Your fake relationship shouldn’t come with chronic feelings.

Skylar is done with offline relationships—especially romantic ones. Living with chronic illness means she’s heard it all before: unreliable, high-maintenance, too much. She’d rather spend her free time in her online chronic pain support group, and lately, she can’t help but notice Pike, the hot new guy with a penchant for broody poetry. When a chaotic night in the group forces her to pose as his girlfriend, she reluctantly agrees to keep up the charade in real life. Surprisingly, he’s thoughtful, sweet, and—most importantly—doesn’t flinch at the things that have scared others away.

Fake dating gets a lot more complicated when she discovers Pike isn’t just some guy. He’s a professional snowboarder whose career-ending injury is as infamous as his playboy past. He won’t talk about that, though. He’s fine. Really. But pretending to be in love with Skylar turns out to be the least depressing thing he’s done in months. As they spend more time together, she starts to notice the cracks in his carefully crafted image, and for once, he doesn’t mind being seen.

After all the bed-sharing and late-night talks, it becomes harder for both of them to pretend. But just as things start turning real, the paparazzi catch on, wanting the scoop on how everyone’s favorite Olympic medalist is doing post-accident. Dating while disabled comes with challenges of its own, but public speculation and invasive questions are something else entirely. If their newfound feelings can’t survive the spotlight, their not-so-fake relationship may be over before it ever truly begins.

My Review

I have been absolutely dying to read this book for some time. I got it in paperback and, of course, other things got in the way, so I’m finally super excited to start it. Seeing chronic pain and illness represented in this book was one of the things that made me want to read it. I admire the author for including chronic illness in such an honest way. I’m also thrilled to have it on Kindle so I can highlight the heck out of it without messing up my paperback copy, although we’ll see if I can actually resist highlighting that one too. 😂 The author’s note warmed my heart but also made me feel seen.

Skylar is an admin for her support group, and while her heart is absolutely in the right place, she definitely makes things a little more complicated while trying to fix an issue involving her symptoms. One little oops and suddenly there’s a fake relationship.

I love that her diagnosis of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension is actually named in the story, along with the symptoms that come with it. Pike is a recently disabled Olympic snowboarder who is still coming to terms with his new life and how that affects his family as well. Their interactions are fantastic, although some of the medical terminology had me looking things up. 😂

I love the realism of the storyline in this book. While some of these conversations might seem shocking to some people, they feel completely normal to the characters and to real people who deal with chronic illness. Skylar and Brandon, aka Pike, are able to talk about their health issues openly, even when they have just met. That felt incredibly real to me.

Her identification as having POTS, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, and Fibromyalgia warmed my heart even more. I felt so seen.

I’ve even had to look up some of the terms in this book. I may not be grasping every single detail, but the medical wording is incredibly smart and well researched. Of course, I also tend to get completely engrossed in the romance. 😂 The winter vibes weren’t quite as strong for me, but they did lead us into an only-one-bed situation, and I am absolutely here for that.

I also love that despite their chronic illnesses being an important part of the story, we still get to see the reality of flares and exertion. Neither character is magically fine just because they’re falling in love. Their limitations are part of their lives, and the story doesn’t shy away from that.

I highlighted ALL sorts of passages in this book because they were so incredibly relatable. And wow, that doctor appointment for Skylar brought back some memories. I’m sure it will be incredibly relatable to others in the chronic illness community too. If you like real-life issues woven into your romances, you’re going to want to read this one.

The progression from fake relationship to friendship to something intimate and real is one of the most beautiful things I’ve read. I adore the number of quotes and moments that feel so relatable, and this book had me feeling ALL the things.

There is no sugarcoating or downplaying the grief, medical trauma, invisible illness, and unexpected connections in this story. The author tells this love story beautifully, with more detail, emotion, and relatable content than any other chronic illness romance I’ve read so far. I absolutely plan to read more from this author because I’m really enjoying learning alongside Skylar and Brandon.

This story is touching because it highlights the good, the bad, and everything in between. It feels like a love letter to those who live with invisible illness, reminding you that you are not alone, it’s okay to ask for help, and it’s okay to advocate for yourself.

This book was everything I needed. And I’m sure there are so many other readers who will feel the same way.

And I will absolutely be shouting about this one all over social media. ❤️

Phew. The slow-burn angst and tension they’ve been ignoring because of more pressing concerns finally burst into that sauna scene. 🔥

And as if the sweetness and thoughtful tenderness weren’t enough, we also got some spice. Yeah… I couldn’t put the book down after that. And no, it wasn’t just because of the steamy scenes. This book completely captured my attention. It warmed my heart and honestly felt like perfection.

Now that I’ve finished their journey, I know this is one of those stories that is going to stay on my shelf for years. It will probably be tabbed and highlighted to death, too. 😂 I can’t wait to read more books by this author.

This was an absolutely perfect read for me. The combination of romance, sports, fake dating, and so many other amazing tropes was fantastic, but it was the real-life issues, mental health representation, and chronic illness representation that made this book stand out.

The characters were all amazing, and I’m really hoping Emy and Lennox get their own stories too.

This book is a love letter to so many people who need to feel seen and heard, and most of all, to be reminded that they are not alone. I needed this read many months ago myself, and I know I’ll come back to it again and again.

Brandon and Skylar’s romance was so heartwarming, and I already know I’m going to have a serious book hangover.

This story has earned a place right alongside Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert on my shelf.

But this one? This one resonates with me so much more. ❤️📚

If you would like to read It’s All in your Head by Sabina Nordqvist, you can find this book on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you like this book you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories: Winter, Chronic Illness and Fake Relationship.