In this contemporary sports romance, teenage Aurora Evans, working as a Starbucks barista at the mall, had a brief interaction with a cute Canadian hockey player. Being shy and socially awkward, she spun that interaction with a boy she never expected to see again into a fake boyfriend, giving her a built-in excuse to avoid high school socializing. Fast forward to years later, and suddenly "Mall Mike," who is actually pro hockey player Mike Martin, walks into the dance studio where Aurora is teaching. Not wanting to reveal her embarrassing teenage fantasy, Aurora doesn't admit to remembering him, but grows closer to both him and his daughter Olivia, as they move through their grief around Mike's wife's, and Olivia's mother's, recent death.

I don't normally pick up sports romances, so my expectations were low here, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. There are references to Mike's career as a hockey player and Aurora's (failed) career as a ballet dancer, but that didn't really feel like the focus of the book. I was worried that, given the pretty recent death of Mike's wife at the beginning of the book, that it would feel like the romance happened too quickly but I can happily report that's not the case. The romance is appropriately slow-burn and the grieving process is handled sensitively and accurately. The treatment of mental health, therapy, eating disorders, etc. is done really well and it was rewarding to see the emotional growth of both characters throughout the book. Both of the main characters are nuanced and complex, and this is as much a story of their individual journeys as it is of them as a couple. Mike's daughter, Olivia, was also a fun character and while she could have been developed a bit more, she wasn't really the main focus--although it was enjoyable to read any scenes she was in, and to see Mike interact with her and work on his parenting skills throughout the book.

Minor quibbles: as others have mentioned, Aurora/Rory refers to Mike as "Mike Martin" always, even after they've started dating, which seems a little odd. I also felt like the whole "Mall Mike" secret was both not really a factor in most of the plot and also blown out of proportion when it is inevitably finally revealed. I feel like that could have been handled differently. But overall, the book was really well written and a treat to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Canadian Boyfriend is one of my favorite books this month. Jenny Holiday has crafted an endearing story with relatable characters, a slow-burn romance, and a surprising amount of emotional depth. I've read it twice. I loved it the first time, even more the second.

Mike, Aurora, and Olivia earned my affection almost immediately. These three are all navigating rocky emotional waters with varying degrees of success. I appreciated the openness that Holiday implemented when dealing with each of their individual journeys as well as their joint relationship path. The communication between Mike and Aurora was refreshing - aside from that teenage secret - but the important stuff was talked about openly and honestly. I liked that Mike was in therapy and that we were given a glimpse into his therapy sessions. It helped understand him better as he slowly moved forward after his wife's death. (It brought to mind Ted Lasso's sessions with Dr. Sharon Fieldstone. Yes, I'm a fan.)

As for Aurora, dealing with a toxic mother is no picnic. It was heartening to watch Aurora slowly open herself to joys she had been denied by her mother and later denied herself (indoctrination). That Mike and Olivia were part of that growth - and healing - further cemented their growing feelings for one another.

There were many scenes in this book that I could highlight for readers but I think they are best discovered on your own in the course of the story. Do keep your eyes open for the Canadian camping trip, however. It touched me deeply.

There were a few issues that kept this book from being 5 stars for me...but only a few. One, Aurora calls the hero Mike Martin throughout the entire book, even after they are in a committed relationship. Not a problem at the beginning but later on it became annoying, distracting, and flat-out weird. Also, Mike's over-the-top reaction to Aurora in the final chapters felt engineered for a "black moment" rather than organic and left me shaking my head. The pages that followed that, however, were good in that the author gave him time to fully process what had happened and, with help, not only recognize the truth but hold himself accountable for his part in it. It included self-growth (for both Aurora and Mike) that was necessary for a solid HEA. As I said, minor annoyances, but ones that did pull me out of the story.

Overall, Canadian Boyfriend was a solid read and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

4.5 stars

ARC received from publisher via NetGalley.
Fair and unbiased review.

✨ Review ✨ Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday; Narrated by Joshua Jackson; Emily Ellet

Honestly, you should probably listen to this one just for Joshua Jackson.

Aurora (Rory) teaches ballet at a small studio after striking out as a professional ballerina in her late teens. There she teaches Olivia and meets her dad Mike, a professional hockey player bringing Olivia to class about 9 months after Olivia's mom/Mike's wife died in a car crash. Aurora starts to help out in their lives, eventually moving in to help care for Olivia when Mike's traveling.

This is a great friends-to-lovers, roommates, single-dad sports romance book that moves slowly and gently and lovingly. It handles mental health beautifully, as it tackles really heavy topics like grief and abuse and loneliness, and it's done without making the reader feel too sad or overwhelmed.

There were some minor annoyances -- the book starts with Aurora meeting Mike as a teen and then building out a whole fantasy relationship with him. This hangs as a barrier between them as Aurora doesn't fess up -- and there was something about this that just felt overwrought.

The book also features Little House on the Prairie really prominently and while I don't hold this against anyone who loved it as a child (myself included), looking at it now, it has some serious racial and settler-colonial issues embedded in it. I could have done without those mentions.

With those caveats, I really enjoyed this book. I was engrossed in the story and the narrators brought it to life. In Mike's POV chapters, Aurora's voice was used for quotes and vice-versa so it brought in a little bit of full-cast feeling here.

Overall, it's a really lovely therapy-affirming, found family, deal with your past trauma but with romance kind of book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: f/m contemporary romance
Setting: Minnetonka, Minnesota
Pub Date: 30 Jan 2024

Thanks to Forever, Hachette Audio, and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

As a teenager, Aurora was too focused on ballet to have a normal teenage social life. So after meeting a cute Canadian hockey player at her job at the mall, she tells everyone all about Mike, her Canadian boyfriend. Even though they aren’t actually dating or even in contact, Aurora continues to write letters to Mike, sharing her deepest feelings. Years later, Aurora is teaching dance to children, and discovers that Mike is the recently widowed father of one of her students. As one of his daughter’s favorite people, Aurora agrees to be her nanny and help when Mike is on the road for his professional hockey career. As they spend time together, they begin to develop feelings for each other. But Mike isn’t sure he’s ready to date and Aurora is still keeping a secret about their interaction and fake relationship years ago.

As some of you may know, I don’t read the synopsis of a book going in. I 100% am the person who judges a book by its cover. So, when I saw this cover of a ballerina and a hockey player, I thought that was all I needed to know. But this book was far more emotional and had more depth than I was expecting, in the best way.I adored Aurora and Mike together, and thought they made the sweetest family. What I wasn’t expecting was how much I would adore their individual journeys and how they supported each other through their healing processes, even though their struggles were completely different. I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to Forever Publishing for the advance copy.

3.5stars—CANADIAN BOYFRIEND by Jenny Holiday is a stand alone, contemporary, adult, romance story line focusing on twenty-nine year old, dance instructor turned nanny Aurora ‘Rory’ Evans, and thirty-five year old, professional hockey player/single dad Mike Martin.

SOME BACKGROUND: Years earlier, Aurora Evans briefly met Mike Martin and his friends at a coffee shop in Minnesota, and as she struggled with high school relationships and a possible future dance career, Aurora invented a Canadian boyfriend, using Mike Martin as her model for romance and love. Fast forward to present day wherein Aurora would once again come face to face with man who inspired her hopes and dreams, a man who remembers nothing about meeting our story line heroine.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Mike and Rory) covering approximately one year in the life, CANADIAN BOYFRIEND follows the building relationship between our story line couple. Mike Martin’s hockey career is slowing down but a two year extension meant finding a temporary nanny for his daughter Olivia while his regular nanny took some personal time. Mike never expected to find help with his daughter’s dance instructor Miss Rory, the woman with whom Mike would reluctantly fall in love. As Rory grew closer to both MIke and Olivia, Aurora would realize Mike’s inability to let go of the past was about to destroy the love growing between our story line couple.

The world building focuses on Aurora’s failed ballet career; the dance mom who refused to let her daughter live the life she wanted; and a daughter’s failure to just say no. Meanwhile, we are pulled into the grief and anger that is Mike Martin in the wake of his wife’s death, and the secrets she was hoping to take to the grave. Unable to trust anyone including our story line heroine, Mike’s inability to commit, and constant need to push Aurora away would lead to a decision that made no one happy.

The relationship between Mike and Aurora begins as a friendship predicated upon a professional relationship. Aurora is Olivia’s dance instructor, soon to be temporary nanny, and Mike is a man on a mission to take more than he is willing to give.The back and forth dance between Aurora and Mike is heart breaking; neither one willing to commit but Mike’s mixed messages would become too much for our story line heroine, and in the end she would have to walk away to protect her heart. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate.

The secondary and supporting characters are charismatic. We are introduced to Mike’s parents, as well as his former in-laws; Aurora’s resentful and embittered mother; fellow dancer Gretchen; hockey player Ivan Zadorov and his wife Lauren; and Mike’s daughter Olivia.

CANADIAN BOYFRIEND is a story of secrets and lies, heart break and grief, acceptance, forgiveness, family and love. The premise is captivating; the very slow building romance is emotional and barely ignites before the end of the story; the characters are broken yet struggling to heal but Mike Martin’s reaction to Aurora’s confession about the past was unbelievable, over the top, and completely unjustified. Mike’s behavior towards Aurora was unacceptable yet our heroine was all too quick to forgive without a heartfelt apology.


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WHAT. A. BOOK!!!!

4.5 stars rounded up

<b><u>Summary</u></b>
Growing up pursuing a career in ballet left Aurora Evans socially awkward, isolated from her peers, and subjected to the expectations of becoming the Perfect Image of a ballerina. Now, a retired ballerina turned dance teacher, she feels stuck. Stuck in her job, her eating disorder, her relationship with her mom, and her romantic life. Her life turns upside down the second a widower walks into her friend's studio where she teaches. As it turns out, he is none other than the hockey player she met at her barista job in high school. The hockey player she pretended was her boyfriend for years to stave off the feelings of loneliness by which she was plagued throughout her whole childhood.

Losing a spouse is never easy; it's even harder as a busy professional hockey player with a young daughter of whom he is now the sole caretaker. Mike Martin is tired. Tired of his job, his schedule, his grief, and his lack of control over his life. Helping his daughter return to her dance classes has given him something to focus on, a way to reconnect with her. Things have been fraught between the two ever since her mother's passing, but a certain dance teacher might just be the key to bringing his family back together.

Mike decides to hire Aurora to help out when he's out of town for hockey games in exchange for a car and a free place to live. But, Aurora is lying to him, and one thing Mike hates is liars. She navigates her professional, and eventually romantic, relationship with the family carefully, but she can't keep up this ruse forever. Soon enough, the truth will come out, she just has to hope that Mike will understand and everything won't come crashing down.

<b><u>My Thoughts</u></b>
Aurora and Mike had me hooked from the very first second they met. Yes, first time, meaning that random encounter at the Mall of America when Aurora was in high school. I love how the author handled the situation of Mike being older than her and, therefore, out of high school when they met. The power dynamic (and there's always a power dynamic) never felt predatory at any point in the book, which is a huge turn-off for me when reading age-gap books.

The way Aurora's eating disorder and complicated relationship with food were addressed was such a breath of fresh air. I'm glad it was talked about because it's such a prevalent issue for athletes and former athletes, especially dancers. The language and sensitivity around the topic are unlike anything else I've seen in books that feature disordered eating in some capacity. I've been to a LOT of therapy for my ED and many of the adages and lessons I've learned along the way are present in this text very positively. It made me very happy to see this discussion used so freely in what I believe will be quite a popular book.

The only thing that struck me as odd is that Aurora constantly calls Mike by his full name. Like every time she thinks about him, she says "Mike Martin" in her inner monologue, it's so odd. Especially because she claims that she sees him as a person and not just as a famous hockey player. Mike's big thing is wanting someone who looks past that facade and likes him for who he is, not just what he does. Her insistence on referring him by his full name in her thoughts kind of made me feel like she <i>did</i> only see him as a celebrity to an extent. I don't know, maybe I'm looking too much into it.

<i><b>Thank you so much Forever Pub, Jenny Holiday, and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy!!</b></i>

Heat Factor: I wouldn’t call this super explicit, but there is on-page sex.

Character Chemistry: “I’m not saying it was love at first sight, but I’m not saying it wasn’t.”

Plot: Rory makes up a fake boyfriend based on a real person and then that real person becomes a part of her life.

Overall: Holiday is one of my go-to authors for a reason, ok?

Erin is our resident hockey romance person here at TSR, and because we must have a clear division of responsibility, I therefore decided to not read hockey romances. (This division is clearly just in my head, to be clear, because Ingrid also reads hockey romances and we actually all read everything sometimes.) But then! Jenny Holiday wrote a hockey romance, and I love Jenny Holiday, so here I am.

Luckily for me, there’s not too much hockey here. Mike is a hockey player, but this is a sports romance where sports takes a backseat, not a sports romance where I’m going to learn what the box is. There’s a box in hockey, right? And, hilariously, Holiday states in her author’s note that her goal was to make Mike as stereotypically Canadian as possible, and has no plans to write more hockey romances in the future. Cue relieved laughter.

Another baseline thing to note about this book is that it’s absolutely not a comedy. It’s not really being marketed as one, though the cover and tagline made me think I was getting a comedy when I opened it up. It was giving me “My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada.” Really I should know better, because Holiday’s books—though they include witty banter—are generally about grief and/or trauma. This one is about both.

Let’s start with our premise. As a teenager, Aurora, aka Rory, works sometimes as a barista. One day, a hot guy buys some coffee. After a single, short conversation, Rory decides that he’d be a great model for her new fake boyfriend. You know, “Oh, I’m not going to homecoming because my Canadian boyfriend is busy being in Canada,” rather than “Oh, I’m not going to homecoming because I don’t have a date or even friends to go stag with.” On the surface, this is a comedy set-up, but if you think about it for five seconds, it’s clear that people don’t make up a fake boyfriend unless they are Going Through Some Shit and Have No Support System. Check and check. (This also applies to that Avenue Q puppet, even if his song is played for laughs.) And Rory doesn’t just make up a fake Canadian boyfriend, she spends years writing letters to him—they’re half diary, half dreams of what she wishes her life were like.

That’s a lot of backstory, which is all covered in the prologue. The real story gets going years later. Rory teaches dance at a small studio now. She has panic attacks sometimes, and is also working through a messed up relationship with food (I would call this a post-eating-disorder book, but I wouldn’t say Rory is healthy).

Enter Mike. Mike’s a recent widower whose daughter takes tap classes from Rory. Mike is also—maybe, probably, almost definitely—that guy from the coffee shop all those years ago. Mike and Rory become friends, and then Mike asks Rory to drive his daughter home from dance class once the hockey season starts, and then Mike asks Rory to move into the basement apartment at his house…and Rory agrees, but in the back of her mind, she knows that she needs to tell him about the letters, and that the longer she waits, the weirder it’s gonna get.

One might say that the conflict about the fake boyfriend / real boyfriend is a bit silly, and one would probably not be wrong. Luckily, most of the book is centered on Rory and Mike dealing with their various stuff while also growing closer. They’re very gentle and supportive of each other (which is good, given what they’re going through), and it’s just nice to read. I didn’t love Mike’s whole process of learning about emotional labor, because it felt preachy, but perhaps readers who aren’t thinking about emotional labor a lot might find these moments insightful.1

I’m thinking about my description thus far of this book, and I cannot point to a single thing that makes this book special, that means that I seek out Holiday’s books even though I, in general, avoid contemporary romance. Fellow romance blogger Miss Bates recently wrote in a review, “The success of any romance lies in the author’s ability to write well by playing with trope with language and wit, yet still express the genre’s great strength, the primacy of the heart.” And I think for me, the reason Holiday works so well is because she knows romance tropes, she has a strong command of language, and that signature witty banter between the characters is just enough to keep the tough stuff from overwhelming the joy. Or maybe I just like her voice.

I will say that the big dramatic fight was perhaps bigger and more dramatic than it needed to be, given the content—but in terms of narrative expectation, it would be wild to have this huge build up of a potential conflict and then have it turn out to be a big ole nothing-burger.2 At least I can be grateful that it was the hero who had a meltdown, rather than the heroine. Their reconciliation also happened quite quickly, which makes sense given the whole nothing-burger of the fight, but from a narrative perspective, it felt rushed. Basically: the black moment didn’t work for me, and maybe the book would have been better without it.

Did I just spend many words flailing around and not saying anything useful about this book? Yes, it seems like I did. I’m just gonna keep reading Holiday’s books, and maybe someday I’ll be able to put my finger on why they work for me so well.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

Thank you so much to netgalley for this arc!
Also, release day was yesterday, so it’s OUT NOW!

🏒Professional hockey player
🩰Former ballet dancer
👨‍👧Single dad
🤝Kind of like a marriage of convenience but more of a partnership of convenience

🏒Mike Martin, recently widowed hockey player, is having a difficult time adjusting to being a single parent. Needing help regulating his daughter’s moods and adding stability to his life, he forms a connection with his daughter’s dance teacher.

🩰Enter Aurora, a former ballet dancer who’s really going through some shit. Still working on recovering from some issues from her past, Rory agrees to move into the basement of Mike’s house and help with his daughter.

He cant be the same Mike she met at the mall when she was 15, can he? The one she fabricated her whole “fake boyfriend” around? Maybe he is but she doesn’t have to mention it? Hopefully this doesn’t violate Mike’s only rule of complete honesty. 🤦🏽‍♀️

This was such a sweet read! Read this if you love:
💌sport’s romance
💌mental health awareness (many of the characters attend therapy and heavier issues are discussed)
💌found family
💌partnership of convenience

✍️Things to consider: this book discusses loss and the process of grieving, eating disorders, ongoing therapy, and more.

The audio for this one was so well done!

Not a fan of the constant referring to mental health professionals as shrinks or the toxic masculinity in this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the e-ARC in exchange for my review.

I adored this book ! As a Canadian, I thoroughly enjoyed all the references and had a few good chuckles over them. I also loved that while this was a romance, it dealt with heavy topics and had an emotional depth. I was completely invested in both MCs and their individual & combined journeys. And I loved the ending - I couldn't stop a big smile from spreading over my face on the last pages !
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️

I absolutely loved this book. I laughed, I cried, and I felt such immense happiness getting to read Mike and Rory’s journey.

Don’t be fooled by the cute cover; while - yes, this book is a hockey/sports romance - hockey is not the main focus of the book. In fact, hockey is just Mike’s passion and job. Just like ballet is Rory’s.

This book tackles some really heavy topics such as grief, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, childhood trauma, and abandonment issues. Seeing Mike and Rory heal through their respective traumas and go to therapy was immensely satisfying. I loved them together as a couple, but also loved their individual journeys and character development.

As for the romance, it’s a slow burn that’s worth the wait. I was skeptical about the plot since she basically pretended that he was her boyfriend after they met one time years ago at the mall, but I liked the development and conclusion of that storyline.

“Here’s the thing: you can love a person, and that person can be, fundamentally, a good person, but you can still enforce standards for what you will and will not accept.”

Things I loved:

🩰 Sports romance
🩰 Healthy communication
🩰 Importance of therapy
🩰 Slow burn
🩰 She’s (kind of) the nanny
🩰 He’s a widowed single dad

I recently delved into this story that took me by surprise with its emotional depth, beautifully narrated by Joshua Jackson and Emily Ellet. Initially drawn in by the quirky premise of a woman encountering the imaginary Canadian boyfriend of her youth, I was captivated by the unfolding romance between Aurora, a dance instructor, and Mike Martin, a widowed pro hockey player. Their journey from practical acquaintances to deep emotional connections, against a backdrop of personal grief and healing, resonated deeply with me. While there are minor plot and character quibbles, the story explores love's power to heal and transform. This book, more than just a romance, was a poignant reminder of the complexities of the human heart.

This latest book from Jenny Holiday was my first 🏒 hockey romance 🏒 and I really enjoyed it!

Do you read sports romances? I don’t read a lot of them, but I gotta say, hockey player Mike made a pretty swoony book boyfriend. All of Holiday’s characters are usually pretty swoony, but this single-dad, working-through-his-issues, sweetheart of a man was especially delightful!

Aurora and Mike had great chemistry, although this friends to lovers centered around one of my least favorite tropes - miscommunication. Actually, it wasn’t even miscommunication. More of a lie by omission that snowballed. Honestly throughout much of the book I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal and it didn’t feel like it had the foundation to base an entire story on, and I struggled with that aspect of the plot.

Apart from my issue with part of the story (which will be a complete non-issue for most readers!), overall this was a fantastic read! It’s the type of fun, fast-paced romance that sweeps me away from reality for a few hours, while also teaching me a thing or two - in this case, about hockey!

Things to be aware of: because the main characters are each dealing with traumatic events from their past, there are a few scenes that warrant content warnings, which I’ll drop into the comments.

As a teenager, Aurora made up a fake Canadian boyfriend based on a cute hockey player she met while working. Years later, she meets Mike Martin, NHL player and recently widowed dad to one of the girl's she teaches at her dance studio. She begins helping take care of his daughter when he's out of town, but as their connection grows deeper, she's afraid to share her secret.

This is not your average romcom as they cover some heavy topics including mental health, grief, and toxic parenting, but it was done well with so much open communication between our leads. I love that Mike and Aurora were able to open up about the heavy stuff and spoke positively about therapy as they both are healing from their pasts. We get to see them go from strangers to friends and figuring out something more.

I was not a fan of the late drama, and that Aurora always referred to Mike Martin by his full name, but those are minor nits when the rest of the story was so heartwarming. I read it all in a day (a weekday nonetheless!)

If you like your romance with a little more depth, highly recommend picking this up. And please listen to the audiobook. JOSHUA JACKSON IS THE MALE NARRATOR. I would listen to that man read a grocery list. Former Mighty Ducks star narrating an NHL player is *chefs kiss*

Thanks NetGalley and Forever for my complimentary copy (and Spotify for as much of the audiobook as I could listen to before my monthly credits ran out).

Canadian Boyfriend is not your average hockey player/ballerina romance novel. Mike is a widowed professional hockey player reaching the end of his career and Aurora is a dance teacher who might never teach ballet again.

This book is much more than your average fun smutty hockey romance. This is a heartfelt and emotional romcom about two adults working through their trauma to better understand their selves and each other.

Because of her oppressive and callus mother and the culture of ballet, Aurora is healing from her past of an eating disorder. Mike on the other hand is grappling with the death of his wife and her secrets she had kept from him.

My only complaint about the book was the third act breakup. For characters that are so mature for the rest of the book the reasoning for their argument and split didn’t land for me.

Regardless, this is an emotional and hopeful read I would gladly recommend to others. Thank you to Forever for the ARC.

My first Jenny Holiday, and I still don’t know how it’s possible when I’ve had her whole catalogue on my TBR forever! It was really good which means I’ve made a terrible mistake not reading any of her previous books yet!! I need to remedy this, immediately…

I completely enjoyed this one, about a young girl working at a mall concession who meets a cute boy one day, discovers he’s from Canada in town for a hockey tournament, and later uses the idea of him to be her new boyfriend from Canada as an excuse to get out of social events and why she isn’t bringing anyone to things, and so on… fast forward many years to adulthood, past a failed attempt at being a professional dancer and into the kids dance class she’s teaching - and who should walk in, but Mr. cute Canadian hockey boyfriend himself, with his daughter - the girl who’d always been brought in by her mom before.

Reading the second chance (is it a second chance or more of a secret identity?) romance between the dance teacher and widower, single dad hockey player was so darn enjoyable and entertaining! I loved their chemistry and how Aurora (Rory) grappled with the secret of her past fake boyfriend story as she and the real Mike became close, while she taught young Olivia’s dance classes, helped them heal from losing the mom and wife, and helped them around the house - while not being a nanny or girlfriend… with some excellent twists.

Such a fun read and I can’t wait to grab an audio copy - did you see that Joshua Jackson (beloved Pacey) is narrating?! Along with Emily Ellet who I’m not familiar with but I’m sure will be excellent, too. I am stoked to hear this story again, knowing who’s behind Mike’s voice! I completely recommend this book, and am going to hype the audio even though I haven’t listened yet (I just know it’s going to knock my rating up to 5)!

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and this is my honest feedback.

When Aurora Evans, Rory, was a teenager, she worked at a coffeeshop in the Mall of America. It made her feel normal to work there. And that was where she met her Canadian boyfriend, Mike. He had been there with his friend Erik, and they only got a minute to talk before the guys had to leave. But that moment stayed with Rory.

Rory’s mother insisted that she get straight As in her classes and was obsessed with her daughter’s ballet career. Even though Rory was still just in high school, her mother controlled her eating habits and her time so strictly that there was already a professionalism about her. That maturity put a wall between her and the other kids, so she didn’t really have friends. She didn’t get invited to parties or prom. But it was okay, because she had her Canadian boyfriend. Mike acted as her excuse not to take part in high school social activities, and she wrote letters to him about her life and her feelings, so she got to use the idea of him as an emotional outlet too.

When Rory finally decided she needed to quit ballet, after more years of schooling and practice and starving herself, she also stopped writing to Mike. She put aside all her delusions, all of the things she’d been using as a crutch to help her through those difficult years.

Years later, Rory works at a small dance studio in Minnetonka when Olivia comes back to class after several months away. Her mother had died in a car accident, and her father had pulled her from school and dance classes for a while to grieve and heal. But now, Olivia is back with her father, and all the other moms are very interested in him. He’s a professional hockey player from Canada, and his name is Mike.

Almost immediately Rory suspects that he is the same Mike as she met as a teenager, her imaginary Canadian boyfriend back in her life. Only, he doesn’t know anything about their fake relationship. All he knows is that Rory makes his daughter happy. That’s all he cares about. So he asks Rory to spend more time with him and Olivia, hoping her brightness will help Olivia in this first school year without her mother. But what he doesn’t expect is that Rory brightens his life too.

As Mike works through his grief and anger at his wife’s death, and Rory works through her own difficult relationships with food, ballet, and her mother, they find acceptance and peacefulness with each other. But as they get closer to each other, can they overcome their pasts to find their way to a future?

Canadian Boyfriend is a charming rom com with characters you can’t help but root for and a premise that is hard not to love. Both Rory and Mike are shimmering with charm and likability, and if that’s not enough, there is also a dog with wheels for back paws, pies for taste testing, a ball pit, and lots of kissing.

I loved this book from the first page. I found Rory so compelling, even as a teenager, but especially as an adult trying to figure out how to move on from the mistakes of her past and finding her passion as an adult. As someone who suffers from panic attacks myself, I felt like the anxiety scenes were well written and kind (however, if you feel that might be triggering, you may want to hold off on this book until you are feeling more grounded). But Canadian Boyfriend, overall, is witty, sweet, fun, smart, and so enchanting that I want everyone to read it and love it too.

Egalleys for Canadian Boyfriend were provided by Forever through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday
Contemporary romance. Alternating first person POV.
Rory worked at a coffee shop as a teen in the Mall of America. One afternoon she met a boy. There was something in his eyes that sparked something within her. She didn’t see that boy again, but it was a pivotal moment for her. In her busy life, with too many rules and restrictions, she decided he was going to be her boyfriend if anyone at school asked and she was going to write him letters. They wouldn’t get mailed, of course. She only knew his name. And that he played hockey.
Many years later Mike Martin brings his daughter into her tap dance class and meets the teacher, Aurora Evans. His wife has passed away and the dance class was one of the things that Olivia wanted to continue. Rory thinks he may be the same person, but she needs to teach her class and help get him away from the other dance moms. After a ride home and shared ice cream with the three of them, their outings get to be a habit and soon Rory is acting as nanny. She needs to tell him they’ve met before but it’s not the right time yet. Cue the drama card.

Ok, sure there was some drama, and I hate that she didn’t tell him earlier. She had soooo many opportunities! But it’s a romance and we don’t want it to end before it gets going! The author handled the situation well with Mike’ Martin’s self analysis and I actually agreed in the end.
Family, children, and romance troupes, all favorites and this book was sweet, adorable and a pleasure to read. All the feels.
And not knowing much about dance, I learned a few new words such as Glissades.
A quirk I found interesting - she calls him Mike Martin through the entire book. Not Mike. Mike Martin. A Canadian thing? Or a Rory thing? I don’t know but it was kind of cute.
Reading guide included at the end

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Thank you Forever and Hachette for the ARC!

I really appreciated the way Olivia and Mike's grief were explored in this book, especially how their grief related to their relationship with each other. I also appreciated how Rory's relationship with her mom, her past and her eating disorder were explored. I think all of these topics were handled maturely, realistically and in a way that can be relatable for those who have faced similar experiences. I loved the on page therapy, I think it was done well and added a lot to the story and reinforced the normalcy of therapy.

I didn't love Mike as a character. In fact I quite seriously disliked him. He was great as a dad with Olivia, and was great at consent, but those were his only redeeming qualities for me. I hated the way he referred to anything slightly spiritual as "woo-woo" and some of the things he said/thought were leaning towards misogynistic. I found his character to be immature, which he made improvements on in therapy like when he realized all of the emotional labor Sarah was doing, but especially in the way he handled the third act conflict.

The third act conflict felt unnecessary and didn't really make sense to me. I found the justification for both of their reactions, guilt, anger and the subsequent breakup weak and the overall issue clunky. I liked the concept of what was trying to be done, but found the execution to be lack luster. I think with better execution of the third act conflict the overall pacing of the book would have been better as well. I found the pacing to be quite slow and felt like the book was 50-75 pages too long and the resolution too quick.

I found the cover art and the marketing of this book to be slightly misleading. Yes, this is a book about grief, self-love and overcoming personal demons, but it is not a hockey romance. Mike may be a hockey player, but this book was only hockey adjacent. There was not enough about the details, logistics or game play for this to be a hockey romance.

I wanted to love this book, I was really excited to read it, but it didn't hit the mark for me.

MY REVIEW
I received an E-Arc from the publisher and Netgalley for an honest review!

I know the book is out today and my review is on time, right?? 

Anyways, I could not stop reading this story. It took me a little time to read it because of life throwing things at me. Go figure!  The story was cute, fun and a healing process for the main characters. I love the connection between Mike and Aurora.  They just fit nicely together, listened to each other and helped each other out when needed. Of course it was not perfect. 

Mike and Aurora had a few own personal things to deal. Do they overcome it? Do they share it? There is lots to unload here from both which made the story interesting to me. To talk about these things and to trust someone with them, takes courage.  Some of the issues are panic disorders, eating disorder, grief, and car accident. Therapy is mentioned in the story which I thought was nice to see. Just letting you know that some families that can be overbearing and that said, it's mentioned in the story.  I really did not like Aurora's mother at all. Mike's family on the other hand was pretty chill.

Hockey, dancing, doing errands for a kid, healing, romance and so much was happening in this story. I think the author balances well in topics that can be fun, light, heart warming and heavy. Besides isn't life like that too? I will say there are a few steamy moments which I thought fit nice into the story.  I thought the making out bits were lovely too. Sometimes it's nice to have a mixture of things in that department.

I would recommend to go pick this book up today if you are looking for something different to read. There are some triggers so be prepared.

I'm glad I got to read this unique story. Go get it now!