Thank you to @berkley and @netgalley for the eARC! I was drawn to this book initially by the cover (Leni Kaufman is the best and her covers are unmatched). While I felt that some parts dragged on and that the book could have been shorter overall, this was a fun book with spice, romance, and found family. I enjoyed both of our main characters and their internal struggles were compelling. I’m actually even more excited for book two after that teaser at the end. If you liked Ice Breaker you will absolutely love this.

I liked Collide overall. It’s a fun mix of opposites-attract romance with a sporty twist. Summer Preston is an honors student with big dreams of becoming a sports psychologist, but she’s not exactly a fan of hockey. Enter Aiden Crawford, the college hockey team’s captain, who’s all about the game and none too pleased to be the subject of Summer’s research project.

Their initial meeting is filled with tension and misunderstanding, with Summer’s disdain for hockey players clashing against Aiden’s laid-back attitude. But as they get to know each other, their bickering turns into banter and eventually heats up into something more.

The story is entertaining, with some great moments of chemistry between Summer and Aiden. The dynamic between their conflicting worlds is engaging, though some parts felt a bit predictable. Still, if you’re into sports romances with a good dose of witty dialogue and a slow-burn romance, this one’s worth checking out.

this was…. fine. nothing too bad but it also didn’t do much for me.

it just moved really slowly and didn’t have very compelling conflict. I feel like the two side plots- her relationship with her dad, and the application- were both actually quite interesting, but both got only surface level treatment because our two MCs were getting it on again or being all mopey about being FWBs. so the parts I enjoyed the most weren’t really the heart of the relationship or story, and both felt like they were resolved half-heartedly.

but, overall it was also pretty cute. and I liked the ending (though the epilogue was a bit meh)

Aiden is the captain of the college hockey team and Summer is the psych student tasked to help him out! I thought this was such a cute sports romance. Loved the touches of Indian culture. They felt very natural and not over exaggerated. Adored the group of friends that Aiden lives with. Loved how Summer’s relationship with her parents was portrayed.
Overall a fun, lightweight, breezy read! Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This was cute and more new adult. I have learned that new adult isn't for me but def. can see how it would appeal to a younger audience. Again it was cute and steamy but just middle of the road for me.

Another hockey romance! I am currently gobbling this genre up. I love some Canadian rep and Bal Khabra really pulled that out. I really enjoyed following Aiden and Summer and watching their relationship develop. I love a slow burn/ will they-won't they and this really fit each trope. I'm also a huge fan of how the side characters were set up and hopefully we will get a whole bunch of books in this series (especially Amara and Tyler).

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

3.75/5 ⭐️

He’s the sunshine and she’s the grumpy one despite her name being Summer. Sign me up. I love when the trope is reversed, usually it’s the other way around.

Aiden’s such a golden retriever/cinnamon roll and I’m here for it. Always making sure Summer’s needs are just as important as his especially with her past. Loved their banter even when you could clearly see that they were falling in love.

I love how light hearted this read was and had me laughing like a school girl. The side characters had me laughing too especially Kian. Every time he spoke, I was giggling. And that epilogue was perfect. Loved it all around.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book so much!! I loved the banter, the chemistry, all the characters. It gave black cat x golden retriever energy and I absolutely loved it. The timeline of the relationship was kind of quick in the end, I prefer the angst and pining to build up a bit longer. Aiden also was the perfect guy which was amazing but almost to a fault? Overall I highly recommend.

This was a great New Adult romance. I liked both of the main characters and the romance was believable. I also thought the writing itself was really well done.

Highly recommend for fans of Briar U. This is the hockey romance we all enjoy. Some of the dialogue was cringy but I love a good “he falls first”.

Bal is a first-time author for me and I'm so excited for what's to come!! Collide was so refreshing to read and I cannot express how much it made me giddy just to see what would happen next!! And it was MUCH hotter than I expected *sweatingggg

I got to be honest with you. I really didn't like this book. I don't know why, but I just couldn't get into it as I usually do whenever I am reading a romance book. There is just something that I am not connecting with the couple or their relationship. Sorry, it wasn't for me.

I absolutely enjoyed this book! Summer and Aiden are really cute, I think this is a very nice romance read!!

I love hockey romance a lot! This was one of the better ones I've read too! I will definitely be rereading to physically annotate!

Oh my Lordy! So I went into this thinking it was going to be another cute little hockey romance! Oh man don’t judge a book by its cover. The spice and dirty talk was delicious!! Aiden and summer have this will they won’t they banter that is to die for! And don’t get me started about the filth that comes out of Aiden’s mouth!! I love it!

5/5 ⭐️
Spice: half jalapeño half Serrano

If it wasn’t for being in nursing school I would have finished this faster! Ahhh I can’t wait to read more book by Bal

Such a wonderful read!! I've now realized I'm a sucker for brainy girls and sporty boys being paired together. But this was such a delight and I enjoyed seeing how Summer and Aiden's relationship progressed. I also liked how Summer was honest early on with her father being a pro hockey player/ coach ad even more how Aiden didn't use that to his advantage. The future scene at the end was so precious! It warmed my heart seeing them together. Looking forward to the next book! Thank you so much to Bal Khabra, Berkley and Net Galley for the ARC!

3.5⭐️
sorry y’all… i wanted to like this more! The cover is gorgeous and I was happy to support another BIPOC Indie author but… whew chile😅 WHIPLASH!! of the emotional kind is what you’ll experience reading this. To be honest the FMC is what annoyed he literally the entire first 3/4 of the way through the book. The MMC Aiden? Yes, perfect, sexy, lovely, everything and more and quite frankly Summer doesn’t deserve him.

I finally started to enjoy the last 20% of the book but like dang… really? it took that long for her to make her mind up about him!? So, yeah it was just too much back and forth for me regardless of the reasons. But glad she finally decided to be with him! Overall the writing is excellent, it’s just the plot that wasn’t doing it for me 😭

Collide by Bal Khabra
Release Date: September 23, 2023

Pages: 395

Off the Ice:
🌀Collide
🌀Spiral

Format: 📱

What to Expect:
🖤College Romance
💙Contemporary Romance
🖤Dual POV
💙Enemies to Lovers
🖤Forced Proximity
💙Found Family
🖤He Falls First
💙Hockey Romance
🖤New Adult Romance
💙Reverse Grumpy/Sunshine
🖤Rom Com
💙Slow Burn
🖤Sports Romance

Book Description:
An ultimatum from her professor thrusts Summer Preston into an unexpected collision with hockey captain Aiden Crawford. She’s caught in a delicate balance between fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a sport psychologist and veering far away from this god-awful sport.

For Aiden Crawford, being the captain of the college hockey team has its perks, except when a reckless mistake by his team threatens to jeopardize their entire season. Consequently, his coach nominates him as the subject of a research paper. It's the last thing he wants to do, especially since the girl leading the project looks like she could wield his skates as a weapon.

Summer can't stand his blasé approach to life, and Aiden doesn't understand her uptight, scheduled one. They are off to a rocky start, and provoking each other is what they do best, but defeat isn't something either of them is willing to accept.

Ratings:
FMC: ⭐⭐⭐
MMC: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐.25

BWBH Review:
Positives:
For fans of Icebreaker
Decent banter

Not So Positives:
A lot like Icebreaker
An average hockey romance
Kind of predictable at times
FMC felt more mean that grumpy

Thank you to Bal Khabra and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a cute story! I liked that the heroine was getting her Ph.D. in sports psychology. As a psychologist, this is really interesting to me. I loved her dedication and determination. I also loved the hate to love vibe between these two! It was cute and enjoyable. Overall, a good read! 3.5 stars!

This was such a cute book! I thought Summer and Aiden’s chemistry and dynamic together felt real and you could tell how much they meant to one another. Also, Aiden remembering small details had my heart melting. He is so in love with Summer!! I really liked reading this and seeing how their relationship developed.