The Fake Out: Vancouver Storm, Book 2

If you liked Behind the Net, you'll love The Fake Out even more! Stephanie writes with passion, humor, and engagement. She has a talent for creating endearing and loveable characters, and her Vancouver Storm world plot features a compelling cast of tropes like MMC obsessed with FMC, fake dating, and frenemies to lovers.Hazel Hartley is a physiotherapist with the Vancouver Storm. Her goal is to create a secure, welcoming, and inclusive fitness studio where people of all ages, sizes, and fitness levels can feel good about themselves. When she learns that her ex-boyfriend has been traded to the same team she works for, she chooses the perfect person to get into a fake relationship.Let me introduce you to Rory Miller, the arrogant new team captain who has been crushing on her since high school. Unbeknownst to her, Rory does not intend to fake their friendship...Hazel is extremely relatable to me. Because of her previous relationship, she possesses the ideal balance of being a strong, independent, feisty, and cautious. When she eventually chose to open up, I was able to see her tender side as well as her feisty comebacks to Rory. Her philosophy of body positivity, self-acceptance, and love is incredibly motivating and connects with her mother's own struggles with body image. I adored watching Hazel and Pippa connect and encourage one another; their sisterly friendship is truly remarkable.Rory Miller... I am at a loss for words. Beneath his arrogant exterior, he is fundamentally a golden retriever. He is the complete package: kind, considerate, patient, gentle-hearted, protective, and handsome. I could write for days on end. He really is the ideal man, and I'm really envious of Hazel. I appreciate how Hazel was able to get behind Rory's exterior and encourage him to step out of his dad's shadow and have fun, even if it aches my heart to witness his troubles finding joy anytime he plays hockey.Hazel and Rory stripped aside each other's layers, revealing what love truly looks like: imperfectly beautiful. I adored their smoldering chemistry, their captivating connection, and their open communication. In addition to Hazel helping him understand his value as a friend and team member for his team, Rory provides her with the stability and support she didn't know was lacking. Rory also helps Hazel confront the fears his father instilled in him. They complete each other's gaps and elevate each other to their highest potential. Especially considering that it occurs at the end of the year, their friendship is incredibly reassuring and endearing.I highly recommend this book if you’re into hockey romance, fake dating, and a golden retriever MMC who loves spending money on his woman !!

I honestly loved this book. I blew off many of my responsibilities in lieu of reading this book. It’s an enjoyable, fun read. It, like all of Stephanie Archers books, are fast paced and easy to read. There are certain small things I didn’t care for, like overusing the word “hot”, or the somewhat sentence structure at certain points but overall- loved it. I like it better than the first one by far. I think I just read things more critically when I get an ARC.I loved:The main characters! Rory is a total cinnamon roll and so completely gone for Hazel it’s ridiculous. He’s just such a sweet person and there’s none of that alpha male BS that plagues some romance novels. Archer does go on about “protective/primal instincts” a few times too many but it doesn’t feel gross.Hazel- finally a described “feisty heroine” who is actually feisty! She was such a well developed character and the Main Problem she had to overcome to be with Rory was written in a way that was accessible and believable. The character development was overall much better than the previous book. Because difficult discussions and situations happened on the page, I felt more invested in Rory and Hazels relationship.The premise- I usually have to suspend ALL my disbelief for a fake dating trope but I didn’t this time. Well done, Ms. Archer.The banter- I just like the way she writes dialogue. It feels like a normal conversation between 2 people, with the exception of the aforementioned use of the word “hot”. I feel like that’s low hanging fruit, especially when you are describing how you feel (in this case, related to how you feel in lingerie). “Good” “comfortable” “sexy” “bold” “daring” etc. Language is your oyster.The SPICE. Y’all. I can’t even. I will say this, the scenes never feel unrealistic or over the top. The only thing I didn’t like was there was one scene where they forego protection. It seems to be a trend in romance these days and….I’m not a fan. Call me strange but since oftentimes these “I feel so close to you we don’t need a condom” scenes don’t go hand in hand with a frank discussion of their latest STI testing results, and that sort of bothers me. Not that I’m trying to say romance is a stand in for basic sex ed, it just seems strange to me to include one but not the other. I’ll knock off a star just for that.Overall, a very enjoyable read. I flat out DEVOURED this book and I can’t wait for the next one.Thanks for letting me read an ARC!

This was fantastic for so many different reasons. I could gush forever about it because it was just so amazing. In my opinion this is how romance books should be done. It hit the perfect balance of spice and romance.There was great development and build up as Hazel and Rory deal with this “fake” dating situation. It was so pure and emotional as the feelings began to grow and deepen over time.Their relationship was just so fun and entertaining, yet very deep and emotional. The banter between them was perfection. I loved how they bounced off of each other and flirted with one another. The level of intimacy and affection between them was superb. Those moments just made my heart pitter patter. The caretaking and meaningful gestures between them was just breathtaking.The spice was great, and enhanced the romance instead of taking it over. It was clear that feelings before anything physical happened between them. I thought it was great.I loved Rory so much. I loved how hard he fell for her even all those years ago, and the way he should his feelings was great. His emotional journey was so touching and went beyond what he had with Hazel. He was just a big Teddy Bear that anyone would fall in love with.The wooing, the pining and longing was just amazing. I loved every single second of it. It was the perfect journey to go on with them.It was just all spectacular, and I highly recommend it for romance readers everywhere.

I loved reading this book, it was calm and peaceful and beautiful. Both characters are just perfect for each other.

I loved behind the net, but The Fake Out got my heart so deep! This romance is easy to read, I laughed and cheered, and loved the way the book ended. I am excited about the next book, It was my first two books from this author and I loved and recommend giving it a try!

Mi primer libro de cinco estrellas del 2024 y lo volvería a leer sin duda.Conocimos a estos personajes en Behind the Net (primer libro de la serie), cuando Rory jugaba en otro equipo de hockey y mostraba la actitud de un chico malo que terminó peleando con Jamie por andar de coqueto con Pippa 😅 pero al parecer su verdadero interés esta en Hazel (hermana de Pippa) 👀.Me atrevería a decir que este es un libro de relación falsa bien hecho. Ambos saben que están en una relación falsa pero no se la pasan preguntándose si es real o si solo estaban pretendiendo. Ellos aprovechan la oportunidad para mostrar sus sentimientos aunque no lo digan en voz alta 💖. Normalmente no soy de darle 5 ⭐ a un libro que no tenga aunque sea un poco de drama pero ame cada segundo que pase leyendo este libro 💖. Quisiera volver a leerlo como si fuera la primera vez 🥺.

There are a few things that always make the book better than the rest for me and some of them are - strong and ambitious FMCs who've got sass, Cinnamon roll MMCs, banter, and found family. 'The Fake Out' is a book that's got it all !Hazel Hartley is easily one of my favourite female leads I've read about in a while. I love how she's nicknamed 'Dragon' because it suits her a hundred percent. I loved how she defended people she loved, I could relate to it so much. I adored how behind her snarky comments and strong exterior, she was just a girl waiting for a fairy tale to happen to her.And Rory Miller - where do I even start about this? I think we can replace cinnamon roll with Rory Miller because he was just that to a T. He's going through a hard time with his relationship with his parents and is trying hard to find joy in his game, and Hazel helps him with that journey (unplanned of course)!Rory has it bad for Hazel since their high school days and boy, is he obsessed! I a twisted turn of events as Hazel's ex turns up in the same team, she looks to Rory for a fake dating arrangement. What starts as fake turns out to be the realest relationship that they both want and need in their lives.

I’ve loved Vancouver Storm and I can’t wait to the 3rd book 😍😍If it was possible I would have put ten stars on those books: well done 💕

I love Stephanie Archer's books and this one was no exception. My favourite trope is fake dating and boy did this book live up to that trope. The book was fun and romantic, as well having spice. I really loved the characters, as they were really likable. I love sport romances but particularl hockey romances so this book reallt ticked all my boxes. I would definitely recommend giving this a read.