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*The Game Changer* by Lana Ferguson is an engaging and fresh take on the sports romance genre, delivering both heart and humor in equal measure. Ferguson’s writing is sharp and witty, making it easy to become invested in the story from the very first page.

The main characters are well-developed and relatable, each navigating their own challenges while trying to balance love and ambition. The chemistry between them is electric, and their banter is both fun and authentic, bringing a delightful spark to the narrative. Ferguson excels at capturing the ups and downs of their relationship, making readers root for their happily ever after.

The pacing is brisk, with plenty of twists and turns that keep the plot lively. While some secondary characters could have used more depth, the primary storyline remains strong and compelling throughout. The themes of teamwork, perseverance, and personal growth add layers to the romance, making it a well-rounded read.

Overall, *The Game Changer* is a charming and enjoyable novel that will resonate with fans of sports romance and contemporary fiction alike. It’s a perfect pick for those looking for a lighthearted yet meaningful escape. I can’t wait to see what Ferguson has in store next!

Well, I am a SUCKER for hockey romances so I knew I was going to love this one.

Read if you are a fan of:
spark and banter
spice
brother's best friend
fake dating
friends to lovers (my fave!!!)

and if you are sick of those third act breakups, have no fear!

This is a good book. The two main characters are Delilah and Ian. They have known each other for all their lives. Ian is Delilah’s brother best friend. Delilah is a baker on a tv cooking show. Ian plays professional hockey. Ian has just recently moved back to his hometown. There is an attraction. Delilah’s boss wants to raise her viewership, she ask Delilah to star with Ian on her cooking show. She says ok if Ian is ok with it. Ian says ok. It is the most watched episode. They start fake dating. They fall in love.

The Game Changer
Rating: 5/5
Finally!!! An amazing book with no miscommunication or third act break-up. Lana Ferguson has such great books that hook you in so quickly. I really loved the tropes of this one and it's a perfect fall read.
Tropes:
–Brother's BFF
–Fake Dating
–Childhood Friends to Lovers
–Hockey Romance
–Celebrity Romance

Huge thank you @berkleypub and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

How I loved this couple! Ian needs to clean up his public image and he never expected to do it with the help of his best friend’s younger sister. Delilah needs to get more attention for her baking show and Ian can help with that. While they help each other’s careers they fall for each other along the way and it’s so enjoyable!

I’ve apparently been in my hockey romance era lately, and I’m not mad at it. Found myself continuing the theme with The Game Changer by Lana Ferguson.

We follow Lila and Ian - who are childhood friends-ish, more so, he’s her older brother’s best friend and always has been. But now, she’s the baker that’s stealing the city’s heart with her baking show, and he’s the bad boy with a reputation that needs to be repaired who’s back on their hometown hockey team. To help both of their images, and her rankings, their PR managers have them spending a lot of time together for appearances and just short of fake dating (since they legally couldn’t make them fake date apparently). AND WE KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT FAKE DATINGGGGG, SWOOOOOOON.

This was absolutely adorable, and seeing how they fall back into their friendship after years of going without made my heart smile. And the protective guy bit - absolutely heart warming. I truly didn’t know I needed this in my life.

Lana is so hit or miss for me.
I really wanted to LOVE this, but I only ended up liking it.
I think I needed more character depth. But it was a fun and quick read.
And worth it if you like Lana's writing!

The Game Changer by Lana Ferguson is a delightful blend of romance and sports that captures the essence of second chances. The story revolves around Ian Chase, a hockey player navigating a public divorce, and Delilah Baker, his best friend’s little sister and a baking show host. Their fake relationship, designed to revive both of their careers, quickly blurs the lines into real feelings, enhanced by witty banter and a rich emotional connection. The vibrant cast of supporting characters adds an extra layer of charm, making this book a compelling read that’s both spicy and heartfelt​.

Thank you to @berkleypub for the eARC! This was a sweet and spicy childhood friends/brother’s best friend romance (with some spice)!

I enjoyed all of the characters but would have loved to see them explored even deeper, it felt like we didn’t get enough of the side characters and they were so fun - especially Ian and Abby’s relationship, that felt so integral to the plot. Delilah and Ian had great chemistry and this was a fun, well-paced romance read!

This book is so fun!! I didn’t love it as much as I loved the fake mate but I love hockey romances and brother’s best friend romances so this delivered on all of those fronts

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This book was so good! I absolutely loved the romance, I thought the chemistry between Delilah and Ian was greta and believable. I also love how even though Delilah fell first, Ian definitely fell harder. Their romance felt cozy and safe, but the spicy scenes were HOT. I also loved the side characters, Jack was definitly my favorite and I hope we get his story in the future!

Really enjoyed this one! I requested it after reading The Fake Mate also by this author and it was so much fun! I love a good hockey romance and it was so fun to see the dynamic between Ian and Delilah! And the spice was spicing!!

Oh this book was so cute. I loved reading it. I felt more connected to the female character because she shares the same interests as me, so it was very cool to have a main character pursuing a career I was interested in. I think the author did a good job of mixing plot and romance, it wasn't one of those books where I felt it was too much romance and not enough plot, or vice versa. One thing that threw me off a little bit was in the beginning when he called her "kid". Now I understand why, he hadn't seen her in a while and that was all he knew her as, but after him seeing her for the first time I was hoping it would stop, especially because he was talking about how mature she had gotten. I was able to move past it and finish the book, I did really like book as a whole.

The Game Changer was such a fun, spicy read! Ian and Delilah have this natural chemistry that makes their fake relationship feel like it was always meant to be something more. I loved the mix of sports and baking—it added a unique layer to the story, especially with Delilah's sweet charm as a baker.

The whole “best friend’s little sister” trope always gets me, and the author handled it with humor and heat. I found some of the plot predictable, but honestly, that didn’t stop me from enjoying every moment. The banter between Ian and Delilah felt real, and watching their relationship shift from a PR stunt to something genuine was satisfying.

If you’re into a slow-burn romance with great tension, some laugh-out-loud moments, and plenty of swoon-worthy scenes, The Game Changer is definitely worth a read!

The Game Changer is a cute hockey romance, where he needs to fix his reputation and does that by fake-dating his brother's best friend, who also needs a rating boost for her baking show. Ian and Delilah were a very cute couple and I really enjoyed wathing there story play out. I look forward to maybe getting a book about some of the side characters in this one.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

I've enjoyed every book Lana put out., they always hit. The was cute fun, and spicy it me kick my feet and swooning

5 ✨

Another book read by my favorite and her books just keeps getting better and better. This time around Lana wrote a hockey romance where a hockey player and a baker fake dates. It’s also brother’s best friend/teammate and I could not get enough of Delilah and Ian!!!

This is Lana’s first attempt at writing a sports/hockey romance and boy she did good if you ask me. You wouldn’t know it’s her first try because of how well rounded and fantastic it is. Lila and Ian share such a deep and meaningful bond and that comes perfectly out on paper in this book. Ian was actually Delilah’s first crush/love and lost all hope of ever getting together with him when he got married and moved away. But then 6 years later he’s divorced and ready to come back to the hockey team that helped put him on the map. But Lila’s cooking show is on the rocks and Ian has a bad reputation because of some dumb rumors. So the people behind him decide they need to spend time together in the public aka fake date to help them out both with their problems.

It’s fun, flirty, rom-comy and filled with so much heart. It’s definitely has its softer and emotional parts but that’s why it’s so well balanced. You get a lot of great spice but also those emotional parts that make a romance so good for me personally. I wouldn’t wanna read a book that doesn’t make me feel all sorts of emotions and The Game Changer definitely does just that. Lana just has a way with words and I wouldn’t know what I would have done if I haven’t discovered The Nanny way back when. Everything she writes is just top tier but in each their own way. She definitely doesn’t do much use of repetition in her books in that way that every one of her books is so different from each other and I love that.

🧁 What to expect:
— hockey romance
— baker x hockey player
— brother’s best friend (teammate)
— fake dating
— she calls him cupcake
— friends to lovers
— slow burn
— no third act breakup

This book was SO cute! The storyline was beautiful and the childhood friends to fake romance to falling in love? So cute! And the spice?! SO good! I loved the character development and the way the storyline included SO much but it wasn’t overwhelming! Would ABSOLUTELY recommend!

What a quick, cute and fun read! Loved all the characters, the plot and the baking! Spice level was just right and I found myself giggling nad blushing! Solid read from one of my auto read authors!