I absolutely LOVED this book and am so grateful to NetGalley and Lynn Painter for the chance to get an ARC! I have always been a huge fan of Lynn Painter and Fake Skating continues to be one of my favorites from her. 😭 It was so sweet and felt very relatable in terms of her grumpy grandfather (who softened for Dani, as he should). It was also so sweet to see Dani's mom come back alive while being in her hometown. Ugh, I love Dani and Alec sm!!

"Fake Skating" is about two kids who were close summer friends; Dani and her mom would come to town every summer to visit family and Alec is the guy who she palled around with. Now Dani is moving to town and they're seniors in high school. They are instantly drawn to each other. Alec is a high school hockey star and Dani aspires to go to Harvard and is dealing with the fallout from her parents' divorce. They're kind of sorta opposites with undeniable chemistry.

I loved it. Like any Lynn Painter book, the tension is palpable and the characters all feel super real. I was rooting so hard for everyone! Painter has a way of making every place seem fun, even early spring Minnesota. I would highly recommend this book to any fan of Painter's other work and to anyone who likes romantic comedies.

I truly do not enjoy young adult books anymore unless they’re written by Lynn Painter. She takes these high school issues that aren’t relatable to me anymore and makes them so enjoyable to read. Fake Skating was no exception!

I loved Dani and Alec, they were both so likable and had amazing chemistry you could feel through the pages. My favorite character, though, was Mick - Dani’s grandpa. He was a classic grumpy old man who had a sweet spot for his daughter and granddaughter, and he was absolutely NO nonsense 😂

Much of the story’s plot and conflict was driven by miscommunication, which I honestly cannot stand. As much as I dislike it, it is a *me* problem, and it makes sense with the age of the characters. So I’ll allow it!

Dani’s dad infuriated me and the drama revolving around him made me want to throat punch him. But I also loved seeing Dani’s mom bloom and thrive after returning to her hometown, surrounded by people who love her. Such an interesting family dynamic to read about.

I loved this book, but it comes as no surprise since I loved everything Lynn Painter has written! Highly recommend as long as you like YA books!

Read if you like:
🩵 Small towns
⛸️ Young adult books
🩵 Fake dating
⛸️ Hockey romance
🩵 Miscommunication

I was SOO excited for this book and it did NOT disappoint. Everything from the setting, characters, storyline and chemistry was perfect. I felt connected to the characters and their relationship. I love a well done fake dating trope and this did just that! Lynn Painter always had 5 ⭐️ books and i’m excited to see what’s next!

Lynn Painter is always an auto-read for me because her books are always amazing, and I think this one has taken the spot of my absolute favorite of hers! It was spectacular from start to finish! I loved the evolution of the relationship between Alec and Dani, and the ending was wonderful! Highly recommend!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

this was adorable and such a quick read! alec & dani’s relationship from childhood friends to enemies to lovers was written so well and by the end of the book i was rooting for their happy ending. a perfect read for anyone looking for a cutesy ya romance!

thank you netgalley and simon and schuster children's publishing for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

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.