Willow and Zane have known each other since they were kids. Zane happens to be best friends with her older brother, Ben. He spent more time at their house than his own dysfunctional one and was seen as a member of the family. Well, to everyone but Willow. She’s been crushing on him for ages. When he left town to make it big as a Hollywood actor, they remained in touch. They were not only really good friends, but they shared a secret (he was her first). When Zane needs to clean up his image as a renowned player, he looks to Willow to help him out. What happens when a fake engagement leads to real love?

When I’m looking for sweet, Melissa Foster is definitely at the top of my list. Her heroes are swoon-worthy and her heroines have spunk and more than prove that they’re a match for their men. Her stories are full of humor, family, friends, romance, good times and feel goods. The Real Thing gave me all of that and more and is worthy of a one-click!

Release Date: September 5, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Dual - 3rd person
Heat: 3 out of 5
Type: Standalone - Book 1 of the Sugar Lake series

Holy hotness! I mean, really, I shouldn’t be surprised – it is a Melissa Foster book after all!

I found Willow to be quite frustrating with her fears and rules and pushing Zane away. She tried so hard to keep him away – I just wanted to yell at her and tell her to stop being so mean and give love a chance.

Zane was our typical hero who you can’t help but love.

I truly enjoyed reading Willow and Zane’s story and melted at their life history that was consumed with love.

3.5 Stars Rating with Spoilers
I think this was a cute book and a quick read. Willow's childhood best friend Zane concocts a "plan" to help his lady's man image. Supposedly this was created to re-invent his image so that he does not look like a man who can't settle down, a man with many different women in his life. He's a big time actor from a small town. One he left as soon as he hit legal age, but he never forgot his friend Willow.

But he feels the "one" for him is his best friend Willow, a bakery owner and baker of all things sweet. The crazy idea is for her to pretend to be his fiance and fool everyone including her family whom she loves dearly. He's filming a movie in town and gets Willow to cater for the set which she does an awesome job. During most of the book, Zane is trying to convince Willow once and for all that she is the one for him and he wants the fake engagement to be real. The whole time Zane was lying about having to clean up his image and that it was his choice to film the movie in their small town. In the end, happily ever afters do happen for Zane and Willow.

I am in love with this new series by Melissa Foster. Although we briefly met both characters in previous books getting what turned out to be their love story was amazing. Willow and Zane are just perfect for each other, friends to lovers, sweet and sexy. I just had a huge grin on my face reading this book. It was so much fun! I cannot wait for the rest of the series.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

An over the top sexy and sweet and heartfelt romantic comedy from Melissa Foster that has won me over, heart and soul! This romance is fun, charming, electrifying, and full of heat, great banter and wit and wonderful and loved characters.

The Real Thing has one of the most lickable..I mean likable covers EVER! Sexy, fun, with a hint of sweet (thanks to those delicious looking cupcakes) I knew this book was going to be pretty good. But I didn't just get a pretty good story, I got a GREAT, ENTERTAINING, SEXY, and WITTY romance that was laugh out loud humorous at times, sweet as icing on a cupcake and romantic to boot. Melissa Foster I LOVED The Real Thing!

The Real Thing gets a SWEET, SCRUMPTIOUS FIVE SHOOTING STARS! Its ultra decadent!

This book is super cute. It has all my favorite elements in a romance. It has humor, steaminess, touching moments, a sexy alpha male, and a happily ever after. I love that Willow is such a natural beauty inside and out. She cares about her family friends, and community. She is very easy to relate to. Zane is the boy next door who became a huge celebrity. He has been in love with Willow forever but as one of the hottest male actors around he comes with a very busy past when it comes to women. Zane wants to make a change in his career and knows that it requires him to clean up his reputation. His plan seems simple enough. He has loved Willow as a friend and maybe more so a fake engagement seems like the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone. The downside is that he MAY have overestimated just how hard it would be to keep the lines between reality and fiction straight. I was rooting for this couple from page one. Willow and Zane are like the couple that you can't help but want to hang out with. My only complaint is that there could have been just a smidge more drama. Willow has a lot of siblings and Zane introduces a few characters of his own that I hope to read more about in the next installment to the Sugar Lake series.

****Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for granting me an advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions expressed here are my own.***

A great start to a new series
I love all things sweet so the fact that one of the main characters owned a bakery made me love her instantly.
The story of childhood friends figuring out how much they love each other with humour, challenges, plenty of heat and mistakes gives us a heartfelt entertaining story in keeping with Melissa Foster's signature style.
One thing that did bother me was that the main character's name, was another main character's name in a different author's book, but there was nothing to be done there.

. This book was really cute. And I love a story of friends to lovers story, even if they had faked the engagement part, you knew that was going to change. Zane was Willow's brothers best friend, and ofcourse she had a crush on him growing up and he was her first. He does leave town and become a big Hollywood actor, but now he needs to clean up his image, and who better than Willow. There are some great moments and characters in this. Enjoy!

Such a great and sweet book that will make you want to read it in one sitting.
I loved Willow and Zane.

A beautiful second chance romance! Willow and Zane shared a night that neither one of them ever forgot but got buried away over time. Now, years later, all the truths from that special night come out and give these best friends a second chance at happiness and a lifetime love. This was a really sweet read, literally! Willow is a determined baker with an insatiable sweet tooth. Zane was her first love but moved away to Hollywood and became an A-list action hero. He becomes the quintessential Hollywood playboy and asks Willow to help him clean up his reputation by becoming his fake fiance. She reluctantly agrees because she's always been in love with him.

Willow and Zane fall in love all over again and I could really feel it in this story. Zane turned out to be a really complex guy and I loved that all these misconceptions that Willow had about him were slowly uncovered. I couldn't help but fall in love with him, too. He and Willow were perfect for each other. They had so much chemistry and history between them. I really felt the love between them and found myself tearing up at times. I got all the feels from this read. I did get a little annoyed by Willow towards the end; I do think she overreacted about some things. I guess I just expected that after all that time and after everything that her and Zane had been through, that nothing would give her doubts about their relationship. We were also introduced to Willow's siblings and I'm looking forward to reading about their happily-ever-afters!

*thank you to the author and publisher for providing an arc**

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first book by Melissa Foster and I was not disappointed. The Real Thing was an awesome second chance novel that had you cheering for the couple. Zane will capture your heart with his sense of humor, flirting and his willingness not to give up on Willow. And Willow will still the show with her sassy attitude and her love for her family. If you are looking for a new read and a author you haven't or have read before The Real Thing by Melissa Foster needs be next on your TBR list.

Willow and Zane have known each other their whole lives. And when Zane needs help cleaning up his reputation, he can't think of anyone more perfect then Willow. He fell in love with her when they were teenagers and now is his chance to convince her that being with him is not so bad. He just needs to get her to agree to being his fake fiancé first.

Willow is on her way to a job interview that could take her small town bakery to new heights, or so she thinks. When she finds out that she is really meeting Zane so he can pitch the idea of them being engaged she is thrown completely off. But a small part of her is screaming yes, and hoping that maybe they could become a real couple. But she just isn't sure if she is willing to risk her heart. She gave Zane her virginity all those years ago and knows that if she spends time with him she won't come out unscathed.

Zane and Willow go back to their small town to convince everyone they are engaged and to film scenes from his next movie. But while they spend more and more time together the truth on how they really feel about each other comes out and Zane is not giving up without a fight. Is Willow willing to give him everything? Or will her insecurities about Zane and his life become too much?

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
Melissa Foster is one of my favourite authors of this genre so I was thrilled to receive a copy of this book, especially as it is the start of a new series. An endearing romance with some great characters. The chemistry between Zane and Willow is off the scale and there are some steamy scenes. I really enjoyed reading this and look forward to the next book in this series.

This is the first book in the new series by Melissa Foster.
First let me start off by saying Wow! The writing was fantastic and she sucks you into the story from the first. You're totally sitting there rooting for Willow, you want her to succeed. She is adorable and funny and doesn't take any crap. And the chemistry between her and Zane, get your fans out! Add on their history together, sigh... Hurry up and buy this book already and then wait patiently for the remaining books of Willow's siblings.

Melissa Foster's books are addictive to read. I have all her books.This book was another hit. The storyline between Willow and Zane was well written and is a must read. Zane is Williow's brothers best friend. Zane helped Willow lose her viginity before she went to college. She left to college thinking that they had a future but it broke her heart. Zane is back and needs help to clean up his image. He tells her she owes him for help her a decade ago. That spikes her anger and she says "no way". He wants her to be his fake fiancé and they have to act like a couple even to their families. I give this book 5 stars. I whole heartedly recommend this book. It is the first book in the series. I voluntarily reviewed this NetGallery Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

I enjoyed this book so much. This is a fun sexy book, but it's got its ups and downs too. It's refreshing that the alpha male lead doesn't have to be a controlling jerk through most of the book before he redeems himself. Zane has the perfect amount of cockiness and Willow sure isn't a wilting wallflower. She's got spunk and sass. She gives as good as she gets.
I think it's great how Zane and Willow have stayed connected all these years and yet never realized the relationship they had going. I laughed and had my heart hurt with them as they navigated past hurts and current/future situations. They were always meant to be, they just had to get out of their own way to realize it. And how could they not when Zane is determined to communicate about everything.
"I want to strip away the bullshit and get to the bottom of who we are. The good, the bad, and the frustrating."
It was so fun to spend time with Willow's family and learn more about all of them.

Melissa Foster strikes gold again with her story The Real Thing. I do not do retell the story in my reviews as I do not want to spoil a great thing. I absolutely loved the main characters Zane and Willow. This book is sizzling sex, humor, love, real emotions both good and bad, and fun.The story moves right along and not once did I feel like it was dragging or lost my interest. I couldn't put the book down once I started and I am eagerly looking forward to reading more stories in this series. Melissa Foster never disappoints with her stories and if it's possible they just keep getting better!

melissa foster kicks off her sugar lake series with the real thing. zane and willow were each other's firsts, but back then neither of them was really prepared to handle all those emotions. so a series of misunderstandings had them at odds in a way, but connected nonetheless.

zane for his part has been trying to reconnect with willow since then, but she never takes him seriously. so he tricks her into meeting him at a local resort, convincing her that she is up for a job interview. instead he wants her to pretend to be his fake fiancée. willow is not okay with this at first, but when zane reminds her how he agreed to be her first and how he followed all her rules, she supposes that she does owe him one.

but all too soon things get complicated by the very real feelings they have for each other. feelings that they've always had for each other. and for zane, it's very clear what he wants, he just needs to convince willow that he's serious about it. this is harder than it seems because zane happens to be a big hollywood star with a life in los angeles that willow doesn't really want a part of. she loves living in sweetwater, ny, and as far away from big city life as she can get.

these obstacles are not insurmountable but it's enjoyable to watch them figure it all out. we also get to know willow's family and other secondary characters around the town of sweetwarer, who i'm sure will pop up in future books in the series. the real thing is a good start.

'The Real Thing' by Melissa Foster is the First Book in the New Series called "Sugar Lake. This is the story of Willow Dalton and Zane Walker.
Zane was Willows brother best friend and always popular in school, where Willow was the opposite. Before she went off to College she ask Zane to do her a favor by taking her virginity. Now 10 years Willow has her own bakery and Zane is a famous actor. Zane comes back to ask if Willow would be his pretend fiancée to help build his image up.
This was a very sweet love story that I really enjoyed.
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."
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The Real Thing is the first book in Melissa Foster’s Sugar Lake series….and it’s AMAZING! Set in the small town of Sweetwater, New York, the story features the Willow Dalton and Zane Walker. The characters, small town setting and the author‘s fabulous dialogue quickly drew me into the story.
At first, I was not thrilled the ‘fake engagement” trope in this novel. But, I quickly discovered that The Real Thing isn’t about a fake engagement; it’s about two people coming to terms with their long standing feelings for each other. The writing is rich in detail and the characters are so likeable that it’s easy to forgive Zane’s fake engagement idea and Willow’s sassy comebacks because it is apparent that these two people are meant to be together. Their sexual chemistry is off the charts and kudos to Ms. Foster for the sexy, steamy, fun, tender bedroom, bakery, blanket and car scenes! The novel is beautifully written and each word, each scene between Willow and Zane captivated me. Enjoyed reading how the couple sorts out theirs feelings for each other as desire changes to love.
Loved Willow’s relationship with her sisters and her mom. Zane won me over when Spiderman arrived at Willow’s nephew’s birthday party. Zane went out of his way to make a little child happy and showed Willow he truly cared for her. This scene had all the feels. It was hysterical, emotional, loving and poignant. Ms. Foster does a fabulous job weaving in Willow’s family members, bakery regulars, friends and Zane’s assistant and coworkers into the novel. These minor characters added a lot of fun and depth to the story line. Can’t wait to see if the next book features Piper or Bridgette Dalton. The smart, snappy dialogue between Zane and Willow drew me into the story. Zane used the fake engagement ruse to connect back to Willow, his heart’s desire and that’s what makes this story so romantic and special to me.
Melissa Foster has the ability to write an honest, relatable, entertaining romance—and I can’t wait for book two in this amazing series!