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whitneystark's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Grief, and Emotional abuse
kerosenelit's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I picked this up primarily because the audiobook is narrated by Joshua Jackson (!!!) and Emily Ellet (whom I also love). And if you're planning to read this one, I highly suggest that format. The duet narration was wonderful.
I liked this overall, especially the tender unveiling of grief for a single dad, but I realized early on that I completely misunderstood the general premise of this story. Let me say, I really felt for Aurora and the immense pressure she experienced in ballet as a teenager. Her need to create an emotional escape in the form of letters to a fake boyfriend was so sad.
But when Aurora later crosses paths with Mike Martin—the actual man that initially inspired her fake boyfriend ruse—I thought it was a tad ridiculous that it served as a conflict within the romance. Why not just immediately tell him? The secrecy and overblown third-act drama as a result didn't make sense to me.
(heat level: a few open-door scenes, mild details)
I liked this overall, especially the tender unveiling of grief for a single dad, but I realized early on that I completely misunderstood the general premise of this story. Let me say, I really felt for Aurora and the immense pressure she experienced in ballet as a teenager. Her need to create an emotional escape in the form of letters to a fake boyfriend was so sad.
But when Aurora later crosses paths with Mike Martin—the actual man that initially inspired her fake boyfriend ruse—I thought it was a tad ridiculous that it served as a conflict within the romance. Why not just immediately tell him? The secrecy and overblown third-act drama as a result didn't make sense to me.
(heat level: a few open-door scenes, mild details)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Grief
author2223's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Closed Door Mod: Chapter 15 (some parts)
Canadian Boyfriend is a hockey-adjacent romance about a woman who accidently runs into the man she made up to be her boyfriend in high school and agrees to nanny his tween daughter.
With more emotional depth and complex themes compared to some hockey romances currently on the market, I felt that Holiday was able to capture those themes into Rory and Mike’s respective backstories. Adding a core group of supporting characters to round out the two MCs, Holiday’s writing style was alright (other than inconsistent pacing when you get to the second half of the book) and the plot in it of itself was a bit more than decent. However, I felt that this book was just okay, plain and simple. There was nothing there for me to cherish this book and make it a new favorite. Do I think this book could wow some reader out there? Yes, I do. I just don’t think this book was for me, but I didn’t had a terrible time with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Grief
Moderate: Car accident and Eating disorder
Minor: Abandonment and Pregnancy
asreadbyfeb's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder and Emotional abuse
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
emily_holden's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder and Death of parent
100_pages_hr's review
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
3.5
Why does she call him Mike Martin the entire book?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Car accident and Death
arieanstar's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have continuously said this and I will continue to say it, but Rory and Mike didn't really have chemistry so their romance personally felt so forced. I didn't really think that was possible in books but somehow their dynamic just didn't work that well, which is such a bummer because they do make great friends.
Aside from the romance though, this definitely was a great book on the characters' journeys to healing and Jenny Holiday really doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of it. It realistically affected the way Rory and Mike approached each other and their relationship, and I'm so glad their relationship aided and guided them to healing instead of being the reason they miraculously got better.
Aside from the romance though, this definitely was a great book on the characters' journeys to healing and Jenny Holiday really doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of it. It realistically affected the way Rory and Mike approached each other and their relationship, and I'm so glad their relationship aided and guided them to healing instead of being the reason they miraculously got better.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Death
dorothy_shack's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Eating disorder
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
allisonm009's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Under 24 hours read. Good character development with actual relationship vibes which is very uncommon for books similar to this. my only complaint is the setting is physically too close to home
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder and Death of parent