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Make It Real
Mandana spent the last decade bartending at some of the most exclusive clubs in the US, but now she is looking for something different. She moved to Portland, Oregon, to find a quieter life, new friends, and the chance to start her own business.
Quincy raised his now eight-year-old daughter, Ruby, alone from the time she was born. His life is upended when his ex calls, demanding full custody of Ruby. Faced with the possibility of his daughter being moved across the country to live with his ex and her new husband, Quincy seeks any possible advantage for the custody battle.
Along with the moms of Ruby’s best friend, he hatches a plan to find a fake fiancée. The moms already know the perfect person to play the role—their new friend, Mandana.
If Mandana and Quincy aren’t believable, he risks losing Ruby. If they’re too credible, will they fall for their own make-believe?
Quincy raised his now eight-year-old daughter, Ruby, alone from the time she was born. His life is upended when his ex calls, demanding full custody of Ruby. Faced with the possibility of his daughter being moved across the country to live with his ex and her new husband, Quincy seeks any possible advantage for the custody battle.
Along with the moms of Ruby’s best friend, he hatches a plan to find a fake fiancée. The moms already know the perfect person to play the role—their new friend, Mandana.
If Mandana and Quincy aren’t believable, he risks losing Ruby. If they’re too credible, will they fall for their own make-believe?
266 pages, Paperback
Published November 15, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 15, 2024
Thank you so much to Chris Walters for sending me this wonderful ARC 🩵
Make It Real follows Quincy, a computer scientist and single dad to a fiesty eight-year-old named Ruby, and Mandana, a bartender looking to switch up her life. When Quincy's problematic ex and questionable new husband seek to gain full custody of his daughter, Mandana proposes the idea of fake-dating to help his case if it went to court. 👩🏽⚖️
I think this book was fun, cute, and increibly important. While the romance and fake-dating is lighthearted and fun, there are also cultural, feminist, and lgbtqia+ representation. These aspects really made for an enjoyable read. 💞
If you are looking for a quick read that is fun and moving, you should definitely give this one a try!
Tropes:
- single dad 🍼
- fake-dating 🤫
- custody battle 💔
- everyone loves cats 🐈🐈⬛
- one night stand turned potential threesome? 👀
- communication 🎙️
- she teaches him 👩🏽🏫
Make It Real follows Quincy, a computer scientist and single dad to a fiesty eight-year-old named Ruby, and Mandana, a bartender looking to switch up her life. When Quincy's problematic ex and questionable new husband seek to gain full custody of his daughter, Mandana proposes the idea of fake-dating to help his case if it went to court. 👩🏽⚖️
I think this book was fun, cute, and increibly important. While the romance and fake-dating is lighthearted and fun, there are also cultural, feminist, and lgbtqia+ representation. These aspects really made for an enjoyable read. 💞
If you are looking for a quick read that is fun and moving, you should definitely give this one a try!
Tropes:
- single dad 🍼
- fake-dating 🤫
- custody battle 💔
- everyone loves cats 🐈🐈⬛
- one night stand turned potential threesome? 👀
- communication 🎙️
- she teaches him 👩🏽🏫
November 10, 2024
ARC Review
What a lovely read! Dealt with some intense topics in a way that didn’t feel too heavy and mixed in a perfect amount of love and humor. It was awesome to see a variety of different family dynamics represented as well. Ruby always had me laughing out loud. Definitely recommend this book!
What a lovely read! Dealt with some intense topics in a way that didn’t feel too heavy and mixed in a perfect amount of love and humor. It was awesome to see a variety of different family dynamics represented as well. Ruby always had me laughing out loud. Definitely recommend this book!
November 6, 2024
I can count on Chris Walters’ books to have genuine emotional connections, adorable cats, incredible food writing and a true sense of place with Portland serving as almost another character. The romance and humor are plentiful in Make It Real, but another thing I really love here are the true friendships that develop between both the adult and kid characters. The characters feel real, like people I could know, and the writing is heartfelt and intelligent. I don’t tend to read a lot of romance books, but all of these aspects really draw me into this book and the author’s other books as well.
October 26, 2024
Calling all lovers of romance, cats, and Portland, Oregon’s quirky charm, this one’s for you! An emotionally intelligent love story with authentic connection and fabulous communication that pushes the limits of the genre in progressive ways. And did I mention there’s a cat named Dolly Purrton? This book is purrfect!
October 28, 2024
I had the pleasure of beta-reading this novel, and I have to say, I think this one is my favorite out of the whole Tashaverse so far.
I love that this story follows a single dad in a way that doesn't fetishize his parental status. Instead, his story is told in a sweet but candid way that highlights different family dynamics. We live in a society where there are so many different types of family structures, and it was refreshing to read a novel that ventures away from a typical nuclear family storyline. The found family vibes were strong in this one, and I loved seeing the characters grow closer together.
The way the characters built their friendships and romantic relationships was absolutely heartwarming. Chris has a knack for bringing emotionally intelligent characters to life, exploring conflict in a way that prioritizes communication and allows the characters to grow. It's a refreshing take from the typical 'miscommunication' trope that is super popular in romance novels these days.
I went into this book without reading the first book, No One Like You. I was actually shocked when I realized that two of the characters in this book had a whole novel dedicated to their love story. Though it was the second book in the 'Tashaverse,' it never felt like I was missing anything. The backstory was told in a way that filled in any blanks without revealing too much about how the relationship came to be. After finishing Make It Real, I actually went back to read No One Like You because of how much I loved the characters. While I think this book could be read as a stand-alone, I do think for the best experience it's worth reading in order of publication so you can get the full effect of these relationships blossoming in real time.
If you like love stories that feel like a hug, check out Make It Real!
I love that this story follows a single dad in a way that doesn't fetishize his parental status. Instead, his story is told in a sweet but candid way that highlights different family dynamics. We live in a society where there are so many different types of family structures, and it was refreshing to read a novel that ventures away from a typical nuclear family storyline. The found family vibes were strong in this one, and I loved seeing the characters grow closer together.
The way the characters built their friendships and romantic relationships was absolutely heartwarming. Chris has a knack for bringing emotionally intelligent characters to life, exploring conflict in a way that prioritizes communication and allows the characters to grow. It's a refreshing take from the typical 'miscommunication' trope that is super popular in romance novels these days.
I went into this book without reading the first book, No One Like You. I was actually shocked when I realized that two of the characters in this book had a whole novel dedicated to their love story. Though it was the second book in the 'Tashaverse,' it never felt like I was missing anything. The backstory was told in a way that filled in any blanks without revealing too much about how the relationship came to be. After finishing Make It Real, I actually went back to read No One Like You because of how much I loved the characters. While I think this book could be read as a stand-alone, I do think for the best experience it's worth reading in order of publication so you can get the full effect of these relationships blossoming in real time.
If you like love stories that feel like a hug, check out Make It Real!
November 15, 2024
If there's anything I can share on this beautiful Goodreads: Chris writes some of the best contemporary romances with a dash of comedy, the right amount of emotions and will literally have you feeling all the cozy and happy vibes when the book is over.
I have been VERY lucky to read "No One Like You" and can say that it's best to read it first so you get the full picture of the "Tashaverse" and all of the characters that are entwined in Chris' world! "Make It Real" was perfectly titled due to the storyline that Chris conjured up for Quincy, Mandana, and Ruby. I loved that Quincy was a single dad (you don't see that often enough in rom-coms and I appreciate that Chris continues to show family dynamics that aren't discussed enough in books (YESSS REPRESENTATION)! I loved their connection, and every bit of the wonderful storyline. The only thing I can say I hated was when it ended. I could easily have read another 200 pages of Quincy and Mandana and not be tired of it.
Chris is definitely an author you need to get on your TBR. This man knows his niche and writes it extremely well! You will not be disappointed with his writing style and ability to have you falling in love with his sweet characters! :)
I have been VERY lucky to read "No One Like You" and can say that it's best to read it first so you get the full picture of the "Tashaverse" and all of the characters that are entwined in Chris' world! "Make It Real" was perfectly titled due to the storyline that Chris conjured up for Quincy, Mandana, and Ruby. I loved that Quincy was a single dad (you don't see that often enough in rom-coms and I appreciate that Chris continues to show family dynamics that aren't discussed enough in books (YESSS REPRESENTATION)! I loved their connection, and every bit of the wonderful storyline. The only thing I can say I hated was when it ended. I could easily have read another 200 pages of Quincy and Mandana and not be tired of it.
Chris is definitely an author you need to get on your TBR. This man knows his niche and writes it extremely well! You will not be disappointed with his writing style and ability to have you falling in love with his sweet characters! :)
November 19, 2024
Tropes:
🐈Fake Dating
🐈Single Dad
🐈LGBTQ+ Rep
🐈Strong, entrepreneurial FMC
Publication Date: Available now! Available on KU
This book was such a cozy cute story.
This book follows Quincy and Mandana. Quincy is a single dad whose main focus is to give his daughter everything. But when his daughter’s mother tries to gain custody, he feels like he has to be in a steady relationship/engaged to keep her. So he asks a friend to pretend to his fake fiancée.
Mandana is a strong FMC that is a bartender. After being failed my multiple men in her life, she decides she is going to swear off dating. After being tired of the long hours and wanting to do something different, she decides to open a cat cafe. She meets Quincy and sees how much he cares for his daughter and after a lot of thought, decides to take him up on his offer.
It was a joy to see Quincy and Mandana’s love blossom. And the way Quincy parents his daughter just put a smile on my face the whole time. There was no bad character. The kids were so freaking cute, and I absolutely loved the side characters. This was just an absolute heartwarming story to read.
🐈Fake Dating
🐈Single Dad
🐈LGBTQ+ Rep
🐈Strong, entrepreneurial FMC
Publication Date: Available now! Available on KU
This book was such a cozy cute story.
This book follows Quincy and Mandana. Quincy is a single dad whose main focus is to give his daughter everything. But when his daughter’s mother tries to gain custody, he feels like he has to be in a steady relationship/engaged to keep her. So he asks a friend to pretend to his fake fiancée.
Mandana is a strong FMC that is a bartender. After being failed my multiple men in her life, she decides she is going to swear off dating. After being tired of the long hours and wanting to do something different, she decides to open a cat cafe. She meets Quincy and sees how much he cares for his daughter and after a lot of thought, decides to take him up on his offer.
It was a joy to see Quincy and Mandana’s love blossom. And the way Quincy parents his daughter just put a smile on my face the whole time. There was no bad character. The kids were so freaking cute, and I absolutely loved the side characters. This was just an absolute heartwarming story to read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews