4.75★

dear god, i’m smiling like an idiot.

i’m such a huge sucker for lynn painter boys, it’s not even funny. alec gave me heavyyyyy wes bennett vibes and i loved every second of it. the banter between him and dani threw me back into better than the movies.

once again, it’s very low stakes, but sooo addicting. there’s childhood friends to lovers, fake dating, found family. so many swoon worthy tropes in this and to top it off, it’s hockey… 👀

that being said, i do wish there was just a little bit more at the end discussing the whole postcard fiasco and ‘the spot’. it did end sort of abruptly, but that doesn’t eliminate the fact that i fell in love with this book and these characters. if i could be lucky enough to get a sequel… 🫣

and a special shoutout to grandpa mick 🥹

I read this in one day because I couldn’t put it down!! Lynn Painter books have that magical quality that makes you want to keep reading!

I think what makes this story is the characters, and I think their backgrounds are some many people will resonate with.

Dani comes from a military family and has switched schools often. Because of this, she has become shy, reserved, socially anxious, and prone to panic attacks. I’m not from a military family or moved a lot, but I am shy and socially anxious. For me, I think the story handled this really well, and it felt easily relatable to.

Alec is also struggling with pressure to do well in hockey so he can hopefully go to the NHL and help his family. I didn’t play sports, but I think a lot of athletes will be able to relate to his story. He does start off as a jerk, but as the story progresses you can tell he really cares about Dani. He does sometimes give Wes Bennett vibes!

My favorite characters are the side characters!! I love how Cassie, Lillie, and Liz become true friends to Dani. Even though they were Alec’s friends first, they are constantly there for Dani and help her when she is struggling. I’m so glad that Dani found some great friends! I also really love Grandpa Mick and how he tried to work through his issues with Dani to be able to support her!

There are two reasons why this was not five stars for me.

First, I felt like the pacing was off sometimes. The beginning felt slow, and it took me about 100 pages to get into it. Mostly, I thought several things were rushed or unresolved. I didn’t feel like Dani and Alec really talked about their issues and instead just continued dating.

The second is I didn’t really feel the fake dating. Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, but I felt like I wanted more in this story. While individually I knew Dani and Alec loved each other, when they were together I thought their chemistry was lacking. I just wish they had gone on more individual dates and talk about their issues.

Overall, this was a fun and cute YA romance! It does have a Better than the Movies feel and some references to BTTM, so if you’re a fan then you will probably enjoy this!

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

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love a Lynn Painter book so when I got approved for early access to this one, I dove right into it! It was an easy, fun and fast-paced YA book. For anyone picking this one to read, it's definitely a good idea to keep in mind that these characters are in high school and some of their thoughts can lean more on the immature side.

Fake dating / hockey romance, between scorned childhood friends dealing with unresolved feelings is the plot for this book and it doesn't disappoint. I loved reading about the characters, the setting and the storyline, however, I can't give it five stars because I do wish there was a bit more when it came to the final resolution of Alec and Dani's feelings. There's a lot happening towards the end of the book and I think it would've felt more complete if Alec and Dani had talked more about their miscommunication(s) from their past. Especially more so from Alec's side, considering how betrayed he felt from his point of view. I think I was waiting for a more explosive scene regarding this in particular toward the end of the book and it didn't hit as hard as I would've liked.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed reading this book and got through it pretty quickly as well. The romance is clean and has it sweet high-school moments portrayed very well. The chemistry is great between the main characters but there could have been some tidying up on bits of the story where more depth could've been added to several chapters (especially with some of the background characters who I think could've played a bigger role in the progression of this story).

3.5/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and Lynn Painter for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

I could not wait to get my hands on this book when I realized this was a sports romance! I’m a huge Lynn Painter fan so I knew she would not disappoint.

This book truly transports you back into high school and what it feels like to grow up & have the pressure of “what’s next” on your shoulders. It also captured what it’s like to deal with social anxiety, family changes/struggles, and moving to a new place. While I loved the rekindling of the relationship between Dani and Alec as they went through “fake” dating. I also loved the friend group that surrounded them. Each character brought something different to the group and I felt like they added to the realness of the high school dynamic. Outside of the friend group, I loved being able to watch the relationship between Grandpa Mick & Dani blossom into something beautiful.

I will say there is a bit of miscommunication that happens between Alec/Dani which is frustrating as a reader. However, knowing this is taking place senior year of High School, it is somewhat believable. It still did not take away from all the swooning and banter that they had throughout. Maybe I missed it, but I would love to know where the nickname “Zeus” came from?

You will enjoy this book if you like - childhood friends to lovers, hockey, dual POV, fake dating, and postcard writing (in their own secret code 🫠).

If you like other Lynn Painter books, you will not want to miss this one! I caught a couple of nods to BTTMs too which was fun.

5/5 stars ⭐️

To me, Lynn Painter can do no wrong, with both her adult and YA romances, and this book is no exception! I adore how she writes banter, how she perfectly balances emotional beats and great humor, and how she builds a world around the two leads, full of realistic family dynamics and charming side characters.

Dani and Alec had great chemistry, tension, and a complex history, and even though I don't always like miscommunication, I didn't mind it too much once their relationship started developing. This book was an intersection of a bunch of my favorite plot points: sports, second chance romance, and fake dating. I will be adding this to my Lynn Painter collection upon release; thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lynn’s books always make me feel cozy. Like I’m watching an early 2000s movie. It’s why she’s one of my favorite authors!

I loved this story. A boy and a girl who were friends as kids and something happened to break them apart. Both of them blaming the other person. While the story was good and I loved the “fake skating” I will say the relationship felt a little quick. Maybe that’s just my preference. I like more banter and an “enemies” feeling before they get together. I’m also not a fan of a miscommunication/one person doing something bad to the other person in order to “protect them”. In this case I will say it ended up making more sense, and working out. I did roll my eyes when it happed at first though.

I really loved reading about Dani’s relationship with her grandfather. Their little moments made me emotional.

All in all I’d say it’s a 4 star! I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good YA book and who love Lynn Painter! I will continue to read any book she puts out! I’m very grateful to have received an arc!

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.