Decent hockey romance. I expected a light easy romance but this had HEAVY themes of grief etc. If you're looking for an easy or spicy sports romance this is not it.

nice story though I was expecting a little bit more of romance in it. I liked all the drama and the trauma and the way they´ve dealt with it but somehow I didn´t love this story. it was ok, Interesting but not life changing

When I saw a hockey book on Netgalley, y’all know I had to immediately request it and it DID NOT disappoint! The mc, Nick, had just been in a plane crash where he was the only survivor and is trying to get back on his feet and on the ice. The fmc, Alyssa, is an interior designer who Nick was forced to hire when he moved into a new apartment. Nick is your typical grumpy, angsty hockey player while Alyssa is this sweet designer just trying to make it big in the industry. Sparks fly and let me tell you I was immediately hooked. As in I literally finished this in one day, no joke. Nick’s healing process was so powerful and really gave insight to survivors guilt and mental health in athletes. It was so touching, especially when his new teammates showed up for him. Also the amount of art references in this book shocked me but I loved it so much. I think it just added even more to the characters, especially when they would banter through art. It was gold. But seriously, I was actually tearing up multiple times throughout this book, it really had my emotions flowing. This is DEFINITELY a must read for anyone who likes sports romances! This review has already been posted to my goodreads and blog. Also thanks so much again for giving me the opportunity to read this arc.

When I read the synopsis of this book, I was instantly drawn in. It’s a hockey romance, and it sounded promising. But even within reading the first few chapters, I could tell this book wasn’t for me.
Hockey wasn’t the main focus of this book at all, which seemed a bit misleading because of the cover and synopsis. The cover actually made it seem like it was going to be fun and light-hearted, which it definitely was not. It had many depressing moments that I didn’t feel were necessary for the characters. The characters themselves weren’t very developed and they weren’t dynamic with each other, which was disappointing. Nick and Alyssa had zero chemistry, and the miscommunication trope didn’t make this romance any more appealing. Additionally, the spicy scenes were hard to read and made me cringe, and it was difficult to even finish this book because it was a slow burn.
I think this author is a good writer and this is a decent debut, but the characters need some major reworking.
Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove for the ARC!

This was the perfect book to read when you are in the mood for something sweet, but still has deeper elements. Both main characters are working through issues from their pasts and you see them want to be better for each other. I thought the designer/client working together had some great moments and the whole book was full of great banter and loveable side characters. There are a few parts that I wish were more touched on (especially when it came to our FMC working through her issues) and a lot more TWs are needed that I wouldn't have expected but overall it was a fun time!

This novel was so sweet it was honestly almost sickening. I'm not sure what I expected from a hockey romance, but it was certainly not the "not-like-other-hockey-players" male lead having a yelling fight about Michelangelo vs. Monet with the female lead. I get that this is a romance novel and thus by design filled with cliches, but this was honestly hard to read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a cute, quick read! It was definitely a bit heavy at times due to Nick's grief, but I feel like the author depicted his grief and journey through healing very well. They had good chemistry and they were very sweet together. I'll definitely read more from this author in the future!

DNF at 42%. Honestly, it was slow and not so much romance, but about grieving. Some phrasing was used that I personally couldn’t stand and there was no chemistry… just a lot of trauma dumping.

Nick was one of the faster players in hockey, that is until a plane crash takes the lives of his best friends, leaving him the only survivor.

To prove he’s fine and make-over his apartment with only a single chair and a mattress on the floor, Nick hires Alyssa an interior designer. Alyssa quickly learns that Nick is difficult to work with, and just when she’s about to throw in the towel and give up, Nick shows up for her in a way she didn’t think possible.

This book left me wanting more. I felt that the characters weren’t quite fully developed, and they didn’t really work together. They were kind of at odds and didn’t necessarily need to end up together. I felt that they were lacking chemistry, and I was lacking a connection to them. This book had so many heavy topics that it wasn’t exactly what I look for when I’m trying to find a romcom. I want my romcoms to be lighthearted and carefree with fun characters, and this one didn’t exactly deliver. I’m also not usually a fan of the miscommunication trope, and in this book, I wasn’t a fan, so it was a miss for me. The cover makes it look like a fun hockey romance, but I think that is misleading in a few ways. Hockey wasn’t really the point of this book, and it wasn’t a light read at all. I also struggled with some of the elements of the spice scenes as they felt juvenile and weren’t to my liking at all. On top of everything else, this was a slow burn, so it just made it a slog to get through.

I think that for a debut this book is good. It has a lot of promise, and I can see this author doing great work.

Thank you to the publisher Alcove Press, @alcovepress, and Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the story. I wanted more development in the romance between the main characters. I liked that they dealt with important topics and how those might play out in relationships. I just didn't feel like these were fully fleshed out to make the story as compelling as it could have been.

this book dealt with a lot of heavy topics and I think that Katie wrote them well. there was such a good balance of this book and I enjoyed it. Although there is hockey in this book I wouldn't consider it a sports romance. there was not as muck hockey as I thought there would be. this is not a typical hockey romance, so if that is what you are looking for, then I don't think this is the book for you. I do like these characters, and I would recommend the book if you are looking for something that shows character growth and facing adversity.

Hearts on Thin Ice was not the story I was expecting to read.
Nick and Alyssa were two people that normally would never have met in their lives but with circumstances that happened to them brought them together.
I wanted a romance with two likable people but for me there was no chemistry between them. And the trauma that Nick went through really was a bit heavy for me. I know after reading the book the trauma was a way Nick and Alyssa to meet.
I read the book, but it will not be one I would read again.
Thank you NetGalley, Katie Kennedy and Alcove Press for the ARC of Hearts on Thin Ice. This is my personal review.

Nick had lost him best friends in a plane crash and was wheelchair bound until he was able to go to rehab and get his function back. He is a professional hockey player and when he finally was able to heal he got back on a Detroit team and his teammates notice signs of depression. When his coach gave him an ultimatum either fix your apartment with one single chair or go to therapy he chose to get a designer. What happened when this designer helps with his apartment? Maybe she will help him heal in other ways?

I thought it was okay, a little slow but overall cute, quick read!

❥ hearts on thin ice — katie kennedy
★ ★ ★ ★

˗ˏˋ ♡ ´ˎ˗ genre : romance
˗ˏˋ ♡ ´ˎ˗ pages: 320
˗ˏˋ ♡ ´ˎ˗ ARC

⁀➷ ❝ 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺. ❞

synopsis —

nick sorensen had once been one of the fastest men in hockey—until the devastating plane crash that took the lives of his best friends, leaving him the only survivor. now he’s physically ready to get back on the ice, but his coach is concerned nick isn’t doing as well, mentally, as he says he is. case in nick’s apartment is completely empty, apart from a single chair and a mattress on the floor.

to prove he’s fine, really, nick hires alyssa compton, an up-and-coming interior designer, to decorate his space. alyssa’s thrilled at the chance to prove herself to her demanding boss—with job security at last, maybe she can finally put down roots and create a home for herself too. but nick turns out to be infuriatingly stubborn and impossible to work with, and just when alyssa decides to throw in the towel on the whole thing, nick shows up for her in a way she never could have expected.  

review —

so i went into this thinking it’d be a pure hockey romance but it’s really a contemporary romance with a splash of hockey romance in it, this story takes on with past trauma while BOTH main characters are healing and finding romance within eachother - which is truly beautiful may i add.

this was really hard for me to get into at first as it’s written in third POV and the whole thing with third POV for me makes me feel like it’s harder to feel a connection with the characters. the world building is absolutely beautiful in this book.

this was a good overall debut novel though, i did enjoy it and some bits did make me tear up.

**I RECEIVED AN ARC IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW**

Tragically NIck Sorenson has lost all his friends in one horrible plane crash. The only thing left for him is hockey a sport which he is finally able to play after months of physical therapy. Having not only lost his closest friends but also being let go from his team, he moved to Detroit to play. Grief and loss swamp him at every turn. His team Captain made it clear that he either goes to counseling or he gets his apartment decorated. Nick picks the lesser evil and enlists an interior decorator, Alyssa.
This slow burn faces the hard subjects of grief and loss. Fully developed main characters allow the reader to watch as the cycle of grief unfolds including the desperate need for counseling. Unexpected plot twist with a character facing homelessness, the reader really roots this couple to find each other after lots of realistic miscommunication. Only 2 peppers with spice on the page.

DNF at 60%

This was a really cute book and I loved how easy it was to read! I love how it portrayed ptsd and anxiety and finding your peacefulness again.

It had spice, a sort of forbidden romance, forced proximity and it was really funny at times!

However I really struggled to find chemistry between these characters and the main gal, Alyssa came off (to me) a bit too pervy and not in a fun lighthearted way, and she came across a lot older than she was too. I struggled to finish this because at times I felt a bit lost in the plot and couldn’t connect with the story and characters.

However I would still recommend for others to give this a go and see if they’d like it as it is cute!

Thank you to NetGalley, Alcove Press and Katie Kennedy for allowing me to read this arc early and post an honest review. 🫶🏼

This was a good book. I did enjoy it and would recommend it because I liked the characters and the romance and banter were pretty good! If you are looking for a true hockey romance this is not the right book for you because there is not much hockey in it. But I didn't mind that. I still liked the story a lot.

Good idea, but with a lot of room for improvement

I was drawn to this book by the cute cover and as I love ice hockey stories but haven't read any in a while, I saw this as a sign to read "Hearts on Thin Ice" by Katie Kennedy.

First of all: If you have problems with certain topics, please read the trigger warning.

"Hearts on Thin Ice" was a fast paced RomCom like sports romance story that dealt with an important issue and I really liked Katie's concept. However, I did have some issues with her writing style.

I found Katie Kennedy's writing style to be very simplistic and superficial and unfortunately the same goes for the characters and the story. To be honest, I found it very difficult to connect with the characters. Unfortunately, I didn't manage it. I also completely missed the chemistry between Alyssa and Nick.

And her writing style was sometimes very poorly expressed, for example here:
"Alyssa's eyes grew huge. ' He's that guy? Oh my god. I thought he was all crunched up"

Unfortunately, "Hearts on Thin Ice" only gets 2 out of 5 stars from me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

I received an arc copy of this book for review. Thank you!


One of the realest feeling romance books I’ve read. Even with the mmc being a professional hockey player, his personality felt like that if a real person. Often times in romance books I find the characters hard to relate to, but I think a lot of us can relate to the grief and troubling emotions that Nick experienced. The fmc was also very personable, although I didn’t enjoy her as much as Nick. This story was so fun and such a quick read. Definitely added to the list of my favorite hockey romances.

As a hockey romance girly I'm always on the hunt for new ones to add to my collection and I'm pleased to say I'll be purchasing a physical copy of this one! The banter was top tier and I loved the dual POV. Even though I'm not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope, I didn't mind it much here. Highly recommend!