When It's Real

by Nicole Jackson

Babi is holding her incarcerated man, Too Low, down. She loves him dearly, but is now questioning their future, as she realizes that he’s never going to change. Then just as she begins to reexamine her relationship, she ends up laying hands on an associate, damaging a certain somebody’s car in the process. Now, Face, the car owner, wants Babi to pay up, and we’re not talking monetarily.
What will Babi do when she faces temptation? Will she fold when a rich man wants her? Or will she remain loyal to her first and only love?
Exclusive content from The Borrowed Love crew is also at the end of this novel only in paperback.

Genres: Romance, African American, African American Romance, He Falls First

292 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2025

Reviews

[Melise · Rating 2 out of 5]

And two stars is a stretch with a whole lot of grace. The characters were kinda likeable but idk something about this stories tone was off putting. Like the way colorism was addressed here felt performative ESPECIALLY since we keep getting “good hair, exotic” references. Like the FMC is a okay girl and had a decent head on her shoulders but she was lacking in the ambition department. Cus she stayed in the projects cus it was working for her, never heard about her getting her cosmetology license or really bossing up just a lot about her using the system to stay fly or whatever. She loved kids and was really good with them so that was nice but again she was womb watching too hard for me because she struggled to get pregnant. Idk man a lot of the ways things were addressed here felt juvenile and from a weird lens.

The whole situation was messy and highkey miss girl was an abuse victims not in the physical sense but mentally and financially too low was extremely controlling but I don’t think it should’ve taken new D, for her to realize the issue. I also felt like she was moving sloppy and messy off rip like girl after the first night you should’ve sent the convict on his way. Overall the story isn’t horrible I just feel like the vibe in this one was off.

[Kameel · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 Stars

2nd read was the newly audiobook narrated by Lauryn Nichols & Midnight Michael

[JMonique · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was tooooo good!
Face was EVERYTHING!! He stood on business from day one & didn’t play about what he wanted!! I loved the dynamic with him, Babi & the girls!! That man came in & showed her everything she had been missing! & I loved seeing the growth in his character from the beginning of the book to the end!! This book gave me all the feels with just enough drama & spice to keep me invested!! This was my first read from this author but I will definitely be getting into more of her catalogue after this!

[Mia Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew

This was good. The twist and turns. I had figured some things out before it happened, but as the story went it just confirmed it. Face is that guy. Loved me some Babi. Good read.

[Genel F · Rating 2 out of 5]

… not my cup of tea

I love urban fiction, but this just wasn’t my cup of tea. If you like a hood classic, this might be for you. Babi was introduced as a loyal, hustling, independent woman but baby girl flipped quicker than a Usian Bolt 100m dash. Babi fussed about Too Low not wanting her to do anything and got with Face who also limited her potential. Although Babi had dreams and goals she literally put them on the back burner.

I thought the overlap with Too Low sleeping with Mattie AND Tera was unnecessary and extra. I can see him sleeping with one of them but an entire secret life, house, bills in his name all with face BM … and the kids say nothing, huh?!

Last thing that just didn’t really make sense for, Babi loved kids and the majority of the story made it seem as if Too Low couldn’t have children. Which would have made sense, but not Tera and Mattie end up pregnant. I think the storyline had more value when it appeared that Babi got the things she didn’t have with Too Low with Face.

[BetweentheCoversLiterary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honey this was an extraordinary read and I loved it from beginning to end. I knew from the beginning that things just didn’t add up with Too Low and eventually things would come to the surface my girl Babi was just to green but I get it because that first love is a mutha and it hard to break free the the entanglements of baby love and all it’s history. But Face hunny is straight pressure all gas and go from out the gate and i loved that for Babi… he wasn’t no complete saint but he loved that girl and everything that can with her bs. I love a happily ever after but I want more of them so bad… Mattie and Tera and Too Low got off way to easy for messing around with these folks lives but I cant wait for more because Nicole doesn’t miss and I ready

[TheReaderVert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kept going back and forth with this book. It went from getting on my nerves to enjoyment back to getring on my nerves and then enjoyment kinda. Nicole Jackson is a pro with erotica and nasty smex scenes. As always, these scenes steal the show. The biggest hurdle for me is that there was this underlying mystery, but it was quickly and hurriedly solved in the last 10%. The HEA overall was a little lacking. Huge time jumps were given, but some of the characters' actions remained the same. I just couldn't completely get in line with the FMC. She was a liar a lot throughout the book. She was immature and handled problems in very annoying ways. I get that characters have flaws, but the immaturity really set me off. I also felt we spent a large portion of the book with the main characters dancing around each other. Not the MMCs fault, but how the FMC just was moving. She was moving foul. Once the mystery gets solved, that fall-out was serious but we had little to no time to truly absorb the shock. It was just BOOM! "wasn't that wild" and then that's it.

[Isatta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Don't Know What to Say

Nicole Jackson knows she can write some mess and clean it up while making you eat every single word up. I am usually not a fan of a cheating trope or knsta love, yet here I was eating all this up. Face and Babi are two very odd characters because even though they appear unlikeable, they each grow on you. I loved how their personalities complimented each other. I loved watching them fall in love and handle their issues, then grow together. This book is a perfect mixture of sweet and messy.

[Kendyll · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my type of mess!! I haven't read a good urban book in a while and this was entertaining and had a good story line. The only thing I would have changed is that Mattie would NOT have made it through this book untouched. She deserved to get her ass whooped 😂

[Bug · Rating 4 out of 5]

painting for love

This book was funny. Had me giggling while reading. The conversation felt real. The plot was entertaining. I would recommend to someone who like alpha male very “touch her and die

[Deja Trotman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y’all I was not expecting the twist that popped up in this book! And yall know I’m not a cheating in a book lover but this time I was all for it!

[Jay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have only ready three books by author Nicole Jackson- She's Got it, She's Got it 2 and When it's Real. With that being said there's a bit of a colorism trend going on here and too many typos to forgive! Her darker skinned charters are written as unattractive with some exception made for them having nice bodies. Her darker skinned characters are always written as inferior to their lighter skinned counterparts. Falyn and Babi are one and the same; while Crystal, Janah and Chell face the same insecure challenges, and the same can be said about Tino and Face. I don't have an issue with characters being recycled to tell a different story, my issue was how uncomfortable I was left feeling, it’s like the author has trauma of her own that she's trying to resolve through her characters. It was hard to read the lighter more favorable heroin psychoanalyze the darker friend Chell while getting it mostly wrong. Babi does this sitting high while looking low judgment a lot, and it's written as if she has thought really deeper to understand and empathize with the struggles faced in the hood, but no, she still ends up being a baby mother, taking a risk with another street ninja, while holding on to a just in case low income apartment because she is also insecure in her relationship.

Keyshawn has it all figured out for everyone else, but she’s just another hood rat, that heavily relies on her sexual prowess and “witty” personality to secure another ninja that is obsessed with her for now. Because are you really trying to convince the readers that Face had a coming to Jesus moment, and put aside his lil boy tendencies because he was faced with being a single parent? Yeah, that makes sense, after-all he is a drug kingpin that is emotionally mature, while still controlling the new woman, because he’s insecure about how he got her. But wait let’s not forget that he is ready to leave the streets because his daughters and mother deserve his presence, oh no I forgot it was after Babi comes along pops out two identical red sons with fine curly hair, and demands that he exits the game, is when Face has his grand awakening.

There was a cringeworthy scene where everyone is ganging up on Chell the darker friend and speaking poorly about her looks, emphasizing that she was the ugly friend because she was the darker one out of the light skinned circle. No one criticized her for her lean addiction, alleged prostitution, multiple baby daddies, no she only got called out for being the hating angry dark skinned woman. Who overall was the only one trying to get Babi to see that she was fortunate (for all we knew) to have a man that was faithful and dedicated to their relationship, however flawed her logic was at the times she was still a reasonable voice amongst the other birds. All these women were equally yoked (aside from the childless Babi at the time, she only had the distinction briefly of not being a baby mama like everyone else) but again there was a hierarchy, and Chell fell to the bottom just because she was dark skinned and It was not uplifting at all, and as a “girls girl” this rubbed me the wrong way. You could have really address r this sensitive issue in good taste and with a lot more understanding. I initially felt sorry for the author because I could tell she was attempting to address colorism faced in our community, but it felt more like her projection, rather than actually doing a deeper dive into why colorism heavily plagues black and brown communities. The end result left undeveloped superficial characters that felt empty. After finishing the book I’m convinced this is the work of the CIA, because all the stereotypical tropes were in this book, and she wrote this BS knowing who her targeted demographic was.

Also writing the characters that are darker as less desirable while writing all the lighter skinned girlies where blessed with the looks, the "good hair," nice bodies, and thought deeper than their beauty just screamed I felt like the ugly friend growing up. Everyone else including their “haters” focused on their beauty, it became a common theme that every other page reminded you just how light skinned, redbone or how soft their hair texture was and I can’t make this up, I’m just not that creative. I'm not exaggerating, the darker characters Chell and her daughter had "nappy" hair and the lighter characters have long soft texture coils, that was soooo exotic. Babi, Babi's mother, Soya, Casey, Bunny, Face's mother, Mattie, Terra all of these are light skinned characters with good hair and 95% of the female characters in this story are written that way. The men only value their looks, well at least that’s how they’re written most times. You do have the occasion when Too Low and Face are also impressed that Babi is more than her looks, she actually has maybe average IQ because she ..... reads and gets deep. -__-

I'm not sure why all the darker skinned females characters I have read by the author always have to suffer and are insufferable and evil at the same time. Remember Chrystal from She Got it, Chrystal was setup to be raped by her drug addicted mamas trick in this first chapter, so we can almost get why she turned out the way she did, but there was no redeeming qualities about her and nothing to address what happened, nothing about why her mom always selected Chrystal to be abused and not Fayln because morals be damned, that lady did not give AF. I understood why she resented Falyn and I also understood her choices, but when it’s constantly reinforced that dark women = struggle story and inferiority I will kindly draw a line. The same can be said for Chell, what made this woman so bitter, and even spiteful to her own daughter? I believe it’s understood by those that get it, but if you’re writing on such a sensitive topic it should be done from the perspective of educating those that don’t. The author doesn’t go too deep with her characters and I think it’s lazy writing, and reminds me of a TP production.

It also can be said that she intentionally wrote the darker women in a way that only allows you to empathize with the FMC as if the world isn’t already handed to them because they can pass a brown paper bag test (yes this was mentioned in the book, I kid you not) and they have fine textured hair. These poor women were all are written so horrible that you just hate them because they're actually evil, and it feels like they are only evil because they’re dark skinned and that’s problematic. The book does a horrible job addressing the root cause as to why Chell is bad mother, because it fails to address why any of the women are to reevaluating their lives, the have just resolved to defeatism and eventually you don’t root for any of them even the FMC. There was a conversation that Babi and Face had while she was cleaning his house and it took me out of the book briefly and made me question the authors personal ideologies. On the surface, it’s a very weak attempt at discussing a serious problem, but then when you peel back the layers you realize that this is the authors attempt at writing from her understanding of colorism and it’s quite sad especially at her big age.

She's Got it was published in 2014 and When It's Real was published in 2025, that’s over a decade to actually evolve your craft and when you know this information you have to question why and who this was written for, because why is everything still so superficial? The standard of beauty has changed so much in the past decade, I’m not ignorant to say colorism still doesn’t plague our community but I’m all the wiser to also know that dark-skinned doesn’t equate to being undesirable and evil, but I don’t think the author got the memo. All that self-hatred I had to read through had me exhausted when the book concluded, because you did all of that to write a story with an underwhelming hood adjacent plot. The level of freak in this book, probably could have been somewhat redeeming because who doesn’t like a good sexual adventure? But the undertones of the story, just had me chalk up this as suspicion that the author visited corn-hub (IYKYK) to get some material, because there were some things that screamed dark web activities and the writing style choice also confirms it.

Overall the book gave unaddressed colorism, misogyny, and hyper-sexuality written under the guise of smut porn brought to you by TP Studios.

After I finished this book I instantly attempted to look up the author and I’m going to say this as gently as possible. I was correct in my earlier assumption’s, her characters are a reflection of her own insecurities. It would have been so much easier for me to understand if the author looked like Falyn or Babi. Because then I could at least say she was trying her hardest to be an ally to her darker sisters, but still seeing the world through a lens of light skinned privilege. But unfortunately the author is more of a Chell, Crystal or Janah and that’s not to tear her down look wise, it’s just highlighting that someone who looks like the characters she clearly hates should maybe consider writing stories that uplift her a bit more, and maybe some thing’s can resolve if therapy isn’t an option. She doesn’t have any of the attributes of her FMC and I don’t get how someone that looks like the underdogs in her story can write from that perspective, and because of that Nicole Jackson you need to look within sis because this ain’t it.

I’m a dark skinned pro-black woman married to a dark skinned pro-black man, raising pro-black children of different shades and we intentionally operate with love and understanding for all shades of people in our community, because again it’s that deep. It’s a lot of healthy relationships in our community and I want to see more of that as representation even if you still gotta put us in the hood. I must say that I was repulsed by the way black women both dark and light skinned were represented in this body of work, it was reckless and lazy writing, written by an alleged black woman in 2025 and with all that I’ve said so far sister, I want to tell you that you’re foul for this BS story!

ETA: I wonder if the author secretly hates the FMC because she’s light skinned and by rubbing it in the readers face that she is more desirable because she’s light skinned with fine hair maybe her intentions are for the readers to hate her also. It makes sense, when society has condition black women to hate themselves, that self-hatred manifest in many ways. I initially thought that the author wanted to be light skinned, but it could just as well be that she hates light skinned women and both are sad and wrong. Black women been pitted against each other and it’s been a long quiet beef between dark and light skinned women, but it’s tiresome and unproductive and I just can co-sign this program of them vs us, it’s harmful an it benefits no one. Dang Nicole girl, it’s 2026 and I want to believe especially from what I’m seeing online that the majority of black women understand that we are not each others enemies, sisterhood is all we have in a white supremacist system, and I’m not about to hate on my sister because there was an attempt to condition me to believe I am inferior to whiteness and I need to get as close to it as possible to have value. So even that Nicole just didn’t work the way you wanted to, and I’m not even hate on you because I want you to win, because when you win that’s one more on the books for black girls and black women. So understand that all things said, although extremely, critical was said in love. I’m out!

[Pinks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gets Real When the Trials Hit !!

Author Nicole did something alright 👏with this she was not playing. The book had me in a chokehold couldn’t put it down and finished in a couple hours 🤣🤣🤣. The way I was cracking up and sitting in shock throughout the story was untelling. Babi and Face was a connection that had no control and couldn’t be stopped it was meant to be. I don’t condone cheating that’s for sure but BABY I was telling Babiiiii to do it lmbooo because her relationship on an outsiders view was so telling that it was NOT it at all, didn’t mesh, didn’t make sense. The name Too Low should have been a hint for her anyway but imma blame it on her youth from them being kids to now adults because that was played out odee. I loved Babi’s character she is for sure one of those females that is real and holds it down even when wronged and holds herself accountable right or wrong. Face wasn’t playing w/ his girl he came full stepping and said you’re not going back period 🤷‍♀️. I loved their dynamic and chemistry even with all the trials that was coming at them their relationship was authentic even their beginning was very cute to me lol maybe that’s just me. But I loved to see them and their HEA and fully enjoyed this book beginning to end 👌.

[Jaliesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

let me know it’s real & boy did Babi & Face let us know it’s Real!

At this point all the stories I’ve read so far from Nicole are sooo entertaining you just be lost in the pages , waiting for the action , the drama cause boy it’s going to be some and I am eating her catalog up. This was another good read .

Face did not let up and I was here for just kept wanting more and more of them! Babi really was a vibe and when everything unfolded that made me happy she got her HEA. Cause man I still think she was loyal idc idc . The girls & the boys! Just cuteeee!

Slick I was mad that too low played cause I kinda was rooting for him and I wanted him to have his hae , I was wrongggg. & I’m glad I didn’t switch up with face!

[Ko MAC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicole you ate with this one

Baby when it’s real is the perfect title. I like Babi she was humble and carried herself a certain way. But one thing I learned if a man want you to not be seen at all and dont allow you to have any friends that’s a red flag. Too Low named should have been TOO LOW DOWN. I’m not holding nobody down in jail like Babi did. Whole time he was cheating but sis met Face kind of by accident not really bc she damaged his car 🫠. When she had to pay off that debt for the damage, they was kind of inseparable since. I love a little drama and mess and this book gave me just that.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5⭐️) I enjoyed Face & Babi together…”He said, I like you. I want you. You got a man? Not my problem.” She however was kinda foul in the way that she moved. So it’s no wonder that she found herself questioning the foundation of the relationship a lot. She also acted very immature throughout way too much of the book. I think the last 20% of the book was super rushed and I think if less time was spent on dragging out their relationship it wouldn’t have ended with so many unanswered questions. Overall you’d enjoy if you want messy good shenanigans with likable but flawed characters.

[Ari · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a TikTok recommended book and honestly... it just didn't do it for me. I feel like the plot idea was solid, it just could've been executed way better. The characters seemed very underdeveloped and the writing felt a bit juvenile, not to mention all the typos and grammar issues.

Overall, I say 2 stars, because I think the plot had a lot of potential. But I couldn't give it more than that.

[Taees_Cozy_Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was cute and I love how he was so sweet to her .

[Bathabile Ralitsela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I Mean, I Guess.

[Amena Diakite · Rating 2 out of 5]

•The writing was a bit juvenile, and there were major editing issues. "A" in front of words that start with consonants. "An" for vowels.
•As someone stated, the FMC lacked ambition to make her situation better. If you are going to use the system, use it right. Stack the money that you have left over and put it to good use. Fund yourself so you can enter into a high tax bracket and love the life you really want. But it does show the mindset of a lot of people who are still in the projects. They're content as long as they're getting by.
•And Babi came off a little dense at first. Why is it taking for you cousin and neighbor to point out how mentally controlling Low is for you to finally see it? She made me question her moves the whole book. You moved however you moved when Low was locked up (which I don't blame you), but mad about that man moving on is not giving you love Face. Shorty was a manipulative liar frfr. She was confused. And childish. And I didn't like her.
•There was certainly a lot of colorism and hair shaming going on in the first few pages. Referring to another black woman's hair as "nappy" or "good" in 2025 is wild. And I guess being able to "pass the brown paper bag test" and have fine grade hair makes one "exotic." The whole bleaching of the skin and "she teaches her daughter not to like lightskins" was a major eye roll. It seemed as if the only woman who had self-esteem issues was the one heavily melanated character in the entire book.
•The spice scenes were cringe and underwhelming.
•I didn't see the BDE that Face was supposed to be carrying. He was just as insecure and controlling to a point. After that squabble with Low, Low hit his ass with the truth, and I don't see how you can come back from that. How are you okay with your girl still dealing with a "delayed breakup" after all the time that has passed? Nah, that's a simp. I didn't like him.
•Soya, ma'am, how are you gonna send your cousin blindly on a mission and not pull up with her?
•Mattie was predictable but also random and weird asf. She was in her feelings like she was f*cking her brother or something.
•The plots twists fell flat.
•And when did Shi jump from 10 to 12 ?
•All of the characters were unlikable
•nonetheless, I was entertained 🤷🏾‍♀️

[Pookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Babi x Face

“When it’s real, you’ll know, you won’t be confused about it”

One thing Nicole is going to do is dig deep into her bag off messiness and create a stressful good time! Babi and Face (I see what you did there) were two unhinged individuals that found love in the middle of their chaos. They got together as the result of some drama and continued to thrive in it while it intensified.

This book did have its high points and funny moments, but there was a stretch that seemed to drag on. Overall, it was as a decent read.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Face when Its Real

I was very invested in this book because of Face. Face style on nothing but business on day one of meeting Babi. Babi, well she was ok, I didn't like the back and forth that she was doing with Too Low. I mean after face answered her phone and told Too Low what it was and this definitely ain't that, she should have moved on...PERIOD!!! Babi was childish as alk out doors and she was definitely playing games. Book was good, I give it ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2 stars.

[Katia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Love A Good Mess

Baby, the entertainment was a 10. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The pacing was great and it felt complete. It was messy and full of conflict, which made it so engaging I had to know how the story would end. Every character was flawed, and I appreciate that in a book. But Mattie? Throw her away because she trifling.

[Nikki B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Head trip for sure 🤪

Every time you think you've figured out Nicole Jackson's angle, she throws a curveball and sucks you in deeper. This was such a great story! Like... really like that! The twists and drama were all to notch and the heat was all that we expect from this author 🥵💦 I will say this book showed me you never know who's who and what's what and I love that for me🤭 I loved Shi and Aspen! I loved the way things organically played out. I really loved how we saw the way insecurities could make a person get tricked out of their position if they're not careful. Great story 👏🏾 4.5 🌟 editing errors stopped it from being a 5 🌟

[Cardi Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa!

That took me thru all the emotions. Face was grown grown. Babi thought she had a man til she met him. He’s a real man. Tera and Too Low better be glad they only got locked up.

[SMBF · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Tanya LaTasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

mind blown

OMG the plot twist in this one was crazy! Face and Babi, with her stubborn self, were cute together and though their intro was wild, their union gave all the feels! Now the reason I’m not rating this a 5 is because the grammatical and editing errors, the period every three words, my goodness…this tells awesome stories but the editing makes it so hard to read without feeling frustrated.

[JazzReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the characters. I was just not a fan of the overall plot of the story.

[Luv , Lish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually don’t go for insta love but this was cool for a quick read.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

unusual story but beautiful

The epilogue could’ve been longer that was literally the only thing that dropped my rating down to a four from a five. The writing was beautiful. There were a little errors, but it did not stop flow of the story. I would totally recommend you read this.