⤷ Author: Lynn Painter
⤷ Series or Standalone: standalone
⤷ Published: September 30th, 2025
⤷ Genre: YA, fiction, rom-com
Rating: ✨4.5 stars✨
Review Updated: 10/02/2025
“Dani Collins–that was my type.”
Lynn Painter, queen of YA rom-coms, is back!
⤷ Synopsis:
Dani has just moved back into the town where she used to spend all of her summers growing up. She’s a little scared seeing her childhood best friend and sweetheart, Alec, whom she lost touch with after she moved away, but is hoping that he’ll help make the move more bearable. But once in Southview, she discovers that the funny, nerdy Alec she used to follow around is now a big, tall hockey guy who’s holding a bit of a grudge and still can’t figure out why Dani ghosted him all those years ago. But one thing after another and well, they start fake dating until they’re forced to actually confront the past and their rekindling feelings for each other.
Essentially, we’ve got childhood sweethearts, small town vibes, and a little fake dating skating.
“Dani was sparkling eyes and contagious laughter. Dani was happiness.”
⤷ Plot:
I have to admit, I really love reading hockey romances, but it’s so hard to find good ones out there. I was a little scared about this one, but I shouldn’t have worried because with Lynn Painter writing it, I was in good hands. To be entirely honest, the book didn’t have all that much hockey in it, it was more focused on the romance, but the romance was done so well that I really didn’t mind.
This book was cute, swoony, and full of all the sparkling moments between the characters that make a book worth reading!
“The world went still, so quiet that all I could hear amid the dark and snowy night was my own heartbeat. All I could see were brown eyes, staring up at me.”
⤷ Characters:
Speaking of characters, I loved Dani and Alec so much! I would never ever cheat on Wes, but I loved Alec’s POV so much (and Alec too).
I also loved seeing the way Dani came out of her shell, was able to make new friends, and reconnect with the people she already knew. Underneath her shyness and social anxiety, she’s funny and sarcastic, and I loved that! And of course, there was so much great chemistry and banter between the characters.
⤷ Final Thoughts:
⛸️⛸️⛸️⛸️.5 / 5
Cute, swoony, and full of fun tropes, I loved Fake Skating!
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC of this book. While I did read an ARC, all quotes have been confirmed with the published book. All thoughts are my own.
