Aurora “Rory” Evans didn’t exactly have a normal childhood. With the amount of time she spent away from school for ballet practice, recitals, and other ballet-related activities, she didn’t really have the opportunity to join in on things like school dances. But teenagers are harsh so she felt like she needed a good reason for why she wasn’t more a part of the social scene.

Enter Mike Martin, a hockey player visiting from Canada that she meets while at the Mall of America. He’s the perfect excuse—a fake Canadian boyfriend is exactly what she needs to reason away her absences at social events. Rory doesn’t see the harm in creating this false narrative—until years later when she is teaching kids’ dance classes and in walks none other than her fake Canadian boyfriend himself.

The premise of this story is absolutely wild and strangely super believable in its wildness. The relationship that blossoms between Rory and Mike Martin feels incredibly natural despite the crazy circumstances and Holiday has a beautiful way of discussing the heavier topics while not dragging down the overall tone of the story. The presentation of panic attacks and anxiety was handle with care and consideration and, even though it was a little too real at times, it also felt so lovely to see that representation on the page. Holiday also managed to handle death of a spouse and disordered eating in a way that I was able to understand even having not gone through it myself.

As a single parent, I am an absolute sucker for romance novels that feature a single parent finding love. (If they can do, so can I, right?!) The reason for Mike Martin becoming a single parent breeds a lot of distrust and resentment, but Holiday finds a way to incorporate that into the story that allows the reader to really understand the nuances of the situation. It also allows space for people to grieve while still being upset or angry and I feel like that is something that isn't necessarily talked about or shown very often. Holiday's nuance in this situation shows readers that all their emotions are valid, even if they sometimes feel contradictory.

The book itself is worth a read, but if you’re an audiobook girlie like I am (and I use that as a gender neutral term!), you’re going to want to pick up the audiobook. Not only does Joshua Jackson aka Pacey Witter aka everyone’s teenage crush (or maybe just me?) do the narration for Mike Martin, but Emily Ellet absolutely crushes it as Rory. Both narrators embody the essence of the characters and really brought them to life.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review.

Hi,
I had a reading slump, but this book took me out of it. I read it too quickly must I add. The characters felt too close to home and the part about anxiety, how it screws up one's basic functionality is something I connected with the most. It is well written and does not at all feel dragged.

Aurora and Mike are flawed and have baggage. They also have a little bit of history. They connect after Mike is widowed and Aurora is both teaching his daughter dance and helping him take are of her when he's out of town. This was probably more women's fiction than romance. They both had some tough issues to work through and the author gave them the time to do this realistically, messy parts and all. I enjoyed the packing and authenticity of their work and their relationship. While there were tough topics, I also spent a lot of time smiling. The story was a nice mix of happy and hard.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thanks to the publisher for sharing a copy with me. All opinions are my own.

Eh. This book just left me feeling meh. It was okay, but not great. Just left me wanting more chemistry.

Overall I enjoyed this romance for the open, honest conversations about mental health and the honest relationships dialogue. However I found some of the plot forced and the way 45 pages felt rushed. It was a cute romance with very likable characters.

Sincere thanks to NetHalley and Forever for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Love hockey, love books. LOVE hockey books. Did I love Canadian Boyfriend? No. Sadly I did not. Not for me.

I was really interested in the premise of this book and love hockey romance, especially with a dancer FMC, that’s my jam!

There were a few things I really enjoyed about this book and a few things I really did not enjoy.

I really enjoyed the first half and found both Aurora and Mike to be fun characters. I loved the positive representation of therapy and the honest portrayal of grief and loss. I appreciated the disordered eating representation too.

The second half was a little drawn out and repetitive. I also knew where the final conflict was going to come from leading into a third act breakup and though it was predictable it felt so overdone and unnecessary. Like so overblown (which given they do admit to blowing said situation out of the water, but still).

I also had such a hard time with a few of the writing style choices. The FMC refers to the MMC by his first and last name for the entire book (internally… not in her external addressing of him). I will never ever ever be able to forget that his name is Mike Martin because I heard it a zillion times. And there were a few other stylistic choices that just didn’t jive for me.

As to the audio, it was fantastic. Great narrator’s and I loved the dual narration throughout.

When Aurora was younger, she created her fake Canadian boyfriend who played hockey, Mike, to get out of things. "Sorry I can't go, my boyfriend from Canada is visiting." The perfect excuse and no further proof needed. As a dance teacher in the suburbs, she didn't think she'd ever meet Mike, a hockey player who is Canadian. That's just a coincidence... right?

After Mike is left widowed, he just wants the best for his daughter and to his daughter, that means going back to dance classes with Miss. Aurora. When Aurora and Mike find themselves in a position where Aurora can also help watch his daughter, their relationship begins to grow and they both are able to heal together too.

me, a minnesotan romance reader who loves a single parent trope, loves this book that takes place in minnesota with a single dad? more likely than you think! i absolutely ate this book up and couldn't wait to pick it up every time i put it down. just the sweetest leads with a slow burn and chemistry that don't quit! with so many things to love including genuine characters with tough issues dealt with through therapy, which i really appreciated!!

I loveeeee hockey players and as a girlfriend of a Canadian man, I appreciated all the Canadian culture within the pages!

Such a cute read! I felt like I really got to know the characters and their histories, especially with the differing points of view between the main characters.

Canadian Boyfriend was a fun, easy read with characters that were vibrant and engaging. I was intrigued by the unique combination of ballet and hockey which provided a refreshing perspective on both sides. My only compliant is that Aurora's secret was a bit of a let down and could have been explored more. Overall, I really liked it and would read more by this author.

I love a good sports romance, and Jenny Holiday nailed it with this one! The ballet herione and hockey love interest is such a fun combo, and I absolutely adore the way she executed the found family and forced proximity tropes. It's a unique premise and an interesting fresh take on a hockey romance. My only gripe was the third act breakup - I'm not a fan of these and this one felt especially unnecessary in my opinion. But I am biased towards those, so I tried not to let it negatively impact my review too much. Otherwise, it's a fun read with a sweet romance, and I enjoyed it very much.

This book checked all the trope boxes for me including single dad, hockey romance, forced proximity, and of course friends to lovers. The characters showed great development on their own and when they came together that showed even more. I just really enjoyed the entire premise of this story. I can't wait to read more!

This book was so adorable. I loved the premise of them having met when she was in high school and that she wrote letters to him. This could have been a really emotional read, but Holiday handled everything so well and just made everything so cozy and enjoyable. Any tears that were shed, were definitely happy tears.

I enjoyed this book, although it was not what I expected. I thought there would be more elements of fake dating based on the premise and be more of a "sports romance". I picked up the book thinking it would be a light vacation read but it deals with some deep topics like grief and toxic family relationships. I appreciated how Jenny Holiday dealt with the grief Mike goes through and how Aurora navigates his feelings while dealing with her own to develop a romantic relationship. There was great therapy representation and discussion of family dynamics with mental health. Would recommend to friends but less as a romance novel and more for found family/positive therapy representation in fiction.

First of all, the cover is beautiful and the book is not far behind, I loved it.
Since I started it I was hooked and only stopped when life as an adult forced me, lol.
Teenage Rory was super relatable, but shhhh don't tell anyone hahahaha.

I loved the growth that the characters had and how they helped each other overcome problems.
Gretchen's book is next and I can't wait to read it!

IMPORTANT, check CW because although the story is very cute and fun, Rory's anxiety and eating disorders and Mike's grief take up a large part of the story.

Canadian Boyfriend single-handedly pulled me from my 2 month reading slump.

I adore the characters and the romance, but honestly what really appealed to me was their approach to grief. My brother passed away roughly 6 months ago and I’m still grappling grief. Jenny Holiday approached grief in this book delicately but did not tip toe around the effects of it. Grief is hard to maneuver in real life let alone in fiction and I think it was handled extremely well.

Overall, I really liked this story and I’m eager to read anything in the future by this author!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for access to the eARC for this title! (Even if I accidentally forgot to download it before the archive date, my bad).

Canadian Boyfriend centers on Rory and Mike. Rory is a former nearly professional ballerina trying to find her purpose and who she is apart from her controlling, toxic mother. Her relationship with her mother has fostered a difficult relationship with food that manifests as disordered eating and body image issues. She has transitioned to being a part time dance teacher for kids who aren’t especially gifted in the dance department. Mike is a recently widowed professional hockey player trying to raise his daughter, Olivia. They are thrown together when Mike asks Rory to help out with Olivia while he is out of town during hockey season, and their friendship slowly blooms.

I really enjoyed the slow growth of the relationship between Rory and Mike. It felt very authentic, and like it developed naturally. And I really, really appreciated the inclusion of intuitive eating care in this story as well! Disordered eating is an issue that is very important to me, both personally and in my career. To see intuitive eating represented correctly, and not the “trendy” (*cough* inaccurate *cough*) version of it that is sometimes pushed on social media was a relief!

I also loved the family connection between Olivia and her dad, and how it then extended to Rory. I loved watching the three of them grow into their own little unit. It was precious and special and one of my favorite parts of the story that I almost wished was highlighted slightly more.

90% of the book was going very well for me, I thought the character development and arcs that both Rory and Mike were making in their healing journeys alongside one another were real and raw. I was rooting so hard for both! But I didn’t love how the third act conflict was handled, and it definitely happened a bit too late in the story for the direction it went. I also felt like in an effort to wrap things up, Olivia’s story was forgotten, which was a disservice to her as she was the most important factor in the first half of the story.

Overall, I rated this one about 4.5 stars! ⭐️ I will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author. Canadian Boyfriend is out now

When she’s a teenager, Aurora meets a Canadian hockey player and immediately makes up an elaborate lie about him being her “Canadian boyfriend” - despite the fact that she’s only seen him once. The lie could never hurt anyone so what the big deal right? But of course, years later, Mike Martin shows up again in Aurora’s small town and as their lives become intertwined she can’t help but remember the “relationship” she had built up in her mind all those years ago.

This was a super fun read! I loved the concept and found it highly entertaining. There were a few too many heavy moments to make this a fully light hearted read so keep that in mind if you decide to pick it up. I also thought the “conflict” near the end was a it more dramatic than it needed to be.

All in all, it was a solid rom com and made me laugh quite a few times throughout which is always a plus in my mind!

This was a cute romcom. I love hockey so having that included was a bonus for me. The constant referring to him as "My Canadian boyfriend" drove me crazy though.