Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

this was a book i really enjoyed reading. a first by this author for me!

it has a good pace, good characters and a good mix of touching themes and a sweet story!

Nick is dealing with a big loss and Alyssa is trying to find her place in interior designing.
enter: Alyssa decorating Nick's new apartment, but it doesn't go without a hitch!

this story brought a lot of feels for both the main characters but you'll see them navigate it in their own ways! i love that as it always makes for some great development

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! I just couldn't get in the mood for this one, but I do love this author!

I love an emotionally driven story, and this one is in fact a doozy. My heart ached for Nick as he navigated his grief and the ultimatum he’s forced to comply with to keep his career.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t emotionally invested in these characters and was disappointed in their lack of chemistry.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read.

In Hearts on Thin Ice, Katie Kennedy delivers a sports romance with emotional depth, centering on Nick Sorensen, a hockey player struggling to move forward after surviving a devastating plane crash, and Alyssa Compton, an interior designer eager to prove herself in her career. When Nick’s coach questions his mental readiness to return to the ice, he hires Alyssa to furnish his nearly empty apartment in an attempt to prove he’s fine. However, their working relationship is anything but smooth—Nick is resistant, Alyssa is frustrated, and neither expects the growing connection that begins to form between them. As they navigate grief, healing, and the vulnerabilities of love, they must decide whether they can take a chance on each other.

While the premise of this book is compelling, the execution felt a bit uneven. The emotional weight of Nick’s trauma was well-developed, but at times, his character felt very closed off, making it hard to connect with his journey. Alyssa, meanwhile, had an engaging arc, but the romance between them didn’t always feel fully fleshed out. The pacing also dragged in places, making some sections feel repetitive. Still, the themes of healing and finding home were strong, and fans of sports romances may still enjoy this one.

This one was not for me. It was super dull, no growth with the characters. The romance was hard to buy in to, It was just not for me.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Maybe there are just too many hockey romances because they have been lacking lately. The author tackles way too many difficult situations, and there is a lack of chemistry between the characters.

I expected this to be a typical sports romance based on the cover., but this was much heavier than that. The main character is the sole survivor from a plane crash and is trying to rejoin the world. Alyssa is an interior designer who he hired to furnish his apartment. Their shared pain forms their connection.

This had a lot of growth in it, but i felt like the actual relationship lacked a little bit.
THanks so much for the copy!

actual rating: 2.5/5 stars

i went into hearts on thin ice expecting a light and fluffy sports romance—a grumpy hockey player meets an ambitious interior designer, forced proximity, some banter, and a sweet love story. while the book had those elements, it also delivered a lot more heaviness than i anticipated. the emotional weight of the characters’ traumas overshadowed the lighter moments, which left me feeling a bit misled by the cute cover and premise.

nick’s story is incredibly heavy—he’s a hockey player dealing with survivor’s guilt after a plane crash that killed his best friends and teammates. his grief and struggle to rejoin the world are palpable, and it’s clear he’s nowhere near ready to move on. alyssa, the interior designer he hires to furnish his empty apartment, is grappling with her own childhood trauma and insecurities about her career. their shared pain forms the basis of their connection, but for much of the book, their relationship feels more like two people navigating personal struggles side by side rather than falling in love.

while i appreciated how they helped each other heal and grow, i felt their romantic chemistry was lacking. the constant misunderstandings and tension between them made it hard to root for their relationship, and by the time they finally got together, the book was basically over. it felt rushed, and we didn’t get to see their connection fully develop into something lasting.

there were moments i enjoyed, like their conversations about art and how it became a way for nick to open up. alyssa’s journey to repair her relationship with her brother and confront her mother was also a sweet subplot. but overall, the romance felt more like a temporary balm for their pain than a forever love story.

this wasn’t a bad read, but it didn’t meet my expectations. if you’re looking for a romance with more emotional depth and focus on healing, you might enjoy this. but if you’re expecting a light, fluffy sports rom-com, be prepared for something much heavier.

A sweet romance in which the hockey player falls for his interior designer. He's grumpy, she's sunshine, and it's always a good combination! One of my favourite parts was the banter between Nick and his teammate. I particularly enjoy this aspect of sports romances!

I did not really enjoy this book. i thought the characters fell flat and some of the moments were a little unrealistic. Also, the couple didn't see like they'd last outside of the ending of the book.

Thsi was a good romance and also thoughtfully dealing with grief and trauma and a good set of characters.

I never would think grief and love would make a good romance, but Katie Kennedy did it well Starting over after tragedy, finding a new found family, and letting in love. This is a story of hope, kindness, and unconditional love.

This is in third person POV, so it took me a while to get into it.

Nick had a lot to work through, which made sense considering what he experienced. Alyssa, an interior designer, was hired to help him redecorate his place — which was really his way of “proving” he was moving on.

There were some cute moments, but I didn’t really feel the connection between the characters. I did like how patient and understanding Alyssa was though. She tried her best with Nick, and she was very careful with her selections for his home.

This was a debut novel by this author, and I look forward to seeing where she goes from here.

4 stars

Ice hockey played x Interior designer = me sold. And this book did not disappoint me. Sure I did cringe at times (looking at you paint fumes) and it was deeper than I thought (I went into it thinking it's a cute romance) but I actually really liked the book in the end.

I have been low key obsessed with ice hockey romances since Icebreaker so that might be slightlyyyyy influencing me but if you love icebreaker give this a go you won't be disappointed

Hearts on Thin Ice by Katie Kennedy was a romance between a hockey player and an interior designer, both of whom have tragedy in their pasts that felt a bit outsized to me based on the cartoon cover. Nick Sorensen has just recovered from a plane crash in which his entire friend group was killed; he’s now with a new team and has an apartment holding one armchair and a mattress on the floor. Alyssa Compton spent part of her young adolescence homeless with her mother and brother, and is devoted to making homes for others, though her current boss takes advantage of her employees. Nick’s coach pressures him to both make his apartment “normal” and go to therapy, which he sorely needs. Alyssa and Nick slowly realize how much they have in common, and Nick begins to face the enormity of his losses while dealing with survivor’s guilt. I was engaged throughout, though I felt the secondary characters were bland and the romantic issues towards the end frustrated me because I am not a fan of misunderstandings caused by a lack of communication.

DNF’ed around the 30% mark. Nothing inherently wrong with the book - it just fell victim to my mood reader tendencies.

Thank you to the publisher and author for sending me an early copy!

Hockey romance? Count me in. This was a really great romance with plenty of hockey and learning to find your way in the world.

I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately, it fell short. I've read many hockey romances recently and I was hoping this one would be another fun romcom. It was a darker romance and hockey took a backseat in this book. Nothing wrong with it, it was well written just not my cup of tea. I think this author has a lot of potential and I'm interested to see what else she has to offer.

Both the characters in this book have deep traumas that impact them on regular life. Alyssa’s is in her childhood while Nick’s is more recent. They both take their time during the book to work their way through it.

Alyssa’s designing takes up more space than Nick’s actual hockey playing, but I find both of them and their dreams with the read. I just wish the book was a little shorter. They got together pretty quickly, but the misunderstanding almost ran parallel to the rest of the narrative till the very end.

I would try another book by the author and recommend this to fans of the genre.

I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based in my own reading experience.