Canadian Boyfriend

ByJenny Holiday

Release Date: 2024-01-30
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Score: 4

From 50 Ratings

Description

A ballet teacher and a hockey player are brought together by fate in this big-hearted second chance romance by the USA Today bestselling author of Earls Trip.

"A heartwarming, healing romcom worth staying up late to finish." —Abby Jimenez, New York Times bestselling author of Say You'll Remember Me

Once upon a time teenage Aurora Evans met a hockey player at the Mall of America. He was from Canada. And soon, he was the perfect fake boyfriend, a get-out-of-jail-free card for all kinds of sticky situations. I can't go to prom. I'm going to be visiting my boyfriend in Canada. He was just what she needed to cover her social awkwardness. He never had to know. It wasn't like she was ever going to see him again ...

Years later, Aurora is teaching kids’ dance classes and battling panic and eating disorders—souvenirs from her failed ballet career—when pro hockey player Mike Martin walks in with his daughter. Mike’s honesty about his struggles with widowhood helps Aurora confront some of her own demons, and the two forge an unlikely friendship.

There’s just one problem: Mike is the boy she spent years pretending was her “Canadian boyfriend.” The longer she keeps her secret, the more she knows it will shatter the trust between them. But to have the life she wants, she needs to tackle the most important thing of all—believing in herself.

Reviews

Canadian Boyfriend
5
By ReadingOverTV2
Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday
Contemporary romance. Alternating first person POV.
Rory worked at a coffee shop as a teen in the Mall of America. One afternoon she met a boy. There was something in his eyes that sparked something within her. She didn’t see that boy again, but it was a pivotal moment for her. In her busy life, with too many rules and restrictions, she decided he was going to be her boyfriend if anyone at school asked and she was going to write him letters. They wouldn’t get mailed, of course. She only knew his name. And that he played hockey.
Many years later Mike Martin brings his daughter into her tap dance class and meets the teacher, Aurora Evans. His wife has passed away and the dance class was one of the things that Olivia wanted to continue. Rory thinks he may be the same person, but she needs to teach her class and help get him away from the other dance moms. After a ride home and shared ice cream with the three of them, their outings get to be a habit and soon Rory is acting as nanny. She needs to tell him they’ve met before but it’s not the right time yet. Cue the drama card.

Ok, sure there was some drama, and I hate that she didn’t tell him earlier. She had soooo many opportunities! But it’s a romance and we don’t want it to end before it gets going! The author handled the situation well with Mike’ Martin’s self analysis and I actually agreed in the end.
Family, children, and romance troupes, all favorites and this book was sweet, adorable and a pleasure to read. All the feels.
And not knowing much about dance, I learned a few new words such as Glissades.
A quirk I found interesting - she calls him Mike Martin through the entire book. Not Mike. Mike Martin. A Canadian thing? Or a Rory thing? I don’t know but it was kind of cute.
Reading guide included at the end

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.