Still cute
——
WHAT. A. BOOK!!!!

4.5 stars rounded up

Summary
Growing up pursuing a career in ballet left Aurora Evans socially awkward, isolated from her peers, and subjected to the expectations of becoming the Perfect Image of a ballerina. Now, a retired ballerina turned dance teacher, she feels stuck. Stuck in her job, her eating disorder, her relationship with her mom, and her romantic life. Her life turns upside down the second a widower walks into her friend's studio where she teaches. As it turns out, he is none other than the hockey player she met at her barista job in high school. The hockey player she pretended was her boyfriend for years to stave off the feelings of loneliness by which she was plagued throughout her whole childhood.

Losing a spouse is never easy; it's even harder as a busy professional hockey player with a young daughter of whom he is now the sole caretaker. Mike Martin is tired. Tired of his job, his schedule, his grief, and his lack of control over his life. Helping his daughter return to her dance classes has given him something to focus on, a way to reconnect with her. Things have been fraught between the two ever since her mother's passing, but a certain dance teacher might just be the key to bringing his family back together.

Mike decides to hire Aurora to help out when he's out of town for hockey games in exchange for a car and a free place to live. But, Aurora is lying to him, and one thing Mike hates is liars. She navigates her professional, and eventually romantic, relationship with the family carefully, but she can't keep up this ruse forever. Soon enough, the truth will come out, she just has to hope that Mike will understand and everything won't come crashing down.

My Thoughts
Aurora and Mike had me hooked from the very first second they met. Yes, first time, meaning that random encounter at the Mall of America when Aurora was in high school. I love how the author handled the situation of Mike being older than her and, therefore, out of high school when they met. The power dynamic (and there's always a power dynamic) never felt predatory at any point in the book, which is a huge turn-off for me when reading age-gap books.

The way Aurora's eating disorder and complicated relationship with food were addressed was such a breath of fresh air. I'm glad it was talked about because it's such a prevalent issue for athletes and former athletes, especially dancers. The language and sensitivity around the topic are unlike anything else I've seen in books that feature disordered eating in some capacity. I've been to a LOT of therapy for my ED and many of the adages and lessons I've learned along the way are present in this text very positively. It made me very happy to see this discussion used so freely in what I believe will be quite a popular book.

The only thing that struck me as odd is that Aurora constantly calls Mike by his full name. Like every time she thinks about him, she says "Mike Martin" in her inner monologue, it's so odd. Especially because she claims that she sees him as a person and not just as a famous hockey player. Mike's big thing is wanting someone who looks past that facade and likes him for who he is, not just what he does. Her insistence on referring him by his full name in her thoughts kind of made me feel like she did only see him as a celebrity to an extent. I don't know, maybe I'm looking too much into it.

Thank you so much Forever Pub, Jenny Holiday, and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy!!