The Donnellys of Dogwood Cove: Book 3
Publication Date: June 21, 2023
My all-star hockey career is over. All because of a busted leg from one too many hits into the boards. Coming home to Dogwood Cove to heal and figure out my next steps feels like the best option I’ve got.
Then somehow the first step I take is to wind up in a fake relationship with my physical therapist, who also happens to be my little sister’s best friend.
It starts out simple enough. Lily needs a date to a family wedding, one that promises to be more torture than celebration. Now, thanks to an overbooked hotel with only one bed, two gossiping bridesmaids, and a three minute slow dance… the entire town, including our families, thinks we’re dating.
To save face we decide to keep the ruse going.
There’s just one problem: What I’m feeling for Lily is anything but pretend.
Falling for her wasn’t part of the plan, but she’s a ray of light that pierces through the dark clouds surrounding me.
She thinks my future is still in hockey, but I know differently.
My future is with her.
Over the last couple of years, I have become a fan of Julia Jarrett’s writing and world-building. I was especially excited to read Pretend to Love You since it’s a “sports romance,” and hockey is one of my favorite sports. And let me tell you, I wasn’t disappointed.
Pretend to Love You is the third book in the Donnellys of Dogwood Cove series. But really, outside of a couple of glimpses of the lives of the previous couples, it does stand alone. Because the series follows the Donnelly siblings, and they’re a close family, it makes sense that they’d make appearances.
As I said earlier, this is touted as a hockey sports romance book. However, besides the main character being a hockey player, there’s not much “sports” in it.
Jude is sidelined due to injury, and Lily is his physical therapist during his rehab. The only thing that kept this from a 5-star read was that I wanted more hockey. I get that Jude is injured, but during his moping about his playing days coming to an end, I could have used a flashback of his glory days to get some of that sports action added to the story.
This book is also a fake relationship story. Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes, and this is trope-adjacent, and I was all in. I loved watching Jude and Lily realize that there were real feelings behind the façade they were showing their friends and family. I also felt the transition from fake to real was well done and believable.
Pretend to Love You is my favorite book in the series—up to this point. I read the book in one sitting, and it touched all my emotions. I couldn’t put the book down even when I had tears running down my face. I recommend this book to all fans of contemporary romances.
Julia Jarrett is a busy mother of two boys, a happy wife to her real-life book boyfriend, and the owner of two rescue dogs. She has a passion for writing sexy, sweet, contemporary romance novels that are full of relatable heroines, and the swoon worthy men who fall in love with them.
If you’re looking for Julia, she’s probably sitting in a comfy chair somewhere, drinking tea and dreaming of a sunny vacation. Find her on Instagram and Facebook by clicking the links below.
