The Real Thing

By Barbara Delinsky

Book Overview

A little matchmaking among friends turns enemies into lovers in this captivating romance from the New York Times-bestselling author of Threats and Promises.

After stumbling upon a corruption scheme and trying to do the right thing, corporate attorney Neil Hersey finds himself blackballed by the entire Hartford business community.

When fitness instructor Deirdre Joyce embarrassingly breaks her leg, her family tries to convince her to take over the helm of their corporation instead of doing what she loves best. To escape their pressure, Deirdre turns to a friend who owns an island off the coast of Maine . . . the perfect place to find serenity and solitude.

The only problem is that Neil has the same friend--and the same idea.

Now these two strangers find themselves stranded together far from the mainland, both reeling from professional disasters. Neither is in the mood for company, but Deirdre and Neil are about to discover that there's a fine line between fighting and flirting--and once they cross it, they can never go back . . .

Praise for Barbara Delinsky

"Delinsky's writing is fluid and makes for a hard-to-put-down book." --Glamour

"Delinsky is a first-rate storyteller who creates believable, sympathetic characters who seem as familiar as your neighbors." --The Boston Globe

"Delinsky writes about the emotional crises of everyday people and how those trials shape relationships." --The Cincinnati Enquirer

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1504091345
• ISBN13: 9781504091343
• Release Date: July 2024
• Publisher: Open Road Media Romance
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

sweet cabin romance

This is, I believe, what's known as a "cabin romance." Deirdre Joyce is an aerobics instructor, but she's broken her leg. Now, not only is her career in jeopardy, but her family sees it as the perfect time to increase the pressure on her to take her place in the family business--but she's been there, done that, and doesn't want to go there again. So she turns to a friend and asks for the loan of her remote island cabin to hide out and heal. Neil Hersey is a corporate lawyer, but when he discovers shady dealings, he doesn't get the gratitude he might have expected. Instead, he loses his job, and rumors are started that he'd been the criminal. So he turns to a friend and asks for the loan of her remote island cabin to hide out and decide what to do now. Needless to say, it's the same friend, and she hasn't told either of them about the other. I had a little trouble warming up to Deirdre initially--she was needlessly rude to Neil and prone to cutting off her nose to spite her face--angrily refusing help when she obviously needed it. Neil was a bit pitiful initially, but he perked up once he met Deirdre and had a goal. The solution to their problems was clever, and well-done. Overall, The Real Thing is a sweet story, about two people who end up being just what the other needs.

A great book for the optimist in all of us!

I love Barbra Delinsky and she never fails to give me a good read. This one was no different. Albeit it read VERY fast and the ending was a bit predictable, I still felt that once again these characters were good friends of mine. I have only read about 4 or 5 of Ms. Delinsky's novels and I simply cannot wait to read more.