An elite ski racer. The hometown hockey captain. A fake relationship they think they can control.
Noelle Anderson doesn’t do distractions.
Determined to prove that her breakthrough ski racing season wasn’t a fluke, she returns to Ridgefield Mountain Academy for her senior year of high school with her sights set on the international stage. But her recent breakup—and even worse, the fact that everyone at the Academy seems to be talking about it—is threatening to derail her focus. When Noelle strikes up an unexpected friendship with Jake Halifax, captain of the local high school hockey team and someone firmly outside the Academy orbit, she sees the perfect opportunity to rewrite the narrative with a fake relationship.
The goal is simple—convince everyone she’s fine so she can focus on training. But Jake, who’s navigating college decisions of his own, has an unsettling habit of seeing straight through her defenses. Against her better judgment, Noelle catches herself revealing the cracks in her carefully constructed walls, which is a dangerous impulse when your career depends on controlling milliseconds. As pre-season pressure mounts and Noelle and Jake get closer, she has to confront the fact that she doesn’t know how to let somebody in without losing her edge.
If she slips now, the future she’s spent years chasing could disappear in an instant. And for the first time, she has two things to lose.
Downhill From Here is a slow-burn sports romance perfect for readers who love banter, fake dating, and a girl who refuses to fall first.
