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A Very Pretend Boyfriend: A Grumpy Sunshine Hockey Romance
460 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 5, 2026
135 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Scarlett Avery
79 books1,381 followersBestselling Amazon Author Scarlett Avery’s Book Boyfriends aren’t like ANY others you’ve ever cuddled to before.
These dirty-talking, DOMINEERING, saucy seducers will make you forget all the other ones. Yeah, Scarlett’s Alpha Males are that DANGEROUSLY HOT!
Be warned: Her books have been dubbed, “Epic & Mind-Blowing”! This Canadian romance author’s books will melt your e-readers and they will leave you on the edge of your seat!
I dare you to discover how SIZZLING they REALLY ARE...
P.S.: Once you 1-click Scarlett’s books, there’s NO going back!
These dirty-talking, DOMINEERING, saucy seducers will make you forget all the other ones. Yeah, Scarlett’s Alpha Males are that DANGEROUSLY HOT!
Be warned: Her books have been dubbed, “Epic & Mind-Blowing”! This Canadian romance author’s books will melt your e-readers and they will leave you on the edge of your seat!
I dare you to discover how SIZZLING they REALLY ARE...
P.S.: Once you 1-click Scarlett’s books, there’s NO going back!
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 8, 2026
“I’m thirty-nine. She’s twenty-seven. She’s my ex-stepson’s ex-girlfriend”
It was okay. (Possible spoilers ahead) It was kind of an InstaLove/Lust from H. The drama at times was OTT
The main reason I deducted stars is mainly because of the villains. They were too cartoonish (not sure that makes sense?) and there were too many villains.
Both MCs were likable.
H and h met a year prior. h was dating Chet (H’s stepson) and H was married, but had just caught his wife in bed with another man. His *now* ex wife is basically a gold digger and she has a weird attachment with her son.
In present time- h’s life is a hot mess. She’s a waitress. H is there at the restaurant because he plans on buying it. Sees h. h is being harassed, and H steps in to help her out. Later, he goes to her apartment….and after finding out she’s being recorded and the apartment is 💩, he moves her in with him and hires her to be his “social media manager??”
Okay…so I think this is the first book where I’ve seen this happen. For about 5 or 6 chapters, the MCs spend all that time basically telling each other EVERYTHING and anything about their lives. Usually it’s spread out throughout the book, but in the case, it was a huge info dump right away. They were pretty open with each other. Well….you knew h was hiding one important secret she didn’t want him to know.
Anyway, H’s ex keeps gossip going about H, so his PR decides he needs a girlfriend to improve his image. 🤷♀️ (I have a hard time understanding how dating your ex stepson’s ex girlfriend will help) Ofc, they start fake dating. Naturally, the ex wife and her son also attend the same events, so nasty stuff is said. Drama.
Both MC start to act on their attraction to each other. 🤪
I’m not into the whole daddy/little girl role playing, so I did skim a lot of the smexual stuff. Personally, I felt H’s dirty talk didn’t quite match his personality. And he had a GREAT personality. He was into acts of service, especially for h. For example- he bought her a whole self care kit for her PMS. I mean…the guy was perfect.
There is more drama (H’s slimy dad, h’s scammy ex business partners, etc….)
then we have the 3rd act breakup, of sorts. h pulls away from H. Then she finally tells him her big secret which is- her whole family is basically trash. They scam rich people for their money. They got involved with some guy (who sounded like the mafia) and her sister and two nephews were killed in a car crash. Then her mom and dad went into witness protection. 🤷♀️🤷♀️ h’s name wasn’t even her real name. She changed it. H doesn’t care about any of that.
18 months later and H does a great proposal. I thought it was sweet and very in character of him.
It was okay. (Possible spoilers ahead) It was kind of an InstaLove/Lust from H. The drama at times was OTT
The main reason I deducted stars is mainly because of the villains. They were too cartoonish (not sure that makes sense?) and there were too many villains.
Both MCs were likable.
H and h met a year prior. h was dating Chet (H’s stepson) and H was married, but had just caught his wife in bed with another man. His *now* ex wife is basically a gold digger and she has a weird attachment with her son.
In present time- h’s life is a hot mess. She’s a waitress. H is there at the restaurant because he plans on buying it. Sees h. h is being harassed, and H steps in to help her out. Later, he goes to her apartment….and after finding out she’s being recorded and the apartment is 💩, he moves her in with him and hires her to be his “social media manager??”
Okay…so I think this is the first book where I’ve seen this happen. For about 5 or 6 chapters, the MCs spend all that time basically telling each other EVERYTHING and anything about their lives. Usually it’s spread out throughout the book, but in the case, it was a huge info dump right away. They were pretty open with each other. Well….you knew h was hiding one important secret she didn’t want him to know.
Anyway, H’s ex keeps gossip going about H, so his PR decides he needs a girlfriend to improve his image. 🤷♀️ (I have a hard time understanding how dating your ex stepson’s ex girlfriend will help) Ofc, they start fake dating. Naturally, the ex wife and her son also attend the same events, so nasty stuff is said. Drama.
Both MC start to act on their attraction to each other. 🤪
I’m not into the whole daddy/little girl role playing, so I did skim a lot of the smexual stuff. Personally, I felt H’s dirty talk didn’t quite match his personality. And he had a GREAT personality. He was into acts of service, especially for h. For example- he bought her a whole self care kit for her PMS. I mean…the guy was perfect.
There is more drama (H’s slimy dad, h’s scammy ex business partners, etc….)
then we have the 3rd act breakup, of sorts. h pulls away from H. Then she finally tells him her big secret which is- her whole family is basically trash. They scam rich people for their money. They got involved with some guy (who sounded like the mafia) and her sister and two nephews were killed in a car crash. Then her mom and dad went into witness protection. 🤷♀️🤷♀️ h’s name wasn’t even her real name. She changed it. H doesn’t care about any of that.
18 months later and H does a great proposal. I thought it was sweet and very in character of him.
February 23, 2026
Ex boyfriend's ex stepdad, hockey romance, grumpy sunshine. Probably a few others too but I can't quite recall them all.
The power dynamic between Harley and Kaz was very much tilted in his favor and that didn't sit right with me.
This book was light on plot and the vindictive ex wife and ex-stepson were a little annoying. The fact that Kaz wrote a book and the excerpt you hear at the end of the book is cringe-worthy made me dislike this read a smidge more.
The power dynamic between Harley and Kaz was very much tilted in his favor and that didn't sit right with me.
This book was light on plot and the vindictive ex wife and ex-stepson were a little annoying. The fact that Kaz wrote a book and the excerpt you hear at the end of the book is cringe-worthy made me dislike this read a smidge more.
February 10, 2026
📖Book Review📖
A very pretend boyfriend (used to be A Very Fake Play)
I was very kindly given a arc of this by Love Notes PR and Scarlett Avery
I really enjoyed this. As you all know I LOVE my hockey romances and this one was no different. It just hit the right spot.
I loved Harley and how even tho life dealt her a bit of a crap hand she was determined to make things better for herself and still stayed so sweet and positive.
Kaz omg 🥵 ULTIMATE BOOK BOYFRIEND. This man knew his assignment and definitely did his homework 😏 He was also kind and considerate and understanding. Just chefs kiss 😘
Both of them together were perfect, the banter, spice, it was so so good. I mean Kaz literally read about men in romance novels and BECAME one of them. I know hes fictional but I want one 😂 Harley is very lucky indeed.
I would definitely be up to reading the next book in this series and other work from this author.
Tropes
🏒 Hockey Romance
❤️🔥 Slow Burn
❄️ Former NHL Captain
🤭 Ex-boyfriend's Stepdad
😔 Grumpy Hero
🕰️ Age Gap (he’s older then her)
💼 Workplace Romance
🧡 Roommates/Forced Proximity
🌶️ Spicy Romance
Content warnings
Please check the trigger warnings for this book before reading for your own piece of mind.
4⭐️
4🌶️
A very pretend boyfriend (used to be A Very Fake Play)
I was very kindly given a arc of this by Love Notes PR and Scarlett Avery
I really enjoyed this. As you all know I LOVE my hockey romances and this one was no different. It just hit the right spot.
I loved Harley and how even tho life dealt her a bit of a crap hand she was determined to make things better for herself and still stayed so sweet and positive.
Kaz omg 🥵 ULTIMATE BOOK BOYFRIEND. This man knew his assignment and definitely did his homework 😏 He was also kind and considerate and understanding. Just chefs kiss 😘
Both of them together were perfect, the banter, spice, it was so so good. I mean Kaz literally read about men in romance novels and BECAME one of them. I know hes fictional but I want one 😂 Harley is very lucky indeed.
I would definitely be up to reading the next book in this series and other work from this author.
Tropes
🏒 Hockey Romance
❤️🔥 Slow Burn
❄️ Former NHL Captain
🤭 Ex-boyfriend's Stepdad
😔 Grumpy Hero
🕰️ Age Gap (he’s older then her)
💼 Workplace Romance
🧡 Roommates/Forced Proximity
🌶️ Spicy Romance
Content warnings
Please check the trigger warnings for this book before reading for your own piece of mind.
4⭐️
4🌶️
March 4, 2026
Uplifting
This is a superbly written and edited book. All of the characters were believable. The plotline flows so seamlessly.
The main characters Max and Harley are perfect. An enjoyable and uplifting book.
This is a superbly written and edited book. All of the characters were believable. The plotline flows so seamlessly.
The main characters Max and Harley are perfect. An enjoyable and uplifting book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews