This book had a ton of tropes I normally shy away from, but I absolutely fell in love with these characters. I loved watching Mike and Aurora work through their issues and finally learn to let one another in. I did think the big "secret" was kind of silly, I could have done without that being the cause of the break up, but everything else about the book was so strong it didn't take away from my enjoyment too much.

Okay hold onto your butts, I actually read a sports romance. Which, that's not really fair, hockey and soccer are the least objectionable sports, I just generally don't sportsball and I can't remember the last sports romance I read. This one has me wanting to give more of them a chance though!

Aurora is our fmc and homegirl has been THROUGH IT. She's 6 neuroses wrapped in a trenchcoat but I didn't find the manic pixie dream girl energy off-putting, I think because there were actual mental health reasons why she is the way she is. This book invoked so much of my own mental health struggles with so few words, and it made Aurora, who, in most settings would annoy the shit outta me, someone I could connect with.

Mike is generally delightful but ohhhhhboy did I wanna shake him pretty regularly. He's got himbo energy AND trauma. The book girlies will love him. Me included. You can love a character and wanna shake some sense into them at the same time; I checked.

What completely caught me off guard was this book's focus on mental health. Both of our mains have big traumas. Both of them are in therapy and openly discuss the work they're doing in therapy. It was honestly a relief, because who hasn't picked up a romance and been like COULD YOU BOTH GET SOME THERAPY AND RECONVENE AT A LATER DATE?!...Just me? In this, each time it would be so easy for them to have a blowup because cool kids don't talk about their feelings, they just...talked it out.

Ultimately, I obviously liked it. For the smut squad, while there's some on-page sexual activity, this is very much a hockey romcom, not heavy smut. But it's charming, and I absolutely enjoyed it. I'll definitely be picking up more from this author!

The description of this book got me really excited for this romance. Aurora first meets Mike briefly at the mall as a teenager, and she writes fake letters to him, pretending he is her fake boyfriend. They reconnect later in life when Mike’s daughter loses his wife, and Aurora is teaching his daughter dance. Aurora is overcoming a toxic experience as a professional ballerina and the treatment from her mother.

I really loved how in depth the author wrote both of these characters who are going through major life changes, and navigating it together. Both characters communicate so well, and are so vulnerable with each other. I loveeee when romances get deeper, and veer from the light/fluffy side of things. However, there was something missing for me, which was the witty banter or tension/chemistry between these two. While they had sweet moments, it didn’t feel super believable to me. I also felt like the third act conflict wasn’t that big of a deal, and was more of silly thing that isn’t actually the “big secret” it was made to be.

Overall, I felt like this book had so much potential but it fell a bit flat for me in regards to the tension/chemistry between the FMC and MMC. However, I think there is a reader for this book, if they prefer deeper love stories with less tension.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book. Rory was a really great, complex, and relatable main character, and I really liked reading from her point of view. I also liked Mike's point of view, but I definitely liked hearing from Rory more to be honest.
Rory's relationship with Liv was one of my favourite aspects of this book. I loved their dynamic, and I really just loved Olivia's character. The relationship between Rory and Mike was also well-written, and I really appreciated how this book was more than just a romance, with all that happened prior to where the book starts off.

There were some minor things that I didn't love about this book, like how the conflict at the end played out (I thought the MMC might have overreacted a bit, but I can see where he was coming from). I also thought it was a bit odd how Rory called Mike by his full name nearly every single time she referenced him ("Mike Martin" constantly, almost never just "Mike").

This book deals with some heavy themes, so definitely check trigger warnings before you read! The author does deal well with the heavier subjects, however, and I really enjoyed the mental illness representation in this book.

Overall, this book was pretty good, and I would for the most part recommend it :)

This was a cute hockey romance!

Overall, I enjoyed the character development and issues addressed. The romance was very cute. I did think it was a little bit too long.

Ten pages into this I had to stop reading. The writing was very childish. Literally could not stand reading a whole book like this. So I just had to stop.

#NetGalleyARC This was such a cute story. I loved that the characters were realistic, flawed and easy to relate to. I also liked that the author tackled some tough topics and handled them in an honest and realistic way. The plot got a little boring and predictable at times but overall this was a fun weekend read.

"Canadian Boyfriend" by Jenny Holiday is a poignant romance that skillfully navigates themes of grief, self-discovery, and forgiveness. Aurora, a former ballerina battling her demons, crosses paths with Mike, a pro hockey player grieving the loss of his wife. The story unfolds with layers of emotional complexity as Aurora and Mike grapple with their pasts and navigate the delicate balance of their evolving relationship. Holiday handles heavy themes such as grief, disordered eating, and self-respect with sensitivity, infusing the narrative with authenticity. The exploration of forgiveness adds depth to the characters, making their journey towards healing and love even more compelling. Despite the unconventional start of their relationship and the challenging dynamics, the author crafts a heartwarming tale that resonates with genuine emotion. "Canadian Boyfriend" is a beautifully written, emotionally rich romance that captivates from start to finish.

I am struggling with getting my review of Jenny Holiday’s Canadian Boyfriend right. I really enjoyed it. It’s a romance surfing on big waves of grief and trauma. For a big chunk of the book Mike and Aurora have a quasi employer/employee relationship that some people will, reasonably, consider a hard no. I want to put all this up front, because it’s important information for readers, and I don’t want my whole review to be about the things that might put a reader off of a book I enjoyed very much.

Once upon a time teenage Aurora Evans met a hockey player at the Mall of America. He was from Canada. And soon, he was the perfect fake boyfriend, a get-out-of-jail-free card for all kinds of sticky situations. I can’t go to prom. I’m going to be visiting my boyfriend in Canada. He was just what she needed to cover her social awkwardness. He never had to know. It wasn’t like she was ever going to see him again…

Years later, Aurora is teaching kids’ dance classes and battling panic and eating disorders—souvenirs from her failed ballet career—when pro hockey player Mike Martin walks in with his daughter. Mike’s honesty about his struggles with widowhood helps Aurora confront some of her own demons, and the two forge an unlikely friendship. There’s just one problem: Mike is the boy she spent years pretending was her “Canadian boyfriend.”

The longer she keeps her secret, the more she knows it will shatter the trust between them. But to have the life she wants, she needs to tackle the most important thing of all—believing in herself.

At the beginning of the book (after the prologue), Aurora considers herself to be a failed ballerina with a tense relationship with her mother. Mike is grieving the death of his wife and struggling to keep custody of Olivia, his tween step-daughter, and give her stability as she grieves for her mother. Both of them are tackling harmful and hurtful things in their lives – grief, disordered eating, body dysmorphia, self-respect, the expectations of others, betrayal, and fear of abandonment. These are heavy themes, but I think Holiday deftly lightens them without trivializing them.

Mike pays attention to Aurora in part because her dance class (jazz and tap, not ballet) is one of the things that makes his daughter happy. Aurora isn’t sure if Mike is the Mike that she based her fake boyfriend on. They build a relationship with extremes of caution and bursts of profligate abandon. Everyone, including them, is confused about who they are to each other. They are messy. They try so hard not to be and fail. Mike is especially messy, clumsily trying to stay close to Aurora, but also keep her at a distance, ostensibly to protect Olivia, but really to protect himself. Throughout the book, Mike is in therapy, and Aurora starts her own therapy. They grow over the corse of the book, both through their own efforts and in response to each other.

I have very few things that I think are hard lines in romance. Too many times an author has taken a thing I would normally not read and turn it into something I loved. I’m not a huge fan of boss/employee relationships, but here I think Holiday is so clear that Mike tries to make Aurora an employee to keep her physically close while keeping her at an emotional distance. The boss/employee dynamic is not hot, it’s not ok and Holiday is clear that in this case, it’s unhealthy. Along with the themes of grief, self respect and boundaries, there is also an exploration of forgiveness. Mike has to learn to forgive his late wife and himself in a situation where death has cut off the possibility of closure. Aurora has to decide whether she will forgive her mother, when she doesn’t understand the ways in which she has harmed Aurora. I often like third act breakups because they are an opportunity for the relationship to recover from harm. People make mistakes and often it’s ok after some time and repair. From the prologue, you can see the crash coming in Aurora and Mike’s relationship. When that breakup does happen, Holiday has built enough of a foundation between them that it feels like a healthy reset for them.

This was a lovely read. Like a good romance reader, I’m already looking forward to Gretchen’s book please.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Forever and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

This is a really well done hockey romance! Swoon-worthy and adorable without hitting you over the head with overdone hockey tropes. It's a funny, lighter side of the subgenre that will leave you grinning. Very well done!

Not your typical hockey romance. If you're go to tropes are second change romance, single dad and golden retriever mmc than this is for you. A cozy hockey read that isn't all about the spice.

I loved this book. I was particularly compelled by all the discussion on emotional labor and how it affected the mmc to change. The kindness and friendship between the main characters made the romance that much more believable.

I really loved this hockey x ballerina romance (because who doesn't want a hunky Canadian boyfriend?) I liked how anxiety/panic attacks were tackled as well as grief. I loved the MMC and FMC's relationship (though I hated the third act breakup because WHY). I liked that this was a sports romance with substance and tough topics.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday!

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me and I ended up not finishing it. I’ve read and loved other Jenny Holiday books in the past but this one did not work for me. The writing was confusing and often times nonsensical in what was going on and I felt myself pulled out of the story. The actions of the two main characters felt very disconnected from how people would actually behave. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book, I’m very sad it didn’t work for me being a previous Jenny Holiday fan and huge hockey fan. Hopefully it works much better for other readers!

Once upon a time in Mall of America, teenage Aurora Evans met a hockey player named Mike. He was from Canada. Mike the perfect fake boyfriend to get her out of sticky situations, the perfect cover for her social awkwardness. He never had to know. She wasn't going to see him again. Years later, she's a dance teacher battling panic attacks and eating disorders. One day, widowed pro hockey player Mike Martin show's up in her class with his daughter, and he reminds her a lot of "Mike," her fake boyfriend from Canada.

After reading the Christmas in Eldovia series, Jenny Holiday has become one of my auto-read authors. I'm a fan of her romances. To me, this read was a little different from the Hallmark-esque vibes her holiday reads give off, and in a good way. Aurora and Mike were both going through personal issues; they found a confidant in each other. The on-again-off again romance they were having was a red flag, but they also weren't the only ones in the picture. They also had to think about his daughter. Honestly though, I just like how Aurora and Mike were with each other. When the main conflict in their relationship came about, I appreciated that it wasn't overdramatic or dragged out in the story. Tough issues (grief, panic attacks, eating disorders, and toxic relationships) mentioned were handled well and in a sensitive manner.

Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Discovering that Jenny Holiday has over 30 other books published put a lot into perspective for me. For one, she's probably out of ideas. If you've read any other slightly romantic book, then you've read this one. For two, and my own personal bias is slipping in here, I cannot take anyone from Manitoba seriously. I'm sorry.
This book's whole conflict centering around the fact that she knew him for 5 minutes when they were younger, and this being such a huge secret she had to hide makes no sense to me. I cannot fathom a situation in which someone would genuinely be upset that they were used as an imaginary boyfriend. The development of the two characters separately was probably the only thing in this book I enjoyed which brings me to my next point: Where's the rom and where's the com. I don't think I cracked a smile once in this book and there was so little romantic tension between the leads it made me angry.
If you liked Jenny Holiday before then you'll probably like this, but this being the first book by her I picked up, I don't see it happening again.

I loved Jenny Holiday's Christmas series of romantic comedies so I knew I needed this new one! Of course being a Canadian, I was instantly drawn to the title. A Canadian hockey romance!? Yes, please! Don't let the sweet cover fool you, however. This story ended up being so layered with difficult topics like grief, eating disorders, perfectionism, anxiety, and more. I loved that the relationship between Mike and Rory took time and they built each other's trust. They both were on their own healing journey which I thought really made their connection more authentic and not as 'insta love'. Olivia was such a sweet character and she added to Mike's growth. This was a cute yet emotional read. Four stars.

I really enjoyed reading this book and usually I don't like books with sports but this was amazing! I like romance novel and I was intrigued by the ballet dance and hockey player couple. It was well written and I was very entertained.

I want to start by saying there is a major TW for eating disorders and minor TW for grieving, anxiety, verbal abuse.

So, when I started this book I thought it was too ridiculous. The first 25 percent was like a soap opera with its bombardment of tropes and drama. I literally was texting my friends about the book and laughing at the info that was absolutely dumping. I won’t give everything away, but as a sample I was texting Amy Imogene Reads at the 10 percent mark because the Eating Disorder was put out right at the beginning.

Despite all of that, I decided to continue. I guess my thought was to watch the train crash to say I did. Instead, after the 25 percent mark the book ran like a regular romance. One I was quite enjoying. I ended up finishing the book in 2 days because I couldn’t stop. It wasn’t a train crash, it felt more like a healing story. It’s like the author dumped everything out at the beginning to make you immediately on the same page as the characters and then took you through their healing and subsequent romance. By the end you enjoyed the journey.

In the book the characters are well fleshed out, the romance has a nice slow build, and the ending is what you hope for. I will say the tension of when is the secret going to come out killed me, and the ending could seem rushed. But the revelations they get make sense when you actually attend their therapy appointments through out the book. I can’t say anymore with out spoilers…

Overall- yup, I liked it. Sold 4 out of 5 for me. If you read it, I suggest laughing at the start and smiling at the end.