This was an interesting romance between a dance instructor and a hockey player. Aurora meets a Canadian hockey player briefly while working in a coffee shop. She immediately likes him and since she is so busy with dance and is a bit of a loner at school she devises a fake boyfriend. Everyone believes he is always too busy to attend any events with her and since he is only in her imagination this works perfectly for her. Years later she suddenly runs into the boy from the coffee shop. Now he is all grown up, playing in the NHL, and is a widower with a young daughter. They slowly embark on a tenuous romantic relationship. I enjoyed the writing and the Canadianisms. One term used repeatedly in the book was calling someone a hoser. This was a Canadian term used years ago but I haven’t really heard of anyone saying this in many years. The rest of the Canadian tidbits were humorous and fit well. The dialogue was good and the characters were likeable. I really wish the ending wouldn’t have been so rushed as I would have liked more details about their future etc. Overall a fun book! Looking forward to the next one!!

In this captivating read, the author masterfully weaves a narrative that is both engaging and thought-provoking. Through a blend of richly developed characters and a meticulously crafted plot, the book offers a unique exploration of its central themes, inviting readers to immerse themselves in the story's depth and complexity. The narrative is paced perfectly, balancing moments of intense action with thoughtful reflection, ensuring that readers are hooked from the first page to the last. The author's ability to evoke emotion and create a vivid, immersive world is truly remarkable, making this book a must-read for anyone looking for an exceptional literary experience.

Beyond its compelling storyline, the book stands out for its insightful commentary on the human condition, weaving philosophical questions into the fabric of its narrative. The author's skillful use of language not only enriches the text but also elevates the reader's experience, offering new perspectives on familiar themes. Whether it's the intricate dynamics of relationships, the exploration of identity, or the confrontation with ethical dilemmas, this book tackles complex issues with sensitivity and intelligence. It's a testament to the power of storytelling to illuminate the nuances of life, making it a valuable addition to any book lover's collection. Regardless of genre, this is a work that resonates on multiple levels, affirming the enduring impact of well-crafted literature.

Growing up in the PNW means I know a few things about the Canadian Boyfriend. It might not have always been Canada; sometimes it was Oregon or Idaho, even California, but faking a boyfriend, for whatever reason, isn't new. So, when Aurora meets Mike Martin at the Mall of America, her Candian boyfriend is born. However, years later, and much to her surprise, her Candian boyfriend walks into her dance studio. What could go wrong?

I have always liked Jenny Holiday's writing. I don't know if I can pinpoint exactly why, but I always have a good time. I often find the characters relatable and real. I know it sounds horrible, but I like books where the characters work through upheaval, grief, or trauma, and trust me, Canadian Boyfriend is not without grief or trauma. These are the parts that I enjoyed most. The communication. The normalization of therapy. Honest discussions about grief. Meaningful discourse about emotional labor. The confrontation of those who hurt you. All of these things made me love this book.

However, two things stopped this from becoming a new favorite. One is a pet peeve of mine - authors who constantly refer to characters by their last names. I promise readers will remember who they are. If you are like me, be prepared because the phrase Mike Martin is constant. More so than any book I have ever read.

My other issue is one of the book world's most hated tropes. MISCOMMUNICATION! But, what I dislike even more is when the miscommunication, lies, or omissions are overblown. Or the character overreacts to said lie or omission, which is what happens here. I knew it was coming the whole time I was reading. It lowered my enjoyment of the book.

Trigger warnings: Off-page death of a spouse and emotional abuse by a parent.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Forever for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another case of “Don’t let the cartoonish cover fool you.” This is not just another smutty hockey romance, but a beautiful love story between two kind, thoughtful, and flawed characters, dance teacher Aurora (Rory) Evans and NHL defenseman Mike Martin. They first laid eyes on each other when Rory was a 16-year-old barista at Mall of America and Mike was a charming customer who caught her eye. Since her entire life was consumed with ballet (thanks to a pushy dance mom), she had no time to make friends and was ostracized in school. So, why not invent a Canadian boyfriend as an excuse to get out of school activities and to not feel so alone? She spends the remainder of her teens writing letters to Mike that serve as a diary of sorts. Little did she ever expect that, nine years later, he’d be the recently widowed father of one of her students.

Mike is struggling to adjust to new household routines and paternal commitments his late wife used to handle and to cope with his daughter Olivia’s grief and anger, so he turns to Rory as someone his daughter trusts to ask her to serve as a pseudo-nanny while he’s on the road. Since she’s in need of a new place to live (after a recent break-up), a car, and health insurance, she accepts his offer of the apartment in his basement. Over time and many honest and heartfelt conversations, their friendship evolves, especially since they support each other and see beyond the façades they present to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, the emotional scars they both carry (her abusive Mom who has left her with an unhealthy obsession with food and a compulsive need to please others and him with the complicated grief over his wife and rocky relationship with his daughter) make their friends-with-benefits situation temporary and just for fun. When Rory finally confesses her teenage fantasy to Mike, will there be any hope of a future together?

There are so many aspects to Holiday’s lovely romance that I appreciate, including chosen family with Rory’s best friend and boss Gretchen and Mike’s teammate and wife, Ivan and Lauren, the main couple’s support and encouragement of each other, an enlightened book boyfriend, the positive portrayal of therapy, the perfect balance of humor and heartfelt conversations, just enough steam to keep it interesting, a dual POV, an epistolary element with her letters to her fake boyfriend and their texts when they first get to know each other as adults, and yes, hot hockey players! What can I say? I used to work for the NHL! Highly recommended!

I did a hybrid read of this and I really enjoyed the narration for both Rory and Mike.

When I started reading this book, I had really complicated thoughts towards it because I couldn’t quite grasp my head around why Rory would create this whole fantasy in her head after meeting somebody for five minutes when she was 16 years old. I was super conflicted over how I felt about it and I almost DNF’ed it multiple times.

However, I kept reading and I’m really really glad I did because I really liked this book in the end. I totally didn’t think I was going to like it when I started reading it so I’m glad it proved me wrong.

The more I read the book, the more I started to really understand Rory’s character and why she created this fake Canadian boyfriend for herself and it actually made a ton of sense. She had nobody in her life, so she created somebody so that she would feel less alone. And honestly, I think that is super relatable.

My biggest annoyance with this book was that she refers to the MMC as “Mike Martin” throughout the entire story, (even in the epilogue!!) and it made me irrationally angry.

Besides this book, I’ve only read two other books by this author. One of which was A Princess for Christmas that was released back in 2020 and was in incredibly steamy, so I think I was expecting that same level of steam in this book and that was absolutely not the case. I would say the details are super vague and the door is only slightly ajar in some of the scenes.

Solid 4⭐️s!

This was a much heavier read than I had anticipated as it delves into some truly emotional and traumatic topics. (Please pay mind to the TW before reading).

My heart was in this book from the beginning, following Mike and Olivia’s grief and Rory’s mental health and trauma was an emotional experience. I felt like the pacing of the personal healing and relationship development was extremely well done.

The only things holding me back from 5 stars were the sudden time jumps and how I didn’t feel like the big conflict warranted the reaction it got based on the characters we knew up to that point. For me, it needed more explanation or a deeper dive into the relevant insecurities to feel justified.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of Canadian Boyfriend in exchange for an honest review!

I was very excited about this book but it sadly missed the mark for me. I couldn't connect with the main couple and I felt they didn't even had chemistry. The pacing wasn't the best and that probably was one of the reasons why I couldn't enjoy this book as much as I wished.

A Canadian hockey player who’s sweet, a step-dad and goes to therapy. My hockey loving self can’t handle it all 😉 this is a sweet book with a slow burn. I didn’t love the 3rd act conflict because it happened SO late we barely saw the outcome. But overall it was a sweet romance.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

This was such a cute story. When Aurora was a teenager she meets a hockey player at the Mall of America and decides to use this stranger as her imaginary boyfriend. Due to her dedication to ballet the other kids at school think she is a bit stuck up and so having a fake Canadian boyfriend seems like the perfect excuse for why she isn't going to the school dance. Years later Aurora is a dance teacher and who should walk in to pick up his daughter but hockey player Mike Martin. Surely it is just a coincidence and this man is not the same guy she met all those years ago, or is he?

This was such a cute rom-com. Jenny Holiday did a great job writing this book. I loved the characters. This book will have you laughing, make you swoon and has a little spice. If your wanting a really good rom-com then this book is for you. I would HIGHLY recommend this book.


Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

This was my first Jenny Holiday book and I wasn't impressed. Both of the covers I've seen for this book are so cute and the description is right up my alley, but the book didn't live up.

My main gripe is that the romance was lacking and since the romance was basically the plot, the book dragged. The first half of the book I understood why there was no romance. Mike, the MMC, was still grieving his recently deceased wife so there was no expectation for him to fall in love. I also like how Rory really didn't have any feelings for Mike either. However, maybe we should have started this book further into Mike's romance recovery? Waiting so long to get into the meat of things was not very fun. Again, I understand why and I genuinely think it was a well-written gradual thing, but it slowed the book down quite a bit.

I'm giving it 3 rather than 2 stars because there were a lot of delicate themes that I think Holiday handled really well. There's lots of talk of grief, mental illness, parent/kid relations, eating disorders, etc. I think these were all discussed with care and intention.

Overall, this wasn't quite what I was hoping it would be. The non-romance portions of this book were handled beautifully! But for a romance genre novel, yeah...no.

“Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday is a charming romantic escapade that blends humor and heart. The delightful characters and witty dialogue create a feel-good atmosphere, making it an enjoyable read. The Canadian setting adds a unique touch, and the chemistry between the protagonists is undeniable. While the plot is engaging, there were moments when the pacing felt a tad uneven. Nevertheless, Holiday’s writing style and the endearing love story make this a solid 4-star read. Perfect for those seeking a lighthearted romance with a touch of maple syrup sweetness!” 🍁📚

'He's Not Fake. He's Canadian.'

This one had me at the tagline. Not to mention the ballet dancer FMC and the hockey player MMC. With tons of 'eh's and other very (stereotypical) Canadian references, this one was a cute quick and easy read. A little implausible but it had some depth as both wounded MCs learn to heal themselves. I think my main gripe is that I have trouble when any book (outside of fantasy) asks me to extend my beliefs about what realistically can occur. Some of the plot lines seemed too forced- who gives a stranger a car and asks them to carpool their kid?! Also while the Canadian-isms were funny, as a Canadian I did find some of it way over the top stereotypical (coming from an actual Canadian). I did really like the characters of Mike and Riley and Mike's daughter Olivia was a funny, sassy kid. The chemistry did seem organic and I might have liked this more without some of the forced bells and whistles.

Was it super memorable? No. Was it a fun way to pass my time? Yes. So that's what I'm talking aboot.

this story was sweet and really packed with real life topics and emotion which I love. I enjoy reading about characters going through an emotional journey, one where you feel like you’re on it with them. I also love the single parent trope/sport romance/found family. I did however not love the third act breakup. I don’t want to give too much away but it felt unnecessary, and made this book become not totally for me. I would say it’s worth a read though.

First and foremost thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for this arc

Overall Rating: 4 Stars
Spice rating: 2 stars


Possible Trigger Warnings: abusive parents, eating disorders, panic disorders, grief, death of a parent/spouse.


Overall thoughts: Outwardly this book might seem like a fun hockey romance but once you dive into the story it’s about slow burn friends to lovers story of two people falling for each other while separately trying to navigate their healing journey from their past traumas.

What I liked:
Aurora Evan’s sometimes quirky ballerina who is suffering the consequences of her teenage limerence/fabrication - a fake Canadian boyfriend. The part that I liked about her is that she is a very relatable fmc. The fact that she interacted with a customer for 2 minutes as a teenage girl and instantly created a whole imaginary relationship in her head with him is something im sure many people can relate to

What I didn’t like:
I felt like it was a bit odd how the conflict occurred 90% into the story and was overcome in a chapter. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed. Overall im excited to see what’s in store for Gretchen next year!!!

✔️ Hockey Romance
✔️ Single Dad
✔️ He's Her Boss
✔️ They're Roommates
✔️ Hurt/Comfort
✔️ Epistolary (sort of)

-summary-
To get through high school, Rory wrote letters to an imaginary boyfriend. He's not fully fake as the guy was a chance meeting at a mall one day who she never saw again.

Fast forward many years and one failed ballet career later, Rory meets Mike, a single dad hockey player whose kid (Olivia) is a dance student where Rory works. Mike looks like her imaginary boyfriend but what are the odds, right? He needs someone to help out with his kid while he's traveling for work and hires Aurora. Of course, necessity turns to attraction fairly quickly but it's all very complicated with a kid to think about, Mike still having complicated feelings about his deceased wife, and Rory's own hangups.

-my thoughts-
I loved the premise of the book. As a daydream-y young person, I've absolutely had those what-if thoughts about random people I'd met or talked to so Rory resonated with me. I also really felt for her backstory with her determined dance mom.

I liked how the relationship and romance blossomed and I generally liked Mike too (did I buy the audiobook to hear Joshua Jackson narrate? yes I did and he is worth it, you guys). I loved seeing him in his dad moments as well as his caretaker persona around Rory. There were only two parts of the book where I didn't like him - a line in an early chapter where he reminded of a red-flag ex and then a part during the last third of the book where I thought he was extremely unfair to Rory - I think that speaks to how much I rooted for her character.

There are a lot of issues covered here (check trigger warnings but some are eating disorders, death of a spouse). These were explored thoughtfully and with care, though some parts hit me as a little preachy.

This one is worth checking out particularly if the above tropes work for you.

Steam 🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕

3.5⭐️

I really enjoyed this book! When Aurora “Rory” Evans briefly met Canadian Mike Martin at sixteen, she invented a fake Canadian boyfriend to help her get through lonely times in high school. Thirteen years later, her fake Canadian boyfriend shows up at her Dance studio with his daughter Olivia, but he does not seem to remember their brief encounter. Mike is recently widowed and trying to get his and Olivia’s lives back on track. He is now a professional hockey player and needs a live-in nanny to help him with Olivia. Aurora recently went through a break up and needs to find a cheaper place to live. She ends up accepting an offer to move in with Mike and help him with Olivia, but he still does not know that he was her fake Canadian boyfriend.

This book is about two people with their own insecurities and trauma who connect and help each other heal. I really loved the mental health and therapy representation. This was a beautiful story and I would definitely recommend it. My one complaint would be that the ending felt a little rushed.

Tropes:
- Hockey player/dancer
- Single dad/nanny
- Forced proximity
- Friends-to-lovers
- Mental health representation
- Canadian lingo

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A sports romance with real life situations where mature adults make solid grown-up decisions - FINALLY!

Mike is a young widower, and a world famous NHL hockey player. He's also a single dad to an eleven year old. Together, they are staggering back after the tragic passing of his wife and mother. Their routine is finally getting back to normal which includes his daughters dance classes.

Rory teaches tap, but NOT ballet as she recovering from the trauma of a rigorous ballet school and its fits of panic it induced. She's also reconciling the actions of mother during her time in ballet.

Rory and Mike don't recognize they need of the other as they begin a friendship based on the needs of his teenager daughter. Their slow-burn romance was well written as each overcomes the past to welcome what the heart desires. Rory's relationship with Mike's daughter was one of my favorite aspects of this story. She literally saw her and her needs to let her be in the space of grief and moving forward.

Canadian Boyfriend deals in some heavy themes, but its compelling to the story for finding love again.

Thank you, Forever.

this was a lot of fun! it wasn't rly what i had expected from the plot description (which is so real of that girl like she's so funny for that) but i rly enjoyed it! the hero was delightful!!! trying his absolute best and completely kind and so soft?? and his daughter was SO cute! i loved watching all the different relationships develop and i was thoroughly engaged throughout! i can't wait for the next one!

This is an entertaining book that was more in depth than I expected. Aurora grew up a ballerina and her life revolved around dance, including dealing with an obsessed mom and an eating disorder. As a shy teenager, she met a cute Canadian hockey player while working at the mall, and made him her pretend boyfriend, even creating fake letters.

As an adult, she’s left professional ballet behind and now teaches dance to kids. She becomes friends with one of the dads and his daughter; Mike Martin is a professional hockey player and a widower. As Aurora gets to know him she realizes that he’s her fake boyfriend from the mall. Their relationship is a slow burn but she never tells him they’ve met before.

I like the way the author approaches the difficult issues of losing a wife and mother in Mike’s case and dealing with an eating disorder and a dance mom for Aurora. I don’t understand why Aurora always calls him by his full name whenever she thinks about him, at some point isn’t he just Mike instead of Mike Martin?

I recommend this book, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.