“I love when you’re a brat, because it means I get to spank it out of you.”

The Game Changer by Lana Ferguson is another hit by the author!

When a hockey player is in need of fixing his image and his best friend’s little sister is the darling of baking, their PR teams have them “hang out” with the intention of appearing like they’re dating. For Lila, it’s her dream come true since she’s had a crush on Ian she was a kid. For Ian, he can’t believe the little girl has grown up to be a woman he’s definitely noticing now.

“It’s like I spent my entire life blind until you walked back into my life, and I finally saw you.”

This friends-to-lovers romance was so cute! The chemistry and love between them was adorable and hot, especially Ian called Lila “brat”. I’m crossing my fingers for Lila’s brother to get a book, because he stole the show!

- age gap romance (less than 10 years)
- brother’s best friend
- friends to lovers
- hockey romance
- childhood crush
- no 3rd act breakup

My new favorite Lana Ferguson book is this one right here! I love hockey romance pretty much no matter what, but this was next level! This is childhood friends to lovers, but she was always his best friend’s little tagalong little sister. When they walk back into each other’s lives for the first time after several years without seeing the other, the sparks definitely fly! Add in an opportunity to fake date and all of Delilah’s childhood fantasies are coming true! The banter is so good and he calls her brat…and she likes it!

After a very public breakup forced Ian Chase to move away, he doesn’t expect it to come back to haunt him several years later when he decides to return home to finish out his hockey career in Boston, where it all began. Delilah’s baking show has been in decline and in an effort to boost numbers and positive press, Ian and Delilah’s PR teams suggest they “fake date” to change the narrative…after all people love childhood friends to lovers!

Read if you vibe with…
🏒 Hockey Player
👩🏻‍🍳 She’s a Baker
💖 Childhood Friends to Lovers
⚠️ Brother’s Best Friend
❣️ Fake Dating
🗣️ Banter
❤️‍🔥 Slow Burn
🔥 Spicy
🥵 He calls her Brat
🧁 She calls him Cupcake

4 Stars
Wow, a romance read where both MCs can communicate honestly with each other -and the conflict/drama was resolved well! I love a good friends to lover romance and I really enjoyed this one and the characters in this (Delilah's brother Jack was so fun). Another great read from Lana Ferguson!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!

Thank you so much to @berkleyromance and @netgalley for an early review copy of this book!
This was so CUTE. I gobbled this up in one day and was cheesing very hard by the end of it fe Lana is one of my favorite Romance authors and this one just gave me all the butterflies. It also made me laugh out loud several times which is just an added bonus.
Friends to lovers is one of those hit or miss tropes for me
BUT brothers best friend who grew up with you, who you had a crush on and haven't seen in YEARS and suddenly is back in your life just HITS. I also really love that there's no third act breakup.
Lila is lovely, secure and confident and just loves reducing lan to a blushing mess. The smut to romance ratio was just right and
ALSO YES, to more romances having Dual
POV. I love reading lan's Lila obsessed thoughts
Pick this one up for a cute, witty, romance read perfect for summer !

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐨𝐧
𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★★★★

I listened to this audio and read the eARC in tandem since I love doing this when I have both formats. This was such a fun hockey romance featuring brothers best friend, friends to lovers and a little bit of fake dating. I adored the main characters Delilah and Ian and loved that they had so much history together! The fact that Delilah had been infatuated with Ian since they were little had me swooning over their new reconnection. The chemistry, nicknames and playfulness between them was adorable and I couldn’t get enough of it! The spice was on a whole other level! Lana Ferguson truly knows how to write some jaw dropping spicy scenes 🥵

The side characters, the hockey team and of course, Delilah’s brother were such great additions to the story. I really enjoyed the mystery of the drama and rumors that were circling around about Ian in the media. It made me love him even more that he was protecting the ones he loves and didn’t care to set the media straight and just let them believe what they wanted.

The story wrapped up in such a sweet way and I loved the found family aspect that fell into place with his mother and sister. I wish the epilogue would have jumped a little further than just 3 months out and I wish it gave more details on the characters futures but I’m kind of hoping there is a sequel to cover that - Maybe a story for Jack and Abigail??

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘
Hockey Romance
Brother’s Best Friend
Friends to Lovers
Fake Dating
Family Drama
Super Spicy
Dual POV

happy release day!

ian & delilah are here! lana’s first hockey romance was so delicious, which was no surprise.

when ian comes back to his home team, he’s in desperate need of some good pr. the solution? fake date his best friend’s little sister, obviously.

fake dating is one of my fav tropes. the tension??? the longing and pining?? GIMMEEEE. add in the semi-forbidden aspect because it’s ian’s best friend’s little sister and I ate it up.

one thing I didn’t love was how it was heavily focused on delilah’s childhood crush. I actually hate unrequited love and this felt like that towards the beginning. especially once ian started noticing her and comparing it to how they were growing up. it honestly icked me out a bit.

nonetheless this is a fun, light, fluffy and smutty read with no third act breakup!

thank you sm to berkley romance and netgalley for an arc 💖

read if you like
✨ hockey romance
✨ best friend’s sibling
✨ fake dating
✨ no third act break up

The Game Changer was cute. Not my favorite of Lana’s books but it was decent. I liked all of the characters and the storyline was interesting enough. The “evil” dad character is kinda boring. Otherwise it was a fine book. Not a new favorite, but I didn’t love it either.

The brother’s best friend is a frequent romance theme and The Game Changer uses it wisely. The backstory for Ian’s character brings a little more gravitas to the novel. A big secret, an obnoxious father, and of course hiding their real romance from her brother made this book interesting and yet somehow it fell a little flat for me. A lot of time was spent building up Ian’s character, but Lilah remained one dimensional. Yes she had a baking show, and yes she still had the crush on her brother’s best friend but that was pretty much it. Her dream of having a romance with that crush was coming true and yet for some reason, I just didn’t care that much. It felt a little too set up and lackluster for me to get too invested.

If you like spicey romance novels, The Game Changer will deliver the goods, but what this novel needed was a rock solid, interesting plot. For me, it only delivered half of it’s promise.

Absolutely loved loved this book and the characters (minus Gia and Mr Chase) although there were some minor things that made the book okay but for the most part I really enjoyed this book!

The Game Changer by Lana Ferguson
.
What to expect from The Game Changer:
Hockey player/baker m/f romance
Brothers best friend
Fake dating
Spicy
No third act breakup 🙌🏼
.
I loved Delilah’s brother, Jack. I hope we see a book featuring him in the future.
.
Thank you netgalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read this book!
3.5 ⭐️

I can’t get enough of Lana Ferguson’s romances! She had solidified herself as one of my autobuy authors and The Game Changer is just another example of how she continues to excel in the genre.

A disastrous public breakup and a cooking show’s low ratings force hockey star Ian Chase and celebrity chef Delilah Baker into a fake dating relationship in attempts to boost both of their careers. Ian and Delilah are childhood friends (Delilah’s brother Jack also plays with Ian for Boston’s hockey team) but haven’t seen each other in ten years. Ian was always the leading man in Delilah’s teenage fantasy’s but now that the two of them are milking a fake relationship, those feelings start to return tenfold. But what happens when their fake feelings start to turn into something more?

I adored the tropes in this book! There’s brothers best friend, hockey romance, and fake dating to name a few. The tension between Ian and Delilah was delicious and I loved seeing Ian finally come to his senses after years of Delilah pining for him in secret. I thought this was very well paced and enjoyed the lack of third act breakup. The spicy scenes in this book are just as appetizing as Delilah’s signature pastry’s and I have come to expect this level of steam with Ferguson’s writing.

I highly recommend The Game Changer for fans of sports / celebrity romance. It has the depth, heat, and heart that I’m always craving!

Thank you Berkley Romance and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Game Changer is a fresh take on the older brother’s best friend/best friend’s little sister trope and also implements fake dating in a unique way that didn’t leave me wanting to bang my head against the wall. (Because, let’s be honest, fake dating has become oversaturated in this market.)

There were many ways that this story could have unfolded, and I applaud the author’s choices to create the story that she did. It’s sweet without being saccharine, refreshingly devoid of the internalized misogyny that is sometimes present with the brother’s best friend trope, and has a great cast of characters.

This is my first Lana Ferguson book, but it won’t be my last.

Another winner from steam queen, Lana Ferguson. Who doesn't love a hockey romance, especially when it's a best friend's little sister?!? Delilah and Ian were such great characters and this slow burn, fake dating romance is one you are definitely going to want to pick up!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Honestly, it is becoming more and more apparent, but I just KNOW when I pick up a book by Lana, I’m going to love it! Honestly, we all need that kind of stability in our lives! 😂

Right from the start, the chemistry between Ian and Lila was off the charts. In a romance, honestly, this is what I like to see! 👏🏼 Throw in a mutually beneficial fake relationship with allllllll the tension and you’ll have us readers eating out of the palm of your hand! I mean, just picture a ginger Thor with rolled-up sleeves in an apron being called Cupcake on a baking show on live tv! I am dead! 💀😂 Lana had me kicking my feet and squealing throughout this entire story, it was just so good! I could not get enough of these two lovebirds! This was for every girl who had a crush and wondered if it would ever come to be! 🤭🥰

Not only were our MCs absolute perfection, but the Druids players stole my heart! The banter between these boys was top-notch! I cannot help but wish and pray that we get to see more of them in the future… 👀

Thank you to Berkley Romance (@berkleyromance #berkleypartner) for the free book!

Ian, a hockey star, and Delilah, a TV baking sensation, are thrown together in a publicity stunt that quickly becomes more than just a professional arrangement. The chemistry between Ian and Delilah is palpable, and their journey from awkward collaboration to genuine connection is a delightful rollercoaster. The story is enriched by well-drawn supporting characters and the behind-the-scenes look at the worlds of professional sports and television. This novel is a sweet, satisfying treat for fans of contemporary romance, proving that sometimes the best recipes come from unexpected ingredients.

The first half of this book was absolutely amazing and captivating, but unfortunately it wasn’t like that throughout the entire book. I found myself getting a little bored but it was still a cute read!

The Game Changer is a lighthearted romcom following Delilah, a sunshiny baker, and Ian, a pro hockey player returning to his home team. With Delilah's baking show struggling and Ian's constant negative press, the two childhood friends team up to put on a show for the public and lean into their supposed romance. However, as they start to spend more time together, the lines begin to blur and they quickly find themselves unable to pretend and keep their feelings at bay.

This romance was so fun and flirty! Every page and interaction was so sweet and kept me engaged to the very end. Ian and Delilah were absolutely adorable together, I loved that they didn't hold back from each other and yet took the time to find their footing before putting a label on their relationship. The plot was super playful and I ate up every morsel of family drama, I loved that there was something more substantial to offset the unserious nature of the romance. I completely recommend this sweet and steamy romcom, full of chemistry, quirky banter, and so much charm.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

This is probably the first Lana Ferguson book that I didn't wholeheartedly enjoy.

It mostly had to do with the whiplash I felt between Delilah and Ian in the initial stages of their flirtation. It felt like I didn't get enough lead up into Ian wrapping his mind around being with Dee before they were together. As a result it felt like some of the conversations leading up to that culmination came out of nowhere.

Once they had gotten over that hurdle, the book was mostly okay and it was everything that I cexpect from a Lana Ferguson novel. But the first half was a rough Mish mash of a lot of different thoughts and feelings that never felt clean.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Lana Ferguson + hockey/baker romance + family trauma/drama = dream reading. Enjoy!

Being reunited with your childhood crush who just happens to be your brother's best friend in a fake dating arrangement for PR purposes is definitely one way to start a relationship. She's a baker who's show needs something to boost the ratings and he's the star hockey player who has come back to his home team and needs a way to cover up all the old news of his marriage... and his own father's secret that would destroy everything if it gets out. Delilah Baker is the "darling of baking" and has a tv show, but ratings are dwindling and she needs something to get the shows ratings up... so when her brother talks about his best friend coming back to join his hockey team again Delilah knows she has an in. It also helps that said best friend is also the guy Delilah has been head over heels for ever since she was young. Delilah has always had a crush on Ian Chase, her brother's best friend and an amazing hockey player. She put her crush on hold when Ian got married... but now he is back after his divorce and he is moving in with her brother. When the show says that Delilah and Ian should work together on the cooking show and promote a fake relationship to help boost her ratings and help cover up the media's obsession with Ian's divorce ( he is happily separated, he's best friends with his ex-wife and her new partner, and the photo of him with a mysterious woman who isn't his wife that circulated freshly after his divorce announcement has been all the media can latch on to). Ian just needs the media to back off him and the fact that the woman he's "supposedly with" in the photos is actually his father's secret child and Ian's half sister that he's had to keep a secret because his father is threatening him and his mother. Ian expected that working with his best friend's younger sister should be easy, he remembers her as the sweet kid he hung out with... except when he meets Delilah again she is something else completely and now he can't stop obsessing over her. Delilah and Ian are faking their relationship but real sparks begin to fly... but with Ian's family secrets and the fact that he might be years late in returning Delilah's feelings... can this relationship really work or is it just too late? Oh this was such a cute and sweet read. I am a sucker for childhood friends to lovers and this one was perfection. Delilah is such a sweetie and Ian was down so bad for her, I loved that their relationship was really sweet and that they talked to each other and really communicated with one another. I am a huge fan of Lana's writing and books and this one was another fun read!

Release Date: July 9,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*