Leah Rooper

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for allowing me to read and review this cute debut novel by Leah and Kate Rooper. This completely brought me back to seeing Mulan when I was younger and watching her take on all those boys while in disguise!

Alice Bell lives and breathes hockey, and tries out for an elite team with her hair stuffed up in her helmet. When she makes the team, and the coach kicks her off in favor of her twin brother the moment he discovers she's really a girl, she's naturally steamed. Fortunately for Alice, circumstances work out where Xander, her twin, needs her to take his place for a bit.

I love the natural relationships Kate and Leah Rooper create between family members and the way they work out family conflict in a realistic way. Hayden, Alice's friend and eventual crush, doesn't open up to people easily, distances himself from those who love him rather than trying to work things out, and is generally a hothead. And Alice isn't perfect. She's very realistically written. Not always clued in to emotional nuance. Better at slapping things around with a hockey stick than asking her brother to talk.

Of course the big question is what happens when everyone discovers Alice is a girl? and it was fun seeing that play out. This is an awesome book for hockey enthusiasts!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.… (mehr)

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. This is a voluntary review; all opinions are my own and not influenced by my source.**

I just couldn't resist that premise: a regular boy pretending to be a prince falls in love with the queen...adorable!

I'll start by saying that I think that because I hadn't read the previous books in the series, I was at a slight disadvantage when it came to the characters. Yes, you can definitely read this as a standalone and not be completely lost. But in the same breath, I think I could have really benefited from reading the other novels in the series, especially the book prior because I think it really sets up Eva's character background a little more. I had so many questions about how she became queen and why she wanted to be queen in the first place and I felt like this book just didn't answer them; mainly because she is already queen and this novel showcases her struggle finding that independence as a result.

I thought the whole plot of this novel was fun yet heartfelt. The fun comes from Tyler impersonating the prince and how he just gets himself deeper and deeper into the scheme. Tyler instantly won my heart the moment we met him. He's just a sweet boy with a massive crush on a girl he thinks he can never be with. But he was also a layered character as well. His learning disability and the struggle he has with it was so genuine and real. I loved watching him grow as the story progressed.

But the touching moments come from the interactions Tyler and Eva share when they let their true selves show when they're together. These two have a great connection with plenty of shared interests to make you fall for them as a couple. I couldn't get enough of their chemistry!

I thought these two were adorable together! I just loved how they meshed on so many different levels. The heart of this story is loving yourself and finding someone who can see the true you beyond titles and I think the romance helps exemplify that throughout.

Check out more spoiler-free book and series reviews on my blog SERIESousBookReviews.com as well as read book series recaps!

Full Review: https://wp.me/p7hLUw-2LT
Actual Rating: 3/5… (mehr)

Leah and Kate Rooper scored a hat trick with the third and last book in the Chicago Falcons series, JUST PRETENDING. This is Evangeline Harwell’s and Tyler Evans’s story. Eva is Daniel Sacachelli’s (from book two, JUST ONE OF THE ROYALS) half-brother and teammate of Tyler. Eva is now the Queen of Eldonia. She is visiting Daniel in Chicago. While there, she mistakes Tyler for the prince of Perienza, as Tyler gets wrapped up in the charade. This hockey romance is suitable for young adults.

JUST PRETENDING is an entertaining and heartfelt read. I like that in each book in the Chicago Falcons series, there was a person pretending to be something else but ending up discovering themselves in the process. I appreciated that Eva and Tyler shared a love of art. The two could relate to one another. While it was not smart that Tyler to pretend to be someone else, it gave him the confidence to get to know Eva.

It is understandable why Tyler lacked confidence. I’m glad that he was put in a situation where he could eventually better himself. I love his little sister. Millie. She is sweet and adds to the story.

I enjoyed the plot. The story has some interesting twists that develop into the perfect ending. I would love to see a spin-off series or a reunion book in the future to discover what happens to the characters. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.… (mehr)

Romance skates into a magical, fairy tale, where the dreams of finding true love touch upon a dab of Cinderella fantasy.

Eva is sixteen and a queen—a position she loves but sometimes notices how much it keeps her from a usual life. When she visits her brother in Chicago, her hopes of having at least a few days of 'normality' disappear when her mother insists she escort a prince around town. But duty calls. Little does she realize that this prince isn't going to be what she expects in many, many more ways than one. The so-called prince gets pulled to the side as one of her brother's hockey friends accidentally takes over the role and soon finds himself in a bigger mess than he can handle.

This book is so charming and sweet! Fans of romances between royalty and 'commoners' are going to love this book. Eva is a wonderful queen, knows her position and maintains all which is expected of her. Although she does have the usual teenage hopes, she's extremely mature (perhaps too much so?) and deals as best she can. But she's missing experience, and that's what makes her easy to like. On the other side, Tyler—a friend of her brother—is a very average guy who is trying the best he can to keep his family and friends satisfied. He's got a heart of gold, although he stumbles from one mistake into the other.

The side characters are like shining spots which add the right zest at the right times. Each one has a fun personality and keeps the tale light-hearted and fun. Especially Tyler's younger sister added humor and spice, which had me smiling more than once.

The romance in the book is as a young adult romance usually is. From Tyler's side, it's full love right away. Eva needs a little more time but tumbles in quickly too. It's missing a little more build-up, but I didn't read the first two books in the series where Tyler had already seen Eva before (although this doesn't appear to be the case visa-versa). The first two books do not have to be read before diving into this one, but it might have made the relationship between the two more interesting. (My guess.) As it was, there wasn't a lot of build-up in this direction. Rather the story hangs on the trouble the mistaken identity causes, which is fun and holds a lot of humorous moments.

The tale fits well for a younger YA audience (12 to 16), although the characters act a little too mature much of the time. I wish there had been more to the plot than the mistaken identity as it did loose spark in the second half of the book and was easy to see where it was all headed. Still, it's a heart-warming read which will have romance fans fuzzy inside and dreaming of the day they might meet the 'prince' of their dreams.

I received a complimentary copy through Netgalley and found it so sweet that I wanted to leave my honest thoughts.… (mehr)