There I was just enjoying the heck out of this story when those dreaded words came up. "Epilogue." What? NO! It can't be over yet.
Staci Stalling has done it again. She's taken a handful of characters that we can easily associate with and shown us some of their flaws and hidden insecurities. She does a masterful job of describing how people tend to lie and/or manipulate the truth so others will be impressed. And then they have to cover the lies with other lies and pretty soon it gets easier and easier to tell more lies. They play a lot of games in life trying to impress, gain attention or make others jealous.
"As he went, person by person through those in his life, he saw their desperate attempts to hide the hurt and fear with... what? Everything. Clothes. Shoes. Money. Cars. Education. Position. Status. And down the other spectrum drugs, alcohol, anger, violence, selfishness. As he thought about it, he realized that it was the same disease just with different symptoms."
In this story we have Blaine who is a really nice guy, but insecure about who and what he is because his father pulled a fast one on the family 10 years earlier. Yes, for 10 years he's had these issues. We briefly met Blaine in book 2 of the Courage Series, "White Knight", when he worked with Eve. Wanting to impress Eve he borrows a top of the line sports car from his buddy to go on a group date with Eve and everyone thinks he's a spoiled rich guy. What a stretch from the truth. He's really an incredibly nice guy who is trying to get an education, hold down a job, take care of his little brother and mother, and do it all while keeping everyone from seeing who he really is and what his life really looks like. Blaine met Melody on that group date and when she got sick he drove her home, which involved her losing her lunch all over his borrowed car. Not the ideal situation for starting a relationship.
Now in For Real they meet up a few months later and things progress to the point where they can have a relationship. But he's already established the lie of being a rich guy and they have to learn how to be REAL with each other, thus, the title of this novel.
"It was a long moment before she continued. "For what it's worth, I think the nice guy fits you much better, but I think you're scared to be him."
"Why would I be scared of that?"
"I don't know. Why would you?"
Pain tore through him so deep it felt like it ripped the middle of him apart. "Because being a jerk is so much easier.""
Ms. Stallings does a fine job of describing life of college coeds and bringing back all the memories of my own college days. Too many nights of staying up late studying, working, trying to balance it all out with a bit of a social life. I enjoyed watching the resolving of conflict between old relationships and bringing them to the point of being able to have meaningful relationships as friends who went on to play a major role in each others lives. As Melody figured out her own life and that things aren't always as they seem, she is able to see that other people also hide behind their insecurities but when you can get past them, your perceived enemies can actually become your best friends.
The story was full of emotion and conflict and I was cheering them on to figure out that they weren't the only ones with misconceived notions.There were a LOT of issues brought up in this book but they were handled in such a way that it didn't overwhelm the senses. They just sort of followed a natural chain of events. This issue leads to the next which leads to the next which... As a reader we can see what the characters can't, that it's just in their head, so it's kind of comical and keeps the story light enough to enjoy.
"What he wouldn't give to be able to just be as honest with her as she was with him."
This line from For Real, by Staci Stallings sums it up in a nutshell for me.
(Yes, I got this book for free in exchange for reviewing it, but it was so good I BOUGHT IT when it was posted on here for sale!!!)
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Loves to Read
Terrific, emotional Christian romance that is true to life
Reviewed in Canada on May 7, 2022
