"Icebreaker" is an angsty read that will excite fans of series like "All For the Game" and "The Raven Cycle." The audiobook is magnificent, with a shorter length allowing fans to fly through it, I enjoyed this story immensely. This is not one to miss, especially as it hits notes of other popular series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This book was a lovely queer novel that I found so easy to relate to. The way that Graziadei shows the queer teen experience intertwined the ups and downs of finding yourself, is done expertly!

Icebreaker is the story of Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III, a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey great. This one moves pretty slow in the beginning, but stick with it it’s worth persevering.

Here’s what’s going on…
Mickey and Jaysen are arch rivals. They are both vying for first pick going into the NHL. And sadly, this rivalry is not isolated to the field.

Background… Mickey’s father and grandfather are hockey superstars. All he’s wanted is to be chosen first and acceptance, both from the NHL draft pick and his father. This stress s causing suffering and struggling compounded with anxiety and depression. Mickey is seeking help from the school doctor.

This scenario takes a turn when the college locker room rivalry turns to school boy attraction causing him to reevaluate what he actually wants from his future. Choose the four years on a full ride and enjoy his college experience, or go for a more risky shot for the NHL?

The book contains sone heavy topics, and the author dealt with them really well.

This is a story of falling in love, and choosing your own path in life.

I recommend this story and the audio narrator.

I had been forewarned that this book packed a heavy emotional punch, but boy did it still hit me HARD.

Rivals to lovers seems to be the most popular trope of the decade, and I'm always equal parts excited and hesitant to read a book that boasts it. Excited because it can be so fun and thrilling when done right, and hesitant because it sometimes seems to be done just to attract buzz.

Fortunately Icebreaker was a book I was right to be excited about, and turned out to be a story that moved me with more than just the romance part of it.

Mickey is the kind of character I see so much of myself in it's honestly a bit painful. It leaves me feeling exposed, but that also means it makes me feel seen. His struggle with his mental health, his sexuality, his relationship with his family, his reluctance to let himself be known are all echoes of my own path, at times perfect mirrors of each other and often times poetically similar in their diametric opposition.

Oh. This also ended with me smacking my hand on a table and shouting WHAT. so yeah. and also. i cried. and lowkey read it in one sitting?

I tried reading Icebreaker when it first came out, but something wasn’t clicking at the time. So I put it down and decided to go back to it at a later date. I decided to try reading it in audiobook form, thinking maybe that would be a better choice for me and I was definitely correct.

The beginning of the book is a lot of build up, so going into it, it felt really slow. But once I hit a certain point, I understood why the author made the choices they made. It all made sense and I ended up loving it so much more than I thought I would.

Mickey and Jaysen have been pitted against eachother. Atleast it must feel that way since both of them are fighting for first pick going into the NHL. They have the rivalry on and off the field, but their teammates treat them like some kind of enemies to lovers romance, knowing what would happen next.

Mickey’s father and grandfather are hockey royalty and all he’s wanted is to be chosen first. Both from the NHL draft pick and his father. With such heavy obligations and goals, he’s been suffering and struggling with anxiety and depression, which he’s been seeking help for with the school doctor.

When his college locker room rivalry turns to school boy crush and then to the enemies to lovers torrid affair that his teammates knew would be coming, he has to reevaluate what he actually wants from his future. Does he want to spend all four years on a full ride and enjoy his college experience? or should he grab the bull by the horns and shoot his shot for the NHL?

I really enjoyed this book. There were some heavy topics, which I really enjoyed, because they were written really well! I wasn’t uncomfortable while reading the story (see my reviews for the All For the Game series, which was brought up in many reviews for this book as being similar, which IMO was very VERY minor!) and actually finished it wishing for a sequel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this audiobook.

This was a nice enemies to lovers between two hockey players and I enjoyed it a lot. I was very invested in the characters and how they deal with mental health issues while being young. I would recommend it!

Icebreaker was hands down a 5 star read for me. Let me tell you, I was INVESTED. After finishing the book I spent my visits to every book store in The Netherlands looking for this book hoping that I wouldn't have to order it online because I wanted to experience finding the book in a store. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it yet and I went to the biggest bookstores in The Netherlands. :') OH WELL, maybe when I visit London!

ANYHOW, time for my review. Icebreaker follows Mickey James III on his way to follow in his father's and grandfather's footsteps and becoming the top draft spot of the league. However, Mickey's annoying(ly handsome) teammate Jaysen Caulfield is standing in his way to follow his family's legacy, which means Mickey has to decide how determined he is for that #1 spot and how much he would give up for it...

The enemies-to-lovers, the bromance, the discussion of mental health, I was HERE for it! I loved the chemistry between the two main characters and sometimes I even had to laugh out loud (in the gym, I don't even care what other people were thinking that moment). The writing and the pace of the book were excellent as well and I highly recommend it to people who are into ya/na sports romance.

I have mixed views about this one. On the one hand, I appreciated the book's emphasis on mental illness (particularly depression) and the way that pressure from family, even inadvertently, affects people... but I also didn't warm up to the two main characters until nearly a quarter of the way through the book. Because this book is so character-driven, that first twenty-ish percent was a bit of a slog to get through for me. I appreciate hostile relationships that blossom into romance, and enemies-to-lovers are my jam, but this felt a little too much at times? I understand hockey is a rough sport, but the way Jaysen pursued Mickey so aggressively at the beginning of the book concerned me, especially given their various sizes. When things improved for them, it seemed to go from zero to sixty with no natural build-up? I understand that this isn't an issue for everyone, but I enjoy the slow burn, no kissing till the last chapter, heavy on the pining sort of romance hahaha. Yes, there is pining here, but it only lasts a chapter or so; it just wasn't enough for me!!!

Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III is a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey legacy. With a father and a grandfather who have gone down in NHL history, Mickey is almost guaranteed the league's top draft spot.

The only person standing in his way is Jaysen Caulfield, a contender for the #1 spot and Mickey's infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) teammate. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he's willing to risk for it.

This is a story about falling in love, finding your team (on and off the ice), and choosing your own path.

This was an incredible read! I was not expecting such wonderful mental health representation in a sports ROMANCE but trust me it was there! It was a topic that was dealt with so well and in such a relatable way! The chemistry between Mickey and Jayden was incredible, you could feel the tension and the love! Mickeys relationship with his family and that development was incredible to see and literally watching Mickey open up to everyone around him was This is definitely a must read novel this year and I 1000% recommend the audio book for this read!

Honestly I wouldn’t classify this book as a romance as much as a contemporary, but there is definitely romance vibes and sports! So if you like anything from romance to contemporary or you’re trying to step out of your comfort zone I cannot recommend a book more!

Wow. This one blew me away right from the start. It was totally not what I expected but I loved it. Highly recommend

This novel tells the story of two hockey teammates, competing against each other while on the same team, and also catching feelings for each other. The relationship between the two boys developed very well in the story, not instantaneously liking some teen romances. You will fall for these two characters as you join in on the action!

man, this was disappointing. the first 40% kinda pulled me in. there was tension and rivalry and I felt like some stuff was unraveling but the rest absolutely sucked. hence, 2 stars and not 1, cause I enjoyed some of it.

my general issue with this book is how much I absolutely despised all the characters but mainly the main character and the love interest. they were pretty much as interesting as a group of cishet white men who go to the gym every day at 5 pm and catcall women afterwards.

neither of them had any character. their dialogues and actions felt super robotic. they were as bland as a salad with two ingredients and no spices. absolutely ZERO personality. NPC material, truly.

the chemistry between them completely sucked too. it all felt like just hate with benefits kinda thing throughout the whole book, unlike some very well done enemies to lovers I’ve read like ”Red, White & Royal Blue”, where you can actually see the character arc and how the characters go from enemies to lovers. this was just enemies who hooked up with no chemistry and no love. neither of them evolved at all.

now that I got over my biggest problem with it, I can knit pick.

why the HELL would you make your character not know the difference between “your” and “you’re.” did you WANT TO make the readers think they’re unintelligent or don’t have the literal kindergartener level of education? jfc. not to mention how when jaysen used the l*ughing cr*ing emoji I felt the physical urge to gag.

it was all the embodiment of a millennial disney adult with a side part and the geopraphical skills of an american.

obviously, this has been fixed by now but the audio-ARC’s recording sounded like siri reading it because of the echo and buzzing.

overall, not recommend!!! <3

The actual story for this is 4.5* and the audiobook narration probably gets a 2. I just couldn't connect to the narrator or the style of reading and it really put me off finishing it as I couldn't stay into it.

I loved the characters and the plot and the writing style was pretty great.

Overall I really enjoyed this.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this audiobook!

"Icebreaker" was definitely one of my most anticipated YA releases of 2022 and it didn't disappoint! I'm not one to pick up a lot of sports centred books to be honest, but I really enjoyed that aspect in this book. The main characters, romance and plot was so good and had me hooked from start to finish, the narration for the audiobook was also really great and I highly recommend picking up the audio version! I also thought the mental illness rep was super well done.

Overall, I highly recommend picking this one up if you like queer sports romance!

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media, Recorded Books, A. L. Graziadei, and Tom Picasso (narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to Icebreaker in exchange for an honest review.

What a clever title! I won't go into that, I just wanted to highlight how fitting it is to this hockey romance novel.

Even though the main character, Mickey, is a college freshmen, this book is considered young adult. He is not yet of adult age, and he deals with the same aspects young adults do in those transitional years. Finding who he is and what he wants to be is a key aspect in a young adult's life.

Both Mickey's father AND grandfather have been key players in the National Hockey League, which puts the pressure on Mickey. He has been groomed to get into the NHL his whole life. He has had to practice hard. At least he does love hockey, so it is his own dream to follow, despite his family influences. The only problem is that sometimes depression gets in the way, and that can cause him to care about nothing at all.

There's one other problem: Jaysen Caulfield. He's Mickey's teammate, also shooting for the next NHL spot, oh and he's extremely attractive (according to Mickey).

What startes off as a rivalry soon becomes an interesting relationship. Mickey needs to find out what's most important to him and his future career, and a fling, or even romance, isn't quite what he was expecting along the way.

This is a wholesome sports novel revolving around hockey with a leading bisexual character. The writing is excellent, and there are some great moments of interaction between characters. It can be hard to decide what we want once adulthood is right around the corner, and this novel explores that well. We might know, or at least have an idea, of what we want to do with our adult lives, but sometimes things happen in life that bring us to rethink our path. This book is a great listen with a flavorful narrator and a must-read for any hockey lover or seeker of LGBTQ YA romance.

I cannot start this review any other way than by simply saying this book *slayed* my heart in the best way! It's the perfect mix of some of my favourite tropes like found family, rivals to lovers, with a dash of banter and it was meant to be one of my 2022 faves from the get-go!

This story of two college hockey players who are competing for the number one draft spot in the NHL started off strong and its beauty just kept growing throughout. As we watch Mickey and Jaysen slowly go from rivals with some underlying sexual tension to tentative friends and in the next breath to lovers, we slowly fall in love with them as well. We face Mickey's mental health struggles with him, learning about the issues he faces and going through his thought process with the draft, his privilege in hockey (both for his reputation as the son of a hockey legend, his race, and his assumed straightness) - the latter was one of my favourites because it showed how aware was Mickey and it was a refreshing and important thing to see.
Of course Jaysen plays a role in the realistic portrayal of the hockey scene as well, speaking about his struggles and not shying away from calling people out when they're wrong. And while AL did talk about the uglier sides of hockey and this whole business as well, they created a hopeful sports atmosphere with this team at Hartland University and I am never getting over that. We desperately need books that advocate for change and stay hopeful while also calling out the issues and things that need to be fixed.

While Mickey and Jaysen were central to the story and amazing to read about, the side characters were a true delight as well. All of Mickey's sisters were beautifully flashed out and there was no mixing them anymore after a couple of chapters - they all had distinct voices and you couldn't help but adore them. The same goes for Mickey's team members. My heart especially settled on Dorian and I cannot wait to hear his story as well. His own mental health struggles played a huge role in Mickey's own treatment and I loved that beyond words. Boys talking about their struggles and forming a small, perfect found family? Count me in!

I really thought I could keep this short and to the point BUT here we are. I really adored this book and wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone! It's a sports fiction story (perfect for you, even if you don't like sports) about first loves and friendships that develop into beautiful found families, but it's also a story of mental health struggles like depression and anxiety, and most of all, fighting for what you believe in. Because having a community that loves you is, in the end, more important than being drafted first. *wink win*

All the stars for this beautiful masterpiece.

Genre : LGBTQ+, contemporary, YA

TW : mental health (depression and anxiety), homophobia and sexism in the hockey industry, alcohol use, physical violence, abandonment issues

𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒓: 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 ALC 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 NETGALLEY 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘.

I'm not a hockey fan at all (or of any sports, for that matter 😂), but this was such a fun and entertaining read! I didn't know the hockey lingo used, but it didn't prevent me from understanding and enjoying the story.

NOTE : I listened to the audiobook, so at first it was difficult to sort out all of the characters (there are a LOT, because .. lots of siblings and also, the hockey team 😂), but I managed after a few chapters 🙌

FAVE THINGS :

• the mental health rep

• a bunch of queer siblings in the same family 😍🥰

• long-standing rivalry turned hate-to-love

• well developed characters & personal growth

• the epilogue 💛💛

ABOUT THE MENTAL HEALTH REP :

The mental health rep was absolutely amazing. Like the main character states, he's never had a traumatic experience and he is privileged (white, hetero passing, and rich parents).

Because of that, he doesn't feel like he's "allowed" to be depressed/reach out for help. I loved how he found out one of his teammates was also struggling with his mental health, and how that helped him accept his own situation.

The entire mental health rep was so valid and relatable, and the author did a marvelous job of portraying those struggles.

loved this book! such a cute enemies to lovers hockey tale. the chemistry between the 2 main characters was great. i loved the mental health representation within the book

I absolutely loved this LGBTQ romance.

Such a great book with a solid storyline and great characters.

I eagerly look forward to reading more from this author.

A definite recommend