AUTHOR: Jenny Holiday GENRE: Romance PAGES: 371 RELEASED: 30 January 2024 SYNOPSIS: The fake Canadian boyfriend. It's a thing. The get out of jail free card for all kinds of sticky social situations. “I can't go to prom; I'm going to be out of town visiting my boyfriend in Canada.” It's all over pop culture. But Aurora Evans did it first. Once upon a time she met a teenage hockey player at the Mall of America. He was from Canada. He was a boy. She may have fudged the “friend” part a little, but it wasn't like she was ever going to see him again. It wasn't like she hurt anyone. Until she did—years later—on both counts. When pro hockey player and recent widower Mike Martin walks into the dance studio where Aurora Evans teaches, he's feeling overwhelmed with the fact that his wife may not have been exactly who he thought she was and the logistics of going back to work. As one of the few people his angry, heartbroken daughter connects with, Aurora agrees to be a pseudo nanny to help him navigate the upcoming school year and hockey season. To his surprise, she turns out to be the perfect balm for him as well. Aurora gets him. The real him underneath his pro jersey. And yet, he still finds himself holding back, unable to fully trust again—especially when he finds out the secret Aurora’s been hiding from him. When your imagined Canadian boyfriend actually walks into your life over a decade later…
Back in high school, Aurora Evans was far from popular, and her dedication to ballet meant she spent more time out of school than in it. So to help get her through those tumultuous years, she invented her Canadian Boyfriend, inspired by the cute hockey player, Mike, she met at the mall. Now, 13 years later, Aurora hasn’t thought much about her Canadian Boyfriend until she meets Mike Martin, the father of one of her dance students. A defenseman for the Lumberjacks and a recent widower, Mike Martin looks a lot like Canadian Boyfriend Mike, but, really, what are the chances that they’re the same person? Still struggling to get their lives back on track after the death of his wife, Mike has an instant connection with Aurora and sees how much of a positive impact she has on Olivia. So he makes her a proposal - Aurora can become their sort-of live-in nanny to help Mike during hockey season, which will in turn help Aurora save money by not having to pay rent or buy a new car. It’s a win-win situation. Even more-so when it’s clear there is a mutual attraction. But despite their connection, Mike feels anything with Aurora can only be temporary, while Aurora has the constant niggling worry about how Mike will react when he learns about their history… Having a fake imaginary boyfriend in high school and then having them suddenly appear in front of you over a decade later? Sign me the hell up please! This is such a fun and cute premise and Jenny delivered on a swoony and sweet romance with Aurora and Mike. They’re relationship was very much a slow burn, but it was nice to see their friendship and found-family relationship develop before the romance truly heated up. It was really interesting getting to see Aurora’s past fleshed out through the letters she wrote to Canadian Boyfriend Mike, while Mike’s past was fleshed out with his own inner monologue recollections, particularly in response to therapy sessions that made him reflect on his relationship with his wife. I feel like there was such a build-up for the truth about Aurora and Mike’s past history, but it was kind of an anti-climactic reveal in terms of Mike finding out. While there was nothing inherently wrong with how the truth was revealed and how everything was resolved, I felt like it was a little lacking and maybe could have been revealed slightly differently. The truth bomb was also left until right at the end of the book and then was resolved rather quickly before the epilogue, so it did feel a little rushed, especially considering the entire timeline of the bulk of the story. Jenny did such a great job at giving both main characters baggage that they were trying to work through. Aurora is still working on overcoming an eating disorder and her perception of food, as well as coming to terms with the fact that her mother is emotionally manipulative and toxic. Meanwhile Mike is attending therapy to work through his grief after the loss of his wife and the issues that arose during the grieving period. It was great to see such a positive portrayal of realisising that something is wrong and seeking help, both from those around you and a therapist. There’s a lot of emotions around all of the issues that the characters are dealing with, but Jenny easily balances the intensity with lightheartedness. This is definitely another sports romance to add to your ever-growing TBR! And now the wait begins for Gretchen’s book next year… |
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