Real Love

Love After #3

by Alexandria House

Outspoken and more than capable of backing up her words, loan officer, Denise Buhari, is finally back on her feet after years of rebuilding her life following a horrible marriage and divorce. But just when she is ready to head into a future she’s sure will be bright, the rug is pulled out from under her again. Tattoo artist, Hasaan Peterson, meets Denise through her job, and although their relationship is initially contentious, it soon blossoms into a friendship that leads them to passionate feelings neither can deny. Could it be that Denise and Hasaan are destined to share a love that is unavoidable and undeniable…a real love?

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, African American Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, African American, Fiction

244 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2017

About the author

About the author
A true southern girl, Alexandria House has an affinity for a good banana pudding, Neo Soul music, and tall black men in suits. When this music-loving fashionista is not shopping, she's writing steamy stories about real black love.

Verve Romance: @msalexhouse

Instagram: @msalexhouse

TikTok: @msalexhouse

Facebook: Alexandria House

Reviews

[Annette Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normally when I finish a series, I'm always a little sad because I enjoyed it so much. That's not the case with the Love After Series. I just didn't enjoy these books as much as I thought I would. Here are a few cons about Real Love that annoyed me:

1. Denise didn't get fired. She got laid off. You don't get a severance package if you're fired. I expect an author to know the difference between being fired and being laid off.

2. Denise didn't even like her job so, what was with the unnecessary melancholy?!!! Especially, when her BFF's rich husband offered to give her a job and she turned him down.

3. When did VD make a comeback?!!! Did we time travel back to the 70's?!!! No one gets a VD but, they do get an STD. I'm fairly certain the author is younger than me so, it's weird she would use VD instead STD.

4. Why did Denise all of a sudden turn into a jealous shrew?!!! Didn't her ex-husband steal from her?!!! Christian didn't cheat on her. The way she acted when Haasan got that phone call about his Rafik was ridiculous and uncalled for.

5. I never thought the term baby could be overused but, after listening to this book, I realized it can.

6. Denise's reaction when she caught Haasan at the coffee shop with Mrs. Wycliff was absolutely ridiculous. After the shyt she pulled, I really wish Haasan had left her.

I really hate that I didn't enjoy this series but, fortunately, I've read other books by Alexandria House so I'll keep her on my favorite author list.

[SassyMama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this short HOT and SPICY read! Denise and Hasaan's journey to love was OFF-THE-CHARTS...once again the DRAMA is engaging...and the cast of characters is just as COLORFUL and lively as in the previous two books. KUDOS Ms. House on such an ENTERTAINING series...looking forward to reading more from this author.

[Antonella · Rating 3 out of 5]

wow I didn't expect that twist with the hero

tw: grooming, sexual relationship between teacher and the student hero was 13 when he had child with his teacher


2,5⭐

[Ezi Chinny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I’m not into the crazy black woman. Denise got violent and that annoyed me at the extent of her behavior. I liked Hassan very much and didn’t quite understand WHY his parents froze him out like they did. Denise was my least favorite of the friends

[Rashawnda · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Possible Spoilers**

Okay Haasan “with two a’s”. I loved this story so much. Denise was a firecracker in this book and Haasan was a real one. When he said he’s not like dudes that will let her drive around with bald tires and bug her over the phone while another man changes the flat had me hollering “YOU BETTER HAASAN”!!!! And the proposal!!! “did you know that he missed you before he knew you. He was calling for you before he knew your name” say what?! 😩💦. I was definitely not expecting the twist towards the end..🤯🤯 It was a really enjoyable series! AH does it again!

[Sharon :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad this series is over! It was a fun series!

[JBucky · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Good friends are what makes life worthwhile. Good friends, good food, & good love.” Mr Hasaan Peterson!!

This was my favorite book out of the series! I loved Hasaan & Denise’s love story! This one seemed the best developed to me!

Denise was also my favorite out of the friend group! She was sooooo relatable & FUNNNNNYYYY!!!

The way friendship was developed & maintain throughout the entire series was sooooo well done! I can say I really enjoyed!

[Lesa Divine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Denise love story.
After her divorce and her mini relationship with Christian she finds herself lost. Trying to figure out her life.

Hassan a guy that's looking to get his tattoo shop started. The first time him and Denise meets it didn't go so well.
But he ease himself into her life.

Enjoyed their relationship. Their growth. Denise was crazy but Hassan loved her.

[Deena · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 stars

This installment follows Denise and Hassan love story. Denise had a quite complicated love life prior to meeting Hassan. I think she used sex and her situationship with Christian as a way to feel a void. I truly think she desired a certain type of love from her mother that she never really received and didn’t know how to process her emotions without being violent. The bomb that Hassan dropped on her had me in complete utter shock! I WAS NOT expecting that, at all! I was truly entertained by this last installment and will say that this was my favorite out of the 3!

[Shaye Mighty · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I have to say is, this book gave the tingling feeling in my heart and the plot twist almost made me fall over

[Simply_YoYo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite out of the series.. Denise is a trip, she has jokes and a temper! Hassan the don!
I loved these two together! 🫶🏾❤️❤️

[Mrs. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet, sexy...... H and Denise, Yeah!

Alexandria first of all, I'm having a clear visual of H's big d'(k!!! Then I'm having so much fun in one minute and yelling at my Kindle in the next... Some might say that's a sign of either being crazy, or the author wrote the heck out of the story. In this case,I'm going with the latter. Here's the good good on this story. Denise met Hasaan when he stopped into her bank seeking a loan to open a tattoo joint.... Even though she thought he was a hot drop of chocolatey goodness, she denied his loan, and he lost his temper and went off on her. Even with his rudeness Denise gave him a few suggested ways to fund his new venture Thankfully her ideas eventually panned out for Haasan. So far so good right? Now meet Denise's mother. The best smack talker this side of the Mississippi... She had me cracking up most of the time with her smart remarks to Denise. And the fact that she and Denise were knee high to a grasshopper, made it more hilarious.. Then Rafiq had an interestingness in his character who sometimes had me scratching my head a few times over his behavior... It will be clearer in the end.
I always like to hear from previous characters as they add nicely to the storyline. And did I mention the chemistry between Haasan and Denise was sizzling hot!!!!! I liked the connection between them and the dialogue was laugh out loud funny. Denise reminded me of Maxine on Living Single... I really liked her character. And another thing to tell you about.... Yeah. Her! the old hag in the story The pedi whore beeatch? The old lady needed hands lain on her.... I was cheering Denise on.. Old girl got just what her nasty butt deserved. Dang pedi whore. My favorite as you can tell was Denise.. Little miss was bad ass.
Short stuff was an asskicker, snacktalking, littlething....... Sexy, sweet and so much fun.. Great job Alexandria!

[hea booktubes · Rating 5 out of 5]

CW for underage predatory relationship between student teacher in the past (none of the mc’s were the teacher). I’m so happy that I finally picked up this book. While it wasn’t without its heaviness, it was mostly focused on the couple finding happiness, which is all I want. As usual, the sex scenes were fire, I was deeply amused by the humor, and was thrilled to watch them be happy.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 "Denise don't play!" Stars

Denise was hilarious and crazy AF! I loved this one. But this story does address a very serious issue. Check the content warning. Happy reading!

CW: Pedophilia, child abuse, abuse of power by a teacher.

[RedEnigma94 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly liked how this story started out, like a sort of an enemies to lovers thing. I couldn't wait to see how the author was going to get these two together seeing how Hasaan was initially put off by Denise because he’d been denied a loan at the bank where she worked. They meet again when she needs his help and things are quite awkward because of the angry exchange from before. I liked that they both were mature enough to move past that and even help each other with their respective businesses/future career opportunities.

Then, a lot happens…

Denise was always the feistier of the three...ready to throw hands at a moment's notice. She uses her ex, Christian, for sex after she had already beat him for being honest enough to break it off with her because he thought he was not over his ex. I knew she was crazy and a bit violent, but she was over the top in this story though. I mean, I didn't like it either when "ms. nasty" showed up thinking she had a right to. What she did was all types of messed up! But Denise was destroying public property and carrying on, it was utterly ridiculous! Then later, she beats "ms nasty" who was clearly at least 57 or older, based on the age Hasaan said she was when she did what she did to him and how many years have passed. Why couldn't Denise just beat the woman down with her words, and then call the authorities on her stalkerish behind! Denise could put anybody in their place and have them quivering like a shrinking violet. Before that, the way she reacted about his brother, Rafiq's phone call?! It made no sense to be jealous of his brother's girlfriend who was just trying to make sure Rafiq wouldn't drink and drive. I was like, "dang, girl! Chill!" Her temper was a mess!

For me, this story was missing that emotional connection between Hasaan and Denise. They talked, but they hardly ever "talked." I know I don't need to say this, but I'm definitely no prude. I love sex scenes in books, especially hotAF ones, but that's all these two basically did. I mean, he finally convinced to her to get a tattoo, and he was so turned on by her back and ass, they skipped the tattoo session and had sex instead. I was kind of looking forward to Denise getting a tattoo and hearing how it came out. They had sex on her desk, in his back room in the tatt parlour, in her break room...I was just hoping for a little more.

The drama with Hasaan, Rafiq, and their parents was much more interesting and that was cut short with a quick resolution. Just when we were getting a bit of emotional unrest, it was all fixed.

[Naika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, so this definitely put me through the wringer. I’m not even sure where to begin.

Denise, the female main character, was emotionally unstable. They way she flew off the handle was deeply troubling. And rather than really call her out and encourage her to seek some much needed therapy, her friends and loved ones seemed to laugh it off and accept it as part of who she was. And it honestly didn’t make sense to me, seeing how quickly Denise called out others and gave them ultimatums (i.e. the whole situation on how Hasaan allowed Rafiq to walk over him).

Hasaan was an interesting character. I think the buildup to their being a couple was good but when they actually were officially together, there were so many dysfunctional aspects that were either brushed aside or not even acknowledged.

Honestly, I did not expect that twist in the story with Hasaan and it really bothered me that there wasn’t some trigger or content warnings. (Unless I missed them). I don’t feel like his childhood trauma was adequately or sensitively addressed and unpacked. Hasaan was groomed and assaulted and it’s a wonder his character wasn’t the one dysregulated partner in their relationship. Honestly from that point on in the book, I essentially was in a rush to finish.

The ending seemed to tie up nicely with a bow but given everything that led to that point, it was not realistic. Rafiq definitely needed more processing and closure. Hasaan and Denise never talked about how the newly revealed secret would impact their goals for married life. I was left utterly baffled by how “Real Love” panned out.

CW: grooming, sexual assault, anger issues, drunken behaviors, stalking

2.5 stars...and perhaps that’s generous.

[Alvina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real Love

I read this book in late 2020, yet didn't write a review on Amazon Kindle, so here we go.

Don't mess with Denise Buhari. That chick is crazy and although I'm not too fond of her type of attitude and temper, she was comical nonetheless. I liked that she was always ready to defend those she loved, yet sometimes, it was a bit much.

I liked Hassan's calm demeanor; it definitely calmed the firecracker that was Denise😏. I loved that he stated he was a grown man and wanted more with Denise than just being her booty-call and how he laid it all out for her. Got to respect that.

That twist with Hassan was... WOW! Such a horrible thing that I'm sure happens quite a bit, yet since he's was a young boy, it was overlooked and he was made to be the bad guy. Broke my heart.

I was too through when Denise started taking off her boots and earrings; I laughed out loud🤭. She was not playing🤣🤣🤣.

I didn't know, the first time I read this, what was ultimately going to happen with all the twist and turns, and I enjoyed that. The second time I read it, I was more aware, yet able to see more of the full picture of things.

This was such a great way to wrap up this series and I'm hoping to get more updates on these lovebirds. Really, really good series.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the first 85% of the book, I really thought this one would be my favorite of the series. It was cute and a little bit of a slow burn and just an easy, sweet, and sexy romance. But then. The shit hit the fan. I’m talking about off page pedophilia in the past (the hero reveals that he had sex with his married 7th grade teacher when he was 13, she got pregnant, her husband made her give up the baby, and the hero’s parents raised the baby as their own so his son became his little brother). Um. What. It was too much. I understand needing to inject some drama and tension into your story but surely there were other ways to accomplish that.

CW: toxic parental relationships, pedophilia, assault

[Shanae · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-star novel.

No real intimacy between the male and female main characters. There’s a very serious subject in the book that’s not handled well. The female main character is erratic, violent and mean. I couldn’t find her redeemable qualities.

Now that I’ve read the series, I’d rank them in the following order from best to least: Book 1, Book 3, then Book 2. Alexandria House’s most recent books are much much better than this series.

I recommend her books, but I’d start with the McClain series and go from there.

[LaToya Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!

I definitely did not see that twist in the plot coming! That book was good. I kinda figured it would be Chris at the end

[Crystal (Melanatedreader) Forte' · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute series... Loved the poetry and how the characters intermingled and resurfaced from the other books in the series

[April R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book. It had great conflicts that I wished were handled differently. I was pretty uncomfortable reading about Denise’s behavior, although it seemed to be a trait passed down from her mother. I wished certain characters faced responsibility.

However, Hasssn & Denise’s story was very enjoyable. I was glad to see them have a happy ending despite the challenges that they faced throughout the book.

[ShayBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unpredictable

Real love is the third installment in the Love After series, In my opinion this was the best out of three. That plot twist blew my mind and I was excited about not realizing it until just before it was revealed. This book did all things the author was hoping it did. It made me giggle,laugh,and cross my leg a time or two, it did leave me with some unanswered questions but I am good. Great read!!!

[Tonya Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️This book made me laugh, cry and mad. I laughed most out of this 3rd and final book of this series. It was just right and had so much stuff going on and touched on many prominent in today’s society.

It was written very well. Again could hardly put it down. Smooth read. Ms. House again chefs kiss. Well do. Truly enjoyed this series.

[Layeshia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the love journey Denise and Hassan!
Once again a great story of secrets, lies and half truths. Denise is a strong black woman very much no nonsense ...it’s your ass if you don’t come correct.Denise doesn’t play! And asked for Hassan. He’s tall fine and has secrets. Five star story.

[Lynn Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

No. Because why did H have me twisted like that??? I would have done anything for this man 😩🧎🏾‍♀️🧎🏾‍♀️🧎🏾‍♀️. I really loved this book. Denise might need a few anger management classes..but other than that, this book ATE!

[Keesha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The crazy friend or sibling is always the last book in the series. Denise’s book was no exception! I was ready for the silly fight that results in a dumb break up in the final quarter of the book. But A. House had something else in store and I did not see it coming.

[PrincezzBookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed the entire series. I love watching black women be loved properly without hesitation. This man met her exactly where she was even when they didnt have an ideal introduction. I need to find me somebody who's a secret millionaire lol.

[Peta · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5!!!! One of my favorites from Alexandria house.

[BOOKLOVER_81 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great end to this series!! I'm obsessed with men who are obsessed with their women!! And H is that man. The ending kinda shocked me... so this is a must-read.

Listened via libby.