Fake Play is a good fit for readers looking for a lighthearted and emotional story about two people who pretend to be in love and must navigate the challenges of a fake marriage while also dealing with the fast-paced world of professional sports.

I'm actually really surprised to see all of the good reviews for this book, but that just goes to show how subjective reading is! I really debated going into detail in this review or just leaving it minimal, but that's not the point of a review.

Technically speaking, this writing had a lot of issues that I think I can narrow down to tense. It read as if the author had originally started the story in one tense and then at some point decided to change it, and some of the previous tense slipped through editing. The dialogue felt choppy and just overall I think it could use some more work. Another thing that bothered me personally is that there seemed to be a lot of internalized misogyny coming through. The way the heroine talked about herself and her appearance (and the way other people did too) it felt...icky to read. Each comment instead of being body positive or getting to that point it felt so patriarchal, which is not something you want to read in a romance!

As far as the plot goes, the premise is there. Waking up in Vegas married to a famous hockey player and having to fake a relationship? Yes. Love it. But despite this, the story fell incredibly short. Lots happened over the course of the book, and yet nothing happened. There was no driving conflict; it was like reading about the life of two people over a few months rather than reading a romance. There was no chemistry or anything pulling the reader forward. And the hero acted horribly toward the heroine so many times, I couldn't get past his behavior. Everyone was a hot mess. And the comradery between players that you normally get out of a hockey or sports romance was just not there. This was honestly so disappointing.

Content warning and a note about the epilogue: [The book starts with the heroine waking up in the hero's hotel room after blacking out partying, and a few times throughout the book she asks if it was possible she was drugged and it's dismissed. Well, we learn in the epilogue that her "friend" did roofie the heroine and when commenting on it, says that she got "two for the price of one pill" when the hero shared her drink. This addition to the story was so disgusting and unnecessary for me, and to just toss it in at the end? I had no words. Even if the book had been good and this was still the ending, it would have absolutely ruined it for me. This alone will make the author a no-read for me in the future and I will likely recommend that people avoid these books as well. That's how off-putting this was.

Fake Play, An Atlanta Edge Hockey Romance Novel, by Carla Swafford

Connor and Lily meet on a drunken weekend in Vegas and end up married and so the romance begins.

A well written sports romance and if you like this type of book this is the story. An easy quick read .

A really easy enjoyable read.

This sounded so good but ended up being just very boring. The characters were bland and i felt that they had no chemistry what so ever.

Hockey romances are always a must-read, and this one was no exception. The generic plot was nothing new, but I still enjoyed reading it. The characters were interesting and they seemed realistic.

Connor is not all he appears to be as a cool relaxed hockey player. He has a secret wife that his team wants him to keep for his image. Lily agrees to stay with Connor for a marriage of convenience. When the walls come down and their true personalities are revealed, their marriage is a perfect fit. AHH the emotional drama that sucked me in was so good.

It seems like a typical sports romance, but Lily is not your average romance heroine. She's not tiny and cute. She's tall and strong and tough, and I really liked her character. When she and Connor make a deal to save her ice rink, she also ends up falling in love. I've read other books in this series, but this one was definitely my favorite one so far.

I want so badly to read Fake Play, but this Carla Swafford book didn't do it for me. The writing style is a turn off for me, so it ended up being a DNF for me.

I enjoyed the plot, which wasn’t very complicated, and the characters, who were unusual. I think there could have been more exploration of the psychological issues that made Lily and Connor who they were, but there was enough information to add dimension to their characters. Conversely, there wasn’t enough information to justify the revelation about another character that happens at the end. It wasn’t shocking, but there weren’t enough hints to make sense of it. Still, I’m sure I would have given this book 4 stars if not for one very distracting issue. The verb tenses kept changing, sometimes mid-sentence and it was extremely disconcerting. After a while, it became infuriating because it was just so frequent. Told from alternating first-person POV, here’s an example of a sentence from Lily’s chapter: “Before I knew what he meant, he pushes down the covers and lifts my shirt.” So we have simple past tense and present tense in one sentence! Sloppy editing like this conveys to me that the author doesn’t value her readers enough to take the extra step of cleaning up grammar. This doesn’t have to be costly, as there are many beta readers and ARC readers who are happy to point out these things. I’m hopeful that this author will endeavor to improve (or has already done so) in this area before publishing other books.

the cover for this book is really ugly. I'm sorry for saying this but the author need to find a good graphic designer because now people judge a book based on the cover. I request this book because of the synopsis but i'm sorry again because i didn't finish it

This was the first time I am reading this author. It is book 2 in the series but easily stands alone. It stars two characters who meet and marry in Las Vegas, coincidentally they also live and work in the same town.

Lily runs the local ice rink with her dad who is a former nhl hockey player. Connor is a nhl player with a very bad reputation and a father who was also a nhl player. The two end up hitched and they agree to annul however Connors team wants him to stay married. He agrees to help the rink out if Lily stays married to him.

The two really understand each other. Lily is very mature and she is constantly giving Connor a chance and many times I would have walked out but she sticks with him. The two form a friendship and relationship and I really enjoyed watching that happen.

I received an arc to review from Netgallery.

The fake play was the perfect fluffy hockey romance that we wanted it to be. I mean when you mix the tropes of strangers forced to live together, fake marriage, and sports romance … you know you have a winner. My only complaints with this book would be that it was too short! I felt like I wanted to get to know the characters even more and have the story fleshed out even more. However, all that being said if you’re in the mood for a fun, light, short fluffy sports romance with characters who have very relatable insecurities pick this one up!

It was only one night that changed everything. A night she doesn’t remember and wedding rings that adorn her finger...staying married to the man she’s secretly obsessed over...not a problem. Never say never especially when it comes to love and saving your families legacy. The book has absolutely everything and will keep you captivated until the end.

4.5 Stars!

I really enjoyed Fake Play by new to me author Carla Swafford. This is a hot sports romance, with a subplot that includes of a marriage of convenience. Two of my favorite tropes rolled into one book.

Lily Jones grew up with a dad that basically ignored her, in order to ensure that her brother excelled in hockey. Lily's dad used to be a professional hockey player and wanted the same for his talented son. Thanks to Lily's mom dedication, Lily excelled in hockey as well, and she almost became a member of the Olympic hockey team. Lily and her dad became a bit closer when Lily's mom fell into a coma about five years ago. Now Lily and her dad own the local hockey rink, and Lily works very hard to pay down their ever increasing debt. Lily finds herself married to a professional hockey player, Conner Ellison, after she lets herself lose after a long awaited weekend to Las Vegas.

Conner Ellison hails from money and hockey greatness. His dad is an NHL legend and he never lets him forget it. His mom is a bit of a doormat, yet quite sweet at times. Conner's reputation isn't the most pristine, so when he gets married to Lily by mistake, his coaches tell him to stay married in order to help him clean up his image. Lily agrees to stay married, in exchange for Conner helping her financially. They share an attraction that evolves into much more.

I liked this emotional and steamy story. It is a quick read, with lots of excitement. Getting to know both Lily and Connor was both fun and heartbreaking. Overall, a solid romance that kept me engaged from start to finish.

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

What happens in Las Vegas, doesn’t always stay in Las Vegas. Lily can’t believe her good luck when she visits Las Vegas with friends and meets handsome hockey player, Connor. However, when she wakes up the next morning, she is surprised to learn they are married.

At first, Lily is not impressed with Connor. He may be good looking, but he is also a self centered jerk and she doesn’t want anything to do with him. As they are forced to spend more time together, pretending to love each other and make their fake marriage feel real, Lily sees a softer, nicer side to Connor and she can’t resist the strong sensual pull toward him.

As Connor gets to know Lily, he realizes she is the perfect woman; she loves hockey as much as he does, is athletic, is hot in bed and understands him. They have both been disappointed by their parents and their dads played professional hockey. Lily is also a great hockey player herself and was a goalie in college.

Karla Swafford writes a smoothly written story and although the story of a couple meeting in Vegas, drinking too much and getting married has been done before, this story felt fresh. There are a lot of sparks flowing between Lily and Connor as they slowly get to know each other. They help each other become more confident and to grow into better people. I liked these two together. They are good for each other and have a smoking hot attraction. As they spend time together, they realize they have more in common than they first thought. You don’t want to miss this engaging and sexy hockey story.

I think at this point we all know that what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas...

At first I wasn't too sure about this book because the being married to a stranger and marriage of convenience tropes seems to be a bit overused BUT I loved this book completely. I really liked the main characters and their development, we started knowing little details about them and at the end of the book you realize that they are completely relatable, human and flawed. Also I really liked that Lily, our main female character, didn't fall for one of the typical stereotypes about how women should be physically in books.

This book is the second in a series but it can be read as a standalone. I didn't read the first one before I started this one and I understood everything perfectly, but you can bet that now I'm going to read it too!

Thank to NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me! I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. As I understand now, this book is a part of a series, that I did not know of. This is the second book but I can tell you that you will be just fine if you don't read the first. I had no problems understanding the characters even though I did not read the first one.
But this is definetly a book for 18+. It has some pretty specific sex scenes.
It is an easy read, you can finish it real quick. You might not want to put it down even. I would say it's an easy summer read.

This was a really cute fake dating romance! I liked Lily and Conner and their relationship.

They have both been through a lot and we get to see their different coping mechanisms and hangups when it comes to relationships. I like how they are there for each other and really support each other.

A few things happened that were a bit weird, but overall the story was really good. I'm hoping that we get to read Elise's story soon.

This is a fast fun read that will have you engaged through out

Connor Ellison is a winger for the edge a NHL team and his coach and owners aren't happy with him he has been told to clean up his act or he will be traded Lily Jones is deeply attracted to Connor but she knows he is trouble and wants nothing to do with him. So how did they wake up in Las Vegas married to one another and can he convince her to remain married to him. Connor offers to save her parents ice rink if she will just stay married to him until the end of the season Should she contemplate it or should she walk away and what about this attraction that is growing between them Are they in fact the perfect match and could they get a HEA you will have to read to see

This was the first book I read by this author. I like sports books usually, but I didn't really care for this one. I found the way it kept switching from Connor to Lily POV very confusing. I also didn't like that the explanation of what actually happened in Vegas wasn't explained until the epilogue. It was ok,