This Is Real by Barbara Elsborg

One Hollywood superstar, one math(s) professor, one misunderstanding, a lot of snark and a lovely HEA in This Is Real.

From the blurb:

A snarky English nerd. A hot American actor. When Christmas brings them together, they have more in common than they know…

Murdo doesn’t do Christmas, but this year, he’s looking forward to spending time with an old friend. Elodie’s working on a film starring Murdo’s Biggest Crush, the gorgeous Lukas Olsen. When Elodie asks him to give Lukas a lift from Logan International, Murdo can’t believe his luck. Lukas might be straight, but ogling’s acceptable—right?

Lukas arrives at the airport to find a gaggle of fans but no driver waiting and when he does turn up, the snarky Englishman can’t even remember where he’s parked. When they finally reach their destination, Lukas tries to tip him and Murdo makes his current opinion of Lukas very clear. His crush is over.

Things move from bad to worse when Murdo tells the director that Lukas’s English accent isn’t authentic. But a pang of guilt, and maybe a remnant of lust, has Murdo offering to give dialect lessons to a resentful Lukas. Only once they’re in Lukas’s house, annoyance turns into something far more dangerous, because Lukas isn’t out and never will be. He has too much to lose: career, fans, family and friends.

Sheena's Review:

One Hollywood superstar, one math(s) professor, one misunderstanding, a lot of snark and a lovely HEA. All the ingredients you need for a Christmas story. This could be something straight out of a Hallmark movie, with the requisite small town included too. Since I LOVE Hallmark movies, this was an absolute delight to read.  

This Is Real has everything Barbara does so wonderfully well, it has that touch of darkness - poor Murdo hasn't had an easy life up to now, yet he's such a great cheerful person with a great sense of humor and the snark is off the charts. Lukas is struggling with his orientation, believing that coming out will ruin his career and relationship with his family, but can't resist the temptation in the form of Murdo when he's put in his path.  

These two were a complete delight together. The back and forth was great and the chemistry was insane. It's also HOT 🔥 🔥 🔥 and I loved it. I found myself really loving both these guys and couldn't wait to see their HEA. This was a wonderful Christmas read and an utter joy.

Rating: 4 Stars

This Is Real is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.