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North University #1
Fake Dates & Ice Skates
DISCLAIMER: The author is aware that some parts of the novel contain spelling and grammatical mistakes. Please take this into consideration when reading and that she is a young self-published author.
𝐖𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬. She has always been a woman to stick by a schedule and work towards her end goal no matter the costs. The very last thing in her five year plan was to get caught in a fake dating plot with the one hockey player she just about tolerate.
𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐫𝐭 everything that Wren is not used to and does not want to get used to. It doesn't help that he's one of the most popular people to ever set foot on North University's grounds.
After much convincing, a few parties and an awkward family meeting later, Wren and Miles navigate the world of social media trolls and the harsh truths of living up to their potential. The more time Wren spends with him, she can slowly feel herself slipping out of the mould she has been in her entire life. For the most part, she kind of enjoys it, but there is a gnawing feeling like this is what is going to distract them from their goals. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫, 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝?
𝐖𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬. She has always been a woman to stick by a schedule and work towards her end goal no matter the costs. The very last thing in her five year plan was to get caught in a fake dating plot with the one hockey player she just about tolerate.
𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐫𝐭 everything that Wren is not used to and does not want to get used to. It doesn't help that he's one of the most popular people to ever set foot on North University's grounds.
After much convincing, a few parties and an awkward family meeting later, Wren and Miles navigate the world of social media trolls and the harsh truths of living up to their potential. The more time Wren spends with him, she can slowly feel herself slipping out of the mould she has been in her entire life. For the most part, she kind of enjoys it, but there is a gnawing feeling like this is what is going to distract them from their goals. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫, 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝?
463 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 12, 2023
1170 people are currently reading
18022 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 673 reviews
June 23, 2023
Okay so I found this one on tiktok and I so badly wanted to like it. It seems that maybe it’s self published from a young author? Which is super amazing and such a big accomplishment. But I couldn’t get past all the typos. The story was also a lot longer than it really needed to be and I found myself skimming through the last 100 pages or so. I think a lot of the issues I had with this book would be solved with an editor. I did enjoy the plot and most of the characters and their development. So TLDR, I think this is a younger author with lots of promise.
June 22, 2023
this reminds me of trying to squeeze toothpaste out of a crusty empty container it's almost interesting and then she misspells "just" and makes the characters talk about the same things they've been saying the whole book😴😴😴😴
June 19, 2023
4.5 stars — this book reminds me what a hopeless romantic i am 😭😭 OMGG LOVED ALL THE TAYLOR SWIFT REFERENCES!!! wren&miles are literally the cutest ppl ever i already miss them
June 28, 2023
This book was okay. I felt it didn’t need to be as long as it was. Wren kind of got on my nerves. I feel like she got upset more than she needed to, and her communication skills weren’t that great.
July 25, 2023
babes the typos in this is insane…
June 24, 2023
this book is so taylor swift coded because i wrote it. if you love a reverse grumpy sunshine, fake dating, smut, strong communication and funny banter, this one is for you. especially my this is me trying girlies <33
July 2, 2023
Had to DNF bc there were so many typos it was driving me crazy
July 22, 2023
The small potential this book had was ruined by all the spelling and grammar errors. I felt like I was reading those niche cliché books I’d find on wattpad and that’s saying a lot cause I’m a sucker for a cutesy cliché romance book. I almost couldn’t get through it.
June 23, 2023
I had to DNF this book which I have only done once before , it just felt too typical and childish. I would only recommend this book to someone who hasn’t read a lot of hockey romances or starting to get into fake dating but if you have, the plot is overdone and not done too well.
May 30, 2023
4.5 ⭐️
wow, I’ll be honest…this book surprised me A LOT
first of all, as a swiftie, im obligated to mention that this book has A LOT of taylor swift references, and Miles (the MMC) is the most this is me trying coded character LIKE EVER!! and Wren (the FMC) is very much a mirrorball character
OK ENOUGH SWIFTIE TALK!
Miles is an incredible character!! reading about him dealing with how to grieve his best friend (not a spoiler dw!!) shattered my heart. seeing him grow throughout the book was amazing. and the way he treated Wren had me feeling ❤️🔥💖💝💘💓💗💞🫀
Wren…such a strong FMC fr. the things she had to endure with her mom…what?? no one should ever have to feel the pressure that she felt from her family. she did annoy me at times, i didn’t really understand why she did certain things, but i still really enjoyed reading in her pov.
now for what i didn’t really like…
there’s only one main thing i didn’t enjoy and it was the pacing of this book. i was about 40% into the book and I remember thinking, “this seems like something that should happen near the end of the book”. and i thought that for a lot of things that happened in the first 50%.
also, i was very confused on how they suddenly went from fake dating to “just one time” to Wren sleeping at Miles’s house almost everyday. the chapter where he asked her to be his gf had me a little bamboozled because of that. i felt like they sort of moved from one stage to the next very quickly without even discussing things.
overall, i did enjoy the book and can’t wait to read Scarlett and Kennedy’s books!!
wow, I’ll be honest…this book surprised me A LOT
first of all, as a swiftie, im obligated to mention that this book has A LOT of taylor swift references, and Miles (the MMC) is the most this is me trying coded character LIKE EVER!! and Wren (the FMC) is very much a mirrorball character
OK ENOUGH SWIFTIE TALK!
Miles is an incredible character!! reading about him dealing with how to grieve his best friend (not a spoiler dw!!) shattered my heart. seeing him grow throughout the book was amazing. and the way he treated Wren had me feeling ❤️🔥💖💝💘💓💗💞🫀
Wren…such a strong FMC fr. the things she had to endure with her mom…what?? no one should ever have to feel the pressure that she felt from her family. she did annoy me at times, i didn’t really understand why she did certain things, but i still really enjoyed reading in her pov.
now for what i didn’t really like…
there’s only one main thing i didn’t enjoy and it was the pacing of this book. i was about 40% into the book and I remember thinking, “this seems like something that should happen near the end of the book”. and i thought that for a lot of things that happened in the first 50%.
also, i was very confused on how they suddenly went from fake dating to “just one time” to Wren sleeping at Miles’s house almost everyday. the chapter where he asked her to be his gf had me a little bamboozled because of that. i felt like they sort of moved from one stage to the next very quickly without even discussing things.
overall, i did enjoy the book and can’t wait to read Scarlett and Kennedy’s books!!
June 28, 2023
This book was such a drag. It should’ve been about half of the length and I felt like I was reading the book embodiment of a Naruto filler episode. So many spelling mistakes :,(
June 22, 2023
could NOT get over the typos it drove me insane
December 14, 2023
This is officially the best way to tell someone you love them.
“At every table, I’d save you a seat.”
- Miles (quoting Taylor Swift)
“At every table, I’d save you a seat.”
- Miles (quoting Taylor Swift)
July 20, 2023
2.5⭐️
I didn’t think I’d ever say this but maybe the fake dating trope in ice-skating/hockey romances is overdone. Or maybe this one was just poorly executed. There was barely any plot. I didn’t care about either MCs a lot. And I read the disclaimer, so I know the author is self-published, but the many typos and grammar errors made this more painful to read than it would have been without them. They were very obvious - with a simple re-read, it wouldn’t have been a problem.
I didn’t think I’d ever say this but maybe the fake dating trope in ice-skating/hockey romances is overdone. Or maybe this one was just poorly executed. There was barely any plot. I didn’t care about either MCs a lot. And I read the disclaimer, so I know the author is self-published, but the many typos and grammar errors made this more painful to read than it would have been without them. They were very obvious - with a simple re-read, it wouldn’t have been a problem.
June 20, 2023
I´ve absolutely loved this book!!!
I can´t wait for Evan and Scarlett i already love them.
I can´t wait for Evan and Scarlett i already love them.
June 28, 2023
DNF at 48%. Could not believe I wasn’t even half way through
August 8, 2023
2.5 stars. the average. the middle. half of 5 stars.
this book…i’m still trying to figure out my thoughts on it.
i know a lot of people would really enjoy this book, it’s one of those books that if you get it you get! so don’t let my opinions change your thoughts!
pros:
-really liked the male love interest, miles, he was a golden retriever character, was so genuine and caring, really liked reading about him.
-also liked wren’s friends. kennedy is so relatable and a ‘me’ character.
-scarlett and evan’s dynamic in this book is very interesting, and knowing they are the main characters in book 2 is the reason i’m continuing this series.
-the romance was really sweet at times and i enjoyed it. there were some lines in this book that had me going “awhhhhhh”
-the tropes and scenarios were fun too!
-wren’s panic attacks and anxiety felt very realistic in a relatable way that it was quite comforting knowing that even a fictional character has those moments too
cons:
-this book was too long for a romance book. usually i liked long romances because they are sweet and they are slowburn. but this was just slow paced. and a lot of this book could’ve been condensed in my opinion.
-i didn’t enjoy the jokes about miles’ alcoholism at all, almost all of the characters in this book made fun of him and didn’t even try to help him, talk to him and open up, reassure him etc, especially considering they know the reason for it and know he’s struggling. yes it is not your friends problem to solve, however you would think people actually cared about him instead of making it into a joke? i didn’t like it and it came off completely mean in my opinion. didn’t enjoy how he only became sober for a girl. that may be realistic however it’s not healthy at all, which shows when minor something happens and he turns to drinking again which then causes the third act breakup.
-don’t even get me started on the dramatics of the third act breakup. if they had just communicated either before or after taking some space from each other, then it could’ve easily been resolved. except they spent weeks apart from each other and then he shows up for her and all of a sudden they are ready to get back into bed with each other. just resolved after 2 seconds?
-amelia ‘Wren’. there were times when i liked her, but a lot of the time she was so frustratingly stubborn and occasionally disrespectful to the other characters (such as when miles was talking about carter, his dead best friend, to carters idol and she got mad over it?), that it was hard to like her. there’s not a lot to say about her character, i just don’t think i connected to her. also a lot of her side plots such a writing a book and becoming an author was mentioned a couple of times but it never really progressed? i hope there’s more mention of it in book 2 of this series.
-there was A LOT of pop culture references which, sometimes the 3-4 taylor swift mentions is okay, however i couldn’t count them all on Both hands because there was so many, for many celebs in general.
-in the goodreads synopsis, it explains that there are spelling errors which is understandable, but the errors became so confusing, especially for one character whose name I’m not even sure about because it’s spelt differently so often. xavier? zavier? zaiver? i’m genuinely unsure.
i’m sure there’s more i liked & disliked…but for now let’s leave it there! if you decide to read this book, i hope you like it more than i did!
this book…i’m still trying to figure out my thoughts on it.
i know a lot of people would really enjoy this book, it’s one of those books that if you get it you get! so don’t let my opinions change your thoughts!
pros:
-really liked the male love interest, miles, he was a golden retriever character, was so genuine and caring, really liked reading about him.
-also liked wren’s friends. kennedy is so relatable and a ‘me’ character.
-scarlett and evan’s dynamic in this book is very interesting, and knowing they are the main characters in book 2 is the reason i’m continuing this series.
-the romance was really sweet at times and i enjoyed it. there were some lines in this book that had me going “awhhhhhh”
-the tropes and scenarios were fun too!
-wren’s panic attacks and anxiety felt very realistic in a relatable way that it was quite comforting knowing that even a fictional character has those moments too
cons:
-this book was too long for a romance book. usually i liked long romances because they are sweet and they are slowburn. but this was just slow paced. and a lot of this book could’ve been condensed in my opinion.
-i didn’t enjoy the jokes about miles’ alcoholism at all, almost all of the characters in this book made fun of him and didn’t even try to help him, talk to him and open up, reassure him etc, especially considering they know the reason for it and know he’s struggling. yes it is not your friends problem to solve, however you would think people actually cared about him instead of making it into a joke? i didn’t like it and it came off completely mean in my opinion. didn’t enjoy how he only became sober for a girl. that may be realistic however it’s not healthy at all, which shows when minor something happens and he turns to drinking again which then causes the third act breakup.
-don’t even get me started on the dramatics of the third act breakup. if they had just communicated either before or after taking some space from each other, then it could’ve easily been resolved. except they spent weeks apart from each other and then he shows up for her and all of a sudden they are ready to get back into bed with each other. just resolved after 2 seconds?
-amelia ‘Wren’. there were times when i liked her, but a lot of the time she was so frustratingly stubborn and occasionally disrespectful to the other characters (such as when miles was talking about carter, his dead best friend, to carters idol and she got mad over it?), that it was hard to like her. there’s not a lot to say about her character, i just don’t think i connected to her. also a lot of her side plots such a writing a book and becoming an author was mentioned a couple of times but it never really progressed? i hope there’s more mention of it in book 2 of this series.
-there was A LOT of pop culture references which, sometimes the 3-4 taylor swift mentions is okay, however i couldn’t count them all on Both hands because there was so many, for many celebs in general.
-in the goodreads synopsis, it explains that there are spelling errors which is understandable, but the errors became so confusing, especially for one character whose name I’m not even sure about because it’s spelt differently so often. xavier? zavier? zaiver? i’m genuinely unsure.
i’m sure there’s more i liked & disliked…but for now let’s leave it there! if you decide to read this book, i hope you like it more than i did!
September 3, 2023
This book is directly under “Sparkling Hope” for the worst books i’ve read this year.
What was going on ??
And what is the reasoning for typos and grammar issues.
You can’t even publish a book on kindle unless you’re over 18, and 18 + should know what a coma is.
I didn’t like the FMC either i’m sorry she was so… odd. Getting mad at the MMC for talking ab his dead best friend to his best friends idol is crazy lol and then she dances on his teammate? It’s giving episode.
Sorry not sorry, I know you’re new and all but please, fix your grammar.
What was going on ??
And what is the reasoning for typos and grammar issues.
You can’t even publish a book on kindle unless you’re over 18, and 18 + should know what a coma is.
I didn’t like the FMC either i’m sorry she was so… odd. Getting mad at the MMC for talking ab his dead best friend to his best friends idol is crazy lol and then she dances on his teammate? It’s giving episode.
Sorry not sorry, I know you’re new and all but please, fix your grammar.
June 26, 2023
This was one of the worst books I have ever read. The book was full of grammar and spelling mistakes and had a plot that was all over the place. Even as a guilty pleasure book, this one is definitely not worth it.
July 30, 2023
This book was good for an 18 year old self published author. However, I think it would benefit a lot from an editor. There was a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes, and a lot of unnecessary pages. This book could have been done in half the amount of pages. I skimmed the last 150 pages as I couldn’t deal with it anymore
July 11, 2023
more like 2.5.. the amount of TYPOS in this book, absolutely unreal and distracting😭
August 12, 2023
DNF
This book is making me physically cringe sorry i can’t do this lmao
This book is making me physically cringe sorry i can’t do this lmao
June 27, 2023
Much like Janisha’s other book, this one is a five stars. THE COMMUNICATION. THE TENSION. THE CHARACTERS. I COULDN’T GET ENOUGH. everything about this book was perfection. love love love love <3. counting the days for scarevan. 🫶🏼🫶🏼
February 3, 2024
I loved this book!! I specifically loved how much depth both main characters had. I loved miles so much and thought he was the sweetest, I think he def had good character growth throughout the book. I did not feel the same for Wren though and that’s where I couldn’t give it higher. She knows what her problems are throughout the book but she never rlly works thru them even in the end. I also don’t like 3rd act breakups where it’s some variation of the main character protecting the other one or they’re a distraction so they have to drop them but then in the end it’s like yeah u r a distraction or wtvr but id rather try like it just makes it so unnecessary. I also didn’t find the spelling mistakes too distracting, only when in the dialogue and they were not that prominent so I wasn’t really put off by them. This book was a beautiful, funny and overall really sweet book (even if Wren was annoying at times she def was hilarious). Definitely would recommend to anyone who likes sport/college romance:)
October 28, 2023
honestly it’s started good and got worse definitely wasn’t the best book ever and i didn’t like the 3rd act break up bc that didn’t last and they got back together like sooo quick so not a great book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2023
4.5⭐️ I fucking love them!!!! The whole friendship group as well i just love everyone. AND THE SCAREVAN CRUMBS TOWARDS THE END-
I WANT THE BOOK NOW
I WANT THE BOOK NOW
June 29, 2023
this book is SO CUTE !! i literally saw one tiktok about them and i immediately grabbed the book bc of how excited i was :)
i’m not gonna lie i’ve read it in 1 and a half day bc i couldn’t put it down bc of the characters - amazing btw - but the writing ??!! i literally loved every words in the book
like sometimes when you read a book you’re like - some sentences are useless or there are too much description and stuff, like sometimes it gets boring but LET ME TELL YOU - IT DID NOT HAPPENED HERE !! everything that was written was literally right into the story, like there isn’t anything that is "too much" or that is added to like fill the void or smth and i LOVED that about the book!!!
i gave it 4 stars bc it was amazing but i’m pretty sure i’ll give more stars to the second book about scarlett & evan bc Y’ALL NOT READY!! they’re the n1 in my heart and i can’t wait to read about them again :)
i’m not gonna lie i’ve read it in 1 and a half day bc i couldn’t put it down bc of the characters - amazing btw - but the writing ??!! i literally loved every words in the book
like sometimes when you read a book you’re like - some sentences are useless or there are too much description and stuff, like sometimes it gets boring but LET ME TELL YOU - IT DID NOT HAPPENED HERE !! everything that was written was literally right into the story, like there isn’t anything that is "too much" or that is added to like fill the void or smth and i LOVED that about the book!!!
i gave it 4 stars bc it was amazing but i’m pretty sure i’ll give more stars to the second book about scarlett & evan bc Y’ALL NOT READY!! they’re the n1 in my heart and i can’t wait to read about them again :)
Read
September 29, 2023young self published author with promise! I def see the vision with this, if it was made a little more concise and gave more character detail I think this would be a fan fave
November 16, 2023
rtc probably next month 😭😭
July 19, 2023
wrenny rainbow and milesy
this story was really cute !! kinda long imo. i enjoyed this story tho. the vibes were so fun. i felt like i was in college w them (esp since i attend nu (not north university but another nu irl lols) and im a sophomore like they were)
i eat up anyyyyy fake dating hockey romance. i love that wren and miles helped each other work thru their probs (skating and hockey) but i kinda got frustrated a lot with wren. miles was so down bad, clearly, and she was sk hesitant and once he messed up, it was like she used that against him and as an excuse to cut him out due to her own fears but not blame her fears if that makes sense.
miles tho, lovedddd him !! he grew a lot, working thru his grief and being able to get back to playing hockey and winning the championships
also loved the friend group that formed due to miles and wren's relationship. idk for some reason, gigi gave me weird vibes tho ? she seemed kinda off to me idk but kennedy and scarlett slayed
love the taylor swift and harry styles refrences !!
this book was a fun read & yall- look past the spelling or grammatical errors, its acc not that serious lmao, jan did a wonderful job writing this independently and i admire her for creating a fun story with so many characters coming to life
this story was really cute !! kinda long imo. i enjoyed this story tho. the vibes were so fun. i felt like i was in college w them (esp since i attend nu (not north university but another nu irl lols) and im a sophomore like they were)
i eat up anyyyyy fake dating hockey romance. i love that wren and miles helped each other work thru their probs (skating and hockey) but i kinda got frustrated a lot with wren. miles was so down bad, clearly, and she was sk hesitant and once he messed up, it was like she used that against him and as an excuse to cut him out due to her own fears but not blame her fears if that makes sense.
miles tho, lovedddd him !! he grew a lot, working thru his grief and being able to get back to playing hockey and winning the championships
also loved the friend group that formed due to miles and wren's relationship. idk for some reason, gigi gave me weird vibes tho ? she seemed kinda off to me idk but kennedy and scarlett slayed
love the taylor swift and harry styles refrences !!
this book was a fun read & yall- look past the spelling or grammatical errors, its acc not that serious lmao, jan did a wonderful job writing this independently and i admire her for creating a fun story with so many characters coming to life
Displaying 1 - 30 of 673 reviews