Title: Fake Skating
Author: Lynn Painter
Publication: September 30, 2025
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: YA Fiction, Romance
Pages: 448

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SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)

From play dates on the playground to sneaking into movie theatres, Dani and Alec were inseparable as kids. Until Dani moved away. Years later, Dani is back in Minnesota, and excited to reconnect with the nerdy and comforting Alec. But teenage Alec is NOTHING like the boy she remembers. He’s the hockey STAR in a town where hockey players are worshipped as gods—and he loves it.

When one thing leads to another and Dani and Alec find themselves thrown together and playing the role of boyfriend and girlfriend, “complicated” becomes an understatement. In this Minnesota town, hockey may rule, but romance is about to take its place.

REVIEW:

**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Lynn Painter may be one of my favorite YA authors. Her stories are feel good, but with depth. And hockey stories are all the rage right now, so I knew the two combined was going to be amazing.

The story follows Dani as she moves back to where she grew up in Minnesota only to be connected with old family friends that include Alec. Alec and her were inseperable as kids, but then kind of just dsiappeared from each others lives. Now she is back and old feelings and old grudges come up. But turns out they are running in the same circles and Alec is THE hockey player in town. I love a little fake dating storyline because you always know they are going to get involved for real or at least one of them is going to get feelings. Even though you know how this will likely play out, its the process to get there that Painter specializes in. She keeps the story flowing, never a dull moment, and a lot of guts to the story. It’s not just the two and their feelings, but home life and personal problems and drama. There’s a little bit of everything in the mix.

Painter writes characters that are really relatable. Any reader will feel like its them, or their sister, or their best friend, or that boy they like. It doesn’t matter how old you are, because you can relate too. As a middle aged (yikes!) woman, I love them and I know that it reminds me of my own teenage drama from high school.

While it may sound like a long book over 400 pages, I promise it reads like its 100. You will be wanting more at the end. And hey… Painter is known for doing a sequel so maybe! Pick it up and enjoy another fantastic read by Lynn Painter.