Good book! First book by this author for me and it was a good “eye catching” read. I’ll check out more by the author in the future!

4 🌟 |  "𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘳. 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵."

Okay book girlies, let's get real: the one who never thought that fictional men are better than real ones throw the first stone. There you go, that's basically the premise of this book. And I loved it!

I do not think the book synopsis describes the book accurately. This is more of a brother's best friend, anonymous texts, bookish girl-hockey player, small town, fall romance. But please do not think this is a faithful summary either. There is a lot more about this story.

"𝘈𝘴𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧: 𝘞𝘞𝘌𝘉𝘋?
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘞𝘞𝘌𝘉𝘋 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳?
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘰?"

One thing I loved was the texts between their anonymous profiles. I love when books have text threads between characters but the fact that they don't know they are talking to each other just takes this romance to another level.

"𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵, 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦."

This book is great! I loved how Dawson showed up for Emmy, and how he spent the whole book showing her how important and love she was. But honestly, I wished we get to see more of their relationship. The book has an epilog and a bonus one, but I think it would have been great to see more of them.
Another thing that didn't exactly annoyed me but could be better explored was the subplots. There are just too many layers: the romance, the NHL thing, her dreams to become a writer, the tiktok, the texts, mimi, family issues... it feels like for all these topics to be well developed the book would need an additional 50 pages.

With all of this in mind, The Friend Face Off is a love letter to all the hopeless romantic girls trying to be realistic and cynic when it comes to love in real life.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book and all the opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Be still my heart! Emmy and Dawson hit all the sweet spots for me. Emmy is the quiet book lover who is loyal to her family and not afraid to stand on her own. She leads a simple life. She loves Maple Falls, the bookstore she manages, as well as her successful BookTok site. She is also convinced that real guys cannot be as romantic as her book boyfriends. Her brother’s best friend, Dawson, is determined to prove her wrong. I don’t normally prefer brother’s best friend tropes, but this story pulls it off. Partly because the big brother, Dan, is occasionally mentioned, but does not have a huge part in this story. Dawson sets out to show Emmy that he sees her and he’s taking notes (literally!!!) for how to woo her. Despite falling hard and fast, Emmy has to confront her fears that Dawson may be the real deal. Seeing him sweep her off her feet in so many sweet ways was just glorious! While this is part of a series, and you do get some glimpses at other characters, it is a standalone. It’s more enjoyable, in my opinion, to read all the stories and see how all the HEAs are occurring, but even if you pick just one, this is a great one. This is a sweet, closed-door romance that will give you all the feels. Bonus, it happens in the fall season, so all the romantic fall vibes are capitalized on!

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

Another cute romance that I was lucky enough to read. I liked the way characters from previous books make cameos in this one as the characters are all linked. Seeing past main characters through another’s point of view was sweet.

Our main goalie had some lovely qualities and I loved the way he really went out of his way to understand her world. The book club romance book choice that he popped in for had me chuckling.

A goalie giving anyone their jersey to wear is ridiculous because they are always a 2XXL plus so that wasn’t very believable. An easy read and I could confidently give this to my niece knowing she would enjoy this series (she’s 19).

If you're in the mood for a lighthearted, quick and easy hockey romance with some fall vibes, I definitely recommend this book!

I really enjoyed the premise and plot of this book. It was also refreshing to read a straight romance book (aka no spice) that still had me invested in the couple reaching their happily ever after.

Emmy felt real with her concerns about dating and being in a relationship with a pro hockey player, Dawson. Her anxiety over the press and what people will think is valid and was written well. I will say at some point it got a bit repetitive and frustrating for her to not open up to Dawson about her feelings.

Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend for those who love small town, hockey, and no spice romance novels!

I got this as an ARC that I devoured in less than a day. I originally gravitated toward this book because it was a hockey romance. A couple chapters in and it felt more of cute fall, second chance rom com. I loved Emmy’s love for Jane Austen and loved Dawson wanting to be a real life Mr. Darcy for Emmy. I loved this small little town and really lost site that hockey was even involved in this book because there were other characteristics that shined brighter. Nice feel good fall rom com.

An amazing story . Emmy is Dan's little sister and she is working at the Maple Falls bookstore , while she is anonymously creates videos to booktok and talks everything about books . For the charity games Dawson Hayes is in town as the teams goalie . Dawson is Dan's best friend from college and she and him had a pact that when she would turn 25 and needed a date she would ask him . Emmy doesn't believe that real men are romantic and sweet but then she gets a message fron golden boy who always talk to her heart and became friends . Dawson want to have a relationship with Emmy but she is having second thoughts . She will only date him for the three months he will stay for the games . Will he make her change her mind ? Which man Emmy will chooce at the end ?
I received this book from netgalley , the author and the publicer as an ARC . Thank you . All thoughts and opinions are my own .

The Friend Face Off by Grace Worthington - A Sweet, Clean and Predictable Small Town Romance

The Friend Face Off is an addition to Grace Worthington's Maple Hills series. This short and sweet read follows Emmy and Dawson, her brother's hockey playing best friend. A pact they made as young adults —to be each other's "buffer date" if they're both single at 25—takes centre stage when Dawson returns to town.

The story's premise is familiar, offering a classic friends-to-lovers trope. While the plot is somewhat predictable, the characters are likable and well-developed, making it easy to root for their happiness.

The pacing of the story is a bit uneven. There are moments when the plot feels slow, particularly as the subplot involving Emmy's TikTok friend unfolds. While this subplot adds a layer of complexity, it can sometimes detract from the main focus of the story.

One minor criticism is Emmy's tendency to judge other women. While this is a common character flaw, it can occasionally feel a bit overdone.

Despite its predictability and a few minor flaws, The Friend Face Off is an easy read. Fans of small-town romances and friends-to-lovers stories will likely enjoy it.

I just finished this book 0.05 seconds ago and I'm here to write the review! I was NOT expecting this book to give me ALL the feels!!!!!! It was sweet and funny and so swoony. I even had tears, TEARS, at several times!!!! Kinda like if Travis Kelce played hockey and was in love with his friends little sister. 20/10 highly recommend. Will now be stalking this author down on Amazon to read the rest of her books!

This is my first book written by Worthington and I enjoyed the way she crafted the dialogue. The story flowed quickly, and it was a super sweet romance. I liked the talk about books and reading as well! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Best friends sister
Grumpy/sunshine
He falls first
Hockey romance

All the makings for a spectacular book. Emmy is a small town bookstore worker, dreaming of being an author while taking care of her aging grandmother. She’s also cynical about love and the perfect man not existing, thanks to unrealistic expectations in romance novels. 4 years ago she made a silly pact with her brother’s best friend that when Emmy was 25 and still single and needed a date, Dawson would be there for her. But it’s silly to expect that your brother’s friend, who is drafted to the NHL would keep that promise, especially when he’s constantly photographed with gorgeous woman. Except Dawson never forgot that pact and now that he’s conveniently back in town for a charity hockey game, there’s nothing stopping him from following through with their pact.

This is a sweet story that was easy to read in one day and had me kicking my feet and giggling all the way through. There is 0 spice but honestly, that’s kind of refreshing.
Thank you Net Galley and the publishers for this ARC.

Emmy makes a pact with her brother's teammate Dawson that if they are both single at 25, they will be the other's 'buffer date.' A charity hockey tournament brings Dawson back to town just as Emmy needs an ally at a party thrown by her boss. Will their fake date lead to something more?

Read if you like:
-Friends to Lovers
-Dating Pact
-Brother's Teammate
-Small Town Romance
-Sweet Not Spicy

This was a fun and fluffy, sweet and short read. Definitely an enjoyable little escape. The subplot of the tiktok friends was a bit much with everything else going on, and was very predictable.

Another short novel of fall romance in Maple Falls with a hockey player.

Picture Stars Hallow, but instead of Dean or Jess with Rory, make it a hockey guy.

And he is also her brother's best friend.

This sweet short read is perfect to get into the fall mood, or hockey season.

Thank you NetGalley and Poets & Saints Publishing for my E-ARC.

I am loving getting to return to Maple Falls again and again and now I’m back for the third time with the Friend Face Off.

Getting involved with your brother’s best friend is risky enough. But when he's a hockey player? It's a whole new level of bad idea.

This for the girls who love books and hockey players. I loved this sweet closed door combination of two of my favourite things. I absolutely loved Dawson’s character but Emmy’s was starting to bother me the more we got into the story. It just bugs me when female characters write off the men all because of their profession, hobbies or their looks. Dawson was proving himself time and time again and Emmy just came off as really whiny and insecure. I wanted more growth from her but I did enjoy their story overall.

Wasn’t my fav of the series but I think a lot of people will really enjoy this one this fall and I’ll be waiting impatiently to go back to Maple Falls with book 4

This was a short and sweet hockey romance, I adore Dawson he’s such a cinnamonroll and very clearly crazy about Emmy. I really loved all the talk about BookTok and romance books in this book, I loved that Emmy is a reader and BookToker. I kept wanting to yell at Emmy or give her a good shake about her hesitation with Dawson because he was so sweet and I just wanted them to be happy and it's clear he wanted to make it work with her and she was doubting everything. One of my favourite parts of this books though is the anonymous online friend part of this book I think those messages were very cute. It was also really funny to me how they thought they were doing good hiding their “dates” or relationship because they spent so much time together and it was probably super obvious to everyone.

The pace of The Friend Face Off was a little slow to my liking. However, i did enjoy the dynamics between the characters. I look forward to reading more of this series in the future.

This romance novel is a perfect fall hockey romance, for any brother’s best friend, small town, sport romance. Emmy and Dawson’s love story is an addictive and heartwarming one to read. Emmy is a bookstore worker, who spends her time posting videos on booktok and caring for her grandma, she is not convinced she’ll ever find romance in her real life just like it’s written in her favourite romance novels but Dawson is ready to prove to her love can be real, and he reads!!

This read was enjoyable, addictive and amazing. The pacing was perfect, with mix-media text conversation. The characters are lovable, from the old ladies in town to the hockey team to Emmy and her friend.

The romance is just perfect, really made me smile and spend a lovely rainy day reading this in ONE sitting. I would recommend this to everyone, you enjoyed Icebreaker but want something closed door, with less spice, this is perfect for you.

Dawson didn’t just convince Emmy that romantic men also exist outside books but he convinced me as well. The ending is hopeful and light-hearted. I am excited to follow the rest of the series, with the other hockey players.

Please read this book this fall, 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.
[ARC Netgally – Poets & Saints Publishing - comes out on Sep 12 2024 ]