5*
Once again, Lynn Painter has written a swoonworthy young adult romance that grabs you from the first chapter and holds your attention right until the end. I think it’s my new favorite Painter novel. Childhood friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Dani and Alec as they cautiously, sometimes painfully, navigate their second chance at a romantic relationship when they reconnect as seniors in high school. They both believe that they were ghosted after Dani stopped visiting Minnesota each summer and their weekly coded postcards also stopped coming. So, they’re understandably angry and very cautious about resuming their friendship, let alone a romance. In the intervening 5 years, nerdy Alec has had a major glow-up and has every appearance of being one of the obnoxious jocks Dani has learned to steer clear of. However, when they accidently fall into a fake relationship, it gives them the closeness and time to discover how much they’ve both changed but, more importantly, how they’re still the same at heart.
If you’re looking for a young adult novel that isn’t too angsty, has some steamy kisses, and features main characters who act their age, you can’t go wrong with Fake Skating. If you’re a fan of hockey romance, this YA version of the trope won’t disappoint. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Simon & Schuster BYR through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
Rachel Reid writes beautiful, heartwarming hockey romances that get me every time. That this one is a second chance romance between former best friends and teammates makes it even more special. Professional male athletes, especially hockey players, are “liars” as Adam says. They lie about their pain, their mental illness and addictions, and, sometimes, their sexuality as well. Reid gently explores the pressure to “man up” in this story, with Adam denying his love for and attraction to Riley for over two decades. In the process, he hurt Riley deeply and himself as well. It isn’t until two years into retirement that he reconnects with Riley at his father’s funeral, and it’s anything but smooth sailing.
I thoroughly enjoyed the way these two navigate their second chance, with honesty, humility, forgiveness, and a good deal of steaminess. The choice of a dual point of view really helps to round out the relationship. I highly recommend this beautiful soulmates’ love story.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Carina Adores through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
If you’re looking for a steamy, college hockey romance, you can’t go wrong with Elle Kennedy. This is the first book in the second-generation series Campus Diaries and tells the love story between Gigi Graham (daughter of Garrett and Hannah from The Deal, Book 1 of the Off-Campus series) and Luke Ryder. They’re both top hockey players and come to an agreement that he’ll help her with her behind-the-net skills in anticipation of making the Team USA roster and, in return, she’ll talk him up to her retired and revered dad so he has a shot at being hired for Garrett’s elite summer hockey camp. After being cheated on by her former boyfriend Case (Ryder’s co-captain in a newly-formed team combining rival colleges), the last thing she’s looking for is a relationship, and Ryder’s sole focus is on making sure the Dallas NHL team that drafted him has no reason to change its mind. So, they’re both surprised when feelings begin to grow.
I really enjoyed this romance because their relationship is grounded in respect, honesty, and friendship. It’s a dual POV, so we get to hear about both of their vulnerabilities. I especially appreciate that there is no third act break-up due to miscommunication, a common but unwelcome trope, in my opinion. They also both seem wise beyond their years. Highly recommended.
The second book in the series, The Dixon Rule, is now available as well.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Sourcebooks Bloom Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
4*
Another case of “Don’t let the cartoonish cover fool you.” This is not just another smutty hockey romance, but a beautiful love story between two kind, thoughtful, and flawed characters, dance teacher Aurora (Rory) Evans and NHL defenseman Mike Martin. They first laid eyes on each other when Rory was a 16-year-old barista at Mall of America and Mike was a charming customer who caught her eye. Since her entire life was consumed with ballet (thanks to a pushy dance mom), she had no time to make friends and was ostracized in school. So, why not invent a Canadian boyfriend as an excuse to get out of school activities and to not feel so alone? She spends the remainder of her teens writing letters to Mike that serve as a diary of sorts. Little did she ever expect that, nine years later, he’d be the recently widowed father of one of her students.
Mike is struggling to adjust to new household routines and paternal commitments his late wife used to handle and to cope with his daughter Olivia’s grief and anger, so he turns to Rory as someone his daughter trusts to ask her to serve as a pseudo-nanny while he’s on the road. Since she’s in need of a new place to live (after a recent break-up), a car, and health insurance, she accepts his offer of the apartment in his basement. Over time and many honest and heartfelt conversations, their friendship evolves, especially since they support each other and see beyond the façades they present to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, the emotional scars they both carry (her abusive Mom who has left her with an unhealthy obsession with food and a compulsive need to please others and him with the complicated grief over his wife and rocky relationship with his daughter) make their friends-with-benefits situation temporary and just for fun. When Rory finally confesses her teenage fantasy to Mike, will there be any hope of a future together?
There are so many aspects to Holiday’s lovely romance that I appreciate, including chosen family with Rory’s best friend and boss Gretchen and Mike’s teammate and wife, Ivan and Lauren, the main couple’s support and encouragement of each other, an enlightened book boyfriend, the positive portrayal of therapy, the perfect balance of humor and heartfelt conversations, just enough steam to keep it interesting, a dual POV, an epistolary element with her letters to her fake boyfriend and their texts when they first get to know each other as adults, and yes, hot hockey players! What can I say? I used to work for the NHL! Highly recommended!
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Forever Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
