I LOVE LYNN PAINTER I LOVE HOCKEY I LOVE ALEC I LOVE TAYLOR SWIFT I LOVE NETGALLEY FOR THE ARC!!!! Review also on goodreads:

This was such an interesting story and I loved the enemies to friends to fake dating to lovers aspect of the story! Would highly recommend if you enjoy fake dating and sports romance tropes!

Alec and Dani are ex childhood best friends. Alec is basically a high school hockey God and Dani has just moved to town after being away for years. They both think their friendship ended due to different reasons. After being caught in a compromising position, they end up fake dating...which as we all know typically comes with some real feelings intertwined. This book has fake dating, hockey, childhood friends, and he falls first. What more could you even ask for? Lynn Painter has proved, once again, why she is an auto buy author for me. I have loved everything I have read buy her and cannot wait to continue reading her work.

4.5 for this adorable, feet-kicking, fake dating, dual POV young adult novel. Lynn Painter is at her best with YA characters and this was no exception. Alec and Dani were best friends, spending every small town summer together through seventh grade. When Dani stops coming for summer visits, their communication eventually stops. Now Dani moves to town to finish her senior year and Alec has evolved into a hockey star and things between them aren’t what they used to be. As a means for them to both get something they want, a fake dating plan is hatched and then all the cuteness starts in earnest.

These characters are fun and funny, their chemistry is swoon-y, and you can’t help but cheer for them to make the relationship real. The side characters, particularly Grandpa Mick and Big John, really give the book heart. Alec and Dani both have some big issues to work through and, while their relationship is the star of the book, their personal issues are given the attention needed to make their characters real. They also act like teenagers and do small town teenager things which I love to see in a YA.

Considering there is nothing more than kissing and a bit of making out (which I love since it’s YA and not everything has to center around sex), it’s not spicy, but you could call is spicy adjacent? Painter knows how to write an urgent kiss and teenage longing! There’s also a lot of cursing. For me to notice, it’s definitely more than average so be aware if that’s something that bothers you.

And now I want to watch a hockey game!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc.

I love a fake dating trope, and this one did not disappoint. However, I do not like the miscommunication trope, and I thought there was far too much language.
Overall, a great YA romance book.

Thank you to NetGalley and SimonandSchuster for an advanced reader copy of this soon to be published YA book by Lynn Painter! Me and my daughter (13YO) both really enjoyed this book.

The story follows Alec and Dani - the son and daughter of mothers who were best friends growing up in the same town where Alec currently resides. Dani and her mother spent every summer there, where Alec and Dani were totally inseparable. During the school year, they kept in touch with letters and postcards. Dani’s father was a colonel and so she was constantly moved from school to school growing up, wherever his assignments took him. In her last year of high school, her parents split - and Dani and her mom moved back to the hometown, and back to Alec. She hadn’t seen or heard from him in years after a miscommunication left them both thinking they had been ghosted by the other despite the close friendship formed after so many summers spent together.

They find themselves in a tricky situation at school, that threatens to put Alec’s hockey career on the line - and form an alliance with a fake dating scenario to help them out of it. But alas, real feelings are formed (or really, reignited) making for a totally fun, witty romcom that’s suitable for all ages.

Loved the character development in this story as well as Dani’s own personal growth. The book is multi layered and there are many lessons to be learned throughout! Truly enjoyable!

Oh my goodness. Just amazing. I’ve read every Lynn Painter book and they never fail to impress me. This story was so special and sweet to me. From start to finish, I was so captivated and in love with all the characters. Such a job well done!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

I adore Lynn Painter's books (and so do my students), so I was of course thrilled to read Fake Skating early. This was such a fun, cute, and sweet story. Dani and Alec were childhood best friends who drift apart (a misunderstanding of course) but are reconnected when Dani moves back to her mom's hometown in Minnesota. Alec is now the town hockey star and neither are thrilled to see the other, until of course it becomes convenient to pretend to date. I thought their relationship was cute and I loved Dani's grandpa so much! This story really has a lovely cast of characters and I think will be a book than teen readers love! I will definitely be adding a copy to my classroom library!

Fake Skating was a cozy, short, and sweet lil romcom that had all the ingredients to be a fun read—but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. I’m a big fan of Lynn Painter and usually love her writing style, which is why I really wanted to give this one a shot.

That said, I think this might be more of a me problem than the book itself. I’ve realized I’m probably not as into the YA genre as I used to be, and that definitely colored my experience. The miscommunication trope here was a major struggle—it dragged on and made it really hard for me to stay engaged. I found myself bored and unable to connect with the romance or root for the characters, who honestly felt pretty insufferable at times.

I know this story will hit the mark for readers who love light, fluffy YA romance, but sadly, I wasn’t one of them. Just not my cup of tea.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!!

Lynn Painter really hit it out of the park with this one! (Or the puck out of the rink?). I think it wrapped up a little too quickly at the end, but otherwise a fantastic YA rom-com. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

There's something that's purely magic about Lynn Painter's YA romcoms.

Alec and Dani were childhood best friends that fell apart but find themselves in a fake dating situation when Dani moves back to town. As much as they try to tell themselves not to get attached to the other, they can't help but be absolutely obsessed. Also, no 18 year old should have as much game as Alex Barczewski.

I will say I'm not someone who hates the miscommunication trope but this one was particularly frustrating.

I absolutely love Lynn Painter’s adult romances but her YA books are just not for me I think. The first half of this book was frustrating to read because the two characters just needed to TALK to each other but they DIDNT 😣 and then it picked up halfway through and I was enjoying myself until the conflict (just so dumb). There were some cute parts but it felt very similar to ‘better than the movies’ but with song lyrics instead of movie references.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I read this during the summer so maybe vibes were off with the snow since my mind is in the summer beach, I loved the trope and how everything splayed out

This was high school angst at its finest! I love Dani and the portrayal of her anxiety in social settings and how calming and supportive Alec was. Speaking of Alec, where were guys like that when I was in high school ugh! I can only hope they exist in the world today and will strive to raise my son to be this way. I love how Lynn Painter writes characters and makes me wish I could speak to them in the real world. I also really appreciated the military family aspect.

Incredible. I’ve read all of Lynn Painter’s young adult romances and I’ve loved her books for years now and this book is definitely one of my favorites.
This book follows Dani and Alec, two childhood friends who were separated. After not seeing each other for years feelings come to the surface when Dani moves back to town and is going to school with Alec. To help with his hockey reputation Alec and Dani to decide to fake date, but they learn that this only brings more old feelings to surface.
It truly has everything you could want in a romance book. I loved the characters and it had some of my favorite tropes. It’s definitely a must read for 2025!

Loved this!

This was my second read from this author and I cannot wait to read more!! This had all the right tropes and I love a good rom com! This was so cute and sweet and fun!

Highly recommend! Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I absolutely LOVED this book, Lynn Painter never fails! Fake Skating had such a perfect blend of so many tropes I love, and Alec and Dani’s storyline was so well written - I truly couldn’t put it down! Lynn Painter is the QUEEN of rom coms! I am already counting down the days until I can buy a physical copy.

No I’m actually 100% not interested in living in a world where there’s no Zeus and Dani!! Need there ro be a sequel!! Might be my best feel good book of the year.

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH IT PHYSICALLY PAINS MEEEE OH MY GOD 😭

GAH i am so beyond happy that i loved this one from start to finish, i was a little nervous as ive had some not so good luck with lynn’s NA books but couldnt stay away from this one as i binge the hell out of all of her YA stuff. this read was no different, every spare moment i had since opening it yesterday i spent reading this!

dani & alec had me hooked from the very start, i was intrigued by their past and what happened to them because there was clear miscommunication. i kind of guessed the whole time the reason for the letters stopping and ended up being right which i hated because honestly fuck that person. i even ended up not minding the third act break up because the way they came back together was SO fucking adorable.

as a total grandpas girl i loved every little bit of dani & mick we got in this book. it was so sweet to see how hard he was trying to reconnect to his granddaughter, he honestly reminded me of whitey from OTH lolol so grumpy but so beloved by everyone while also being a total teddy bear.

i veryyyy much enjoyed that there was no mean girl drama in this, i was a little concerned with it in the beginning but i absolutely loved getting to see dani form so many sweet friendships with no drama given how hard it was for her <3

over all this is YA in its best form, its cute and sweet, theres enough drama but not too much to where it feel TOO childish and who doesnt love a cute popular jock/bookworm second chance romance 🤭

This was a super cute YA read! I have become a big fan of anything by Lynn Painter and this one didn't disappoint.

The story finds two former childhood friends- Dani and Alec- who were inseparable as kids, reconnect after years apart when Dani moved away due to her dad's military career. But even after Dani moved away, they vowed to each other to keep in touch via letters and their secret coded messages. But somehow the letters stop due to no fault of their own, leaving both feelings ghosted and deeply hurt by one another.

Then Dani's parents divorce and she moves back to live with her mom and grandfather in the same town as Alec, meaning they will be seeing each other again as they navigate their senior year of high school together. But they aren't the same kids as they once were. Alec is now a big hockey star at the school and Dani is more reserved than she once was, having not navigated all the moves in her past well as a military kid.

When they finally come face to face, they realize those hurt feelings run deep. They try to avoid one another, but a situation forces them to 'pretend' to be dating. Can they regain the friendship they both lost? Who are they now? What are their true feelings towards one another?

This is a delightful story that unfolds- with a little hockey excitement thrown into the mix!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.