Keeping it Real

by Marion Myles

Can you fake your way into true love?

Once an A-list Hollywood actress, Sloane’s career is now circling the drain. As in, no one will hire her. Even for supporting roles. And her ex-boyfriends are making matters worse by telling anyone who’ll listen—and plenty are listening—she’s an uptight, anal, ice-cold robot of a woman. According to her manager and publicist she needs an image make-over. STAT.

Whiz-kid, Ryder, revolutionized on-line dating when he created the Her Choice dating app. But that was ten years ago. When Ryder’s business manager warns him he’s about to be removed from the board of his own company, he realizes it’s time to take drastic measures.
Before they can so much as blink, Sloane and Ryder find themselves in a fake relationship with an air-tight contract and time-lines and contingency plans. Everything’s so structured it might as well be a military operation.

Now all they have to do is pretend to love one another long enough to fix all of their image problems. Sloane will become the new ‘It Girl’ of Hollywood romcoms. Ryder will win over the board of his company and get his latest idea funded.
And everyone will walk away—separately—with their happily-ever-after. How hard can it be, right?

307 pages, Paperback

Published January 28, 2022

About the author

Marion Myles hasn't always been a writer. She spent the first few decades of her life as a professional equestrian and travelled across North America training and competing at horse shows.

Aside from horses, she has had an enduring love affair with the written word. Her reading interests run the gamut from mystery to fantasy to woman's fiction and even young adult. But when it comes right down to it, her heart definitely lies in the romance section.

When not riding or writing, she devotes any spare moments to battling a debilitating addiction to Smarties and stalking her favourite authors on the internet. She's proud to say there are currently no restraining orders filed against her.

Marion lives in Southwestern Ontario with her beloved dachshund and her husband - also very much beloved!

Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorMarion...

Reviews

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sloane is an actress whose career is in trouble because she's tired of action heroine roles but she doesn't get cast into romantic comedies due to the public perception of her personality. She is seen as a cold, OCD personality, and past boyfriends have been badmouthing her in the press. Ryder is an app developer whose career is in trouble because a past break-up sent him into a tailspin and he has partied way too hard and lost the trust of the board of his company. They both have somebody in their corner who thinks their reputation would benefit from a stable relationship, so it is suggested they enter into a contractual fake relationship. Ryder shows up in their first meeting hung-over, and Sloane makes it clear she doesn't like him, but he ends up moving in with her anyway. There is a lot of animosity and attraction, as they both try to one-up each other, and after the inauspicious beginning it's hard for them to trust each other. But eventually they act on their chemistry and agree to have a real relationship. Despite the bad first impression, Ryder doesn't appear to be an alcoholic, and ironically it's Sloane who shows up hung-over to an important event next. It doesn't go well, and she freaks out and sabotages her relationship with Ryder as a consequence.

I liked the story and the characters although I am not sure some of their pranks would have endeared anyone to me. When Sloane had her final freak-out she had a change of heart rather quickly. There is some sexual content but it's not what I would call a steamy book. This is a stand-alone story although some characters have appeared in a previous book.

I read a Booksprouts arc with very minor editing issues, and this is a voluntary review.

[Ruth Hinojos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuando Sloan y Ryder necesitan cambiar la opinion publica sobre ellos, se encuentran en una relación falsa que los va a impulsar en su carreras y la persepción de las demas personas hacia ellos. En su primer encuentro las chispas vuelan pero del desdén que sienten el uno por el otro, cuando empiezan a vivir juntos por el contrato al que estan obligados empiezan las venganzas y juegos hacia el otro, pero en medio de sus juegos empiezan los sentimientos a florecer.

Fue una lectura entretenida y divertida, la recomiendo ampliamente.

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When Sloan and Ryder need to change public opinion about them, they find themselves in a fake relationship that will boost their careers and other people's perception of them. In their first meeting the sparks fly but from the disdain they feel for each other, when they begin to live together by the contract to which they are bound, revenge and games begin towards the other, but in the midst of their games feelings begin to blossom. .

It was an entertaining and fun read, I highly recommend it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Delma Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crazy Stars!

This was a cute and good book! Lots of craziness and laughs but it’s a love story also. Easy to read and it was written well!