There's something about sports themed young adult books. I love them even though I really do not have an athletic bone in my body. Finding Her Edge by Jennifer Iacopelli is a contemporary book about Adriana Russo who is part of a figure skating dynasty. She's about to compete in the ice dancing partners competition at Junior Worlds in Paris. Her partner is Braydon, who is a huge flirt with a different girl every night. When a reality show featuring Adriana's family premieres, it seems they have taken a romance angle with Adriana and Braydon. She goes along with it because the family coffers are tight and the world is going wild for Adriana and Braydon. However, matters get complicated when a blast from her past, her former skating partner Freddie is in town to practice for Junior Worlds as they are on Team USA together.

I thought that Finding Her Edge was cute. I did know who was endgame from the beginning, given that this is a retelling of Persuasion. The chemistry wasn't quite as good as I hoped. It seemed like Adriana had more chemistry with the person who she doesn't actually end up with. This book is somewhat of a fast read, but it was easy for me to become disengaged with it and set it down to do other things like watch TV or clean. I also find myself really distracted with my real life while reading this book. It's okay. I don't see myself purchasing it in the future or rereading it.

Well this book definitely didn’t go my way. I was rooting for the other guy - especially with a fake dating troupe I didn’t think I’d be wrong! But nevertheless I was. Still an easy read. Also didn’t realize it was a Persuasion retelling until later….

Finding Her Edge is an engaging YA book that broke my dry reading spell--it had me up late wanting to read more. The story focuses on Adriana Russo, the daughter of two successful figure skating legends, and sister to two other competitive skaters, one of whom is heading to the Beijing Olympics. Adriana and her skating partner are training to win the Junior World Championship skating competition, and with her sister competing in the Olympics, her family becomes the focus of a reality TV show documenting the competitions and the family's life--it's also an opportunity for the girls' father to make money for the family, something which their family is in need of because of some members' extravagant spending practices which have been left unchecked after the girls' budget-aware mother passes away. Adriana is having to handle more than someone should have to at her age when things become even more complicated for her; Adriana's former skating partner and best friend returns to town to compete after a difficult and abrupt end to their skating relationship, and they have to face one another again and all that had been left unsaid.

An enjoyable YA read with a glimpse into the world of competitive ice skating that is interwoven with complex personal relationships and pressures that are relatable, yet more than a teenaged girl should ever have to face.

Thanks to NetGalley, Razorbill/Penguin, and author Jennifer Iacopelli for the ARC!

Thank you to Penguin Canada for sending me an eARC of this title.

I loved the premise of this book when I first saw it - who doesn't love ice skating romances? I found Finding Her Edge to be a very quick read, and for the most part I enjoyed it. I'm not really one to read love triangles, but I found that the romance was kind of predictable so although there was this love triangle, realistically you knew where it was going. I know it might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually really enjoyed the book for that reason - it had some hard hitting family subjects, but generally I found it to be quite an easy and comforting book - which is exactly what I wanted. I *hated* Adriana's family, and was so happy to see Adriana's development through the book to gain independence

I would definitely consider this the upper level of YA, but not quite adult. I found some of the characters were still quite juvenile, and it made me slightly question the audience for the book. However, if you like sports romances, characters sticking it to their family, and childhood friends to enemies to lovers, then pick up this quick and easy romance by Jennifer Iacopelli.

“The only thing I plan to focus on is winning gold. Everything else is just noise.”

Finding Her Edge by Jennifer Iacopelli is a fun, young adult romance! Adriana’s sister is headed to the Winter Olympics in Beijing for the Ice Skating competition. Unfortunately, it will be four years before Adriana can compete in Ice dancing. In the meantime, she is competing in the Junior World Ice Skating Championship. Four years earlier, Adriana fell for her former ice dancing partner Freddie, but she grew taller than him. With the threat of potentially sitting out a season of Juniors, she made the decision to swap partners even though she carried a torch for her partner.

This is my first book by Jennifer, and I enjoyed her writing so much! Her writing flows so well and so easy. Not once did I need to look up the lingo or terminology in relation to ice skating or ice dancing. I sincerely appreciate that about this book, because I know nothing about skating. I have never visited a skating rink in my life. So, if you are not familiar with ice skating/dancing, do not be dismayed. The book is very well written!

Jennifer also does such a great job with the relationships in this book. While reading I felt transported to my young teenage days with cute crushes. Thank you for the warm, fuzzy memories, Jennifer! I will definitely read another book by this author.

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House, Razorbill, Jennifer Iacopelli, and Netgalley for a copy of this wonderful book in exchange for my honest opinion!

As long as I can remember every time the Olympics were on, I'd beg my parents to let me stay up and watch all the sports. Didn't matter if it was summer or winter, I wanted to watch it all. One of my favorite winter sports was always figure skating. And until now, I'd never read about it in a book, especially not about a teen in a fake relationship with her ice dance partner as they compete at the World Junior Championships in hopes of competing at the Olympics!

"With gold-medalist parents, and her older sister headed to the Olympics, all she wants is to live up to the family name and stand atop the ice dance podium at the Junior World Championships. But fame doesn’t always mean fortune, and their legendary skating rink is struggling under the weight of her dad’s lavish lifestyle."
One thing that really stuck out in my mind as such a positive thing was the fact that there is no girl against girl hate. Not once are friendships turned against each other because of a boy, or the competition. I love strong female friendships and I find in YA it's so easy to pin girls against each other.
The visuals of the ice dancing were impeccable. I really felt like I was there watching the practices and competitions, Jennifer Iacopelli does a wonderful job capturing the beauty of the sport.

I received this gifted copy for free. I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are my own

This story follows Adriana Russo who's family Legacy is gold medal winning, ice skating royalty. Her older sister is headed to the olympics, Adriana and her little sister are headed to worlds and her family's business is headed into financial ruin. That is a lot to take in for a 16 year old. To top it off, she is dealing with a fake relationship with her current skating partner but at the same time she is still holding a flame for her old one.

I loved this very sweet sports romance. The amount of pressure for a 16 year old to deal with everything she does in this book is incredible. Adriana is a very mature 16 year old and I love that she is able to handle it all. The maturity that she shows is wonderful to see and I am glad that the book was written that way. Usually I find YA romance a bit too immature for my liking. This book was not that way. The writing was flawless and I loved the story. Even better, was the HEA ending! I give this book 5 stars

Are you ever just attracted to a book because of the sport it involves? No? Just me 😂 Ok, but seriously if it involves ice skating I probably own it as its one of my favourite sports to do and watch.
Going into this book, I was so excited for the combination of skating, romance, and a possible love triangle. While I found the book did deliver on these, I found it fell flat in the delivery.
Readers are introduced to Adrianna, who is a part of a famous skating family, but being that she and her partner, Brayden, do ice dancing, that is deemed an “unworthy” sport, so more of the focus is on the older sister until things happen and it all reverses. I think the dad was my least favourite character just because he basically ignores Adrianna until things go down and then it's like “wow look at you! Let’s make you the star of the show!” This was just really off-putting. That and the fact that the older sister would just blame everything on Adrianna and then spend money they didn’t have.
Anywho, moving past them we have the two main male love interests: Brayden and Freddie. Brayden is Adrianna’s current partner, and when a documentary of the older sister’s way to the Olympics features these 2 as a couple, they take the idea to fake date and follow through. Freddie is the ex-partner that is invited to Adrianna’s family’s rink for practice before their upcoming competition, and as you would expect, sparks start to rekindle.
There is a back and forth between the two boys and Adrianna has to choose between risking her partnership or choosing the one that got away. Let’s just say that the ending is where I got kinda upset because I didn’t like the end result. BUT! I did enjoy the addition of the epilogue, with had a really good happy ending and brighter the book.

Adriana Russo is part of a legendary figure skating family, with gold-medalist parents and a world-renowned skating rink. Her sister is headed to the Olympics and being followed by a camera crew for a reality TV show. Adriana herself is training with her ice dancing partner Brayden for their biggest competition yet, eyeing a run at the next Olympics. But with her father’s excessive spending he’s put the ice rink in danger of bankruptcy and only Adriana seems to be concerned about their family’s future.

With the Junior World team arriving to train at the Russo’s rink, Adriana is now faced with sharing the ice with her former partner (and crush), Freddie. Guilty over ending their partnership and harboring feelings for him still, Adriana’s life is further complicated once the reality show airs and social media explodes with speculation of an Adriana-Brayden romance. Fearing the fate of the rink and knowing how increased fame and success could help, Adriana agrees to fake a relationship with Brayden and grow their star power. As their feelings become more real, Adriana has to make some life altering decisions that will decide not only the fate of her love life but also of her family and their future.

Finding Her Edge is a YA romance that is not entirely realistic but enjoyable to read regardless. As a former figure skater (as a hobby, not competitive) the depictions of the figure skating world was a fun addition and I appreciated the descriptions on the ice. The financial concerns and complications from the reality show gave another layer to the romantic entanglements, giving more depth to the plot. Some of the side characters were one dimensional, especially Adriana’s older sister who seemed like a caricature of an ambitious, self-involved fame seeker. Despite these issues, readers who enjoy light-hearted romance will be engaged and root for Adriana.

Especially with the winter Olympics this year, Finding Her Edge is a fun romantic read that celebrates figure skating, love, and taking control of your own future.

I wanted to like this more, but I was shipping the wrong couple and it annoyed me. It was really cute in parts, but some of the stuff wasn't flushed out enough for my personal taste and I felt a little sad that some things seemed unresolved. However the figure skating/ice dance stuff was the bees knees and it made me want to watch The Cutting Edge for the millionth time! All in all a quick read but I wanted more.