What do you think?
Rate this book
Real Romance
Shy bookstore manager Marie McCloud spends each night between the covers with a hot guy... The hunky hero from one of her romance novels, that is. Having been cheated on, disparaged then ditched, Marie turns to pure fiction to soothe her aching heart. What she doesn't count on is finding real romance where she least expects it.
Ladies' man David Lake is always up for a physical challenge. An intellectual one? He's not so sure. But when David meets pretty Marie, he's ready to leap through some hoops to get the brainy brunette's attention. With a little bit of research and a whole lot of reading, David prepares to sweep Marie off her feet -- for the romance of a lifetime.
Ladies' man David Lake is always up for a physical challenge. An intellectual one? He's not so sure. But when David meets pretty Marie, he's ready to leap through some hoops to get the brainy brunette's attention. With a little bit of research and a whole lot of reading, David prepares to sweep Marie off her feet -- for the romance of a lifetime.
181 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2000
81 people are currently reading
573 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 3, 2019
DNF - quit at 8%
By 8%, I hated the hero & the heroine seemed like a simpleton. Couldn’t get into the story enough to even want to continue.
By 8%, I hated the hero & the heroine seemed like a simpleton. Couldn’t get into the story enough to even want to continue.
November 28, 2013
Real Romance by Ginny Baird
Love that this is a Thanksgiving love story. This is one holiday I find gets lost with the larger than life Christmas right on the doorstep.
Maggie McCloud runs the bookstore and is friendly with others that work there. Cecil runs the coffee shop part and they have been an item for 5 years now.
She's getting the signal that she needs to hitch up with someone soon and produce children and get on with her life but Cecil is not one to hurry. He's got his own agenda.
David Lake, the optician in the strip of stores in the mall has helped her get a new pair of frames. He attempts to get Cecil's help with learning what it is woman want...
Maggie gets a letter from Cecil and now she's single again and takes things slow with David and they do have some common connections. I found the Thanksgiving dinner at her house a bit comical with her family around them.
Loved the area-snow and foliage and just fun free things to do. Hot steamy romance and sex scenes just add to this book. Like how they each have fantasies about the other...
Excerpt from the next book is included at the end along with a note from the author.
I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.
Love that this is a Thanksgiving love story. This is one holiday I find gets lost with the larger than life Christmas right on the doorstep.
Maggie McCloud runs the bookstore and is friendly with others that work there. Cecil runs the coffee shop part and they have been an item for 5 years now.
She's getting the signal that she needs to hitch up with someone soon and produce children and get on with her life but Cecil is not one to hurry. He's got his own agenda.
David Lake, the optician in the strip of stores in the mall has helped her get a new pair of frames. He attempts to get Cecil's help with learning what it is woman want...
Maggie gets a letter from Cecil and now she's single again and takes things slow with David and they do have some common connections. I found the Thanksgiving dinner at her house a bit comical with her family around them.
Loved the area-snow and foliage and just fun free things to do. Hot steamy romance and sex scenes just add to this book. Like how they each have fantasies about the other...
Excerpt from the next book is included at the end along with a note from the author.
I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.
May 12, 2016
Not great
Kinda all over the place. The Story telling wasn't that great. No character development. Not very funny for a supposed romantic comedy
Kinda all over the place. The Story telling wasn't that great. No character development. Not very funny for a supposed romantic comedy
June 13, 2019
I missed the humor in this story and the plot kinda jumps around. The only good bits were in the bedroom. The characters seem very superficial and if it weren't that they were always misreading each other, there wasn't much more to the story. Didn't work for me. For a short story it felt much longer trying to reach the end, which comes on you really fast.
December 9, 2020
It was an okay read
February 15, 2017
Marie works in a bookstore and loves to read romance, hoping to live out the passion experienced by those heroines. She is engaged to Cecil, a “starving artist,” who is nice but just doesn’t do it for her. Then after a 20 minute eye appointment, she becomes infatuated with her hunky optician.
The two take an instant liking to each other, but each thinks the other is involved, which results in misinterpretations and mixed signals.
Characters were sweet and the story was nice and simple, even though the ending was a little too convenient and cliché. Really, the bulk of the story was about them fantasizing about each other. I mean, how could they dream of a future together when they hardly even knew each other?
A story bound by the world of books and fantastic fiction.
“Fiction is supposed to be about feeling better, about forgetting.” (LOC 1090)
The two take an instant liking to each other, but each thinks the other is involved, which results in misinterpretations and mixed signals.
Characters were sweet and the story was nice and simple, even though the ending was a little too convenient and cliché. Really, the bulk of the story was about them fantasizing about each other. I mean, how could they dream of a future together when they hardly even knew each other?
A story bound by the world of books and fantastic fiction.
“Fiction is supposed to be about feeling better, about forgetting.” (LOC 1090)
November 26, 2013
I have found myself yet another new to me author that has hooked me with just one book. I can't wait to read more by Ginny Baird. Real Romance is a fun entertaining story that is full of romance and laughter. I really enjoyed this book. Ms. Baird has created a fun story line with intriguing charismatic characters.
Marie McCloud has not had the best luck with men. She seems to end up with the guys that are just plain bad news. When she meets David Lake there is an instant attraction but she is afraid that David is like all the other men from her past.
David Lake is living the life of a play boy and loving it. That is until he meets Marie. Once he meets Marie he feels things for her he has never felt before. Now he just has to show her that he is not the play boy she thinks he is. David finds himself on the end of some bad advice. This leads to some misunderstandings with Marie.
These two have a few things they need to straighten out to see if they can find their happily ever after. Will David be able to sweep Marie off her feet?
There is a really nice family Thanksgiving dinner scene with Marie, David and Marie's family. I just love holiday stories. It's always so nice to see the families together.
On the whole I just really enjoyed Real Romance. There is a lot of romance, a few steamy scenes, and some drama. I found it to be a nice mix and a great read. I can not wait to get my hands on more of Ms. Baird's work and read more of her creative stories. She has a nice flow to her writing that I found to be very easy and enjoyable to read.
This is a rather short story so it can be read in a short amount of time. If you are looking for a quick story to read while you are waiting for Thanksgiving dinner I think you should give this one a try. I think you will enjoy it. I know that I most certainly did.
I was given the opportunity to read this book so I may share my thoughts with you. As always it has been my pleasure to share my thoughts on this great book with you.
Marie McCloud has not had the best luck with men. She seems to end up with the guys that are just plain bad news. When she meets David Lake there is an instant attraction but she is afraid that David is like all the other men from her past.
David Lake is living the life of a play boy and loving it. That is until he meets Marie. Once he meets Marie he feels things for her he has never felt before. Now he just has to show her that he is not the play boy she thinks he is. David finds himself on the end of some bad advice. This leads to some misunderstandings with Marie.
These two have a few things they need to straighten out to see if they can find their happily ever after. Will David be able to sweep Marie off her feet?
There is a really nice family Thanksgiving dinner scene with Marie, David and Marie's family. I just love holiday stories. It's always so nice to see the families together.
On the whole I just really enjoyed Real Romance. There is a lot of romance, a few steamy scenes, and some drama. I found it to be a nice mix and a great read. I can not wait to get my hands on more of Ms. Baird's work and read more of her creative stories. She has a nice flow to her writing that I found to be very easy and enjoyable to read.
This is a rather short story so it can be read in a short amount of time. If you are looking for a quick story to read while you are waiting for Thanksgiving dinner I think you should give this one a try. I think you will enjoy it. I know that I most certainly did.
I was given the opportunity to read this book so I may share my thoughts with you. As always it has been my pleasure to share my thoughts on this great book with you.
November 25, 2013
Hot, sexy men, the ones who can make your knees buckle with one look, are who Marie McCloud fantasizes about. But those men don’t exist in her world. She knows that they can only be found in the steamy romance novels that she reads. Maybe that’s why she stayed with Cecil for as long as she did. He wasn’t like the men she read about with the bulging muscles, hard bodies and even harder … uh hum. He was average, artistic, safe. So, you could imagine her surprise when she found a note stating that he was moving to New York with the young barista he worked with.
Marie is starting to think that no man can be trusted. So, when David Lake, the sexy optician who helped her with her new glasses but left her unable to see straight, starts pursuing Marie she isn’t sure if she should live out her storybook fantasies with this man or run for the hills. No matter how much she tries to avoid his advances, he’s persistent in his conquest. But when red flags keep popping up, Marie starts to think that David may be a little too similar to Cecil and questions their blossoming friendship. Will Marie find the fairy tale romance that she so desperately desires or will David turn out to be another frog in her quest for Prince Charming?
Real Romance is a fun, sexy read. Being a self-proclaimed romance junkie, I can relate to Marie, her obsession for hot alpha males and the hopes for a fairytale ending. Her character is so cute in a book nerd kind of way and the story was just so fun. This book is a must read for any romance lover!
Marie is starting to think that no man can be trusted. So, when David Lake, the sexy optician who helped her with her new glasses but left her unable to see straight, starts pursuing Marie she isn’t sure if she should live out her storybook fantasies with this man or run for the hills. No matter how much she tries to avoid his advances, he’s persistent in his conquest. But when red flags keep popping up, Marie starts to think that David may be a little too similar to Cecil and questions their blossoming friendship. Will Marie find the fairy tale romance that she so desperately desires or will David turn out to be another frog in her quest for Prince Charming?
Real Romance is a fun, sexy read. Being a self-proclaimed romance junkie, I can relate to Marie, her obsession for hot alpha males and the hopes for a fairytale ending. Her character is so cute in a book nerd kind of way and the story was just so fun. This book is a must read for any romance lover!
November 22, 2013
Ginny Baird brings us a feel good romance interlaced with humor. It has a sweet plot that flows effortlessly. Her imagery and lovable characters will draw the reader in.
Maggie McCloud is a shy, young woman that will find a way into your heart. She runs a bookstore and loves books. During the day she is surrounded by books, but at night she is surrounded by hot, hunky characters in the books. She is like all young women who yearn to have that knight in shining armour come riding up and sweep you off your feet. Unfortunately she has yet to have that happen. Of course after her betrayal by Cecil, she's not so certain there are any guys she can trust.
David Lake is an optician in the strip mall who after meeting Maggie becomes intrigued with her. She is not the normal type of woman he dates, but he wants to get to know her better. He uses all the resources at his disposal. The only problem is the more she avoidable advances, the more persistent he becomes. Just as she starts to let her guard down, David's actions become questionable. Is he going to turn out to be like Cecil or can she trust him with her heart? Will she finally get her heart's desire or broken hearted?
This is a wonderful romance.
I received this from the author for a honest review.
Maggie McCloud is a shy, young woman that will find a way into your heart. She runs a bookstore and loves books. During the day she is surrounded by books, but at night she is surrounded by hot, hunky characters in the books. She is like all young women who yearn to have that knight in shining armour come riding up and sweep you off your feet. Unfortunately she has yet to have that happen. Of course after her betrayal by Cecil, she's not so certain there are any guys she can trust.
David Lake is an optician in the strip mall who after meeting Maggie becomes intrigued with her. She is not the normal type of woman he dates, but he wants to get to know her better. He uses all the resources at his disposal. The only problem is the more she avoidable advances, the more persistent he becomes. Just as she starts to let her guard down, David's actions become questionable. Is he going to turn out to be like Cecil or can she trust him with her heart? Will she finally get her heart's desire or broken hearted?
This is a wonderful romance.
I received this from the author for a honest review.
October 16, 2014
This book was such an interesting book! I loved Marie right from the start, and David just seemed hot! Some of the plots were fantastic and so fun to read! You never really hear about stories like this, when the man is just a normal person who works in a regular job! This story was perfect for the characters, and made you fall in love with them more!
The book just seemed a little too rushed in places, and I wish it'd been longer, as I would love to know more of their story! But overall, I really liked the book! Such a feel good novel.
The book just seemed a little too rushed in places, and I wish it'd been longer, as I would love to know more of their story! But overall, I really liked the book! Such a feel good novel.
May 27, 2012
This was a good read that I gave 4 stars to. I expected it to be longer because it only took less than an hour to read. But it was a good romantic read. Kinda the standard romantic read but I don't regr reading it.
April 2, 2012
Cute light read.
April 22, 2012
Really, really didn't like the abrupt ending on this story. Otherwise, it wasn't too bad. C- rating.
June 12, 2012
Boring
August 27, 2012
A quick, sometimes humorous romance.
March 14, 2013
Loved absolutely and deeply loved this book it was TERRIFIC!!
August 15, 2013
It was a quick read and a nice book but nothing very memorable. I like the character and the fact that the heroine work in a book shop and the hero and heroine's relationship was sweet.
November 18, 2013
This book is a cute, sweet, humorous, quick read. I enjoyed this story and characters. I recommend all of Ginny's work to anyone that enjoys a good romance.
September 25, 2013
Good book. Good characters. Love that a book worm could turn the head of a hot man!
January 23, 2015
Scritto bene, peccato che manchi un sussulto. Nessun brivido, una storia che scorre serena e tranquilla fino al lietissimo fine.
September 25, 2012
A quick cute freebie.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews