I was really excited for the idea of a professional hockey player and a ballet teacher falling in love. I just couldn't get passed the whole letters to her Canadian boyfriend thing. I understood why she wrote those letters and how she needed to write them to get through her life, but it was still just really creepy. It just didn't sit well with me. I did really like Olivia and the relationship that grew with her dad and with Rory. I love romances that have single parents. They warm my heart.

This book was such an enjoyable read! This was such a clever twist on “fake-dating” because there was never any actual “fake-dating” that happened! I loved how this book focused on the characters actually growing as humans after their respective traumas. This book felt light while dealing with serious events while still not making light of those serious things. The characters were really well rounded and I liked that the spice wasn’t really graphic while still being adult (no descriptions of 🍆 even though sex occurs). Therapy was used heavily by characters and I appreciated that. The tension was really well built even though the book took place over around a year. Really well balanced overall, with lightheartedness, cute moments, and a great romance! I could’ve dealt with a bit more complexity of characters but I will be reading more by this author in the future! 4.5⭐️, 1.75🌶

Wow this book did a number on me. When I finally had the open window to read, I devoured the book quickly. We follow the story of Rory, a "failed ballerina" struggling to get by on her dance teacher/barista jobs, and recent widower Mike Martin and his daughter Olivia and they're journey to healing, returning to their lives and things that brought them happiness, and allowing life and love to come back in to the picture all while processing their experiences. The banter between characters is fantastic, but truly, this book was a therapy session in itself. I highlighted so many powerful and strong statements that really struck a cord with me too, and I loved how they were able to tough love each other of their healing hurdles in a gentle way (yeah make that make sense, cause it was so well done, I have no other way to describe it).

I'm very excited to read Gretchen's story, she's closer in age to me but I also really love the way the author wrote about therapy and the work and steps you take to try and be a little bit better than the day before. Definitely have a fan in me.

In this book, we meet Aurora a dancer that’s working at a coffee shop when she meets a Canadian hockey player, and she has the idea that having a fake hockey player boyfriend that happens to live in Canada would be the perfect excuse to get out of any social events during high school, no harm no foul its not like she’ll ever see him again, right? Cut to years later she’s teaching a dance class when who happens to walk in but her inspiration for the fake Canadian boyfriend, Mike Martin professional hockey player, father to one of her students and recent widower. What starts as a friendship of helping one another soon develops into more, things begin to get more complicated when the secret Aurora is holding back begins to weigh on her.



This book deals with a lot of heavy topics and I think the author does a great job of not making the book feel overwhelmed. The characters are well developed and feel realistic when it comes to how they develop as friends to more as the story moves forward. The author does a great job to not rush the relationship but to let friendship grow to the point that the only logical sense is that the two characters fall in love. The secondary characters are a great compliment to the story, Mikes daughter being the best of them who is dealing with so many emotions after losing her mom.



I will say, the conflict that was in the book could have been avoided, I’m not a big fan of a character holding a secret and then getting interrupted when the character is trying to tell that person the secret they’ve been hiding, I feel like the whole conflict could have been avoided or the secret could have been shared much sooner to avoid the conflict that happened in the book, but that’s just me.



Also, not a big fan of the FMC using the MMC full name “Mike Martin” when referring to him or thinking about him by the end of the book I was annoyed by it.



Overall, I did enjoy this book, I recommend this to anyone that likes a character driven book, with a great from strangers to friends to lovers’ story, with great secondary characters.



TW: death of a spouse/mother, eating disorder, toxic parent, panic attacks, grief



Solid 3.5 stars



Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A captivating hockey romance that will leave you with a warm heart and an appreciation for the magic that can happen when we make decisions for ourselves.

What really sets this book apart is the characters. I really admire how much the author, Jenny Holiday, gave each character a lot of depth! It's rare to find a romance with such multidimensional individuals with personal struggles, dreams, fears, and enriching personal development. It added a lot of authenticity to the story and I truly believe that these characters must be real and the author is writing from personal experience!

Regarding the romance, the chemistry between the main characters is electric and the tenson between them is expertly built throughout the narrative. This story involved an epic slow burn that had me eagerly turning the pages and when their romantic crescendo finally arrives, it is nothing short of satisfying!

My one and only con was that I wasn't a big fan of the stereotypical third-act argument. It's very predictable and I thought was pretty unnecessary, but I really loved the other 98% of the book so much that I can happily ignore that small section!

But the found-family and relationships between all the characters was incredibly heart-warming and I will most definitely recommend this book when it comes out on January 30th, 2024!

CW: eating disorder, death of a spouse, anxiety and panic attacks, toxic parental relationship (but the author did an excellent job covering these sensitives topics and involving them in the book)

A big thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the privilege of getting to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Loved it!

This book is the perfect package. It follows Aurora (Rory) and Mike Martin in a dual pov journey through past trauma. Rory is a former ballet protege turned suburban dance teacher and Mike is a famous hockey player grieving the sudden loss of his wife. His daughter, Olivia, takes classes at the studio where Rory teaches. However it’s not the only way they are connected. They’d met before in high school.

And that becomes a main conflict in the book. After their brief meeting Aurora created a persona of “Mike Martin” and deemed him her boyfriend for years. She wrote him letters (that were never mailed) and read more like a diary. Of course she never mentions this until it becomes too big of an issue. Why would Mike care? Well he hates liars. Personally I don’t see this as lying, but Holiday does a great job of building these characters so the conflict makes sense.

Through friendship, therapy, and Olivia, Mike and Aurora grow through the tragedies they have experienced. Some highlights for me were:

- [ ] Positive therapy representation, especially for men
- [ ] A fictional child who acts like an actual child
- [ ] All the ballet terms. This is much more a ballet book than a hockey romance.
- [ ] The friends to lovers trope is my absolute favorite
- [ ] Not being able to predict the story line (which is usually fairly easy in a romance)

I buddy read this with S and we had a lot of really great discussions. The theme of joy and sadness coexisting throughout life was visited often in this story.

Cannot wait to check out more of Jenny Holiday’s backlist.

This wasn’t a bad hockey romance, it was emotional and has a lot of angst. I loved that it was a ballet teacher and hockey player. I unfortunately didn’t finish it, I kept losing interest in the story. I will definitely come back and read it and rate it again

When Aurora was a teenager working at the Mall of America, struggling with pressure to become a ballerina form an overbearing dance mom and no friends, let alone boyfriends, to speak of, she meets a hockey player from out of town, Mike. Despite their brief interaction, she builds him up into a fantasy, her "Canadian Boyfriend" that's always out of town, the reason she can't go to school dances or go on dates. She doesn't expect to meet him for real ten years later, now a professional hockey player, widower, and dad to an eleven-year-old. But when she begins helping him take care of her his daughter, the two grow closer, but his struggles with grief and her secret that they've met before, provide roadblocks to anything lasting.

I enjoyed how real this book was, in how it handled Aurora's eating disorder and anxiety, the struggles of professional dance, and the phases of grief after losing a loved one. It was certainly a slow burn, with Aurora and Mike inching along from acquaintances to friends to friends who kiss to more at a snail's pace. And although this book is beautiful, it doesn't feel like Jenny Holiday. I'd hardly call it open door, though it is, but it's not JENNY HOLIDAY open door, leaving me a bit confused. It reminds me of the Christina Lauren transition from steamier reads to more mainstream, giftable books available in hardback. But given her other recent books, this abrupt turn surprised, and ultimately disappointed me a bit. I would still undoubtedly recommend this book, as Holiday is a great writer, with or without the heat, and it's a wonderful love story.

Thanks to Forever for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 8/10

I adored this book! There are certainly some heavy themes in this book…the cover is maybe a little deceiving….because this is definitely a grown-up love story!
I loved how the author handled each of the characters “baggage” through an emphasis on therapy! The way that both characters developed through the book was perfect! They both faced their “demons” with healthy processing. Not perfectly, but they grew! And that’s more real life.
I appreciated the time covered. At first I thought it felt drawn out or choppy, but then I realized that is so much more how life goes! And time was needed for the characters to process their growth. Time doesn’t “heal all wounds”, but it does “sand down the edges” and I liked how that was exemplified in the way the story was
Overall, this book was fantastic! I will definitely be recommending it.

Favorite quote: “…life is full of conflicting truths.”

Holy moly this book exceeded all expectations. As a Canadian myself, I was just expecting an overall good time with some Canada references but it was so much deeper than that. The characters both had their own kinds of trauma but were willing to work through it and it was so therapy positive which we love to see. I connected so much with Aurora in the dance background and dealing with all of the culture that comes with it and I felt so represented and found it even more interesting having just quit dance myself. Mike was great and also had very valid issues but I do not think the cover making him Chris Pratt was extremely necessary… I thought all of the jokes about Canada were great and the whole “Canadian boyfriend” concept was very clever. In all, I think there is something in this book for everyone :)

I LOVED Aurora. So freaking much. I loved seeing her become such a strong person and loved the whole healing journey. I adored Mike and I loved both of them together. This book made me feel so good through almost all of it. Then the last 3 chapters hit me like a punch to the chest. WOW! I really loved everything about this book. So damn good! I can’t wait for Gretchen’s story.

This book was very different from what I expected, but not in a bad way! The book was not a romcom, but much more focused on heavier storylines. The book focused just as much on Rory and Mike's journeys as individuals as their romance with each other. But this allowed the book to stand out by placing the importance of mental health at the forefront. Overall, I would recommend the read to anyone looking for a well-rounded character-centric story.

This book had a ton of tropes I normally shy away from, but I absolutely fell in love with these characters. I loved watching Mike and Aurora work through their issues and finally learn to let one another in. I did think the big "secret" was kind of silly, I could have done without that being the cause of the break up, but everything else about the book was so strong it didn't take away from my enjoyment too much.

Okay hold onto your butts, I actually read a sports romance. Which, that's not really fair, hockey and soccer are the least objectionable sports, I just generally don't sportsball and I can't remember the last sports romance I read. This one has me wanting to give more of them a chance though!

Aurora is our fmc and homegirl has been THROUGH IT. She's 6 neuroses wrapped in a trenchcoat but I didn't find the manic pixie dream girl energy off-putting, I think because there were actual mental health reasons why she is the way she is. This book invoked so much of my own mental health struggles with so few words, and it made Aurora, who, in most settings would annoy the shit outta me, someone I could connect with.

Mike is generally delightful but ohhhhhboy did I wanna shake him pretty regularly. He's got himbo energy AND trauma. The book girlies will love him. Me included. You can love a character and wanna shake some sense into them at the same time; I checked.

What completely caught me off guard was this book's focus on mental health. Both of our mains have big traumas. Both of them are in therapy and openly discuss the work they're doing in therapy. It was honestly a relief, because who hasn't picked up a romance and been like COULD YOU BOTH GET SOME THERAPY AND RECONVENE AT A LATER DATE?!...Just me? In this, each time it would be so easy for them to have a blowup because cool kids don't talk about their feelings, they just...talked it out.

Ultimately, I obviously liked it. For the smut squad, while there's some on-page sexual activity, this is very much a hockey romcom, not heavy smut. But it's charming, and I absolutely enjoyed it. I'll definitely be picking up more from this author!

The description of this book got me really excited for this romance. Aurora first meets Mike briefly at the mall as a teenager, and she writes fake letters to him, pretending he is her fake boyfriend. They reconnect later in life when Mike’s daughter loses his wife, and Aurora is teaching his daughter dance. Aurora is overcoming a toxic experience as a professional ballerina and the treatment from her mother.

I really loved how in depth the author wrote both of these characters who are going through major life changes, and navigating it together. Both characters communicate so well, and are so vulnerable with each other. I loveeee when romances get deeper, and veer from the light/fluffy side of things. However, there was something missing for me, which was the witty banter or tension/chemistry between these two. While they had sweet moments, it didn’t feel super believable to me. I also felt like the third act conflict wasn’t that big of a deal, and was more of silly thing that isn’t actually the “big secret” it was made to be.

Overall, I felt like this book had so much potential but it fell a bit flat for me in regards to the tension/chemistry between the FMC and MMC. However, I think there is a reader for this book, if they prefer deeper love stories with less tension.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book. Rory was a really great, complex, and relatable main character, and I really liked reading from her point of view. I also liked Mike's point of view, but I definitely liked hearing from Rory more to be honest.
Rory's relationship with Liv was one of my favourite aspects of this book. I loved their dynamic, and I really just loved Olivia's character. The relationship between Rory and Mike was also well-written, and I really appreciated how this book was more than just a romance, with all that happened prior to where the book starts off.

There were some minor things that I didn't love about this book, like how the conflict at the end played out (I thought the MMC might have overreacted a bit, but I can see where he was coming from). I also thought it was a bit odd how Rory called Mike by his full name nearly every single time she referenced him ("Mike Martin" constantly, almost never just "Mike").

This book deals with some heavy themes, so definitely check trigger warnings before you read! The author does deal well with the heavier subjects, however, and I really enjoyed the mental illness representation in this book.

Overall, this book was pretty good, and I would for the most part recommend it :)

This was a cute hockey romance!

Overall, I enjoyed the character development and issues addressed. The romance was very cute. I did think it was a little bit too long.

Ten pages into this I had to stop reading. The writing was very childish. Literally could not stand reading a whole book like this. So I just had to stop.

#NetGalleyARC This was such a cute story. I loved that the characters were realistic, flawed and easy to relate to. I also liked that the author tackled some tough topics and handled them in an honest and realistic way. The plot got a little boring and predictable at times but overall this was a fun weekend read.

"Canadian Boyfriend" by Jenny Holiday is a poignant romance that skillfully navigates themes of grief, self-discovery, and forgiveness. Aurora, a former ballerina battling her demons, crosses paths with Mike, a pro hockey player grieving the loss of his wife. The story unfolds with layers of emotional complexity as Aurora and Mike grapple with their pasts and navigate the delicate balance of their evolving relationship. Holiday handles heavy themes such as grief, disordered eating, and self-respect with sensitivity, infusing the narrative with authenticity. The exploration of forgiveness adds depth to the characters, making their journey towards healing and love even more compelling. Despite the unconventional start of their relationship and the challenging dynamics, the author crafts a heartwarming tale that resonates with genuine emotion. "Canadian Boyfriend" is a beautifully written, emotionally rich romance that captivates from start to finish.