Book: Checking It Twice

Author: Kendall Ryan

Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, for an advanced audio copy.

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Checking It Twice is the third book in the Must Love Hockey series. This works just fine as a standalone, since this was my first book in the series, and I didn’t feel lost at any point.

This book has my least favorite trope, fake dating. I don’t know what it is about that trope, but I never get on board. Mitchell is a professional hockey player, and his fiancée left him six months ago. His family has been begging him to move on and find someone new. He decides that bringing a fake girlfriend home for the holidays is the best solution. 

Clare does PR for the team Mitchell plays for and, on a bizarre PR move, decides to pretend to be Mitchell’s girlfriend and go home with him for the holidays. 

This is a fake dating trope, but I think someone needed to tell Mitchell and Clare, because they weren’t shy about their feelings and definitely put a lot out there during their time together. After the trip, it’s like they instantly remembered, “Oh yeah, it’s fake dating,” and then they had to figure out how to be together. It was odd and felt off. With that said, I really enjoyed the story and both characters, and once I got the tropes out of the story, I liked what was left. 

This is a fun holiday romance and is worthy of your holiday reading list. 

Final score: 4/5