My 5 star review of The Real Thing

So, gasp, this is my first Cassie Mae novel- but it will not be the last. That is for sure! I enjoyed every bit of this book. From the plot development, the best friends as lovers (where they have both been in love with each other but are too scared to tell each other), the character development from start to finish, and the social media aspect of it. I won’t soon forget Eric and Em’s story.

 Emilia Johnson loves social networking. She tweets, updates her statuses, reads on her Kindle, and emails her various friends. She is obsessed with it- and part of that is her childhood crush- and best friend Eric. When Mia needs to a place to stay for the summer- Eric jumps at the chance to let Mia share his apartment- because he too harbors a crush on him- but thinks he isn’t good enough. I always find it laughable how the main characters are in love, and no one knows but the reader. And when they finally figure it out, I usually want to jump in the book and smack them both!

I loved that the hero was the one with insecurities; typically he is all alpha and full of himself- but not in this case. Eric had issues with weight in high school- especially when he dated someone who basically verbally abused him the entire time, and left him prone to panic attacks. I felt so bad for Eric, because panic attacks are no joke- especially when something happens to trigger them; it is really hard to get yourself calmed down.

I hope this story reaches out to people who have a social media addiction too, and helps them check out their relationships. I find myself gravitating towards social media, my Kindle all the time- and reading that book had me hanging my head in shame. I was doing the SAME thing Mia was doing to Eric, only I was doing it to my husband, and I’m 32! We are all guilty of it and it just goes to show- the Real thing is SO much better than the internet! This book was absolutely true to life, and it really hit home. Which is why I think I enjoyed it so much.

I love all the quirks too- the Dr. Seuss, yellow is a flavor- and a ton more. Needless to say I read from start to finish without stopping and I can’t wait for much, much more from Cassie Mae!

**ARC was provided by NetGalley for an honest review!**

-image courtesy of Lenore