Sports romance reads are all the rage these days. I just finished Just One Season by Chrissy Hopewell. If you enjoy fake dating books, this one is for you.

This was such a sweet, fun read! A professional hockey player and public relations manager team up to fake date for some very unique reasons. I feel like athletes in a fake dating trope are always doing it for their public image, so this was like a breath of fresh air! I love the found family aspect between Kellan and his daughter's mom Bri. Then again when the KFDPC is formed.

I struggled through the first 25% but once the MCs started interacting more, I was hooked! If you're looking for an easy read with just a little bit of angst, this is for you! Please be sure to read the author's note as there is mention of childhood cancer in the book.

Thank you Fox Hollow Publishing for providing this book review for consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

My review is live on GoodReads and here is the link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7362378180

I did want to add one thing to my review that isn't included on my GoodReads review. I felt like the dates listed at the beginning of the chapters are not necessary. You get an idea of the timeline throughout the book when the dates for their fake dates are discussed, plus the holidays the occur. The dates gave me such a solid timeline which almost made their relationship feel rushed.

Absolutely loved this book. The characters are adorable and I loved them. This book had me giggling and smiling a lot. Thank you to the author and netgalley for this opportunity. Looking forward to more.

I gave this book 3 stars. This is a cute, easy read. I love a good hockey romance and had never previously read a fake dating one. You can get involved with the story and the characters are likeable. However, there are a lot of cliches written into the dialogue of the story that make it a little difficult to get through at points. I also found the renaming of the dog constantly to be a bit unnecessary and take away from the rest of the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review

I loved this book and devoured it over 2 days! This was one of the cutest fake dating books I’ve read in a long time and Kellen has my entire heart. The character interactions, and the non traditional chosen family structure made my heart happy.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read this ARC

This i loved reading! Started off quite slow but then picked up and i really enjoyed this quick easy romance its , hockey player romance, brothers best friend and fake dating which is 3 things i love in a romance.
Recommend this for a nice easy read xx

Fake dating
Single dad
Found family
Brothers teammate
No owd and little omd
Very cute dog
Trigger warning: mentions of childhood cancer


This is my first Chrissy Hopewell book and it definitely won’t be my last. This book was so fun, and I smiled and laughed my way through. I basically devoured it in 24 hours. I really loved the writing style and development of the characters. They seemed like people in your everyday life.

I love Kellen and Lucy both together and separate and all the side characters. Lucy, klutzy, funny, goal-orientated and fun-loving
Then you have Kellen. He’s been through a lot with his family and his daughter. He has created a family unit with Bri (Ava’s mom), Ava and his team. Kellen is guarded, protective, gentle and what he describes as soft.
These two just work together and have a nice balance.
I also need to mention that it is so rare that we see functional co-parents who are also really supportive of each other.
The found family aspect of this book was an added bonus and I can’t wait for the rest of the series.


“Kissing Lucy made the pain fade”

3.5/5

This book was a cute, quick read that just hits the spot. The fake dating, real feelings, single dad, hockey player romance, brothers best friend romance is fabulous. The first half of the book is a slow burn, which was my biggest (and most impatient) struggle. Once I got past the half way point I couldn’t put the book down. I love a clumsy fmc (because same). The book does talk about childhood cancer, so I recommend reading the authors note in the beginning. Definitely a recommend for those looking for a hockey romance!

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC copy 💖

This was such a lovely story to read. I swooned and laughed so much during reading that I can absolutely recommend this book to anyone. The fake dating was so well done and the whole group was so invested in it. The dog names were so much fun! Also how she immediately fitted into his family was so adorable. They both tried to help each other by fake dating each other but quickly realised they both didn't even care about why they were doing it in the first place. It was a low/medium spice book which was great to read.
5 stars

I was really excited to dive into Just for the Season, but I found the first half of the book dragged a bit and struggled to find direction. The pacing felt slow at times, and I think the story would have benefited from shorter chapters and a more streamlined plot. Some of the extra committee scenes felt unnecessary and didn’t add much to the overall narrative. That said, there were definitely moments that kept me engaged, and I appreciated the heart of the story once it picked up in the second half. If you enjoy small-town romances with a cozy holiday feel, it might still be worth checking out!

An adorable romance! Single dad hockey player, jaded FMC. With a forced proximity and a work place romance. The relationship building in this book is great and the banter is hilarious. Adored this one!

This was such a cute story. I loved the relationships that existed and were built during the journey. The way the romance builds from fake dating, and creating a family with those around you. Just One Season was so fun to read!

Thank you Netgalley for an arc of Just One Season by Chrissy Hopewell

Fake dating, funny banter and hockey? Sign me up please! This book definitely gave Ted Lasso vibes throughout. Kellen and Lucy have their own motives when it comes to joining forces to start fake dating. Lucy’s dad and ex-fiancée are the absolute worst! I loved how Kellen was always in her corner and was so protective of her. While some themes were pretty predictable it did keep me entertained! Overall a very cute read.

Just One Season by Chrissy Hopewell is a fake dating, friends-to-lovers hockey romance and is absolutely delightful!

Lucy is covering a maternity leave, working on PR for the Blizzards hockey team. More importantly, she is moving away from her controlling father and cheating ex fiance. Kellen is captain of the team, co-parenting his sweet daughter, and attempting to avoid unwanted attention from the team owners wife. They decide, with the help of their friends via committee vote, to fake date in order to help both parties. The banter between characters was great, I loved the side characters/plot lines and the story was believable! This book was fantastic and I can't wait for the rest of the series!!

Thank you to Fox Hallow Publishing and Netgalley for this e-ARC.

This is such a wholesome cozy sports romance. Yeah that’s right, it’s cozy and wholesome while still being a sports romance, what more could you want?! The author does a phenomenal job bypassing stereotypical conflicts and instead focuses on building Lucy and Kellen into a solid relationship.

Loved:
- Lucy being older than Kellen, but it doesn’t cause conflict
- The found family aspect of the story
- Kellen having a close relationship with his daughter’s mom, but it doesn’t cause conflict
- Savannah wasn’t made into a stereotypical gold digger who was trying to cheat on her husband (seriously, I really really appreciate that the author made these characters actual characters not caricatures)
- All the goofy dog names
- Lucy being able to find love and her place in the world without sacrificing dreams or her career

Meh
- This is an oddly niche thing to have a problem with, but I went to college in Fort Collins and the thought of an NHL team being based there was so far from the reality that it kind of pulled me out of the book. They said, I loved the Colorado and FoCo rep!

This book was very cute! It knew how to really play at the heartstrings and gave just that right level of angst that makes you feel tingly all over. I did somehow feel the first few pages were a bit slow, too wordy but it picked up great and everything was paced perfectly. I've always been into the fake dating trope but never been too into the single dad trope until this book (thank you Kellen! hubba hubba) Kellen and Bri's relationship was also so refreshing with how they co-parented and I loved all the side characters.

I absolutely adored this book. Fake dating and Hockey Romance are two of my favorites and who doesn't love a brothers best friend/team mate trope, it is written perfectly you immediately feel the connection between Lucy and Kellen and also feel everything they have been through to get to this point and onwards. They are amazing character who have a great found family around them supporting them. I am also curious about the relationship between Atticus and Raleigh and hoping we see something there in the future.

Ahhh what a cute love story! I absolutely adored the characters in this book. From Lucy and her clumsy nature to Kellen’s sweet relationship with his daughter.
I could not put this down, I was so invested in their romance, it was lower on the spice scale than I was expecting but was still so good, so well written.
Such a funny heart-warming book, would recommend.

I adore hockey romances so I already knew this was going to be a hit. However one of the things I adored the most about this book is how it challenges the stereotypes that are present in most other hockey books.

Lucy being older than Kellen. Kellen’s baby mama being so supportive of Kellcy. Lucy’s brother not objecting to his team mate dating his sister. In most stories, these elements are used to create conflict or drama, but in Just One Season, they are used to create a wholesome vibe.

The romance is a slow burn but you get to see a wholesome viewpoint of the couple from their fake staged dates to the adorable nicknames they try out . As the romance is not rushed you can really connect with the characters and each of the MCs golden retriever personality’s shines through.

I couldn’t put this book down and ended up reading it in one night. This is a 5⭐️ read, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a light, wholesome escape.

Tropes:
Brothers teammate
Fake dating
Found family
Slow burn