Falling for the Fake Lumberjack by Sara Ney

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A small-town yoga teacher finds something real with a linebacker posing as a lumberjack in this sharp and spicy romance from USA Today bestselling author Sara Ney.

With rugged good looks and muscles for days, Harris Bennett stops traffic no matter what he’s wearing—flannel shirt or football jersey. So when management sends him to Star Lake, Washington, for a team-building retreat, it’s no wonder a local mistakes him for a lumberjack. And Harris leans right into the misunderstanding. Because that “local” looks amazing in yoga pants.

Lucy LeBrandt is a yoga instructor with trust issues: She doesn’t have time for men. But she’s definitely drawn to the hot, goofy lumberjack who seems to know nothing about, well, lumberjacking. He’s only in town for a week. Maybe she can squeeze him in between classes…

Harris has no idea what to do with an axe, and Lucy has no idea what to do about Harris. But they both know exactly what to do when they’re alone together. Can they split the difference between them, or is their romance just one stroke away from “TIIIIIMBER!”?

A Resort Romance with Rough Edges

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💜💚
Heat/Steam: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗
World building: 🌏🌍🌎
Character development: 😋😀😛

Character Information and Plot Dynamics

Harris is reluctantly dragged into a team‑building retreat at a lake resort with his NFL teammates. He is not a fan of lake water because he hates the feeling of anything brushing against him beneath the surface. He also associates water sports with drinking, which is off limits during the retreat since they are expected to behave themselves. The one perk is that he gets his own cabin due to his seniority on the team, and the resort offers plenty of amenities, including a spa, so he tries to convince himself the trip might not be terrible.

Lucy works as the yoga instructor at the resort and is surprised when a group of massive athletes suddenly shows up. She has no idea why they are there. Her friend Annabelle is busy planning the upcoming fall festival in town and is stressed because she hired eight lumberjacks for the event and only three have arrived.

Lucy and Annabelle enjoy the view of the visiting athletes but assume the men are not exactly intellectual powerhouses. Both women are single and selective about who they date. Lucy is especially cautious. It has been a long time since she has been with anyone, and she tends to miss it when someone is flirting with her. She would like a relationship someday but is not in a rush to start a family. She even tried a matchmaking app, only to discover that every potential match was someone she already knew. Small‑town dating has its limits, and the only new men are the ones who pass through for short periods.

When Lucy literally collides with Harris the next morning, he tells her he is in town for work. She immediately assumes he is one of Annabelle’s missing lumberjacks. Harris does not want to admit he is there for a retreat, so he lets her believe it.

Strengths

• Lucy has been hurt before and still wants to believe that good men exist. That hope has cost her in the past, which makes her cautious. Harris is used to women throwing themselves at him and sees Lucy as a refreshing distraction during the retreat. Their contrasting experiences create an interesting dynamic.

• The small‑town resort setting is charming, and Lucy’s role as a hardworking yoga instructor adds a nice touch. She teaches six classes a day and still lives with her parents, which gives her a grounded, relatable feel.

Limitations

• I usually enjoy Sara Ney’s sports romances, but this one did not land for me. The mistaken identity plot did not feel compelling, and Harris kept the lie going far longer than necessary. Instead of adding tension, it made the story feel repetitive.

• Lucy’s defensiveness became frustrating. She refused to acknowledge her interest in Harris, and her inability to connect the dots about who he really was made her seem less perceptive than she should have been. It was hard to believe she truly thought he was a lumberjack when he was clearly close with the NFL players staying at the resort.

Final Opinion

This story has a cozy setting and a likable premise, but the execution never fully came together. The chemistry between Harris and Lucy had potential, yet the prolonged misunderstanding and Lucy’s uneven characterization kept the romance from feeling satisfying. Fans of small‑town vibes and light sports elements may still enjoy it, but for me it was one of Sara Ney’s weaker entries.

Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Pinterest|BookBub



View all my reviews