Dawson has loved Emmy since he met her 4 years prior. Now that he's back in town, he is determined to take a chance with her. Emmy, though, has become disillusioned regarding love. Dawson's path to Emmy's heart is swoon-worthy, sweet, and enough to make even the most disillusioned love love.

I received an ARC of this book; I have been paid for my review.

This book was absolutely adorable! I annihilated this book in less than a day!
This brother's best friend romance was so cute!





Emmy was so against dating a hockey player. Her brother Dan warned her, "Hockey guys don’t settle down. Not with one team. Or with one girl." She was just a bookstore worker, who ran book club and took care of her Mimi. She never thought she was good enough. She never thought she measured up.
But then came Dawson Hayes. This sweet man read a romance novel for her. He went to book club for her! Dawson was the ironically the perfect golden retriever!

Then there was Gold Dog, the stranger from the internet. The guy that became one of her closest friends. Where did he fit into her life? Should she meet up with him?

The way this book came together was perfect! I highly recommend reading this super fun Rom Com!

The Friend Face off is the third book in the swoon-worthy and sweet Love on Thin Ice series. Emmy and Dawson are such great characters in this small town romance. You won't want to miss reading the books from this series, they will have you hooked immediately.


Thank you netgalley for an arc of The Friend Face Off by Grace Worthington

The Friend Face Off is a romance between an introverted bookstore employee and her brother’s pro NHL teammate. I love a good hockey romance, but unfortunately this was more of a collection of cliches than a fully formed book. I wish the characters and plot had more depth however everything from the plot to the romance stayed very surface level.

I didn’t realize this was part of a series until I came here to leave a review so I can say that you can read it as a stand-alone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Friend Face Off by Grace Worthington is the third book in the Love on Thin Ice series, which is described as a sweet small town hockey romcom series. It’s a series of seven books all taking place in Maple Falls. Each volume is being written by a different author and centered upon a different couple having something to do with the charity hockey event taking place in the small town.

This volume centered around Emmy Roberts (sister of Dan ‘the man’ Roberts…the male lead in the previous book) and Dawson Hayes. (who happens to be Dan’s best friend and the goalie for the Ice Breakers, the hockey team representing Maple Falls) The actual hockey aspect of the book doesn’t play a big role in this volume. Emmy works at the local bookstore. She loves books and has always wanted to be a writer. She also is big into posting her ideas of books online, and starts the story by posting about how real men can never live up the men in romance books. She also doesn’t believe men read romance novels. Little does she know she’s about to be proven wrong on both counts. While I’ve enjoyed all the books in the series I’d read, this is definitely my favorite of the series so far. I pretty sure that fact that I’m a book nerd helped me instantly love Emmy, not to mention it also helps that I partially identify with Dawson as well, as I’m a guy who also enjoys romance novels. I won’t go deep into the actual story, but I will say this entire series has been filled with likable characters and fun storylines, making them nice breaks from reality. They’re also quick reads, with most of the books so far being easily finished in only a sitting or two. I’d like to thank Poets & Saints Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Friend Face Off.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R35U15SSE0HJBG/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

A book boyfriend who connects with her in part by reading the books she loves! That's it, that's the review. What more you need!?

I adored this story soooo very much. Emmy and Dawson were such charming characters on their own, and they made for an utterly delightful coupling. I was rooting for them from the beginning. I also loved the small town vibes, revisiting Maple Falls and some other characters from this series, and the epistolary elements were a sweet touch. Other tropes include sports romance (ice hockey!), brother's best friend, second chance romance (kinda), and friends to lovers (also kinda). I highly recommend this book, as well as others in the Love on Thin Ice series!

Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours for gifting me with an ARC to review! All opinions are my own.

Great read, the story of Dawson and Emmy. Emmy has been warned away from hockey players and he is her brothers best friend too. I liked the setting and how it was told from both points of view. Looking forward to more from this author.

Even though we all know how romance books end, the will they/wont they of fake dating is my favorite. This was my favorite so far!

ARC Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emmy spends her days working at the local book store, Falling for Books, and her nights helping her aging grandmother. But she is hiding a secret. During her free time she runs an anonymous BookTok account. After going viral for her latest post she inadvertently opened the floodgates.

Dawson is heading to the NHL. But before he can go pro he will playing on a charity team, The Ice Breakers. Thanks to his love for reading he reconnects with Emmy. The two met years ago via Emmy’s brother Dan. While Dawson has always felt something for Emmy, he could never tell where she stood.

Will reconnecting lead to more or will they once again drift apart?

Grace Worthington’s The Friend Face Off is the third book in the Love on Thin Ice series. This is a multi-author, interconnected series. While each of the books are intended to be standalone novels, it is recommended that readers read them all and in chronological order.

I can always count on Worthington to write a love story that not only entertains me, but upholds my morals. As a clean/ closed door romance author she has perfected her writing so that readers never have to sacrifice good storytelling for modest content. As a result Worthington has come to be one of my favorite authors. I love sharing her content and recommending her to others.

The Friend Face Off is her best book to date.

This book features:
-small town
-hockey
-brother’s best friend
*As well as many more!!!

Special thanks to Netgalley, Poets and Saints, and Grace Worthington for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

OMG THIS BOOK!! - THIS! BOOK! HAD! ME! GIGGLING! AND! BLUSHING!! I read this in one sitting their chemistry is off the charts!! This is also set in a small town which is my favourite! i love the trope and this book did it justice. I just wanted to keep reading about Dawson and Emmy!!

Perfect read this autumn, during a rainy day with some nice hot chocolate and a warm blanket this is all you need to bring a smile to your face!!

So this is what happens when someone loves a place like Star Hollow so much, or a show like Girlmore Girls.
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And I don't find a fault in this, especially when a group of writers get together and create this beautiful dream and cosy small town for many fans and add a hockey team, because sport romance is another pinch of this delicious book with pumpkin spice and fall vibes
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I have three books in the series and I started with this one, why would you say?...the cover obviously and the title promised to be a friends to lovers, who can resist?
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Emmy is the manager of the small bookstore in town, and in addition to being a romance reader, she is a very popular bookstagrammer and booktoker, at least under an alias that no one knows about. There she writes her most debatable and unpopular ideas about the books she reads and sometimes ends up exchanging DMs with someone willing to change her mind, like the strange fan of dogs with the funniest comebacks
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But her world is changing and is hard to stay a float, with local businesses struggling daily the only breath and hope is the town's fall festival and a the big charity hockey event that brings famous players to town and with them turist. And when those changes bring back her brother and his best friend, the shift is impossible to avoid.
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Dawson Hayes is not only one of the most important goalies and has a great future in the NHL, he is also the crush that Emmy could never forget and from all the hints and meetings it seems she is not the only one. But with life so different and a protective brother there is no future for both of them, or so it seems
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I really enjoyed this book, especially the DMs part, the banter and each chapter from Dawson's point of view, I love when a man falls first and is willing to do whatever it takes to win the heart of the person he loves. Emmy...she is so Rory Girlmore that it hurts, she is not my favorite character in the series and in the last rewatches she exasperated me. But Star Hollow and its inhabitants... yes, sign me up for each book in the series, for each book inspired by or with hints towards it.
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Thanks to Grace Worthington and Expresso Book tours for give me a copy of this beautiful book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion

I am just loving this series! this is such a sweet romcom, a hockey player who love romance books? YES PLEASE. if you love small town and hockey i highly recommend this one! Once i started i couldnt put it down, these two had such a fun dynamic. I loved the pacing of the story, Dawson was the sweetest man and exactly what Emmy needed. i just loved these two and their story

The Friend Face Off
Rating: 4.5/5
Spice: 0/5

Special thanks to NetGalley for giving me this e-book in exchange for an authentic review!

"I wanted to read the book because you liked it and I wanted to know why. When I got halfway through it, I saw the other side of this tough hockey guy. All the little ways he won his girl over. Then I wondered, Is this what women want? Is this what you want?"

Plot:
Emmy, a romance reader, has challenged anyone to change her mind that men like the books she read about did not exist. Little did she know, Dawson, her brother’s best friend and hockey player, has decided to take her up on her challenge. Emmy accepts his offer with the idea that their relationship will come to an end once he is drafted onto an NHL team in Seattle but before he leaves, Dawson still has one secret to tell her.

Thoughts:
THIS! BOOK! HAD! ME! GIGGLING! AND! BLUSHING! It’s been a minute since this has happened to me! Overall, I loved the feeling this book gave me! The rom-com cheesiness really made me love it even more! Also, with the author mentioning TikTok and Booktok, I did not cringe as much as I usually do when those things are mentioned. Y’all the way Dawson was just confessing left and right to Emmy!! He was so straightforward with his feelings without pushing her!! HE READ AND ANNOTATED A BOOK FOR HER BOOKCLUB!! omg I’m not sad about this at all!! And their little “argument” (not the right word for it) literally had me wanting to throw my kindle because THAT SHOULD BE ME!! I just loved them both so much and it seriously had me wanting what they have! I think this is a sign to check out the other parts of this series!

The Friend Face Off is book three in the amazing Love on Thin Ice series by Grace Worthington.
I am so excited about this sweet rom-com series!
So far these three books have amazing!
I absolutely adored the chemistry between these two characters.
I loved the story line was really cute. Definitely would recommend this book, it’s well written and its a great read.
A sweet small town hockey romance that I believe readers will just love!
I can’t wait to read the rest of these.

She loves rom-coms and works in a bookstore. However she's a cynic when it comes to true love. How is she to know her brother's best friend and fellow hockey player will want to prove her wrong? Will she give him the chance? What happens when it's time for him to leave?
I received a copy of this book from the author. Review voluntarily given.

This book was so far cute!!! I loved the growth in both characters and the small town vibes and just how beautiful wholesome it was. No one even had to change completely for the other! Super cute and fairly short.

I have so many mixed emotions about this book. Dawson was an absolute sweetheart and I loved him so much. He is quite literally every girl’s dream man. I enjoyed that Emmy’s family was supportive including her brother, instead of how usually the brother’s best friend trope goes. I also really appreciated that there was no third act break up.
Unfortunately, Emmy was insufferable. She came up with excuses that didn’t even make sense and she almost seemed embarrassed to be with Dawson. He’d do sweet things for her and she’d get mad. And honestly she just treated him badly throughout the entire book. It was such an odd way to portray her character since she was really nice in the other books. Also the conversations with Gold Dog just continuously made me cringe. I wish that wouldn’t have been part of the book at all. Also there were way too many references to Travis Kelce and TikTok.

I can’t wait to get back to Maple Falls when the next book releases but unfortunately this one just fell flat for me.

Thank you Grace Worthington and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars

I had conflicting feeling for this book. Let me explain.

I had high hopes for this one. I liked Emmy and Dawson from the previous book and couldn’t wait for them to get together. I 100% loved Dawson (he will be added to my Book Boyfriend list). However, Emmy was not a good character.

Dawson was the perfect romantic partner. He didn’t just tell Emmy he loved her, he showed her by remembering her favorite food, reading her favorite books and attending her book club, and showing up when she needed him.

How did Emmy respond? By getting mad at him for trying to be romantic. When he goes to her book club and makes some good points, she runs out and then yells at him for showing her up.

I did like how the hockey was better represented in this one. I also love the brothers best friend plot, especially since the brother was supportive and not aggressive and against it. I also appreciate that there was no third act breakup. Those are the worst.

I will keep reading this series, but this wasn’t my favorite.

*An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review.

A dream, main male character. I want to meet a Dawson! This is a really cute romcom. Emmy is manager of the hometown bookshop in Maple Falls, she doesn’t take time to date much. But with the charity hockey tournament in town and one of her brothers, good friends from college shows up to play, the wheels start turning. This is a fun, sweet and charming romcom. The characters are entertaining, I love how attentive Dawson is, he’s just a nice all-around good guy. Emmy is skeptical, but I love that she doesn’t give up and trusts her instincts. There are plenty of charming and swoony scenes. White billowing puffy sleeve and all! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Sprinkle a little history with a reunion in their small home town and you have yourself a beautiful romance. The characters were fun and the romance sweet. It’s a short and sweet read so would recommend if you are in the mood for a hockey romance.