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 … 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.
Deke is a full-length MM novel with a HFN/HEA and no cliffhanger
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Lennon and Ollie’s story is as funny and sexy, as it is heartwarming, tender, and poignant. Both men are out and proud in their personal lives. But in their straight male-dominated, sports-oriented worlds, being gay isn’t something either man wants to advertise. Over time, hiding who they really are not only takes a toll on them each individually, but also threatens them as a couple. Eventually, something has to give. But it’s the difficult decisions they make that define them each as honorable and worthy contenders in their respective fields. I found it to be a very satisfying HFN/HEA. Yadda, yadda, yadda and all that jazz…
Okay, now, let’s focus on what makes this book so freakin’ fantastic – IT. IS. HILARIOUS. The chemistry between Lennon and Ollie was off the charts. The smart dialogue and side-splitting inner musings of these characters had me smiling from ear to ear for most of the book. There were so many sarcastic one-liners that I know I’ve probably missed some through the tears in my eyes. It is enough to make me want to read the whole thing again. Also, some of my favorite past and future main characters (Jet and Talon & Miller, yeah!) make an appearance in this beautiful, fictitious world.
Deke was funny and awkward and sexy and steamy and simply perfect. Oh, plus hockey.
– ARC received for honest review
Seriously.. ohmygod this series just keeps getting better and better! I read Deke in one sitting and could not stop flipping the pages. Ollie and Lennon might be my favorite couple so far out of the three books. I love how awkward Ollie can be and the way Lennon makes him nervous. He’s so adorable! And I just loved Lennon’s personality. Both of them! The whole book starting from page one you are just rooting for them to fall in love and make this relationship work. Another bonus of this book is Ollie’s family. I’m a sucker for great side characters and Eden never fails to supply the best ones. Also we get to find out who Jet will be causing trouble with in his book and let me just say SUUUPER EXCITED about what to comes next with these next two books in the series! Deke is easily rated !
This is book #3, in the Fake Boyfriend series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. For reader understanding, and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this awesome series in order.
Ollie & Lennon AKA “Clark” meet in one of the most unusual ways possible. Then they agree to try to fool everyone that they are dating. Seems the only fooling is for themselves.
Lennon finds himself wanting a real relationship with the amazing Ollie. Knowing it is just a pipe dream, he enjoys every moment he can. Can he convince his fake boyfriend to try for real?
This was such a sexy book right from the start. I loved the characters and found them utterly charming. Like all books in the series, each page got devoured and I could not put it down. This author is definitely an automatic purchase for me now. I give this story a 4/5 Kitty’s Paws UP!
***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review only.
4.5 stars-
I’ll confess that despite completely enjoying the first two books, the Fake Boyfriend series fell off my radar a bit until I received an update about Deke’s upcoming release. Thank goodness I didn’t miss it completely because Deke was without doubt my favorite book of the Fake Boyfriend series. Deke is extremely well-rounded, grabbing my attention from the start and never letting go until the end. And while, there are secondary character roles with previous couples and characters from future books, Deke can easily be enjoyed on its own as well.
Once again, the light playful tone I’ve come to expect from the series was impossible to ignore, and the fun banter and internal commentary kept a permanent smile etched on my face. Despite being the third book in the series to use the fake boyfriend trope, each book has a remarkably different story to tell and never feels overplayed or exceedingly predictable. When I first read the blurb, I’ll admit I was really excited there would be a hockey book, but I wouldn’t say the sport figures into the narrative all that much in Deke. There isn’t a lot of on the ice action relayed as seen in some sport-centric romances. Instead, the novel focused on the characters, featuring a journalist fans of the series will recognize and a closeted NHL player who’s professionally connected to a character from the first book. I loved Lennon and Ollie. They had an easy chemistry from their first meeting and were incredibly fun to watch develop and find their footing together over the course of the story. I also thought from a coming-out story standpoint, the topic was handled really well and appreciated that the author took a different approach, showing readers a family that’s the opposite of what we’ve come to expect in LGBT romance. Between the characters and the vibrant energy that ran throughout the book, this was one that was simply fun to read and an easy recommendation.
*eARC received via author’s ARC team. The author and PA had no influence over this review*
Loved Ollie and Lennon and it was good to see the gang all together again. These characters are a riot! Ollie and Lennon both had me laughing at times. Loved the story and the characters so much!!
Oliver “Ollie” Stromberg may show that some things seem to have changed but you may have to look a little deeper to see the actual truth. Lennon Hawkins just wanted to help someone out. This story is a pleasant surprise. Full disclosure, I’m not a fan of hockey. When I was much younger, our family used to go to the local hockey team games. But I could never figure out the fascination and I saw it as one of the rougher sports.
This may be a work of fiction but the author has created aspects that seem very plausible. Our world may be changing but some changes take a little longer. And haters will probably never go away – but they take a backseat for this story. I liked the fact that our author took Lennon’s job and showed that some actually care about what they write – especially in the age of “fake news”. A secondary character I think you’ll like is Jet – he’s snarky and does a great job at keeping things light.
If you’re a fan of sports romances you may find something to like about this one. We have two people that start with an awkward situation and watch to see if a relationship can blossom. This story may be about two men but everyone deserves a chance at that happily ever after. I got so into the story that it made no difference to me. The author even has me rethinking the whole hockey thing – not really but I’m one that doesn’t mind reading about it. In no way did I feel that the other books in the Fake Boyfriend series need to be read first. This book can stand on its own.
There’s no way you can miss the chemistry that builds between our main characters. To make it seem real we see how miscommunication can affect a budding romance. Just like any relationship there can be corny moments as well as exciting ones and our author does a great job in showing that. But one question keeps coming up, “what are they going to do?” It continues to come up almost to the very end. Then it ends with the question “what is the author going to do?” And I can’t wait to find out.
I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
I’m so in love with this series and all the men included in it. Deke was fast-paced, HOT as hell, funny, and very engaging!
Ollie is a closeted rising hockey star, he refuses to be honest with the world due to his fears of bad repercussions that will affect his career negatively. Lennon, a sports journalist who’s out and proud meets Ollie in a restaurant and helps him out of a very strange situation. The attraction between these two ignite from the beginning.
Though Ollie is open with his close friends and family about being gay and they support him 100%, they sometimes take it too far and smother him about coming clean and even make him feel guilty about his refusal to do so. So, of course Lennon will make a perfect fake boyfriend to get them to focus on something else and off his back.
I loved the funny banter between Ollie and Lennon and all of their friends. It was amazing how accepting Lennon was of Ollie, refusing to make him feel guilty for choosing his career over a relationship. It really pays off in the end too because these two really clicked from the start and it was beautiful to watch them fall in love.
I would totally recommend this book to ANYONE who loves a light-hearted, fun, sexy MM romance.
*ARC kindly provided by the author in return for an honest and unbiased review*
I’ve loved the previous books in this series, so I knew this one would be good. I just didn’t know how much I would absolutely love Ollie and Lennon. I laughed a lot at these men, as they snarked and teased and argued. Their possibly not-quite real relationship (neither was sure) was fun and sexy – and sometimes really sweet. Ollie’s nosy family and his and Lennon’s awesome friends just added to the greatness. I recommend this series, and this book in particular, to fans of sexy rom coms. This is excellent!
Fun and funny plus sweet and steamy
Book 3 in the Fake Boyfriend series, while reading the earlier books would help with background, especially for several of the secondary characters, it’s not necessary to enjoy this book.
I’ve loved this series from the start (hockey and fake boyfriends are two of my favorite storylines) but these books just keep getting better and this is my favorite to-date. Ollie and Lennon are both wonderful characters and I adored each of them. The author did a terrific job of balancing out their situation and personalities while still giving them things in common.
As a series fan, I celebrated the reappearance of characters from the earlier books, and we’re introduced to several wonderful new secondary characters as well—while I loved all of Ollie’s family, his mother was a particular favorite who often had me laughing. The plot was engaging, l enjoyed a couple of twists I didn’t see coming and I REALLY loved the ending.
Fun and funny with just the right amount of steam, this was a cute and sweet story that will be going on my reread list. I was also happy to find out there are still a couple of more books to come in the series, because I’m far from ready to say farewell to these characters. 5+ stars
B2B Kelly
Sweet Neil Patrick Harris this book is all kinds of awesome! I just loved Ollie and Lennon. This book has everything. All the feels, humor, just the right amount of angst and all kinds of sexy! The banter between Ollie and Lennon is epic. I loved how friends and family are such a large part of this story. Seeing Lennon go to bat for Ollie was amazing. I loved watching these two fall in love! A great addition to an amazing series. I can’t wait for the next story!
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Product Details
Deke (Fake Boyfriend Book 3)
Absolutely loved Ollie and Lennon’s story. Eden Finley portrayed this “coming out” storyline with compassion and understanding. Careers could have ended and livelihoods could have changed when Ollie’s secret was known, but he took the high road and not only helped a friend in need but also found someone worth fighting for. Beautifully written and highly emotional. Eden Finley did not disappoint – this one was the best in the series so far.
Oh this was so cute!!
Ollie and Clark (Lennon) are so adorable. They meet by accident in a restaurant when Ollie is hiding from his family, Lennon becomes Clarke and Ollies secret boyfriend. Queue hilarity!
I loved this book because it was so fun, there was no angst. It was cute and the characters were easy to love too. There was new and old characters and hints at possible future books.
I can’t wait for more from Eden!
4.5 Stars
I have loved all the books in this series, though I have to say that they seem to get better and better with each book. So it shouldn’t be surprising that this one is definitely my favorite…so far!! I had so much fun reading it. And most of it is because of Clark…
Ollie is a hockey player in the NHL. He’s gay, he’s proud, but he isn’t fully out. The only people who know are his close family and they support him 200 %… It’s the 200 instead of a 100 that seems to be the problem here. They are a bit too pushy when it comes to him coming out. They feel he can only be happy if he shouts it from the rooftops…but Ollie isn’t ready for the consequences of being the only gay player in the NHL.
He shares his grievances with a stranger…in the bathroom of a restaurant, while out with the family. Not really knowing who he just laid everything out for.
Lennon feels bad for Ollie. Being a sports reporter, and being gay himself, he knows all about how hard it is coming out in their world…He wants to help Ollie out by pretending to be his new boyfriend. Maybe if the fam sees he is happy, they will leave him be.
And so it begins…
I had an awesome time reading this book. It was funny and snarky and a high Lennon is the best thing ever! It was also sweet and very HOT!…I want to give some major credit here to Ollie’s family. They were great and half the fun I had, came from them.
“My whole family has been overprotective of me since my mom outed me to myself when I was fifteen.”
There was some drama, with the ex-boyfriend, who I really didn’t care for. What a douche…It wasn’t a very angsty read, I would definitely call this a “feel good” book. Which shows exactly how I felt when I finished it…I can’t wait to see what’s next and I am dying to read Jet’s story because I have a little crush going on.
I highly recommend this series!
5 stars
Heat Level: 3.5
A series that just keeps getting better!!
Eden does it again in this awesome fake boyfriend pairing!!
I found this book full of humour, sass and love! Following on in the world Eden has created, this book explores the relationship between closeted Hockey star, Ollie and sport journalist, Lennon. The dynamics between these two is awesome! From tension filled heat, to snark, sass and sarcasm, to humour and heartbreak, Eden delivers it all!! I’d say this is the funniest instalment yet and the range of emotions translated in Eden’s writing will give you all the feels!! I have to say the families, and side characters (Jet I’m looking at you) add to this story and complement the characters so well! I love the bromance between Lennon and Jet and I really look forward to more of Jet, as he grows and finds his own love story (cue Soren)
I’m so glad Eden has decided to write Talon and Miller’s and Jet’s story! I love these awesome characters and cant wait for the story!
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Big,hot, tattooed and pierced hockey player meets cute, nerdy, blonde Clark Kent copy (and sports journalist) in the men’s bathroom and there’s an instant mutual attraction.
Before names and backgrounds are told Lennon is offering to be Ollies fake boyfriend at family dinner ( feeding time at Jurassic Park, lol) to get Ollies family of his back. Ollie is not out and his family thinks it’s an easy task that would make his ex come back.
Ollie presents Lennon as Clark and it’s not until Lennon meets the whole family that he recognises Ollie as a famous hockey player. A hockey player who’s just outed himself to a journalist.
They don’t see each other after that until months later and at that time Ollie’s not a fan of the sports journalist Lennon who writes about him.
Just like the other books in the series there’s an awesome mix of hilarious moments, steamy encounters and a great couple who is just right for each other.
Ollies family is (behind the pressuring) really great, we get to see the people from previous books and it makes me want Talon and Jets books fast!!