
For Real This Time
Beth Reekles(Author)
Penguin Books Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 26. February 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-0-241-71290-0 (ISBN)
Description
Love, rivalry...orcs?
Misfit and hardcore fangirl Anissa is finally coming out of her shell. She's leading a tabletop role-play game with friends, is officially part of the group chat with the girls from college, and she's managed to bag work experience on the set of her favourite TV show, 'Of Wrath and Rune'. Things couldn't be going better. . .
That's until she meets Callum, the hot new actor behind her favourite character on OWAR, and gets totally starstruck. Only Callum writes her off as an obsessive fangirl and now working on set is about to be very awkward. So much for meet your heroes - now he's her worst enemy.
Battling her newfound friendships, her rivalry-turned-maybe-something-more with Callum, and the occasional fictional orc, Anissa's about to realise that sometimes getting lost in the fantasy isn't always what it's cracked up to be...
For Real This Time is a heartfelt romcom about opening yourself up to new possibilities and falling in love with what's real, perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Holly Bourne and Lynn Painter.
Misfit and hardcore fangirl Anissa is finally coming out of her shell. She's leading a tabletop role-play game with friends, is officially part of the group chat with the girls from college, and she's managed to bag work experience on the set of her favourite TV show, 'Of Wrath and Rune'. Things couldn't be going better. . .
That's until she meets Callum, the hot new actor behind her favourite character on OWAR, and gets totally starstruck. Only Callum writes her off as an obsessive fangirl and now working on set is about to be very awkward. So much for meet your heroes - now he's her worst enemy.
Battling her newfound friendships, her rivalry-turned-maybe-something-more with Callum, and the occasional fictional orc, Anissa's about to realise that sometimes getting lost in the fantasy isn't always what it's cracked up to be...
For Real This Time is a heartfelt romcom about opening yourself up to new possibilities and falling in love with what's real, perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Holly Bourne and Lynn Painter.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Random House Children's UK
Target group
Young adult
Interest Age: From 13 to 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
300 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-71290-0 (9780241712900)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
02/2026
Penguin Books Ltd
€9.99
Available for download
Person
Beth Reekles is the author of the bestselling YA series The Kissing Booth (now also a hit trilogy on Netflix) alongside several other rom-com novels. Her tenth book and debut adult novel Love, Locked Down was published in 2022. A self-confessed nerd and rom-com fan, she is now a full-time author and shares movie reviews on her Instagram.