Canadian Boyfriend

By: Jenny Holiday

Narrated by: Joshua Jackson, Emily Ellet

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

READ BY JOSHUA JACKSON AND EMILY ELLET! Fate brings together a ballet teacher and a hockey player in this big-hearted novel about second chances and taking risks by the bestselling author Entertainment Weekly calls the “master of witty banter.”

Once upon a time teenage Aurora Evans met a hockey player at the Mall of America. He was from Canada. And soon, he was the perfect fake boyfriend, a get-out-of-jail-free card for all kinds of sticky situations. I can't go to prom. I'm going to be visiting my boyfriend in Canada. He was just what she needed to cover her social awkwardness. He never had to know. It wasn't like she was ever going to see him again...

Years later, Aurora is teaching kids’ dance classes and battling panic and eating disorders—souvenirs from her failed ballet career—when pro hockey player Mike Martin walks in with his daughter. Mike’s honesty about his struggles with widowhood helps Aurora confront some of her own demons, and the two forge an unlikely friendship. There’s just one problem: Mike is the boy she spent years pretending was her “Canadian boyfriend.”

The longer she keeps her secret, the more she knows it will shatter the trust between them. But to have the life she wants, she needs to tackle the most important thing of all—believing in herself.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Jenny Holiday (P)2024 Forever

Critic reviews

“A heartwarming, healing, romcom worth staying up late to finish.”—Abby Jimenez, New York Times bestselling author

"Heartwarming, engaging... the witty banter and outrageous situations keep the tone upbeat even as characters face challenging situations."—Library Journal

"Readers looking for emotionally intelligent romance will want to snap this up."—Publishers Weekly

A Cute Romance

This story is such a cute romance. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple triggers; there's death of a mother, and the FMC deals with body issues and eating disorder recovery. But overall, I highly recommend this book. At the age of 16, the FMC meets a young hockey player and develops a crush. They don't see each other after that one meeting though. Years later, while teaching dance class, she finds out that that young hockey player is now the father of one of her students. The problem is, he doesn't remember her.

Finding love through grief

There is nothing more beautiful than being able to find love again when you lose your spouse in a tragic accident at a young age. This book had me sobbing the entire time. You can feel every emotion with the characters. I love the ending so much.

Worth the Listen

I bought this 100% because Joshua Jackson narrates it. He is just so dang easy to listen to. The female narrator was good too.

The story was pretty good, though a little predictable. But still satisfying.

Loved this story!

I really appreciated this being narrated by the gender the characters represented! Loved Joshua Jackson’s voice!

Fantastic narration

Thank you Joshua Jackson. When I heard that this book was narrated by Joshua Jackson, I immediately decided to buy it without even reading the blurb. I hadn't heard of this author before, but after this book, I would absolutely try another from her. I loved Canadian Boyfriend. It was entertaining from the very beginning. I didn't want to turn the book off and then when it was over, I was sad to have it end. There are a lot of serious topics covered in this contemporary, single parent, sports, romance. The author did a great job with the character development as the main characters worked through their traumas. I connected with the main characters, Mike and Aurora, and had a vested interest in seeing things work out for them. I really liked them both, as well as Mike's daughter. The dog was pretty cool too. The only thing that I wish could have been different is that this book has a HFN ending and I wish I could have seen a HEA for this couple. Canadian Boyfriend has duet narration and both narrators did a great job. I recommend this book and I will listen to it again sometime.

I loved the story and the two narrators

excellent story! it was just joyful to read. the two narrators made it like listening to a movie or show. the story is unique

LISTEN NOW!!!

Do yourself a favor and don’t wait to listen to this story. The story was really good and so well written. The female narration was great and Joshua Jackson’s performance was PERFECTION!!! Loved this.

Josh Jackson narrator!!!

Loved the story & the narrator!!! Hockey is a great topic! Wished for more of the story and lovely characters!!

Excellent narration

I won’t lie, I bought this book because Joshua Jackson was narrating, and who doesn’t want to hear Joshua Jackson narrating a romance novel? The book itself won me over with characters that felt real with real problems and flaws, and a story about finding your way through life’s hardships to find who you were meant to be. Mike Martin’s journey was heartfelt and felt like a real representation of grief, as well as including surprisingly emotionally intelligent breakthroughs that help him grow in empathy, and Aurora’s self discovery was satisfying and relatable. The narration was divine, as expected. Emily Ellet had the challenge of voicing many female characters and managed to make them all feel lived in and unique. And Joshua Jackson has an immense talent for making every thought, feeling, and piece of dialogue for Mike Martin feel natural, like you are really in his head. It cannot be overstated how much he brings to the table with his read. Highly recommend!

loved it

this was such a cute book. It was funny, sometimes sad, and heartfelt. I loved how real the struggles that Mike and his daughter, Olivia, went thru felt. They had gone thru such a hard time and it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows to start. The fights and the pain made it all feel very authentic. I really thought this book did a great job of normalizing therapy and mental health issues.
And most importantly for me I just thought that the connection between Aurora and Mike was perfect. It grew slowly and organically and it made sense. It never felt forced. Both narrators did such a great job in this book. They seemed to really feel the struggles, the highs, the lows, that their characters were feeling and it made the entire audiobook experience feel very real.