Yes please, more please! I loved The Real Thing. I thought that it could have been finished halfway through. So for me the rest was just frosting on the cupcake as Zane would say. I can't wait to read the rest of Willow's siblings stories.

What Melissa Foster does, she does well. She writes sweet books that makes you cheer for the couple and you do it with a smile on your face.

Zane is a hot movie star and Willow (even the name sounds sweet) is a baker. They grew up together and (of course) never confessed their feelings for each other. Zane returns to town and he needs to clean up his image so (of course) Willow agrees to be his fiance'. And (of course), their feelings develop and they have an HEA!

I don't consider this a spoiler, because hey...that's the formula and that's why we read these books! Foster is a pro at giving readers a book that isn't overly mushy and low on soap opera qualities. She is always a must read author.

Sweet beach read. I had a hard time connecting with the two characters, they didn't act like late 20s/early 30s. Zane was immature and Willow was too capricious for my tastes. That being said, this is a typical romance that doesn't stray too far from the "fake fiancé/spouse" storyline.

Zane Walker might be a sexy, playboy Hollywood actor, but he is the sweetest thing since frosting!

Willow Dalton pleas (ok she just asks and he readily agrees) for Zane to be her first before she goes off to college. Playing the encounter off as just a one and done- both Willow and Zane have never fully gotten over the connection they shared while growing up. Secrets revealed of their relationship after their encounter are both sad and sweet.

Zane concocts a plan for Willow to play his fake fiance to clean up his image. Zane's play to get Willow is irresistible and charming. Willow is trying to resist but knows the boy before he became a Hollywood Hot Hunk. Deceiving her family and friends is hard for Willow when everyone is thrilled with her engagement to Zane, the boy they felt she was destined to be with. However, soon she finds she sucks at acting because her feelings are real.

That's all fine with Zane because his feelings are no act. I loved Zane. When his assistant spills the beans to Willow on his Hollywood life it's adorable.

Willow and Zane were supportive of one another while still giving each other crap! LOL!

This story was excellent for a foundation book in a series that brought all the other characters sure to have their own book while not bogging the story line down.

Willow thought she was getting a catering job. Unfortunately, when she arrived she finds out she was tricked. It turns out that her friend Zane had his own plan for her. He wanted her to pretend to be his fiance for a weeks to help his career. Willow wasn't too thriled with this but agreed in the end. Will they really be able to end this fake engagement after the time specified and go back to being friends?

This book sounded like it would be good from the blurb. However, I found the plot too boring for me and didnt enjoy it so I eventually had to give up on reading it.

I couldn't get through the first chapter sadly.. I couldn't connect with the main character

There are quite a few tropes from romance novels mixed together in this story. Second chance romance - check. Pretend engagement - check. Hot actor with ordinary woman - check. Cute small town where everyone knows everyone - check. Guy falling for his best friend’s little sister - check. It all comes together in a sweet package, which is appropriate since Willow, the heroine, runs a bakery.

Her first crush, her big brother’s best friend, Zane has become a huge Hollywood star of action movies. For some reason, the movie is filming in their hometown in upstate New York. Zane tricks/convinces Willow into asking to pretend to be engaged to him to help his reputation. As if no Hollywood actor has a reputation for sleeping around. She agrees and within a few days, he’s convinced her that he has always loved her and they should make it real.

There’s a little bit of small-town sweetness and a tiny bit if her having to cope with dating a famous actor, but it all gets resolved pretty quickly and easily. It was pleasant, but not gripping. Think of the novel as cotton candy - fun and sweet but without much substance to it. If that is what you’re in the mood for, this book will be just right for you.

I was given a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

My first Melissa Foster book, and it was a quick, fun read.

Zane and Willow's lives have been entwined for years. He's her older brother's best friend, and they have developed a friendship and relationship of their own.

I liked that they each appreciated and loved a lot about the other - more than just physical appearance. Their shared past meant that they saw a lot more than what is on the surface.

While I did really believe they cared about each other deeply, it felt like there was a lot of time devoted to their physical relationship. Since this is the first book I've read by the author I'm not sure if this is normal in her novels. I have read a lot of romance this year, but it felt like there could have been less of this aspect of the story in the book.

Willow's family is very tight knit and it was sweet how close she is to all of her siblings especially. They added a lot of humor to the story and I think they'll be great in future books in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Melissa Foster and I think I fell in love with her writing. The book was sweet all over, beginning through end and it had actually nothing to do with Willow's sweets.
I quickly fell in love with Zane and Willow, they were the cutest together and the love they shared was so strong, it was beautiful to read. Their journey was an amazing one, even with those 10 years spent with their feelings towards one another and that night buried. That time 'apart' made the way they came together again even more perfect, it was a true joy to read. It was just really so sweet, I was swooning throughout almost the whole book with how cheesy and dreamy Zane was with Willow.
Here are some of my favorite Zane moments...

'I'm about as imperfect as they come, but my love for you is real.' (Not true, he is as close to perfect as it gets. The perfect book boyfriend.)

'With a finger beneath her chin, he lifted her eyes to his. "You're the sweetest thing". "I'm your sweetest thing."'(Seriously, they're the absolute cutest. The sweetest thing together.)

'His arms pushed beneath her cradling her body against his, until even air couldn't fit between them. Their mouths came together as they began to move, and he kissed her so deeply, so lovingly, years of pent-up emotions came rushing forward.' (SWOON. They share the sweetest moments, even when they are dirty and playful, you can see what they're sharing is much more than their bodies.)

Seriously, I had no expectations going into this book and it ended up surprising me in the most wonderful way. I really enjoyed this read and I absolutely recommend to any and every Romance lover out there.
Also, I'm excited to see what happens with each and every one of Willow's siblings because yes, I'm so reading each and every of their books!!

The Real Thing is a wonderful contemporary love story about two people who were always destined to be with each other, however being to young, stupid and scared their lifes went differently. Over 10 year later there`s still this subliminal attraction which can no longer be ignored. Particularly if the previously maintained distance is eliminated; with the help of a fictitious engagement.

This book is intense, hot and funny. I liked how Zane and Willow conquered their fears and decided themselves "to feel" and to trust in each other.

The Real Thing by Melissa Foster is a deliciously sweet romance with a cast of characters that will leave you breathless! I absolutely LOVED this book and couldn't stop reading once I started. It's a story about a fake relationship and while I have read this trope thousands of times already, Melissa's touch to the story made it stand out amongst all of the other ones. I can't wait to get my hands on the next one!

Wow. This was my first book from this author and I devoured this book. I'm a fast reader anyway, but this one kept me wanting to see what happened with Willow and Zane. It was such fun to watch them fall deeper and deeper in love and such a journey. When I got to the end of the book and thought back to who the characters were in the beginning and how much they had grown by the end of the book. Definitely in my top five list of romances I've read this summer!

I love a good second chance romance by Melissa Foster! And the fact that this is book one in the series make me giddy!

Willow and Zane are getting a second chance. Zane was Willow's brother's best friend and also her first! She asked him to be her first and help her out. She had a crazy list of rules following their fling that limited their future together. She did not think they could have one. Now, Zane is a famous actor and Willow has a bakery. Zane tricks Willow into meeting him and helping him by being his fake fiancee.

Willow and Zane are getting a second chance at the relationship they could have had when they were younger. Older and more mature, they have to deal with their pasts and present.

The description of this novel was what enticed me to request this book. It did not disappoint! I really loved the relationship between the two main characters. I was highly invested in the book from beginning to end. Thank for allowing me to read and review this novel!

There are some things you just don’t forget. For example, who was your first? For Willow, it was Zane, her older brother’s best friend. Willow went on to own a bakery. Zane became an A-list actor with a slutty reputation. To clean it up, Zane convinces Willow to be his fake fiancé. What happens when friends take the past one step further? Family, friends, and the whole community weigh in!

Melissa Foster has written a fun story that introduces us to Sugar Lake, a community in upstate New York, and to the Dalton family. Willow and Zane are fun, warm, and sexy. Enjoy this story and get ready for more!

This was a great book that went by entirely too fast. I enjoyed the characters Zane and Willow as they were well written characters with great chemistry. I enjoyed the sense of family and community that was throughout the book with the characters as well. I enjoyed watching Zane come to terms with the feelings that he had for a long time for Willow and finally embracing them while showing her that his feelings were true. I also enjoyed seeing Willow finally confess her feelings for Zane to him and embrace her future with him. I enjoyed this book from the first page and would recommend it to others.

I absolutely loved this book! When actor Zane Walker talks his longtime friend Willow Dalton into having a pretend engagement, he just can’t resist her. Although Willow had a lot of misgivings in posing as Zane’s temporary fiancé, she quickly learns her feelings for him are more than just good friends. AND it’s more than just the sweets coming from Willow’s bakery that are tempting them both. Melissa Foster has written another bestseller and a great beginning for the brand new series, Sugar Lake!

This is the story of Zane and Willow. We have met Willow in other books and this is the start of a new series by Melissa Foster about a family at Sugar Lake. We have met Willow and her siblings in other books as they know the characters we hve enjoyed in other series books.

Willow is a baker in Sugar Lake and its a delicious and successful business. She thinks she is getting a major job at a hotel and so she drags her car , herself and her pastries to this hotel where she finds out she has been duped. There is no job,just a man. a VERY HOT MAN, Zane, the hottest actor on the planet, Willow's devirginizer from 10 years before and her brother Ben's best friend.

The two grew up together and had crushes on the other and when Willow was 18 she asked Zane to take her virginity before college. She had abunch of rules so despite them having feelings neither followed up on the other though they stayed in touch.

Now ten years later Zane wants a favor and that is a fake engagement with Willow because his movies focus group thinks its a great idea. Sound flimsy to you? Well it does to Willow but she figures whatever. That is until the media gets a little crazy and her family finds out and Zane's plan goes belly up.

And then she has to decide if its fake or true love. Along the way Zane and her have lots of hot sex and they hve to decide what they really have together and can it last in the real world between the hottie and the baker. Throw in lots of friends and family and delicious pastries and this was a fun story with a lot of hot sex and romance.

This was awell written and fun story. I enjoyed all the characters and am interested in reading their stories. Zane and Wills were a fun couple and I enjoyed their story. I felt things for them worked out very smoothly. They did not have many obastacles besides themselves and so while I enjoyed the story, it was not very fast paced or one I could not put down.

"We're good at crossing lines, remember?" "Cross this line with me, Willow."

"If alpha male had a scent, it would smell like Zane Walker, rugged and musky, with an underlying hint of come-hither and a dash of panty-melting lust."

"Zane didn't just kiss Willow; he possessed her with his arms, his hands, his wicked tongue. He delved into the recesses of her mouth, unleashing a surge of heat that first flooded, the consumed her from the inside out. She had almost forgotten what a real kiss felt like."

This was such a fun, fun book! I am such a sucker for those friends to lovers/fake relationship type romances and this one totally takes the cake. The Real Thing is wonderfully written, entertaining and is the kind of story that will leave you smiling while pulling at your heartstrings. 

The Real Thing is told from dual points of view and is the first book in an exciting new series from author Melissa Foster. From the moment I picked up this book, I couldn't help but be drawn to Zane and Willow. The connection between these two was strong and undeniable. The tension just oozed off the pages and begged to be explored. Add in one of my favorite troupes, a fake relationship, and you have the recipe for one delicious read. 

The Real Thing was absolutely everything that I wanted. It was fun. It was sexy. It was entertaining. The chemistry was real and I loved Zane and Willow together. Sure they weren't perfect and they made their fair share of mistakes, but that's the beauty of love. When you find the real thing, you fight for it...No matter how long it may take before it's finally yours. 

Author Melissa Foster has once again delivered a wonderful and unforgettable read. From a fun story-line to a sinful alpha male to the importance of family and an unforgettable love...This book has it all. The Real Thing kicks off a fabulous start to the Sugar Lake Series and I can't wait to read more!