This was a fun and cute read. I truly loved the length and the friendship Rory and Mike had before becoming intimate. After losing a wife, I loved how the length of time and therapy was displayed. There was true healing before entering a new relationship.
We miss a lot of firsts that I really think would have helped the storyline and the chemistry between the characters. First kiss and first time 👀 being a few... While the book was not super spicy, I found it odd that we didn't get to see those two scenes. Especially when we get a spicy scene later in the book. I also didn't love the third act breakup.
I loved the hockey player/dancer element here of two people who know the pressure of being an athlete. This book has a lot going on with a widower and a young girl grieving her mother and unhealthy relationships but it all worked so well together. The hockey players were great and I'm looking forward to reading more. I liked seeing Aurora and Mike Martin become friends and then more then friends. The Laura Ingalls Wilder aspect had me so happy!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

“Canadian Boyfriend” is story that unfolds from strangers to friends to lovers in the realm of sports romance, featuring a single hockey dad and a dance teacher, both wrestling with personal emotional baggage.

Approaching the book blindly, I found myself engrossed in every chapter, observing how Aurora and Mike navigate their evolving friendship with a commendable level of maturity. Jenny Holiday’s careful handling of themes such as anxiety, panic attacks, and grief deserves applause, particularly for her thoughtful portrayal of therapy. Despite delving into serious topics, the romance retains a light, humorous, and overall entertaining tone.

Simply put: I adored Mike and Rory. The close proximity and meaningful conversations exchanges between them intensified the depth of their chemistry. The small details they discovered about each other, their quirks, Rory’s diary entries to her “boyfriend”, and their cozy (and steamy) moments made me swoon swoon swoon. Witnessing the growth of Mike and Olivia as individuals and in their father-daughter relationship, as well as the development between Rory and Mike, was a highlight. While I wished Mike had responded differently to one aspect, ultimately, this book left me with a signer book hangover.

Even if hockey, dancing, camping, ice-skating on a lake, or staying awake to see the Northern Lights aren’t you usual interests, rest assured that all the elements of this romance will melt your heart — even with its unmistakable Canadian flair. While some aspects may lean towards stereotypes (not everyone likes hockey and drinks sweet coffee), the story itself is a gem of fiction.

As someone who grew up doing ballet, if a book has a ballerina, it's pretty much a must-read. Add in a hockey player, and I am SOLD, and then add in an author whose every book I have loved?! I don't think that combination could get any better, and thankfully CANADIAN BOYFRIEND lived up to every expectation I could have had.

This book shows that in a fictional world, our flaws can make us perfect for one another, Mike and Aurora were the characters I didn't know my heart needed, and I'm feeling incredibly lucky to have found them in these pages. From their friendship and discovery of one another to the way they put Olivia first, I loved how these two found love through the pressure of being athletes, difficult family situations, and their complicated pasts. Their growth individually as characters, with Aurora learning how to choose herself beyond her eating disorder and the pressure from her mom, and Mike moving on from the death of his wife was written in such a messy, real way that worked for me and made this an endearing romance I really enjoyed.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for the ARC, I'm already looking forward to rereading this one and it'll have to be the audiobook because just the idea of Joshua Jackson narratoring the male lead has me swooning. Not to mention it's a series?! Yes, PLEASE.

I think it was sometime last October that the delightful Estelle Hallick at Forever shared the ARC of Canadian Boyfriend with me and was singing its praises. It sounded right up my alley, but I had a few library books to finish and then I was diving into my holiday reads, so I didn’t get around to it until this month. Now that I have read it, I know why she was raving about it. This book is so cute and charming but also feels genuine, with a lot of emotional depth to it.

I confess that I kind of expected this book to be another spicy hockey romance. Don’t get me wrong --- that would not have been a problem --- but that is not what this is. This was a giant hug of a romcom that is character-driven, with flawed yet lovable MCs, emotional growth, tons of humor, found family, positive therapy representation, and a moderate dose of steam. I am not going to regurgitate the synopsis here nor am I going to divulge too much about the story arc, because I don’t want to give anything away.

There was one minor detail that took me out of the story a little bit, but it didn’t keep me from loving this book. The thing that drove me slightly cuckoo was the overuse of the male MC’s full name whenever the female MC was speaking of him or referring to him.

You may have heard that Joshua Jackson is co-narrating the audio book? Y’all – I was irrationally excited about this announcement!! JJ is the celebrity crush of my youth AND, get this, he’s my EXACT birthday twin (same day, same year)!! I am one of those people who primarily listen to non-fiction books or re-reads on audio because I have a hard time keeping the details of the story in mind when I listen to fiction. Now that I have read this book once-through, I can’t wait to listen to the audio book.

A perfect read if you like:
- Heartfelt romantic comedies
- Sports romance (this one is hockey/ballet)
- Found family
- Forced proximity
- Friends to lovers
- Single Dad

Read with caution if you are sensitive to:
- sudden loss of a loved one due to car accident (prior to start of story but a major thread)
- overcoming grief
- healing from emotional abuse and eating disorders
- Panic attacks

Hot Tip: Have Ice Cream handy while reading this book ; )

This book has a little bit of something for every reader.
A fake boyfriend who actually becomes real.
A lonely man and a lonely woman.
Ballet and hockey because both require much skill and grace with feet.
The absolute best parts were Mike and Rory discussing Little House episodes and Rory’s mother was from close to De Smet, SD and they even go to the pageant and do something very special at the homestead. Be still my Laura loving heart!
Mike even uses the word hoser! But I don’t think he said eh or take off :)
Be international and read about love across the borders.

3.75/5, rounded up

“It’s funny how sometimes things that seem like they’re bad at the time end up making the best memories.”

This was the first book that I’ve read by this author & while I really enjoyed the writing style, I did not love the pacing of the story towards the end. I was definitely pulled in because I love a good hockey romance, however, even though this story didn’t totally revolve around the hockey aspect, it kind of disappointed me that it didn’t! That being said, I feel like this book touched on so many deep topics (anxiety/panic attacks, grief, death of a wife/mother, disordered eating, abuse from a parent) in such a great way.

Aurora was a really great FMC. I hated her mom, but I love that she learned how to stand up for herself & set boundaries. I think that she really grew as a character & I loved that she wasn’t immediately “cured”. Aurora was so real & resilient & strong. It broke my heart that she was ignored by her peers as a young person & bullied by her own mother.

Mike Martin (yes, Mike Martin is how we will refer to him bc that’s literally how Aurora referred to him the entire book) is a stereotypical Canadian - super polite & apologetic. I really appreciated that he was able to look back in his previous relationship & see where things may have gone wrong. He had really great emotional intelligence which I love in a man. Hindsight is always 20/20 & I get that he was irritated abt the letters but woah what an huge overreaction on his part. It really put me off bc it felt like that contradicted everything he did previous to that point.

Olivia was an incredibly cute addition to this story & I loved that we got to see her emotional progression. As I mentioned before, the deep topics were done very well & there were a handful of moments that I shed tears. I was touched by Mike Martin’s realizations & had so much sympathy for all the things he had to go through. Although there were a lot of good moments, Canadian Boyfriend was a SLOG. There were times that the story moved so slow & were too talk-y (overly inner thoughtish) in parts I felt were unnecessary.

Overall I did enjoy, but not as much as I wished. I would recommend it, but I don’t think I would pick it for a reread. I will, definitely pick up another book by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley & Grand Central Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

Canadian Boyfriend was such a fun book! I read it but I feel like the audiobook will be amazing since Joshua Jackson is the male narrator!

As a teenager, Aurora made up a fake Canadian boyfriend after meeting a cute hockey player while working. Fast forward and she's a dance teacher/barista. Mike Martin is a professional hockey player and recently widowed with a tween daughter in her class. She agrees to be a pseudo nanny to help him during the season but when they start to fall for each other will she share her secret?

I loved the hockey player/dancer element here of two people who know the pressure of being an athlete. This book has a lot going on with a widower and a young girl grieving her mother and unhealthy relationships but it all worked so well together. The hockey players were great and I'm looking forward to reading more. I liked seeing Aurora and Mike Martin become friends and then more then friends. The Laura Ingalls Wilder aspect had me so happy! The only thing I didn't love was the third-act breakup.

Thanks to Forever for my advanced copy

This book was just ok. It did start very well but then about halfway through I started losing interest . I felt it just dragged on.

Oh wow! Very different from Holiday’s Princess for Christmas series, but I absolutely loved it! Mike and Aurora are 2 people who had faced loss and disappointment. They needed to work on their issues and struggles both separately and together. I loved that Mike’s career as a professional hockey player was somewhat in the background, which means you will love him and his story even if hockey isn’t really your thing. He also had a daughter, family, friends, and other interests that rounded out his character and life. I loved that Aurora, a dance instructor, had a fulfilling life that she loved, after a horrible experience, and also had friends who loved and supported her. Their interactions started with forced proximity thanks to Mike’s daughter. Plenty of scenes included the 3 of them and pushed the plot forward in unexpected ways. Mike and Aurora’s romance blossomed with a slow burn from friends to friends-with-benefits to even more. Holiday included attention and advocacy for mental health care that was normalized and appropriate for the story. Honestly, a wonderful surprise of a romance. All the stars!
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Canadian Boyfriend was a cute hockey romance and I appreciated how it approached mental health, grief, and therapy. However, the immature and illogical setup hindered my enjoyment. Though I liked Rory and Mike as individual characters, I wasn't really convinced by their relationship.

I was skeptical about the idea of a fake Canadian boyfriend going into the book, but I thought it had potential. I thought it was cute how the letters to a fictional version of Mike served as a diary and an outlet for Rory during difficult years of her life. However, I found the way it was handled in the modern timeline unrealistic and immature. Rory should have at least mentioned that she recognized Mike from her job at the mall, especially when he mentioned that he hated liars. The letters serving as the cause of the third act conflict was ridiculous and predictable. Mike blew it way out of proportion, especially for how quickly the conflict was resolved.

There are a few “quirks” in the writing that were probably meant to be endearing or unique but they were overused and grew irritating. Rory refers to Mike by his full name “Mike Martin” every single time she references him. It has no in-text explanation and it got old quickly. She also refers to his smile as a “chapstick smile” that happens in three parts. Every time he smiles it's written as “click-click-click.” I get what it was trying to do but it honestly brought to mind a demon-possessed smile more than anything cute or charming.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Jenny Holiday always does such a wonderful job crafting heartwarming romances, and she has done it once again. I will admit, I was drawn to the premise of this book. I love the idea of fate, and how can I argue when the universe brought "Mall Mike" back into Aurora's life. It seemed like such a serendipitous reunion, too. Both Mike and Aurora found themselves weighed down with emotional baggage, and now they had each other to help unpack it.

Here I am, talking about baggage, making this book sound so heavy, but it wasn't. That's also a skill of Holiday's. She wove those weightier elements into the story in a way that did not disturb the overall lighter feel, and that's something I really appreciated. There's quite a bit of focus on mental health which I thought was handled well, but there was also so much fun, hope, and joy in the tale.

Mike was a doll who was still navigating his grief following his wife's death. The way he worked so hard on his relationship with his pre-teen daughter was so sweet, but there were all these other small, quiet things he did that showed off his heart of gold. And though it had been almost a decade since Aurora abandoned her ballerina dreams, she was still dealing with the scars it left behind. It was beautiful to see these two slightly-wounded people find some comfort and healing with each other.

As I have previously indicated, both Aurora and Mike had some work to do on themselves, so don't expect a whirlwind romance. This was more on the slow-burn though the attraction, sparks, desire, and everything else was obvious. But, not to worry friends. All that waiting was rewarded with a most precious epilogue. It was something that was so perfect for these two.

Overall: I adored seeing Aurora's Canadian boyfriends turn from fiction to reality and can confirm that real Canadian boyfriends >>> imaginary Canadian boyfriends.

When Aurora Evans was a teenager she met a hockey player from Canada in the Mall of America. Ever since that day she would tell everyone that he was her boyfriend and that they were dating.

Fast forward to the present time, Aurora is teaching a dance class, and in walks that hockey player. Mike Martin walked in with his daughter. Mike is a single dad widower who still has a great deal of grief over the passing of his wife.

Aurora is way too nervous to tell him about what she has done in the past. So she decides to keep it a secret from him. I loved the pacing of this story. The story took place over a year and I feel like it helped both main characters grow. I also really enjoyed Mike’s daughter Olivia. I feel like she was a great supporting character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈.

What I liked:
The different relationships between Aurora, Mike, and Olivia
I think this book did a good job of addressing mental health (grief, panic attacks, eating disorder, toxic relationships) through therapy.
I liked the friendship that the main characters built before becoming involved romantically

What I didn’t like:
How Aurora constantly referred to the MMC by his full name (Mike Martin)
Mike’s reaction to Aurora’s letters and finding out he was her fake teenage boyfriend (no idea why it was such a big deal)
The ending was abrupt

Love the concept of Canadian Boyfriend.
Rory (Aurora) Evans is a dance teacher, whose dreams of being a professional ballet dancer didn't pan out. Enter Mike Martin, a NHL hockey player born and raised in the Great White North. He's recently widowed and raising daughter Olivia, who is a student at Rory's studio.
I'm divided on this one. I was solidly invested for the first half, then found the alternating chapters between Rory and Mike to be a touch repetitive. And I did not love how the "meet cute" from the beginning played out by the end.
However, this is my first Jenny Holiday book and I greatly enjoyed her writing style and humour, as well as the handling of heavier topics in the story.
Overall, recommended!

Unfortunately I didn't like the story at all and I couldn't get into it at all. It fell flat, something was missing for me regarding their connection and something happening. I just didn't feel a connection to the characters or to them together. I had to DNF at 25%.

I loved this sweet romance between a former ballet dancer and a widowed hockey player. I thought their chemistry was off the charts, I love that they talk through their emotions and the growth shown during the story as they both work on themselves with therapy, I love how much work they put into making their relationships healthy without it feeling too preachy about their respective issues. Perfect for fans who want a true romance vs a straight up rom-com.

This book was sooo good. The characters are likable and have so much depth. Meeting again as adults, and as Mike Martin is navigating the grief of his wife’s death and his tween daughter’s angst, there is so much vulnerability and tenderness. Both Mike and Aurora have their issues, but are working through them together and through therapy. They truly made each other feel seen and were better together. Swoon. This romance is both sweet and complex with rich backstories for both main characters. Highly recommend.

Read CANADIAN BOYFRIEND for
🥰 Friends-to-lovers romance
🩰 Ballet teacher finding her voice and reclaiming dance joy
🏒 Professional (NHL) hockey player humble stardom
❤️‍🩹 Mental health rep and healing journeys
🔥 Slow-burn romance with one open-door scene
💕 Dual POV

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5 stars)

THIS HIT THE SPOT!

I absolutely devoured this book! I don't know exactly what made it so perfect, but I was here for the romance, the hockey (my first hockey romance book) and the characters.

Truly loved it, when you want to just leave a book feeling HAPPY, pick this one up!

This book was a fun read!

I really liked the development of Mike and Rory's relationship. It starts out with Mike grieving the loss of his late wife who died in a tragic accident. He is trying to make his daughters life as full of joy as he can and one of the ways in which he does this is by continuing her dance lessons with Rory, a ballet school dropout.
Rory has been a bit of an outcast all her life. When she was a kid, she worked at a coffee shop in her local mall. This is where she met Mike Martin for the first time. He was just passing through for hockey but she had an instant crush on him. This crush turned into a fictional boyfriend who make her hard days a little brighter. It also made her feel less alone despite her only having only one encounter with Mike Martin. That is until he walks into the dance studio she works at years later...

What I liked:
How loving Mike is towards is daughter. Their character development was great.
The discussion of how toxic ballet culture is especially when it comes to food.
How Rory and Mike find safety in one another and can rely on each other in a way neither of them thought possible.
The way Mike is vulnerable with his feelings and is so honest.
The mention of therapy and how important and useful it can be.
How supportive Mike is of Rory. He truly loves and appreciates her.
Rory's letters to Mike from her childhood.

What I didn't like:
The way Rory called Mike "Mike Martin" every time she mentioned him in her head. It was so annoying and weird.
How Mike reacted to Rory's secret. He acted like she stole his identity and then plotted his demise. It was very overdramatic and rushed. What Rory did was hardly a big enough deal to react they way he did.

Overall I would rate this book a 3.5/5

We came into Canadian Boyfriend (our first Jenny Holiday read), thinking it would be a cute romcom, but it was a little bit more. It tackles some tough subjects with care and opened our hearts to new characters.

Aurora and Mike’s road to love was a slow burn. They came into each other’s lives a little bit broken and looking for someone to lean on (even if they already had some pretty great friends to support them). We liked that the romance wasn’t rushed and they had a chance to build a friendship to start. The drama surrounding her secret Canadian boyfriend was fun to unravel but it also made us nervous as we knew it would cause a problem down the line! Olivia was a great addition as she was the reason they were brought together in the first place! Our heart broke for her but her bond with Miss Rory was special and lovely. Overall a great read for someone who is looking for a love story with real life heartache.

side note: the Canadian stereotypes felt a little heavy handed (ie: Chesterfield, hozer) and while it can be funny, the repetitiveness of it got old. Maybe that’s because of where we’re from/where we live.

Read if you like:
▪️Single dad romance
▪️Sports romance
▪️Forced proximity
▪️Friends to lovers
▪️Mental health rep (grief, anxiety, panic attacks, disordered eating)