DNF at 77%.

This book has absolutely no business being 400+ pages. It could have easily fit into 300. All of the side hockey players took about 50% of the book for me to reliably tell them apart. I contemplated pushing through to finish it, but after realizing I still had over 1.5 hours left in the book after I’d trudged through hours already, I realized I just didn’t care. Did it do anything that was offensive? No. Did it do anything that was amazing? No, also. Overall, it may be the book for someone, but just not for me.

Received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was fun to read. I liked reading about Anastasia and Nathan as their relationship grew. This was also the first book I read that was a hockey romance and I loved it and will look for more in the future. Nathan's teammates were also excellent and I am hoping this is the start to a universe with these characters!

Another romance book that misses the mark. Or the goal...? A little hockey humor for you there.

Let's start with what I liked about this book:
-The writing style is easy to get lost in
-The main characters felt like real people with their fears and issues
-All of the hockey boys are fantastic and fun
-No 3rd act breakup
-The fmc's positivity about therapy

Dislikes:
-The writing flowed quite well so when an odd turn of phrase came up, it would pull me out of it. This happened at least 3 times.
-It's at least 100 pages too long... with how little plot is in this book, it did not need to be over 300 pages.
-Reallyyyyy repetitive.. I guess to make all of the pages "worth it"
-The fmc makes some stupid decisions and doesn't see the problems right in front of her... she's really smart so this was out of character and I hated it
-Little to no plot
-The fmc calling the mc "bub" as a pet name. Ew. Gives me "bubba" vibes.
-Not enough spice weirdly enough..?? There are a lot of spicy scenes, but there are also times when there's build up and then it's fade to black. If you're going to make a needlessly long romance book, at least reward me for reading it all
-THE FREAKING EPILOGUE... no... just no. The fmc repeatedly says she doesn't want to physically have kids because it could mess with her skating career and that she wants to adopt. And adding in that the mmc bought her a Bronco to make up for getting her pregnant? Ew. No. Stop. I hated everything about the epilogue. I shouldn't have read it.

Overall, since this book was such a TikTok sensation, I was expecting it to bring something new to the college athlete romance genre. It didn't. Other than the mcs being able to respectfully portray their emotions (go them), it was like every other football, dancer, college romance I have ever read.

If you can wade through all the repetitiveness, it could be worth it though.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my... I absolutely loved it. Love the banter between Anastasia and Nathan... Aaron could go to "he double hockey sticks" for what his attitude was like in this book... Anastasia and Nathan both fighting for their dreams yet finding true love... loved it.

I enjoyed this book for the most part! I'm a sucker for solid communication between the characters and for loveable side characters. Hello, hockey players!

I loved so many things about Anastasia. I really enjoyed how mature she was in her relationship with Ryan. You could also definitely tell she had years of therapy under her belt because she had some great insights sometimes. The whole Aaron thing aside, Stas had a good head on her shoulders.

Now, Nate. Hannah Grace even said it herself, "Nathan Hawkins is a man who was most definitely written by a woman." Has there been a more perfect male character? No notes whatsoever on him. Just a heads up, this is very much an open-door romance.

I also liked how some topics were portrayed (eating disorders, Robbie, adoption). I will say that I wasn't a fan of the whole "girl trapping a guy through pregnancy" comment that was brought up MORE THAN ONCE. It was icky and I thought it was foreshadowing one of my least favorite tropes.

One thing that threw me off was how long this was! I thought I was nearing the end when I realized I was only at 48% of the book. It did allow the characters to show there was more than just a physical connection, but I was surprised by that. I feel like so much happened but not much actually did?

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This was a very steamy read about college sports students, mainly hockey and figure skating. I think I may pick up other future books in this series to read for a break in between heavy books.

I'm honestly shocked at how much I disliked this! On the one hand, it was distractingly not rooted in reality. UC schools don't really have hockey teams? Figure skating is at best a club sport in college? So few colleges have two rinks? The point of doing elite sports at a state school is that the college pays the expenses for the sport and for schooling? It's hilarious to use Dunkin Donuts as a California coffee shop instead of something like Coffee Bean? No one in America would tell a person from another state what county they're from in their home state, with the exception of maybe places like Westchester County or Orange County? The idea that luxury apartments immediately adjacent to a college campus would be inhabited by townies is honestly hilarious? I fully realize none of this matters but when a book goes from self-published to traditionally published, one would hope at least some of this kind of stuff might get fixed and the book would have the barest semblance of verisimilitude.

On top of that I found the characters incredibly juvenile even for college students. And then there's the weird thing about vengeful pregnant ladies? Both the mean skating coach is taking out her pregnancy anger on everyone and the rink was trashed because of an angry pregnant woman? Like what the hell? There was so much gender essentialism I found really icky and toxic. And I found the jokes about the skating coach being secretly Russian in poor taste considering what's going on with actual Russian coaches and skaters these days.

I'll stop there.

thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this (even if it’s like…a whole week after publication that I finally finished this)

Requested solely because I meant to read it while it was on Kindle Unlimited because the man has a filthy mouth and then it was taken off of Kindle Unlimited to be traditionally published and anyways this book was really and I love the relationship (and smut) between Nate and Stas but I also felt like the ending was rushed and wanted to know more about their relationship and the post Aaron fiasco and I wanted more of their banter.

But yeah, super cute, super spicy.

If "Icebreaker" has taught me anything, it's that TikTok is the harbinger of disappointing romance novels. Seeing "TikTok Sensation" in the blurb should serve as a warning to move along.

Over 400 pages (!!!) of being told that the jumble of leading characters are dedicated and committed student athletes, while all that is shown is parties, drinking, and sex. It's just endless.

eARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review.

Cute and very spicy. Had heard a lot about this book and I can see what all the hype is abour. It wasn't my favorite but I think my students will gobble it up as it fits in with current trends.

Wow! Women authors really do know how to write the dream man. You cannot find a better book boyfriend than Nathan Hawkins. From being the best captain of the hockey team to literally supporting this girl who is so mean to him in every way possible and expecting nothing in return...My god. This was one of the dirtiest, but in the best way, romances I've read. It was a little longer than maybe it needed to be, but I am definitely reading the rest of this series. I couldn't put this down, and I even went back and read a few chapters again! The banter is amazing. I laughed out loud several times, and had all the feels. Great work to Hannah Grace. Please keep it up. Emma Chase and Hannah Grace have a way of writing these Hockey players like if I go to a preds game, it's going to be a Magic Mike show (at least in my mind). lol. I know I may be sorely disappointed by all the guys with missing teeth.:)

Thank you so much to @netgalley for this advanced reader's copy for an honest review. It was fantastic!

This was everything I wanted it to be.

Friends to lovers, throw in a gaslighting jealous “friend”, enough description in the sex scenes, and you get a brilliant book.

I was pleasantly surprised with this one, I had my doubts in the first couple chapters but it go so much better

A fun, steamy hockey & figure skater romance. Anyone else think of the Cutting Edge while reading this?! I could see the story evolving into a series - it had many characters that were under-developed throughout. Overall a good read.

This book was cute and steamy but the characters never felt fully developed, even though I can see the attempt. A fun read, but not a remarkable one.

What a great read! I had seen a bunch of hype for this book circulating around social media, and I'll admit that at first I wasn't too sure what the hype was all about. But after I got about 25% of the way through, I couldn't put it down and found myself SO attached to Stassi and Nate, and Lo and Robbie and the whole rest of the team! Also, I would literally die for Henry and I think he deserves his own story. This was an amazing read and kept me guessing with a couple of unexpected moments, with a wholesome and sweet storyline at the same time. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

I picked this book up not expecting much, just wanting to have a good time. It ended up being so good! Communication! Healthy relationships! Spicy sex scenes! This was all I could’ve asked for and more. Will definitely recommend.

This read follows a blooming romance between two college athletes which starts off a bit rocky! This read him corporates the navigating of friendships, new love, college life, commitment to sports, parental conflict, manipulation, and having therapy as a tool for growth. There are plenty of spicy scenes! There is a decent level of predictability for this read.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

While Anastasia, college figure skater, is somewhat difficult to like at first, her constant banter with Nate Hawkins, college hockey player is entertaining.

Nate definitely falls first, but eventually wins Anastasia over as he helps her work through her trust issues. What I loved most about this book are the relationships Anastasia built with the entire hockey team, creating their own little supportive family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't like much about this. I disliked most characters in the story. The book took so long to get anywhere and when it did get going, it wasn't good. The beginning was so chaotic - too many people. Stassie annoyed me. Nate was okay. Disliked Aaron fully. Idk. There were just so many sexual scenes that felt cringey to me. It didn't feel done right to me.
2.5 stars rounded up

A big thank you to Attica Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. A honest review was requested but not required. I was super excited about getting to read this one since I had been seeing it all over Instagram recently.

I really enjoyed this book. It absolutely gave me some vibes similar to the movies The Cutting Edge and Dirty Dancing, but set in college. This is a long book but it’s obvious that it is setting up a series with the different characters. Overall, I liked the story. Anastasia is a pairs skater that forms an unlikely “friendship” with hockey player, Nate. From their unlikely friendship start they begin their relationship.

I really liked the character development with the main characters and the supporting characters. Henry and JJ are the best and I cannot wait for their stories! I also appreciate the spotlight on mental health in this story. I also really appreciate the fact that when Nate and Anastasia faced difficulty they worked through it and didn’t have the break up/get back together storyline.

Now a few downsides: the dialogue is a little bit unrealistic in some scenes (that’s been mentioned by some). I also did not love Anastasia at the start of the book. Her character did grow on me. But at the start she is almost too aloof and cold while Nate is a saint.

Overall, this was a fun and well-written book, even if it was on the longer side. For sure can’t wait to read more about this group of friends!