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A review by arlettesheyla
I Can Be The One: A Fake Dating Hockey Romance by Ellie Blackbourne
4.0
This was the cutesy equivalent of the first sunny day after a week of zero-degree winter weather.
Alexis is a simple person, and I LOVE THAT. She likes to read, wants to be a teacher, loves her family, and she’s kind—she reads so authentically that the nickname “sunshine” finally feels right for an FMC. I also appreciated the thoughtful approach the author took in conveying Alexis’s chronic illness. This is the second book I’ve read where a character has fibromyalgia and I liked the representation.
Blake is great, truly—he’s a golden retriever for a majority of the time. He had a couple of machismo moments, and it was giving chihuahua (iykyk). I loved the self-awareness and charm, but sometimes it felt fake, like the author was trying too hard to make him the perfect book boyfriend.
Their relationship was straightforwardly sweet. They were both very supportive of each other, and the comfort they provided one another was wholesome. However, I didn’t like how often Alexis dismissed Blake’s genuine feelings for her, especially when he was always very direct about them. You want to be one of the girls on his roster? GIRL, STAND UP.
My main critique stems from the lack of “show” and the overwhelming amount of “tell.”
We learn really early on that Blake has mommy issues and desperately seeks her attention. I wish we could’ve built up to this reveal, getting some hints that he doesn’t believe someone would willingly love and care for him. Instead, we’re told about his insecurities upfront and early on. Also, when he finally identifies his commitment to hockey as his attempt to earn his mother’s love, the realization comes out of nowhere. Good for him for the self-reflection, but when and how did he figure all that out?!?!
Similarly, we’re told that he’s a troublemaker, but we never see this—not even through some flashbacks. He has a reputation as a bad boy, but there’s nothing to back that up. He seems like a regular guy who’s not looking for anything serious, which in college is just normal.
I wish we had gotten more information about their first meeting freshman year. Alexis and Blake keep saying that they’ve been crushing on each another this whole time because apparently it was love at first sight, but it’s hard to believe that their first encounter was anything meaningful when we don’t get any details about what happened or how it felt. It isn’t until the last couple of chapters that we finally get some context, but by then, it doesn’t even make a difference anymore because we’ve already seen them build layers in their relationship that go beyond that initial encounter.
The smut was… disappointing. Blake made it seem like he wanted their first kiss to be really sweet and romantic, but then when it actually happened it felt like such a cheap moment. All that tension built up, and it wasn’t even worth it. To make it worse, a random afternoon fuck wasn’t good enough, but when they finally decide to have sex they go ahead and do it in a tent, with the rest of the contestants and camera crew as an audience!?!? NO THANK YOU ON BOTH FRONTS. Nobody wanted to be an audible witness to that 😭😫 Everyone’s staring the next morning was so valid. Bring back public shame.
While this is a contemporary story, there is world-building involved, and it was done a little absurdly, not gonna lie.
We never get a clear answer on why Alexis is paying for all of college herself. Don’t get me wrong—I’m from a low-income household, and I relied on financial aid plus a part-time job to help cover the cost of my studies. I understand that her siblings were there on sports scholarships, however, the home life described during their winter break was not exactly conveying “poor family.” Supposedly, she would have to drop out if she didn’t win the prize money, but her parents seemed like the type to have that same amount saved up, so I wasn’t exactly feeling the high stakes of her financial situation.
Then there’s the contest, which gets turned into a mini reality tv series for marketing purposes—and it was giving scam. In general, the competition’s rules could’ve been laid out better. Obviously, I was not expecting it to be fully realistic, but the fact that the prize money is supposed to cover tuition when it’s only a couple of grand is… questionable. Also, how much money did they spend on the dates and overall production?! How is a contest like that supposed to improve their image and bring in money?! “I want to go to this university because they hosted a cute couples contest and broadcasted it on a local station” 😃😃😃
Honestly, the whole university feels like a set. They take a bus to Vermont, so I’m gonna go ahead and say this is in the U.S. You’re telling him she’s in a dorm with her sister (I’m assuming it’s suite-style because they have their own rooms), and they have a kitchen?! Sure, it’s small, but what university has a private kitchen in the actual dorms—not just a common area one for the whole floor?!?!
The other characters are basically extras. We don’t get any sense of family outside of Alexis’s literal family (plus Lottie). Apparently, the hockey team cares about Alexis and is fond of her, but we know nothing about them, so their support at the end didn’t really land the way it should’ve.
Overall, this was an adorably short read. It made me smile during the snowy February days. No one pissed me off—the characters were relatively mature, and the relationship was very sweet—but some elements just felt underdeveloped.
Thank you very much to Ellie Blackbourne for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!!
Alexis is a simple person, and I LOVE THAT. She likes to read, wants to be a teacher, loves her family, and she’s kind—she reads so authentically that the nickname “sunshine” finally feels right for an FMC. I also appreciated the thoughtful approach the author took in conveying Alexis’s chronic illness. This is the second book I’ve read where a character has fibromyalgia and I liked the representation.
Blake is great, truly—he’s a golden retriever for a majority of the time. He had a couple of machismo moments, and it was giving chihuahua (iykyk). I loved the self-awareness and charm, but sometimes it felt fake, like the author was trying too hard to make him the perfect book boyfriend.
Their relationship was straightforwardly sweet. They were both very supportive of each other, and the comfort they provided one another was wholesome. However, I didn’t like how often Alexis dismissed Blake’s genuine feelings for her, especially when he was always very direct about them. You want to be one of the girls on his roster? GIRL, STAND UP.
My main critique stems from the lack of “show” and the overwhelming amount of “tell.”
We learn really early on that Blake has mommy issues and desperately seeks her attention. I wish we could’ve built up to this reveal, getting some hints that he doesn’t believe someone would willingly love and care for him. Instead, we’re told about his insecurities upfront and early on. Also, when he finally identifies his commitment to hockey as his attempt to earn his mother’s love, the realization comes out of nowhere. Good for him for the self-reflection, but when and how did he figure all that out?!?!
Similarly, we’re told that he’s a troublemaker, but we never see this—not even through some flashbacks. He has a reputation as a bad boy, but there’s nothing to back that up. He seems like a regular guy who’s not looking for anything serious, which in college is just normal.
I wish we had gotten more information about their first meeting freshman year. Alexis and Blake keep saying that they’ve been crushing on each another this whole time because apparently it was love at first sight, but it’s hard to believe that their first encounter was anything meaningful when we don’t get any details about what happened or how it felt. It isn’t until the last couple of chapters that we finally get some context, but by then, it doesn’t even make a difference anymore because we’ve already seen them build layers in their relationship that go beyond that initial encounter.
The smut was… disappointing. Blake made it seem like he wanted their first kiss to be really sweet and romantic, but then when it actually happened it felt like such a cheap moment. All that tension built up, and it wasn’t even worth it. To make it worse, a random afternoon fuck wasn’t good enough, but when they finally decide to have sex they go ahead and do it in a tent, with the rest of the contestants and camera crew as an audience!?!? NO THANK YOU ON BOTH FRONTS. Nobody wanted to be an audible witness to that 😭😫 Everyone’s staring the next morning was so valid. Bring back public shame.
While this is a contemporary story, there is world-building involved, and it was done a little absurdly, not gonna lie.
We never get a clear answer on why Alexis is paying for all of college herself. Don’t get me wrong—I’m from a low-income household, and I relied on financial aid plus a part-time job to help cover the cost of my studies. I understand that her siblings were there on sports scholarships, however, the home life described during their winter break was not exactly conveying “poor family.” Supposedly, she would have to drop out if she didn’t win the prize money, but her parents seemed like the type to have that same amount saved up, so I wasn’t exactly feeling the high stakes of her financial situation.
Then there’s the contest, which gets turned into a mini reality tv series for marketing purposes—and it was giving scam. In general, the competition’s rules could’ve been laid out better. Obviously, I was not expecting it to be fully realistic, but the fact that the prize money is supposed to cover tuition when it’s only a couple of grand is… questionable. Also, how much money did they spend on the dates and overall production?! How is a contest like that supposed to improve their image and bring in money?! “I want to go to this university because they hosted a cute couples contest and broadcasted it on a local station” 😃😃😃
Honestly, the whole university feels like a set. They take a bus to Vermont, so I’m gonna go ahead and say this is in the U.S. You’re telling him she’s in a dorm with her sister (I’m assuming it’s suite-style because they have their own rooms), and they have a kitchen?! Sure, it’s small, but what university has a private kitchen in the actual dorms—not just a common area one for the whole floor?!?!
The other characters are basically extras. We don’t get any sense of family outside of Alexis’s literal family (plus Lottie). Apparently, the hockey team cares about Alexis and is fond of her, but we know nothing about them, so their support at the end didn’t really land the way it should’ve.
Overall, this was an adorably short read. It made me smile during the snowy February days. No one pissed me off—the characters were relatively mature, and the relationship was very sweet—but some elements just felt underdeveloped.
Thank you very much to Ellie Blackbourne for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!!