Fake Dating My Ex’s Hockey Star Brother is an adult romance novel with heavy "spice," meaning it contains explicit sexual content and graphic language that puts it firmly in the "18+" category. While the "hockey romance" trend on BookTok has made this series a viral sensation among teens, it is written for an adult audience and doesn't hold back on the heat.
TL;DR: Fake Dating My Ex’s Hockey Star Brother by T.K. Leigh is a high-heat adult romance featuring the "revenge" and "fake dating" tropes. It’s popular with teens because of the hockey setting, but parents should know it contains explicit sex scenes and mature themes. If your teen wants the hockey vibes without the graphic content, Check, Please! is a much better entry point.
The "Pucking Revenge" series is part of a massive wave of sports romances—specifically hockey—that have taken over social media. This second book follows Briar, who discovers her ex-boyfriend has been cheating on her. Her solution? A fake relationship with his brother, Caleb, who just happens to be a professional hockey star.
It hits every trope that makes a book go viral: the "he falls first" dynamic, the "revenge" plot, and the "only one bed" scenario. But because it’s marketed as "New Adult" or Adult Romance, the "spice" level is high. We aren't talking about "fade to black" moments; the scenes are descriptive and frequent.
If your teen is asking for this book, they likely saw it on a "Books that will make you blush" or "Top Hockey Romances" list on TikTok. The algorithm doesn’t distinguish between YA (Young Adult) and Adult Romance—it just sees "Hockey" and "Romance" and pushes it to anyone who has engaged with similar content.
This creates a gap where 14-year-olds are reading the same books as 30-year-olds. The writing in the Pucking Revenge series is fast-paced and addictive, which is why it hooks younger readers, but the emotional maturity and the explicit nature of the "spice" are designed for adults.
If your kid is genuinely into the hockey setting or the "fake dating" trope but isn't ready for (or you aren't ready for them to have) a graphic adult novel, there are plenty of titles that deliver the vibes without the "spice."
This is the gold standard for teen hockey content. It’s a graphic novel series about a college hockey player who loves baking. It’s funny, sweet, and focuses on team camaraderie and a slow-burn romance. It captures the "hockey culture" perfectly without the explicit content.
A word of caution: the original Icebreaker is very explicit. However, due to its massive success with younger audiences, clean/YA-friendly versions of popular romance tropes are becoming more common. Always check the specific edition, but generally, if they want the "figure skater meets hockey player" vibe, look for titles specifically labeled as YA.
This is often the "gateway" hockey romance. While it is still a "New Adult" book and has sexual content, it’s often considered slightly more character-driven than the viral "Pucking" series. It’s still for older teens (17+), but it handles its themes of trauma and recovery with a bit more weight.
The biggest thing to understand here is that "Hockey Romance" is currently a genre where "the sport" is often just a backdrop for "the steam." In Fake Dating My Ex’s Hockey Star Brother, the hockey provides the setting and the "fame" element, but the core of the book is the physical and emotional relationship between the two leads.
If you’re okay with your teen reading explicit content, the book is a standard, well-liked romance. If you’re trying to keep things age-appropriate, the "Pucking" title is usually a dead giveaway that the book is leaning into adult territory.
Q: Is 'Fake Dating My Ex’s Hockey Star Brother' appropriate for a 14-year-old? Generally, no. It is an adult romance novel with explicit sexual scenes and graphic language. It is intended for readers 18 and older.
Q: Why is this book so popular on TikTok? It uses popular "tropes" like fake dating and revenge, which are highly searchable and shareable. The "hockey player" aesthetic is also a major trend in current teen and young adult culture.
Q: Are there any clean hockey romance books? Yes. For a younger audience, Check, Please! is a great choice. You can also look for "Sweet" or "Clean" romance categories on book sites, which specifically omit explicit scenes.
Q: What does 'spice level' mean? In the book community, "spice" refers to the intensity and frequency of sexual content. A "high spice" book like this one means the scenes are descriptive and not "fade to black."
Fake Dating My Ex’s Hockey Star Brother is a fun, trope-heavy read for adults, but it’s not a teen book. If your teen is obsessed with the hockey aesthetic, steer them toward our best books for kids list to find titles that match their interests without the adult content.
- Check the "New Adult" label: If a book is categorized as "New Adult," it almost always contains explicit content.
- Use StoryGraph: If you want to check the "spice" level of a book your kid wants, StoryGraph often has user-submitted "graphic" or "explicit" tags that are more accurate than official descriptions.
- Talk about the tropes: Ask your teen what they like about the book's premise. If it's the "fake dating," there are hundreds of YA books with that exact plot that are age-appropriate.