Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - The Fake Out

4.5 Skating Lesson Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Giddy! That is how this book makes you feel! Utterly and completely GIDDY! It had me kicking and squealing, giggling like a schoolgirl with a crush and just overall shaking my legs at how cute and awesome it was.

I was elated at the events that happened and loved how things unfurled. The two flirting with each other was excellent and the way these two migrated from fake to not fake was TEXTBOOK PERFECTION on how to pull off that trope FANTASTICALLY! (Mostly because the lines blurred so well you weren't sure when they realised this is no longer fake between them - because it was WELL BEFORE they told each other).

Hazel is the team's physiotherapist and older sister of Piper, who was the main character in Behind the Net. Hazel has a dilemma, her cheating ex-boyfriend has just been traded into the hockey team she works for and she is assigned as his physiotherapist. He is also the reason Hazel has closed off her heart to any professional sports player - because you can't get hurt if you never open yourself to it in the first place. Rory has been secretly pining after Hazel since she was his math tutor in high school, so to keep her Ex at bay, the two strike up a fake relationship as a way to hinder any advances that her ex might make.

This book does interpersonal relationships really well. Especially how difficult it can be to maintain and work on those relationships. Hazel's relationship with her mother is quite strained as her mother is battling with a body image problem. She was a ballerina that hasn't been able to dance for a while, so is super critical of how she looks. As a result, she doesn't allow herself to try any experiences because of how her body would be perceived. This goes against everything Hazel is trying to achieve with her dream of opening a body-positive yoga studio.

Rory has a strained relationship with both his parents. He believes that choosing hockey and staying with his dad forced his mom away. However, with age, it's become clear that his dad seems to love hockey and only hockey. Being Rory's agent he pushes Rory in directions that don't make him happy anymore causing conflict between the two.

Hazel and Rory's relationship was absolutely beautiful because the two of them bring out the best in each other. Rory makes Hazel see that she can do anything. She can make her dreams a reality and her presence makes people's lives better. He helps her overcome her fear of love and the underlying trauma her ex caused and helps her see how amazing she is. Likewise Hazel makes Rory find his love for hockey again. At the start of the book, has lost touch with what the game means to him. Due to his father's influence, he is just going through the motions and being who he thinks his father wants him to be. But Hazel changes his perspective, opens his heart to collaboration and teamwork and gives him the chance to be his own type of role model allowing him to balance life and hockey in a way his parents never managed to do when he was growing up.

The spice in this was also fun! Rory makes Hazel feel incredibly sexy by sending her a shit ton of lingerie which the two of and enjoy through various phone exchanges and spicy scenes.

Tropes in this include:
▶ ~~Enemies~~ Hate to Love
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Hockey Romance
▶ Found Family
▶ Golden Retriever/Cinnamon Roll
▶ Fake Dating
▶ No Third Act Breakup
▶ It's always been you
▶ Forehead Kisses

Overall this felt just like a sweet and cute Hallmark movie, that is just going to make you giddy and smile. It was absolutely adorable and a fantastic book to pick up if you are looking for your next hockey romance fix!

Content Warnings

palmington_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-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

4.75

i loved this book so bad.

i've never reviewed a book before i was finished with it, but about 50% of the way through this book, i knew it was going to be one of my favorite reads.

the book flows so incredibly smoothly, it was genuinely impressive. nothing felt forced or awkwardly written - often when i'm reading new adult i worry that it's going to sound like a 40/50 year old writing about 20somethings - but this book was just so well done. the banter between the two main characters was chef's kiss. the conversations with side characters felt realistic. the pacing and dialogue was just overall so perfect.

i actually really really enjoyed the fmc - i liked her devotion to her cause and how headstrong she was. she was a lil prickly but very loving and committed to the things she belived in and i ate it up!

the mmc - i absolutely melted for him. just a very well written MMC. i cant think of one ive liked better amongst my recent reads. i love that he was receptive to change both within himself and with his relationships (both personal and career). his emotional maturity and development happened so naturally throughout the book and i just couldn't get enough of him.

im not big into sports romance and really haven't understood the increase in them over the past couple of years - this was SO well balanced between sports and contemporary romance that it didnt even phase me ! if sports really arent your thing, i still highly recommend you check this out !

this book touches on anxiety (in many forms) and i think it's so well done. as someone who is chronically anxious and often depressed, i think it was done very well in this book. it definitely isnt reflective of everyone's situations, but it's a great look at how our home lives can shape our outlooks on the world, ourselves, and our relationships.

overall, i loved this book so so much and i wish i couldve read it slower but i genuinely couldnt put it down. i read this thing in like 12 hours.

the only reason i gave it a 4.75 instead of a 5 is because the fmc had a couple moments where i was like, 'girl come on, really?' and there were a couple lines that felt a little awkward. but these are so tiny and barely noticeable -- im just neurotic.

please read this ! if youre on the fence, read it ! it's so fun and fluffy and sweet and touching and i just love it. easily my fave read of 2024 so far (and ive read 26 books this year!)

4.75 stars (theres something minor keeping it from being a 5 star but it's great and im going to reread it for sure)

Content Warnings

forgottencupoftea's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sami_leigh's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

I want to be someone who Hazel’s proud to be dating, even if it is pretend.

Rory deserves to be shown that he’s loved.

He’s my safe place to land.

🥅 First person dual POV
🥅 Enemies to lovers
🥅 Fake dating
🥅 NHL Hockey player / Physical Therapist
🥅 High school crush — she was dating his rival
🥅 He falls first —Hard
🥅 She’s saving to start an inclusive yoga/therapy studio
🥅 He’s trying to balance his fathers expectations with actually liking his life
🥅 Well established secondary characters; Owens (Book 3), Darcy, Streicher & Pippa (Book 1)
🥅 Spice 🥵 ‘good girl’
🥅 MC growth; self worth/confidence, past relationship trauma, childhood trauma, risking a relationship
🥅 No third act break up 🙌🏻
🥅 Body respect 😍
🥅 Epilogue

⚠️ Toxic relationship (past), toxic relationship (parent), infidelity (past relationship), sexual harassment (by secondary character), body shaming (by secondary character towards themselves).

Content Warnings

britwalsh16's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

I love a good enemies to lovers romance! I enjoyed this book very much. Hazel and Rory’s story was perfect. They make such a sweet pair, Rory chasing after Hazel since high school, & Hazel fighting her attracting to Rory so she doesn’t get hurt again. But neither of them realize what awaits them. And the whole hockey team & organization that stands behind them is amazing, and something I love so much about the hockey organization & community, they’re a family, & when someone threatens that family they deal with it, even when the threat comes from within, they stand behind eachother & protect! Connor made a great villain, & I love how no matter what he did, Hazel & Rory didn’t let him get between them. I want a love like that!

Content Warnings

kuroko's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

5.0

Content Warnings

readwithria's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

The Fake Out was a fun and fast read with the perfect balance of spice, character development, and plot. I had a great time, and will definitely keep an eye out for other books by Stephanie Archer.

Read if you love
🩵 dual POV
🩶 fake dating
🩵 protective/slightly possessive MMCs
🩶 FMCs who stand up for themselves and their loved ones

Content Warnings

gabs_parr's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

5.0

Loved this book more than the first. This couple was more relatable to me than the first couple because Hazel’s passionate but kind personality is so similar to mine. The way she behaves in her relationship though, anxious-avoidant, snarky, while also being deeply loyal, protective, and supportive- and secretly caring more than she’s willing to admit even to herself at first… for better and for worse, was like watching myself in a mirror. It was sweet to see a girl like us get a happy ending.

This book also improved in the first. Every problem that I had with the first book was addressed in this book to at least some degree. My biggest issue with the first book was that the main characters didn’t have friendships outside of each other and I thought that was weird. In this book, Hazel has a slightly deeper relationship with her sister than was shown in the first book and Rory’s relationship with Jamie has healed so that friendship is a shown, along with some blossoming casual relationships with other men on The Storm, including Hayden and Coach.

This book also contains a better balance of romance, friendship, and … love scenes than the first book did. A much, much better balance. The ones that were included fit into the story much better and they were still just as well done as the ones in the first book. Another improvement I loved to see.

I really loved the storylines with their parents in this book. All 3 of them. Very well done.

I would recommend this book to any romance reader looking to get into the sports romance genre.

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