Title: Deke

Author: Eden Finley

Series: Fake Boyfriend

ISBN: 978-1791960315

Goodreads Rating: 4.1, Amazon Rating: 4.4

Personal Rating: “She thinks she is the one to change me, but little does she know, I’m beyond frustrating.”

4.8/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ollie

Word of advice: don’t come out to random guys in public restrooms. Even if they’re charming and adorably nerdy and offer to help.

My family believe I can’t be happy if I’m not out to the world. I have a bitter ex-boyfriend and an unstable NHL career to show for it. A fake boyfriend seems like an easy and quick solution to get my family off my back, and this guy is volunteering. I take him up on it without asking his name.

I really should’ve asked for his name.

Lennon

Word of advice: learn how to introduce yourself properly.

In my defense, I don’t recognize Ollie Strömberg right away. I cover football, not hockey.

I’m not supposed to see him again, and he’s never supposed to find out I’m a reporter.

That all changes when my editor reassigns me.

It’s a lesson I should’ve learned by now. Nothing’s changed since high school. Jocks still hate nerds. But even worse, athletes hate journalists. Especially ones who know their secret.

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This isn’t like the previous books in this series, as the fake relationship doesn’t make or break the story. In a single scene, they choose that route for convenience, but they maintain the lie because tropes must be followed as the urging of our glorious author.

Amen.

That isn’t to say that it wasn’t an interesting take on things. Lennon is a journalist who we met back in book one. He somehow managed to overhear a conversation and instead of running with it, he kept the story to himself. In the end this opened him up to friendship with both the couples in the first and second book. He actually ends up staying with the second couple, Noah and Matt, alongside Matts younger brother Jethro “JJ”.

Ollie is a character were we also introduced in the previous books. He is best friends with Tommy Novak, a fellow hockey player and brother-in-law to Maddox (MC of book 1).

Why do I mention all of this? Because keeping up with these characters is starting to become a challenge. The Sandenverse is massive and we haven’t even reached the tip of the amount of BS these authors are about to put us through. So sit tight as I break a few things down regarding this book.

Ok so Ollie and Lennon are best friends with the various character before but we have been introduced to even more in this book. Currently only Soren has any significant but Ash gets his own book later on. Ash being Ollies ex and Soren being the man who was, well, spoilers.

On the surface, Ollie and Lennon don’t seem to work. Not because of anything readers might see but because we are told that they do not work as a couple. We are constantly being told that Lennon is to nerdy but throughout the entire story the neediest thing about him is that fact he wore a sweater to go clubbing. Ollie is written as this big dumb jock but spends majority of the time being the exact opposite. Unless previous stories, they don’t actually spend time doing their job. We are just told that things are taking place and react accordingly.

And yet

This is my favorite story thus far.

I think this has to do with how low the stacks are. We aren’t fighting against crappy parents and even crappier friends. Everyone seems to support Lennon and Ollie as a couple, even though they have their moments. Like, there is a scene when one of Ollie’s teammates uses a homophobic slur, but he later apologizes and doesn’t make excuses.

Even the scene where Ollie fights with his sibling is quickly worked through. They honestly have the best communication out of every couple, and I love that for them.

The problems with this story are minor. I think the author tried to make it more, but it fell flat. By this, I mean the fact that both MCs are incompatible when it comes to intimate stuff.

Yep, you read that correctly. Both MCs are strict in their positions regarding sex, and it makes it so there aren’t as many scenes. They eventually work it out, but it is only by one of them giving up their position for the sake of exploration and not because it is one that they want full-time. So, despite the amazing communication, I don’t think this is HEA.

It’s still worth returning to at a later date.