Not your average girl next door… coastal town where she used to spend her summers?
But when Maggie arrives in Long Shores, nothing is quite like she remembered…including the boy next door.
The unforgettable boy next door…
Ian Summer was the first boy Maggie ever kissed, but he’s all grown up now, with a daughter of his own. She knows she should keep her distance—no matter how rugged and manly he’s turned out. With her disastrous relationship track record, she’s sworn off men, but she’s never been able to resist the emotionally unavailable ones.
Ian isn’t the ambitious musician he was when Maggie knew him. He’s got his daughter to think of now, and a steady job as the town handyman. He doesn’t need a diva actress coming in and rocking the boat—but the more time he spends with Maggie, the more glimpses he catches of the girl he used to know. And the more right it feels.
Could this be love?
Maggie can play the love interest like no one else, but with Ian it isn’t an act. After a lifetime of Hollywood illusions, could this finally be the real thing?
more
After meeting Maggie Tate in The Decoy Bride, I was prepared to, at the very least, to not love her story. Fortunately, I was wrong, as I loved both her story and her pairing with first love, Ian.
Once this reader got even a small glimpse into Maggie’s past, I was hooked! Her story is almost a cautionary tale of having all your dreams come true, but not enjoying them. Lizzie Shane wrote a wonderful second chance love story for Maggie and Ian.. I couldn’t put it down!
I have adored every book in this series, and The Real Thing is another hit for Shane! It is a second chance trope, one of my favorite!
Maggie’s life is so different than when she left the small town. To the outsider looking in at her life, it appears that she has everything. So why doesn’t it feel that way to her? When she runs away in her pink convertible and her dog named Cecile B. DeMille and heads to the small town she used to love, the first person she runs into is her first love, Ian. He’s much more masculine now, but more aloof and makes it plain he doesn’t want anything to do with her.
Ian is busy with his daughter, who is an adorable tomboy. Between her and his job, he has no room in his life for Maggie. She’s going to sell her aunt’s house and go back to her movie star life anyway. But he sees more and more of the girl he used to know and love as they spend more time together. Could they be exactly what the other needed all along?
I loved these characters (even the dog)! This was a pleasure to read!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.
This is part of the Bouquet Catchers series but can mostly be read as a standalone but I think you will want to read them all when you finish one!
Maggie Tate was the entitled actress that was part of the Decoy Bride story. Having read that one also, I know that she hired someone to be her double in public because she could do nothing without the paparazzi swarming her. But that is now in her past and she’s learned that her beloved yet estranged aunt has passed away and left her the house where she spent her childhood summers.
She drops everything and returns to the house intending to sort through the things left there and prepare the house for sale. It’s a bit rundown when she gets there and she has no idea why she inherited it.
Ian Summer is her teenage love and she finds that he lives in his family’s home nearby along with his young daughter. He’s protective of his daughter yet at the same time, he wants to learn what makes Maggie tick now that years have passed.
A very enthralling story about regrets and forgiveness – something that is very hard to do most of the time. Maggie and Ian begin to forge a relationship that neither thinks will last. A little maturity and some long lost letters show them the way to happiness.
I received an ARC from the author for an honest and unbiased review.
The Great Maggie Tate finally has it all: a fabulous career, more money than she could ever spend and the adoration of millions of fans. And she still feels alone. When she finds out her estranged great aunt has died and left her a beach house, she leaves Holleywood and moves to the coast. Burnt out, depressed, despondent Maggie quietly returns to the one place where she always felt happy…and to the one boy who always made her feel wanted. Ian Summers is not a boy any more and he’s not too sure he wants Maggie Tate back in his life or anywhere near his impressionable daughter. But as the two work together to bring the beach house back to life sparks fly and their teenage chemistry turns into a very adult attraction.
I really loved Maggie. She had it all but quickly found out she had been chasing the wrong thing all along. Ian was a good guy who always seemed to say the wrong thing. Together there was enough steam and drama to make me quickly keep turning pages. Very good!!
When I read the previous book, I will fully admit I didn’t enjoy Maggie Tate’s character. Problem is, I didn’t really get to know her…until The Real Thing. She turned out to be nothing like I thought. Maggie goes back to Long Shores, Oregon, where she visited for a few summers of her childhood, and she runs into her childhood friend, Ian Summer.
Both their lives have changed in SO many ways. Maggie is a famous actress, Ian gave up his music career and has a daughter, but the thing they both have in common is that they both have years of loneliness, hurt and heartbreak in their pasts. Maggie and Ian need to come to terms with the unbearable hurt and betrayals that they have been living with for years. Also, they each have pre-conceived notions about the other, and what their lives have been for all the years they have been apart. There is a ton going on, including a bit of family struggles for both of them, but nothing happens until they each work through the past hurt(s) and then talk to one another.
I really enjoyed their story. There were real life struggles. Sometimes, I did want to say “Wake up!!” to both Maggie and Ian but they eventually learned to work it out. And Ian’s daughter is a hoot. She calls him ‘Paterfamilias’ and he answers her with ‘Spawn’. OMG, made me snort laugh. I recommend this book for both the laughs and the deep ‘feels’.
All Maggie ever wanted was to be a famous actress and she’s worked hard to achieve that. Now she has a staff that takes care of everything for her so when she gets notified that her beloved but estranged aunt has passed away and left Maggie the beach house she loved as a child she jumps in the car and heads to Oregon. Imagine how surprised she is when the boy she had a crush on from next door has become the man next door, with a daughter of his own. As she gets to know Ian again and do things for herself, she starts to wonder if acting is really what she wants anymore. There’s so much to work through, feelings, the house, life and for Ian it’s protecting his daughter. Maggie has had many failed relationships and has sworn off men but reconnecting with Ian makes her wonder why. Ian’s life didn’t go exactly like he’d planned all those years ago and had his own relationship issues. As they work through the past and what they want there are laughs, moments when you wonder if they’ll ever get together and even a little matchmaking by his mom and daughter. Although this is the 5th book in the series, it’s very easily read as a standalone. Always enjoy Ms. Shane’s books, she never disappoints! I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving my review.
I truly enjoyed reading this book!
It’s a engaging & moving romance,
about finding your first love, again.
Maggie & Ian, steal your heart
from the very first pages to the last.
I adored Sadie, & Mr. DeMille.
I loved everything about this Must
Read Story!!!
I loved this story
The Real Thing is book five in the Bouquet Catchers series. Maggie and Ian knew each other once upon a time. But do they really know each other now? A lot has changed. Might they just find what they need in each other? I loved their story. It’s definitely one you need to read.