Canadian Boyfriend
-
- USD 11.99
-
- USD 11.99
Publisher Description
Fate brings together a ballet teacher and a hockey player in this big-hearted novel about second chances and taking risks by the bestselling author Entertainment Weekly calls the “master of witty banter.”
Once upon a time teenage Aurora Evans met a hockey player at the Mall of America. He was from Canada. And soon, he was the perfect fake boyfriend, a get-out-of-jail-free card for all kinds of sticky situations. I can't go to prom. I'm going to be visiting my boyfriend in Canada. He was just what she needed to cover her social awkwardness. He never had to know. It wasn't like she was ever going to see him again...
Years later, Aurora is teaching kids’ dance classes and battling panic and eating disorders—souvenirs from her failed ballet career—when pro hockey player Mike Martin walks in with his daughter. Mike’s honesty about his struggles with widowhood helps Aurora confront some of her own demons, and the two forge an unlikely friendship. There’s just one problem: Mike is the boy she spent years pretending was her “Canadian boyfriend.”
The longer she keeps her secret, the more she knows it will shatter the trust between them. But to have the life she wants, she needs to tackle the most important thing of all—believing in herself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Holiday's moving latest (after So This Is Christmas) sets itself apart through its sensitive focus on mental health. Aurora "Rory" Evans's teenage years revolved around ballet and the intense pressure to meet her abusive mother's expectations. To cope, she spent a fair amount of time fantasizing about "Mall Mike," the hunky Canadian boy she met once in passing. She starts claiming him as her "Canadian boyfriend" and using him to get out of unwanted social obligations. As an adult, she's settled into her job as a dance teacher, but she still struggles with anxiety. Then a new girl joins her class, and when her father arrives to pick her up, it's none other than Mall Mike himself. This collision of real life and teenage fantasy could add to Rory's worries, but instead Mike's presence in her life slowly makes everything better. For his part, professional hockey player Mike is recently widowed, emotionally distraught, and trying to help his daughter through her grief. Rory's dance classes give the little girl an outlet, and soon Mike realizes that Rory might be the perfect addition to their life. This love story has serious themes, but there's also a serious reward in store. Readers looking for emotionally intelligent romance will want to snap this up.
