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.

I was able to read an ebook arc of this thanks to NetGalley. A fun romance. Great read. Would read more by this author.

Un libro muy romántico y bonito.
Me encanta la química de los personajes.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my book

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

CW: loss, grief, plane crash

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for giving me the opportunity to listen to this book for review!

Something I love about the romance genre is that it never holds back the tough feelings. All feelings are welcome (with a proper disclosure for those who may choose lighter themes) and anyone can see themselves in a book like this. We may not be professional athletes, or interior designers, but we all feel loss, anxiety over appearances, and love at some point in our lives.

This book had me hooked early, because we enter Nick’s trauma head on. The loss, the injury, the guilt, and the rebuild of a life that is irrevocably changed after a plane crash that cost the lives of his very best friends. The empty apartment with one chair, and a mattress on the floor that brings Alyssa into his life - Nick doesn’t need help decorating, because he’s fine, totally fine. But it was interior designer or go to therapy (where they would not let him drone on about the incredible Wayne Gretzky, thank you very much).

But when Alyssa digs in after drawing up a blue industrial space that Nick hates because he gave no structure, she finds the man he left behind after the plane crash - an art enthusiast, drawn in by colour and lines; someone who refuses to make more than one trip, arms completely filled; a man who is kind, willing to step in, but who doesn’t know how to ask for help because he doesn’t know he needs it.

Alyssa’s job isn’t a dream, but it looks good for her career progression. She also believes her stepdad’s fibs about chickens and potatoes being core hockey lore, doesn’t know Gretzky’s first name, and earnestly designs spaces that feel comforting and inviting for her clients, because she knows what it means to not have a place to call home.

And through all the big feelings, the peeling back of layers of scar tissue, this book has the glimmer of hope and promise that all great romances have. The anticipation, the butterflies, the trust built over Monet and Michelangelo. All the beautiful feelings that are even more beautiful for the contrast they hold with hard pasts. Whether it’s new teammates who are waiting to support Nick when he’s ready, someone stepping in to fill vases with water or don a silly costume simply because you ask, or the fizzle of attraction between two people who both feel a little too messed up, or not ready, or that the timing is all wrong. That’s romance, baby.

Plus, despite the overuse in the genre, many will appreciate the rippling hard muscle of a star athlete described in filthy, naked detail. While I’m over the “ideal male body” romance hero in every book, even I can appreciate the spicy scenes.

With enough hockey knowledge for the sports fan, but not so bogged down for the unfamiliar, this hockey romance is bound to clear your sinuses, make you blush, and kickstart a redecorating plan of your own. I’d highly recommend this is whatever format you prefer, but the audiobook was a blast!

Nick is an experienced hockey player who was recently in a plane crash where he lost his friends and teammates. The tragedy has left him grieving and doubting his life choices. He’s down to a bed and a chair in his apartment, and his couch is concerned.
Nick hires a designer named Alyssa to redo his apartment to prove that he’s fine. As they work together, they start falling for each other.
I really liked that the book focuses on men’s mental health, Nick’s issues are handled with sensitivity. 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I finished this book because I kept wanting more from the characters and got exactly nothing. Maybe not nothing but very little that's for sure. I kept hoping their chemistry would get better but it didn't and I felt extremely frustrated in the end. I liked Nick's character but again, I was wanting more from him and his journey. Quite the "meh" read.

the most easy, enjoyable romance read that every gal wants to stay up late and read!! throughly enjoyed this book - thanks for an ARC netgalley!

Hearts on Thin Ice by Katie Kennedy, Pub Date: June 18, 2024. Rating: 3 stars. This is a heartwarming sports romance about an interior designer and a hockey player who are introduced through a teammate's wife. At the time of introduction, the hockey player is struggling with mental health concerns surrounding being a sole survivor of a plane crash that killed multiple teammates/friends. He is making a comeback with a new team, but is struggling with survivor's guilt and PTSD. He is told by his coach he has a few options to demonstrate he is working on his mental health and one of them is to decorate his apartment. Through the decoration process, feelings spark and the story turns into a spicy, swoon worthy romance. I really enjoyed the mental health representation throughout the novel, but felt at times the overall storyline was cheesy. I liked this one, but did not love it. Thanks to #netgalley and #alcovepress for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Długo zbierałam się za lekturę - i w sumie mogłabym się za nią w ogóle nie zabrać, a wyszłoby na to samo (albo i nawet lepiej, bo podczytałabym coś innego). To nie jest książka zła, tragiczna, ani nic w tym stylu. Ta książka po prostu... jest. Bardzo liczyłam na maksymalną rozrywkę, może trochę poruszającą i zachęcającą do popłakania, ale niestety nie tutaj.
Nick Sorensen stracił wielu przyjaciół z drużyny hokejowej w wypadku samolotowym. Jako jedyny ocalały zmaga się z problemami zdrowotnymi oraz syndromem ocalałego. Żyje, chociaż wszyscy inni - jego zdaniem lepsi od niego - leżą w trumnach. Nowa drużyna chce mu pomóc, a trener daje ultimatum. Dzięki tym czynnikom poznaje Alyssa Compton, projektantkę wnętrz. Kobieta ma za zadanie odmienić jego mieszkanie, bo na razie on śpi na materacu na podłodze a cała reszta jest godna pożałowania.
No i fajny pomysł, trochę nietypowy. Gdzie nie pykło? Wypadek Nicka został na początku, moim zdaniem, rzucony ot tak. Bardziej jako ciekawostka niż realne, tragiczne przeżycie. Zabrakło mi tam czynników chwytających za serce - tego poczucia, że to serio była jego drużyna i naprawdę ich lubił. Sprawa ze współlokatorem dobrze i niedobrze była odpychana od Nicka, bo choć wiadomo, że musiał to sobie przetrawić, czułam się zbyt odcięta od całej sprawy. Romans był... nijaki. Przepraszam, serio, Alyssa również taką postacią była i nic, co z nią związane, nie wywoływało we mnie emocji - co za tym idzie wszystkie semskowno wzruszające momenty kończyły się jak kijem w piach. Bez rezultatu.
Ogółem nie zachęcam i nie odradzam. Zapomnę o niej po napisaniu tych kilku słów 🥲


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