Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced copy of this book.

The Game Changer follows Delilah and Ian as they navigate a PR relationship. Delilah needs help increasing her viewers on her network baking show. Ian needs help to clear the negative press surrounding him after a breakup. What better way than pretending to be in a relationship with a childhood friend? As the two pretend to be in a relationship, old feelings resurface and new ones come to light.

Overall, The Game Changer was an okay book. It was an easy read, a bit formulaic at times, but you know what you're getting as soon as you start reading. Delilah and Ian's relationship developed well enough. However, the twist in the book was a bit predictable and it didn't feel like there was any large major conflict driving the second half of the story. I also didn't enjoy how they kept referencing how "grown up" Delilah was. However, the book was entertaining enough that I kept reading. The romance aspects of the novel were done very well, it just didn't feel like there was much character development in the main characters.

Another highly enjoyable title by Lana Ferguson. Hockey player Ian seeking to rehab a sullied reputation teams up with his friend's little sister Delilah, who is seeking to boost viewership of her local cooking show. Due to a slight age gap, Ian's never considered her a romantic partner, but Delilah's had a crush on him since her teen years. When they reconnect as adults, their relationship quickly heats up.

I would say this book is pretty spicy, but I'm not into some of the things they do in the spicy scenes. This is probably what lowered my rating of the book the most. That's just my preferences, this kind of spice could be exactly what the next reader is looking for.

The thing I like best about this book is the way the climax is handled. A lot of romances tend to break up the main couple, due to a variety of circumstances (usually quite preventable). While there is a huge emotional event, our two MCs get each other through it and do not break up to heighten the drama. It was honestly quite refreshing to see a couple go through something together instead of instantly splitting.

I would be comfortable recommending this to anyone looking for a romance novel.

5 stars!!! I am loving Lana Ferguson, and “The Game Changer” has me dying for her next book. Delilah is a baker with a show on the local Boston cable network and is sunshine personified. Ian is a grumpy cinnamon roll hockey player who is just moving back to town after leaving under mysterious circumstances. Ian is Delilah’s older brother’s best friend and both need a boost in the PR department. So what else can they do but fake date! One little catch - Delilah has always had a massive crush on Ian and it has not gone away over the years. And Ian finally stops seeing Lila as just his best friend’s kid sister. Both try to deny their attraction, but their chemistry, history, and hilarious banter get the best of them.

I was grinning this entire books - from the hilarious flirting, great secondary characters, off the charts chemistry, and from the sweet tender moments between Ian and Delilah.

The pacing of this was great, and I could not put it down. I love that this book did not have a third act breakup. This is something I am always happy to see in rom-coms. The secondary characters were hilarious and the external drama and resolution fit the story and characters.

I can’t wait to see what Lana Ferguson writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC.

Lana Ferguson continues to be successful in her spicy romance endeavors. Friends-to-lovers isn't my favorite trope, but Ferguson does it well. I might have raised my eyebrows at mixing a hockey romance with a professional baker, but again, Ferguson pulled it off. The final conflict was a little silly (and you see it coming a mile away) but didn't detract from the book. I think folks will enjoy this when it comes out later this year!

I am going to preface this review by saying that I have decided to DNF this book given the surrounding claims of the author and her problematic AO3 fanfic and also the man she decided to replicate Ian after after his wife duly noted how disgusting she truly found it.

With that being said, I will give a review on what I have read, which was about 32% worth.

(And no, I felt this way before I found out the information regarding the aforementioned claims)

Thank you netgalley for this arc.

Truthfully, I didn't feel it. The connection or the drive for them to be together. It felt ICKY. That is the only word I can use to describe it. Ian kept calling Dee little, his best friends LITTLE sister, and idk, to then backtrack and be like wow she's got big tits is just weird. I did not like the way that Ferguson approached the brothers best friend/best friends sister at all. It felt beyond forced.

The writing took a plunge. It felt like it was too aware of itself for its own good. Like yes, it's a book and yes, we know it's fake, but it felt like I could see through the screen and see Ferguson writing it, and I hate that feeling. I felt entirely disconnected from their relationship and their situation. I simply couldn't care less and won't pretend like I do. I might finish reading it, just so I can KNOW and just because it's free, but right now, I'm really feeling icked out with all of the information that I have learned from the author and the person himself.

I’ve read each of Ferguson’s romances and really love each one’s build up. The intrigue, the angst, the passion — it’s all SO fun and this one did not disappoint. I’m a sucker for hockey romances these days and I love the unrequited love trope so each page felt like a little piece of candy. The only thing I would’ve loved was more steam! The Fake Mate and The Nanny both had such burning scenes and I missed more of that with this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for this ARC!

The Game Changer was such an enjoyable read for me and had everything I’ve come to expect from Lana Ferguson: lovable characters, great banter, plenty of chemistry and just enough spice. you can expect: brother’s best friend trope, fake dating, age gap, friends to lovers and no third act break up as well !!

we follow Delilah and Ian who’ve known each other for years through Jack— (Delilah’s brother and Ian’s best friend/teammate). i can’t emphasize enough how much i appreciated that Jack wasn’t the obnoxious jerk type with the BBF trope and he was actually one of my favorite characters since he’s hilarious. Ian has that rugged exterior but is actually a teddy bear inside and i adored him. Delilah is easy to root for cause she’s sweet and supportive, while also being so witty. the connection between Ian and Delilah felt authentic and believable considering she’s been pining after him since she was a teen and he finally opened his eyes to her years later.

as much as i loved Delilah and Ian together, i have to admit that the pet names were not doing it for me. i also didn’t like how much focus was put on Delilah being “so grown up now” from the last time Ian saw her. i get that he’s older than she is but she’s almost thirty and still got coddled too much at the start for my liking. but other than that this was a really fun read and there’s a ton of great side characters as well in Delilah’s crew on her baking show and Ian’s hockey teammates.

THE GAME CHANGER is an extremely fun hockey romance between Delilah, the baking show darling, and Ian, her brother’s best friend, who also happens to be her secret childhood crush. After a divorce and media scandal, Ian transferred to play in Canada, and Delilah studied in France and snagged her own cooking show. He comes back into town right around when her ratings are dropping, and in an effort to boost them, her brother suggests she bring a hockey player on the show. As soon as they are reunited, sparks fly, and the chemistry between them is as delicious as the treats Delilah cooks up in the kitchen.

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkley Romance, and Lana Ferguson for this eARC. This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I can't believe that the book with knotting and a woman going into heat got five stars while this was my biggest letdown of the year so far.

It started off well enough. Hockey player (nepo baby, weirdly enough) with checkered romantic past returns home at great risk to his reputation, tv baker needs a hook to increase the ratings and save her show. It's a shame neither part of those stakes were utilized. I can appreciate that there was no third act break up, but the conflict was only focused on Ian's situation (Lila's was thrown aside very fast with little consequence), and his problems were very much ... well, I didn't care. And the way he behaved in the last several years, rolling over so easily and letting his life be dictated by something that didn't even involve him to the extent he believed, it made me lose some respect for an otherwise great character.

As for the romance, this needed to be a slow burn and it wasn't. They get together far too early after too many moments of "I see you" introflection and too little moments of actually building up to something with their chemistry and history. Sadly, it made the rest of the book very boring. The five year age gap is fine now that they're adults, but it often felt incredibly uncomfy to me when they kept reminiscing about their childhood (like her being 13 him 18) and then having sex while he constantly spanks her and calls her brat or kid.

I'm very much looking forward to Ferguson's Loch Ness monster romance, and comparing this with Fake Mate, it's clear only her paranormal romances are interesting to me. Do with that what you will. Thank you to Berkely for the ARC.

Good enough to finish, but not enough to truly love. A spark was missing, even though I loved the tropes (childhood friends to lovers, fake dating) and premise.

I appreciated how the third act was handled though!

Wow. I’m in love with this book. The plot was adorable and the spice was hot! I love brother’s best friend romances, especially when both characters have always secretly pined after one another. Ian was the perfect amount of realistic and fictional man, which to me, means that in a perfect world, I think there could be someone like him out there looking for his Lila. ;)

The characters felt perfectly developed, and I felt the same way with the plot. I love baker FMCs because the MMC that falls for them is always so sweet and fluffy without even realizing it. Ian, however, has a bit of a dark, sexy, bad boy streak. I loved the scenes where they were in front of the camera and not even realizing that they were steaming up the room with their chemistry.

There were no bad parts of this book for me…except when they got interrupted during their touchy-feely sesh. I HATE when couples get interrupted right before they have fun. The anticipation makes me chew my fingernails straight off. I blame you, Ms. Ferguson!!

Thank you to Berkeley and NetGalley for this ARC!! This book is my first from Lana Ferguson but it won’t be my last… 😏😏

Lana Ferguson at her best. This was everything I wanted and more from her. This hockey romance is hot just as it is cool. Her best work yet!

I love that Lana Ferguson is writing across genres within the romance category. This hockey romance was fun and engaging. An enjoyable light read with the right balance of drama and spice.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC.

Perfectly fine friends to lovers/fake dating, but honestly, without the paranormal element that I enjoyed in The Fake Mate, this didn't really stand out. Fine but not memorable

First off, thank you to Berkeley Publishing and NetGalley for an arc for my honest review.

I struggled with this but told myself to keep reading a bit more, but I ended up not finishing it around 55%. I found that the writing and characters were trying too hard to be funny and the female main character only focused on more sexual thoughts and conversations with the male main character which rubbed me the wrong way.

I’m typically a big fan of hockey romance, especially when it’s a forbidden and fake dating situation, but this just didn’t hit the mark for me.

I had so much reading The Game Changer. I loved how much Delilah and Ian shared with each other and began to depend on and support one another. It was so sweet and heartwarming the entire time! It had everything I was looking for - banter, a fast-paced plot, actual communication, and spicy scenes! I loved how it wasn’t just hockey but there were moments for Delilah’s career to shine through her baking and her show.

It was so cute and I loved it wholeheartedly! Lana Ferguson has officially become one of my auto-buy authors, I just want to give her a big hug!

After reading this, I just want to give Lana Ferguson a little forehead kiss for all she has given us 😩

🏒 hockey player
🏒 fake dating
🏒 brother’s best friend
🏒 childhood crush

And of course…. a HEA 💗💗


Delilah Baker is the sister of famous hockey player, Jack Baker— but she is successful in her own right, hosting a baking show “Whisky Business”. When Delilah’s network ratings begin to slip, she pitches the idea of bringing a Druid’s hockey player on for a segment, thinking one of her brother’s teammates would be willing to help out.

As the fates would have it, Jack’s best friend and former teammate, Ian Chase, has just returned to the Druids after years away. He’s had recent bad publicity and desperately needs to shift public interest to rescue his image. Which makes Ian the perfect candidate to star on a segment of Delilah’s show!

Upon seeing Ian Chase again after all these years, Delilah finds herself still enamored with him. When sparks fly on the set of their segment, the two find themselves in the middle of a publicity stunt and fake dating to benefit both of their images. Fake dating doesn’t last long though as long held affections come to light and Ian realizes he can’t see Delilah as just “Jack’s little sister” anymore.

🌶️: 1.5/2 — honestly I expected a little more in this category from Lana. I would say despite a few more explicit scenes, this book is more steamy than *spicy*. That being said tension is key in any romance and she has that down!

This is just a fun read! For those who liked Lana Ferguson’s other contemporary romance, this is different, but it’s all the same, lighthearted banter and wittiness. It’s super tropey and wonderful with fake dating-light, sports romance, and brother’s best friend. I really like how the characters in this book are people that I would want to hang out with. Each of them had such rich back stories, even if they were characters that were only on page for a short bit. For me, this was exactly what I wanted in a romance: steam, banter, and a fast-paced plot!

I really enjoy Lana's books. This one was a little more sweet and heartwarming than her pervious titles. It is nice to see a romance book where the drama isn't center around the romance.

I would love more from Delilah's brother. I'm gonna start a petition for him to get his own book.

Lana Ferguson is the most fun author. I love her creativity and willingness to have fun and try new things. The Game Changer is the perfect sports romance book. I ate it up and can’t wait for more of her work.