Skate It Till You Make It

My skin actually prickles thinking about Ari Shumba — she’s the central figure in 'Skate It Till You Make It', officially named Arikoishe “Ari” Shumba, and the story really orbits her choices and pressure as she steps into the captain role for Great Britain’s women’s ice hockey team. Ari isn’t just a player; she’s a complicated lead juggling leadership, family stuff, and the mess that comes with competing on a massive stage like the Winter Games while an ex looms in the background. The novel sets up a fake-dating setup between Ari and Drew Dlamini that’s fun and believable because Ari’s emotional stakes and career stakes are so high — you end up rooting for her whether she’s on the ice or trying to avoid someone from her past. I loved how the book treats Ari as more than a romance protagonist: she’s a driven athlete with real vulnerabilities, which made her my favorite kind of main character — flawed, fierce, and surprising. I walked away cheering for her in a way that stuck with me.

I got totally hooked by the setup and the way the story leans into both the Olympics pressure and a fake-dating rom-com vibe—Ari is unexpectedly thrust into captaincy for Great Britain’s first women’s Winter Olympics hockey team, and Drew is this risk-averse photographer who shows up at the Games trying to jumpstart his career. The novel builds that tension around the tournament, family complications, and a gnarly ex that Ari needs space from, which is exactly why the fake-dating premise makes sense in the first place. The ending itself lands as a tender, earned, ‘happy-for-now’ close rather than an over-the-top fairy-tale finale. By the final act, the fake arrangement has broken down in the best way: the two have to reckon with real feelings, messy truths (including a secret connection that complicates things), and their professional ambitions. The emotional pay-off is that both characters grow—Ari steps fully into leadership and boundaries, and Drew faces his fears and family responsibilities—so when they choose to stay with one another the choice feels mutual and plausible. Reviews and blurbs frame the finish as satisfying and hopeful rather than definitively ‘forever now,’ which fits the characters’ arcs through the Games. Why it ends that way, to my mind, is thematic: the author keeps the focus on career, identity, and learning to let people in, so a neat happily-ever-after would’ve undercut that realism. Giving them a hopeful, somewhat open future honors both the rom-com warmth and the book’s attention to the real-life push-and-pull athletes face. It left me smiling and relieved—like watching two people finally stop hiding and start trying, even if the road ahead is still real life rather than a tidy montage.

If you want to read 'Skate It Till You Make It' without paying, the easiest legit route I always turn to is my library — you can usually borrow the ebook or audiobook for free using services like OverDrive/Libby. I checked and the title is listed on OverDrive as an ebook with a sample you can read right away; libraries that carry it let you place holds or borrow when a copy is available. If you just want to sample the book immediately, the publisher has an excerpt and audio excerpt available on the Macmillan/Flatiron pages, so you can read a chunk for free to see if you like the voice and the fake-dating hockey vibe before you borrow or buy. That’s what I did the first time I heard about it — read the excerpt, then put a hold at my library. If your local library doesn’t have it right away, try requesting it through interlibrary loan or watch for it in your library’s new releases (many catalog entries show copies arriving and let you place holds online). I found a public-catalog listing showing branches placing orders and allowing holds, which is exactly how I got my borrowable copy the week after release. A few practical notes from someone who borrows a lot: availability varies by region and library budget, so you might see a waitlist; Hoopla or other library apps sometimes carry the same titles depending on agreements, but OverDrive/Libby is the most common. If you prefer listening, the audiobook is available for purchase and sometimes for loan through the same library networks. Buying is obviously the fastest way to own it, but library lending and the publisher’s free excerpt are the legit free options I’d try first. I hope you love Ari and Drew as much as I did — the winter-sports romcom energy is so fun to sink into.

Nestled somewhere between warm rom-com vibes and full-on sports drama, 'Skate It Till You Make It' pleasantly surprised me — it’s a fake-dating, hockey-set romance about Ari and Drew that leans into Olympic stakes, family tensions, and the kind of slow-burn chemistry that keeps you turning pages. The book is by Rufaro Faith Mazarura and was released with a lot of buzz and strong reviews calling it charming, heartfelt, and a great pick for fans of wintery sports romances. If you loved the vibe of 'Skate It Till You Make It', here are books I’d toss onto the same bedside pile: start with 'Let the Games Begin' — it’s by the same author and shares the Olympic-sports atmosphere and feel-good rom-com energy; it’s a natural follow-up if you liked Mazarura’s voice. 'Icebreaker' is a college figure-skater/hockey captain romance that blew up on social media and scratches the same itch for rink-based tension and slow-burn attraction. For readers who want something steamier and hockey-specific, 'Heated Rivalry' delivers intense on-ice rivalry and messy, grown-up feelings. If you prefer lighter, college-sports romcoms with spicy moments, 'Wicked Serve' is a fun, athletic sibling-of-sports-family read. For a sports-romance that leans into emotional stakes beyond the rink, try 'The Striker' (a soccer-set sports romance) for more of that athlete-career drama. Bottom line: yes, it’s worth it if you’re into character-driven romance set against competitive sports — especially if you like fake-dating tropes, wintery Olympic backdrops, and found-family moments. It’s cozy, cheering, and satisfying in a way that lets you celebrate both the love story and the athletes themselves; I closed it feeling warm and ready to read more of this niche.