Love hockey, love books. LOVE hockey books. Did I love Canadian Boyfriend? No. Sadly I did not. Not for me.

I was really interested in the premise of this book and love hockey romance, especially with a dancer FMC, that’s my jam!

There were a few things I really enjoyed about this book and a few things I really did not enjoy.

I really enjoyed the first half and found both Aurora and Mike to be fun characters. I loved the positive representation of therapy and the honest portrayal of grief and loss. I appreciated the disordered eating representation too.

The second half was a little drawn out and repetitive. I also knew where the final conflict was going to come from leading into a third act breakup and though it was predictable it felt so overdone and unnecessary. Like so overblown (which given they do admit to blowing said situation out of the water, but still).

I also had such a hard time with a few of the writing style choices. The FMC refers to the MMC by his first and last name for the entire book (internally… not in her external addressing of him). I will never ever ever be able to forget that his name is Mike Martin because I heard it a zillion times. And there were a few other stylistic choices that just didn’t jive for me.

As to the audio, it was fantastic. Great narrator’s and I loved the dual narration throughout.

When Aurora was younger, she created her fake Canadian boyfriend who played hockey, Mike, to get out of things. "Sorry I can't go, my boyfriend from Canada is visiting." The perfect excuse and no further proof needed. As a dance teacher in the suburbs, she didn't think she'd ever meet Mike, a hockey player who is Canadian. That's just a coincidence... right?

After Mike is left widowed, he just wants the best for his daughter and to his daughter, that means going back to dance classes with Miss. Aurora. When Aurora and Mike find themselves in a position where Aurora can also help watch his daughter, their relationship begins to grow and they both are able to heal together too.

me, a minnesotan romance reader who loves a single parent trope, loves this book that takes place in minnesota with a single dad? more likely than you think! i absolutely ate this book up and couldn't wait to pick it up every time i put it down. just the sweetest leads with a slow burn and chemistry that don't quit! with so many things to love including genuine characters with tough issues dealt with through therapy, which i really appreciated!!

I loveeeee hockey players and as a girlfriend of a Canadian man, I appreciated all the Canadian culture within the pages!

Such a cute read! I felt like I really got to know the characters and their histories, especially with the differing points of view between the main characters.

Canadian Boyfriend was a fun, easy read with characters that were vibrant and engaging. I was intrigued by the unique combination of ballet and hockey which provided a refreshing perspective on both sides. My only compliant is that Aurora's secret was a bit of a let down and could have been explored more. Overall, I really liked it and would read more by this author.

I love a good sports romance, and Jenny Holiday nailed it with this one! The ballet herione and hockey love interest is such a fun combo, and I absolutely adore the way she executed the found family and forced proximity tropes. It's a unique premise and an interesting fresh take on a hockey romance. My only gripe was the third act breakup - I'm not a fan of these and this one felt especially unnecessary in my opinion. But I am biased towards those, so I tried not to let it negatively impact my review too much. Otherwise, it's a fun read with a sweet romance, and I enjoyed it very much.

This book checked all the trope boxes for me including single dad, hockey romance, forced proximity, and of course friends to lovers. The characters showed great development on their own and when they came together that showed even more. I just really enjoyed the entire premise of this story. I can't wait to read more!

This book was so adorable. I loved the premise of them having met when she was in high school and that she wrote letters to him. This could have been a really emotional read, but Holiday handled everything so well and just made everything so cozy and enjoyable. Any tears that were shed, were definitely happy tears.

I enjoyed this book, although it was not what I expected. I thought there would be more elements of fake dating based on the premise and be more of a "sports romance". I picked up the book thinking it would be a light vacation read but it deals with some deep topics like grief and toxic family relationships. I appreciated how Jenny Holiday dealt with the grief Mike goes through and how Aurora navigates his feelings while dealing with her own to develop a romantic relationship. There was great therapy representation and discussion of family dynamics with mental health. Would recommend to friends but less as a romance novel and more for found family/positive therapy representation in fiction.

First of all, the cover is beautiful and the book is not far behind, I loved it.
Since I started it I was hooked and only stopped when life as an adult forced me, lol.
Teenage Rory was super relatable, but shhhh don't tell anyone hahahaha.

I loved the growth that the characters had and how they helped each other overcome problems.
Gretchen's book is next and I can't wait to read it!

IMPORTANT, check CW because although the story is very cute and fun, Rory's anxiety and eating disorders and Mike's grief take up a large part of the story.

Canadian Boyfriend single-handedly pulled me from my 2 month reading slump.

I adore the characters and the romance, but honestly what really appealed to me was their approach to grief. My brother passed away roughly 6 months ago and I’m still grappling grief. Jenny Holiday approached grief in this book delicately but did not tip toe around the effects of it. Grief is hard to maneuver in real life let alone in fiction and I think it was handled extremely well.

Overall, I really liked this story and I’m eager to read anything in the future by this author!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for access to the eARC for this title! (Even if I accidentally forgot to download it before the archive date, my bad).

Canadian Boyfriend centers on Rory and Mike. Rory is a former nearly professional ballerina trying to find her purpose and who she is apart from her controlling, toxic mother. Her relationship with her mother has fostered a difficult relationship with food that manifests as disordered eating and body image issues. She has transitioned to being a part time dance teacher for kids who aren’t especially gifted in the dance department. Mike is a recently widowed professional hockey player trying to raise his daughter, Olivia. They are thrown together when Mike asks Rory to help out with Olivia while he is out of town during hockey season, and their friendship slowly blooms.

I really enjoyed the slow growth of the relationship between Rory and Mike. It felt very authentic, and like it developed naturally. And I really, really appreciated the inclusion of intuitive eating care in this story as well! Disordered eating is an issue that is very important to me, both personally and in my career. To see intuitive eating represented correctly, and not the “trendy” (*cough* inaccurate *cough*) version of it that is sometimes pushed on social media was a relief!

I also loved the family connection between Olivia and her dad, and how it then extended to Rory. I loved watching the three of them grow into their own little unit. It was precious and special and one of my favorite parts of the story that I almost wished was highlighted slightly more.

90% of the book was going very well for me, I thought the character development and arcs that both Rory and Mike were making in their healing journeys alongside one another were real and raw. I was rooting so hard for both! But I didn’t love how the third act conflict was handled, and it definitely happened a bit too late in the story for the direction it went. I also felt like in an effort to wrap things up, Olivia’s story was forgotten, which was a disservice to her as she was the most important factor in the first half of the story.

Overall, I rated this one about 4.5 stars! ⭐️ I will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author. Canadian Boyfriend is out now

When she’s a teenager, Aurora meets a Canadian hockey player and immediately makes up an elaborate lie about him being her “Canadian boyfriend” - despite the fact that she’s only seen him once. The lie could never hurt anyone so what the big deal right? But of course, years later, Mike Martin shows up again in Aurora’s small town and as their lives become intertwined she can’t help but remember the “relationship” she had built up in her mind all those years ago.

This was a super fun read! I loved the concept and found it highly entertaining. There were a few too many heavy moments to make this a fully light hearted read so keep that in mind if you decide to pick it up. I also thought the “conflict” near the end was a it more dramatic than it needed to be.

All in all, it was a solid rom com and made me laugh quite a few times throughout which is always a plus in my mind!

This was a cute romcom. I love hockey so having that included was a bonus for me. The constant referring to him as "My Canadian boyfriend" drove me crazy though.

This book was so cute! Rory, Mike and Olivia are all coping with life’s challenges. This book talks about mental health, eating disorders and grief. And handles it beautifully. The characters growth throughout the book is so well written. Def recommend.

I loved how this was a story more about two people growing and healing on their own AND separately. They both had to grow on their own and work through some of their past trauma separately and through therapy. I absolutely loved the positive talk around therapy and how we got a glimpse in how it was going for both Mike and Aurora. I loved this slowburn and the audiobook is to die for!

I really enjoyed this book! This book mixed the comedic and heartfelt moments really well! Honestly, parts of this book were a little dark, but it was done well and reflected how life is often a mixture of sad and happy moments.

I loved how Mike, Rory, and Olivia made a little family! I’ve read a lot of books featuring a single parent, but I’m not sure that I’ve ever felt the connection within the developing family quite like how I felt it in this book! I loved how Jenny Holiday was not afraid to shy away from the effects that change can have on children and their behavior. Families, especially in the wake of tragedy, are complicated and this book did such a great job at conveying that!

My favorite parts of this book were all of Mike’s POVs. He was just perfect! He had so much depth to his character that made him feel so real. I loved watching his growth as he juggled his grief with learning to be a single parent while also continuing his NHL career and finding love again in the wake of his loss. Also, I listened to the audiobook and Joshua Jackson has an amazing narrator voice! I’d listen to him narrate a thousand audiobooks!

I loved the chemistry between Mike and Rory! They felt like a real adult relationship in ways that few books achieve! They also just had the type of chemistry that led me to tell “JUST KISS ALREADY” at my book!

I really appreciated how complex Rory was as a character. It was both heartbreaking and really inspiring to watch her grow and heal from her emotional abuse at the hands of her mother. I also get why she wrote those letters. While they were a little cringey, I really appreciate when books write 18 year olds as dramatic and stupid, which is much more accurate than a lot of portrayals of teenagers in the media. And when you factor in her trauma from dancing, her escapism into the world where “Mike” is her only confidant makes sense.

Now, with that being said, I did still kind of hate the third act conflict. I don’t often like when there’s a big secret (often secret identity) hanging over the head of one of the MCs and this book didn’t really change that opinion. I do completely get why she didn’t tell him, but I will say that (slight spoiler) when she does decide to tell him, she does it in a terrible way and that his reaction is somehow simultaneously justified and way too harsh. I don’t know, I just know that I didn’t like it.

Overall, I do really recommend this book, especially if you love your romance books to feature a lot of emotional depth!

This friends to lovers book is an emotional and sweet read. I enjoyed the use of the past and flashbacks to tell a more of a story as well as the interactions between the main characters and the MMC’s daughter. Furthermore, I enjoyed the spunkiness of the MFC and the supportive friendship circles found in the book.

***4 stars, upped to 5 stars for the audiobook***
I started reading the ebook, but then received the audiobook from the publisher to review also, so I continued with the audiobook. I have been a huge fan of Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek, Fringe, The Affair!) for many years, so I was excited that he was the MMC narrator for the audiobook and he did NOT disappoint! I think I would be enraptured and hang on his every word if he narrated a dictionary, his voice is that mesmerizing. Emily Ellet expertly narrates the FMC and she also does a wonderful job with the various other female characters, giving each a distinctive voice and character. I so thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook, I was so sad too have it end!
The author, Jenny Holiday, creates a wonderful story of two imperfect people, who are struggling on their own, but find strength in their friends and created families, when they learn that they can lean on those around them for support. Although a humorous, and at times light hearted rom-com, it deals with complex topics of grief, loss, changes in life dreams, toxic family and mental health (anxiety and eating disorders). The descriptions of the scenery, the locations and food create vivid imagery that adds to the reading experience. Being a Minnesota native, I absolutely LOVED that the story features MINNESOTA and many local attractions and it was fun to learn more about the slang and different foods/culture/hockey from our Canadian neighbors in the north. The story, to me, lost a bit of focus towards the end when there is a falling out over the "Canadian Boyfriend" of Aurora's youth (it seemed like a very weak reason to have such a huge argument--would be more understandable had there been a misunderstanding in thinking that it was someone else currently, not a youthful fantasy). The book ends, however, on a strong note, with Aurora and Mike (also WHY does the book use his full name all of the time?) finding their own individual strengths in order to create a better future together. I loved this book and look forward to reading more from this author!