Deke

It's been so long since I first read this book but I never reviewed it coz I loved it too much and wasn't sure what to write except some incoherent gushing. But I thought I'll give it a try after recently rereading it.

Eden Finley has quickly become a favorite author and as a fan of the fake boyfriend trope, I really love this series a lot. The writing is fast paced and funny and there were so many moments where I laughed out loud. At the same time, it was also quite emotional in some family scenes and I thought that was a nice touch. I also thought that this book had a much better development of friendship between the main characters than the first two books in the series. The banter is also not just restricted to the MCs - side characters play prominent roles and it was awesome to see them all together. The main theme in the story is not just about the difficulty of coming out while being a pro hockey player, but also that it's not easy even with the unconditional support of family and friends.

I absolutely adored both Ollie and Lennon. Right from their first hilarious meet cute to pretending to be boyfriends, finding the truth about each other's jobs to trying very hard not to act on the intense attraction between them but just being helpless in the face of it - I thought it was all just so much fun to read. Ollie doesn't feel ready to come out to his team or the world, but he is slowly feeling frustrated about not being able to share his life with anyone. And as a sports journalist, Lennon understands his predicament very well and completely supports him every step of the way. They were just so sweet and adorable together and I completely fell in love.

Matt's brother Jet plays quite a significant part in helping the two of them realize their true feelings about each other, and every single scene he was present was a laugh riot. Even Noah and Matt show up a little and I still can't decide who is sassier, Noah or Jet. Ollie's giant family (pun totally intended) are also fun to be around, though they could get a bit overbearing at times. I especially loved how they all accepted their mistakes when Lennon explained the situation but never stopped teasing him. Even Talon and Miller make a small appearance which is such a tease, making us want to read their book immediately.

Finally, I just want to say that when I first read this book, it was my favorite of the series. But having also read Blindsided by now, I really can't decide between the two. If you like sports romances and/or the fake dating trope, I definitely recommend this series. It's sexy, fun and very entertaining with awesome characters. Now I'm just waiting for the release of the short stories (especially because we never get an epilogue for Ollie and Lennon) and I'm highly excited for Jet and Soren's book.