Thank you, Berkley, for the free paperback in exchange for my honest review!

A hockey player and a baker? Definitely not something I expected on my romance bingo card, but I ended up loving it! This was my first Lana Ferguson read, and it won’t be my last.

Ian Chase, a hockey player in the middle of a PR disaster, finds an unexpected ally in Delilah Baker, the sister of his best friend and the star of a local baking show. Delilah, facing her own set of career struggles, proposes a collaboration to boost her show’s ratings—and Ian’s career could use a little PR magic too.

What starts as a mutually beneficial arrangement quickly turns into something more complicated. Their chemistry is undeniable, and the lines between real and staged blur in the most delightful way. The blend of steamy romance with a bit of baking charm made this a fun and engaging read. If you enjoy sports romance with a touch of sweetness, this one’s definitely worth a shot!

This story was so cute! And the best part? Spoiler alert:

No third act breakup! I absolutely love when a couple gets together and stays together through the rest of the book, working through their problems together. The commitment that Ian and Delilah had for each other felt so believable and beautiful and I loved every minute!

Lana Ferguson’s new novel The Game Changer follows Delilah, an up and coming baker who is the current sweetheart of the cable tv cooking show world. Her ratings have started to dip, however, and Delilah needs to find a way to jumpstart those ratings again. Delilah comes up with the idea of collaborating with the local hockey team as a fun way to get more people to watch her show, especially since she has an “in” with the team through her brother Jack. What Delilah doesn’t expect, however, is that the player who she’ll be sent to work with is none other than Ian Chase, who is not only her brother’s teammate and best friend, but he’s the guy Delilah has had a crush on since she was in elementary school and Ian was kind to her. Ian was chosen because he is dealing with a PR nightmare after a bad break up and could use some good press to help his image.

The chemistry between Delilah and Ian is amazing, and her show’s viewers are eating it up, so they decide to pretend that they’re dating to up the ante a bit. I’m a sucker for a good fake dating story so I was eating this story up just like the viewers were and eagerly waiting for those fake feelings to finally become real. What starts out as sweet and swoony flirting over baked goods, where she calls him cupcake and he calls her a brat, slowly evolves into a steamy, spicy romance. I also eagerly waited to see how Delilah and Ian would handle Jack since he was the only real obstacle to them being together.

I tandem read the physical copy and the audiobook and highly recommend both formats. Zachary Webber and Samantha Summers narrated the audiobook and I really loved the energy they brought to these characters.

The Game Changer is the perfect read for you if you enjoy:

Sports/Hockey Romances
Brother’s Best Friend
Fake Dating
Friends to Lovers
Age Gap
Fun Banter
Spicy Rom-Coms

An adorable and spicy brother’s best friend, sports romance

This book was as cute and adorable as it was hot and spicy and I LOVED it! Delilah is a baker with a local cable cooking show. Ian is a hockey player and her brother’s best friend weathering a PR storm. The two decide to help each other by filming an episode on her show which would be a PR boost for both of them. The problem is, Ian is also Delilah’s lifelong crush. After not seeing each other for years the sparks and chemistry fly between them, sparking rumors of a romance. The two decide to fake date to help both their careers but soon find real feelings becoming entangled with their fake romance.

I was a fan of their romance and the book was a great blend of funny, heartfelt and spicy moments.

Lana brings to "The Game Changer" what she writes best... spice and flirty banter.

Delilah has always been a baker, finally reaching her dream on her own made for cable baking show. Now, short on rankings, she's got to come up with something that brings in the viewers. Her solution? Bring in a hockey player to aide her in an episode. No one can resist a man in an apron!!

But what happens when the team brings in none other than Delilah's childhood crush and her brother's best friend? Ian is back in Boston after years away due to "personal" reasons. He needs to freshen up his image and let others see him as not only that "rough and tumble" hockey player. What starts out as avoidance for the sake of her brother turns quickly into he can't avoid her. Those one liners Delilah hits while filming and her overall peppiness? Call it what you want, he'll call her his "game changer" especially when life goes up in flames!

The Game Changer was a quick paced, steamy after the 50ish% mark read that I enjoyed! While I mainly enjoyed watching these main characters relationship blossom, I found myself more invested in the side characters and their overall impact on everything. I found the "conflict" to be something I've seen and read before which was a semi bummer as I was hoping for something more original or impactful. Those looking for a fun, quick spicy dual point of view read will want to pick up Lana's latest!

3 stars is generous for this. In my opinion, you can tell the author was not necessarily ready or wanting to write this one. This is why publishers should not necessarily interfere with a writer’s release schedule. Instead of capitalizing on the hockey romance trend, we get this…. and unfortunately this was a miss for me. Lana will always give A+ spice and the banter between the two main characters had its moments. But the story and the conflict was very bland and forgettable. This TO ME isn’t indicative of a true Lana Ferguson book and so this won’t deter me from picking up another one of her books. This one, however, is skipable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley this advanced copy. I recieved this as part of the #BerkleyBesties program. All thoughts are my own!

I liked this one a lot! Is it my favorite read ever? Most likely not. I did have a lot of fun with these two though, so I landed on four stars. This book felt comfortable in that I knew the stakes were never too high, thus making it an enjoyable read.

This takes on some pretty typical tropes: hockey romance, fake dating, and brother's best friend. Was it groundbreaking? Not really. But Lana does such a great job of writing some fantastic spicy scenes and I enjoyed the progression between these two becoming friends to more. There was an unique aspect in that Lila was a baker on a cable show program and this felt fun as that is a new type of character I don't seen often. I especially enjoyed Lila's older brother Jack, he was a welcome side character who made me smile every time he was on the page. I picked up on a vibe towards the end that I hope Lana develops into a companion novel.

If you're looking for a comfortable fake dating sports romance with a healthy dose of spice, this is one to pick up.

Super cute spicy Brothers Best friend Hockey Romance.

Lana Ferguson is an insta buy author for me!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥🔥🔥

Quick Breakdown

Brother’s Best Friend
Friends to Lovers
Fake Dating
Hockey Romance
Baker Heroine
Workplace Vibes
No 3rd Act Break Up
Dual POV
Open Door - Moderate Detail

Thank you to @berkleyromance for the eARC & gifted finished copy & @prhaudio for the gifted ALC in exchange for my honest opinion #berkleypartner

Delilah hosts a baking show on public TV, but her numbers haven’t been the greatest. In an attempt to drum up some good publicity, she asks her brother’s pro hockey team, the Boston Druids, to send a player as a guest host. They send Ian Chase, Delilah’s brother’s best friend & her childhood crush. He’s back in Boston after a bad breakup caused a PR nightmare & he escaped to Calgary to play for the past six years.

After the episode is wildly more popular than either was anticipating, their PR teams think it might be a good idea if the pair are seen together in social settings, making the public believe they’re together. Shouldn’t be hard, especially as real feelings get mixed in.

This was so fun! The unrequited childhood crush trope is a guilty pleasure of mine & I love how Lana handled it. How Delilah’s feelings came roaring back like nostalgia when Ian came home & into her life as an adult (& single 😉). Watching him notice & appreciate Delilah as a now grown woman was a treat. A huge bonus for me was the lack of a 3rd act break. Nothing I love more than a couple working together to solve a crisis instead of against one another 🙌🏻

The Game Changer is narrated by Samantha Summers & Zachary Webber. I’ll listen to anything Zachary narrates & he didn’t disappoint here either. Highly recommend listening if audio is your thing.

A charming fake dating romance between a hockey player and a cupcake baker. (Much like historical romance is littered with dukes, contemporary rom-coms seem to be filled with more pro athletes and cupcake bakers than the economy could possibly support, but it's still cute to read about them.) Delilah has pined for her older brother's best friend Ian for years. Now they're thrown together in a local access cable show, and their real chemistry has fans rabid for more.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately this book started off strong for me - but then the FMC's insistent comments about living her teenage dream and the fact that Ian just all of a sudden noticed her because she was now ... hot.... gave me the ick. I get that it's childhood friends to lovers, but it just was done in a not so fun way.

I also felt like nothing really happened. The conflict was super predictable. I'm disappointed as I usually really enjoy Lana's books.

Lana Fergusons books always stand to be a spicy fun time and I eat it up every single time! So many moments in this truly had me laughing out loud , kicking my feet and having truly the best time! Was down so bad for Delilah and Ian with all their flirty fun times while fake dating. Fake darting is a trope that is an absolute favourite of mine and Lana did it justice.

While I absolutely love Lana's writing, wit and just everything about her books, this one fell a little flat compared to the others. Maybe this is a personal problem but Baking/Tv/Social media star and hockey player just felt really blah. Like not a new concept or an exciting one at that.

I thought Delilah was a little annoying at times. Her relationship with her brother was a little weird to me, again, maybe that's just me since I am not close with my family. But it made me a bit uncomfortable.

Ian was super complicated. He was certainly dreamy but overall this book just whelmed me. I wasn't in love, I didn't hate it.

Just a middle of the road romance for me.

Now the Nessy romance coming out next...........SIGN ME UP.

This was cute and lovely and wonderful!

Oddly enough, a friend (hi Ivy) just asked me about The Nanny when we were book shopping and apparently I made an "eh" face. This book is a great example of author growth. Most things that I thought were week in The Nanny (too long, characters not fleshed out, etc.) were so much better here! The characters were funny, the side characters were well-developed, and there was just enough angst to keep things entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this arc!

Felt a little too insta lust in the beginning but overall I really enjoyed this one. Good chemistry and quite spicy. I’d definitely read another installment for Jack and Abigail!

The Game Changer by Lana Ferguson, is a childhood friend, first love, and brother's best friend romance that was filled with chemistry fun banter, and sizzling hot. There were times when the story felt a like a second book in a series with some back story missing.

Delilah Baker's baking show wasn't getting the viewership her producers wanted so she came up with a plan to feature a member of Boston's beloved hockey team to bring in viewers. What she didn't expect was that player to be Ian Chase; her brother's best friend and her first love. Ian was just traded back to Boston’s hockey team and in need of some positive public relations as the gossip about him was already flying. After a record breaking episode and viewers loving their on-screen chemistry, Lila and Ian decide to pretend to dating in hopes that they would get some good press; benefiting both of them. The more time they spend together the more sparks, sizzle, and spice fly between them. Soon there was nothing fake about them pretending to date and a forever love was looming on the horizon.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
#NetGalley #Berkley

I really enjoyed this one!!! I’ve always enjoyed Lana Ferguson’s writing, so it comes as no surprise that I loved this take on a hockey romance as well!

Lila & Ian’s relationship was so lovely. It was full of banter, communication, care, love, and an overwhelming sense of acceptance & comfortability between the two. I loved getting to see Lila finally get the guy she’s always wanted & getting to see them fall in blissful love!!!

I really enjoyed the plot of this one! The added tensions of everything going on behind the scenes of Ian’s past/his family kept me even more interested throughout the book, alongside the development of the fake dating between him & Lila. Not only did Ian’s relationship with his father break my heart and make me root even harder for him, but it was also done so well. Lila’s depth was something that I do wish we got to see a little more of, outside of the brief mentions of what happened to her & Jack as children, but nonetheless I fully enjoyed her character!!!

Thank you @BerkleyPub #Berkley #BerkleyPartner for the free book and @PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Is dating for convenience a trope? In The Game Changer, Delilah and Ian start fake dating as a PR stunt. But their relationship goes much deeper. He is her brother's best friend, and she had a childhood crush on him. They haven't seen each other for years but both still prioritize the other's best interests in pursuing a PR relationship.

I had such fun with this book. It's exactly what I would expect from Lana Ferguson: delightful, steamy, and funny. It's low angst and a great escape. And I loved all of the baked treats and hockey.

Zachary Webber and Samantha Summers carried me away with their narration. They are such a power team of narrators.

I recommend this as a light escape for when that's the vibe you need. It hit my mood perfectly.

4.5 stars rounded up

A hockey romance will do it for me every single time. Then mix in fake dating and brother’s best friend and it was the perfect concoction. Delilah carried a torch for Chase basically her whole life and he didn’t see her as anything other than a kid sister. Whenever he’s back in the same city as her and years have gone by, he sees her “all grown up” and can’t stop thinking about her. Enter a PR nightmare for superstar hockey player Chase, and they come up with a plan to boost ratings on Delilah’s baking show while cleaning up Chase’s image. Cute moments, sweet conversations, and lots of angst push Delilah and Chase together to turn their fake relationship into a real one. With family drama and an overprotective brother looming, Chase and Delilah go through a lot of ups and downs to get to their happy ending.

Loved this hockey romance from Lana Ferguson! Things to know: Brother’s bestfriend, childhood crush, tv host x NFL star

I read this book with a big goofy smile on my face. Lana’s writing is so FUN - I would read her grocery list.