11 Followers
16 Following
kimreads

Kim

Peace. Love. Books.

Real - Katy Evans WARNING! THIS IS NOT A REVIEW. THIS IS JUST ME RAMBLING ABOUT MY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ON THE BOOK. SPOILERS AHEAD.




I knew I was headed for trouble from the first scene alone. Was it an MMA fight or boxing? No boxing gloves but they're in a ring, not a cage. But I wanted to keep an open mind and see where the story takes me. Unfortunately, it doesn't go very far. The content is 10% story and 90% description of Remy and how he makes Brooke feel. Furthermore, I find it ironic that the book is entitled 'Real' when the whole thing feels the opposite for me.

Private jet? Oh come on. I thought the industry was supposed to be private and underground? I'm assuming there's no sponsorship and advertising involved. Who funds these things? Where does the money come from? Unless you're Manny Pacquiao circa 2010-2011, how could you possibly afford a private jet? 2 Asian 'massage therapists' rubbing one shoulder each on the bed? So stereotypical it makes me gag. And what is it with the sex therapy ploy by Pete and Riley? Remy is obviously not in the right state of mind to properly give consent to what is done to his body. It's just... UGH!

And then there's our heroine, Brooke. I don't understand her. Maybe she's just a horrible narrator? I don't know. The whole fallen Olympic star story? I just feel that she's being overly victimized, especially with that YouTube video. People aren't THAT cruel, and I bet you, in real life, more people would be hating the person who posted that video than actually spend time laughing at the fallen athlete. There's also my issue with her being overly descriptive, trying to be poetic with all her similes and metaphors.

He's like my Olympics, something that I'm never going to have, but which I crave with my entire being.

I'm just a female. Seeking my male.

Taking my eyes off is like asking me to deliberately drown, I just can't do it.

He's complicated and complex, a labyrinth I want to lose myself in.

...the way he just cuddled me like a big hibernating bear who just found a cave.

He's not just a star, he's the whole fucking sky to me. He's the sun and every planet in this galaxy.

I nod helplessly, and drink him in several times, head to toe. Something rushes through me as if this is the first sip of water I've had in weeks, and every pore in me is dehydrated.


I'm also all about lustful thoughts and good smut, but I can only take so much. We KNOW how much Brooke wants him and how her body, specifically her lady bits, reacts to Remy already! Delaying the inevitable with page after page of those descriptions is NOT how you do a slow build.

*sigh*

I wanted so much to like this book. In the end I was feeling injustice for how Remy was depicted. I know of people with bipolar disorder and I know it can be different for everyone, but I just wished the author could've delved in that further. His crew might have good intentions but I don't know if they dealt with it the healthiest way possible. And Brooke, if she really loved him, wouldn't she have researched on it the moment she found out instead of Googling it a week later when things started to go haywire? And then she leaves him at the first bout of trouble. I just feel that Remy deserved MORE in those pages.

Overall, I can't say that I enjoyed the book. I liked the smut, but the content? A lot of cheese and not enough story.