REVIEW - The Real Thing by Cassie Mae

Title: The Real Thing 
Author: Cassie Mae
Publisher: Flirt
Release Date: August 19th 2014
Genres: NA Contemporary
Links: Goodreads / Amazon

Source: NetGally

Summary:
In this electrifying novel from Cassie Mae, two close friends surprise themselves by shifting from platonic love to sexual attraction.

Eric Matua has one friend—his best friend and childhood sweetheart, who needs a place to stay for the summer. Mia Johnson has thousands of friends—who live in her computer. Along with her email chats and Facebook notifications, Mia also devours romance novels, spending countless hours with fictional characters, dreaming of her own Romeo to sweep her off her feet. When she starts receiving supersweet messages from a stranger who thinks she’s someone else, Mia begins to believe that real love is possible outside her virtual world.

When the two friends become roommates, Mia finds herself falling harder than she ever thought she could. But Eric keeps his desires locked away, unsure of himself and his ability to give his best friend what she deserves in a boyfriend. As her advances are continually spurned, Mia splits her time between Eric and her computer. But she soon realizes she’s about to lose the only real thing she’s ever had.

5/5

Loved, loved, loved, LOVED!! Can I leave my review at that? :P No? Ok I’ll try to elaborate.

Every book I read by Cassie I adore and The Real Thing was no different. Cassie has a fantastic knack for writing a story that turns you into a gooey mess of emotions. One minute you are going “awwwww!” from the cuteness of it all and the next you are on the verge of tears from how heartbreaking it is. You are really put through the emotional wringer with her books. And The Real Thing was no exception. I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud or had a tear in my eye. 

One of the things I loved about this book was how relatable it was. I think so many of us can relate with either Mia or Eric. I know I can relate with both. Especially when it came to Mia and her addiction to technology and the internet. But I think the majority of us will see a bit of ourselves in her :P Another think I loved about the book was Eric. So many NA books feature a bad boy with a tortured past and a girl with some sort of self-esteem issue. But never have I come across a character like Eric. It’s so rare to read about a guy with body image issues and social anxiety. He was such a breath of fresh air and I just adored him so much. Cassie discusses the topics of social anxiety and weight issues with a great sense of realism. She doesn't sugar-coat it but at the same time she doesn't fantasize it. It was handled brilliantly and so bravo to Cassie for that.

The story itself is the friends to lovers type and I always love these. What I loved even more about this book is that it didn't take them the entire book to act on their feelings for one another. It wasn't dragged out, so the entire thing wasn't taken up with the whole “will they, won’t they?” The story was about so much more than that. It was real, it was modern, it was everything.

A fantastically written book that is so much more than a love story. Everyone needs this book in their life. This book has made a home in my heart and it will forever stay there. 

*I received an ecopy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*