This book had a really intriguing premise to me, but the execution felt mostly flat.

Aurora first meets Mike Martin briefly at the mall as a teenager and ultimately uses him as inspiration for the fake boyfriend who gives her an excuse to not attend school functions. Adult Aurora meets Mike again after he has lost his wife and she is teaching his daughter’s dance classes. She finds herself in a situation helping the two of them out and getting to know the real Mike.

As an individual, I liked Aurora and I admired her journey as she learned more about herself, recovering from a toxic experience as a ballet student and its lingering trauma. I enjoyed seeing her develop an inner strength and discovering that she could set healthy boundaries.

There were some really sweet moments between Aurora and Mike, as well as with his daughter Olivia. Mike and Olivia are both coping with the major loss in their lives. The two of them figuring out how to handle different moments of grief was authentic and honest. I felt like Mike and Aurora brought positive change and light to each other’s lives as they were on their individual journeys. However, I didn’t really feel any genuine chemistry between them. I didn’t believe that Mike was really in a place where he felt ready to move on, and it felt rushed toward the end to get him there. I thought the pacing of the book was kind of clunky and maybe that impacted how I felt about that. Also, it drove me absolutely out of my mind that Aurora referred to Mike as “Mike Martin” for the ENTIRE book. Not just to be cute here and there. All the time. I also didn’t believe the conflict was as big of deal as it was made out to be. I didn’t understand the big deal, unless it goes back to Mike not really being in a place where he was truly ready to move on and was looking for any reason to end a chance at that.

There was a lot of potential with the plot of this book, but ultimately it was just ok for me and didn’t work as well as I’d hoped it would.

CW: disordered eating (in the past), death of a character (in the past), parental abuse (in the past)

First things first, I am incredibly confused as to why the cover on NetGalley is different from the cover in the ARC and online. They give very different vibes, and feel kind of like a bait and switch (making me start reading annoyed). The cover here screams hockey romance, but it's more of a contemporary romance with a hockey player in it.

As the description suggests, the premise is very fun, and it plays on that well. We even get some of the letters that she wrote to Mike over the years in between chapters. One thing that annoyed me though is that whenever we are in Aurora's head, she refers to Mike by his full name: Mike Martin. Every. Single. Time. If just did it sometimes for emphasis it would be fine, but it was literally every time she thought of him. It became annoying fast.

Mike goes through a serious character arc here and deals with a lot of personal issues leftover from his wife passing away. One thing I really appreciate is how therapy is portrayed in the book. Mike and his daughter Olivia are in therapy from the beginning and Aurora starts once she is able to. These characters don't just get where they're going emotionally on their own, but with the help of a professional.

Overall, while I won't be re-reading and probably won't read more titles by the author, I think there is a target audience that will really enjoy it.

Aurora is a retired ballet dancer who is now teaching dance classes in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and trying to make ends meet. One day before class, she's shocked to see that one of her students' father is Mike Martin, professional hockey player for the Minnesota Lumberjacks. That shock is not because she is a huge hockey fan and is excited to meet a local star, but because she actually met Mike Martin more than a decade ago when he came into the Caribou Coffee where she was working, and she turned him into her fake Canadian boyfriend to give her an excuse for missing basically any and all social events at school. Ballet was her life, and she didn't fit in at school, so her fake Canadian boyfriend became a lifeline for her through harrowing years of constant training, emotional abuse from her mother, and serious issues with food. Meanwhile, the real Mike Martin made his way through the hockey ranks, fell in love, got married, informally adopted his wife's daughter Olivia, and then lost his wife in an car accident. When Aurora sees him again, he is bringing Olivia back to her dance class after she's taken a few minutes off in the wake of her mom's death. Olivia is struggling, and so is Mike, and Aurora ends up helping them out during Mike's hockey season, eventually moving in as a kind of part time nanny/family friend. Mike and Aurora are attracted to each other but they both have a ton of trauma to deal with, and their relationship gets messy. I always feel a little weird about romances that feature main characters who have been widowed, especially if the relationship starts too soon after the loss. This walked that line a bit for me, but ultimately I liked how it was handled despite my initial misgivings. Lots of content warnings here - emotional abuse from a parent, disordered eating, death of a spouse, and lots of grief just all around.

This book made me laugh, like laugh out loud at parts. Jenny Holiday has a way with words and this book is just so relatable even if it doesn't seem realistic.

Such a great book! I loved it! It was unbelievable to think someone she met would land up coming back into her life all those years ago and a famous hockey star none the less. I loved the bond between the daughter and her dad especially dealing with the loss of his wife and how it extended to or main character as well. The dance element was very cute as well. I was so rooting for them and hoping they landed up getting their happy ending! I was not disappointed.

I’d been looking forward to this book since I saw it announced on Instagram. I thought the concept was really cute. The book played out a bit differently than I assumed it would, but that wasn’t a bad thing. Aurora and Mike were really cute together, and I loved her bond with Olivia as well. The book does delve into some heavy topics though, just as a small warning.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

ilove a good hockey romance. Mike and Rory are super cute. I feel like the first part of the book moved so fast and the last 130 pages are little slow.
Epilogue was perfect!
over all this was super cute!

"Canadian Boyfriend" by Jenny Holiday presents a heartwarming and relatable tale of second chances, personal growth, and the intricacies of human relationships. Aurora and Mike's story is poised to be a rollercoaster of emotions, making this novel an appealing read for those who enjoy contemporary romance with a touch of realism.

The story's foundation, a chance encounter with a Canadian boyfriend at the Mall of America, sets the stage for a unique premise. Aurora's reliance on a fabricated relationship to cope with her social awkwardness adds an intriguing layer of complexity to her character. Readers can expect to journey alongside her as she confronts her past and her insecurities.

The elements of dance, hockey, and the juxtaposition of their worlds offer a diverse backdrop that promises to add depth and authenticity to the characters and their interactions. The dance and hockey settings provide opportunities for growth, healing, and shared experiences that should make the story engaging.

Aurora's personal struggles with panic and eating disorders, combined with Mike's candidness about his widowhood, suggest that "Canadian Boyfriend" will delve into challenging, real-life issues. The portrayal of these sensitive topics, along with the characters' personal journeys, could create a poignant and thought-provoking narrative.

The premise of Aurora's secret past with Mike, coupled with the promise of a strong friendship and perhaps more, adds a layer of tension and anticipation. The revelation of her secret and the emotional impact it has on their relationship could be a pivotal moment in the story.

"Canadian Boyfriend" has the potential to be a touching, character-driven novel that explores the themes of self-discovery, healing, and the power of honesty and friendship. For readers seeking a romance that is not only sweet but also emotionally resonant, Jenny Holiday's book appears to be a promising choice.

Obsessed! I am completely and utterly obsessed with this one. I knew from the beginning this one would be a 5 star read for me. The characters and storyline was so perfectly executed I could not put this one down.

I thinking going in blind to this one is a great idea. It does deal with some heavy topics, including loss of spouse/parent, grief, eating disorders, and mental health, and I think it was all handled so well.

One of my favorite quirky things about this one was for both main characters, Rory and Mike, their internal dialogue would refer to the other by their first and last name. I love the connection and inevitable pull that Rory and Mike had with each other. And just made for a truly special story.

This one is not to be miss and will hit you in the feels for sure! 🤍

Thank you to the publisher for providing me the ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book has a really funny premise, but it fell flat for me. I didn't really like the main character kept calling the mmc by his full name (maybe that's just a me thing). The dual POV was nice, but parts felt awkward and I couldn't really connect with the characters.

As someone who used to dance competitively for years, I thought I would relate to Aurora, but the way she described dance felt like it was coming from someone who had never danced before. (No dancer says stuff like "shit and a grande pile.")

It felt like the book dragged, and some scenes felt redundant. I wanted to DNF, but I felt dedicated to sticking it out.

This one was super cute! I loved Mike and Rory together and how they both supported each other with the past that life had thrown at them. It was fast paced with a great flow that kept me entertained throughout.

*spoilers ahead

Going into this story I was super excited as I spent 18 years of life dancing! It is not often that I see a FMC that has a history with dance so Aurora was a fun FMC to read about.

Aurora and Mike met once years ago and since then Aurora has built a whole canadian boyfriend around that one meeting. However, it has been some time since she wrote to this canadian boyfriend. When Mike shows up with his daughter to Aurora's dance class, she can't believe it is him. Obviously, she does not share this information with Mike with him struggling to hold his life together with the recent passing of his wife. However, Mike invites Aurora into his personal life when he asks Aurora to drive his daughter home from dance classes and eventually move into their house as a "nanny." Things are going great until they start to develop feelings for each other.

I enjoyed the quick pace of this novel and loved the relationship between Aurora and Liv. Mike's apprehension about starting a relationship with Aurora was very understandable. However, I was not a huge fan of how rushed their "breakup" was and how rash Mike was when he found out about Aurora creating a whole canadian boyfriend around him. I understand that them meeting ahead of time was apart of the appeal for Aurora helping Mike, but I do not truly feel it added much to the story. Overall, it was a fun and quick read and I would recommend it for anyone with a hx of dance or who enjoy a hockey player as the MMC.

Thank you to Estelle at Forever for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

10* stars. This was such beautiful, sweet, and emotional love story. It was so raw and honest. It was simply so wonderful to see these two characters find peace within themselves and their happily ever after together. I can't wait for the next book. This author never disappoints.

Once upon a time, a teenage ballet dancer met a Canadian hockey player at a coffee shop. Her dedication to dance isolated her from others in high school, so she fabricated a Canadian boyfriend to give her an out from feeling excluded. He was part fantasy, part journal for her. She would sit and write him letters that, of course, never got sent.

Fast forward to present day when a blast from Aurora’s past walks into the dance studio where she teaches. Surely Mike Martin, pro hockey player and widower father to one of her students, isn’t the same Mike Martin from that Caribou Coffee years ago. It can’t be, right???

Their connection starts with a simple save from the dance moms and a car ride home and grows into Aurora, or Rory, becoming integrated into Mike and Olivia’s lives. And, as it turns out, the real Mike Martin is so much better than her teenage fantasy version.

Holiday does a good job balancing the heavy and the light in this one. She handles mental health issues like navigating through grief, disordered eating, and anxiety with care. We see coping mechanisms in place, honest discussions, and even therapy sessions. We also see three people finding their joy again in ice cream, dancing, convertible rides, togetherness, and “ChapStick-tube smiles” that “[c]lick-click-click” into place.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It struck an excellent balance between inducing goofy grins and tugging on my heartstrings. I look forward to reading best friend Gretchen’s story in 2025.

I received an advance copy from Forever and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Aurora Evans' life used to be defined by ballet - heck, even her name is taken from a famous dance! However life now pirouettes at a much different pace. Rory works multiple jobs to cover her bills, but she was just in a breakup and now her car has died. She can't reach out to her old Canadian boyfriend - he isn't real, despite years of writing letters to him. She based him on a handsome hockey player she met when she was just a teen...

Mike Martin is a reliable stay-at-home defensemen, which means he plays hockey and plays it well! He lives to breathe the cold air on the ice, not bask in the spotlight. But black ice stole the life of his wife, and now, desperate to bring some joy to his daughter, he re-enrolls her in a dance class. But not just any dance class - Miss Rory's!

Is this Mike *the* Mike that Rory met when she worked at Caribou coffee? And if he is, how will that affect Rory and Mike's burgeoning friendship?

Canadian Boyfriend is a sweet step into the cool air of the north! I had never read anything by Holiday before, and I will have to go find her other works. I truly enjoyed this romance! I appreciated the thoughtful handling of mental health issues, particularly relating to grief, as well as anxiety and eating disorders. (I found a few of the notes from the therapist applicable to my own life!)

I found Aurora (Rory) a relatable character, and I loved reading her journey to truly find herself. Not just trying new things - which she does- but really finding out who she was, and what she wanted in life. Her growth into her own agency was lovely. I loved her friendship with Gretchen - it was so well written!

I did find the pacing a bit slower than I'm used to, but while I noticed it, it wasn't a detriment to the story. All in all a fabulous read!

My thanks to Forever and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions here are strictly my own.