Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Aurora is a dancer. Mike Martin is a hockey player. They met when she was working as a barista in high school and he was in town for a hockey tournament, and now, over a decade later, they meet again. Having only met once before and not having stayed in touch, Mike has no idea who she is, but Aurora didn't forget; she used the idea of him as her Canadian Boyfriend. Now, Aurora is Mike's daughter Olivia's dance teacher. Mike is newly widowed. This can't be the same Mike, right? But so many things line up...

Yes. All of this, yes. It's a romance and you expect a happy ending, but the journey to get there was just as worthwhile. I also loved that they talked about important things like emotional labor, grief, eating disorders, setting boundaries, and going to therapy. We love to see it for our incredible main characters!!!!

Out January 30th, and you're gonna want to read this one 👀

CW: mentions of death, eating disorder, emotional abuse, grief

I both enjoyed Canadian Boyfriend and found it fairly annoying. The basic conflict premise of this novel feels extra flimsy and silly, and the story is incredibly slow, but I also liked Aurora and Mike. Suitable for readers who are more interested in women’s fiction than straightforward romance.

This was one of my most anticipated reads, as I've always loved Jenny Holiday's books. This is such a great winter read with a hockey star hero. I thought the various issues in the book were handled so perfectly, as only Jenny can do. Delightful and moving, an A+ read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had a few humorous moments in my opinion. The story flowed well. I would definitely read another book. by this author.

Strap on you skates and tie your ballet flats in this cross-border sports romance. Included are all the Canadian-isms that will make you smile and cute banter that will make you swoon. Aurora and Mike make a cute couple, they just had to navigate some of life’s complications to realize it.

Aurora has always done things to make her mom happy, and ballet was in the top spot. When Aurora took the reins on her life, this created an irreparable fissure between her and her mom. Always keeping dance in her life by teaching kids, Aurora began to explore life’s little pleasures, like eating. Starting to heal from years of control, she began to blossom.

Enter Mike, and well, that’s a whole other story - haven’t they met before?

Newly single dad, widower Mike tries to keep things moving in the right direction for his daughter Olivia, keep a handle on his emotions and his hockey career. One of those things is continuing dance classes for Olivia where Aurora teaches. When Aurora sees Mike, she realizes he is indeed the guy she met when she was a teenager working at a coffee shop.

Blending in ‘eh’ and Tim Horton’s with some pliés and points, you really got yourself a balanced couple. Jenny Holiday does a fabulous job of tackling grief, mental health, eating disorders and anxiety in this book, all the while giving us a delightful romance. I look forward to Jenny’s future work.

Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with an e-ARC of this via Netgalley.

🌟- 5 / 🌶- 1.5
Dual POV & HEA

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This book is not like other romance books I have read. It was very low spice with a slow burn and focused so much on the recovering from grief and growth of the MCs than spicy scenes, it was a refreshing and unique book compared to other hockey romances I have read.

After meeting a hockey player in passing during her teen years, Rory creates a fake canadian boyfriend to make her feel less lonely and like an outcast from her peers. Years later, she never expects that man to show up as the newly widowed father of one of her dance students.

Mike Martin is the father of Olivia, and recent widow who also happens to play for the local NHL team. Learning to juggle his career with fatherhood and his grief he seeks out the help of Rory and ask her to move in and act as a “not nanny” while he is out of town during the season.

This book Is not like other romance books I have read. The focal point focuses so much on character growth and less on the physical connection. It was very low spice and even the spicy scenes were more fade to black than raunchy. I know this is not everyones cup of tea, but it was done well and I enjoyed it.

The instant chemistry and strong friendship that was built between Aurora and Mike was so great, and watching their relationship blossom gave me all the feels. Watching them use their kid-free time to sneak around and “make out like teenagers” was adorable and their whole relationship felt so realistic and genuine. All the small sweet things that Mike does for Rory had me squealing and kicking my feet.

It was cute how we got to see glimpses into Aurora's past with the letters she wrote to her version of Mike when he was just her Canadian boyfriend as a teen. I also loved the strong mental health representation and positive light on therapy that was shown through the book both with Mike and Rory. Seeing all of the characters work through some of the trauma they endured made for great growth and movement within the book.

Special mention of Olivia. She was such a well written and realistic tween, something you don't see much in romance books.
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✸ hockey player x ballet teacher
✸ single dad
✸ forced proximity
✸ mental health rep

this was my first Jenny Holiday book, and it was so cute! a single dad who plays professional hockey, and a dance teacher who loves his daughter 🤩🤩

Rory decides to help out Olivia and her dad, professional hockey player Mike Martin, and become their nanny-not-nanny after the death of Olivia’s mom. what Rory didn’t tell them was that she met Mike years ago as a teenager, and began writing to him letters she never sent- letters to her Canadian Boyfriend. this story navigates love, loss, emotional abuse, and overcoming obstacles that seem impossible.

This book was sweet and swoons while also covering some more serious issues. I sped through it, and genuinely enjoyed every page! A big thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I've read Jenny Holiday's Christmas in Eldovia series so was very excited to get approved of this one.

I loved the premise for this. It was so interesting. Aurora meets Mike at the mall as a teenager and decides to make him her fake boyfriend --an excuse to get out of things or not have a date to dances. But years later she meets him and gets to know him.

I loved that we got Mike's POV. This has a great underrated trope--she falls first, he falls harder. I really liked seeing Mike understand his feelings for Aurora. Especially after his wife died and he was so resistant.

I thought the casual role therapy played in this was great. Both our leads were in therapy and working a lot on their mental health. It was not ever mentioned as taboo or anything. They both had issues they needed to work on and scenes with both their therapists in it. But do check the TW in the book. The author included them.

4.5 stars.

Why on earth does she always call him Mike Martin? Other than that I absolutely loved Canadian Boyfriend, it’s full of all the Canadian cliches - plus Aurora and Mike are super cute, their relationship built slowly but with real intimacy that only comes with time.

While, overall this was a really cute read, it does deal with heavy subject matters and I would encourage you to look into content warnings!

Thank you to Forever Pub and Jenny Holiday for sending me an advanced digital copy of Canadian Boyfriend via NetGalley in exchange for review.

3.5/5

As a Canadian the stereotypical Canadian stuff was irritating at times, but not so much so that it could deter me from reading. This book surprised me, I don’t know what I was expecting going into this book, but I genuinely liked it. It reassured me of so many things and one of those things being, life works out for the best. I really enjoyed Mike & Aurora’s dynamic and how they actively learned from each other & although third act break ups are my pet peeve (also not an actual break, but you get where I am going with this) I really liked the idea of Mike writing to her towards the end, it really solidified and healed a part of little Rory.

Finished!!

This was such a sweet book. I really enjoyed so much of it. Most of all - loved the mental health topic. I loved how open and honest Mike and Aurora were about their mental health issues. It isn’t everyday you come across a book that you can relate to when it comes to anxiety (which is never talked about enough) or eating disorders.

❤️ The Canadian references - yay Tim Hortons!!
❤️ Hockey
❤️ The growth in Aurora, the boundaries she set with her mother especially
❤️ The single dad and Mike realizing how much his wife use to do for their family. I feel like this is NEVER talked about and us moms never get the credit that we should
❤️ The flirting, the text messages were so cute
❤️ The dual POV - I always like to read both sides

Make sure you get your hands on a copy when it comes out!!

Aurora has left her dream of becoming a professional ballerina behind and moved back home to Minnesota to teach at a local dance studio. There she unexpectedly meets a father to one of her students, Mike. The problem is Mike may not remember her, but Aurora remembers him. Their encounter at a Starbucks in her teenage years has poignantly stuck in Aurora’s mind. She may have even made Mike her imaginary boyfriend to fit in and seem cool. Needless to say Aurora never expected to see Mike again. But when he offers Aurora a nanny job to take care of Olivia while he is away at his hockey games she can’t help but say yes. The more time Mike and Aurora spend together the more deep their conversations get. From loss and grief to eating disorders and toxic relationships, Mike and Aurora open their hearts to each other. But Aurora can’t seem to tell Mike that they’ve actually already met, and if there’s Mike will not stand for secrets and lies. Will Aurora be able to tell him? Or will their burgeoning relationship crash and burn?

From all the mental health talks Mike and Aurora have to their slow burn romance this was a top tier story for me!

As a teenager Rory had a hard time fitting in at school always being pulled away for ballet. After a random meeting with a Canadian hockey player she came up with her fake Canadian boyfriend.

Years later now Rory returns home and is a local dance instructor, enter Mike Martin, a hockey player who has just lost his wife and is trying everything to keep his daughter afloat, who absolutely adores Miss Rory’s dance class.

This book was so much heavier then your typical romance, but it both Mc’s we’re so well developed that you felt the heartbreak and struggles right along side them. I finished this book in one sitting and was completely consumed by it all.

The hilarious Canadian references and the banter and angst better the two had me desperate for a happy ending. Honestly coulda dealt with Rory not calling him by his entire name the whole novel but that’s my only qualm I swear

I really enjoy Holiday's writing in her Princess for Christmas series, and was excited to pick up a story of hers with themes of ballet, hockey and a Canadian MMC. Although I didn't love it as much as Duke, Actually (my favourite of hers) it was cute and compulsively readable.

As a dancer, something I didn't love was the cheesy sayings like "holy shit and a grand plie" while simultaneously missing the mark a little bit on the authentic feeling of a dance teacher at a dance studio.

All in all though it was a nice read with characters you want to root for and an interesting 'conflict' that I personally haven't read before.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
What a cute read! I expected it to be very predictable,  but I enjoyed the direction this book took. The character development and pace was just right, allowing me to breeze through this book while keeping me engaged the whole time. I love all the Canadian references! 🇨🇦 I recommend this to anyone looking for a nice, cozy rom-com. This book explores topics including eating disorders,  anxiety, and loss.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central) Publishing for the ARC of this delightful novel.

I really enjoyed this book, I wouldn’t say it is your run if the mill sports romance it is much more than that. There are trigger warnings for eating disorders, toxic abuse verbal/emotional, anxiety, panic attacks, death/grief,
I loved the father daughter relationship between Mike and Olivia, it wasn’t perfect and showed the hardship of losing a parent and dealing with preteen emotions.
The topic of grief was discussed through out the entire book, not just grazed over for spice and romance. There is romance but it’s a slow burn, the spice if minimal and I think it was very fitting for this book.
The topic of therapy was discussed as a positive for all the characters.
There was no instalove. While there is some history between the two main characters I don’t want to give any spoilers they took their time to heal and to grow on their own first.
Overall and really enjoyed story!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early in exchanged for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved Aurora's character so much. I'm a sucker for sports romance, so I wish we saw a bit more of that incorporated in the story. It was a really a nanny x boss romance, which I wasn't bothered by but still. Personally I love the single parent trope and I think Olivia was such a nice touch. I like how both main characters grew through the story and worked through their "baggage". It was so nice to see Aurora stand up to her mother. Honestly I think Mike is just an okay character, I feel he didn't have much depth behind the fact that his wife died. Yes he's a gentleman and he plays hockey but gimme some substance please. I didn't really care for the imaginary boyfriend journal drama but overall I enjoyed the cute little romance book.

3.5 for me.

Mike and Aurora met one time and a few years later found each other again.
Mike is a huge hockey player and Aurora the dance teacher of his daughter. She recognized him but not him.
This but was promising Aurora seems a little like a stalker to me by not reminding him that they already met.
It’s a quit and sweet read otherwise :)

definitely not a light-hearted read, but it is fast-paced and a times fun. Check trigger warnings before you read! i enjoyed the single dad and forced proximity trope!

Canadian Boyfriend is shockingly weighty for the usually lighthearted Jenny Holiday, but heavy subject matter looks good on her. The book is just thoughtful enough to keep the winter chill away, but is also a completely trenchant character study. There’s a couple of quirks that keep this from reaching DIK status, but it’s a very good novel.

As a teenager, Aurora – Rory - Evans once bumped into a handsome hockey player at the Mall of America. She proceeded to use him as a convenient out for every social occasion, turning him into her Canadian boyfriend. She’s never going to see him again, so why not?

Decades later, Rory’s coping with her failed ballet career and recovering from an eating disorder. She teaches young hopefuls, and among her young students is Olivia Kowalski - the daughter of Mike Martin, the very hockey player whom she once pretended was her Canadian boyfriend. Olivia’s mother passed away in a car crash seven months before, leaving Olivia and Mike devastated. When Rory and Mike forge a relationship, Rory is forced to keep Mike from finding out she’s been lying to her family and friends for years about him being her Canadian boyfriend all those years earlier.

Canadian Boyfriend is sweet, but redolent of the grieving process. It has a strong romance but is very honest about what it’s like to recover from an eating disorder and paints a very strong portrait of what it’s like to live with heavy burdens but still seek out joy. It’s just not as lighthearted as the blurb makes it out to be.

I admired and liked Mike and Olivia and Rory in equal amounts, and the romance between Mike and Rory is warm and sweet. I especially appreciated how hard Rory works to shield her students from their momager friends. It’s very gratifying to watch everyone grow in the story, and for those worried that the main conflict might be a little too silly, it ultimately ends up being about Mike having to move beyond his wife’s death.

But when it comes to that plot point, the pacing does feel a little off, and it feels as though Mike is moving on a tad too quickly. And I don’t know why, but the book has Rory continuously refer to Mike by his full name. Even after they’ve had sex, he’s Mike Martin to her! It pulled me out of the story at several crucial junctures.

Yet Canadian Boyfriend is still romantic, tender, and well worth reading.