feel like I've missed out on so much.  This book is funny, thoughtful, insightful, and entertaining.  It takes story telling and issues we face in our own lives and elevates it to a new level.

Eric and Mia were adorable.  I loved them together and individually.  Mia's concern for her overseas father really resonated with me; I'm the worrier in my family so I understood where her concern was coming from.   Not to mention the addiction to the internet and social media.  I'm guilty of getting on to do one thing and then realizing hours later time has passed and I still haven't done what I originally got on to do.  I hated how much Eric suffered at the hands of his ex.  Calling her a nasty piece is being nice to her, and the language I want to use isn't appropriate or mean enough to do her justice.  We all know words have meaning and power, but they should never be used the way they were on Eric or on anyone else for that matter.

I absolutely loved Eric and Mia as a couple.  I do wish they'd been more honest with each other, but it's hard being in a relationship and harder when you've got a close friendship like their's on the line as well.  The chemistry between the two was beyond hot.  Scorching I think is a better word, even though they took things really slow.  So slow, I thought I was about to combust if one of them didn't do something!  

I believe I enjoyed this book as much as I did due in part to a number of things.  The story was written really well.  It was interesting and unique.  I've never seen a book with a hero or heroine like this one.  I loved the social issues like bullying and social media usage it tackled.  Everything just went well together.  I'm hoping Cassie Mae might write a novella or a full length novel letting us see Eric and Mia while they were in high school and just friends.  It'd be such a great story.  In the meantime I'm off to get all the Cassie Mae books on my wishlists.  I've got some reading to catch up on!

About Cassie Mae

Cassie Mae is a full-time writer and mother from Utah. She loves being glued to the computer, thinking up new stories, and writing the day away while the kids run wild at her feet. When she finished her first novel, she started a blog that now gets more than five thousand hits a month. Her group blog is also dedicated to reaching out to aspiring authors by providing critiques and other marketing tools to help them succeed in the industry. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with the youth in her community as a volleyball and basketball coach, or searching the house desperately for chocolate.

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Giveaway

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* A copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*