Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tropes: friends to lovers, sports romance, best friends little sister, “fake dating”, spice

Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5



Let it be known that Lana Ferguson is a new favorite author of mine and I believe every book she writes will be my favorite. I loved her previous books and this one was just as amazing.

This book follows a hockey player who has been scrutinized for the past years and looking to just move on with his life and a baker who has her own local cable TV show. Needing to have his name in a better light, Ian Chase is offered the opportunity to go on a local TV show to work along side “the darling of baking”. Which happens to be Delilah Baker, his best friend and teammates sister.

Delilah is such an amazing character. I loved her personality so much! With her TV show views dropping, she needs to come up with a plan that will make people want to watch. She immediately thinks of having one of the hockey players on her brother’s team come on the show. But she never expected her long-time teenage crush that never exactly went away, Ian Chase to be the one coming onto her show.

Ian is such a SWEETHEART. This man is so protective, considerate, sweet—absolute perfection. He’s had to deal with so much ever since he separated from his wife (who is SO AMAZING AS WELL) and having to deal with his name being run through the dirt. Wanting to finish his final years of hockey in his hometown, he moves in with his best friend and teammate who he has known for years. What he doesn’t expect is his best friend’s little sister being all grown up. And his not so innocent feelings towards her.

This book was so good! I love the funny moments, the angst, the drama, the spice!!! All of it! It’s such a quick read because you won’t be able to put the book down.

I can’t wait for this book to release and everyone to get their copy. I highly recommend this book!

Ok cue the fake dating and hockey romance vibes! I am here for it!

The storyline for the book was so cute and there were definitely some laugh out loud moments. I adored the main characters but they felt younger than they’re portrayed. I’m not a big fan of “dumb guy” vibes or where the characters sound so immature but are supposed to be older. Jacks banter and immature use of language got annoying real quick. But this could just be me and my utter annoyance with characters that remind me of the guys I’d meet when I lived in Dallas, because they all have that vibe and I hate it. I will say that I did appreciate Jack not being mean about the whole BBF thing. He was actually so respectful to Lila in a good big brotherly kind of way. I enjoyed seeing a good sibling relationship portrayed in the book.

All together It was a fun read that kept me interested and the pages turning. There was drama around a scandal and I love a good drama, even if it was kinda of predictable in the end. There were some absolute swoon worthy moments and just downright smutty moments thrown in at all the right places. I’ve always been a fan of the fake dating trope when done right. I loved that Lila had this childhood crush years ago and that now she could live out her teenage dreams of having a chance with him even just for fun and for a PR thing at first. And then to see him fall for her was really fun. Ian is a total cinnamon roll MMC and I adored it.

Where I felt this was lacking a bit was with how they fell so quickly. There was some introspection… the “I see you”s to each other and then BAM! They’re together. It just needed a liiiittttle more build for that relationship. I would have loved to see them learn more about each other and who they are since they’ve been apart so long as friends, and then have their quick fall moment. Another thing that just didn’t do it for me was the cupcake pet name. It was funny the first couple times because of the ties to it from the past. But I found it more like a teasing joke than anything else. And the constant repetitive use of it drove me nuts.

Regardless of the latter, I would still recommend this to other romance readers. It’s a light hearted easy read and a perfect palette cleanser when you need it.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for the ARC!**

I really enjoyed reading Lana Ferguson’s “The Game Changer.” I was a big fan of “The Nanny” and was excited to see that I was approved to read her newest book. This book was the perfect Happily Ever After that I needed. Ian and Lila’s romance was so sweet to read and the spice was perfect! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the Nanny and was looking for their next Happily Ever After.

I enjoyed Lana Ferguson's "The Nanny" and was looking forward to reading this book, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. It felt predictable and somewhat forced at times. The relationship between the MC wasn't believable to me and the emphasis on Delilah's "growing-up" felt redundant and unnecessary. There were some cute moments, but overall it just didn't click for me. I didn't like how obviously "together" Delilah and Ian are as a couple, yet she constantly references them not being a couple. Actions didn't align with words. Overall it's a cute summer read, but not one that I would re-read. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was highly anticipating "The Game Changer" due to its combination of fake dating and hockey themes. However, my excitement quickly turned to disappointment as I found the writing to be lackluster. The dialogue felt forced and robotic, causing me to feel disconnected from the story and its characters. Ultimately, I was unable to develop any real emotions towards the characters, leaving me unsatisfied with the overall reading experience.

I'm happy the hockey player romance books are making a resurgence because they are just too good! This will leave you with a book hangover!

This book unfortunately fell very flat for me. The connection wasn’t believable and it felt like any other hockey romance.

Thank you to the author for an ARC

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-brother's best friend
-childhood crush
-hockey romance
-fake dating
-pinnning

What could be better than Lana Ferguson writing my favorite tropes? The answer is nothing. Lila has pined for Ian since they were kids, but she has only been his best friend's kid sister. Until he comes back in town years later, with a bit of scandal. What could go wrong fake dating to help both their relationships?

This book had such a sweetness and was absolutely a treat to read (pun intended). I adored the dynamic and lack of unnecessary angst. Ian was just falling hard and fast for Lila who just was not going to waste this opportunity to be with her dream guy at every opportunity (THAT LOCKER ROOM SCENE I MEAN OMG).

Lila's brother Jack was awesome, I loved his sibling dynamic with Lila, and his friendship with Ian. Ian was just a beta cinnamon roll hero that had me swooning. You must read this one lying down.

But also holding out hope that Jack and Abby get their story.

I wanted to love this book and have been waiting for it since the author announced it but... it fell flat for me. I like the idea of the best friend's brother, but it needed something else. For me, there were some major errors with just basic hockey knowledge like calling the stands bleachers for example.

Sweet & spicy brother's best friend hockey romance is a page turner!

I've enjoyed Lana Ferguson's previous works so I was excited to get my hands on an early copy of her latest, The Game Changer. This is a charming book that's full of humor (I might have even laughed out loud at some point). Overall, it was a quick, enjoyable read. The majority of the drama came from outside characters, which makes sense because the two main characters had no flaws. Zero. Delilah is a sunshiney baker who can do no wrong and Ian is a self-sacrificing hockey player. The book contains next to no self-growth which was a bit disappointing to me but otherwise I did really enjoy! There is another couple hinted at in this book so I'd love a sequel (or even a series ;) ).

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Game Changer by Lana Ferguson.

There once was a girl named Delilah who had a crush on her brother's best friend Chase. This girl pined for years wanting to be with him. She had many daydreams and fantasies about him. Chase eventually moves to Canada to play hockey after a scandal in his hometown. Present day...Chase moves back, and his bad reputation has followed him. Delilah's baking TV show's viewership has gone down. Her PR team decides that having a hockey player on their show will boost their ratings. Chase who needs good press is pushed into baking with Delilah.

Delilah is head over heels and in love with grownup version of Chase. This is a friends to lovers with drama thrown in. I felt like it was kinda long, lots of language, dumb and dumber type humor, and if you want spice you will get it with this book. If it had been a clean Hallmark type book I would have loved it. I'm also not a huge fan of "stupid guy humor".

Always love a good fake dating rom com! The baker and the hockey player are adorable together and a nice balance of cute and spicy. Loved that we did not have the third act breakup and can’t wait to see what Lana Ferguson does next 🤩

Delilah Baker is the host on a local cable baking show. Her numbers are dwindling, and there are rumors that the show will be canceled. Ian Chase is returning to his home team and attended his ex-wife's wedding, which has caused a media frenzy. To fix their images, Ian will star on Delilah's show.

Neither know that the other has had a crush on their other since childhood!

This is a nice, spicy read, filled with drama. Perfect for fans of hockey, fake dating, forbidden romance, and brother's best friend troupes. I appreciated that the couple did not break up, as with other romance novels. They were able to work out their problems without separating.

The nickname Cupcake was really cringey.

Cute sports, friends to lovers rom com, but kind of predictable. More information or backstory on the family relationship of the male man character would have been a great character development.

Another spicy read from Lana Ferguson. This is is so full of drama, I was not expecting it at all. It was a good read, I would definitely recommend if you love hockey playing, muscly men who are giant anxiety ridden cinnamon rolls.

Lana Ferguson does it again with this flirty, steamy and fun sports romance! Deliliah has always had a crush on Ian, her brother’s best friend and hockey teammate. Fate aligns when the two are encouraged to fake date to generate positive publicity for Ian’s team as well as Deliliah’s baking television show. They have off the charts chemistry so of course fake dating leads to very real feelings. I loved the banter, humor, and the steam! Perfect for fans of hockey romance, fake dating, and brother’s best friend tropes.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC

3.5 stars. This was my first Lana Ferguson book. A spicy hockey, brothers best friend, childhood friends romance? Sign me up. I had a great time reading this. I loved the humor. And the spice, PHEW.

Although I enjoyed this, I found myself lacking investment in the main couple. I think I needed more reasons they wanted to be together. There was A LOT of emphasis on how long they’ve been friends and that Delilah had been obsessed with Ian since she was a girl. But they haven’t been in touch for 10 years so I needed to know what they loved about each other now. It was also a little odd how much she openly referred to her teenage obsession and how she was living out her fantasy. Really enjoyed it but it needed a little more behind the tension for a better spark for me personally.

Hockey romances are just the best. This one was fun and I liked the brothers bestie plus hockey angle. The mysterious back story involving his family was intriguing too, but I felt got resolved a little quickly. All in all he was a delight and the story was hot.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lana Ferguson and Berkley Publishing for a digital galley of The Game Changer in exchange for an honest review.

Lana Ferguson has quickly become one of my favorite spicy romance authors. I LOVED The Nanny & enjoyed The Fake Mate, so I am thrilled to be providing an early review of The Game Changer!

This one mixes a couple of different tropes – fake romance and forbidden romance.

Ian’s bad publicity is from a recent breakup is putting his hockey team in a bad light and they need help ASAP to clean up their image. Delilah, the little sister of Ian’s teammate and best friend has her own baking show, but numbers are dwindling & need improvement, QUICK! So, the scheme is hatched for Ian to appear on Delilah’s wholesome baking show to paint him in a better light, but also to get Delilah more viewers because – HELLO! Hot, pro hockey player!!

As we all know, this is not where their relationship will stop. Delilah has had a secret crush on Ian for YEARS and Ian is realizing that Delilah is not just his best friend’s little sister anymore.

Packed with all that sizzle we love from Lane, along with some of our fave tropes and a hockey romance, which is super on trend right now – this one is a definite winner!

4.5-Stars (rounded to 5) – I will absolutely recommend this one to my followers.

Lana Ferguson is my new unsung hero. A review mentioned that Lanas books were like if Tessa Bailey and Ali Hazelwood had a baby- and that’s about as accurate as it gets. She is a spicy mastermind that knows how to serve you a good plot too.

MMC, Ian, is a sweetheart hockey player that knows how to dirty talk. FMC, Delilah, is a spunky baker with her own cooking show, and knows how to push Ian’s buttons in the best way. I also have to give an extra mention for Delilah’s hilarious dumb ass older brother.

Delilah is hung up on her lifelong crush, Ian, who also happens to be her big brother’s best friend. The two are reconnected when Ian returns home to play hockey after years away due to some unsightly drama. Tension builds when Ian makes a guest appearance on Delilah’s cooking show resulting in some speculating PR rumors. Ian quickly realized just how grown up his best friend’s kid sister has become, while Delilah chases her wildest teenage fantasy’s.

My only negative- the nickname cupcake makes me cringe.