Fake Skating exists within the contemporary explosion of ice hockey romance, a subgenre that has evolved from a niche interest to a mainstream phenomenon. While hockey romances have long existed in various forms, recent titles such as Liz Tomforde’s Mile High (2022) and Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker (2022) have gone viral, particularly among younger readers who discover the genre through social media platforms. Many such works take advantage of the fusion of high-stakes competition and emotional depth, and authors in this genre make it a point to describe both the physical intensity of the sport and the tenderness of developing relationships.

Hockey romance differs from other sports-centered subgenres due to the robust cultural framework that surrounds the sport itself. In many real-world settings, hockey transcends the status of a mere game to become a broader social institution, and this dynamic is especially true of northern towns, where the rink becomes a communal gathering space and a symbol of local pride. The sport itself demands a combination of individual skill and collective cohesion, and it naturally lends itself to themes of teamwork, loyalty, and identity. The physicality and speed of the sport offer built-in dramatic tension, while the cyclical rituals of practice, travel, and competition establish a firm structure and create emotional intimacy among players and spectators alike. Within the world of fiction, this environment provides fertile ground for romance writers to explore the intersections of ambition, belonging, and vulnerability.

Painter capitalizes on this sense of community by setting Fake Skating in Southview, Minnesota, a town where hockey exists as a shared language. Alec’s status as a local hockey star situates him at the center of this ecosystem, and his performance on the ice becomes a vehicle for the town’s collective hopes and anxieties. As Dani returns to this world, she feels like an outsider; for her, hockey initially represents a barrier to belonging, but it eventually becomes the means through which she finds connection.

Painter’s contribution to the subgenre is particularly strategic, given her established reputation in young-adult contemporary romance. By applying hockey romance conventions to a story designed for a YA audience, she bridges two popular readerships: her existing fanbase and the growing audience for sports-centered love stories. Her use of the well-worn fake-dating trope is also intended to enhance this crossover appeal, combining the tension of performance with the authenticity of emotional discovery. Painter ultimately demonstrates that the tight-knit community, intergenerational expectations, and complex social hierarchies of small-town hockey provide a varied setting for exploring teenagers’ struggles with identity formation and emotional honesty.