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ktdakotareads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Grief
niftyreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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
Joshua Jackson (Pacey!!!!!! đ) reads the male PoV of the audiobook and it is glorious. GLO-RI-OUS! Such a cute romance. A hockey player and former ballerina - I liked that storyline very much seeing them get over their own individual issues and come together. It also made me want to go camping to see the Northern Lights and I am totally a hotel girl!
Hereâs my vote for Joshua Jackson to narrate more audiobooks đđťââď¸
Hereâs my vote for Joshua Jackson to narrate more audiobooks đđťââď¸
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Car accident, Death, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
jennp28's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Cute, mildly spicy and heartwarming story of finding love again and learning to love yourself.
Although Iâve never heard someone my age *actually* refer to themselves as a hoser, multiple times. May wanna recheck your Canadianisms on that one. But other than that the Canadiana was pretty well done, eh?
Although Iâve never heard someone my age *actually* refer to themselves as a hoser, multiple times. May wanna recheck your Canadianisms on that one. But other than that the Canadiana was pretty well done, eh?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, Car accident, and Emotional abuse
tamsterdam_reads's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Canadian Boyfriend was a lovely story about a struggling dance teacher and widowed hockey player who is trying to juggle a lot with his daughter and career. There were some deep important issues woven within the foundation of the story that I wasnât expecting, however, the growing feelings between Aurora and Mike and Mikeâs adorable daughter were raw and beautiful. It included the messy and complicated intricacies of life, but it also had love, support and growth. Overall, this story is for those looking for a little more depth to their romance novels.
Both Joshua Jackson and Emily Ellet did a great job with their narration.
Both Joshua Jackson and Emily Ellet did a great job with their narration.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
hjb_128's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, and Death
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault
balletbookworm's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I was going to read this with my eyeballs but then it was announced that Pacey was going to read the MMC's part and, well, I decided to switch and wait until it came out (wasn't cool enough for an ALC). And the audio production is really fun. They had the narrators read all their dialogue (or other similar-gendered character's dialogue) no matter the POV chapter so there wasn't any of that awkward "this is what the other narrator thinks this character sounds like" business.
I really enjoyed this romance. It was perhaps a bit too-slowly plotted - definitely a slow burn - but that does make sense since Mike's only very recently been widowed (like, less than a year before the book opens) and he and his daughter are both still working through some things. I really loved how Aurora came back into loving dance again - not just the parts she was able to handle, but all of it, including ballet. The line where Mike tells her that not becoming a professional ballet dancer is not a moral failing...oof. Gut punch line for those of us (maybe especially us dancers, but could apply to anything) who had a dream and didn't achieve it, not for lack of trying.
When I got to the end I was like "Mike Martin better f-ing grovel!" and thenhe wrote her a letter! (this is a call-back to a plot point throughout the book), omg all is forgiven
I really enjoyed this romance. It was perhaps a bit too-slowly plotted - definitely a slow burn - but that does make sense since Mike's only very recently been widowed (like, less than a year before the book opens) and he and his daughter are both still working through some things. I really loved how Aurora came back into loving dance again - not just the parts she was able to handle, but all of it, including ballet. The line where Mike tells her that not becoming a professional ballet dancer is not a moral failing...oof. Gut punch line for those of us (maybe especially us dancers, but could apply to anything) who had a dream and didn't achieve it, not for lack of trying.
When I got to the end I was like "Mike Martin better f-ing grovel!" and then
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, and Grief
The toxic relationship is between Aurora and her mom - her mom is a Piece of Work, yikes.breathehopebooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
Super cute hockey romance that surprisingly had a lot of depth, handled multiple difficult topics well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Body shaming and Car accident
emmasbookishself's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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
3.0
I didnât love this one as a whole but what I did really like included:
â¨Single Dad
â¨Hockey Player/Romance
â¨MMC + FMC Growth Through Therapy
â¨Doing Things Because You Love Or Enjoy Them without strings attached
â¨Boundary Setting
â¨Letter Writing
â¨Overcoming Food Trauma/Disordered Eating
What I didnât love:
â¨FMC always referring to the MMC by his full name (Mike Martin)
â¨MMC Seemed Way Too Trusting before inviting FMC to move in/watch his child
â¨The Fake Canadian Boyfriend thing seemed very juvenile to me
â¨The Pacing felt way off to me
TW: death of a parent, eating disorder, abusive parent, controlling parent,
â¨Single Dad
â¨Hockey Player/Romance
â¨MMC + FMC Growth Through Therapy
â¨Doing Things Because You Love Or Enjoy Them without strings attached
â¨Boundary Setting
â¨Letter Writing
â¨Overcoming Food Trauma/Disordered Eating
What I didnât love:
â¨FMC always referring to the MMC by his full name (Mike Martin)
â¨MMC Seemed Way Too Trusting before inviting FMC to move in/watch his child
â¨The Fake Canadian Boyfriend thing seemed very juvenile to me
â¨The Pacing felt way off to me
TW: death of a parent, eating disorder, abusive parent, controlling parent,
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Death, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
readingwithmeredith's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
3.75
Characters: 4
Connection to the book/Enjoyment: 3
Setting: 4
Plot/Overall Story: 2
Writing: 2
Every point= 0.25 stars, max per category 4 points
This is my first book by this author and I really liked the emotional depth that the characters had and how this wasnât your stereotypical romance. It felt creative but also handles hard topics like grief, eating disorders, anxiety, toxic parents, and self image/identity. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. My biggest issue was some of the plot points towards the end didnât sit well and felt overly dramatic for what was happening and then the pacing and writing style wasnât my favorite. I did appreciate that there was way more emotional connection over spice, even though there were two open door scenes. I prefer no spice in my books but I appreciated that there was only 6 pages total of spice but the dialogue and moments within it made it hard to skip, however I did notice she restate important moments from those scenes for those who want to skip spice. I would read more from this author.
Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Grief
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Car accident, Cursing, and Death
kimalah's review
emotional
reflective
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
4.25
It took me a couple of days to write this review. For most of the time I was reading Canadian Boyfriend, I was drawn in by the story and the characters. This is not a light romance. Rory, the FMC, quit her professional ballet career and is dealing with panic attacks and recovery from disordered eating. Her mother is a very toxic figure in her life with whom she is trying to forge new boundaries. Mike is a widower with his eleven year old stepdaughter, trying to move forward in building a life without the partner he expected to always be there. Mike is a professional hockey player who is originally from Canada. Our couple meet as Rory is Oliviaâs tap teacher at the local dance school. However, they actually met many years before when Rory was in high school and working as a barista. Mike was nice and funny when she served him one day. She turned him into her fake âCanadian boyfriendâ to deal with her anxiety with social relationships at school. She ended up writing him âlettersâ that were really more journal entries.
Rory does not tell Mike about this. He hires her as a part-time nanny for Olivia while he travels with his team. And the relationship grows from there. There is a lot of internal monologuing about anxiety, grief, loss, fear of loss and also of change. There is great mental health rep with both characters actively participating in therapy.
I was very touched by both of their stories, finding it hard at times to put down the book. I thought that this was going to be a five-star read for me, and then the late conflict hit. Mikeâs reaction and actions felt so opposite to the evolution of his character. It felt manufactured in a way. They resolved it pretty quickly which led to a lovely ending. But that upset broke me out of the story and lessened the enjoyment. I still recommend Canadian Boyfriend for its kind and gentle handling of this story and these characters. The blip near the end is unfortunate.
Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing), NetGalley and the author for the advance reader copy. All opinions are solely my own.
Rory does not tell Mike about this. He hires her as a part-time nanny for Olivia while he travels with his team. And the relationship grows from there. There is a lot of internal monologuing about anxiety, grief, loss, fear of loss and also of change. There is great mental health rep with both characters actively participating in therapy.
I was very touched by both of their stories, finding it hard at times to put down the book. I thought that this was going to be a five-star read for me, and then the late conflict hit. Mikeâs reaction and actions felt so opposite to the evolution of his character. It felt manufactured in a way. They resolved it pretty quickly which led to a lovely ending. But that upset broke me out of the story and lessened the enjoyment. I still recommend Canadian Boyfriend for its kind and gentle handling of this story and these characters. The blip near the end is unfortunate.
Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing), NetGalley and the author for the advance reader copy. All opinions are solely my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Eating disorder
Death of spouse (historical, off-page)