4.5 stars!! I read this book as a digital ARC and it was so fun and sweet! I’m not a fan of hockey but this book made me feel (almost) excited about the game! Alec and Dani were so precious when they were lost in each other, but I wish they would’ve talked their past out to begin with. However, if I were an 18 year old I’d definitely hold multi-year grudges too 😅

RATING: 4.75

OMG OMG OMG I ABSOLUTELY LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!! I have been a lynn painter fan from the beginning and absolutely got transported back to her universe because of her distinctive writing style. first of all, I loved both of the characters. when reading a hockey romance, there tends to be standard tropes and I liked how they were done in this book, especially centralizing the other characters and creating a sort of found family for alec and dani's characters. I do think that the beginning of the book was a bit slow, but I'm glad it was there since it allowed for good introduction into their friendship and understanding more about where both of the characters came from. I also like how the ending didn't create distinctive answers to all the questions, and while it ultimately is the perfect lynn painter happy ending, we as readers can have more to think about in the end. ultimately, I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait for her next one :)

Fake Skating by Lynn Painter is probably the best book I've read in a while, it's dual-pov and I feel like we perfectly get an understanding of what's happening from both perspectives. normally in a dual-pov I typically prefer the MMC's pov but in this book I found myself looking forward to both Dani and Alec's chapters. it's does fake dating perfectly, although I wish we saw more fake dating between the two but nonetheless I loved it! it was written so perfectly to where I found myself wanting to read for hours on end, but it wasn't tiring or boring at any points. the ending was absolutely perfect!! I was screaming, crying and holding my breath up to the last sentence! while I wish we saw more of what came after the ending, the epilogue was still amazing!! I loved this book so much! Lynn Painter does not disappoint! especially when it comes to fake dating!!

This story grew on me, despite my mixed feelings on the characters. I really didn’t like Alec for the majority of the book. He’s overall an arrogant jerk. Even knowing his backstory and his own struggles, it doesn’t excuse some of the things he did to Dani that were downright mean, and he never apologized for any of it! He’s supposed to come off as charming but he just comes off as leery. Even with the excuse of “Zeus” being his facade, it’s not adding up.

As much as I disliked Alec, I loved Dani and grandpa Mick. The bonding moments between the two were very sweet even if their relationship was strained. And I mean, give me a grumpy old man and I’m happy. The hockey was neither here nor there for me, but the overall story was cute.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC!

I don't normally read YA romance anymore, but for some reason this one sounded interesting so I decided to give it a shot and I'm glad I did because I ended up really enjoying it. The characters were very sweet and likable while still having flaws that made sense for teenagers. The dynamic between the two main characters felt very realistic and enjoyable watching them banter and tease each other. The chemistry was palpable and it was very easy to be invested in their relationship. Also loved that it took place in Minnesota as someone born and raised there, the Midwest vibe was done right and it felt like it could've taken place a town away from where I grew up. I will say my only real gripe with this was how quickly the ending wrapped up and I wish they could've discussed the misunderstanding more at length instead of it being kind of brushed over to rush to a resolution. Other than that I had a good time reading this and definitely shed a few tears during the emotional family scenes. Will definitely have to try more of this author's work in the future. Thank you to NetGalley as always for the eARC!

Kicking my feet adorable! I can not believe I got this arc!! Thank you so much for the opportunity. I absolutely devoured this book! The banter was perfect. Childhood best friends to enemies to lovers? WITH FAKE DATING! Need I say more? Such a good one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of Fake Skating!

I love Lynn Painter and this book was no exception - devoured this, probably would have read it in one sitting if life would allow. This was so so cute, I adored all the different elements of Dani and Alec and tying in their backstory without being too childish. This was such a quick read and the split POV I think made it feel even cuter.

If you love a sports romance (YA) definitely pick this up, such a cute read!

Lynn Painter excels at crafting these adorable and addicting romcom reads and Fake Skating was no exception. It's dual POV, childhood friends to lovers with a second chance/fake dating romantic twist. The tropes are giving ALL the best vibes and I was definitely eating this up. But around 80% there was a shift with the antagonist, which left some details unclear or open ended. There were already some moments here and there I had some questions about, so this left me feeling like there were too many cooks in the kitchen when it came to that ending.

Also, I had no problem with the cussing involved, I think it's pretty accurate for how many people around me talked at this age, but I can see how that might be distracting for some.

Other than that, this was fun and cute!

Thank you so much to Simon Teen for my ARC!

3/5

I really loved this book by Lynn Painter. I loved the nostalgia that I felt while reading this book. It was such a heart-warming book and the characters are so sweet.

I loved this book! Lynn is magic and has her readers feeling giddy and happy right along with what's happening in the book. I think she does a great job of butterfly inducing banter and flirting along with sharing the emotional connection of characters. i love her adult books as well!

I really liked these characters. FL and her new friends felt like real people by the end. The "villains" were a little one note.
Of all of the third act breakups I have read, this felt like one of the more realistic.
When they started fake dating, his flirting gave me tingles. And their growth was a pleasure to read.
Her relationship with her grandfather was absolutely my favorite part. I picked up the book for the romance and kept reading for her relationship with him.

Lynn Painter will always be the queen of romances that make you squeal and kick your feet! I love her writing and this is no exception! Definitely check this one out if you loved Better than the Movies

Lynn Painter is known for her swoony male love interests and close to perfect romances. I was expecting to read one of those kinds of stories, and the dedication page made me believe that I was going to connect with this story. Sadly, I didn't connect with this story that well.

I felt bad for Dani, because her military father sucks and caused her to move around throughout her childhood. He's causing her to have all this turmoil while she's also dealing with the fact she's having to start over in a new place once again. When she had these emotional scenes, I felt bad for her, but it didn't move me. I found her bland, and I was not expecting that for a Lynn Painter female character.

I could have been reading in his voice wrong, but I just found him whiny. He was complaining a lot in the beginning of the story, and he also cursed on every single page. If you had a friend that cursed in every single sentence, you would be fed up with it. I also found him bland and didn't really feel anything towards him, which I'm shocked at because this is the same author who wrote Wes Bennett.

The romance to me was unconvincing. I feel like Dani and Alec had no emotional connection and that their physical attraction towards one another drove the romance plot. They didn't sit down and talk about the conflicts they had with each other years ago; the thing you would do when you were getting serious about someone. Iny my opinion, their relationship won't last long because of how dishonest Dani was to him and only came clean at the end.

Also, how do these teenage characters feel so comfortable cursing in front of their parents? I just found that a bit unrealistic and odd.

While I didn't enjoy Fake Skating as much as I thought I would, I believe other people would really like it. Others may be able to relate to Dani and Alec and find their romance to be perfect. For me, it just wasn't my kind story. Although I will say, I was still smiling at times so that means you should read this book!

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this arc!

Lynn Painter - you did it again! I have never met a Lynn book I didn't like. I probably looked silly the entire time I read this book because I had the dopiest smile on my face, but I don't care! Fake Skating was so great! LOVED the characters, setting, plot, dialogue, romance, tropes. I also loved the shout-out to God in acknowledgements. Thank you for writing a great romance book, plain and simple: staying true to your characters, and not adding in extras just to check a publishing box. Keep up the great work, and I can't wait to read the next one! Thank you for allowing me to read it early. I will definitely recommend this one and we have already purchased a copy for the library.

One of my favorite authors! All of her books bring me so much joy. Another great read from Lynn Painter

I really enjoyed this one! I think the chemistry between the characters was great and I enjoyed their cute moments!

The only thing that really bothered me was the amount of cussing in the first couple of chapters. It evened out eventually, but Alec’s first couple of POVs were full of the f word. Teenagers definitely curse, and normally it doesn’t bother me, but it was so frequent at the beginning of the book (multiple on one page and even in the same paragraph) that it was pretty distracting and kept taking me out of the book. It just felt jarring and unnatural, but it evened out eventually.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

MY FAVORITE READ OF THE YEAR. Lynn Painter absolutely outdid herself with this one, and I am not complaining.

This book had all of my beloved tropes like childhood best friends to lovers and fake dating (hence the title). Dani and Alec are now my favorite book couple everrrrrr. They have an insane amount of chemistry and the BANTER was chefs kiss 💋

Every character was so formulaic and realistic, it felt like I was a part of the story itself, watching from the sidelines. I finished this in one sitting and i’m already ready to re-read it again because why is it so perfect???

I’m so insanely grateful to have been gifted this arc and I can’t explain in words how much I loved this story. Lynn Painter, you’re my inspiration. Thank you to netgalley, Simonteen publishing, and Lynn Painter herself!

(I’m sending all my friends to buy Fake Skating when it releases)

Going into this book I had no idea that Dani was a military brat.

My dad was in the US Army for over 20 years before retiring out while I was in high school. I spent my entire childhood moving around; Washtington, Japan, California, Texas, Kansas, Washington (again), Guam, Ohio, and South Carolina. Including college, I have attended 12 different schools, including 3 different high schools. 4th grade was the first time I was not the new kid in school and 8th grade was the second time.

I have always struggled with friendships. I think it can really mess with a child/young adult going into friendships knowing that they have expiration dates. I was always incredibly jealous of the people who didn't have to uproot their lives every year, jealous of the people who had long term friendships and memories. I struggled with mean girls, bullies, and making friends in general. The first day of every new school year was always filled with so much anxiety. I always found myself hoping that teachers would do the awkward icebreakers, just so that I could familiarize myself with my new classmates sooner (familiarity helped my anxiety). The second high school I went to, I truly contemplated spending lunches in the bathroom, unfortunately the library was not an option for me.

My grandparents openly dislike my dad because he “took my mom away from them” and I have never had a relationship with them. They chose not to be a part of my life and I do not plan on inviting them to my future wedding…

I say all of this information about me to say that I have never felt more seen by a main character than I have with Dani. Dani is me and I am Dani.

I think that this book helped show me that my childhood, while it was the only childhood I know, was not normal and that it still affects me to this day. I cried twice while reading about Dani's first few days at her new school- it brought up all of the old emotions I used to feel at a new school.

Seeing Mick try to build their relationship really hit home for me. I wish my grandparents cared enough to put in an effort, ever. So, seeing Mick try was very cathartic for me. Also the friendships Dani made her senior year was so nice to see. My senior year of high school I was in a group of friends and had thought these would be my friends going into college since I was going in state (Clemson), I ended up getting in an argument with one of the girls, and everyone dropped me without a second thought. Nobody ever asked for my side of the story. None of them would speak or even look at me- and cherry on top was my birthday was the next day. Cassidy, Lillie, and Liz outright saying that Danni was their friend regardless that they were friends with Alec first was also very cathartic for me.

I loved Alec as a character. His personal struggles and growth added to the story perfectly. The chemistry between Dani and Alec was palpable. The flirting was perfect. Their shared history was so heartwarming and heartbreaking. I loved everything about their relationship. I found myself rooting for them throughout the entire book.

My only complaint is the nickname Zeus. I wish there had at least been a conversation where the nickname was explained. It probably came from him “playing like a god” or something, but I wish that had been explicitly addressed- even better if it was Dani teasing him for the nickname.

Overall, I loved this book. Definetly my new favorite Lynn Painter book. I'm going to refine my goodreads/social review to be less personal, but I did want to share that here to help describe how much of myself I saw in Dani. A perfect YA rom com!

I’ve read a few Lynn Painter books and loved them all, so I went into Fake Skating with high expectations and it delivered. The story had me hooked from the very beginning. Dani and Alec’s chemistry was off the charts, and that first kiss? Intense. I loved getting both of their POVs, especially seeing how hard Alec was falling for her even when he tried to fight it.

There’s a lot going on in this book family secrets, complicated emotions, and a fake dating setup that slowly turns into something real. Dani’s relationship with her dad was frustrating but added depth to her story, and watching her finally stand up for herself was so satisfying. Alec was such a great love interest, sweet, protective, and clearly head over heels.

The romance was full of tension and heart, and there were so many scenes that made me smile, swoon, or tear up a little. The writing was sharp, funny, and emotional in all the best ways. And the ending? Absolutely perfect.

If you’re a Lynn Painter fan or just love a good YA romance with humor and heart, Fake Skating is a must read. I couldn’t put it down.

This was a cute read! It definitely felt very YA, which I know was the point. I thought the characters were cute. The story felt a little rushed. But overall, I enjoyed it!