Book Review — When It’s Real by Erin Watt

A pop star.
A regular girl.
The world’s watching.

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WOW! This book was addictive, heart-warming, and so well-written!! I read it in one non-stop sitting because I just did not want to put it down! If you’re looking for a new rock star romance to fall in love with, check this out!

“Under ordinary circumstances, Oakley Ford and Vaughn Bennett would never even cross paths…”

The story begins when Vaughn, a completely down-to-earth, no-bullshit, no-nonsense girl who has sacrificed her college life to waitress and financially support her younger siblings after their parents were killed, is offered an unexpected job that has the power to change her life. The publicity team behind Oakley Ford — the most famous teenage pop star on the planet — is willing to pay her twenty thousand dollars a month to pretend to be his girlfriend. She’s baffled by the absurdity of the concept, and has no patience for his drama, but hey if they’re willing to pay her that much money to pretend to be in love with this guy, who is she to say no?

“They want you to pretend to be Oakley Ford’s girlfriend this year.”
I spray the concrete steps with lukewarm coffee mixed with spit. “What?”
“I promise you it isn’t as bad as it sounds… They’ll pay you twenty thousand a month.”
I spin around slowly, my mouth hanging open. “Are you effing kidding me?… That would…”
“Put the boys through college? Pay off both our mortgages? Make everything easier for us? Yes.”

Oakley is no happier about their situation. Having grown up in the spotlight as a child star, he now only wants to be taken seriously as an artist. Sure, he’s made bucket loads of money being a pop star, but his fan base is mostly rabid, slightly crazed teenage girls. The music he’s shelling out just isn’t the sound he wants to be creating and as such, he’s lost his mojo. Not to mention that despite his awards and fame, his reputation has recently taken a beating and he needs a more wholesome image to sell to the press to give them a reason to believe in him again. Enter Vaughn.

If pretending to date a girl I don’t know, who doesn’t like me, gets [my mojo] back, then I’ll be the best boyfriend this chick has ever had.

Oakley and Vaughn were polar opposites. Even at nineteen, Oak was used to the fake facade of fame, to the privacy intrusions, gossip lies, and unwanted attention. He was a bit egotistical and spoiled but ultimately had a very good heart underneath everything. And for him, Vaughn’s lack of adoration, fangirlyness, and her unfiltered sass and honesty was exactly the reality check he so desperately needed. But she was still new to his whole world and after signing the contract, her life spiralled into lies built on lies — with each move either of them made being calculated deliberately by a room full of publicity managers, PR consultants, and lawyers.

“So are we going to talk about terms? Like, what are my work hours?” I ask coolly, cradling the pop can between my hands.
“Work hours?” Claudia echoes, a tiny furrow appearing on her forehead.
“Yeah, since this is my job.”
She titters. “Not a job, more like a…”
“Role?” one of her assistants offers.
“Yes. A role in a long, romantic movie. And you’re the two leads.”

However, in the midst of the crazy new pretend relationship that they were selling to the press, something real began to grow between them. It was unexpected and thrilling. They’d been fooling the world into thinking they were a real couple, until they realized that the only people they were fooling were themselves…

I rub her arms. Kiss the top of her head. Remind myself that this is about her and that I’m a terrible human being for enjoying the closeness between us. This is the only time she’s willingly allowed me to hold her. There aren’t any cameras here. This isn’t for show.
This is as real and as awful and as wonderful as it gets. I’d hold her forever if she’d let me.

Now, just because I knowww that many of you will be wondering about this, I’ll tell you that yes, Vaughn does have a boyfriend in the beginning of the book for a while. I don’t consider it a love triangle though at all because it’s clear to anyone that her boyfriend is a selfish douche and isn’t close to worthy of being the hero of this story (or any other one) so yeah, it’s a little annoying, but they did a good job explaining why she was with him so his character made sense for the part he played in this story.

I loved many things about this book. I loved that even though Oak had so many opportunities to be a manwhore in his life with all the girls constantly throwing themselves at him, he actually had standards and a sense of loyalty. He was a one-woman man and I really respected that quality about him. I loved that Vaughn wasn’t a pushover when it came to Oakley. Despite his fame, she had no problem dishing out the sarcasm, attitude, and she didn’t sugar coat her feelings. She kept things real with him and I loved her honesty.

“You realize there are millions of girls out there who would kill to be sitting beside me right now?” I say tightly.
She flips the book open, not even looking at me. “Yeah? Then why are you paying me to do it?”

This is a standalone novel that kind of rides the line between mature YA and early NA. The hero and heroine are in their late teens, and there is some sex but not very much. It’s also written in first person from alternating POVs. It’s lightly angsty in places, but nothing gut-wrenching. The romance is very sweet, slow-burning (but believable) and the ending was completely heart-warming, swoony, and satisfying. It left me smiling!

“Touring isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. It’s a lot of work and the down days are often spent traveling from one location to another. You miss your family, your friends, even your on bed.”
“That actually sounds amazing,” I tell him.
We lock eyes. “You should come with me next time.”
“Maybe I will.” I grin…
“And on that note, I think I’m going inside,” Carrie announced. “You, too, Kiki.” She pulls Kiki off the railings.
“But I wanna see what happens next,” Kiki wails.
Oak’s lips curve up.
“They’re not a television show,” Carrie scolds as she drags Kiki inside the house.
“No, they’re better.”

As soon as I started reading the first few pages of this book, I fell in love with loved the writing. Erin Watt has a fun, fresh, addictive voice that just compels you to keep reading. I’m definitely going to be on the look out for their next books and I highly recommend this one as a great rock star romance and a new favorite!

Rating: 4 – 4.5 stars! Standalone Contemporary Romance. Mature YA/Early NA.

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