I don't think it's fair to say that this is a "light and quick read," because it's more than just that. Having said that, I found it really cute and devoured it in a day and a half.

CW: eating disorder, toxic and abusive (verbal and emotional) parent, anxiety, panic attacks, death of a spouse (past), grief

Things I loved:
- Both MCs have elite sports backgrounds. He is a pro hockey player, and she was training to be a professional ballerina before becoming a dance teacher.
- The special father-daughter relationship Mike and Olivia share.
- Olivia was a great 11 year old kid. I don't know why we don't get too many realistic kids in romance books.
- The nuanced way grief was discussed throughout. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say I really appreciated this!
- Therapy positive.
- Both MCs have a lot of baggage, but they were good for each other. Plus their forced proximity really helped foster both their healing and growth (combined with therapy, of course!)

Overall, the mix of tropes made this a very enjoyable read for me!

Thank you for the ARC, Forever!

Canadian Boyfriend was cute in the dance story but for me the romance got lost in the absurdity of the details.
Teenage Rory had what was essentially an imaginary friend, but she based them on a guy she saw for 3 minutes once. Flash forward and that imaginary friend is now in her life.
Recently widowed Mike's daughter loves her dance teacher so that is enough for Mike to trust her whole heartily and hire her as a babysitter and welcome her into their home. Also because she not like the other girls and doesn't watch hockey.
The imaginary friend for years thing, worm her way into their life is straight off and episode of Law and Order and no amount of "but I didn't know" could make me look past it, even if we are in Rory's POV she read to he as an unreliable narrator. The justification for how much she would have had to not know over the timeline of the story is unrealistic. You know a celebrity child is in your class even if mom drops them off. I cannot root for a romance of im convinced the FMC is a crazy stalker.

This book was definitely not what I was expecting it to be which is totally okay! I was expecting a cute and fluffy rom com hockey book, and while it was cute, it also dives into at lengths serious topics and discusses them at great details.

Aurora (Rory) is a former ballerina who now teaches kids’ dance classes. When Mike Martin, a professional hockey player brings his daughter into class, Aurora realizes he’s an important part of her past. Teenage Aurora met Mike at the Mall of America and turned him into her perfect fake boyfriend even though she barely knew him at the time. Now, he’s here in real life and their lives soon become closely intertwined.

Canadian Boyfriend has just the right level of sports romance. I really enjoyed the relationship between Mike and his daughter Olivia as they figured out how to handle their shared grief. Mike and Aurora’s relationship was refreshing in a lot of ways since they communicated pretty openly with one another. It seemed like they actually made each other better people. That said, the chemistry between them felt a little lacking.

I’m not really sure why Aurora called Mike by his full name, Mike Martin, for the entire book, or why every time he smiled it said “click, click, click.” I also think the book almost took on too many issues - there was grief, eating disorders, mental health, a narcissistic mother, in depth discussions about emotional labor, and more. These were all treated with care by the author and I loved that both main characters benefited greatly from therapy, but there were just a lot of heavy topics and I was hoping for a lighter sports romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the e-ARC!

✨BOOK REVIEW✨

The Canadian Boyfriend
By Jenny Holiday

I am not giving my rating on this one, and I’ll explain why. I liked the storyline. I even liked the two main characters, and loved most of the supporting characters! My biggest problem with this book lies in this: the main character, Aurora, only ever refers to the male main character by his full name—Mike Martin—every time. And by every time, I mean 272 times throughout the book. Not just a time or two to be cute. It was outrageous! And I honestly just couldn’t get past it when I see it sometimes 3 or 4 times on a page.

It was a cute story and it hit on some tough topics that were well done. For being what I thought was a “hockey romance,” it really was just a hockey-playing main character.

3.5 stars. It was not what I expected, and it delves much more deeply into grief and emotional abuse than I thought it would. But overall it is a good story. It just isn’t a rom-com. Romance, yes; comedy, no. Four stars for character, accuracy in dance studio life, and ice hockey is a great bonus.

I would like to add that I do appreciate the newer contemporary romances that don’t shy away from issues. Some of them really do show how the characters deal with some pretty tough and serious issues. I just felt like this one had too many hard things to make the story almost too weighty for its cute cover.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an eARC for review. All thoughts are my own.

I love hockey romances and read so many of them so I figured this would be another favorite based on the fact that I enjoyed the blurb. Unfortunately this book was not for me. It wasn’t what I was looking for at all,

So, I struggled with this book. Maybe because I've been reading lots of hockey romances. Either way, this plot covered so much more than romance. There was death, eating disorders, single parenting, etc. I wouldn't recommend this hockey romance if you're just looking for a fluffy plot. If you want more this is the book for you. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #NetGalley #CanadianBoyfriend

In her teenage years, Aurora creates an imaginary Canadian boyfriend to help her navigate the complexities of life and societal pressures. Little did she know that fate had a different plan for her. As an adult struggling with her own demons, she crosses paths with him once again. This time, he is trying to find his way as a single father after his wife's tragic accident.

Through a slow and gradual process, they develop an unbreakable bond and begin to heal each other's wounds. But can they overcome their past traumas and find love and trust again?

✨Thoughts✨

Initially, the story seemed adorable and heartwarming, but as Aurora poured her heart out in letters to her imaginary love, I could feel the isolation and emptiness she experienced. My heart went out to her, and I deeply empathized with her struggles. Surprisingly, ballet, once perceived as a stifling force, became her lifeline. Her determination in the face of adversity was truly commendable.

Mike, on the other hand, proved to be a challenging character to connect with. He had built walls around himself, and it was understandable given his circumstances. The measure of grief one must endure and the unanswered questions can never be quantified or timed accurately.

This novel delves into grief and the challenges of moving forward. It tackles serious themes while maintaining the essence of the blossoming romance between our protagonists. It could be described as a lite hockey romance, with subtle mentions of the sport throughout the narrative. If you are a fan of slow-burn friends-to-lovers, then this book is an absolute must-read.

Thank you NetGalley, Forever, and Jenna Holiday for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I picked this one up because of the cover (gorgeous!) and the synopsis because I tend to really like hockey romances. This was a good one, but not a great one. I was never super into the book and didn’t have a strong urge to finish it, but there was also nothing wrong with it. I feel like some other readers would probably enjoy it more! It follows Aurora, a ballet teacher, and Mike, a recently widowed hockey player. One of my favorite parts of the story was his daughter and seeing everyone’s relationship with her. If you like sports romance, emotional stories, or just want a fun but deep read, check this one out!

This book was just about a bunch of middle aged people having a midlife crisis about the fact that when they were little one of them said the other was their fake Canadian boyfriend and then they refuse to tell the other one.

I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it.

Readers who are looking for a relationship novel with emotional intelligence will find themselves rewarded. This book has serious themes, but there’s also a serious reward in store.

Synopsis: Aurora is a professional ballerina who has always struggled to fit in and not be a “people pleaser.” She invented a fake boyfriend as a teenager, based on a hockey player she met at the coffee shop she worked. Mike, professional hockey player and dad who recently lost his wife to a tragic car accident. Mike’s daughter is in Auroras dance class and Mike is the hockey player Aurora based her fake boyfriend on years ago. They both have multiple issues to work through as they navigate their new situations in life. The book addresses eating disorders, bromances, default parenting, toxic families and so much more

The book exceeded my expectations. I was expecting a meet cute rom com novel but the book dives into so many issues that are often overlooked. The book is so much more than just a love story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It did seem at times that the underlying story was overshadowed because the author just had too many ideas. She wanted to tell so many aspects of her characters lives that it took away from the story. Also I wish that Aurora had slipped into conversation a few hints to Mike about their previous meeting. She struggled the whole book to tell him about their past but never really tried to trigger his memory of her. For example, when he comes back from his run in Canada and refers to himself in the 3rd person. She could have said the same joke from 13 years prior to see if it invoked any response.

Overall, I loved the story and look forward to more from the author.

Jenny Holiday is well-known as an author who excels at writing sweet and easy-to-read romance novels. So I was very excited to see that she has a new one releasing soon! "Canadian Boyfriend" is centered around Aurora ("Rory") and Mike. Rory is a former ballet dancer who now teaches dance to children at a small studio with her friend. Mike is a newly single dad (and famous hockey player) who is trying to recover after the tragic death of his wife. One day when Mike drops his daughter off at the dance studio, Rory is able to make him laugh for the first time in months. They tentatively develop a friendship which gets even deeper when Rory offers to help Mike with his daughter while he's on the road.

I enjoyed the slow burn between Mike and Rory and really enjoyed the side characters as well. However, the "obstacle" between the two was a little ridiculous and I don't understand why it was even a big deal. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Format: Ebook (ARC)
Pages: 384
Quotes added: 1
Total Reading Time: 6h 38m


Review:
This book is not what I expected it to be, and that is okay! It’s not that I didn’t like it, however it did feel like there was stuff missing as well as I just think that Mike really overreacted in the end. And I know his therapist helps him through it, but it was still really frustrating to watch him make such a colossal fuck up over what was going so well. I enjoyed the northern lights addition and loved that part of the story, however it just felt like the idea was great but it just didn’t live up to the hockey romances that I am used to.

There was a lot surrounding mental health in this story. Whether it’s the grief process of losing a loved one or an eating disorder and narcissistic mother. The characters in this book went to therapy and worked through the things they were going through in life. This books shows the characters working on themselves. And I really loved the portrayal of therapy and healing in this book!

There was one quote that I saved during the time it took to read this book and it was…
—— “Your suffering is your suffering and there’s no point in comparing it to anyone else’s.”

****
potential editorial things:
Location 1645 - Lauren’s name is spelled wrong!
Location 2849 - Two Ins in “in the moment”

NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing). I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Perfection!
OK, 99% perfection.

First, I don't know why Aurora kept referring to Mike using his first and last names. Mike Martin. Like he's Charlie Brown. In fact, there are a couple Charlie Brown references in the book, yet no explanation as to why she does that. Maybe it's an editing thing and will be fixed upon publication? Please? It happened throughout the entire book and got to be extremely annoying.

Second, there is a major....event, if you will?...between Mike and Olivia that is talked about just before she goes to visit her grandparents. And then it's dropped, never to be heard about again. I thought it was going to be a big deal, but nope, I guess not.

OK, other than those mini rants, perfection. Absolutely LOVED this story. Would give it more than 5 stars. The emotional growth that Olivia shows throughout the story is beautifully written. I loved the relationship between her and Olivia. And Mike? Add him to your book boyfriend list. "You already got me something. You got me everything." GAH. This guy! So many nuances to this character. I liked that you get to see his therapy sessions. It brought so much to the story.

I savored this book. I read fast and I read A LOT so it's unusual for me to go back and re-read a particular sentence or a paragraph or a page. But that happened many, many times here. I finished it with a big smile on my face, and your can't ask for more from a book than that. Do yourself a favor and grab this one.

I love Jenny holiday and as a Canadian I was so excited for this book, but what a let down. The story was cute but the execution was not there. It reads like an elementary student wrote it and I just could not overlook the simplicity of the vocabulary. Normally I enjoy easy reads but there was just something about this that irked me and didn’t have me wanting to continue.

I give this book 3.5 stars overall. It’s technically a rom com, but touches on lots of very serious themes that can take some emotional labor to get through. It could have been a touch shorter, but it was full of heartwarming moments and Canadian stereotypes that definitely kept me entertained.

TWs
Eating Disorders (ballet background)
Loss of spouse
Extensive discussions of birth control in a way that could definitely be triggering

Canadian Boyfriend might be my favorite book by Jenny Holiday ever. It is so good.

When Rory is a teenager and so very lonely, she meets Mike at a coffee shop for one minute. That encounter is enough for her to decide that he can be her imaginary Canadian Boyfriend. No date to a dance? Canadian Boyfriend. Don't want to go to something? Canadian Boyfriend. Her imaginary boyfriend helps her through some of the toughest times in her life and she gives up on writing letters to him when she makes some hard life choices. Until he is real....

This romance is so good. There's so much growth and honesty and swoony heat. I could not put this book down. I was hooked from the first chapter and am so thrilled that I got to read it early.

This book was such a unique story that it caught my interest right away! I wasn’t sure at first how I would like the fabricated boyfriend turned real guy showing up in real life years later concept but it was actually great! I liked that it wasn’t as crazy as it sounds, Jenny Holiday touches on some very real mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and experiencing grief. I think she handled each of these very sensitively and in a way that really opened the reader up to learning and also relating to these struggles.
The humour all throughout kept the book light and fun despite some of these really heavy topics. It was such a great balance and overall just a really unique and hilarious story!

I was gifted an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley and all opinions are my own,