I am so grateful that we have a female POC author in closed-door romance! 💘

Ari and Drew meet on New years as she is about to be the captain the British women’s hockey team in the Winter Olympics. He is a photographer and little does Ari know, he is the brother of one of her rivals from the US team. It becomes mutually beneficial to fake date him to avoid her narcissistic Olympian ex, Harrison.

I am shocked at the amount of fake dating tropes that have arisen in 2026 romcoms. It is by far the most common trope that I am seeing for this year, despite the fact that fake dating almost never happens in real life. That aside, I enjoyed this very sweet story and loved the Olympic setting. I don’t know much about hockey, but I loved the storyline about female athletes, how they work together as a team, and the interpersonal relationships. Some really fun and inspiring minor characters. I also love a good kiss cam scene, and I really enjoyed the banter between Drew and Ari.

Audiobook review – I thought that the performance was well acted and easy to follow. Great narrator and the pacing is perfect for audio. This is the perfect winter romcom if you are looking for something lighthearted in the new year.

I might even watch Olympic women’s hockey instead of just figure skating and skiing this year!

Thanks to NetGalley and McMillan audio for the arc. Book to be published 2/2/26

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