Inspiration behind writing Fake Skating
Painter decided to write Fake Skating after realizing there were few young adult hockey rom-coms, leading her to visit cousins in Minnesota and observe high school practices for research.
Reviewed
Updated
Read Time
7 min read
Our age bandAges 14+ · Young adult
Reader rating
4.5 · 7,669 Amazon ratings
reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks scoreShare This Review
Lynn Painter's Fake Skating is a YA romance in which childhood sweethearts Dani and Alec fake-date in a hockey-mad Minnesota town. Kirkus and Common Sense Media praise the chemistry, while others fault its drawn-out misunderstanding.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Older-teen and adult readers who want a quick-turning, swoony hockey rom-com with a found-family feel and a slightly older tone, but without adult-level explicitness.
Worth it if
Worth reading if you want a book that mostly delivers on its core pairing, with believable leads, snappy banter and a hockey setting that supports rather than swamps the romance.
Skip if
Skip it if you are impatient with a long-running miscommunication that one conversation would resolve, if you want fake-dating or sports romance that breaks new ground, or if heavy swearing in a YA book bothers you.
Where reviewers agree and split
Readers rate it 4.5 on Amazon. The reviews we read that discuss it in depth agree:
Only Kirkus Reviews and Pine Reads Review discuss its characters: both praise the leads.
Who says what
Characters
Praise
“A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.”
— Kirkus Reviews · Press reviewWhat readers & critics say
Reception leans positive. Kirkus Reviews called it "a compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters," and Common Sense Media praised the dialogue and romantic tension. Reservations are consistent: Common Sense Media said the central misunderstanding lingers throughout the narrative, and Bookishelf judged it competent but not Painter's strongest, leaning on familiar beats.
“The misunderstanding between Alec and Dani is stretched out for the entire book, creating conflict that one quick conversation would resolve.”
— Common Sense Media4.5from 7,669 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
Ask LuvemBooks
Was this helpful?
Fake Skating pairs childhood sweethearts Dani and Alec in a fake-dating deal set around a Minnesota hockey team, and reviewers broadly agree the chemistry and banter carry it. The caveat is a misunderstanding that some find excessive in length. It suits readers after a quick, warm, slightly older-skewing teen rom-com rather than anything that reinvents the trope.
- Is it worth reading?
- Reviewers who liked it were won over by the pairing. Kirkus Reviews praised the work, and All About Romance's reviewer said she couldn't stop turning the pages. The split is over freshness: Bookishelf found it competent and emotionally engaging but not Painter's strongest, with conventional romance elements and underdeveloped secondary plotlines. It delivers best for readers who want the core romance done well rather than a new take on the trope.
- Similar books
- The closest match is Painter's own Better Than the Movies, which Bookishelf names as a useful precedent, with the hockey culture here adding fresh flavour. For other teen romances built on past connection, If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowin and K. L. Walther's The Summer of Broken Rules and The Summer of Second Chances are catalogue picks, and Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before is the best-known YA fake-relationship romance.
- Who should read this?
- It suits older teens and adults who want a swoony, quick-turning rom-com with a found-family feel and a hockey backdrop that supports rather than swamps the romance. Pine Reads Review's Sam Yanis noted the tone skews older and reminded her of adult hockey romances, but welcomed that it avoids adult-level explicitness. It is a weaker fit for readers who are impatient with extended miscommunication or who want an innovative take on fake dating.
- What age is it for?
- Common Sense Media recommends it for ages 14 and up, and the publisher lists a 9 to 12 grade level. Common Sense Media and Pine Reads Review both flag profanity, violence, and drug references. YA Books Central's reviewer found the swearing a bit much even for a YA book, and notes the romance remains chaste.
- About Lynn Painter
- Lynn Painter is an American contemporary romance author. Better Than the Movies is another of her books we have reviewed, and it is the comparison point Bookishelf uses for Fake Skating.
- Does the central misunderstanding hold up?
- This is where reviewers split in degree rather than direction. Common Sense Media said it runs throughout the book, creating conflict that simple communication could avoid, and YA Books Central conceded it runs a little long even though she ranked the book her favourite Painter. Bookishelf added that external conflicts and forced separations sometimes dent the emotional authenticity. Readers who tolerate that device may find it adds tension, while others will find it the book's main frustration.
- What are the standout moments and characters?
- Bookishelf pointed to small specific moments, such as a terrible Spam sandwich and shared library time, as where the book feels most genuine. All About Romance's reviewer singled out Dani's grandfather, a former NHL enforcer, as a favourite character. Pine Reads Review's Sam Yanis loved both leads and the weight Painter gives Dani's family relationships.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
What age is it for?
About Lynn Painter
Does the central misunderstanding hold up?
What are the standout moments and characters?
Summarize this book
Dani Collins, a high school senior shaken by her parents' divorce, moves back to Minnesota to live with her grandfather and needs an extracurricular to get off Harvard's waitlist. Her old best friend Alec Barczewski, a hockey star, needs a cleaner image for NHL scouts after a bong photo surfaced online. They agree that she will manage the team and he will have a respectable girlfriend, while each still believes the other ghosted them years earlier. The story alternates between both of their points of view.
Follow up
Why does each think the other ghosted them?
Do I need to read other Lynn Painter books first?
Synthesized from verified book data & published reviews · How we review
Ask LuvemBooks
What would you like to know about Fake Skating?
Answers come from our editorial notes on this book. If we haven't covered something, we'll say so.
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Our Review
We review the evidence: published critics, reader verdicts and BookTube reviews, gathered and weighed with AI assistance and edited by LuvemBooks, rather than one reader's first-hand take.
All About Romance's reviewer ranked it among her favourite Lynn Painter YA romances, and its reputation as a fast, hockey-set read is well earned.
What happens between Dani and Alec in Fake Skating?
The couple at the centre are Dani Collins, a high school senior reeling from her parents' divorce, and Alec Barczewski, her hockey-star childhood best friend, and the romance is fake dating between old sweethearts who each believe the other ghosted them. Dani has moved back to Minnesota to live with her grandfather and needs an extracurricular to get off Harvard's waitlist.
Alec needs to repair his image with NHL scouts after a bong photo surfaced online, so they strike a deal: she becomes hockey team manager, he gets a respectable girlfriend, and the pretending begins.
The book is told in dual points of view, which YA Books Central's Cherokee Crum felt put the reader inside both characters' anger, betrayal and heart-racing moments. Simon & Schuster published it on 30 September 2025 as a 448-page hardcover from its Books for Young Readers imprint.
What did critics find to praise in Fake Skating?
The loudest praise is for the central pair. Kirkus Reviews called it "a compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters."
Common Sense Media said the banter and chemistry are on point and that the hockey is real without overtaking the plot.
The Moving Words found the book charming and emotionally resonant, while allowing a mild caveat that it is not groundbreaking. All About Romance's reviewer said she couldn't stop turning the pages and singled out Dani's grandfather, a former NHL enforcer, as a favourite character.
Pine Reads Review's Sam Yanis loved both leads and the weight Painter gives Dani's family relationships.
Bookishelf, meanwhile, praised the small specific moments, such as a terrible Spam sandwich and shared library time, as where the book feels most genuine.
Where does Fake Skating fall short?
The most repeated complaint is the central misunderstanding. Common Sense Media said it is stretched across the whole book, creating conflict that one quick conversation would resolve, and that the constant pop-culture references wear thin.
It also said the characters avoid conflict elsewhere in their lives and never really process what went wrong.
YA Books Central's Cherokee Crum, who otherwise ranked it her favourite Painter, conceded the miscommunication runs a little long. Bookishelf judged it a competent, emotionally engaging romance but not Painter's strongest work, saying it leans on familiar beats and leaves some secondary plotlines underdeveloped.
Bookishelf also found that external conflicts and forced separations sometimes dent the emotional authenticity.
Is Fake Skating suitable for teens, and what content should parents know about?
Common Sense Media recommends it for ages 14 and up, and the publisher's grade level is 9 to 12. Common Sense Media and Pine Reads Review both flag foul language, violence, drinking and drugs, and YA Books Central's reviewer adds that the romance stays at kissing, with some underage drinking, mentions of drug use and some violence.
She found the swearing a bit much even for a YA book.
Pine Reads Review's Sam Yanis observed that the tone skews older and reminded her of adult hockey romances, but welcomed that Painter writes for older teens without the explicit content of adult books. Readers who want the hockey-romance feel with that older tone but no adult explicitness have a clear match here.
Is Fake Skating worth reading?
Weighing these reviews, the book's draw is the pairing: Kirkus and Common Sense Media converge on chemistry and banter, and some reviewers call it a favourite or a full payoff on Painter's formula.
That points the book towards readers who want a swoony, quick-turning rom-com with a hockey setting and a found-family feel, and away from readers who are impatient with long-running miscommunication or who want something innovative.
At a glance
- Format and publisher: 448 pages, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 30 September 2025.
- Age and content: Common Sense Media says 14+; the publisher grades it 9-12. Foul language, violence, drinking and drug references per Common Sense Media and Pine Reads Review.
- Author: Lynn Painter is described by Simon & Schuster as the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Better Than the Movies.
Publishers and aggregators note its New York Times bestseller run, and Wikipedia reports a Sony film adaptation in development, with Will Gluck's Olive Bridge banner, announced in 2026.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
kirkusreviews.com
- Further reading
- 2
Lynn Painter, LuvemBooks
- 3
en.wikipedia.org
- 4
commonsensemedia.org
- 5
pinereadsreview.com
- 6
allaboutromance.com
- 7
themovingwords.com
- 8
dailyuw.com
- 9
yabookscentral.com
- 10
lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io
- 11
simonandschuster.com
- 12
Age & Reading Level
Our age band
Ages 14+
Reading level
Young adult
Amazon listing
Ages 16+ (set by customers) · Grade 9–12
Our age band groups books for browsing; it isn't an age a review gave.
Tropes
fake datingfriends to lovers
From how readers describe it, not our own reading.
4 content notes · who it suits
Content to know about
foul language
underage drinking
drug references
some violence
Best for: Ages 14+ — foul language, drinking, drug references and some violence
Skip if you want a clean teen romance, or you're impatient with a misunderstanding that one conversation would resolve.
Lynn Painter on Fake Skating
Lynn Painter discusses 'Better Than the Movies' and 'Fake Skating' in conversation with author Ali Hazelwood.
Uploaded by Barnes & Noble, 2026 · Watch on YouTube ·
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