Dani has just moved to Minnesota for the second half of her senior year after her parents' divorce. Hoping to reconnect with her childhood friend Alec, Dani is disappointed to find that her sweet goofy guy friend is now Zeus - the star hockey player in a school where hockey rules and hockey stars are king. Zeus is expected to help the school win it's first ever hockey state championship and then start his career by going to the junior league - only he is struggling due to a poor decision that ends up splashed all over social media. So when a locker room mishap leads his coaches to think he's now dating "good girl" Dani, it's in his best interest to keep the ruse going. Meanwhile, Dani has her own issues with her application to Harvard deferred - they think she needs more varied extra-curriculars - so her new friends lobby for her to be a manager for the hockey team. And her dad is making her life difficult by trying to get her to come live with him. Luckily, they both have Mitch - hockey legend and Dani's grandfather - on their side.

I've long said that Lynn Painter should stick to YA because that is where her writing really shines and "Fake Skating" is no outlier. There were some plot things I think could have been done better (moving for second semester of senior year?!), but overall this was a charming tale of two childhood friends who find their connection to be something more. The banter was sharp and age-appropriate, the side characters added nice touches, and I even enjoyed the miscommunication and resulting misunderstanding in this one because it was so believable.

Overall: 4.5/5 rounded up
Spice: 0.5/3

3.5/5

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc! The voices in this book feel a little young for me - it feels a little leaning more towards middle grade than young adult. The story was very cute! I love the little postcards that they were sending back and forth, but I wished the author maybe could have incorporated that a little more into the story itself. If I were 12, I think I would have really enjoyed this read

Are you kidding me!!! Lynn Painter has done it again!! I giggled my way through this book and relieved teenage years as a 34 yr old woman. Could've done with a few less F words (my only critique). Bravo!

This deserves all the stars!! Six-star read for sure ⭐️ Nobody does YA romance like Lynn Painter! I’ve been waiting for this since October with the highest expectations, and it still somehow exceeded them 🤯💖 I loved everything about this book — childhood friends to lovers, fake dating, Dani & Alec (total Lara Jean & Peter vibes 💌), small town hockey (Beartown energy 🏒), and all the first love feels 🥹 I seriously couldn’t put it down — it was just too good!!

The thing about Lynn Painter is she can take a standard trope that is predictable and still make it enjoyable as hell to read.
This was nothing surprising but it was nostalgic, funny, and heartwarming.
I absolutely loved the Midwest humor in this book as someone from Minnesota she nailed the vibe of 'everyone knows everyone here'. I will say I REJECT the usage of casserole as any true Minnesotan would use the correct verbiage of Hotdish. Its a niche thing here and reading casserole hurt my soul a little bit.
Alec is the hockey god of his school with an attitude to match but is that really his true self or is the boy Dani knew still hiding under the surface. As these two rediscover each other they learn about who they used to be and who they are now. It was a cute journey that I enjoyed and would absolutely recommend to anyone who enjoys teenage romance.
The few issues I had with this story in particular; it is based largely around miscommunication, which isn't for everyone. I also really wished Dani's backstory would have been as compelling and emotional as Alec's. I feel that we kept being told about Dani and how her past had changed her but we never really got deeper into her emotional journey.
This book also uses an extensive amount of profanity which, fair. Everyone in the Midwest does swear like sailors but it was a bit much at times and I wished it would have been toned back just a touch.

Overall this is an easy quick read and would make for a fantastic palate cleanser book.
Thank you Simon and Schuster for this advanced reader copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was super fun! Lynn Painter is a phenomenal writer and she makes you feel connected to all of her characters. I read better than the movies and Nothing like the movies (which I loved ❤️❤️) before reading this book and while I don’t think Alec can beat Wes Bennet, he was still a love interest that I was rooting for. Dani took me a little bit to warm up to unlike Liz who I liked much faster than Dani. I really enjoyed the sports aspect of the book and I wish it was even more prevalent and we got to see more of the games. Overall I had a great time and stayed up for hours to finish reading it.

AHHHHHHHH! I loved this book so much!

If you, like me, watched Gilmore Girls as a hopeless #TeamDean romantic, Fake Skating feels almost like an alternate universe where Rory and Dean meet as littles and become best friends. Dani, the bookish Harvard-bound Rory-type, and Alec AKA "Zeus," the mooselike hockey star, Dean Forester.

And maybe because I'm a military brat myself, but Dani's pain from being forced to move every few years and start over (coupled with her social anxiety) resonated so deeply with me. Seventeen-year-old Sandra felt seen!

Fake Skating had everything I love in a YA romcom: lovable friends and grandparents, complex parent dynamics, hilarious banter, a ridiculously tall boy who is an absolute squish over his girl, and a wonderful dash of that early 2000s nostalgia kind of vibe.

Such a cute story!

"I am not a Southview girl, I thought. I am a nowhere girl. But a tiny part of me wished I were a Southview girl."

"I was always jealous, at a base level, of people who'd lived in the same place their entire lives and didn't have to move every few years..."

Another wonderful book from Lynn Painter. I truly believe this might be the best one yet… Keep em coming!

This was such a fun, fluffy read that gave me total romcom movie vibes. I mean, fake dating and figure skating? Say less. The chemistry between the leads was adorable, and the banter had me smiling the whole time. It hit all the classic tropes in the best way, without feeling too cheesy. I will say, some parts were a little predictable, but honestly that’s kind of what I wanted from it. If you’re into light, feel-good romance with swoony moments and just the right amount of drama, this is one of those books that feels like a warm hug.

I absolutely loved Alec and Dani’s dynamic! I flew through this book. The childhood sweethearts to fake dating was amazing! The cozy small town setting was cute and the romance was adorable. Highly recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s for the arc of this book.

I love things all Lynn Painter! Now she comes out with fake dating and hockey romance! DOUBLE LOVE! This was so cute and honestly really hard to stop reading. This was a sweet, fun YA romance with a cozy setting, a strong female lead, and a heartwarming love story. Once it hit its stride, I was hooked Dani and Alec’s dynamic gave me exactly the swoony, childhood sweethearts to fake dating to real feelings vibe I wanted. I really tried to view it through the eyes of a high schooler, because it felt a little too young for my late-30s self. But I would have loved this as a teenager. I know it would have been a favorite I reread often. I loved the setting, and the supporting characters were great. The miscommunication trope is always frustrating, but it felt fitting, seventeen-year-olds are notoriously terrible communicators.

I rated this novel four stars. It was so close to five stars, but I did have to knock it down one star due to (what I believe) is lack of research with hockey. I'm a big hockey fan and live in the Midwest. So this book was going to hit home for me, and it did, but there were a lot of hockey rules that she seemed to break in this book which made it lose the reality of this. Other than that, great read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Publishing for allowing us the advanced reader copy of this hockey romance.

This book is everything I want from a Lynn Painter novel! Humor, lovable characters, and a swoon worthy romance. The fake dating trope was sooo well done, I loved how obsessed they were with each other hehe.

Right within the first few chapters, I knew I would love this book. This is a hockey romance with fake dating and friends-to-lovers themes. Right from the beginning of the book, I felt an amazing connection and chemistry between our two main characters. I definitely saw a lot of myself in Dani, as I also moved a lot growing up. I loved that after all the years, our characters still cared for each other. I also felt an instant click between them. I loved this book so much. I can’t stop thinking about it.Dani and Alec will forever have my heart!

This was so cute!! I love a second chance childhood friends to lovers! Lynn Painter’s books always give off the perfect romcom vibes. I really enjoyed Dani’s character and I could relate to her struggle with social anxiety after having to move around with her family so much. I loved seeing her get her confidence back and form strong relationships with her family and new friends. The little found family that progressed and formed by the end was so cute! Dani and Alec’s relationship was really sweet!! I loved how well they understood each other and what the other needed. I will say it did feel more mature for a YA book. The only thing I wanted more of is scenes of when they were younger so I could have become even more attached to them. Overall, this is great if you’re in the mood for a fun fake dating YA hockey romance!

In the middle of her senior year of high school, Dani and her mom move back to her mom’s hometown. Dani is used to moving and switching schools every few years. She has a system for blending in at new schools and going unnoticed. This school could be different though since her childhood best friend, Alec, is also a senior there.

Here we go again. Another YA Lynn Painter I was obsessed with. I just had to stay up until 1am to finish it, but now I’m super sad that I’m done. Alec and Dani are adorable together. You feel for the pressure put on Alec and the social anxiety Dani has. The fake, but not fake, romance between them was everything and I was basically swooning the entire time. And yes I understand this was about two high schoolers.

This was my first YA by Lynn Painter after not being so marveled by one of her romances. And I can finally say that I see what people mean when they talk about her.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Unfortunately, the general story is very commonplace. In fact, I read a book just the other month with the same premise: friends who’ve spent every summer together for years, then had a falling out and now need to face the consequences. This one combines the second-chance trope with fake dating—although the latter is mostly just an excuse to get them closer. I know, I know, when isn’t it? I mean that it doesn’t last very long. After all, the feelings are there from the first page, despite Alec trying to convince us he hates Dani for ghosting him at such an important time.

To be honest, I’m only noting this to warn readers who are picking up the book for that specific trope. I didn’t really mind how short-lived it was, because it wasn’t what was bringing out the story’s potential anyway.

What I did mind was that the book is very wordy, but most of the time it’s just hinting that there’s more to their reasons for distancing themselves from each other. I like hints. I like when authors show they’ve planned things out, that there’s more to come, so you read on just waiting for it. But in this case, I think it was overused. By the time the reveals came, I’d already guessed everything and was hoping the book would throw in an extra surprise to reward my patience.

It wasn’t just that, though. The book needed some cleaning up, some tightening, because the narration also tends to go on for too long.

Despite those issues, I’d say the pacing of the book was good. It let us really see their relationship mature. There were also many scenes where I was sure we’d hit a cliché misunderstanding, but the characters were mature enough to handle it before it got there. There is a cliché climax, though. But even then, I think the author handled it well.

The characters were also very likeable, and their voices are still with me, even days after finishing the book. The story brushes against some darker themes, but it maintains a feel-good tone that fits the cuteness of the cover.

This was a great re-introduction to Lynn Painter, and I think I can finally dive into her earlier works now.



Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

This was a really cute story for what it was: a typical cute second chance romance with a fake dating trope made for YA lovers. This book gets 5 stars for accomplishing what it sets out to do.

It is super cheesy and cringy-in all the best ways. It isn’t my all time favorite genre so my personal thoughts rate it a little lower but it’s a really fun and quick story.

Read this if you like:
🏒 Hockey Romances
🥅 Fake Dating Tropes
⛸️ Cute YA RomComs
🏒 2nd chance romances

Thank you Simon and Schuster, Lynn Painter and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy of this book.

Ugh my heart. WHY is Lynn Painter so good at writing romance - both adult and YA? I had stopped reading YA romances a while ago because I felt the characters were too immature for me. However, Alec and Dani did not feel immature at all, they truly felt like young adults to me in this novel. Yes there's some miscommunication which is not my favorite trope but the writing was so good that it didn't bother me too much. I loved the side characters in the novel - there's lots of charm and wit woven throughout the story and I could not stop reading!

I feel that there are some lose threads in the story related to Benji but overall, it was well written and very engaging.

I DEVOURED this book. I read it so fast and I want to read it again, right away. I loved it so much! Childhood friends to lovers. Hockey Romance. Fake Dating. Swoony MMC. Banter. All the feels.

Synopsis: Dani and Alec grew up together, spending a month together in the summer as Dani and her mom visited her grandpa and Alec's mom. After a fight between Dani's grandpa and her parents they stopped visiting for a few years. However, after Dani's parents get divorced she moves there, to Minnesota, with her mom to live with her grandpa. Dani has moved so many times and has changed a lot over the years. Alec has also changed a lot, too. When they see each other again, how will it be?

The characters were so relatable. I loved the banter between the main characters and the grumpy and sarcastic grandpa. I loved the story line. I never enjoy the fall out in a book, but it wasn't terrible. I didn't feel like it last too long, which makes a huge difference in how I feel about a book overall.

I will read this book over and over again. I would recommend everyone read it, it's a YA romance with minimal spice, nothing explicit. I will say there is a lot of cussing in it. Which, for some younger readers, may not be appropriate. There is also talk of drugs, alcohol and violence.

I've never read this author before but this book was sooooo good! The pacing was on point, the flow flowed. Perfect! Thanks for the ARC, I appreciate it!