Fake Play

An Atlanta Edge Hockey Romance Novel

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Pub Date 30 Jun 2020 | Archive Date 22 Jun 2020

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Description

Connor Ellison, one of Atlanta Edge’s best wingers and biggest prankster, is given an ultimatum by the coaches and the PR department. He must stay married until the end of the run for the Cup or be available for trade.

Lily Jones wants nothing to do with the insane demand. But he convinces her the best decision is to play along. If they remain married and pretend to be in love, he offers to save her family’s ice rink from bankruptcy. Anyway, it’s only until the end of the hockey season. Then they can go their separate ways.

Easy-peasy. No way will they go to the finals. No way will they truly fall in love.

Connor Ellison, one of Atlanta Edge’s best wingers and biggest prankster, is given an ultimatum by the coaches and the PR department. He must stay married until the end of the run for the Cup or be...


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ISBN 9790861208612
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Average rating from 54 members


Featured Reviews

Carla Swafford draws the reader in from the opening chapter of Fake Play. The characters are engaging and easily relatable. Once you start, you will not want to set this book down!

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Good book! I've read both books in this series and they're definitely standalone! I do have to say I enjoyed this book more than book one! Although that book was good too! This book was 🔥🔥🔥! It had intrigue and some heartbreak and heartache! The characters were well written. This book is definitely worth reading! Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!

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Connor Ellison is a hockey player known for his reckless and drunken behavior off the ice. He is close to being removed from the team. Lily Jones is part owner of an ice rink. She played goalie in her college and was all set to go to the Olympics when a tragic accident happened leaving her mom in a coma. Each has challenges they face in relating to their families. Lily and Connor meet at a New Year's Eve party in Las Vegas, and after a night of drinking, wake up married.
Connor cannot afford to have his name blackened even more with another scandal, so he proposes a deal with Lily, stay married until after playoffs and he will bail out her families ice rink from bankruptcy.
Can these two strangers find a way to make a life together, or will the go their separate ways when the season ends?
Light, easy read that flowed easily from one page to the next. I enjoyed the characters and found myself rooting for them.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Is there hope for Connor and Lily’s marriage?

Lily Jones wants a fun trip to Las Vegas with her friends for a weekend when she woke up married to hockey player Connor Ellison. Their first thought was to arrange an annulment until his team found out and told him that he needed to stay married until the end of the season otherwise he would be traded. Lily wanted to get the divorce until Connor said he would help financially the skating rink that she owned with her dad.

Could Connor stop pulling jokes on his teammates or would the ultimatum make him realize that there was more in life that being the center of the crowd and Lily was happy just being together at home so maybe there might be hope for the marriage.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Connor and Lily are two interesting characters. The author doesn’t tell you too much about why they act/think the way they do. You get to know them and there’s more to both of them. Connor and Lily marry on Las Vegas after a night of partying. Circumstances dictate they should stay married and they slowly fall in love.

I love that Lily isn’t a typical heroine. She’s tall and athletic.

I love hockey romances and this book checked all my boxes. I’m looking forward to other books in the series.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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I really enjoyed the previous Atlanta Edge Hockey book. This book was a fun read. I finished it in a day. This book can be read as a stand alone book or after the previous book.

Connor Ellison is one of Atlanta Edge’s best wingers and biggest prankster, He is on thin ice with management for his past bad behavior. He is trying to go on the straight and narrow for his upcoming contract negotiations.

Lily Jones is working hard for her family ice rink. She is a partial owner of it and she wants to see it succeed. She has never been one to go out and party or just to let go. She finally decides to go with some friends to Vegas to let go a little.

The next day Lily and Connor wake up together and realize that they are married. Connor is given an ultimatum by the coaches and the PR department. He must stay married until the end of the run for the Cup or be available for trade. Can he talk Lily into it?

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4.5/5 stars

I received Fake Play through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fake Play starts in Vegas where Lily and Connor realize that they got drunkenly married the night before. Lily is the daughter of a former hockey player and helps her dad run the ice rink he owns. Connor also has a former hockey player as a father and is current a player himself. He has a reputation for being a playboy and is ready to swear off all of the stunts when he finds himself in his biggest stunt of all. Follow Lily and Connor as they make their way through this sudden relationship and see where life takes them.

I am a huge hockey romance fan and I am happy to say that Fake Play was one of my favorites that I’ve read. I loved seeing how Lily and Connor found themselves throughout their relationship after being thrust together one drunken night. Fake Play was well written and had just the right amount of chemistry, family drama and sexy scenes.

I am glad I got the chance to read Fake Play and look forward to reading other books by Carla Swafford.

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Loved it!! It took me an afternoon to read it because I never put it down. Perfect fast summer read by the pool kinda book.

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What happens in Las Vegas, doesn’t always stay in Las Vegas. Lily can’t believe her good luck when she visits Las Vegas with friends and meets handsome hockey player, Connor. However, when she wakes up the next morning, she is surprised to learn they are married.

At first, Lily is not impressed with Connor. He may be good looking, but he is also a self centered jerk and she doesn’t want anything to do with him. As they are forced to spend more time together, pretending to love each other and make their fake marriage feel real, Lily sees a softer, nicer side to Connor and she can’t resist the strong sensual pull toward him.

As Connor gets to know Lily, he realizes she is the perfect woman; she loves hockey as much as he does, is athletic, is hot in bed and understands him. They have both been disappointed by their parents and their dads played professional hockey. Lily is also a great hockey player herself and was a goalie in college.

Karla Swafford writes a smoothly written story and although the story of a couple meeting in Vegas, drinking too much and getting married has been done before, this story felt fresh. There are a lot of sparks flowing between Lily and Connor as they slowly get to know each other. They help each other become more confident and to grow into better people. I liked these two together. They are good for each other and have a smoking hot attraction. As they spend time together, they realize they have more in common than they first thought. You don’t want to miss this engaging and sexy hockey story.

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I think at this point we all know that what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas...

At first I wasn't too sure about this book because the being married to a stranger and marriage of convenience tropes seems to be a bit overused BUT I loved this book completely. I really liked the main characters and their development, we started knowing little details about them and at the end of the book you realize that they are completely relatable, human and flawed. Also I really liked that Lily, our main female character, didn't fall for one of the typical stereotypes about how women should be physically in books.

This book is the second in a series but it can be read as a standalone. I didn't read the first one before I started this one and I understood everything perfectly, but you can bet that now I'm going to read it too!

Thank to NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me! I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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I really enjoyed this book. As I understand now, this book is a part of a series, that I did not know of. This is the second book but I can tell you that you will be just fine if you don't read the first. I had no problems understanding the characters even though I did not read the first one.
But this is definetly a book for 18+. It has some pretty specific sex scenes.
It is an easy read, you can finish it real quick. You might not want to put it down even. I would say it's an easy summer read.

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This was a really cute fake dating romance! I liked Lily and Conner and their relationship.

They have both been through a lot and we get to see their different coping mechanisms and hangups when it comes to relationships. I like how they are there for each other and really support each other.

A few things happened that were a bit weird, but overall the story was really good. I'm hoping that we get to read Elise's story soon.

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This is a fast fun read that will have you engaged through out

Connor Ellison is a winger for the edge a NHL team and his coach and owners aren't happy with him he has been told to clean up his act or he will be traded Lily Jones is deeply attracted to Connor but she knows he is trouble and wants nothing to do with him. So how did they wake up in Las Vegas married to one another and can he convince her to remain married to him. Connor offers to save her parents ice rink if she will just stay married to him until the end of the season Should she contemplate it or should she walk away and what about this attraction that is growing between them Are they in fact the perfect match and could they get a HEA you will have to read to see

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Had my chuckling from the first chapter. I've read books like this in the past but Swafford's fun wit and storytelling made it a joy to read.

While I enjoyed it, I didn't know it was part of a series. I'm a series girl and like to start from the beginning to see the characters develop. That's the only reason why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5. I know I would have loved to see Conner's hijinks from the top.

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Connor Ellison is a prankster and one of the better hockey players when he has his mind on the game. He is also a PR nightmare with all of the things he does and he needs to stay out of the press. Well, that would be good and all but when he wakes up one morning in Vegas after a game and a News Years Party, he not only discovers Lily Jones in his bed but that they are also married.
Connor has a meeting with team management who express their frustration with him and all of his off the ice issues. He will need to stay married until after the season is over and hopefully they have won the cup, if not he will be gone. Now he must go talk things over with Lily to get her to agree to stay married.
He does this because he offers to help her and her father with the bills that have piled up since the accident her mother was in five years ago. She agrees. Really though the story turns when he goes to the rink that she owns with her father and he finds out that she played women’s hockey in college and was on her way to maybe the Olympic team when she left to help with her mother. When he watches her play goaltender he is amazed by her athletic ability, strength, flexibility, and size. The story begins to take off from here.
Yes, they have issues that they end up working through which is different than other fake marriage books. They also help each other deal with both being from hockey dads so they know what the other one is going through. Here in this book, you see a change in both characters and that is nice and made for a very good book

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When Lily wakes up in Vegas after a New Years party, she not only finds a man in her bed but a ring on her finger. Conner is known as a prankster on the Atlanta Edge team but this is a prank he didn't see coming!
After returning to Atlanta, the team management sees this quick marriage as the perfect opportunity to improve Conner's reputation. Lily isn't convinced it's a good idea but when she realizes this partnership can help save her father's ice rink, she agrees.
We soon realize that Conner isn't such a bad boy, just a little lost and with Lily he starts to see his own worth off the ice. The chemistry between these two is hot from the beginning, but the friendship they build is even sweeter.

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What a fabulous author in. Area Swafford.
I truly Loved it!!
This book only took me a day to read which was disappointing because I never wanted it to end.
It’s a great winters day book to read on a lazy afternoon.

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I absolutely love hockey romances. It is one of the few things that can get me interested in a book without reading the synopsis. It's even better if once I start reading the book, the author uses actually hockey terms, and goes into great hockey details about the game. This book does exactly that. There was legitimate hockey play (with correct verbiage) and an actual plot with steamy scenes. However, I was hoping for more steamy scenes than there actually was. But for it just being a romance and not anything more, it was a pretty good amount.

For the main male character, we meet Conner. He is the stereotypical team prankster and overall partier. His team, and the entire coaching staff are tired of his games and shenanigans. One more mess-up and Conner is practically off the team.

Lily, the female lead, is one of the two variants we normally see in a hockey romance novel. They are normally, the female who knows nothing about hockey and is just in love, or the female who plays hockey but is never considered an equal to her male counterpart. Lily falls under the latter, however, this isn't know to Conner at the beginning of their "relationship". She is a fantastic hockey player that even had the chance to go and play for the Olympics but the males in her life didn't support her dream and due to some spoiler circumstances, she can't continue playing.

This book is a classic case of going to Las Vegas, getting drunk and waking up married to someone you didn't arrive with. This unforeseen situation is very confusing for Lily as she doesn't drink much but somehow get's "plastered" and wakes up in Conner's bed. For Conner, the known partier, this is a normal day in his life. He is used to waking up next to girls he picked up the night before. The only thing that makes this time different is the marriage license. The plan was for them to get a quiet annulment but the team manager and PR rep won't let Conner off the hook that easily. Now, Conner must convince Lily to stay married to him until the end of the season, in order for him to stay on the team.

What happens when a night neither one can remember, turns out to be the start to an undeniable attraction? If you like sports romances, especially hockey ones, and don't want a ton of sex scenes, this is the book for you.

I gave this book 4 stars, because while the plot and sex scenes were good, it was very predictable and very stereotypical of sports romances.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

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I love hockey romance and I enjoy the “fake marriage” trope so I was pumped to read this book. It was a fun book with more serious moments.

Lily and Connor wake up in Vegas after not remembering getting married. This part was a bit cliche, but I liked how they played it with Connor being kind of a jerk, but then being sweet. It showed what kind of guy he was.

Lily agrees to stay married until the hockey season is over, but has so many stresses in her life that she struggles with her feelings.

Considering the events at the beginning, the book was low angst. Connor and Lily had rough childhoods with some bad parenting. They may have avoided emotions at times, but they talked things out. The family dynamics in this book were great, those little moments really helped define the two MCs.

I will definitely read more from this author!

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Fake play is a sports romance mixed with Vegas wedding that shouldn’t have happened. A News Years party brings Lily to a party in Vegas with her friends that is filled with Atlanta Edge hockey players. A little letting loose never hurts anyone right ? Well that is until you wake up in the morning to sharing a bed with a naked hockey player, a large rock on your finger, and a nasty hangover with no memory.

Connor is the bad boy of his team. He’s wild, pulls pranks, and well the media portrays his as a playboy. Management and PR are about done with his current image and have set the line. Turning up married is the last thing he needs but when they say stay married through the end of the season or else what are you suppose to do?

Lily has her own issues. Her family is a little dysfunctional, her family rink isn’t doing as well as she thought, and she was a born a girl instead of a boy. So this hockey loving girl is offered the chance to stay married to help Connor what could she possibly do?

Their journey is filled with discovering each other, themselves, battling family demons, and just have a lot of fun together. Could it be a match made in heaven?

I really enjoyed this book. It was very good and had I not had to work I could have finished it in one sitting. I enjoyed a lot.

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Loved it! Conner and Lily’s story has secrets up until the end. Their dynamic is wonderful. Definitely recommend this one!

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Despite the fact that I know next to nothing about ice hockey, I do seem to enjoy these 'hockey romances.' I haven't read one by Carla Swafford before, but she seems to know her stuff (as much as someone who hasn't a clue can judge that is).
Fake Play is a fake relationship romance. This genre can be difficult to convincingly set up, but for the most part this one worked. I did wonder why neither of them could remember what had happened, but that was explained towards the end. The idea with this one is that after a drunken night, these two strangers end up married to one another. Connor, our ice hockey star, needs to remain married to help counter all of the stories about his wild lifestyle. Lily needs his help to save her families ice rink, so agrees to play along.
I liked the romance between these two. Connor, in particular, is quite a sweetheart and he soon wants far more than the fake relationship that they're playing at. It takes Lily a little longer, but they still worked really well together.
This isn't a perfect romance. We never find out what inspired them to marry in the first place and unlike many from this genre, there's no sudden crisis that brings everything right. In some ways it was a nice change not to have that.
I enjoyed Fake Play and I'd be more than happy to read more from Carla Swafford.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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I love a good sports romance and a relationship of convenience, so the two together made for a fun read! I also love when both leads play the sport, so it was great to see Connor and Lily connect over hockey and watch their love for each other grow out of that,

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Totally loved this book... Some steamy scenes. Connor and Lily are such great characters! My heart went out to Lily about her mom.... Connor being a man who wants to live his life on his own merits instead of depending on his parents... Though now I'm going to be looking forward to Connor's teammate and Lily's friend...

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This was a quick read...good characters, decent storyline. While sometimes it felt a little fluffy without a lot of depth, I enjoyed it and will look for more.

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Two strangers wake up in Las Vegas on New Year's day to find out they've gotten married overnight. Connor Ellison is a winger on the NHL team in Atlanta called the Edge. Neither his coaches or management have been happy with his off-ice shenanigans. He's already been warned that he needs to clean up his act or he could be put on waivers to be made available for a trade. Lily Jones wants nothing to do with Connor in spite of the insane attraction she feels to him. He finds an incentive for her to stay married until the team finishes the hockey season by offering to save her family’s ice rink from bankruptcy.

This book is a fast-paced read and I liked how the romance between Connor and Lily grows, as the spend time with each other. Both are children of former NHL stars, so they have more in common than they first realize and it works well in the plot. It's a worthy escape for a few hours with the perfect amount of steam!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

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“Fake Play” by Carla Swafford is a great romance novel that keeps you reading because you want to know what happens. Lily and Connor end up married in Las Vegas after a drunken night that they do not remember. Connor is a professional hockey player and Lily is from a hockey family so they have a lot of similarities. Will they get divorced after the Stanley Cup or fall in love and stay married.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for this review.

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4.5 Stars!

I really enjoyed Fake Play by new to me author Carla Swafford. This is a hot sports romance, with a subplot that includes of a marriage of convenience. Two of my favorite tropes rolled into one book.

Lily Jones grew up with a dad that basically ignored her, in order to ensure that her brother excelled in hockey. Lily's dad used to be a professional hockey player and wanted the same for his talented son. Thanks to Lily's mom dedication, Lily excelled in hockey as well, and she almost became a member of the Olympic hockey team. Lily and her dad became a bit closer when Lily's mom fell into a coma about five years ago. Now Lily and her dad own the local hockey rink, and Lily works very hard to pay down their ever increasing debt. Lily finds herself married to a professional hockey player, Conner Ellison, after she lets herself lose after a long awaited weekend to Las Vegas.

Conner Ellison hails from money and hockey greatness. His dad is an NHL legend and he never lets him forget it. His mom is a bit of a doormat, yet quite sweet at times. Conner's reputation isn't the most pristine, so when he gets married to Lily by mistake, his coaches tell him to stay married in order to help him clean up his image. Lily agrees to stay married, in exchange for Conner helping her financially. They share an attraction that evolves into much more.

I liked this emotional and steamy story. It is a quick read, with lots of excitement. Getting to know both Lily and Connor was both fun and heartbreaking. Overall, a solid romance that kept me engaged from start to finish.

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

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It was only one night that changed everything. A night she doesn’t remember and wedding rings that adorn her finger...staying married to the man she’s secretly obsessed over...not a problem. Never say never especially when it comes to love and saving your families legacy. The book has absolutely everything and will keep you captivated until the end.

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This was the first time I am reading this author. It is book 2 in the series but easily stands alone. It stars two characters who meet and marry in Las Vegas, coincidentally they also live and work in the same town.

Lily runs the local ice rink with her dad who is a former nhl hockey player. Connor is a nhl player with a very bad reputation and a father who was also a nhl player. The two end up hitched and they agree to annul however Connors team wants him to stay married. He agrees to help the rink out if Lily stays married to him.

The two really understand each other. Lily is very mature and she is constantly giving Connor a chance and many times I would have walked out but she sticks with him. The two form a friendship and relationship and I really enjoyed watching that happen.

I received an arc to review from Netgallery.

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