For Real This Time

Author: Beth Reekles

Interest age: from c 13 years

Published on 26 February 2026 by Penguin Random House Children's UK (Penguin Books Ltd) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 432 pages
198 x 131 x 31 | 296g

Love, rivarly...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.